Disclaimer: HP not mine.. :(
AN - I am so sorry for the long wait! thank you so much if you are still reading this! I probably don't deserve it.

Rose avoiding Scorpius lasted about two days after he was out of the hospital wing. He had been trying to get her alone for those two days. While he had been in the hospital wing, he had gotten people to send her notes and such practically begging her to come and visit him. Rose had ignored all his notes and had brushed him off as best as she could in the hallways. But Scorpius was persistent, and Rose couldn't avoid him forever.

She was walking from the library back to her dormitory on the second night when he spotted her. It was the first time she had been out of her common room without someone by her side, and she cursed herself for the slip up as soon as she saw Scorpius.

"Rose," he called out, stepping forward and taking her hand in his, "We need to talk."

"No, Scorpius, we don't need to talk," but she didn't pull her hand away.

"Well, we either need to talk or snog, and I had a feeling that you wouldn't be happy if I just came up and started snogging you," he grinned, but after several seconds, the grin slid off his face, and he became somber, "Rose, we do need to talk. I can't just go around pretending I don't like you. I need you."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at the last statement, "You, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, need me? Yah right." She turned to walk away, but Scorpius still held her hand, "Look, Scorpius, this isn't going to work. Even if I believed that you actually 'need' me, which I don't, there's still all my relatives. Unless you hadn't noticed, they don't really like you."

Scorpius couldn't grin, despite her sarcastic tone. She was serious about that, her family was serious about hating him. He couldn't exactly laugh off the idea of being tortured or attacked by members of her family who seemed to think that he was only playing with her.

"I don't know how to prove that I want to be with you anymore than I already have. Should I take a bullet for you? Fail my classes for you? Get expelled for you? Do some huge prank in your honour? Really. I don't know what you want me to do. And as for your family, if you wanted me, they wouldn't stand in your way."

Scorpius realized too late that wasn't the smartest thing to say. It seemed rather obvious that Rose wasn't willing to go against her family for him, not if she had been trying to avoid him ever since that day in the hospital wing. Speaking of which, he could still remember every moment of that, despite his brain being fuzzed by potion. His mind was replaying the memory when Rose spoke.

"I can't believe that you want me because of my cousins. First off, they hinted that maybe you were just doing this to me to get to them. Secondly, why would you even bother trying at me if you knew they wouldn't approve. I'm hardly worth all the hassle." Rose tried to pull away again, and Scorpius, shocked, let her slip away. She was around the corner when he caught up to her.

"Rose. Wait up, you idiot!"

Rose scoffed as he grabbed her waist and spun her around, "Thanks, dingbat. You really know how to get a girl, don't you. Call her an idiot, and manhandle her." Rose yanked away from him, not wanting to face the fact that just hearing him call her name sent shivers down her spine.

"You don't get it!" Scorpius burst out, "That's why you're an idiot. You don't get it. You don't get how beautiful you are, or how intelligent, or how funny, or how brave, or how endearing you are. And it nearly kills me to see you walk around not knowing that. Why would I go through all this if I didn't think those things? You're right. I wouldn't. But you're amazing in every way, and I would do anything for you."

Rose stood dumbstruck, eyebrows arched, mouth slightly parted in preparation to speak. But words had died in her throat. She swallowed slowly, trying to think of something to say, anything at all, so that she didn't stand here looking like an idiot. Only one word came to mind though.

"Sc – Scorpius." it came out in a bit of a moan. She could say anything else, couldn't move except to stand and stare at the man who had just called her beautiful.

He stepped forward, cautiously. Slowly he raised a hand to her cheek, stroking it softly. He looked afraid, as though he was worried that she would pull away. But his touch spurred Rose into movement. She took a tiny step forward, so that her toes were touching his.

He stopped stroking her cheek and cupped her face in his hand. Rose leaned into his hand, her lips still slightly open from shock. Tentatively she brought one of her hands to his chest. He sighed and she felt his warm breath fan over her face. She realized that Scorpius expected her to push him away, and moved her hand so up and behind his neck.

Slowly, they leaned in, as though it was their first kiss. Their faces were millimeter apart, but their eyes were still open. Rose blinked once, almost as if to say that she was ready. Then She closed her eyes, Scorpius smiled once before closing his own eyes and bridging the gap.

The kiss was slow, careful. It started off as a peck, but soon after, Rose slipped her tongue out. Scorpius moaned softly into her mouth, his other hand moving to her lower back, and pulling her forward gently. Rose's other hand moved to the back of his head, pulling it down slightly.

They were standing in the middle of the hallway, sharing a deep, passionate, heartfelt kiss. And they both meant it. It wasn't something in the heat of the moment. It was a choice, b both of them.

And then a cough came, and they pulled away. Rose looked around and saw Albus. She gulped, stepping out of Scorpius' embrace.

"Albus, I can...explain." she didn't feel like that was the right word, but what else could she say? Albus looked strangely calm, but Rose could see the tightness in his jaw. She took a deep breath, waiting for the explosion.

"Rose," his voice calm out steely, as though he was forcing himself not to yell, "You have a choice to make. Between him, and me. Me and our family. I don't really think that anyone will appreciate a Malfoy in the family."

Rose had begun walking towards him as he spoke. But when he finished, she stopped, halfway between the two boys. They were day and night. One dark haired, tan and lean, but small. The other, blond hair, pale skin, tall and buff. Rose looked from one to the other. How was she supposed to choose between this boy who saw her as amazing, this boy who she couldn't resist even when she tried, this boy she had just made the choice to be with. How could she choose between him and her entire family.

Rose was shaking now. She took a step back, away from both of them. She didn't want to choose. Didn't think she should have to. But somewhere inside, she knew that a decision would have to be made.

But not now, not when she was 16, not in school, not when she had just had the best kiss of her life. Not when she hadn't seen her mother or father in months. She turned and ran, ripping open a tapestry and into the corridor behind it. She didn't stop running until she had reached the gryffindor common room, until she was curled up in a ball in her bed, far away from both boys.

AN - There you have it...Rose is gonna have to choose. I hope her relationship with Scorpius is good enough to make it convincing that she can't decide. Let me know if it isn't and I'll try and figure something out!

Once again, sorry for the late update! If you read this and are still sticking with me, thank you so much! I probably don't deserve to be spoiled with reviews, but it's worth asking :) please?

Reviews do help me update sooner, despite this last long break!