One of the Guys
Chapter Seven: Promise Me
Finally. It's the weekend. I'm so ready to put my books aside and just chill out for a couple days. Don't get me wrong. I love schoolwork as much as the next nerdy student, but my brain is crying for a break.
I wander down to the Great Hall for some breakfast. I see Nicholas and the rest of the Gryffindor Quiddich team at one end of the table. Wanting to avoid more buggering from the aforementioned boy, I try to remain unnoticed. That, however, is around the time that Albus, my most favorite-est cousin ever, decides it would be a great idea to wave and yell my name for all to hear. It's a matter of seconds before Nicholas zeroes in on me. "Come sit with us!"
Under the pressure, I fold. I can't come up with an excuse not to sit with them. I should have known that they'd all be down here, setting this trap for me. Or, I suppose, just eating breakfast.
I sit with Lily on my one side. Chas, who looks extremely nervous, sits on the other. "You'll be fine," I whisper into his ear.
"You'll be there today, right? We start tryouts at nine," Nicholas begins pestering me already.
"If I do go, it'll be for moral support and nothing more, but don't count on me being there. I have a lot of work to do today" I declare, taking a bite out of an apple. It's a lie, but whatever.
Fifteen minutes later, however…
Against my better judgment, I head down to the Quiddich pitch.
You know what? Let me rephrase that. Against my will, I'm dragged down to the Quiddich pitch, all the while insisting that I am merely going to watch.
We arrive just as the Slytherins are finishing their tryouts. I watch Scorpius make an amazing save and I hear cheering come from the stands. I look up to see Bell standing on her seat waving her arms in the air. Scorpius laughs and waves at her.
How cute.
I walk up to Nicholas. "So what are we looking at?" I point toward the cluster of hopeful Gryffindors.
"A bunch of sorry excuses for human be- Oh. Oops. I mean…" he fakes a nervous laugh and I can't help but giggle. "Well, according to the rules, I have to make everybody try out, including everyone who played last year, but obviously I'm going to keep my old team, other than that we'll probably end up picking up Chas."
"Wait a minute. Don't you have two open spots?" My eyes narrow suspiciously.
"Not that I'm aware of," he does his best to avoid eye contact with me.
"You need another Chaser, Nicholas."
"We'll see."
"I already told you, I'm not going to try out."
"We'll see."
"You're such a stubborn ass," I begin walking away.
"You're probably right," he concedes.
I make my way over to the stands and sit next to Bell. She starts telling me about what she's seen the Slytherins do so far and makes her guesses as to who will actually be chosen.
I let her finish, and find that I can't help myself. "So, how are things with you and Scorpius?"
"Great," she beams. "He's wonderful. Who knew? I always assumed he would be a jerk because he's in Slytherin, but he's one of the sweetest guys I've met."
"Yeah, he's alright, I guess," shrug, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Bell smiles.
"Right. Of course you know how great he is. I can't believe you never snatched him up," she laughs, trying to cover up her uneasiness.
I can't believe it either, nor can I come up with anything to say to convince her that I don't intend to try and 'snatch him up.' Or maybe I just don't want to convince her…
The Slytherins finish and the Gryffindors get ready to take to the air. I watch Scorpius fly around the pitch. He's just showing off now, but I can't help admiring how skillfully he flies.
"…And we were talking about going to visit my family in Scotland during the winter holiday," I'm vaguely aware that Bell had been talking, but that sentence makes me snap to attention.
"You're going to Scotland?"
"Well, we haven't made any definite plans yet, but Scorpius seems interested in going with me. I think that would be fun for the two of us. And then he could meet my family. Not that we're very serious yet, but it would still be nice for my parents to meet my boyfriend," she continues but I stop listening.
They're talking about going to Scotland this winter holiday? I can't believe it.
For the past four years, Scorpius and I have been talking about our plans for our seventh year. Like I've said before, our families are not exactly friends. My mother seems as if she's cool about the situation but my father is very wary of our friendship. According to Scorpius, his parents feel the same as my father.
With all of that being said, Scorpius and I have been talking for years about taking our very last winter holiday to visit each other's families. I wonder if maybe he's forgotten.
I take a deep breath and remind myself, whatever makes him happy. I will support anything Scorpius does so long as it makes him happy.
"Are you staying to watch?" I need a change of subject.
"We might stay and watch for a while."
Sure enough, Bell sits with me for a few more minutes and then Scorpius joins us.
"Hey ladies," he says to the both of us. Bell hops up, wraps her arms around him, and plants a kiss on his cheek. I turn my head, suddenly overcome by a small coughing fit. Scorpius proceeds to tell us who all was chosen for which position. Meanwhile, I'm watching the Gryffindor players fly around the field.
Everyone who was on the team last year flies beautifully. Chas looks a little awkward, but he is doing a lot better than the others trying out as Beater. I don't even want to talk about the students that are looking to become a Chaser.
Oddly enough, I find myself missing the feeling of the wind whipping my hair against my face as I dive after the quaffle. I used to hate that. My face would always be wind-burnt and I would complain about my hair stinging my eyes. The boys just didn't understand.
"Why don't you get out there and show them how it's done?" Scorpius suggests.
"What? No. I really don't feel like playing this year. Besides, they aren't doing too horribly," I lie.
"You don't feel like it, eh? My mistake. I thought maybe that's why you're fidgeting in your seat so badly."
I sit on my hands. He can see right through me.
"Come on, Rose. You know that you want to," his grey eyes bore into mine. "It's our last year for this. You'll regret it if you don't."
"I don't know," I begin.
"Rose, you'll have plenty of time to keep up with schoolwork. Don't worry about that. And you need something other than studying or else you'll go mad," he echoes what Nicholas had already told me.
Bell sits back silently and watches the exchange between the two of us. I wonder if she feels out of place. Scorpius and I haven't ever really needed very many words to express things to each other. We just… know. Like he knows exactly why I'm worried about playing Quiddich. (Granted, most people already knew that, but that's just one example.) Not only that, but he also knows the things that could make me want to play.
After a minute of silence, he holds his broomstick out to me. I grab the wooden handle and I can remember the first time I flew. I was about eight years old when my Aunt Ginny started teaching me to play Quiddich telling me that I needed to practice secretly so that I could surprise all the boys later. And, let me tell you, I sure did surprise them. I do believe that that was the first time I ever heard my Uncle Percy curse.
"You love flying," Scorpius says. A smirk tugs at his lips. "You didn't forget how to fly, did you? I swear, Rose, you're such an airhead sometimes," he teases.
I stand up and put my hand on my hip, acting as if I were insulted by his jest. I cannot, however, keep myself from smiling. In a few seconds, I'm in the air sailing toward Nicholas. He looks as if he expected me to do this the entire time. Well, he could at least have the decency to act shocked, surprised, relieved, or something of that nature.
"Hi," I say, flying up to him. "My name is Rose Weasley, I'm in my seventh year, and I'm here to try out for the Gryffindor Quiddich team."
Nicholas plays along. "Tryouts started at nine. It is now," he looks at his bare wrist, "well, it's after nine. I'll tell you what, though. I think you're kind of cute. I guess I can make an exception for you."
I bat my eyelashes and blow him a kiss as I fly away to join the rest of the students. I haven't played Quiddich in a while, but everything still comes naturally.
When we finally finish and land, Nicholas runs over to me and pulls me into a hug. He swings me around a couple times. "I knew you wouldn't let us down," he says.
"Does this mean I made the team?" I say in a voice that sounds just a little too excited.
Then he turns to the rest of the students. "Oh yeah," he says and starts naming off player and positions. "And, finally, Hugo and Chas are Beaters. As for the rest of you, I'm sorry. Better luck next year."
Looking toward the stands, I see that Scorpius has a smug look on his face that says 'I told you so.' It's then that I hear someone call my name from the opposite direction. I see Austin, running toward us.
"I didn't think you were going to try out this year," he says when he finally reaches me.
"I didn't think I was going to, either," I admit.
"Well, whatever made you change your mind, I'm glad," he extends his hand and I grasp it in a handshake. "I'm looking forward to playing against you this year."
"Ditto," I offer a smile. He holds my hand and my gaze a little too long. Or maybe it's me.
"Austin," Nicholas comes over.
"Nicholas. Looks like you might actually have a decent team this year."
And so the friendly rivalry commences.
I take the opportunity to head toward Scorpius. "Thank you," I hand his broom back to him.
"Any time, kid. You looked great out there."
"You sure did, much better than the rest of those-" Bell continues to talk. And talk. And gesticulate, and talk. It occurs to me that I've never heard her say this much before. Nor have I seen her this happy in a long while.
I'm sure Scorpius is the reason, and I feel a pang of guilt. Why guilt? Because I would like nothing more than to see the two of them split up.
She keeps talking but I pay her no mind. I can't stop staring at Scorpius, who can't stop staring at her.
I want him to look at me that way.
"I think she gets it," Scorpius says when Bell stops to take a breath.
"Right. Anyway, we'll see you later, okay?" She pulls his hand and starts leading him away.
"Hey," Scorpius says over his shoulder. "I won't be able to study with you this weekend. I'm going to be busy."
I don't know how, but I manage a smile. I'd been wondering how long it was going to take before he started blowing me off to hang out with her. Inevitably, it always happens when one of us starts dating someone new. Nothing changes for the first month or so, and then, suddenly, it's like we aren't even attending the same school anymore, we rarely see each other. Then, fortunately, things level out again after a while. I just don't want to think about how long this while is going to last.
I end up walking back to the castle with Nicholas. He won't shut up about how we're going to 'dominate' this year, and 'crush all the competition' because they don't have a 'monkey's chance in the Sahara' of beating us. Hey, don't ask me. His words, not mine.
"And you say I'm a strange one," I mutter under my breath.
Nicholas laughs and puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him. "I'm so glad you changed your mind."
"Yeah, yeah. I know, because we're going to 'make them wish they were muggles' when we're through with them," again, that was all his doing.
"Oh. Well, there's that, but I actually meant that I'm glad that we're going to get to spend more time together," he stops to look at me before opening the door. "I told you, I really like spending time with you. And, if I can only spend time with you at Quiddich practice, seeing as you're addicted to studying and I'm allergic to it, I'll take what I can get."
Oh no, I think to myself, I thought we'd settled this. Oh well. It's only Quiddich practice. He can't possibly expect that to count as a date.
XXXX
The weeks go by, and I can barely tell one day from the next. In Austin, I've found a very motivated study buddy. We get together a few times a week to do our schoolwork, and nothing else. It's relaxing not to feel the sexual tension that I can't deny existed previously between the two of us. Right now, it's all business. And we're both okay with that.
Nicholas, on the other hand, seems to think that I'm playing hard to get. I see him when we play Quiddich, of course. (By the by, we won our first match against Hufflepuff!) I'm trying my best to act casual as possible about the whole thing. I did finally cave a little last weekend, and I went with him to the bookstore again. We had lunch afterward. It wasn't a big deal, to me, anyway. I do not know what is in that boy's head.
It's getting closer to the winter holiday and I haven't talked to Scorpius outside of class. Even in class, we don't discuss much other than the material. He did tell me about Bell's invitation to Scotland. I had expressed to him that it sounded like a great idea, it would be so much fun to travel. Now he's decided that he will go. I try not to let it hurt me that he's forgotten our plans to meet each other's families.
Austin and I are in the library (surprise!) one night, studying (even bigger surprise!) when I happen to look around the room and spot Scorpius and Bell bent over their textbooks.
This not talking, not spending time together thing is really getting to me. I miss him. Whether or not I have a crush on him would not change that fact. We've been friends for so long. Our friendship has survived through a lot of things (family differences, boyfriends, girlfriends, embarrassing moments, attacking squids, strange phobias, inability to whistle, inability to teach someone how to whistle, good times, bad times, you name it, and it's probably happened to us) that not many others can boast. That has to count for something.
I think back to a conversation we had not too long ago.
I'm terrible about keeping in touch with people when I don't see them. I rarely keep in contact with people over the summers, and then there are my friends that have already left Hogwarts. I rarely talk to them anymore.
I know what you mean. I'm like that too when it comes to keeping in touch with others. I can't seem to do it. So then, we'll probably never talk to each other again after we leave Hogwarts.
I guess so.
I had said that, but it hurt so badly even to imagine when that time would come.
That's when I realize something. I could just sit back and watch as months go by before I get to spend time with Scorpius. I could just sit back, pouting, until he realizes 'Oh, shoot, I've been taking my best friend for granted.' I could wait.
Or I could do something about it right now.
Not sure of how to go about this, I excuse myself and make my way toward their table. "Hi," I greet them both then turn to Scorpius. "Austin and I have a question about Transfiguration. Could you help?" Transfiguration is a sort of code word used between Scorpius and I. Anytime that I ask for help in that subject it means that I actually have something I need to talk about.
"Sure, what about?"
I make up something that does not exist, and yet is mundane enough that Bell won't get curious about it.
Scorpius thinks for a moment. "You know, I really have no clue about that."
Are you kidding me? Don't tell me he's forgotten. Granted, we haven't used these tactics in a long while, but I still expected him to remember.
"But I was also wondering about that recently, too. The professor mentioned it a couple days ago, right?" Scorpius gives me a discreet wink.
Oh. I should learn not to jump to conclusions.
"That's right," I play along.
"There's probably a book about it around here. Let's go check it out," he stands up. "I'll be right back, okay?" He tells Bell as he touches her shoulder.
I follow him to the back of the library. "Alright. What's up?" He whispers when he's sure nobody's around.
"This is going to sound really stupid," I begin.
I see the smirk form on his face and wait for the jibe. "Yeah, well I already figured that. You're in the habit of saying some pretty stupid things."
That earns him a light punch on the arm. "You're so mean to me and I don't ever do anything to you. Why I even bother talking to you, I'll never know."
"Rose, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I haven't seen you around lately."
"And so you need to make up for that by being extra snarky?" I jokingly accuse.
"Snarky?"
"It's a word," I argue defensively. "Anyway, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."
"About my snarky-ness?"
"No, about not seeing you lately," I start slowly. "It's kind of bumming me out lately. I respect that you have a girlfriend and that you spend time with her. That does not bother me at all, but I was just thinking. This is our last year at Hogwarts, and I remembered something we'd talked about a few weeks ago. It went something like we'll never talk to each other again when we leave here. Well, frankly speaking, I don't want that to happen. I'm totally cool with you hanging out with Bell while we're here, I actually expect that, but," I reach out and place my hand on his forearm. "Please don't forget about me. I don't want to stop talking to you after we finish school here-"
Scorpius doesn't let me finish. "Good," he nods vehemently. "Good. I agree. And I know that I've been with Bell a lot lately, but-"
"You don't have to justify anything. I'm not going to tell you not to hang out with your girlfriend. If I didn't do that when you were dating Rachel, I'm definitely not going to do it when you're dating a sweetheart like Bell," I assure him. It's the truth. Damn that girl! Why does she have to be so sweet?
This makes him laugh. "That's true. Anyway, I don't want to stop talking to you either, Rose," he looks away for a moment. "Honestly, I was really upset the other day when you said that about probably not talking to me again. I was thinking 'Wow, that's messed up,'" his eyes find mine again. He speaks slowly, as if he's choosing his words carefully. "You're my best friend, Rose. I'd be really sad if we didn't keep in touch. Promise me that that won't happen."
He has no idea how happy his words just made me.
I give him a hug and sigh. "I promise."
"Good. And I promise that I won't forget you. Realistically, though," I feel his body move with a chuckle and I can't wait to hear what he has to say. "Who could possibly forget you? You're pretty much one of kind, what with your random oddities, general loudness, and not to mention how snarky you are."
I pull away from him and put my hands on my hips. "You're really not very good at context clues, are you? Go and misuse a word that I only just taught you," I cluck my tongue disapprovingly.
"Wait a minute," he begins.
"I'm not snarky at all. I'm the most pleasant girl you'll ever meet. I'm not critical or snide or anything."
"That's absolutely right, Rose," he pats my head in a placating manner. "You just go ahead and keep thinking that. Live in your fantasy world, I won't judge you."
Satisfied with our conversation, Scorpius and I go our separate ways. Even as I sit down next to Austin, I can still hear Bell.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Nope. I don't even think it exists. I bet our professor was just talking out of his arse again," Scorpius answers. I smile to myself. I love that boy.
XXXX
Thanks for reviewing! Lupin4Tonks, (I'm glad you're a fan of my writing style. It was something new I wanted to try, and I wasn't too sure about it at first, but now I think it's great. As for Rose's confession… we'll see, lol.) PadfootPatronus, (Dude, I know that you want Scorpius to be more prominent, and I'm doing what I can for that. I hope you liked what I did in this chapter. As for the love square, oh, there's still that possibility. Silly Nicholas. By the by, I don't consider anything in your review 'mindless waffle' I really enjoy long reviews. Makes me feel like you're really enthusiastic, and I get to know a bit more about how you're feeling about the fic. I love long reviews, mindless waffle or no.) princecharmprincesswit, (It's you again! Thanks for sticking with my story. I'm glad that my fic has inspired you to search for more Rose/Scorpius. I put in a bit more humor where I could manage, by the way. I hope that you approve!) trobairiz, (As always, thanks for the review. P.S. I can't wait to see what happens either, lol. These characters are starting to get minds of their own.) HarmonieFan, (Patience, grasshopper.) iluvtheoc3000, (Your reviews all made me smile. I'm glad that you liked how I described their relationship. It was pretty easy to do, if you want to know, on account of I have a friendship like that. He's pretty much the inspiration for this story, lol.) Missdagane, (Oh yes, things are going to be very interesting. Hold on tight!) Kelsey, (Yeah. I totally agree about the freedom of having new characters. They are who I want them to be. I'm really glad that you like my story.) and Michelle Felton, (Thank you so very much!)
