A/N: Ugh. Sorry for the wait. I really did mean to finish this sooner, but I was traveling over the weekend and I didn't have my laptop with me. Believe me, it was torturous -_- anywho…I'm back! And seriously guys, thank you so much for all of the kind reviews!
Skye: Ahh, you NaNo too? I did my first one last novemeber. So much fun. This is my first Camp NaNoWriMo, so I don't really know how it all works yet. I'm pretty excited though ^_^ (feel free to look me up on the NaNoWriMo site and send me a NaNoMail or something. I'm under the same username there). And no, I was not abducted by aliens xD But, I'm now seriously concerned that one of my family members is a foreign spy. Thanks :P
Alright, so here's the latest! Enjoy (kinda short, sorry)
1 Week Later…
"You're doing what?"
Scorpius sighed at Albus' incredulous tone, running a hand through his silver hair as he avoided the sharp gaze of his friend.
"I'm taking Rose to the Yule Ball." He repeated, wishing that Albus would keep his voice down. They were currently seated at a table in the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room working on homework, and this wasn't exactly a piece of news that Scorpius wanted broadcasted all over the school. "We're just going as friends." he added hastily, hoping his black-haired companion wasn't getting any ideas.
"If you say so." Albus replied, his eyebrows raised skeptically. Scorpius gave him an exasperated glare.
"I promise, there's nothing more to it than that." He responded, realizing with a start that he was trying to convince himself of that statement more than he was Albus.
"Well, I think it's fantastic you two are going with each other." His friend answered, a grin spreading across his thin face. Scorpius tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he inquired suspiciously. Albus merely shrugged in response.
"I just think you two would be nice together." He replied simply. Scorpius felt his heart plummet while something inside his stomach squirmed in discomfort.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not going to happen." He managed to croak out. "It can never happen." Albus raised his eyebrows even further.
"I don't see why not." He remarked casually. Scorpius swallowed hard, looking away for a brief moment. Albus was a rather good friend of his, but he didn't know all that had transpired over the past few years with Lucius. Scorpius wasn't too keen to tell him, either, considering it was a rather private matter between him and his family.
"It just can't, alright?" he responded quietly, finally bringing his gaze back to meet Albus'.
"Then why are you going to the dance with her?" Albus shot back. Scorpius threw his hands into the air in frustration.
"She's my best friend, Albus!" He exclaimed. "I don't see why we can't just go together as friends and leave it at that. Besides, who else am I going to go with?" To Scorpius' surprise, Albus burst out into quiet laughter.
"Scorpius," he began, setting his arms on the edge of the table as he leaned forward. "You're one of the best-looking lads in fourth year. I'm sure half the bloody school would go with you if you asked." Scorpius glanced down at the floor, trying desperately to ignore the pang in his chest.
The truth was, he didn't want to go with anyone else. Rose was the only girl he wanted to go with, and the idea of going with anyone other than her didn't sit well with him. To make matters worse, the mere thought of her going with someone else caused a wave of revulsion to wash over him.
"Look, we're going, and we're just going as friends." Scorpius replied. "That's all there is to it."
"Is that fair to Rose, though?" Albus queried, his voice thoughtful. Scorpius' head shot up.
"Why wouldn't it be fair?" he implored, his eyes narrowing again. He could see straight through Albus' feigned tone of nonchalance. Clearly, his friend was trying to get to something.
"Maybe she wants to go with someone else, but she doesn't want to say no to you because you're her best mate." Albus pointed out. Scorpius' felt some of the air being sucked out of his lungs, the sensation of being kicked in the gut coming to mind as he struggled to keep his expression calm.
"She said she hadn't planned on going with anyone else." Scorpius remarked, unable to keep the tinge of irritation out of his voice.
"Planning and wanting are two entirely different things." Albus retorted bluntly. Scorpius glared back at him.
"Why do you even care?" he asked, eyeing his friend up and down. Albus shrugged yet again.
"I just want her to be happy." He answered. "More importantly, I don't want her to get her heart broken." Scorpius' breath caught in his throat.
"What makes you think I'm going to break her heart?" he asked, knowing full-well what Albus meant.
"Don't be daft." Albus responded. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Scorpius could see in that instant that Albus knew. Somehow, before he could even begin to admit it to himself, Albus knew of the feelings Scorpius was so desperate to stop. The deepest recesses of his soul were starting to bend and sway in the wake of these newfound emotions, and Scorpius wasn't sure how much longer he could push them away.
He supposed it was too late to try and deny it. The look painted across Albus' face told him that there was no arguing his way out of this one; not like Allison.
"I…" he began before his voice trailed off. Scorpius couldn't seem to find the words. Albus smiled, throwing him a compassionate look.
"I think that answers the question, then." He replied. Scorpius' eyes narrowed.
"I didn't even say anything!" he riposted. Albus snorted.
"Exactly." He responded. "And that said more than enough." Scorpius swallowed again, not entirely sure how to reply to that. "This is great." Albus continued, grinning wildly. "You know what this means?"
"Yeah." Scorpius answered in a dry voice. He hesitated before finishing, his heart pounding as the rush of everything he had tried so hard to deny poured over him. "It means I'm in trouble."
Rose's hazel eyes flickered as they stared out the windowpane. Her deep red hair fell over her shoulder, a single lock wrapped around her finger as Rose twirled it absent-mindedly. The rain outside was falling softly against the pane, the quiet pitter-patter echoing throughout her room. She sat atop her bead, her back up against the headboard and her knees pulled up beneath her chin.
Her demeanor would have seemed calm to the casual observer, but inwardly, Rose felt like there was a raging hurricane inside of her head. Every though of Scorpius sent her mind into a tailspin. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take this.
The thought that Allison had been dead-right couldn't seem to leave Rose's head. It haunted her every waking moment, mocking her from the back of her mind where it lurked like an unwanted monster. The idea that she was falling for Scorpius Malfoy despite her heart's yearning not to made Rose want to tear her hair out.
Of course, there was also the idea that perhaps her heart was, in fact, yearning for the opposite. What if deep down, in the darkest crevices of her soul where she rarely ventured, Rose really did want this? That thought alone was enough to send her mind into a whirlwind for the rest of the day.
Then there was the matter of this dance. Rose was beginning to wonder if going with Scorpius was really the wisest decision. If she was actually starting to develop feeling for him, this definitely wouldn't help matters any. Of course, she had already accepted his invitation. It would be a bit hard to decline now without making things even more complicated and confusing than they already were.
Muffled footsteps came from outside Rose's dorm room. Quickly shoving all thoughts of Scorpius to the back of her mind, Rose straightened her composure just as Allison waltzed in.
"Good evening!" her blonde-haired friend exclaimed, a grin lighting up the tanned contours of her face.
"What's got you in such high spirits?" Rose inquired, her eyebrows raising up and down mischievously. She knew exactly what had her friend in such a good mood, but it was always fun to tease Allison.
"Oh, nothing too terribly exciting." Allison responded, waving her hand vaguely. "Albus just asked me to the Yule Ball."
"Wow." Rose replied dryly. "I never would have thought you would go with the boy you were dating. I'm shocked, really." Allison rolled her eyes lightly, though it did nothing to lessen the grin splashed across her face.
"Oh shut up." She retorted, plopping down on Rose's bed and crossing her legs underneath her while propping her chin up between her hands. "So, has anyone asked you yet?" Allison asked, her blue eyes shining curiously. Rose bit her lip, hesitating before responding.
"I'm going with Scorpius." She eventually answered. Rose could sense the tension in the air rising. "We're just going as friends." she added hastily, hoping the stoic expression she managed to dawn was enough to convince Allison.
"Have you gone mental?" Allison replied, her eyes widening in surprise.
"I'm not going to argue with you about this." Rose responded, struggling to keep her voice steady.
"I told you something like this was going to happen." Allison muttered, shaking her head. "You're treading a dangerous path here, Rose."
"Do you have to overreact to everything?" Rose asked, her voice laced with irritation as she threw an annoyed glare at her friend. "I promise I'll be careful. Besides, how much harm can a dance really do?"
"It starts with a dance, and then it turns into something more." Allison shot back. "You may not mean for it to happen, but it will. Mark my words." Rose's eyes narrowed, anger surging through her veins. Mostly because her friend was right. The 'it' in question had already started to happen.
"Look, I appreciate that you're concerned." She began, choosing her words carefully as she tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "But I can handle this. I don't need you to hold my hand and tell me how to live my life." Allison's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"I'm not trying to tell you how to live your –"
"Yes, you are." Rose interrupted, irritation starting to leak into her voice unwittingly. "And I'm getting rather sick of it." She wasn't entirely sure where this backbone was coming from, but Rose was grateful it had. "If I want to go the bloody dance with Scorpius Malfoy, then I will."
"Alright." Allison replied in a resigned tone, holding up her hands in surrender. Her lips were pursed, and Rose could see that she wasn't pleased with the situation. "But," her blonde friend began again, leaning forward. "If he breaks your heart, don't come crying to me for sympathy."
With that, Allison slid off the edge of the bed and walked to the bathroom to change into more casual clothes. Rose watched her go, her heart pounding inside her chest. Her friend's words echoed relentlessly inside her head. If Rose were honest, she would admit that it was a bit late for that piece of advice.
Her heart was already well on its way to being broken.
A/N: Hope you liked it! I promise I'll update ASAP. I'll be pretty busy with my Camp NaNo story in April, but I'm not abandoning this story! Really excited for the Yule Ball ;)
Thanks as always for reading, and please review if you have time! God bless!