It is somewhere in fourth year that Scorpius realises that he's one of the few guys in his dorm who's never even so much as kissed a girl. Except for Tristan, who has a creepy glint in his eyes, all the rest of his dorm mates have dated or at least kissed a girl. Bo Perry has had three girlfriends at this point, a point he likes to make often as he parades each new girl around the dorm and through the halls of Hogwarts for everyone else to see.
But Scorpius has made no effort to entice - or at least be enticing to - the opposite sex. Certainly there is no shortage of girls who are more than willing to look past his surname and straight on to his family's money, his position to inherit, and his apparent good looks - or at least, what Albus and Reece swear are an appealing amalgamations of features enough to make even the most ardent anti-Pureblood swoon just a bit.
Which is how, on a rainy day in April just after Charms class, he finds himself turning to the nearest person to him and asking, "Would you kiss me?"
Rose Weasley, just as much an innocent as he, blanches and stammers out a dozen reasons why she shouldn't just kiss him right there in the hallway, looking for all intents and purposes as though he has just asked her to kill someone rather than briefly make physical contact in a pseudo-romantic gesture that he only wanted to enact in able to ensure to himself that he was, in fact, normal.
Because this is what normal is, right? Wanting to kiss one of your best friends? Wanting to be able to swagger into the dorms and crow about his own sexual proclivities with the girls of the school? Or, at least, a girl. More specifically, one who won't try to use this for herself, who is expecting nothing more out of it.
"Would you kiss me?" he asks again with slightly more confidence, hoping that he doesn't wobble, that his voice doesn't tremble and betray the fact that he is terrified of the notion of ducking down to kiss Rose Weasley.
"I…" She trails off, wringing her hands in near terror, struggling to grapple with her own feelings, her own insecurities. Scorpius wishes he could read her mind to understand if her hesitation is out of disgust, but then immediately unwishes this, not wanting to actually know the truth if it was something so ugly and raw.
In the next second, she grabs the back of his head and smashes their faces together in a fit of panic; and Scorpius...well, he feels nothing at all. There are no sparks, no instantaneous connection, no sense of finally finding himself in Rose Weasley. There is only the realisation that they are very close and then - humiliation at this lack of response on both their parts as they pull away, both blushing.
"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me after Easter hols?" she begs of him. "As - as a date, I mean? Would...you like to date?"
He says yes because he has no idea what else to say and because he hopes that maybe their non-connection can be remedied and corrected. After all, his parents had not loved each other when they first met. Scorpius can make himself fall in love with Rose Weasley if he only tries hard enough.
So he tries harder.