I went in search of Eric after leaving Malfoy back there. I sent Eric a couple of text messages asking where he was but I received no reply. As I walked past the game booths and food stalls, I spotted a head of dark auburn hair peeping from behind the hotdog cart.

I walked up to her from behind and tapped her on the shoulder. "Lily?"

Lily turned around. "Rose!" She said angrily. "Don't say my name out loud! You'll blow my cover."

"What are you even doing, Lils?" I whispered.

"I'm spying on Jacob and Nicole! What does it look like I'm doing?!" She huffed.

I sighed and folded my arms. "And what is that going to get you?"

Lily ignored my question. "Can you believe this?! It's disgusting!" She muttered. "He won her that giant stuffed troll. See that purple thing with the green hair sticking up…worst part is its actually kind of cute! Why does it have to be so bloody cute?!"

"They've been like this since fourth year. I told you they'd eventually get back together," I said. "Just let it go, Lily. Meet boys your own age. You're beautiful and intelligent, I'm sure they'd love to talk to you."

"Whatever," she muttered, still staring at Jacob and Nicole. "I can't wait till we're back at Hogwarts. I'll show her what a real bat-bogey hex looks like! Learned from my mum and she's a master at it I tell you!"

I shook my head and gave up on trying to talk sense into her. "Have you seen Eric anywhere? Is he with James?"

"Eric? Oh yeah, I saw him. He was near the bottle ring game, why?"

I smiled sheepishly. "We're on a date."

Lily's face broke out into a smirk. "Finally!" She said rather dramatically. "I was getting tired of you lot prancing around each other like a pair of stable boys doing the square dance!"

I couldn't help but giggle at the image I got in my head.

"I saw Dominique with him," Lily said.

"Dominique?" I repeated, surprised. "With Eric?"

Lily nodded.

"What's she doing with Eric?" I wondered.

"Dunno. I just saw them chatting," Lily shrugged.

"Merlin," I groaned. "Why does she have to be here?"

Lily snorted.

"I swear if she tries to ruin my night again, I will fight her!" I said.

Lily rolled her eyes at me. "You mean by whining 'stoppp ittt! Stoppp ittt, Dommm'."

I scowled at her and she sniggered.

I stiffened, "I see James and Al gave you the details of that horrid party."

"Yup!" She grinned.

"Why does everyone have such big mouths around here?"I grumbled, "I think I'll go look for Eric now."

"Good luck, Rosie. I'll call you for all the deets," she winked at me and we bade each other goodbye.

I sent Eric another quick message and I was disappointed that I hadn't received any replies to my previous messages, not to mention a little agitated too.

I began my search for him and I walked by the stupid game we'd been playing earlier but he wasn't there anymore. The crowd had grown significantly larger since I'd arrived so searching for him wasn't the easiest task. Walking by the Ferris wheel, I noticed how long the line to go on it had gotten. I wondered if I should just get in line now or wait for it to shorten…I didn't want to go on it alone though.

While searching for Eric, I spotted James, Ben and Fred at one of the picnic tables. I was shocked to find all three boys were holding on to ice cream cones with probably a foot worth of ice cream scoops atop it. I push past the crowd and rushed to them. They waved as they saw me approach.

"What in the world are you three doing?!" I asked.

"Carrying out a bet," said James, as he proudly licked off his top scoop, which was a bright yellow colour.

Ben pointed to a pile of galleons in the center of the table. "Whoever finishes first gets the gold."

"Are you out of your minds?" I asked in disbelief. "You can't possibly finish all this ice cream. You'll get sick!"

"Don't worry. Come sit," Fred said, shifting over. I took a seat across from Ben and stared between Ben and James. James was progressing considerably faster than Ben. I turned to look at Fred's cone and saw he was doing quite well too. Ben looked like he was struggling.

"Ben, I hope you realize it's in Fred and James' blood to pig out like this. There's no way you can beat them. Just give up and spare yourself the stomach ache," I said.

"Nuh uh," Ben replied, determined. "That's 30 galleons there. And ten of them are mine, I'm not giving up, Rosie," he shook his head and continued to lick the top cone.

"I agree with Rose, Ben", James said smirking. "Just give up, me and Fred will split it in two." He turned to Fred, "We'll have a profit of five galleons each, Freddie."

Fred agreed and Ben frowned at the two.

"Want to help me, Rosie?" Ben asked, holding his cone to me.

I snorted, "Sure. I suppose you could use all the hel—don't tilt it like that! You'll drop the top scoop on the table!"

"That's immediate disqualification," James said in a matter-of-fact tone.

I took a lick of Ben's top scoop. "Blue raspberry?" I asked.

Ben nodded, "I figured a variety of flavours would help me get through it faster."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Ben's eyes lit up and he started laughing too.

"Where's Eric," I asked. "He's not partaking in this?"

"We asked him but Eric hasn't got the appetite for this sort of stuff," said James. I smiled remembering the barbeque where Eric hadn't had much to eat. "He might be somewhere near the games with Lance."

"We asked him too, but Nancy-boy Lance has got to 'watch the calories'," Fred chimed in.

"How come you're all by yourself?" Ben asked me. "Where's your usual mob of girls?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know," I said. "I suppose I should go look for them."

I got up with the intention of going in search of Eric but as I was about to say goodbye to the boys, we spotted Lance approaching us.

"Speak of the devil," said James.

"Hey, guys, how's the battle of the ice cream going?" Asked Lance.

"It's going…" Ben groaned.

"I can't believe you dolts are actually doing this," Lance shook his head, amused.

"Fuck off," said James.

"Hi, Lance," I greeted.

Lance turned to me and I saw his eyes soften, "Oh hello, Rose. How are you doing?"

I turned red at the memory of Lance seeing me all bruised on tear-faced. He was pitying me; I was sure of it.

"I'm okay, thanks," I mumbled, embarrassed. "Have you seen Eric?"

"Eric? Yeah. He just left, why?"

"What?" I said. "What do you mean left?"

"He went home I think. He said it was boring so he left," Lance shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"N-no reason," I said, looking around. "Just…just thought he'd be part of this bet," I forced a frantic laugh. "Well, I g-guess I'll go look for Emma. See you all later."

I got up and briskly walked off as the stinging tears that I'd been holding back finally flowed. Eric had just up and left without even a word or goodbye. We were supposed to be on a date and he'd just left and hadn't thought to even let me know. I'd been so excited for tonight. I'd dressed to impress him, I'd planned all the things we could do together; I'd been so eager. And here was Eric who didn't give a shit about me or our date. How could he be so lousy?! I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to find some corner where I could be alone as I sobbed. He stood me up. I just couldn't believe it. What if Lance was lying? But why would he? I just couldn't believe Eric would abandon me after he was the one who'd asked me here. I rushed to the parking lot because I wanted to make sure with my own two eyes that he'd really stood me up.

I arrived in the parking lot but I couldn't find Eric's car. The parking lot hadn't been so full when we'd arrived but finding a specific car was next to impossible. I'd forgotten where he'd parked because I'd had so much on my mind when we'd arrived!

All alone in the parking lot, I felt a sudden chill. It was that same one I'd felt at the mall with Ben. Like someone was watching me. I thought I saw a head turn in my peripheral vision and when I looked around, I saw a dark figure standing in between two cars a couple of rows down from me. He was far but he was facing me and standing completely still. Like he was staring. I quickly turned around and rushed back to the carnival. I wiped my tears off my face with my hands and noticed black marks on them. My mascara was a complete mess on my cheeks. I prayed I wouldn't run into any of my friends. Especially Lance or Damien. I didn't want them seeing me as a pathetic, crying loser again.

It was only natural that as usual, my prayers would go completely unanswered because walking with my head down, I bumped into none other than Malfoy.

"Sorry," I quickly said. I didn't know yet that it was him so I tried to walk around the figure while keeping my head down but he grasped onto my shoulders and I looked up.

"Angel, wa—hey, what's wrong?! What happened?!"

"Nothing," I quickly said. I tried to pull free but he held on to me firmly. "Please," I mumbled. "I just want to be alone."

Malfoy ignored me and tightened his grip. "Are you hurt?! Did somebody hurt you?!" He demanded fiercely.

"No!" I said, pulling back. I wasn't comfortable with how tight his grip on my shoulders was.

"Rose, are you lying to me?" He pressed on.

"No!"

Why was he calling me Rose? He never called me by my name!

"Come with me," he growled. He gripped my upper arm and pulled me along to a nearby tree with three huge rocks underneath it. I didn't resist and I wasn't sure why. Perhaps I'd just stopped caring. He motioned for me to sit and I took a seat on one of the rocks. I watched Malfoy put his hand in his pocket and pull out a handkerchief.

He held it out to me and I took it without protest so I could clean my face of black mascara tears.

Malfoy lowered down to his knee and looked at me. Softly, he said. "You want to tell me who I should pulverize for this."

Surprised, I snorted. "No," I said in a small voice.

"Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"Would you like some water?"

I nodded.

"Stay here," he said and I watched him go to a nearby concession stand. Not long after, he returned with a water bottle and popped open the cap before handing it to me. I took a couple of small sips before putting the lid back on to save some for later.

I dusted myself off and stood up. "I'm sorry," I said. "This is embarrassing." I tried not to look at him because he was staring at me with curious eyes. I looked down at my feet and nervously kicked gravel around. "Will you please take me home?" I asked in a small voice.

"You don't want to stay for the rides? Or games or snacks?" Malfoy asked.

"I don't think I'll enjoy much tonight," I sighed.

"Oh, I think with the right company you will," he said. I looked at him and he was looking at me with a light expression on his face. "I can certainly take you home but it won't stop you from being miserable. At least here you might find yourself having fun."

I didn't respond. I really didn't want to stay.

"How about you give me one hour to change your mind?"

I sniffled and let out a small, forced laugh. "Fine," I said. "You can have an hour."

Malfoy took my hand and led me into the heart of the carnival and for once I didn't protest. I let him take charge. But that didn't stop me from turning red with embarrassment when he led me to the cotton candy stall.

I stared at the ground and said, "I'm sorry I threw out the candy you bought me earlier. I was very rude."

"Didn't I tell you I love the feistiness?" Malfoy said. He was teasing and I felt my cheeks grow warm at the memory of him telling me that.

Malfoy got himself a blue one and me a pink one and we started walking towards the rides. We were both quiet and it was a bit awkward since we'd never really been very silent in each other's company before. Usually there's a mix of yelling and fighting and teasing but never awkward silences. So I tried to make conversation. "Did you get your results?"

"I did," he said. "And I did better than I thought."

"That's always a great feeling," I said. "I did well too, except an A in History of Magic."

Scorpius chuckled. "I had one bad grade too. I got a P in Care of Magical Creatures."

I gasped. "But Care is so easy!"

"Not at the NEWT level. According to Professor Hagrid, I wasn't emotionally available enough for the Pygmy Puffs," Scorpius rolled his eyes.

I burst out in giggles and Scorpius smirked.

"Were your parents mad? My mum would have a heart attack if I got less than an Acceptable," I said.

"Why would they be mad?" He asked curiously.

"You had a bad grade," I pointed.

Scorpius gave me a crooked smirk. "You're forgetting I live on my own. My parents don't see my report card and I don't think they care much for it eith—"

"Is Draco Malfoy your dad?" I blurted.

Scorpius looked at me curiously. "Yeah. How do you know?" He asked.

I turned red. I didn't want him thinking I'd stalked his family. "My mum told me. They work together at the ministry."

"Oh that's right," Scorpius said. "I've met her. A fine lady your mum is."

We walked and talked and ate our candy floss and soon enough, we came upon a merry-go-round. I stopped to watch the happy people on the spinning ride. I looked towards the line-up for the next round and it wasn't that long.

"Would you like to go on that?"

I turned my head to see Scorpius watching me intently and I nodded. We went to the ticket booth and I pulled out my wallet to buy a ticket.

"No, I got it," said Scorpius who already had a bill in his hand.

"I can pay for my own ticket," I insisted.

He shook his head and growled, "No you can't."

I didn't argue because no I can't.

Scorpius got two tickets and led me to the line for the carousel.

"Which horse are you going to sit on?!" I gushed.

Scorpius was quiet for a moment. "I'd look stupid on a horse, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think so," I said. "But you can always sit in the carriage or even stand if you want," I suggested.

"Good idea," he said.

The ride ended and the previous riders got off and began making their way to the exit. The gates opened for us and new riders gave their tickets to the operator before making their way on to the carousel.

I took Scorpius's hand, "Come on, Scorpius, we have to find the best horse!"

"Alright!" he said with a low, quiet laugh. I looked at him and there I saw it for the second time in my life, that cute dimple on his left cheek.

"I want one that goes up and down!" I said excitedly.

"How's this one?" Scorpius pointed to a white horse with a red mane. "It looks just like you," he teased.

"Does it move up and down?" I asked.

Scorpius looked to check the mechanism at the top and bottom of the steel bar the horse was impaled on. "Looks like it does," he said. "Plus it's a bit higher than that one, see."

"Okay, I'll have this horse then," I said. I put my foot in the tread of the stirrup and pushed off the ground. Suddenly my foot slipped and I yelped and wrapped my arm around the iron horse to keep from falling.

But I wouldn't have fallen because Scorpius's hands were immediately on my hips, holding me in place. "Careful," he said as he helped hoist me up onto my seat. It was a bit awkward though because he pushed me up by my bum.

I pushed my fringe out of my face. "Thanks," I said once I was seated but Scorpius kept his arms on my hips as he stood there next to me.

"Why don't you take the horse next to me so we can sit together?" I suggested. "Before anyone else takes it."

"I think I'll stand here and make sure you don't fall off."

I rolled my eyes. "I won't fall off!"

More people began to crowd the carousel and I noticed they were mainly children with parents and a couple people our age. The ride started soon after and just as we'd predicted, my horse did move up and down.

"This is actually fun!" I said to Scorpius over the sound of the music. "You're missing out." Scorpius just smiled and watched me but he kept his arm around my waist. "Seriously, I won't fall off!" I insisted.

"I'm not taking any chances, angel," he said.

I turned pink. "I'm not a little kid," I laughed.

"Alright," he agreed. He removed his arm but kept his hand on the small of my back.

"I want to go on more rides after this," I said. I noticed Scorpius's expression darken.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Fuck, I'm getting dizzy," he muttered.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked, worried. "Don' t worry, it'll be over soon."

We spun around a few more times before it finally slowed down and stopped. Scorpius's dizziness was gone and he helped me down the horse even though I insisted I was perfectly capable of getting down myself.

"So where to next?!" I asked excitedly as we walked away from the carousel. I admit I had a certain skip in my step. "Let's go over there and whack some gofers?!" I said, pointing to an area with a lot of games.

"Whatever you say, flower," Scorpius said, wrapping his arm around me and pulled me to him. I realized I would have bumped into an elderly couple.

"Thanks," I muttered, gently pulling away.

"You were saying about the gofers?" He said.

"Oh yeah! It's my favourite game!" I said, waving my hands as I talked. "My mum used to take me and my cousins to muggle arcades growing up and I always got so many tickets playing that one! I'm really good—if I do say so myself, of course! And then I'd take all my tickets to the counter and I always got the best prizes too! Lucy and Dominique would always be jealous of me because I was nine and they were ten and I still played better than them! And if I had any left over tickets, my mum would make me give them to my cous—are you staring at me?"

Scorpius sucked in his cheeks and gave a slight nod. His face was straight but I didn't miss the tops of his ears turn pink.

"Stop staring, Malfoy, it's not polite," I teased.

"You're the most interesting thing here," he said with that crooked smirk.

We arrived at the gofer game and I immediately rushed to the game operator before Scorpius could. I wanted to pay for our tickets this time as Scorpius had paid for the carousel.

Suddenly I heard a low growl in my ear, "No."

I turned my head to find Scorpius standing so close behind me you'd think he was trying to sniff me.

"It's my tur—"

"I said no," he said in a low voice, his brows furrowed.

He gave me a stern glare so I stepped aside and he handed the guy two bills. The game manager gave us two ribbons of three tickets each meaning we both get to have three tries to get all the gofers. Scorpius's expression had lightened considerably, I noticed, as he handed me my tickets. There were six stations and Scorpius and I were competing against four other people as well as each other. Two of them were kids, hardly ten, but the other two appeared to be older than us.

"Ready?" Scorpius said to me.

I beamed at him, "I'm going to crush you, Malfoy!"

Scorpius smirked, "We'll see about that."

The loud bell rang out and the music started playing. Gofers kept popping out of their holes and I beat most of them down. I had to admit it was a bit harder than the one I remembered playing. These gofers were fast.

When the bell rang again to signal the end of the game, I looked up to see I had gotten thirteen out of eighteen gofers. I looked to Malfoy and he got fifteen. The other players had about the same as me except for one of the kids who had eight. Our numbers were similar in the next two rounds as well and since no one really outshined anyone, we all walked away with silly prizes. I got a keychain with a slightly disturbing clown face and Scorpius got a yoyo.

"I want it," I pointed at his new toy.

Scorpius examined the red yoyo in his hand before passing it to me. "It's yours."

"Thanks!" I said happily and began rolling it up and down. "This brings back childhood memories."

We were passing by the game I had left Eric at, I thought about how badly I'd been rejected. My ego had been wounded and I hadn't had time to sit in a corner and nurse the wound before Merlin thrust Malfoy in my face. I hoped no one from our school ever finds out about Eric and I. I can't imagine how embarrassed I'll be if my friends learned that I was such a bad date that Eric had to run from me.

"Do you want to play that game?" I turned my head to see Malfoy gazing down at me. "What's on your mind?" he asked.

I didn't respond at first.

"Rose?" he said gently. He took hold of my arm and pulled me forward, facing him. He was gentle about it but it was still there, the control. And as always I crumbled. My mind had learned to submit. When had it happened, I couldn't tell.

"Eric stood me up here," I mumbled. My eyes welled with tears but I sniffled and blinked them back.

"Would you like me to make him regret it?" Malfoy said, staring at my face, studying my every twitch.

"No," I shook my head. "Just…just play well. He sucked at this game."

Scorpius looked confused for a moment and I snorted at my own pettiness. But then he nodded and went straight to the counter without another word. He purchased three tries for both of us. There were other people around us too; an older girl, two boys about Hugo's age and a younger boy who looked less than ten. The two older boys were teasing the little one and I guessed one of them might be his older brother. The six of us put on our goggles and got our water guns at the ready position.

Me and the little boy were the first ones out. We used up all three of our tries but barely made it past ten points each time. I was rather embarrassed but felt better when I saw the two mean boys also lose. Scorpius and the older girl were still in the game, she was at her second try when I realized Scorpius was still on his first which meant he hadn't lost yet. I looked to see he was at twenty-five points already and the girl was at seventeen.

The girl lost shortly after while Scorpius made it to thirty-two points. A small crowd started to gather and even the game-runner was growing a wee bit excited. For the first time this evening, he said, someone might actually make it to a full fifty points.

Eric was soon forgotten as all my attention was diverted to praying and insisting Scorpius make it to fifty.

"Come on, Scorpius!" I kept urging on, standing next to him with eyes going back and forth from him to his target. I didn't notice in the moment but other people from our school were also in the crowd like Kylie and her group. At forty-four points, my heart started to beat faster. Even though Scorpius was the one playing, I felt the adrenaline.

The crowd started chanting "Fifty! Fifty! Fifty!"

At forty-seven points, I called out, " Hush everyone! Let him focus!" No one really heard me.

At forty-nine points, the alarm bells started going off and the cheers grew louder.

At fifty points, there was a loud bang and I had a pair of lips attached to mine.

Scorpius had thrown off his goggles and dropped the water gun at his side before turning to me and pulling me in for a kiss.

I felt myself still

Even though there was loud, colourful music playing and streamers falling over our heads from Merlin-knows-where, I was still as a statue as I absorbed the fact that Scorpius Malfoy's mouth was on mine without so much as a warning.

When he let go, people were patting him on the back and the guy who operated the game showed Scorpius to the prestigious prizes that he probably never thought he'd be giving out. There was a video game console, a small flat screen TV, and even the latest new smartphone with touchtone.

Scorpius went for the smartphone. It was the newest and most expensive item and with the way the man slightly paled, it was obvious he didn't count on actually having to give these out. Scorpius also got a complimentary set of two water guns.

I was rather quiet as the excitement from Scorpius's win started to fade out but luckily for the game runner, more people started buying tickets thinking the game was easy to win.

I suppose I was quiet because of that kiss. I wanted to scold Malfoy for kissing me but the anger just wouldn't come. My anger especially faded when I saw Scorpius give his two extra tickets and set of water guns to the little boy who'd been teased by the older boys. Suddenly it was as if both wanted to be the younger one's best friend.

Scorpius took my hand and led me away. I wasn't really paying attention to where we were going. I was focused more on the way he was holding me. It was gentle but firm. He wasn't squeezing like he does when he's angry and he wasn't hurting me. It was just firm. I knew in that moment, if I tried to pull away, I wouldn't be able to. I saw we were headed for the Ferris wheel and once we were in line, Malfoy turned to me and shoved the box with the smartphone into my hand.

"For you," he said.

"Huh?" I looked down at it, surprised.

"Won it for you," he said again.

"Mal—Scorpius…I'm...I can't," I stammered, not sure what I was trying to say. Just that that piece of muggle technology in my hand was more expensive than anything I had ever touched.

"You can," he said firmly. I tried to hand it back but he shook his head gave me his piercing stare. It was one of his blank stares and I wondered if I was the only one to know how much warning lay behind it. How could Malfoy be so forceful yet so generous at the same time? "I was going to buy you the same one anyway."

I was surprised to hear that. Why would Malfoy buy me something that expensive? When he looked away, I said in quieter voice, "You don't have to. You won it. It belongs to you."

Malfoy faced me, staring. He tilted his head like he was studying me; like I'd said something stupid.

Suddenly, his hand was in my hair at my ear and I felt air between us still when he said, "And who do you think you belong to?"

It was a wonder that I hadn't collapsed from the medley of feelings fighting each other inside of me.

I didn't realize but we had moved ahead in line but suddenly we were the next ones to go up. There was an age limit for the Ferris wheel because it was the uncovered kind where you're in a little cart out in the open. When the ticket man took our slips from Scorpius and opened the little door of the cart for us, Scorpius gently pulled me along, nudging me inside, before following behind and securing the door.

A couple of weeks ago, I would have never felt safe with him. I would have been afraid he would push me out if he lost his temper. But today, it was strange because I felt the exact opposite. Sitting next to me, his arm was stretched behind me and while he wasn't touching me, it felt like a safety anchor should I ever need one.

"I don't like heights very much," I said, staring straight ahead as the Ferris wheel turned once and the people behind us got on. "It makes me dizzy."

I looked at Malfoy and saw his body was slightly turned to face me and he was looking at me with that studying look again. His eyes were soft and his expression relaxed except for the small furrow between his brows.

"Afraid you'll fall?" He asked.

I shrugged, "No. I know it's safe or else the city wouldn't approve of having it and the carnival wouldn't risk a lawsuit and no past records of Ferris wheel accidents have been reported with this carni—"

Malfoy's expression had changed and I watched amusement spread across his face. The corner of his mouth was twitching like he was suppressing a smile.

I looked down at my fingers and picked at the polish on my nails. "You're laughing at me," I said, my cheeks tinged with pink.

"You're very informed," he said. "Do you research for fun?"

I flushed even redder and shot him a look before looking down at how far up we'd gotten so far.

"Do you pick on me for fun?" I asked without meeting his eyes.

"Yes, actually," he said. I shot him another look and noticed a sly, unapologetic smirk playing at his lips. "Though It would be more fun if you flirted back."

My eyes slightly widened. "I'm not flirting with you!" I quickly said.

"I know," he said. "I wish you would."

Merlin, this was going to be a long ride.

"You should flirt with Dominique," I blurted. "She loves you," I blurted further.

Malfoy's brows furrowed and he looked away. We were at eleven o'clock on the wheel now so almost at the top.

"Dominique is really something else," he said with a straight face, looking straight ahead. I noticed the playful tone was gone now.

We were both silent as we made it to the very top. I shifted in my seat and turned to the side, leaning my head out to see how far below the ground was.

"Well, it's a good thing children aren't allowed without chaperones," I said trying to make conversation again. I didn't like awkward silences. "Definitely won't survive this fall."

Why did I have to be so socially awkward around him?

I felt Malfoy's arm curl around my waist and he pulled me in. I slid slightly across my seat and my back came into his front. He leaned his head near mine and said in a low growl. "You better not think about jumping, angel, because no matter where you go, I will always come after you."

I stilled, eyes slightly wide. Was that assurance or a threat? I blinked and shivered, unsure of what to make of Malfoy's strange promise. His arm loosened slightly and his hand rested on my belly, his fingers splayed out across my squishy belly. In contrast his body behind me was hard and firm and I sighed as I randomly recalled that kiss.

Why was I not pulling away? Oh yes, because he wouldn't let me even if I tried. Why did I agree to come on the ride with him? Did I even agree? Why was I going along with whatever Malfoy wanted me to do? Oh yes, because I didn't want to create a scene at a carnival and have everyone witness Malfoy strip me of my dignity as he dragged me, kicking and screaming, wherever he wanted to take me.

But somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, I knew he wouldn't do that. Somewhere in my mind, I knew he was sorry for everything that had transpired between us because why else had he bothered with that date and the ice cream and the dancing?

Merlin, it felt so strange to have someone give me so much attention. I'd never been so important before to anyone and perhaps that was why I had allowed myself to lean back into him a little and stare at the dark twinkling sky all around us.

"You're very soft," Mafloy whispered in my hair as his hand moved across my stomach.

I wasn't sure if he meant that figuratively or if he was talking about my lack of fitness.

"I'd love to get lost in you," he said again. His hand moved from my belly and down to my upper thigh nearing the inside.

I jerked and slid across the seat to the other end, though it wasn't that much distance. I looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm…I'm not comfortable," I quickly said.

Malfoy was looking back at me with this strange gaze. It was fierce and fiery yet he wasn't angry. It was something different altogether.

Malfoy kept his hands to himself for the rest of the ride and we weren't talking much. Except for the parts where he occasionally pointed out places in my city that could be seen from up here. The ride stopped and passengers shifted. We got off and Scorpius politely helped me out to of the box.

As we started walking, I remembered, "You asked for an hour to help me have fun," I said lightly.

Scorpius looked down at his watch, "That was almost two and a half hours ago. I believe I've succeeded."

I giggled.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Are you?"

"Depends," he smirked. "Are you on the menu?"

I flushed crimson. "Scorpius…" I began. But I didn't know what to say. I wasn't angry and I wasn't sure why. "How about cheese fries?" I blurted without thinking. I just wanted go back to being friendly without this awkward sexual tension.

I mean, anything sexual with Malfoy was gross. Absolutely gross. He was a dirty, chauvinistic prick for crying out loud!

"Cheese fries sound good too," he smirked again. I straightened the fabric of my clothes, not sure how to act now.

"I…I have to use the loo," I said after running out of things to fidget with. Merlin, why was he making me so socially awkward?

"Meet back here in ten," he said. It sounded like an order.

I nodded and turned around before briskly walking away in…well any direction really. Any direction but his. I didn't want to go back to him until my head cleared. So I followed the signs for the restrooms until I arrived. They were so crowded that there was a line outside.

I didn't really have to go so I was rather unsure as to why I was standing in the line staring at the back of some lady's head. I thought about how weirdly gentle and sweet Malfoy was tonight. I couldn't deny that I'd actually had a good time with him tonight.

"Oh look who's here," said a familiar voice. "Standing like an dumb ass with a moronic smile on her face. As usual."

"Huh?" I said and turned to look at Dominique coming my way from out of the restrooms. She was giving me a sickeningly sweet smile.

I groaned. Dominique rolled her eyes.

I huffed, "Leave me alone, Dom."

"I heard you're on a date," she snorted.

Seriously? Did the whole school know?! "None of your business," I said. The line was moving so I walked a couple steps ahead to keep up. Dominique followed me.

"I also heard he left you high and dry," she chuckled evilly.

I shot her a glare. How the hell was this circulating already?! "Y-you heard wrong!" I snapped. "Stop making shit up and leave me alone!"

I looked down at my watch so I could avoid looking at her. I wanted to go to Malfoy. I liked being with him.

"Really? That's not what Eric Wood told me in the backseat of his car just now," she smirked.

My eyes widened and I watched the satisfaction spread across her face with that evil, horrid smile.

I could feel my eyes sting and I avoided meeting her gaze. Eric had stood me up to fool around with Dominique? As much as I wanted to I could not shed a tear in front of Dominique. She would use any moment of weakness against me. Dominique had managed to ruin my night once more but this time, I wasn't going to let her know she'd hurt me. She couldn't have the upper hand again. So I pulled out guns of my own.

I looked at her and smiled, shaking my head. I pretended to giggle. "Eric Wood? Really now, Dominique, why would I be on a date with Eric Wood when I have Scorpius Malfoy all to myself." I laughed in the most disgustingly sugary voice I could muster. Dominique basically loved Malfoy so I was hopping this would boil her blood.

But Dominique didn't look amused. "Really, Rose…" she rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, he's so hot," I tried to gush. "And such a gentleman! Getting me food, taking me on rides, winning me prizes!" I reached into my bag and pulled out my new smartphone. "He even got me this!"

Dominique eyes widened so far I thought they'd pop out of her head. "He bought you that?!" She demanded.

I nodded, lying.

Suddenly Dominique's eyes narrowed to slits and I could see her pale face redden. Yup, I had hit a nerve. Ten points to Gryffindor.

"I feel like the luckiest girl here," I pressed on as I put my gift back in my bag.

"Don't!" Dominique suddenly snapped. "You're not lucky, Rose, you're a moron!"

I didn't care that people's heads were turning in our direction.

"Go and have fun with your new boyfriend Malfoy," she said hatefully. "Just remember, Eric's not with you tonight because I'd been given an order to follow. You fool!"

And with that she stormed off into the crowd leaving me speechless.