Twenty Six

That can't have happened.

I must be hallucinating, or maybe I drank too much Firewhiskey. Perhaps Ron Weasley slipped some kind of poison in my drink when I wasn't looking.

There is no way that Bradley just proposed to Rose in the middle of Al's birthday party. I mean, come on! What self-centred tosser does that?

Evidently Bradley does.

Rose is just standing there, looking at him as though she's having as much trouble believing what's happened as me. I try to read her expression but it is absolutely unfathomable.

Meanwhile, the room is so silent it's as if there's no one else there. It's just me, Bradley and Rose, the latter of whom is about to make a decision that may make me want to die.

I want to run to her, wrap my arms around her and tell her that I love her.

But I can't.

A wave of nausea rises in me, and suddenly I can't stand there waiting for her response. She is going to say yes. Why on earth wouldn't she say yes? Bradley is perfect for her and will make her happy; she deserves to be happy.

I turn on my heel and push through the throngs of party-goers who are waiting with bated breath to hear Rose's answer. I vaguely register Lysander calling me, and someone who sounds like Harry also talking to me, but I keep on walking until I'm out of the front door.

The fresh air hits me like a ton of bricks, making the Firewhiskey I've had rush straight to my head. Trying to focus, I disapparate back to the flat, misjudge it slightly and end up sprawled across the kitchen table.

Tonight just gets better and better.

I'm not exactly sure what to do now. I don't know the protocol for behaviour when the love of your life gets engaged to another man.

More Firewhiskey seems to be the answer, so I pull a bottle from the cupboard and pour a rather large amount into a nearby glass.

A sudden crack resounds through the flat, making me jump. Lysander has just apparated on to the top of the fridge.

'Shit, you should not do that while drunk,' he mutters, rubbing his head which he smacked on the celling.

'What did she say?' I practically yell at him.

'How should I know?' demands Lysander, climbing down from the fridge with considerable effort, 'I came to check that you were alright.'

I'm briefly touched that he gave up a night of sneaking around with Lily to check that I was okay.

'Thanks,' I say gruffly.

'No problem,' he says in a similar voice.

We're silent for a moment as I sip my drink. It wouldn't have mattered if Lysander had stayed to find out or not; there is no way that Rose would have said no.

'So,' says Lysander awkwardly, 'You like her still?'

I nod, looking at my glass rather than at him.

'Shit,' whistles Lysander, 'Why the hell didn't you say anything to her?'

'Because I didn't want to wreck our friendship! She's with Bradley and I'm with Kate.'

Well, I was with Kate. Funnily enough, I don't think I'm going to be able to talk my way out of this one.

'You should have said something there and then,' persists Lysander, 'If that were me, I would have jumped up and said I love you Rose Weasley!'

I guess I'm just a coward.

'Oh God! I've just stood by and let the woman I love get engaged to someone else.' I smack my head against the cupboard door in frustration.

Ouch. Not a good idea even if in the throes of depression.

Suddenly, for the second time in a couple of minutes, someone apparates into the kitchen. This time it's Al, looking rather dishevelled and still holding a bottle in his hands.

'What the hell is going on?' he demands, 'First that tosser steals my limelight by proposing and then you storm out like some melodramatic twat.'

Al does not mince his words when drunk.

I brush this aside, 'Al, what did Rose say to Bradley?'

'She said no of course!' replies Al, looking as though I'm mad, 'He completely caught her by surprise and it's obvious that she doesn't want to be with him.'

Is it? Have I honestly gotten so bad with women that Al is better than me at understanding them?

But never mind that, she said no!

She said no!

'Tell me exactly what happened!'

'Calm down,' says Al, looking slightly alarmed. 'Basically, just after you left, she said no, Bradley went mental and Ron tried to curse him.'

All of that happened in the space of five minutes?!

'Okay,' says Lysander, looking at me warily, 'She said no because she doesn't want to be with Bradley. It doesn't mean that she wants to be with you, Scorpius.'

Al drops the bottle he's holding and it smashes across the floor, making a loud noise.

'You like Rose?!'

I nod my head like I'm admitting a terrible crime, 'Yeah, I've liked her for a while.'

'Well why the hell didn't you tell her?'

'That's what I said!' yells Lysander, nodding in agreement with Al.

'Excuse me, I'm heart-broken and you're ganging up on me!' I protest.

The two of them exchange a glance and say 'sorry' simultaneously.

'Right, I'm going back to the party to see what's happened,' says Al, briskly, 'Scorpius, I think you should go and talk to Rose tomorrow when this has all calmed down.'

'Yeah okay,' I say glumly, 'See you.'

He disapparates and leaves me and Lysander alone, both unsure what to do.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings.

I glance up at Lysander in alarm, 'Shit that will be Kate wanting to know why I left. You've got to answer it!'

'Why?' asks Lysander, looking positively alarmed at the prospect, 'I don't want to get on the wrong side of Kate.'

'Lysander, I'm already depressed about Rose. An argument with Kate could push me over the edge.'

'Okay, okay,' hisses Lysander, glaring at me but going into the hallway nonetheless.

'Scorpius, come here,' he says after a moment.

'I don't want to see Kate!' I hiss.

'Oh, just get out here!' he snaps.

Reluctantly, and feeling as though I'm walking to the gallows, I head out into the hallway. However, Kate is not there. Standing before a rather bewildered looking Lysander, is Rose.

And then I'm running towards her, and she's wrapping her arms around my neck and we're kissing as though this is the last moment of our lives. Lysander and the flat, the party and Bradley just disappear as I kiss her; the girl I have always loved. The girl I will always love.

When we break apart, we're both breathless but grinning.

'Took your time,' mutters Lysander before retreating into the flat.

Before I can think of anything to say, Rose is kissing me again, and I realise there is no need to say anything at all. Not tonight.

She takes my hand and we stumble back into the flat.

The following morning I find Rose sitting at the kitchen table looking absolutely perfect. I want to tell her that I love her. But I also don't want to scare her off. She has just split up with her long term boyfriend for God's sake.

She looks up as I take a seat next to her.

'Hey,' I say, feeling slightly awkward as memories of last night come flashing back.

'Hi,' she says, her cheeks reddening.

Hmm, what the hell am I supposed to say now?

There should be a manual for this kind of thing!

'So you ended things with Bradley?' I ask conversationally; oh yeah because it's perfectly normal to have a chat about the boyfriend of the girl you spent the night with.

She nods, looking directly at me with those blue eyes, 'Yeah, I didn't want to marry him.'

'I'm glad,' I say quietly.

She raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything. Then she grins and shakes her head, 'You should have seen my Dad's reaction.'

'Oh God,' I splutter, an image of Ron pinning Bradley up against the wall flashing through my mind, 'What did he do?'

'Well I was just standing there, realising how much I didn't want to be with Bradley. I'd known it for a while but I guess I didn't want to admit it. And suddenly I was saying no. Bradley wasn't happy; he started shouting about me leading him on and making him look like a fool.'

'Tosser,' I mutter.

'Yeah,' agrees Rose, 'Anyway, Dad's never liked him and the next thing I know, he's got Bradley pinned against the wall.'

I was spot on!

I laugh at this; Ron must be fifty now but it sounds like Bradley still didn't have much of a chance.

Rose is properly laughing now, her eyes dancing, 'I honestly thought he was going to kill him. Luckily Harry separated them.'

We both sit for a moment, chuckling about Ron. He and I may never have seen eye to eye but I think it's brilliant what he did.

'So, do you have anything to tell me?' she asks, her beautiful eyes staring intently at me.

I nod and take a deep breath, 'I want to be with you Rose- I have done for ages. Breaking up with you was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I love you.'

Silence.

Hmm, maybe I came on a bit too strong.

I watch Rose's face for a reaction, trying to see what she thinks of my dramatic declaration.

'I love you too, Scorpius,' she says, biting her lip in a way that makes me struggle to control myself.

My stomach drops a few feet.

'You do?'

She nods, 'yeah I do. I'm just scared.'

Oh dear, that is never good.

'About what?' I ask, taking her hand in mine.

She takes a deep breath and looks at me, 'Scorpius, when we broke up last time, it was the worst time of my life. I can't go through that again.'

'Neither can I,' I say honestly, 'But I won't let that happen again.'

'Listen Scorpius, if we can promise that we won't split up again then I'd say let's do it, let's be together. Do you think we can?'

I rub my thumb against her palm and take in her words.

Can we?

Sorry about the cliff-hanger, are-they aren't-they ending! I guess you'll have to wait for the next update… ;)

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Apart from this story, I'm currently writing one called 'That Boy.' It's mainly an Albus Potter/ OC pairing, but they'll be some Rose/ Scorpius as well. It's written in a similar ironic, sarcastic style to this one, so if you could check it out and let me know what you think then that would be great :)