A/N: I'M BACK! :D Hey guys! Know it's been a while. Like I said, I was busy for all of April with my Camp NaNoWriMo story. Camp's over now, though, so I have time to get back to this story! Thank you all for your patience! I'm really sorry this is taking so long. I promise I'm not giving up on this. This is my masterpiece; without a doubt my best fanfic, and the one I'm the most proud of. That being said, I haven't finished my Camp novel yet (I passed my initial goal of 65k words, but I still have another 15-20k words to go before I'm done), and I still have two other fanfics I'm working on. So, don't panic if I don't update this every day.
Anywho, enough babbling. Thanks again to all of my loyal followers! Here's the latest :D
Before Scorpius knew it, autumn had melted into winter, and the Yule Ball approached. Almost all of the gossip floating around Hogwarts was centered around the Ball, and who was going with who, and who hadn't been invited as of yet. Even the boys, who rarely participated in such affairs, were starting to talk about the impending event with anticipation.
For Scorpius, he was filled with both trepidation and anticipation. Part of him was ecstatic, the other half stuck in a pit of dread. He couldn't seem to keep it out of his mind, and every thought of Rose sent his mind awhirl yet again. Scorpius found himself constantly wondering if perhaps Albus was right and she really did want to go with someone else. She had a perfect right to, of course. Scorpius was her best friend, but he didn't run her life.
It had been irking him for quite some time. It gnawed unwittingly at the back of his mind where he struggled, and failed oftentimes, to keep it. He hadn't spoken to anyone about it since the last conversation with Albus, but it didn't stop him from inwardly fretting about it. He supposed it was a bit stupid to be spending so much time worrying about something so childish; yet even then, Scorpius couldn't help it.
At first, Scorpius had thought he had asked Rose to the dance simply because she was his best friend and it had seemed like the logical choice. Now, however, he wasn't so certain. He was beginning to think that perhaps he had inadvertently asked her out of his unwanted, but still ever-growing feelings. That thought terrified him to the core, yet Scorpius was starting to think that it might be true.
It was after weeks upon weeks of worrying and nearly driving himself into the bottomless chasm of insanity that he finally decided to put an end to it all. His friends were starting to notice that something was bothering him, and Rose had even asked him on multiple occasions what was wrong. Scorpius supposed it would be better if he just went ahead and asked her about it rather than spend the next week and a half driving himself mad.
They were exiting Herbology, the last class of the day, when Scorpius called to her from behind the crowd of student heading back to the Castle.
"Oi! Rose!" he exclaimed, beckoning for her to come to the back of the crowd where they could talk in private. Rose promptly turned around, leaving Allison and a few other girls to jog back to him, her bright red hair flowing in the wind behind her.
"What?" she asked, her face alight with curiosity as she slowed to a halt, then began walking alongside him.
"Slow down a bit." Scorpius replied, waiting until they had distanced themselves from the crowd of students up ahead.
"What's going on?" Rose inquired, her hazel eyes piercing into his own intently. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Scorpius assured her, waving his hand dismissively as he stopped walking and turned to face her directly. "I…I just wanted to ask you something."
"Oh?" Rose responded, her eyes widening slightly. Scorpius nodded, running a hand through his silver locks of hair. He drew in a deep breath before continuing.
"Rose, is there someone else you want to go the Ball with?" he asked in a rushed voice, reluctantly dragging his grey eyes back to meet hers. Her hazel eyes narrowed.
"No, of course not." She answered. "I'm going with you." Scorpius sighed, glancing down at the grass for a moment.
"I'm serious, Rose." He replied. "If there is someone else that you'd rather go with, then you can tell me."
"What makes you think I'd want to go with someone else?" Rose queried, her head tilting to the side. Scorpius shrugged, avoiding her gaze.
"It's just that…well, we're just going as friends." he stammered. "So if there was someone that you wanted to go with that's…well, that's more than that, then that's fine." Shock etched itself onto Rose's face.
"Oh." She said simply, her eyes darting back and forth along the ground as she took a minute to let that bit of information sink in. After a moment, she continued in a tight voice. "Scorpius, if you're trying to tell me that there's someone that you'd rather go with, then –"
"Rose, that's not what I'm saying." Scorpius assured her hastily. "I just wanted to make sure that, you know, there wasn't anyone else." Rose gave him an exasperated glare.
"Scorpius, you know there's no one else I want to go with." She retorted calmly. "Just as friends, of course." She quickly added, her eyes widening. "'Cause like you said, you know, we're not…"
"Because that's what we are." Scorpius finished for her, scratching the back of his neck in an attempt to hide the way his hands were beginning to shake at the direction the conversation was starting to shift. He and Rose never really talked about this kind of thing, after all. It was the taboo subject; the one thing they both knew was off limits.
"Right." Rose agreed quietly. "Scorpius, a-are you sure there's no one else?" she asked after a moment of stilted silence. Scorpius finally swung his gaze back up to meet hers once again.
"Of course not." He replied as if it were obvious. "I can't think of anyone else who could put up with me for that long." He added, a teasing smile winding its way up his face as he maneuvered them back to familiar territory. Rose gave a feigned nod of deep thoughtfulness.
"I suppose that's true." She agreed. "I'm probably the only girl in the school who can manage to pull that off."
"Exactly." Scorpius responded, grinning cheekily. Rose finally gave in, a smile of her own breaking out across the freckled planes of her face. She grabbed his hand, starting the walk back to the castle again.
"I guess you're stuck with me, then." She teased, throwing him a playful smirk from beside him as they walked. Scorpius continued to smile down at her, taking a moment to enjoy the beautiful hue of her bright hazel eyes. The sun above was making them glimmer like jewels, and Scorpius couldn't seem to take his eyes off of them.
"That's fine with me." He replied, gently squeezing her hand. Rose squeezed back, and Scorpius felt his heart leap inside of his chest.
Something began stirring deep within him, and Scorpius tried desperately to push it away. He had to stop thinking these kinds of thoughts, and feeing these sensations. Every inch of his soul was aching for him to give in to the feelings he had been struggling to hide and deny, while every part of his brain was telling him to run in the opposite direction as far and as fast as he could. Scorpius knew it could never happen. No matter how much he wanted it, it could never, ever happen. Lucius would make sure of that. Yet even then, Scorpius already knew it was too late.
Because like it or not, he was falling for Rose Weasley.
"What do you think?" Rose asked Allison, twirling in front of one of the mirrors at Gladrags Wizardwear in Hogsmeade. The tight-fitting yellow dress swirled around her thin frame, falling all the way past her ankles. The low-cut neckline showed off a bit more cleavage than Rose liked, and she knew the instant she saw Allison's face that her friend agreed.
"Not your style." Allison replied firmly. Rose sighed, tucking her bright red hair behind her ears as she glared angrily at her reflection. She and Allison were currently on the hunt for dresses for the Yule Ball.
"At this rate, I may find a dress just in time for spring break." She grumbled. Allison chuckled from her perch on a bench.
"I'm sure we'll find the right one eventually." She assured Rose.
"This is what, the eleventh one?" Rose retorted. "That has to be some kind of record."
"You're not even close to how many Pansy Parkinson tried on." The cashier, and elderly lady called from behind the counter. She had been watching the entire endeavor, as the store was mostly empty, even giving her opinion every now and then. "That girl must have tried on the whole store. I swear she was the vainest creature I ever did see." The lady muttered. Rose exchanged a glance with Allison, trying to hold in a giggle.
"You keep looking." Allison said. "I'm going to try this one on." She gestured to the long, silver dress she had in her hands, then walked into the changing room.
Rose nodded absent-mindedly, walking barefoot across the carpeted floor as she wandered back to the rack on the far wall. She flipped through the endless array of dresses, mentally checking all of them off; too short, too long, too pink… the list went on and on. Rose was beginning to think that she would just give up and not go the bloody Ball at all. It was at that moment when her fingers glided over a piece of dark, forest green silk that caught her gaze.
Her eyes narrowing curiously, she pulled the dress off of the rack and inspected it, her hazel eyes scanning it up and down carefully. Biting her lip, she struggled to keep in a grin. This was the one. She just knew it.
"Rose, c'mere!" came a call from Allison. Rose whirled around, taking the dress with her as she scurried back to her friend.
Rose's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Her blonde friend was wearing a dazzling dress of silver satin that ran down all the way to the floor. It was strapless, but not too revealing. The dress fit Allison's curvy frame nicely, hugging her body in all the right places while still not being overly tight.
"You look gorgeous." Rose finally managed to croak out, letting out a small squeal. "I think that's it. It looks so bloody good on you."
"Thanks." Allison replied, grinning broadly as she swirled around elegantly in front of the mirror. "I love it." Rose's blonde friend caught sight of the green dress in her hands. "Did you find one?" she asked excitedly. Rose smiled.
"I did." She answered.
"Try it on!" Allison responded, shooing her into the dressing room.
Rose quickly slid out of the yellow, then carefully pulled the green one over her head. As soon as it settled over her body and Rose had adjusted it to her satisfaction, she knew. Opening the door, she strode out with her shoulders thrown back.
"That's the one." Allison said, confirming Rose's thoughts. Rose was the next to grin as she checked her reflection in the mirror.
The dress was utterly exquisite. It was a beautiful smaragdine hue, and, like Allison's dress, came down all the way to the floor. It was a simple v-neck with thin straps, fitting tightly around her bodice and upper abdomen before flaring out below her waist. The silky material felt softer than down against Rose's skin, and she breathed out in relief. She had finally found it.
"It's not too simple, is it?" Rose asked, uncertainty beginning to cloud her mind. Allison rolled her eyes.
"You seem awfully worried despite not having anyone to impress." She remarked wryly. Rose shot her a dirty look.
"Just because Scorpius and I are going as friends doesn't mean that I can't look nice." She replied tartly.
"Whatever you say." Allison muttered in a resigned tone.
Rose ignored her friend, fixating her attention on the dress instead. Despite her rebuttal from moments earlier, she was starting to getting to more and more concerned about the approaching Ball. Her conversation with Scorpius days before had only worsened her fears. She didn't want Scorpius to think that he had to go with her, even though the mere thought of him going with anyone else made her nauseous.
If Rose were honest, she would admit that deep down she really did want to go with Scorpius as more than just friends. She had been wanting it for a while now, despite her sensible side telling her that wishing for such a thing was idiotic at best. Rose knew it was foolish to even think of such a thing. Not when Lucius Malfoy was still on the loose. One thing she knew for certain;
No matter how hard it was, she had to stop herself from falling for him.
A/N: Thanks for reading, as always, and please review! Next chapter will be the Yule Ball ;)