Readers,
Thanks for sticking around! I will probably update once a month or twice a month, depending how busy everything is. I really appreciate the reviews! Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is coming out November 18, 2016 where I am and I'm really excited.
"Scorp," Albus says, waving a hand in front of Scorpius's face, "Hello?"
"What," Scorpius says, "Talk Al."
"Your face tells me you did something stupid," he says, "What did you do Scorpy? Huh? Tell your old pal."
"Oh Merlin," Scorpius says, breathing deeply.
"You hate yourself," Albus says, pondering, "You feel like death and you want to sleep?"
"Pretty much nailed it," Scorpius says, rubbing his face.
"Are you going to tell Albus about it?" Al says, questioningly.
"Someday I will," Scorpius says, brushing him off, "For now, I'm going to find Naomi."
"Is there something going on between you two?" Albus asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Does being friends with someone not exist anymore?" Scorpius looks at Albus dully.
"You're so hard to talk to when you're like this," Albus says, shaking his head.
"Sorry. See you later," he says, leaving.
Albus sat by himself in the Great Hall, pulling his thoughts together. James was probably still crying himself to sleep every night. It was time for a plan. Candace would definitely help him.
"Al," Candace says, massaging his shoulders, "You're wound up so tight you might snap."
"We need a plan," he says, getting up abruptly.
"For what?" she says, confused as he grabs her hand and pulls her up as well, "I just sat down."
"I know, baby, but James and Elaine need help."
"Oh I should have known," Candace laughs lightly, "I was wondering when you were going to talk to him."
"You need to talk to Elaine too," Albus says, gravely.
"Okay, okay," she says, stifling a laugh, "This is pretty serious huh?"
"Oh yeah," he says, kissing her on the cheek, "We've got people to save."
Candace looks at him, unable to keep a smile off her face.
All week, it was hard to be around Parker. Rose felt sick with herself. How could she do that? Scorpius was forbidden. Of course he was even more forbidden because Rose had a boyfriend for Merlin's sake. A boyfriend.
"Rose," Parker says from beside her, "Are you alright?"
"No," she finally said, "I'm not. I'm sorry."
"For what?" he says, absorbing the conversation.
"I'm just very confused with myself, and my feelings," Rose says, near tears.
"I'll wait for you if you're not ready," Parker says, gently, "We can take a break."
"Can we?" Rose says, breathing again, "I just need time to get myself together."
"Of course," he says, pulling her into a hug, "I'm sorry if I stressed you out."
"It's not you," Rose says, her eyes falling to the floor, "It's definitely not you."
Parker laughs and pulls away. Rose didn't deserve him. He was too good for her. Was that the problem? Was she bored?
Parker forced a grin. There was something different about Rose. He could almost feel her losing feelings for him.
She ran into Miles Montgomery in the halls with Elaine. As she got closer, she realized what was happening.
"Elaine, I…" Miles says, "I liked you a lot, in our early years. I needed to tell you before seventh year ended. For closure, you know?"
Elaine was speechless. Her mind wandered back to the days she used to think about him. What they would be like together, how much fun it would have been.
"If only it was fourth year again," Elaine says, her hands rubbing her forearms, "A lot has changed since then."
"I realized," Miles says, "It's easier to tell you when you're interested in someone else."
"Oh Miles," she says, giving him a harmless hug, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he says, laughing, "It was bad timing."
"Yeah," she says, grinning, "Tell me about it."
Rose's heart melted. It was ridiculous how many people noticed Elaine and James's feelings for one another, even people who didn't know them. Elaine didn't even deny it when Miles brought it up.
James ran into Elaine again. This time he didn't even stop himself. He ran into her and hugged her. He wanted to so badly to kiss her. He might have if things were different between them. But it wasn't and he couldn't.
The smell of her hair was driving him insane. He didn't even realize how much he needed her to function. To talk to her, ask her about her day, make her laugh and smile, touch her, it all used to be routine for him, something he would never get tired of.
"James," she says, "I missed you so much."
"Not as much as I missed you," he says, so softly that he hoped she didn't hear him. But she did and she smiled.
He pulled away to look at her face. There was so much she wanted to say, and he could feel it, but he didn't want to hear it, not now anyway.
Her hand moved towards his hair, brushing it away from his face. He grins as his eyes close, leaning into her hand and her touch.
"I need you," James says, looking at her intently, "More than you know, more than I deserve, more than a lot of things."
She smiles, "You should have told me."
"I didn't realize it," he admits, "When you're always beside me and talking to me it's the most natural thing in the world. It was the only feeling I knew. So when you left, I was lost."
"So what does this mean for us?" she asks. She was beyond scared to hear him answer.
"I want you to be mine, for real, enough with all the other stuff. Let's do it together, I genuinely want to be with you for as long as possible," he says, holding her hands.
"James…" she says.
He couldn't wait. He was finally allowed to kiss her. Of course, if he waited any longer he would have done it anyway.
Albus never spoke to James and Candace never spoke to Elaine. They didn't have to. The next day, they walked into the Great Hall for breakfast hand in hand, the biggest smile on both of their faces. Albus looked at Candace and winked. No one was surprised of course.
The biggest surprise that day was when Rose's friends and family concluded that she was single once again. No one bothered to ask and Rose was grateful for it. She had to figure things out between her and Scorpius, in private. It also didn't help that she was avoiding him at all costs.
Scorpius, on the other hand, was ranting to Naomi every time they walked. Naomi tried her best to keep up and give him tips but his situation was complicated.
Albus was trying to connect Penny and Smitt's sudden relationship, Rose's breakup, Scorpius's weird behavior, and Damien Lucas with everything else going on. Damien was lying low but Albus felt something big was going to happen soon. He was just waiting for the right time to strike. Parker and Rose were still talking, but there was something different in the air around them. It was, well, boring. There was no spark, no sexual tension. Albus laughed at himself. Sexual tension was strong in the Potter-Weasley clan. They all had strong personalities and stubbornness that was either hidden or displayed in their own ways.
Penny hadn't gone out with Smitt since the night at the dock. He wasn't exactly avoiding her and she wasn't avoiding him but they just never seem to run into one another. Still, they try to meet up at the library, or the Astronomy Tower, and keep each other company. Smitt was strong, at least one of them were. Penny's family life was hard but she was glad that she had Smitt, or at least that's what she thought. She wasn't sure if he felt the same way.
Smitt didn't want her to know that he wanted to see her everyday, but he did. This was still very new and he didn't want to mess it up. He didn't know what was wrong or right but being with her all the time felt like a very suffocating idea. He really liked her already but it was driving him insane. Finally he decided to bother Etienne about his problems. Etienne's best friend was Naomi after all, a girl. He probably had a really good idea about what's good and what's bad.
Parker knew that Rose didn't love him anymore. Did she really love him at all? There was always Scorpius Malfoy and even if she didn't realize it, he and everyone else did. What they had for a short period of time was real, Parker convinced himself. There was just something else that was stronger for Rose.
Rose knew she felt something for Scorpius. It was wrong and right at the same time. It was the best she ever felt with anyone when she was with Scorpius. Plus, he was really good friends with Naomi, he probably has feelings for her too knowing him. But she didn't know him. Did she? He was familiar but strange. She definitely wasn't going to talk to him in awhile.
It was itching him. He wanted to nail her down and ask her what that kiss meant. What he meant to her. Why she kissed him back. But of course, she was avoiding him. Naomi told him right away to clear things up with her but he's been procrastinating again. Scorpius was frustrated and stressed. He didn't feel that way for girls. Never really did. He never really felt anything at all. Sure, he pranked people with Albus and James. He was a little bit of a bully with Lysander back in the day, teasing people. It never really occurred to him the feelings of other people. But right now, what she felt for him, if she felt anything, mattered more than everything.
Please REVIEW!