Long chapter ahead :)

Sorry in advance for any mistake

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Just this fanfiction.

ROSE

The weather was finally beginning to change. Summer was gone and the cold wind was coming just in time for the dance, which would be in just a few days.

It had been two weeks since that horrible episode at the restaurant. Two weeks since she had hardly seen Scorpius, as he seemed to avoid her presence at all times. And although his indifference continued to affect her, she was determined not to remain sad. She wasn't going to get depressed about any boy, it wasn't worth it.

In addition, each day, Rose found it more difficult to balance work with studies, although perhaps that was because the winter break was coming after the ball and the teachers were loading them with homework. But Rose was not discouraged, because she liked receiving payment for her effort. It was quite rewarding to be independent.

A few giggles brought her out of her thoughts. The girl raised her head and looked toward the door at the exact moment to see Val and her stupid friends enter. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Why out of all the bathrooms in the school had she had to enter this one?

Her gazes met and a hideous smile crossed Val's face as she set her purse on the bathroom counter and falsely arranged the waves of her hair in front of the mirror.

"Did I tell you guys that Scorpius was very romantic when he asked me to go to the ball together?" Val asked in an outrageously high tone of voice, "He brought me a bouquet of red roses just to spoil me"

"You're so lucky," Elena, her friend, squealed like a little girl, "Scorpius is so sweet ... I wish Theo had those details with me too"

"That's not important, tell us more Val," bet another

"Well ... Scorpius was very affectionate while asking about the ball," she continued, "Then we went to have fun for a while," Val laughed softly, "We went to that new place on the outskirts of the district. It has very comfortable rooms."

Her stomach fluttered with nausea but she kept her expression serene. She had to get out of there though. Rose dried her hands with a paper towel and took her backpack.

"What about you Rose?" Val asked when he saw her walking towards the door, "Who are you going to the winter ball with?"

"Nobody you care," she replied

"You're right about that," Val answered turning around and looking at her with the triumph clearly painted in her expression, "Although something tells me that you will stay at home crying like the loser you are."

"Even if that were true, it's none of your business," the redhead took a few steps towards Val. The rage accumulated by weeks boiled inside her. She was sick of Val's attitude and her comments, "So stop messing with my life and go leave your poison somewhere else"

A couple of her friends gasped but Val only increased her smile.

"So now you show the claws," she hissed, "I knew you weren't as innocent as you looked"

"I will not continue tolerating your attitude. Leave me alone, you already have Scorpius so go take good care of him. You two totally deserve each other"

Without waiting for her answer, Rose left the bathroom. Anger still flowed through her body so she headed straight to the cafeteria, for she knew she would find her cousin there.

Albus and his friends were being very loud at their usual table. Rose walked decisively towards him and didn't mind the whistles and honeyed comments from some of his Gryffindor mates.

"Al, can we talk?" She asked

Albus nodded and immediately stepped off the edge of the table where he had been sitting. With one look from him the compliments of his friends stopped. If she weren't so upset, she would even have found that funny.

"Did something happen?" He wanted to know

"Kind of," she admitted "Well ... the ball is in a few days and Cassandra is not going to assist so I thought that maybe you could introduce me to one of your friends and well ... get me a date for the night"

Rose's voice finally faltered with embarrassment and she felt her face blush. She knew that maybe it was silly to ask her cousin to set up a date for her, just to upset Val but she didn't want to give her the pleasure of not going to the dance or showing up alone. She was going to go to that damn ball and she was going to look much better than Val that night.

"A date?" Albus seemed confused but at least there was no trace of mockery in his voice. "And you can't just go with me?"

"Oh Albus, that would be utterly depressing," she sighed

"Mmm I don't know," he seemed reluctant to do it as he looked at his friends, "I don't think it's a good idea ..."

"Come on cousin! Please, please," she pouted and he smiled, "I just need a partner for the dance. I'm not asking for anything else."

"Just for the dance, huh? Nothing more than that," he looked at her suspiciously and she blushed even more.

"I'm not going to do anything you're thinking about," she hit him on the shoulder

"Good, because then I would have to bit the shit out of one of my friends," he widened his smile but then he hesitated, "If Andrew were still alive I would have pick him without hesitation."

She felt a lump in her throat at hearing the pain in her cousin's voice, so she grabbed his hand, trying to comfort him

"Never mind," he shook his head. "Let's see… um… I guess you could go with David Creevey. He is a good guy"

"Which one is David?" She asked curious

"The one over there"

Albus pointed to a tall boy with honey-colored hair and green eyes. He was tremendously handsome, although in a soft style, and Rose couldn't imagine him as part of a gang.

"He's cute," she nodded.

"I guess," Her cousin shrugged, "Let's meet in the parking lot at the end of class, I'll introduce you to him there. But hey, don't expect a limo picking you up or flowers or things like that."

His mocking tone had returned so she stuck her tongue out at him before pulling away.

As she took out a tray of food she wished Cassie were there. It was Wednesday but she had a family engagement or something like that, so she had skipped classes. Her brother and Scorpius weren't in school either.

Classes went by tremendously slow but when the exit bell finally rang her stomach was bursting with excitement. Honestly for the past few hours she was cowering for having asked Albus to do something so foolish, but now she couldn't back down. Besides, even if Scorpius had turned out to be a jerk, David was not. Or he didn't seem to be.

Albus and David were waiting for her next to the motorcycle. Rose felt her face redden. Was it just her or everything look too forced?

"Hi," she greeted Albus with a kiss

"Rose, I wanted to introduce you to David. He was very interested to meet you," Albus chuckled but David didn't seem to mind his comment, "David this is my cousin Rose".

"Hello Rose, it's good to finally meet you," his voice was hoarse and contrasted with his face, which in a way made him even more attractive

"Hi David," she greeted him with a nod

"David is going to take you home because I have to do some things," said Albus

"If that's okay with you, of course," the other boy hastened to add

"Ah… yes, of course, thanks"

Albus kissed her goodbye and did a strange handshake with David. When they were alone, he turned to her.

"My car is over there," he pointed to a black vehicle parked nearby, "Can I help you with the backpack?"

"Sure thanks"

David took her backpack and they walked in silence. Once she was seated, she noticed that he had a Gryffindor lion hanging from the rear view mirror.

"Do you like it?" He asked when noticing that she was staring at the symbol

"It's beautiful," she agreed, "Although it scares me, if I'm honest"

"Because of the gang?"

"Uhum"

David nodded and then added, "Rose?" She turned to him, "I know we hardly know each other but would you like to go with me to the Winter Ball?"

"You know David? I would like it very much," she smiled, "It would be a good way to get to know each other better."

He laughed, and the conversation lightened the rest of the way.

"I'll pick you up Saturday," he said when he parked the car, "At nine, is that okay?"

"Perfect," she smiled, "It was good to meet you David Creevey"

"So I say Rose Weasley"

She said goodbye to him with a kiss on the cheek and entered the building.

David seemed to be a good boy and he liked her. Of course it was nothing like the way she felt with Scorpius, but it was a start. At least now she was hoping to enjoy the ball in the company of someone nice.

Once in the apartment she hurried to get ready to go to work. Fortunately Cassie was already at the restaurant. Rose was quick to tell her everything she had missed as there weren't many customers yet.

"David Creevey? Mmm I think I know him," she agreed, "Are you sure you want to go with him Rose?"

"He caused me a good impression," she shrugged as she cleaned one of the tables. "He was quite polite and my cousin trusts him."

"Yes well ... sometimes you don't get to know a person at all," Cass refused Rose's inquisitive look, "They may seem reliable but internally they are very different"

"What makes you say that?" Rose wanted to know

"I just want you to be careful, okay?" asked her friend

"I will, don't worry," she assured the other girl, "Although it would be nice if you were with me too. We could even have fun ..."

"I don't think so," Cass shook her head; "I can go with you to buy the dress, though. Mom will give us the Friday afternoon free to go shopping."

"Seriously? That's amazing!"

They didn't have much time to talk after that, but when her shift was over she felt a lot more positive. She had the prospect of a good date, a girls' outing, and a day off as well.

She told Albus that the bus was near her stop and he replied that he couldn't accompany her this time, so she went straight home. Hope was going through some papers when she walked into the apartment.

"Hi Rosie, how are you?" Asked her sister

The redhead went over to give her a kiss.

"Do you need help?" She offered

"No, it's not complicated, just boring," she smiled at Rose, "Can you sit? I'd like to talk with you"

"Oh oh," she clicked her tongue, "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, don't be alarmed," Hope looked at her and sighed, "It's just that these days you've been very quiet and you hardly spend time with us. Even Hugo told me that you no longer played with him ... so I wanted to know if everything was alright with you."

"Everything is fine"

"Today afternoon I saw you arrive in a boy's car ..."

"Ah!" She laughed, "He's just a friend. He is friends with Albus too."

Hope nodded and stopped checking her documents to look at her sister.

"You're more animated today," she commented, "Were you having problems with that friend? A fight maybe?"

"Eh ... big sister, I'm fine, seriously," she took her hand, "I appreciate that you worry but there is nothing going on. I was just pretty busy with school and work. I'm sorry if I worried you."

Hope sighed and seemed to give up. Rose was a bit saddened by her expression but she didn't feel like telling her sister about Scorpius or David. At least not now.

"It's okay. But I'm here ok? You can trust me"

"I know that Hope," she stood up and hugged her, "I'll be in my room, I have tons of homework"

"Fine, I love you Rosie."

The girl went to her room and she fell asleep almost immediately with how tired she was.

Since she had arranged to meet Cass to go shopping for the dress, Rose took some of the money she had saved and met her at the restaurant.

"Have fun!" Mrs. Tracey told them before dismissing them

Cassandra led her to a busy street where there were different dress stores.

"I suppose they're not like the ones you're used to," Cassie said, "But I think they're pretty"

"They are," Rose accepted, "Look at this one…"

It didn't take long to find the ideal dress because she fell in love with one once she saw it. It was gold and had no cleavage, but covered her chest albeit in a rather elegant way. The skirt fell in soft pleats to her ankles. She knew she should buy it as soon as she saw how it fit her body.

"You look beautiful," Cassie smiled, "You are going to look amazing that night"

They paid for the garment and then went for pizza. They also decided to go to the movies and Cass offered to fix her hair for the ball. Mr. Nott stopped by and then dropped Rose at home.

"Thanks for today Cassandra," he said, "See you tomorrow. Goodbye Mr. Nott."

"Goodbye Rose," they said almost in unison

Hope was very excited to see the dress and they spent the remainder of the night searching for hairstyles that might go well with Rose's face. The girl felt at peace after spending those moments with her older sister, thinking only about typical feminine stuff and excited by the prospect of dancing.

After a while Hugo got into her bed and she agreed to watch a movie with him. They fell asleep together, and since she wasn't supposed to work the next morning, Rose made breakfast for her siblings.

"What time are you going to the dance?" Hope wanted to know

"At 9 o'clock," she replied while she ate one of the pancakes she had prepared. They were good, "Will I have a curfew?"

"Of course you'll have a curfew," Hope smiled at her, "Mmm let's see ... what about three in the morning?"

"Three sounds good," she hugged her sister and smiled at her

"I like to see you happy Rosie," she said, "But please be careful and be good."

"Of course I'll be good Hope. And I don't need the talk, okay? I already know everything I'm supposed to know."

Hope laughed and Hugo asked what talk they were talking about but they diverted their attention to a possible family picnic.

Later in the afternoon her siblings went out for a walk and she stayed reading in her room. After a while Cass came and started working on her hair. She let most of it loose, creating soft waves, and braiding a few strands.

"Cassie! It looks amazing, thanks!" Rose gasped when she saw the final result

She smiled shyly, "Go put your dress on; you're going to look stunning."

The redhead changed the clothes she was wearing for her dress and put on sandals in the same gold tone that had enough heels to highlight her figure. Cassie applied makeup as well, and Rose was pleased with the end result. She felt very good. She felt beauty.

"Your date has arrived!" announced her sister

"Come on, go, go ... go have fun," Cassie hugged her, "Have a good time and ignore everything and everyone, okay?"

She knew she was referring to Scorpius and Val, so she nodded and put her phone in her small bag. She said goodbye to Hope and Hugo and waited for David to ring the bell. Hope greeted him kindly and didn't insist on taking a photograph of them together, which was a relief.

"You look beautiful Rose," David said with a smile

And he didn't look bad at all in a white shirt and a thin black tie. His hair was neatly combed and he smelled great. He also had brought a corsage that combined very well with her dress.

"Thank you David," she smiled putting the corsage on her wrist, "You look very handsome."

They said goodbye to the girls and David helped her into the car. They arrived at the school in a few minutes. The dance would be in the gym and the truth is that the managers had done a great job at transforming the premises. There was a nice atmosphere with dim lights and upbeat music.

"Do you want something to drink?" Asked David

"Not now"

They went to where Albus was with his friends. Neither of them had brought a date and yet they didn't seem affected by it. Even more ... many of the girls who did have companions looked at them without caring about their dates.

"Cousin," he greeted her, "Lovely as always."

"Thank you"

"Be good, huh Creevey?" He greeted her date

David ignored him and asked her to dance, and Rose accepted.

The boy was a good dancer and they hooked up with other couples already on the dance floor. David placed her hand gently on her back and she liked the feeling, though the fire she felt when Scorpius touched her wasn't there.

Thinking of him she couldn't help but look around the place searching for him. It didn't take long for her to find him, mainly because he was staring at her. Rose held his gaze for a few seconds and then looked for Val, but the girl wasn't with him. She was actually at the other end of the gym with her noisy friends, looking clearly upset. That pleased Rose.

After several songs they went to drink punch. David was quite funny and at no point did he try anything else or seek more intimate contact, for what she was relieved and grateful.

By the time they got back on the dance floor, the DJ was playing slow, romantic songs. David looked at her, as if asking for her permission and she nodded; so she gently clung to his body and danced. She felt Scorpius's gaze on her once again, but tried not to think about that. As her cousin and his friends had disappeared, she took advantage of it to rest her head on David's chest.

But suddenly after she did so, strong arms pulled her away from her date. Rose gasped with surprise and then met Scorpius, who was staring at her with his deep gray eyes filled with anger.

"Come with me, we have to talk," he said

"What's wrong with you? Leave me alone, Scorpius!" She tried to get out of his grip

"Leave her alone," David placed between the two and faced the blonde

"Stay out of this," Scorpius roared pushing him and making David stumble

"Enough!" Rose blurted out. The other students were looking at them with curiosity and concern. Albus would soon find out and that would only cause problems, "Scorpius go away. I don't want to talk to you, go back with ..."

"I need to talk to you; I need to explain," he asked, "Rose please ..."

"She already said," David intervened

"Back away, this is my last warning," Scorpius faced him again

Neither of them seemed ready to back up, especially Scorpius who had his gaze full of fury fixed on David. Rose sighed. She wasn't going to let his dangerous friends get into this. She didn't want violence.

"David, I'll talk to him," she told her date

"But Rose I can't ..."

"Let's go," Scorpius took her hand without waiting for the other boy to finish

"Please, just give me a minute," she asked David. "And don't bring Albus into this."

He seemed to think about it but in the end he nodded. Scorpius pulled her out of the ball and led her out the back door of the gym. The cold winter wind hit her squarely in the face and she shuddered.

"Why the hell did you come with that guy to the ball?!" Scorpius asked when they were away from the bustle

"What does it matter to you?" She replied angrily too

"Rose ..."

"Scorpius if I agreed to talk to you it was because I don't want any trouble, that's all. But I don't owe you any damn explanation; I'm free to come to this ball with whomever I want!"

"Well, then you should have come with me. Just with me," he moved closer until their bodies brushed and she could feel his breath on her forehead

She couldn't help laughing, though.

"Come with you? Really?" She pushed him, trying to get him away for her, "You kissed Val in front of me! You've been dating her even though you said you like me! That you kissed me!"

Scorpius fell silent and looked away.

"I miss you," he suddenly blurted out and she froze. "I like you more than it suits us both Rose. You don't know ... damn it. I think of you all day, I hate seeing you at school and not being able to get close to you ... That kiss ... You have no idea how much I think about that kiss."

She backed away even though her heart wanted to run to him and hug him.

"You humiliated me Scorpius," although she tried to keep her voice steady it sounded more affected than she wanted. "You kissed her in front of me ... even after you said you liked me. And I've had to endure the teasing of those stupid girls ever since," he mumbled a curse and tried to get closer but Rose pushed him away once more, "No, I don't want you to get close. I'm… it's fucking confusing! Everything with you is fucking confusing! One day you're nice and the next you're not, you say you want something with me and then you act doing the opposite. What am I supposed to think?"

"I want to explain Rose but it's ... there's so much you don't know about me"

Scorpius kicked a can he found on the street. Rose flinched and felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I hate to see you with that guy," he said. "And you were hugging him. What was I supposed to do? Wait until you kiss him, until he takes you away from me?"

"You keep me away from you," she replied shaking her head, "You and only you," Rose hit his chest hard, venting, "I'm tired Scorpius ... seriously ..."

"Rose give me a chance, please."

"I can't Scorpius. I do not trust you"

Her statement seemed to hit him in some way because a wince crossed her face.

"Would you rather be with him then? With that Creevey guy?" He pointed towards the dance

"I just want to be at peace!" She screamed, "I want to be with someone who I know is not going to change me for another girl the next day. I want ..." She shook her head, "Go back to Val, Scorpius. Go with her."

"I don't want her," he growled, "I only did that because ..."

"Because you're an asshole," she proposed and he nodded.

They fell silent after that. He didn't try to get close to her and, honestly, Rose didn't feel like going back to the ball, either.

"Could you do me one last favor?" She asked. He looked at her, "Can you tell David I'll go home? I have no head to go back to the dance"

"You are leaving home alone?"

"I'll be fine"

"I'll go with you"

"No, you will not, "she said in a firm voice, "I need to think. I'll take a taxi and leave. Please."

He ended up reluctantly agreeing and she watched him enter the gym.

Rose almost ran away when she was alone. Tears clouded her vision but she continued to move forward. She wanted to be alone and think about everything. Damn Scorpius. He had ruined a good night.

And yet… his words continued to haunt her head and confuse her heart.

What if he really liked her? What if for some stupid reason he had decided to push her away? It was all so confusing! She was about to fall due to a stone in the pavement, so she stopped to figure out where she was and to wait for a taxi.

It was then that she heard the footsteps and the laughter.

She turned her face away, scared. Men were approaching her and the recommendation Albus had given her when he learned of her new job crossed her mind. She took her phone with shaking hands and started walking away from them. She expected them to stop, but as she quickened her pace it was clear that they were following her.

With her heart pouting inside her chest, she tried to unlock the phone but something - or rather someone - made her fall, pushing her hard from behind. Her purse and her phone flew to the other side of the street, and she felt a shooting pain in her knee. What was happening?

"Well hello precious"

The guys behind Rose approached her and helped her incorporated her carelessly. They were wearing black masks and her heart skipped a beat in terror; a fourth man, the one who had caused her fall, joined them and kicked her phone even further.

"Don't worry pretty thing, nothing's going to happen to you," he took a deep breath of his cigarette before throwing it out and putting it out, "We're just going to play for a bit"

"Don't touch me! I want to leave!" Rose yelled

They laughed out loud when they heard her words. The girl kept screaming and one of them punched her so hard that made the tears come back. Keep calm, she told herself internally, "Keep calm."

But instinct took over, so she kicked and struggled against them, only they were stronger.

"Calm down pretty thing, calm down," laughed one of them

Out of nowhere a van pulled up near them and they started dragging her. It was no use in yelling because the strongest of the men threw Rose against the truck and then pulled her hair, threatening her to stop screaming. When the van started to move she knew she was in trouble.

This time she was in serious trouble.

A/N: Are corsages still a thing in school balls? If is not anymore, I'm sorry about that.