Title: Weakness
Rating: K+ (some language)
Word count this chapter: 1,690 (not including A/Ns)
Warnings: Angst, some cussing
Summary this chapter: After being awoken by the real world, Rose and Scorpius have a conversation. In which Rose longs for yesterday, becomes confused and Scorpius sees right through her!
A/N: I'm sorry if this seems at all a bit confusing, but it's supposed to be; Rose feels confused throughout this oneshot and I was trying to capture that. Anyway, hope you enjoy this, it's angsty, but should be fun :). Please review!

Beater 2
Characters: Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy (NextGen)
Optional Prompts used: -weakness- -pretence- -notebook-
Song Lyrics: Yesterday by The Beatles -Yesterday love was such an easy game to play/ Now I need a place to hide away/ Oh, I believe in yesterday-

Pretence: noun [a false display/ the act of pretending]

"I love Kate. I really do."

"I understand, Scorp."

"Bye, then."

"See you."

Rose is hunched over her notebook. The ink is blotting the page; so much, in fact, that it's seeping through to other pages. Other, untouched bits of parchment are now being damaged. She was going to write something, a small caption, but obviously that isn't going to happen. It was supposed to be something along the lines of 'with Cousin Al and Scorpius Malfoy, my childhood friend'. It was supposed to be easy to write.

It wasn't easy to write at all. Because Scorpius was much more than just a childhood friend. How could she write 'my childhood friend' when she had been ready to marry him?

Rose goes to close the notebook but then can't. Though the corner of the photo is stained by ink, it's still perfect. Her, Al and Scorpius are waving merrily at the camera. Her right hand is waving, but the left is clasping Scorp's. They all look happy and young. That was only a year ago. I was such a naïve seventeen year-old.

She keeps staring and staring at the notebook – the notebook she hopes to transform into a scrapbook – but at Scorpius's face specifically. The way his chin is all pointy and his mouth is small and his blonde hair keeps getting in his face, so he has to flick it out every few seconds. The way his grey eyes dance in the sun and his red and gold tie is loose. It's all perfect.

They were perfect, she figures; so why did he have to leave?

Rose knows the answer to that question.

"It's too hard," he'd said, after weeks of screw-ups and fights with both each other and their parents. After weeks of burned food and no groceries and little other than each other to keep them warm at night. It was too hard for many reasons. "We need to get jobs," he sighed every day.

"As soon as term is over," Rose would reply. "When we're done school it'll get better."

They both received top marks in their N.E.W.T's, got into schools to study their professions of choice. But schooling is expensive, as is everything, Rose realised quickly.

It was too hard.

"We're teenage lover material, Rose. But we're not teenagers anymore."

As much as it hurt, Rose agreed with Scorpius completely, and still does. And as hard as it was to accept, she knew – and still knows – that he's right.

It's good that he left. She can focus on her schooling, her part-time job at Flourish and Blott's. She can spend time with her family and she can babysit her niece Amélie (if only Vic knew how jealous she is). There are still hard parts. She and Scorpius calmly discussed the fact that he would remain friends with Albus. Rose understands that, too; he can't be kept away from his best friend.

All too many emotions flood through her head as she thinks about the time when love was easy, about how these days she could crawl into a hole and never come out, about how everything was happier before. When she had not a care in the world.

Rose is thinking about yesterday and the day before that and the day before that when there's a knock on her door.

Naturally, she's surprised to see Scorpius Malfoy standing there.

At first, Rose wants to believe he's taken her back. That can't happen though, can it? He's just begun dating somebody else.

"…Scorp? Am I going mad?"

Scorpius's face breaks into his familiar smile and he beams, though he looks about ready to cry. "No, you're not going mad. Though that sounds exactly like something you'd say."

"You can come in," Rose says tentatively, fetching him the tea that she had initially made for herself.

There's an awkward moment's pause as Scorpius sips his tea. "You don't understand why I left," he begins, sitting on her old couch. "You think I preferred Kate to you-"

"I know why you left."

"No," Scorpius protests.

"Well, you're getting straight to the point, aren't you?" Rose rolls her eyes, sitting down beside him. "No 'how are you doing' or 'is your niece cute' or-"

"How are you doing, Rose?"

"You were right. Life is easier now. Not quite the same, but easier," she says simply. "And I understand. I don't really know who Kate is, other than that she was some Ravenclaw – you guys got to know each other, fine – but life was tough. You're right. You and me, we're school material. Not meant to have a life outside of that. I agree with you completely. The question is; why are you here?"

He pauses, taking it all in. It crosses his mind that he's not going to be able to stall by making small talk. Rose never was one for small talk. "I came to make amends," Scorpius replies eventually. "I left early in the morning with nothing but a note and yesterday's arguments; I didn't even like Kate. I needed somewhere to go. When I saw you in Diagon Alley...I gave you a terrible explanation. That's why I came."

"You love Kate now, though," says Rose stoically, trying not to show any emotion. "You told me you do."

He wrinkles his nose. "Do I love Kate? Primarily, I needed somewhere to stay, like I said, but I wasn't using her. She's boring – nothing at all like you -" he smiles ruefully – "But I care about her. I don't know. I couldn't stay here, with us fighting and having little to no money and-"

"-I know. But I'm fine." Rose struggles to put a smile on her face. "I'm making a scrapbook out of that notebook there." She points to the coffee table. "It's like, a sort of reminder of my life during Hogwarts. So I don't forget you and Amity and Caitir and Marvin and everyone."

Scorpius stares at her false smile and empty words and how she's accepted his actions. "But you don't get it. I need to talk to you because-"

"I'm fine, you know. I'm getting to be happy. I'm tired, sure, but-"

"Who the fuck do you think I am, Rose?" Scorpius bursts out angrily, feeling the corners of his eyes begin to sting with tears. He forces them back. "I've known you since we were eleven. I dated you. I liked you for years. I know you. This pretence – this façade you've put up, this false display that you think fools me, none of it does. Why else would I come back here? I wouldn't come at all if I didn't think you were OK. Kate has no idea I'm here-" Rose raises an eyebrow – "But does that matter? You act like you think I couldn't give a damn. I do." He leans toward her desperately. "Neither of us have got our life sorted! We fight terribly! We – I don't know where I'm going with this, but… I can't be without you, you know. Tell me you'll be my friend."

Rose can feel her lip trembling. "You accuse me of putting up a façade. But you're with a girl you don't love. You still love me – and if not, you have some inkling of a crush left over – I'm not saying it out of vanity. I know you, too. We're both acting strong, aren't we? But we're not."

He gives a smile, albeit a small one. "You understand why we fought, right? We were upset, just not at each other. Things were hard, I got confused. I was far angrier at my situation than I ever could be at you. I was mad at both my parents and yours for being narrow-minded, too."

"You're confusing me," mumbles. "Everything was simpler before now. I miss yesterday."

Scorpius chuckles. "I'm not saying we should start up again. I think it's too early for that, and it'd be unfair to you. And I don't think I'm ready for it, either. But Kate and I won't last long; not because we fight, but because there's nothing there." He stands up abruptly. "I just wanted to come to tell you that I… well, I care, and I still want to be your friend." Scorpius smiles. "I'll see you around, though."

Rose is unhappy with his words. He came and left quickly, he's acting odd, he's making excuses for leaving her. But she stands up and opens the door, more conflicted than ever. He didn't deny still liking her. He said, in subtext, that he regretted leaving to some extent. He hinted that he still wants her. "Bye, once again."

Scorpius stares at Rose, Rose stares at Scorpius. They smile weakly in perfect unison, and then on an unspoken agreement, step into a hug that seems to make up for some things. Rose sighs. "I was planning to try and be strong in front of you," she whispers. "I guess you're my weakness, Scorp."

"I don't mind that," he says, turning his head to kiss her on the cheek.

"Come on," replies Rose. "You kiss me on the cheek, you're going to have to kiss me on the lips, too."

"That's not allowed. I'm dating someone, remember?"

"You outright told me you don't love Kate properly. That you prefer me, sort of. Besides, no one's around to tell her," murmurs Rose.

Scorpius leans back and looks at her. "Someday, maybe I'll come back, or maybe you'll let me come back. I'll kiss you then."

"I guess that'll have to do."

Those are the last words she says to Scorpius before he leaves.

She doesn't close her flat door for a long time. Instead, Rose stands on the front stoop, feeling bittersweet and melancholy and a little happy.

She's also thinking that her life was much simpler yesterday.

I told you it might seem confused... it's supposed to. Anyway! Thanks for reading!