Scorpius couldn't remember a time when he'd ever been this consistently mad at someone. Usually he'd get over whatever it was that was bothering him. The thing was, most people weren't worth being mad at. After twenty minutes he would get over it, but there was something about Rose that just dug under his skin.
"What happened? What did he say?!" He insisted.
It had been a day since his father had spelled him to sleep and it was driving him crazy. What had he said that had turned Rose so cold? And why wouldn't she tell him? They were leaving tonight and he couldn't wait any longer.
"I'm hungry, let's just get some food."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing!"
"You have said anything to me since yesterday! And you won't look at me!"
Rose refused to answer him.
He wished things could go back to the way they were when they just teased each other and got along, but he knew they never could.
Scorpius didn't know what to say or what to do. Her tone wasn't accusatory nor was it resentful. She didn't seem to blame him for whatever his father had said, but neither was she willing to tell him what it was. And he had no idea how he even felt about that. The only emotion that was clear was his anger. He was furious with his father for thinking he had the right to say anything to Rose let alone upset her. She liked to act all tough and strong, but Scorpius could see whatever Draco had said to her had hit there mark.
"Rose," He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.
Her big brown eyes widened, and for a split second he saw everything she was feeling; fear, rejection, longing, hurt. It was all there at the surface, before she managed to control herself.
"What?"
"We are going to your parents house tonight. Please don't do this," He grabbed her hands and cupped them into his chest. His steel eyes bore into her eyes determinedly. "Please, talk to me."
She opened her mouth, softening slightly in his arms, but her lip trembled.
"What's going on?" Astoria asked walking into the hallway, her eyes wide with alarm.
Rose immediately pulled away and looked away from him, but Scorpius didn't look away from Rose or let go of her. "Mum, dad decided yesterday to spell me asleep and then interrogate my girlfriend. And now she won't tell me what he said."
Rose had always had reasonably normal relationships; they always made sense and were rational and understandable. Having Scorpius inform his mother that they were in a relationship together when he had never said such words to her wasn't shocking; it nearly gave her an anxiety attack. Most girls would be ecstatic to hear something like that, but Rose wasn't naïve. This statement wouldn't hold up outside of this room. His mother liked Rose and wouldn't chastise him for saying it. Why he said it was a mystery to her, but she wasn't going along with this. Rose wasn't going to ruin his life or distract him from what he was supposed to accomplish.
"One, I am not your girlfriend. Don't call me that." She said ripping her arm away from him. "Your father told me what I already knew, he just felt the need to remind me."
His eyes flashed and his lips thinned, but she turned and before she could lose her nerve she started walking away. Her hands shook, but her words must have found there mark because he didn't say anything or try to stop her.
Rose didn't want to do this. She didn't. Eating silently, she ignore the looks Astoria was giving her and focused on getting through this. This wasn't going to end well. If Scorpius wanted to lie to himself and pretend that after they were separated this was going to continue then fine, that was his choice, but she wasn't going to lead him on and act like everything could keep going like it had. She didn't want to push him, so she pushed him away and hoped they could just remain civil.
He would be wounded, because it was clear that he at least fancied her, but he would be saved the pain she would going thru. It felt like someone had reached up into her chest and ripped out her heart. It wasn't broken or damaged; it was just gone, leaving a very obvious void that made her feel hollow and empty.
The day drew on longer that necessary and given that Scorpius had yet to say a single word to her about anything she knew that this really was over.
He had always thought that by the end of this he would feel relieved. The whole thing had been annoying, tedious and ridiculous. But being near her with everything standing between them made him think in a way he hadn't been able to…well ever. When he was involved with her he lost sense of what was going on in front of him. He was clueless and didn't understand it. But now, being near her, but not able to speak to her gave him a certain amount of distance and with that distance he was finally able to see clearly.
Earlier he hadn't been thinking when he called her his girlfriend he hadn't been thinking. It just had come out, but as soon as it did and he saw how scared it made her he realized he had to do something. It didn't matter what his father said anymore. It mattered what she believed and why she had believed it. He'd wait till they left for his house and would wait till he got her alone. Then he'd…he'd… He'd tell her he loved her and that when he called her his girlfriend it wasn't …it wasn't something he thought of beforehand it was something that just should have been true.
She tried to hurt him, to push him away, but he wasn't going to go away that easily. This wasn't just a crush. He knew with absolutely certainty that even after they graduated and went their separate ways that he would still feel this way. It wasn't the type of feeling that just went away, it would stick with him and he knew if he explained it to someone they would just tell him that he was young and he'd get over it. But what older people fail to remember is that some of the greatest heartache and the biggest scars are created when they are young. Some of them still hold onto their teenage sweethearts, calling them the one that got away.
But Rose was different. Someone would say love had blinded him, but it was more he knew exactly what was going to happen. Rose would graduate with honors, she would travel, and she would get that job she craved. He would become a healer and they both would move on. The thing was, he would always regret never telling him how he felt. Never seeing if this was real and at least trying to see if they could work.
They could and most likely would, crash and burn. It was an extremely high possibility, considering everything. The smart thing to do would be to accept his feelings and just to be civil with her. And Scorpius normally always chose the wisest option. He would calculate the rewards and risks, and automatically would chose whatever seemed to have the less likelihood of ending badly.
But looking at her, watching her long red hair fall into her face as she tried not to look at him, he realized he didn't care. Even trying to be with her would be more reward then the possibility of it not working out.
The question was when he was going to make that clear to her?
Rose grabbed her luggage and headed for the door. She turned to thank Mrs. Malfoy, despite everything she had been extremely kind to her. It wasn't her fault that her husband was a raging dick.
"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy-"
"I told you to call me Astoria," She pulled Rose into a hug and whispered, "You are welcome anytime dear."
Rose smiled brightly, but her eyes were watering. "Thank you." She could see Draco rounding the corner so she quickly left with Scorpius trailing behind her as they left the grounds.
She stopped when the exited the gate, realizing that she would have hold his hand to side along apparate him to her house. The past two days she'd done her best to really keep their three-foot limit the minimum to distance herself from him. A week ago she would have never thought anything of it, but now she couldn't handle the idea of touching him.
He did it first; Scorpius reached out and grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers. She gulped and ignored the warmth that spread across her hand at his touch. Before she could think too much about it she apparated them to the burrow.
They landed on the grass cleanly, but she immediately released his hand and charged up to her house. This was going to be a long three days, and she just wanted to get the worst part over with already so she could go back to putting all of her power into acting like he didn't exist.
Walking in to the empty kitchen Rose called, "Hello? Hugo? Mum?"
Albus wandered in from the living room with a smirk. "Oh look," Albus gestured to the ground, "There's vomit…and oh look, it came from me."
Rose rolled her eyes and ruffled her cousin's hair. "You're an idiot Al. Where is everybody at?"
"Well you came so late, Gran is setting up dinner."
She nodded, "Does anyone know I'm bringing him?"
Albus laughed, "You think I would ruin that surprise? Not in a million years." He turned to Scorpius and pulled him into a quick hug. "How are you holding on mate? Has my cousin driven you mad yet?"
"Not yet," Scorpius smirked at Albus earning a confused look from Rose.
"Just your luggage by the stairs," She instructed Scorpius as she did the same thing.
On the patio she could hear her family chatting loudly about all sorts of things. She knew they wouldn't react kindly to her bringing Scorpius. They didn't take change well or quietly, but Rose figured she'd just head them off by explaining that it was just for the week and that it was her punishment for punching him in the face, which she didn't do, but would sound better to her family than what actually happened.
"Okay," She breathed letting out a slow breath. Finally she looked at Scorpius, and immediately wished she hadn't. "Come on."
The way Scorpius saw it the Weasley's were bees and he was bird trying to covertly sneak into their nest. This wasn't going to be easy, or comfortable for him, at all.
As soon as they headed out, Albus draped his arm around Scorpius shoulders, "Don't worry mate, I've got your back."
Scorpius gave him a look. "It looks like I'm going to need it."
Slowly every relative turned to gawk at them, and Scorpius felt the urge to crawl back into the house rising. Especially when Rose's father locked eyes on him. For a second he didn't think it was that bad, but then he saw Harry Potter clamp a hand on his shoulder to keep him from rising.
"What is he doing here?" He demanded, his eyes fixed on Scorpius.
"Haven't you heard?" Albus grinned evilly wrapping his arms around them, "They're dating."
Rose's entire face caught on fire as she open mouth stared at her cousin. A heat wave came over her as the entire room, which was full of twenty loud, obnoxious people, became dead silent Albus's words seemed to dawn on them.
"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Ron bellowed furiously standing up.
Rose rushed in front of Scorpius, her hands raised. "DAD! CALM DOWN!"
"LIKE HELL I WILL!" He roared as Hermione and Harry moved to hold him back. "THIS IS NOT HAPPENING ROSE-"
"WE AREN'T DATING!" Rose shouted over him. "Scorpius has never asked me out! We have never so much as gone out on a date! Albus," She paused to punch her cousin in the arm, hard. "Is just being a royal prick."
"Then what is he doing here?!" Ron demanded still not convinced.
"I!" Rose pointed to her own chest for emphasis, her back leaning back on Scorpius's chest. "Got into a fight with him. For a few days we have to spend time together to get over it." She told him, "Now sit down before you blow your blood pressure!"
Hermione tugged on Ron's arm to force him back into his seat. Rose and Scorpius walked around the table to the kids side, which was as far from her father as humanly possible. Albus sat down next to Scorpius laughing hysterically.
"You should have seen your face!"
"Al," Scorpius said in a low voice, "You may be best mates…but as soon as I get the chance, I'm mur-dering you."