N/A: Heeeeeeeeeeey you! Yes, it's a brand new chapter just a few days after the previous! I'm totally screwing my academic life, but well, who cares. I just can't seem to stop writing, it's kinda unnerving. Wish I had this predisposition to write my essay. Anyway, hope you guys have fun. More Scorpius in this one, yay!
Don't wake the lover
The spell I'm under
Be grace, I need it
I pray I believe it
Silverline - Lykke Li
"A meter long essay? Is Hilliard trying to kill us?" Scorpius groaned quietly as he got up from the table he shared with Rose at the Transfiguration class. "We just handed him a monster essay!"
"Think about it as fifty centimetres, since we'll write it together. It's not that hard," Rose replied with a shrug, grabbing her backpack and walking out of class. For you, of course. I, on the other hand, am once again screwed, she thought with irritation, cursing her life for the up tenth time, and at the same time feeling a tinge of happiness for the excuse for expending time with him. You're going mental, Weasley. Mental.
Faith waved her goodbye and left for lunch with Phil, her partner in class, looking excessively happy about it. Rose smirked, but felt her stomach twist uncomfortably; three days had passed and she still hadn't found the courage to tell Faith about Phil. She didn't know for how long she could stand postponing it, but the mere thought of breaking her friend's heart was too much for her to handle.
"What's taking Al so long? I'm starving," Scorpius complained after a few seconds, tapping his foot on the floor relentlessly.
"God, you're in a right foul mood today, aren't you?" Rose commented in amusement, opening her bag and taking a chocolate frog from it. "Here, I bet this will shut you up."
Scorpius' smile was so perfect Rose found it very hard to breathe. She usually had some chocolate frogs on her – they were Scorpius' favourite, and since he was always hungry, they would come in handy. Lately (or maybe that had always been the reason, she was not sure), Rose had been using them just so she could be awarded with that handsome smile.
"You're an angel, Rosie," Scorpius stated happily, biting the head off his frog mercilessly. Rose obviously blushed, but managed to keep eye contact so it wouldn't be so embarrassing.
"Of course I am, I stand you," she retorted, sticking her tongue out. Before Scorpius could retaliate, Albus finally left the classroom along with his class partner, Amber Wood.
"Hey Rose, Scorpius," Amber greeted them chipperly, then turned to face Albus. "See you later, Al," and much to everyone's shock, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away quickly.
Rose and Scorpius had identical stunned looks on their faces, and they stared at Albus as though he had just turned into a kneazle.
"What is it?" Albus asked, but his blush gave away that he knew exactly what it was.
"What the hell, mate?" Scorpius was the first to talk, which broke Rose from her paralysis.
"I didn't think I'd ever see this day," she said in astonishment, making Scorpius chuckle.
"It was just a kiss on the cheek, guys, hold your hippogriffs," Albus replied with a clearly fake nonchalance. His face was getting redder by the second.
"Of course it wasn't, you blithering idiot," Rose disagreed and rolled her eyes. "Amber, for some reason not even Merlin can explain, fancies you!"
Albus gasped at his cousin like the thought had never crossed his mind (it probably hadn't).
"No, she doesn't!" he exclaimed, looking at Scorpius for a support he wouldn't find. "It was just a kiss on the cheek! You guys kiss each other on the cheek all the time and you don't see me saying you fancy each other!"
Rose's face matched her cousin's at the speed of light; much to her surprise, so did Scorpius'.
"It's different, Al. We're best friends, we're allowed to do that," Rose explained a few seconds later, trying to gauge Scorpius' expression and lack of response. He frowned, taken aback by his mate's unusually good argument. Was he thinking about it? Her whole body turned into a bubbly mass of hope, but her words seemed to settle the matter for him.
"She's right. Besides, you and Amber don't hang out as much as Rose and I do, apart from the team stuff and the prefect rounds that is. Besides, I for once had never seen her doing that. Was it the first time?" Scorpius asked, composing himself almost immediately, to Rose's complete disappointment. Well, maybe he was just surprised that Albus actually had a good point for a change, she thought gloomily.
"Well, yeah," Albus answered, considering the question for the first time. "You guys reckon she fancies me?"
"Of course!" Rose and Scorpius said in unison, rolling their eyes. Albus could be a rather clever boy at classes, but, Merlin, was he worse than Rose's father had ever been when it came to feelings.
"So, uh, what do I do?" he asked, scratching his head confusedly. Rose grunted and covered her face with her hands in exasperation. How come Scorpius had already had four girlfriends and Albus still hadn't learnt what to do?
"I was going to say ask her out, as you should have already thought, you dunce," Scorpius begun, hitting Albus' head with his book. "But I think you should do better: win the match tomorrow and kiss her afterwards."
Rose laughed and shook her head, but her insides burned with envy. Scorpius sure knew how to be romantic, didn't he? To every other girl but you, of course, she thought, pain piercing through her heart. And now your other best friend will get himself a girlfriend while you'll be forever alone and possibly raising cats.
"Will it work out?" Albus inquired, still unsure.
"Of course it will, Al. I told you, she clearly fancies you, and judging by your reaction, you fancy her too, although I don't know if you've ever really thought about it until now," Rose said, smiling wider when her cousin's blush gave him away once again. "You know what to do. Don't mess this up!"
Albus smiled contentedly and strutted away as if he was floating on air. Rose and Scorpius shared smirks and followed him.
"We're the best Cupids ever," Scorpius announced, placing one arm over her shoulder. The bubbly feeling came back immediately, but Rose didn't fight it at all. She would allow herself to dream for a while.
"Yes, we are," she replied, wrapping her arms around him. Just for a while, he's mine.
"Good morning, Hogwarts, and welcome to the first game of this year's Quidditch season!" Arthur Finnigan's voice reached every corner of the pitch, startling some of the students who were still half-asleep on that Saturday morning. "Today's fixture is Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor, or, as I see it, family competition! For the first time, the Longbottom twins will clash for their Houses victory. Hard time to be both parents and school staff, right, Professor Longbottom?" Finnigan looked at the professor and war hero who sat beside him in the cabin, but he just laughed and shook his head in amusement at the son of his old friend. "Let's hope none of the twins gets sent to Ms. Longbottom at the Hospital Wing! And let's not forget, of course, the usual competition between the Wood sisters! Will the captain, keeper and unfortunately my good mate Louis Weasley's girlfriend Andy finally get a win against her younger sibling and equally beautiful Gryffindor seeker, Amber? It's been two years already, Hufflepuff, come on!"
The yellow and black crowd roared in response to their fellow Hufflepuff, but was cut short as the red and gold mass screamed so high it was almost a war cry. Gryffindor's enthusiasm was just reasonable, since they had had the perfect campaign last year under the command of James Potter and got both Quidditch and House Cups. Rose rolled her eyes at Fred, who started to make a spectacle on his broom, looping fast as he went up in the air. Although he seemed relaxed, she knew the pressure to be the successor of their cousin – who was close to becoming Tutshill Tornados' new beater – was a true hardship.
She, then, locked her eyes on Albus, who was chatting with Amber and Hugo. He had an easy smile on his face, and she hoped he remained like that until the end of the game. He had one perfect chance to get the girl (according to a super excited Lily, just like his father did), and if he managed to do it, it would be awesome.
"Oh, there you are. Been looking for you all morning," a soft voice woke her up from her reveries a few minutes later, and she quickly turned to see Scorpius worming his way into the crowd so he could sit beside her.
Rose held her breath immediately and smiled at him. Faith hissed discreetly beside her – obviously still mad at the Slytherin for unknowingly making her friend suffer –, but kept quiet and didn't bother showing any other signs of acknowledging him. Rose hadn't tried looking for Scorpius before the match, figuring he would watch it alongside his girlfriend on the Gryffindor side. So she was surprised – and very, very happy – to see him there.
"I thought you'd watch the game with Carrie," she replied slowly, averting her eyes to the exchange of passes between the Gryffindor players, afraid that looking at Scorpius would show him how jealous she was.
"I can only take so much of Gryffindor's passion. I'd probably go deaf if I stayed on that side of the pitch," Scorpius said, finally resting comfortably beside his best friend, who tried not to stiff at his closeness. "Besides, I don't know why you're surprised. We always watch this game together."
Rose tried really hard not to feel some crazy hope with his response, but there was no way she couldn't see that as a sign that at least their friendship was more important than his relationship. At the same time she was running from Scorpius as fast as she could, she was also clinging onto every little thing they shared when he caught up to her. Not very healthy, but she just couldn't help it.
"I know, I just- well, I thought this time it would be different because- you know," she explained, cursing herself for the blush that crept over her cheeks. Her eyes were dead on the game as Roxanne dodged a bludger with ease and scored her first goal, fact that Rose barely registered. Why was Scorpius there? Why couldn't he make things easier for her and get away with his beloved girlfriend? Why must he hurt her that way, giving her hopes she couldn't afford feeling? Because he doesn't have the slightest idea of what you're feeling, as he should. It's not his fault and you know it, she refrained herself right away and sobered up.
"What? Of course not, Rosie. It's the only match of the year the both of us can watch together, it's our tradition," Scorpius answered, a mix of shock and confusion in his voice. "And I want us to be together to watch Albus making it or breaking it. Hoping he will make it, of course. Anyway, we have to see it so we can mock him afterwards."
Faith rolled her eyes, for she knew her best friend was over the moon at that moment. Carrie could have him the way Rose wanted, but there was a Scorpius that was still hers – the Scorpius who cared about his best friends and spending time with them because that's how they've always worked. The friendly, funny and easy-going side he only really showed when he was beside her or Albus. Rose doubted very much he was anything close to that with any of his girlfriends. You shouldn't be thinking like that, she thought, trying to stop the images of the good times she had spent with him. Yes, he is your best friend, but you should, no, you must distract yourself away from him.
"Oh, you flatter me," Rose replied, grinning, then turned to face her other best friend. "Oooh, Faith, I haven't told you. Albus and Amber fancy each other!"
"WHAT?" Faith asked in bewilderment, her green eyes the size of two galleons. "When did this happen?"
"Yesterday, after Transfiguration. Amber gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the class so we obviously teased the hell out of him until he decided to do something about it," Scorpius explained in a proud voice, obviously cheering for his best friend.
"No, Scorp, you're giving him too much credit," Rose said, stopping for a second to enjoy the happy, knowing smile on Scorpius' face over hearing his nickname. "It's more like we told him what to do and he's going to do it."
"Oh, now it makes sense," Faith smirked, looking at the object of their talk, who passed the quaffle so Alice could score Gryffindor's second goal. "I was starting to think he was confounded or something."
"Oh, Albie. Our mate is growing up," Scorpius snickered, pulling out a bag of sugar quills from his cloak and handing it to Rose. "Oh, yeah, mum just sent this. Since I hate them and she knows it, I can only imagine she'd rather feed her other favourite person."
Rose beamed and happily opened up the bag. Astoria Malfoy surely always had lots of sugar quills whenever Rose visited the Manor, but it wasn't often that she decided to owl her some. She would usually send them on Christmas or on Rose's birthday, but both were still weeks away.
"Well, this is odd. Did she offer any explanations?" Rose asked with a frown. What had she done to deserve them? She racked her mind for anything, but ultimately came up with nothing.
"Nope. Just sent it attached to her usual letter," Scorpius answered, shrugging. "Maybe she forgot that I don't like them, I don't know."
"Or maybe she realised that a person who voluntarily deals with you every day deserves an award," Faith chided in in a matter of fact voice.
Scorpius laughed, mistaking the venom in the girl's voice for her usual teasing. Rose, on the other hand, threw Faith a warning look. As good as her intentions were and as much as she appreciated them, Rose really didn't want to figure in the middle of a war between her most relentless friends.
"Oh, Davies, you almost did it! You were about to break your record of ten minutes without baring your teeth at me. Too bad you missed your shot," Scorpius retorted ironically, arching an eyebrow at the other girl.
"It's just too easy, ferret spawn, I can't help myself," Faith said, toning down a bit under the alarmed stare from Rose.
"Alright, you two, claws off. I have sugar quills, Al will get together with Amber, this is a happy moment," Rose interrupted them as Scorpius threatened to respond, then aimed her attention back at the game.
"Longbottom grabs the quaffle and prepare to shoot. Von Bohn almost gets it but it's goal for Hufflepuff! Twenty-Ten!" Finnigan announces as Frank celebrates his first goal on his House team. "Way to go, mate! Proving he's an excellent chaser just like his sis- Wait, is that the snitch? WOOD SPOTTED THE SNITCH!"
"Wow, already? It's been, like, fifteen minutes! She's good," Faith remarked, taken aback as both seekers dove for the tiny ball, apparently located near the centre goal post on the Hufflepuff side.
"Wood saw it first, but Madison was closer to it! They are head to head! Any moment now...WOOD CAPTURES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS ONCE AGAIN!" Finnigan screamed, more disappointed than excited, but it didn't matter to anyone anymore. Amber soared up, snitch safe in her right hand, while Gryffindor exploded with happiness.
"I said win the match, Al, but then Amber won it almost by herself. Well, anyway, come on, now, mate. It's your chance!" Scorpius muttered, watching his best friend's actions intently. Rose didn't even dare to talk, and placed both hands over her mouth as she waited for the moment.
The Gryffindor team reached the ground in a group hug, but at the second they cut apart, Albus turned to face Amber and kissed her right on the mouth.
"YES!" Rose and Scorpius screamed, and as if they had planned it, they hugged each other tightly. Rose felt her heart beating like crazy at her throat, but had no intention of letting him go. He smelled like sandalwood and vanilla, and even though she very much knew that, it was always inebriating to feel it. His hands held her close against his body, sending shivers all over her skin. But the best thing of it all was the way they just fit in each other's arms. It was so perfect Rose just couldn't not believe they were meant for each other.
"I can't believe this, I didn't think- ooh, hey," Faith said, finally noticing what was happening beside her. "Are you guys going with the flow? Should I leave you to yourselves?"
They separated immediately, both faces on fire. Faith, I love you with all my heart, but right now I want to kill you very slowly, Rose thought, and somehow she managed to convey her feelings through her eyes, because the big smirk on her best friend's face faltered visibly.
"I-I should probably find Carrie," Scorpius announced, looking at the Gryffindor crowd as though he would find her just like that. His words were like a blow on Rose's stomach, but she tried not to look as hurt as she felt. "Are you guys coming to the party at the common room? Fred said he smuggled loads of muggle booze."
"It's funny how we are both Prefects and we just don't give a bloody dugbog about the twenty-something rules he broke," Rose replied, laughing to mask her disappointment. Why couldn't they hold each other forever? Just like they were, nothing more, and her life would be perfect already.
"You don't because you love the vodka. If it were firewhiskey you'd vetoed it already," Scorpius said with a smirk, and Rose blushed because she knew he was remembering the time they had discovered vodka. It was the New Year's Party at The Burrow last year. Scorpius and Albus had to lock her inside a room for one hour before their families suspected anything, because she didn't seem to want to stop dancing without music.
"You're probably right. I'm such a disappointment," she admitted with an eye roll. "Well, I reckon I must go so I can take the mickey out of Al. I'm pretty sure there's a rule about having to do this."
Scorpius smirked, and his pale eyes shone wickedly against the sunlight.
"That's my girl," he said, not noticing Rose's blush since he started to walk away from the seats. "I'll meet up with Carrie, then. See you there!"
Faith and Rose remained on their spots while the latter sighed sadly.
"I'm sorry for interrupting you," Faith muttered, looking apprehensively at Rose.
"It's okay. I mean, we'd have to interrupt it sometime so he could get back to his bloody girlfriend, right?" Rose responded dejectedly, running a hand through her hair. "Are you coming to the party?"
"'Course I am. I still can't believe Albus actually got himself a girlfriend! I have to see this," Faith answered with a laugh. Rose knew the truth was that she felt the need to keep her company, but wouldn't admit to it.
"We all do," she said, smiling and walking down the seats.
"Well," Fred started, raising his glass and picking up the room's attention. "When Amber here caught the snitch, I thought 'This girl deserves some kind of award!', because, come on, she almost broke my Uncle Harry's record! But then again, since we're talking about Harry Potter, who better than his own son to give it to her?"
Rose almost spilled her drink as she laughed hard along with the rest of the audience. Albus and Amber matched red faces and it was as funny as it was cute. Lily looked so happy it was almost as though she was the one dating. Hugo's right, she's really crazy about this coupling stuff, Rose thought with amusement.
"Not only that!" Scorpius added from his seat, one he shared with Carrie Douglas. Rose gritted her teeth and used her emptying glass as an excuse to look away, filling it up once again with the cocktail Roxanne concocted. "He's also honouring his last name by dating one hell of a Quidditch player!"
A roar of applause blasted out from all over the common room. Amber burst into laughter and thanked Scorpius with an overjoyed smile. Albus rolled his eyes but didn't reply, one arm over his girlfriend's shoulder. He was never one for speeches, and everyone in the room was aware of that – besides, he looked way too ecstatic to care about being teased –, so quickly the attention shifted to other events.
"Phil's here," Faith announced quietly, and Rose felt that well known guilt fill up her throat as she looked at the portrait hole and spotted Phil, Jasmine and Keith Jones coming inside – at that moment, almost all the Ravenclaw team was at the party. "Wanna go there?"
Rose used all of her willpower to keep a straight face. Faith only had that hopeful, dreamy tone in her voice when she talked about Phil. How could she ever spoil everything for her by telling the truth?
"No, no, you go. I want to talk to Hugo and Lily," Rose said, hoping her voice hadn't betrayed her. Faith didn't seem to notice anything, however, as she quickly got up and walked to Phil.
Sighing, Rose looked down at her glass. Now she was officially alone: every one of her best friends was with someone they liked while she was there, wishing her life wasn't so hard. She couldn't even look the general direction where Scorpius was embraced with Carrie – the mere thought of it hurt too much. Before her loneliness could be detected by any of her friends or family members, she finally got up and walked to where Lily and Hugo were talking animatedly.
"Oh, hey, Rosie," Hugo greeted her as she sat beside him.
"Rose! To what do we owe this honour?" Lily asked, although she didn't look surprised.
"I got kind of dumped by my best friends, as you can notice," Rose said with a shrug, trying not to look so depressed.
"Aren't you happy for Albus and Amber?" Lily inquired innocently, and Rose should have realised nothing was ever really innocent about her cousin before replying.
"Of course I am! I even helped him with it. I'm really proud of him," she answered truthfully, smiling at the couple in question, who sat not so far from them.
"So," Lily begun, and by the look on Hugo's face Rose could have guessed she was in deep water, had she paid enough attention. "If you're so clearly happy about Al, I reckon the problem is Scorpius?"
Rose turned to face Lily with shock on her face. She had been caught off guard, and her face all but blurted it out for her.
"I-I didn't say that!" she yelped with wide eyes, but Lily was already throwing her hands in the air in some victory dance. Oh, God. I've just brought an early Christmas to her, Rose thought, staring at the dancing face of her impending doom.
"I knew it!" she said, feeling rather pleased with herself. Rose groaned and closed her eyes in defeat.
"Alright, Lils, don't tell a soul about this!" she pleaded desperately. I really suck at being inconspicuous, don't I?
"What about your brother? Won't you ask him to be quiet too?" Lily wanted to know, sounding hurt by the veiled accusation.
"He already knew."
"HE ALREADY WHAT?" Lily bellowed in outrage.
"Lily, be quiet, please," Rose muttered nervously, but everyone seemed too caught up on their own celebrations to care. Lily was still very much wounded by the turn of events.
"You betrayed me, Hugo! I can't believe this!" she complained with a flustered expression.
"Oh, come on, Lils. You know Rose would have killed me. Besides, it's not like you didn't pretty much know already," Hugo tried to reason with his cousin, despite of the fact that he did look a bit guilty.
"I actually threatened to hex him, so cut him some slack," Rose intervened, a little amused by all that drama.
"Ugh, okay, I'll let it pass, only because I'm so happy to be right!" Lily announced, suddenly chipper again, as if she had never felt differently.
"You're the only one, then. I'm pretty much screwed," Rose muttered sadly, taking a sip of her drink.
"Alright, sorry, that was a tad out of place," Lily said, sobering up. "But don't you think you should, I don't know, focus on something else? Maybe someone else?"
"Hugo suggested that. Nice job with him, by the way, I'm impressed," Rose commented, giving her cousin a thumbs up. Lily smirked at a bothered Hugo, looking smug. "Anyway, I thought about it, but I don't want to lead anybody on."
Lily frowned at that statement and laughed.
"But you won't be leading anybody on! You're not proposing marriage, Rose; we're talking about going out, no strings attached!" she explained patiently, and Rose felt slightly annoyed by her condescending tone. Dating tips with your cousin who's two years younger than you. Just when you thought you'd reached the bottom, Weasley, you just keep going under. "Also, I'm not saying you should forget him completely, because I reckon you guys will be together in the end."
Rose tried to see life as simply as Lily saw it, but then she glanced at Scorpius snogging Carrie and everything went back to blue. There was no way she would ever have any chance with him. But I guess I could use a bit of Lily's determination, she thought, throwing away caution and deliberately taking the bait. If she was going to do something about it, it might as well be something that counts.
"I highly doubt that second part, but okay," she said grimly, and Lily rolled her eyes. "But as for the first part, do I snap my fingers and it happens or is it more complex than that?" her question was obviously ironical, but she raised an eyebrow at her cousin for good measure.
"Oh, Rosie. You've come to the right person," Lily answered with a mysterious smile. Hugo looked torn between groaning and smirking; he apparently knew that smile very well. "I'll handle it, don't you worry. You just wait for it."
Rose never thought she would be so scared at that tiny, cute, redheaded girl.
"Damn, this sun is killing me," Faith complained, turning her broom away from the dusk sunlight a few days later. "Are you trying to blind us, Lou?"
Louis simply laughed and tossed the quaffle to his fellow chaser.
"Oh, come on, it's almost night already. Stop complaining and try some shots at Jasmine. We need to be on top of our game 'cause Slytherin won't cut us any slack. Those girls Zabini selected are way too quick," he responded with concern, and Rose nodded. She had watched the first Slytherin practice of the year and it impressed her how much in sync the team seemed to be. If Ravenclaw wanted any chance at all to win the Cup, they had to stop them next week. And you'll have to block Scorpius out of your mi-
"JAS, WATCH OUT!" Faith screamed and Rose turned around to see the bludger hit the Ravenclaw keeper right on her face. Everybody seemed to freeze on spot, except for Harriet Jordan, who used all her seeker skills to come down like a bullet and grab Jasmine centimetres from the ground. They both rolled on the sand awkwardly, but with relative safety.
"Oh, my God," Rose muttered and got to the ground along with the rest of the team. Harriet got up and steered clear so Louis could examine Jasmine, who was apparently knocked out and bleeding.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Keith exclaimed hopelessly, beating himself with his bat and walking in circles. "I missed the bludger, I fucked up everything!"
"Never mind that, Keith," Louis answered apprehensively, checking the girl's pulse and performing a spell to clean up the blood from her face. "She's breathing just fine, but her nose is broken and she passed out. Come here, help me take her to the Hospital Wing. Faith, you find Jasmine's brother. You can ask Andy or Frank to look for him at the Hufflepuff common room, but be discreet. Harriet, you find Roxanne or any of my cousins on Gryffindor, whoever comes first. She'll murder me if I keep this from her," Louis commanded with the solid tranquillity of a Head Boy and both girls left on their brooms without a word. "Rose and Phil, you're the Prefects. Collect the equipment and lock the changing room."
While Rose found her cousin's attitude sensible, she quietly hated it. Phil hadn't talked to her since their argument at the last practice; unless when it was strictly necessary, like on their rounds, and still it had been uncomfortably formal. She had wanted to say something, but respected his need for space while guilt over both him and Faith overwhelmed her to insanity.
Louis transfigured a flag into a stretcher and levitated Jasmine onto it. As they left with Keith, Rose dared a look at Phil, but he was distracted watching the bludgers in the air.
"We'll have some trouble here," he remarked and then looked at Rose with an almost smile. "Want to be the beater or the grabber?"
Rose felt a wave of relief wash over her. He was giving her an opening – a small one at that, but she would certainly work with what she had.
"Well, I know my father was indeed an excellent keeper, but I reckon I'll just end up with broken teeth or something. So beater it is," she said, grabbing Keith's discarded bat and soaring up immediately.
It took her some time to actually beat the bludgers to the ground, and it was almost completely dark when the both of them entered the changing room to store the balls and bats. The mood between them improved greatly thanks to her poor beater skills, and for the first time Rose was glad for sucking at something: Phil laughed so hard he actually cried.
The laughter subdued as Rose sat down while Phil placed the equipment chest where it belonged.
"You know, Rose," Phil started almost conversationally, but there was a hint of hesitancy in his tone. Rose bit her lip and held her breath; she wasn't sure whether she was ready for that talk. "I reckon I need to apologise for what I said to you the other day."
"Phil, there's nothing to apologise for," Rose replied, shaking her head with a troubled look.
"Of course there is. It's not your fault that you don't fancy me, or that you fancy Malfoy," he stated, sitting in front of Rose. "I was a jerk, and I'm sorry."
"It's nobody's fault, really. But I'm sorry too," Rose said with a gentle smile. If only there was a way I could turn your feelings for me into feelings for Faith, she thought, wishing she could give him a clue about how crazy his best friend was about him.
"Don't worry about it. Also, I reckon I was kind of unfair to Scorpius in all my daft jealousy," Phil admitted, chuckling at his past behaviour. "I mean, you're an amazing girl, and if he's your best mate, he must be a great lad."
Rose gave him a small smile, thinking about Scorpius and his smell and his smile and his arms, filling herself with both happiness and bitterness. Everything she felt about him was so magnified that it was astounding she took so long to notice she fancied him.
"He is. And you're a great lad too, Phil. You'll find someone who deserves you," she answered, glad to finally be able to settle that predicament and hoping with all her will that someone was Faith. Phil sighed and got up.
"I wish it was you, but yeah, I guess a bloke knows when to retreat," he said in a sad smile, taking off his arm guards. "Well, you can get going, I can handle from here. I'll just have a quick shower first."
"Okay, then. See you later," Rose replied, watching Phil enter the bathroom before she got up and reached for the door, feeling lighter than she had been for days.
As she opened it, the weight of the world came crashing down back on her shoulders and all her blood solidified at once, for she faced not only the dark and chilly autumn sky, but also Faith Davies.