Chapter 10: Thank you for staying for my sweets

A week passed and Scorpius received another letter. He braced himself before reading it, expecting another one word reply, but what he found instead was oddly pleasing.

I'm sorry for being rude. You seem nice.

The letter was only short but it filled Scorpius with in-explainable relief. You seem nice, he read again smiling. It also played at his pride, although he'd hate to admit it. He had gotten through to this person. He had turned it around. Scorpius couldn't help but remain smiling as he started his reply back.

That's okay! Thanks for saying that. To be honest, I've been very eager to chat with someone, so was quite disappointed at first that you weren't interested. I know this isn't for everyone though so I'm not holding anything against you personally. Would you like to tell me how your year is going?

He read back over his letter quickly before putting his quill down, and letting the parchment fold itself up for departure. He looked over at Albus, who was smiling at him from the adjacent bed.

"You finally get a good letter?" he asked relieved, having seen the smile on Scorpius' face.

"Yeah, I did" confirmed Scorpius smiling widely at his friend. Albus did a little happy dance on his bed.

Scorpius laughed in amusement. "Do that again."

Albus giggled looking embarrassed. "No."

"Please Albus" Scorpius pleaded, still laughing.

Albus swore to himself, and looked around carefully to make sure they were alone in the dormitory, before repeating a shortened version of his happy dance.

Scorpius laughed even harder, tears in his eyes. "Again, again!" he called out, laughing so hard, he fell off the bed.

Albus joined Scorpius on the floor giggling at his friend. "You need to calm down, Scorpius. It was just a dance," he said trying to be serious.

"You should dance more often" Scorpius said as he wiped tears from his eyes and sat up next to Albus.

"Don't ever let me dance by myself in public."

"As long as I still get to see you dance in private then" replied Scorpius without thinking.

The boys paused and stared at each other, both realizing what Scorpius had said at the same time. Albus broke the silence by starting to giggle again and Scorpius couldn't help but follow suit; Albus' laugh was infectious to him.

Over the next month, both Scorpius and Albus wrote back and forth to their writing partners regularly.

Albus' partner often brought up various magical theories which they would then discuss at length. His partner seemed to really respect Albus' opinions and he found himself slowly feeling more worthy of the intellectual conversation. They also spoke about their studies and friends; his writing partner seemed very interested in hearing more about Scorpius so Albus often shared details of their adventures together. He was careful to ensure Scorpius never saw his letters as he was self-conscious he was writing too much about his best friend, but even after acknowledging this he found he still couldn't stop.

After a rocky start with his partner, Scorpius found the other writer opening up slowly, letter by letter. At first Scorpius continued to receive short responses as he asked questions cautiously, trying not to overwhelm his partner. Finally, in one letter his partner asked him a question politely in return to one of his and their conversation seemed to take off suddenly from there.

Scorpius was pleased when it seemed his partner finally started to trust him; they shared intimate details of their parents' divorce with Scorpius, and in return he opened up about his mother's death. His partner was sympathetic and kind, and Scorpius took comfort in the reaction. For some time he pondered on sharing a secret he hadn't told anyone. However he held back for a long time, still uncertain.

Finally, Scorpius decided it was time to be brave and share the secret he'd been keeping close to his heart, the one that had been causing him anxiety since last summer. Even thought it was anonymous, he still felt immensely proud of himself. It was a step in the right direction and he'd hadn't felt so free in a long time.

Watching the letter fly away, he smiled to himself. Finally another person would know. Scorpius felt as if a great burden had been lifted from him.

Unfortunately the feeling of freedom didn't last long. When he hadn't received a reply letter in two days, he began to panic. As each day passed after that, he felt his stomach tighten further, his anxiety increasing. Albus could tell something was wrong, but no matter how many times he asked, Scorpius insisted he was fine. Scorpius buried his head in a book whenever he was alone with Albus, trying to avoid further questions.

The next week, after his Divination class, Albus found Scorpius wasn't waiting for him outside for lunch like he always did. He hurried down to the Great Hall thinking Scorpius may already be at lunch for some reason but he was nowhere to be seen. He rushed to the dungeons to search the Slytherin common room. Albus was worried; Scorpius had never stood him up before.

Dashing up the stairs to their dormitory, Albus thought he heard a sob. He was surprised to turn the corner and find Scorpius leaning up against his bed crying, surrounded by sweets and empty wrappers.

Albus ran to his friend quickly and pulled him into a hug, sitting down beside him. "Scorpius, what's wrong?" he asked frantically.

"It's – It's stupid" said Scorpius between sobs.

"I'm sure it's not" Albus said, holding his friend tightly.

"They haven't written back."

It took Albus a moment to realise who Scorpius was referring to.

"Oh Scorpius, they must be busy -"

"No, no. I-I told them something and I don't think they want to be my friend anymore."

"That's ridiculous. There's nothing you could say to stop someone being your friend. You're too nice. Scorpius, you're the nicest person I know."

"No, you don't understand. I told them…about...about…"

"About what, Scorpius?" asked Albus. "You know you can tell me anything."

Scorpius shook his head and looked at the floor.

Albus pulled Scorpius in tighter, worried for his best friend. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me now. Only when you're ready."

"Thanks, Albus," Scorpius said appreciatively. "Thanks for being here."

"Oh no. I'm not here for you, I'm here for your sweets" said Albus, softly.

Scorpius almost laughed. "Thank you staying for my sweets, Albus." he whispered, turning his head to bury his face in Albus' chest. Albus held Scorpius while he cried, mentally cursing the unknown person who had caused his best friend so much sadness.

A/N: Follow me on Twitter for updates and #scorbus love: Queen_of_Thyme