The constant, steady pounding of rain sounded like a drum.

The hospital wing remained decorated in white, and I could barely stand the sterile atmosphere and the disgusting smell of medicine that coated the room. I had spent so much time in there the past few weeks that I had walked around the halls reeking of smelly potions and lotions, warranting strange looks from people.

The rainy weather seemed to correlate with my crummy mood. Scorpius still hadn't woken up and I spent almost every waking moment beside his white cot, waiting for him to show signs of life. Madame Picoult was certain that he would be up soon, but I don't think she was fully aware of what happened to him. She seemed to be under the impression at Scorpius had a really awful fall during Quidditch practice.

How falling off a broom produces black eyes, broken ribs, and countless scratches continues to mystify me, but I think Hensley told her that Scorpius fell int a tree on the way down. It wouldn't be the first time.

I set my bag down on the spare chair beside Scorpius's cot and throw myself down on the other, more comfortable chair, and pull out my tattered red notebook, ready to write down the day's events. I had been doing it a lot recently, it was almost like keeping a diary. Subconsciously I think I just wanted Scorpius to know what was going on with me while he was completely out of it.

"Rose?"

I jolt, my quill making a long, dark mark across the blank parchment as I stare up into the grey-blue eyes of Scorpius Malfoy.I stare at him listlessly, determined to commit ever single speck of those grey-blue eyes to memory. For a while I had wondered if he would ever wake up, if I would ever see those beautiful eyes again.

"When Madame Picoult told me a pretty redhead came to sit by my side every day, I thought she was talking about Lily." He smiles childishly and blushes a little bit. "Was it you?"

I nod slightly.

"Did you leave me the roses too?"He asks excitedly, pointing to a delicate vase on his bedside table that was filled with red roses.

I shake my head. "Lily." I mouth to him.

"Merlin, Rose, I'm so sorry! I don't know what Hugo told you, but I didn't do anything to hurt you! I wouldn't! I just..." He runs a hand quickly through his stringy blond hair, "...it's a long story." He admits in a low voice. His grey-blue eyes are shining at me with what seems like regret.

I study him for a few minutes, he looks like he hasn't slept in days,though I know through my own good authority that he's been out cold. His bruises are yellowing, almost gone, but he has dark bags under his eyes an his body looks frail, weak. He doesn't look like the Scorpius I knew so well a couple weeks ago. It's strange how a few weeks change everything.

I feel a lump settling itself in my throat, the threat of unshed tears making itself known to me.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" I whisper cautiously, finally ready to hear his side of the story. Matilda's advice was starting to make sense to me. I needed to hear him out, I needed to, for the meantime, give him the benefit of the doubt before I went along judging him. I may not be exactly ecstatic to do so, but it's something that has to be done.

He breathes deeply, expelling air in a big gust as he sighs and presumably tries to decide where to start.

"Alright. Fair enough. The beginning. Hell I don't know where the beginning is."

He smiles slightly,looking out the window and chuckles to himself, then pats the space on the cot beside him. "Sit up here with me. It's quite a long story, you may as well be comfortable."

I shakily stand up and sit next to him on the cot, painstakingly aware of how close his thigh is to my own.

"Did you know that you always have ink somewhere on your body?" He asks, chuckling. "Sometimes it's the side of your hand," he grazes said skin with the side of his hand, "sometimes it's your cheek," his hand moves to my cheek and I feel as if my skin is on fire with his touch. "One time you even had ink on your leg. Merlin only knows how you got it there." He laughs lightly, skimming the length of my calf with his calloused hands.

"I guess that's when I really saw you. That one day that you had blue ink your leg. I was arguing with Lily about how the Chudley Canons were going to slaughter the Holyhead Harpies during that week's game, and then she called you over. You looked exhausted, like you were struggling to remain standing and you had an ink stain on your leg." Scorpius shakes his head and smiles at me good naturedly.

"And I kept thinking, 'What is she writing all the time?' that's literally the only thing that was running through my mind while Lily kept prattling on about exit strategies and you kept standing there like you wanted to be anywhere else. And I decided right then and there that I would learn more about you. But you're so bloody intimidating! I had to beg Lily to tell me what you were interested in so that I could strike up a conversation with you! I talk to so many people, but I couldn't talk to you, Rose. I just couldn't. "

I stare at him in disbelief as Scorpius Malfoy confesses his interest in me. Quiet, reserved, happily alone (until he came along) me. Could this get any weirder?

Scorpius shakes his had a little, but he still hasn't moved his warm hand from my calf.

"Do you remember that one night when Lily was trying to convince you to go to that one party in the Slytherin common room?"

I nod slightly, interested in what his thoughts on the scene would be.

"I told you it was a shame that you wouldn't come, right? Well I was sitting there a few hours later, and all I could think about was what you were writing. It couldn't have been essays for school because what sane person would refuse to go to a party just because they wanted to write an essay on the properties of Wolfsbane? So I ditched the party and then there you were, inth kitchen with me and you dropped your notebook."

I mentally make a note of how he conveniently forgot the nice snog he had in what he thought was an abandoned room with the curvy brunette girl.

His other hand not resting on my leg suddenly clenches into a fist.

"That poem that I read was amazing by the way."He whispers to me quietly. "But it drove me insane. Who had kissed you? Who had betrayed you? Who had loved you and then left you so cruelly? I thought that once I had read something that you had written, my curiosity would be satiated and I wouldn't care anymore," he sighs, "but I was wrong. I was as enthralled with you a ever."

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from interrupting him. Would he continue his confession if he found out that the poem wasn't about one of my lovers after all?

"So I made myself a part of your life. I forced my company on you and didn't even give you a choice the matter. And you seemed to warm up to me. You talked to me and you don't talk to just anyone," he smiles brilliantly at me, "and I thought that was enough. But the minute that somebody told you that I was screwing with you, you believed them." He sounded hurt, like I should have known better than to believe my own brother.

"It was my brother, Scorpius." I whisper. "My own brother. Why would he lie to me? What reason would he have to screw with my mind?"

"Lily is your cousin!" He counters ferociously. "What reason would she have to do anything to you?"

"Lily often means to do the right thing, but goes about it the wrong way when it comes to me. I honestly would not have put it past her to encourage you to hang out with me against your will. Plus, you're you. Why would you want to hang out wit me?" I gasp for breath at the extended use of my vocal chords, but it felt good to finally explain to Scorpius my reasoning.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He laughs at me scornfully. "I'm me? Who exactly do you think I am, Rose?" He smiles almost mockingly at me.
"You' Scorpius Malfoy. You hang out with funny, pretty, personality filled people."

"I don't see why you don't fit in to any of those categories." He frowns at me.

I feel crowded. He's much too close to me now, I can feel his body heat coming off of him in waves and floating towards my own body. His grey-blue eyes are piercing me and this whol situation feels far too intimate for a white cot in the hospital wing.

"I'm leaving." I say quietly, pushing myself off the cot.

"Rose, wait!"

"I'll come back in a few days, when you're not on medication and saying crazy things." I fumble with my books, throwing them into my bag.

"Rose, I'm not-"

But I don't stay to hear exactly what Scorpius Malfoy isn't. Instead I practically fall over my feet running to the door of the hospital wing, desperate to get out of there. He was obviously still on his meds.

A part of me knew that Scorpius wanted to tell me something important, but my brain was sending me a message that clearly meant "ABORT ABORT" and I just couldn't bring myself to stay around and hear how much he likes me as a friend. Not when I got butterflies my stomach when he touched me. Not when my skin burned under his touch. Not when I felt like I could be feeling so much more than friendship for him.

Maybe my lack of courage was the reason I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor.

A/N: Hello there lovelies :) I updated promptly this time, isn't that wonderful? I apologise for any grammatical/punctualisation/capitalisation errors as I'm not typing this on my usual computer with my usual things.

Anyway, I hope this clears up a bit for you guys...and there is still more to come! Many questions still left unanswered.

I know a few of you are disappointed on how the last chapter turned out, but I would like to point something out. A common theme in this story is communication. Actually, the major theme in this story is communication. Basically this whole story is about communication and how different people communicate. I'm sure I'm not the only one with personal experience about how with just a little bit of communication, things can turn out very differently. Just a theme of life I seemed to have picked up throughout my years on this planet and one that seemed to translate heavily into this story. I didn't even realise this until halfway through writing this story. Anyway, I hope some of you now understand now why I chose to write this story the way I did.

Wow, this is a ridiculously long author's note.

Enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think! :)

~wwccd