Rose's eyes shot open at the sound of thunder. She wasn't really scared of thunder but it made her jump. Scorpius must've realized that his lips weren't meeting anyone's so he opened his eyes too and saw Rose sitting straight, staring at him. He gave a small frown, wondering if it was going too fast. They had only known each other for a little more than a month. Oh shut up. As if you care about time. The little voice said. He ignored it and said, "What's wrong?"

"I don't... nothing. It's going to rain." But that wasn't it. She couldn't figure out what was. Maybe she wasn't ready to sacrifice her first kiss. He was a Malfoy, after all. He's a hot Malfoy. The voice reasoned and she rolled her eyes at it.

"Yeah, looks like it, doesn't it?" Scorpius said, noticing how she had swiftly changed the subject. But she had said nothing, hadn't she? So why weren't they kissing yet? Then he realized what she had said. It was going to rain. They were lost in the centre of the Forbidden Forest (he was assuming that they were in the centre) and it was going to rain. Great timing, Scorpius.

"Mhmm. I'm assuming you know the way back?" She sounded so skeptical, it was almost offensive. Almost. It would be if Scorpius actually knew his way back. Which, he didn't.

"Well..."

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! Do not tell me that we have gotten lost! Did you actually have a clearing or did you take me randomly because you wanted company for a walk?"

"Um..."

"Scorpius..." Now she sounded plain threatening. And it scared Scorpius. He didn't actually think that Rose Weasley (the really adorable, innocent-looking Rose Weasley) could ever seem threatening. But she did now. Her eyes were stormy with anger and her face was contorted in such a manner that she looked like she was ready to blow her top at any moment. The rain then came. First a few drops and then the drizzle started. And it was getting stronger. Rose huffed and turned around, storming out of the clearing. Scorpius took a moment to debate on whether or not to follow her. Then he followed. He caught up with her fairly quickly. She was leaning against a tree. He started, "Rose-"

"Sh." She said, shutting him up. He frowned at her. She pointed at her ear then at a random direction. Scorpius listened hard. It was clearly Albus Potter. He said, "But kissing in the rain is romantic."

"Yes, but making out in a storm is not. So come on. We're getting out of here." An unidentifiable female voice said. Scorpius frowned at Rose, whose eyebrows had shot up. She mouthed the word "Alice" to him. He nodded, pretending he understood, when in reality he didn't know who this Alice person was. Potter said, "Fine." With an exaggerated sigh. The drizzle was getting heavier. Soon it would start pouring. Scorpius hoped that Albus and Alice knew their way out of the Forest. Rose nodded and they followed the pair. Scorpius could just see the silhouettes of Albus and Alice. But he could tell that they definitely liked each other. He's turn and give her a smile every so often. It wasn't as if she was saying anything. He would just smile at her. Scorpius felt very awkward about this and, in some weird way, jealous. He glanced at Rose, trying to read her face. But her face remained impassive. Little did he know the feelings churning through her.

"...kissing in the rain is romantic." See? Al thinks so. There's no reason why you shouldn't think so. It doesn't make you weird or weak to find kissing in the rain romantic, Rose. Honest. Trust me. I'm you, after all. You'd just be trusting yourself. And plus, it'd be Scorpius Malfoy you'd be kissing. Screw first kisses right? He is known for his snogging abilities. Okay, he isn't. But it's your chance to change that.

Just keep you face impassive.

Or just turn around and kiss the man!

No.

You're being retarded.

You're retarded.

Your face is retarded.

We share the same face.

Shit. That shut the voice up and Rose managed to keep an impassive face, following her cousin. But they weren't going out of the Forest. If anything, they were going deeper. Rose's teeth were beginning to chatter with cold and her lips were beginning to go blue. The downpour had started and the trees provided little cover. Soon, they would be completely soaked. And there was a wind. It was so cold. Scorpius noticed that Rose was shivering. He paused and pulled out a jar from his jacket (why did he have a jar in his jacket? Must be Charles) and pointed his wand inside it after unscrewing the lid. He muttered, "Incendio." A medium-sized flame went inside the jar. He quickly screwed the lid, so that it wouldn't get put out by the rain. Then he jogged over to where Rose was walking. But she was hardly focusing. He held out the flame to her. She took it, giving him a thankful smile and warming her hands, before tucking it into her jacket to warm her up. Her clothes were still wet but she had stopped shivering and her lips were returning to their natural colour. Scorpius, on the other hand, was now starting to feel cold. He stayed close to Rose, trying to absorb some heat from the jar through her thin jacket fabric. Rose didn't object to the proximity. They walked for what felt like forever. Finally they saw Albus and Alice again. They began following them again and were led to a cottage.

"I didn't know there was a cottage here." Alice said, voicing Rose and Scorpius's thoughts.

"Yeah. Nobody does."

"How did you know?"

"Found it."

"How?"

"Was taking a walk."

"Oh I suppose that since you're Harry Potter's kid, you can go for a stroll in the Forbidden Forest anytime." Alice said.

"Pretty much. Yeah." Albus said and Rose could imagine him grinning at her. Rose grabbed Scorpius's wrist and dragged him to the back, hoping there was a backdoor or a small barn or something. There was a backdoor. It opened soundlessly and they entered the cottage. There was a small staircase near the backdoor, leading upstairs and Albus and Alice were making their way up it already. Rose shuddered, not wanting to think about what they were going to go upstairs and do. Scorpius, on the other hand, looked amused. Rose went to the empty fireplace and, pointing her wand at it, muttered, "Incendio." A bright flame appeared and Rose sat down on the shabby couch, peeling off her drenched jacket and shaking out her hair. Scorpius did the same, sitting down next to her. They sat in silence for a while. Complete silence. There was no noise even from upstairs. But Rose wasn't thinking about that. Her mind was on the clearing. As was Scorpius's. Finally he broke the silence saying, "About what happened..."

"The clearing, you mean?"

"Did I ever tell you that you could be psychic?"

"Thank you. But we just happened to be thinking the same thing at this particular moment." Rose said, giving him a small smile.

"So... do we need to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about? We almost kissed but we didn't. That's all there is to it... isn't there?"

"Um yeah. That's all there is to it. I guess." Scorpius said, looking at the floor awkwardly. Rose's heart sunk but she gave him a smile anyway and said, "This is like Hogsmeade all over again." Scorpius felt even more awkward when he was reminded of Hogsmeade.

"It was really hard not to... do so that day." Scorpius admitted, not knowing why he did so. He felt like an idiot immediately after he said that.

"So why did you?" Rose said, looking down.

"Why did I what?"

"Why did you stop yourself?"

"Because... I don't know. Why did you pull away today?" He said, turning her question around. Rose noticed and went slightly red.

"I don't know." She said, after a pause. She tried to think of a reason but nothing came to mind. There were a few minutes of silence.

"Well what about now?" Scorpius said, after the minutes had passed. Rose looked at him quizzically. He sighed and elaborated, "Would now be a good time to kiss you?" Rose immediately began blushing a deep shade of red which rivalled her already blazing red hair (which looked redder in the firelight). She said, "Why would you even ask such a question?"

"Is that a yes?"

"No. It's an embarrassment." Oh shut up, Rose.

"Huh?"

"Nobody asks such weird questions, Scorpius. It's weird and awkward and-"

"You've never been kissed before, have you?"

"What?" Rose was stunned. She didn't want to admit to it.

"You, Rose Weasley, haven't been-"

"I heard you the first time." She said, quickly, before he said it again and rubbed it in.

"So it's true? You're a seventeen-year-old witch who's never been kissed?" He sounded amused. She suddenly realised why she hadn't kissed him. Sure, Lily had been pushing her to kiss people for years but she kept thinking about all the times she had read about being kissed. It was supposed to be magical (and not the Wizarding kind) and amazing. And she was scared that her first kiss would not live up to her expectations. And she didn't want to be disappointed. Not by the first one.

"So what if I haven't?" Rose said, still red. She could feel her face's heat.

"You actually haven't?"

"No. I haven't. Big deal. What's the big deal about kisses anyway?"

"Oh there's no deal about them. Just the fact that you're seventeen and famous and have never been kissed. I mean, have you seen you?" Rose felt her stomach do a flip when he said that and couldn't stop herself from smiling. Scorpius noticed and moved closer to her. She turned to face him and said, "Thank you. But it still hasn't happened."

"So I was going to be your first kiss?" He asked. This time he wasn't smiling. He was just staring at her intently. She felt herself going even redder: Something she hadn't thought was possible.

"You are going to be my first kiss." Rose said before closing the distance between them and kissing him.