A/N: Next chapter's here. Four more to go. Hope you're enjoying it! ^_^

~Star

XXXX

Rose's POV

Three days later

This would never work. Never in a million, billion years would this work out well.

She had to get rid of him. Somehow. That was the only option, because if things continued like this, she would be lost.

Since he had brought in muffins for her, Scorpius had been the picture of chivalry. Each day since he'd done something else for her. Handled the transfiguration aspects of their field assignment without being asked, offered to write up the report all by himself, given her the afternoon off the next day, and brought in coffee for her yesterday morning.

He was so sweet, so courteous, that Rose found her resolve slipping. She knew she still fancied him just as much as ever, and she knew it was still a bad idea to even imagine them together, but she couldn't help it.

How could she not think of every day being just as filled with Scorpius as they already were? How could she help but imagine a life with him if he insisted on being so bloody nice to her all the time? And yet she knew, she knew it was still a bad idea. All her time wishing and hoping over him had taught her one thing: dreams never turned into reality.

You'll just have to get over him, she told herself. This will never work out like you want it to, he's proven that a thousand times before, and you just need to accept it. Get rid of him.

But it was hard.

She constantly found herself smiling in response to his grins, laughing at his witty comments, teasing him when they talked. She was being open, no, friendly with him, and that was more dangerous than anything he could do.

If they were friends, they could be together. If they were friends, it would hurt all the more when he rejected her, again, as she knew he always would.

But what could she do? She'd already tried to get transferred to someone else, and there was no way that she would give up this job after all the work she put into it.

She was stuck. And worse than that: she was happy about it.

XXXX

Scorpius's POV

Several weeks later

He could hardly contain his glee. It was working.

Over the past weeks he'd taken the utmost care to be nice to Rose, in every way he could think of. He wanted to show her, unequivocally, that he was not the same boy as he used to be. He could be responsible and caring and thoughtful and funny, someone who she could really be friends with.

And it was really, actually working.

Scorpius could have laughed with relief after all the time he'd spent worrying about it not working. They were really becoming friends now! No longer was Rose cold and distant, now she smiled when she saw him, made time to ask him about his life, shared anecdotes from hers. She paid attention to what he was doing, and kept him informed with her work too.

She was just as intelligent and interesting, funny and clever as he'd always known she would be. He only wished (for the thousandth time) that he hadn't been such a prick in school, or they might have had this camaraderie the whole time.

Now for the real test, though. She liked him well enough to actually interact with him at work now, felt fine with accepting coffee from him every morning, but would she agree to meet him outside of work?

He took a deep breath, and walked into their office, smiling. "Good morning, Rose!"

"Oh! Good morning, Scorpius. Why are you here so early?" Rose looked up from her desk, startled.

Scorpius shrugged. "Just woke up a bit earlier today, I guess." In truth, he was uncommonly nervous about asking Rose to join him for breakfast the next morning, and could hardly sleep for thinking about it. "Coffee?"

She took the proffered cup with a smile. "Thanks."

"So, uh…how come you always get here so early?" He sat awkwardly on the edge of her desk, looking down at her.

She shrugged. "I've always been a morning person, and, I dunno. There's something so calm, so peaceful about the office with almost no one in."

He looked through their window at the empty hallway, noting how much more quiet it seemed without the other rooms occupied. "Well…since you always get here so much before you have to…" He took a deep breath. "Um…maybe tomorrow you could come in at the regular time?"

She looked at him quizzically.

He cursed himself internally. Why was he so bloody nervous? It's not like he was asking her on a date, and even if he was, it should be easier than this! "What I mean is, um, maybe you could come out to breakfast with me tomorrow morning instead of coming in early to work?"

There. He'd done it.

Looking down, he saw an emotion pass through her face that he couldn't quite catch. How he wished he knew what she was thinking.

XXXX

Rose was worried she was going to expire on the spot.

She'd just been berating herself again, this time for how she was admiring the shape of his nose instead of paying attention to what he was saying when he shocked her out of her reverie.

"What I mean is, um, maybe you could come out to breakfast with me tomorrow morning instead of coming in early to work?" he said, looking into her eyes and causing her heartbeat to go through the roof.

No. No. He couldn't seriously be asking her out, could he? Was this really happening?

Stop hyperventilating, dork, Rose told herself. Be cool. Be suave, be classy, and for the sake of Merlin's beard, don't stop breathing entirely!

"Oh. I mean, yeah, sure, I guess I could do that," she said, trying her absolute hardest to sound as cavalier as possible and praying that he couldn't see how excited she was.

"Okay," he replied with a relieved smile. "Okay. So, what shall we say, seven tomorrow? I've been getting coffee every morning at this little place called the Firefly Café, or we could—"

"No, no! Coffee sounds fine!" Rose replied hurriedly, not wanting him to have to go out of his way for her. "I mean, since you stop by there anyways, I'll just come with."

"Great!" He sounded pleased. "So we'll plan on that for tomorrow, then."

Rose could hardly keep from squealing in glee. She was really going on a date with Scorpius!