Do you believe in love at first sight?
Chapter 9
"Henry, come back!" Cee called, weaving in and out of the busy London crowd, "Scor' grab him!"
Scorpius' feet pounded the pavement; he could see a dark mop of hair bobbing up and down ahead. Bloody hell this kid was fast. Scorpius lunged forward throwing his hands around the little boys waist.
"Gottcha!" Scorpius tucked Henry under his arm and started back towards Cee.
"Stranger Danger! Stranger Danger!" Henry started screaming causing passers by to stop and stare. "STRANGER DANGER!"
"I'm not a stranger, I'm dating his sister, really…Honestly, I do know him." Scorpius babbled to random members of the public. "Come on Henry, lets find Cee."
"I'm not called Henry!" Henry squealed dramatically gripping the doorway of a shop, muggles were really starting to pay attention now as Scorpius tried in vain to prize his fingers off the doorframe.
"CEECEE!" Henry flung himself at Cee, "I'm hungry." He planted a kiss on her cheek, 'Kiss arse' thought Scorpius, today was not going as well as he'd hoped, Henry was a bit of a shit. It had started well, they had picked Henry up from his parents, let him choose where to eat. He chose a place called MacDonald's, which served pale, anemic burgers and soggy chips, at least they came with a toy! But both Scorpius and Henry soon found out muggle toys were a big disappointment.
So to cheer him up they had taken him to the biggest toyshop Scorpius had even been to, bought him a present, made him laugh. Then as he grew bored of his surroundings his behavior deteriorated, he threw items off shelves, pulled the shop assistants hair and ran off into the busy throng of Londoners.
"I think its time to take you home." Cee said sweetly to Henry tickling him under the chin. "Mummy will have tea ready for you."
They dropped Henry back home; Scorpius made excuses said he couldn't stay for dinner, that was a lie. Today had been an eye opener, children and responsibility, he wasn't ready, and Cecelia knew it. She saw it in his eyes, soon he would have to face the questions and the inevitable collapse of their relationship.
"So this Scorpius was your first love?" Cilla opened a bottle of wine and conjured up a couple of glasses. "Here, drink this."
"He wasn't my first love, it was a two day fling seven years ago, I thought it could have been more but it ended badly."
"Ooh what happened?" Cilla leaned forward letting her ginormous breasts rest on the table.
"Our parents didn't get on, they were all at Hogwarts together, enemies from the very beginning as far I as know. Scorpius and I met and just clicked straight away, we had this amazing evening, it was perfect, we lost out virginities together. He walked me to my door, kissed me goodnight. When I got back everyone was still up. There was this…atmosphere and no one would tell me why, they just said we were all going back early, go and pack my bags. I was…really pissed off. Lily, my cousin, told me what had happened after we'd left. How my uncle Harry had invited Scorpius' parents over, they'd all been drinking, things got nasty. The past was brought up, the war, his father said something about my mother's blood status, and my dad punched him. Broke his nose, they were drunk; my mother was embarrassed and insisted we all go home. I wrote him a letter saying I didn't blame him for what happened, how humiliated I was over how our parents had acted, and that I wanted to see him again. But maybe he thought he'd made a mistake getting involved with my family. I don't blame him."
Rose finished her story and looked over at Cilla who had a sad smile playing on her lips, "And you bumped into him today?"
"Yeah, well no, I saw him on the other side of the road. Seven years later and he hasn't really changed - still handsome." Rose paused and sighed, "But he has a wife now, a really beautiful one, and a kid. It's not like I expected him to still be single, but it was just a shock, he's doing what everyone our age should be doing, growing up. I still feel like a big kid with no responsibility."
"What do mean 'what everyone our age should be doing?' I'm older than you, single, and childless, but I've never been happier in my life than I am right now. Don't compare yourself to everyone else darling, it'll drive you insane. If I strutted around caring what everyone else thought then I'd have to believe that they were mentally at the same level as me, which just isn't the case."
"Hmmmm." Rose couldn't really think of another response, Cilla was right she couldn't argue with that. "Is Magnus back?" Rose took a brave stab at changing the subject.
"Oh yes!" It worked, "He came back yesterday had some food, then came and snuggled on my bed, did you think he smelt a bit fishy?"
"Merlin yes, he stunk the kitchen out the other day, it was a bit like rotten mackerel. Do you think he just rolled in it somewhere?"
"Magnus wouldn't do that, he's a very clean boy. I think someone else is feeding him!" She stretched over for the bottle and emptied it equally into the their glasses, "Which is completely out of order!"
"I can't believe you Scorpius. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Cee paced backwards and forwards in Scorpius' flat using her arms to exaggerate the point.
"I don't know?" Scorpius mumbled back staring into his hands, the image of a small boy being scolded by a teacher came to mind.
"Be honest, How do you feel about me?" She had asked the one question Scorpius had been trying to avoid. "Scorpius?"
Scorpius groaned inwardly, "Cee…" How should he respond? He could lie and do the smart thing. Tell this beautiful woman he was completely in love with her, but as soon as he looked into Cee's deep chocolatey eyes he had failed. Cecelia saw the truth and her body stiffened "Right, I see."
"Cee…"
"Scor' it's fine, really" Her went up an octave as she finished, she was fighting with something internally. The urge to cry? To hex him into oblivion?
"Cee…"
"Scor' stop saying my name! It's fine, really, at least you didn't lie to me."
"Cee…It not that I don't…I mean…I'm not even entirely sure what love is."
"You are pathetic!"
"No, Cee…I honestly think there is something wrong with me. I feel as though I should love you, and I know I'm crazy not to because you're so fucking wonderful and completely perfect…maybe…maybe, I don't know. Maybe it because my family are all so cold, well not cold but they're, none of them, very good at showing affection even when they really want to…"
"Scorpius, will you just shut up!" Cecelia barked impatiently, completely out of character.
"Cee, shhhhh…"
"Excuse me." Cee responded shocked and indignant at being told to 'shhh'.
"Cassie is in the next room." Scorpius whispered pointing at the closed door.
"I will not shhh, and I will not listen to anymore of your shit. I don't understand you, we were great then out of the blue you say it isn't working, then suddenly you're back spouting all this shit about change. We had a lovely day with Henry, I was imagining…Oh, I don't know…You, me and a kid of our own. But then this…" she paused, smoothed her hair down, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, "We need time apart, don't contact me, I'll contact you when I'm ready." Cecelia stretched up to kiss Scorpius meaningfully on the lips, and without another word said between them, she left. Scorpius knew she had just walked out of his flat for the last time. Surely he was meant to feel regret for what he has lost, but instead a wave of relief swept over him. Scorpius resigned himself to the fact that he had the emotional capacity of a gurdy root.
"Excuse me."
Rose looked up from her book, today had been extremely quiet and amazingly Rose had gone the whole day in peace. Not one single soul had come and asked her for help, she grumbled internally at this disruption to see a familiar face. Rose didn't know the man but he was often in here. The stranger always knew what he wanted, usually from the History section, and sat down in a cushy armchair in one of the far corners.
"Sorry to interrupted you, it just I have been suffering in silence since you started working here,"
Oh Merlin, Rose thought to herself she had unwittingly made an enemy in the library, she hastily scanned her memory for any sign of rudeness or possible suffering she may have caused him.
"You can of course say No, I will of course be heart broken but I'll try to carry on-" he smiled down at her.
"Sorry, what?" Rose was so preoccupied over what she may have done to offend this gentleman, she completely zoned out, missing what he was saying entirely.
"I was wondering if perhaps, if you don't want to I completely understand…mad strangers and all that…but would you like to maybe go for dinner sometime."
"Oh." Rose had definitely not been expecting that.
"I completely understand, sorry to bother you." He had a mop of mousy hair that fell into bespectacled eyes, his clothes were what her Uncle Percy wore on what he liked to call 'leisure days', frumpy jumpers, un-ironed shirts and beige slacks. His fashion aside, he had a sweetness about him, his voice was warm and well spoken.
"Wait." Rose wasn't entirely sure what she was doing. This man was a complete stranger maybe it was the fact Ross had just gotten married, or all the smug little couples that tormented her with their closeness… "I didn't get your name?"
"Oh, ahhh, Jeffery. Please call me Jeff."
One date, what did she have to lose? Worse case senario it would be a disaster but it would get her out of the flat and away from Cilla's insane missing cat theories. So she accepted his offer and arranged to meet him for dinner the following night.
