Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to put up.. School started again and I got lazy, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things again. Let me know if you have some ideas of some little plot lines I can throw in, because my list is running a bit low.. Anyway! Leave me reviews please! Love you!
Chapter Six: Don't Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith)
Months had passed since Lily had met Scorpius in the library, his promise to her playing in her head nonstop even though her life was centered around much bigger issues. Cherry's stomach kept growing as she passed into the second trimester. She had the intelligence to realize this would raise suspicions in the student body and she had come up with the plan to eat constantly, due to what would be perceived as "depression" over losing Scorpius.
They had even gone as far as to stage a giant breakup in the middle of class, causing them both to get a month of detention, but the plan had gone off without a hitch. Unfortunately, things weren't playing out as well for Lily.
Now, with the redhead helping the pair as much as she could, she found herself constantly in contact with Scorpius. Tiny butterflies would build in her stomach every time she caught him looking her way, but they were immediately squashed when she thought about all of the horrible things he had done to her. Yet she found herself watching the way his eyes would crinkle when he genuinely smiled or how he would run his long fingers through his blonde hair when he was nervous. She was falling for him again and it made her want to scream and cry in frustration.
Now she sat in a carpeted waiting room with sky blue walls and a flat-screen TV that was turned to a interior design program, the volume down low enough that only mumbles filled the room with white noise. Lily and Scorpius sat on either side of Cherry, the two blondes' fingers intertwined in anticipation of what would be said in the next hour.
Pulling every string she had in the school, Lily had managed to get them far enough away from Hogwarts that Scorpius could apparate himself and the two girls to the doctor's office in London that they made an appointment with the day before. The redhead was still on edge, half expecting Percy Weasley to burst into the room at any moment.
Luckily, the large wooden door leading into the doctor's offices opened and a heavy set woman stepped in the practically empty room, holding a clipboard with an intimidating stack of papers attached. "Cherry and Scorpius Malfoy?"
She spoke the names as though they were married, which explained her shock at seeing the three teenagers sitting in the waiting room. Wiping the surprised look off of her face, the woman led the little group through the door and down a short hallway, herding them into a small, sterile room.
Looking down at Lily and Cherry's stomachs in turn, she led Cherry to sit on what looked like a chair that could be laid down to become a makeshift bed. The tiny blonde hoisted herself onto the seat, her legs scraping against the thin paper covering the leather.
It was soon apparent that the room only had one visitor's chair, causing a problem seeing as there was both Scorpius and Lily standing awkwardly to the side of the door. The woman noticed this, a kind smile sliding onto her plump face. "I can find an extra chair when I'm done doing this check up."
Motioning for Lily to take the chair, Scorpius flashed a shy smile as if testing the waters between them. The redhead shook her head, instead leaning against the wall beside the door and watched the tall blonde sit.
"Alright, I just have a few questions to ask before the doctor can come in." The nurse's voice was surprisingly quiet as she finished checking Cherry's blood pressure. "First, I need to know who everyone is in context with the fetus."
Clearing his throat, Scorpius sat forward in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair. "She's obviously the mom. I'm the dad. And this is-" He looked towards Lily before speaking again, "She's just a friend that's helping us out."
Nodding thoughtfully, the nurse scribbled on her clipboard before turning to speak directly to Cherry. "Okay, dear. The earlier you make the decision on whether you'd like to keep your baby, the better. Of course there's always adoption and other options. Have you given any thought to what you want to do?"
"We're keeping our baby." Scorpius cut in before the blonde had a chance to answer, his blue eyes boring into hers as she stared at him in disbelief. It was the first time he had referred to the fetus as something they would share.
Tears welling up in her eyes, Cherry nodded. "Whatever you want."
The silent exchange between the blondes made Lily both uncomfortable and jealous. It was stupid of her to feel envy towards what they shared, she in no way wanted to be in the other girl's shoes, but it still hurt to see the way Scorpius looked at her. Maybe it was a mistake to agree to help, but it was too late now.
Watching the three teenagers with curiosity, the nurse recognized drama waiting to happen. "That's all I need to know for now. There is a hospital gown on the counter, please have changed into that by the time the doctor comes in."
After the woman left, Lily crossed the room to grab the hospital gown. "Are you going to need some help?"
Nodding slowly, the thin girl's face turned red with embarrassment. Cherry had been struggling to do everything herself over the past few months, not wanting anyone to see the purple stretch marks that covered her once tight stomach, but even she realized that eventually she would have to accept help.
"I'll do it." Scorpius said quickly, taking the thin cloth from Lily. Both girls looked shocked, though the look on Cherry's face was closer to mortified. She began to object but he cut her off, "If I was close enough to you to get you pregnant, I'm close enough to help you get dressed."
Whether it was due to the hormones or the overwhelming feeling of love, Cherry began to sob uncontrollably. Lily saw this as her opportunity to leave, exiting the room to stand right outside.
Leaning up against the wall, the redhead squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Did she enjoy putting herself through this pain? If the only reason she was here was to take care of Cherry when Scorpius slipped up, then why did it bother her so much that he was actually doing something right for once?
She knew the answer. If he fell for Cherry before the baby came then the baby would have a family and everyone would be perfectly happy.
Everyone except Lily.
"Well, my dear, the fetus is doing quite well. It seems very pleased with it's current living conditions. Let's try to keep it that way." The doctor pulled Cherry's hospital gown back over her stomach, smiling kindly at her tear-streaked face. "Now do we want to know the gender or would you like it to be a surprise?"
Looking up at Scorpius, who stood beside her and was holding onto her hand like it would keep him from dying, Cherry smiled sadly. "I want to know. What about you?"
His face was so sickly pale it looked like he might fall over dead at any moment, but he found his voice and croaked out a small affirmative. Needless to say, after having sex with the blonde laying helplessly on the table, Scorpius didn't want to think about anything coming out of that once tight opening.
Lily sat on the other side of the small room, watching the tall boy's face closely. She was on the edge of her seat as if preparing to spring across the room and save him from hitting the floor at any moment.
Turning to run his finger over the monitor, the doctor smiled down at the weak girl laying on the 'bed'. "It looks as though you're going to be giving birth to a beautiful baby girl."
A sharp intake of breath made the entire room turn to look at Scorpius. His eyes refused to move from the screen as his hand reached out to touch the moving picture, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. It broke Lily's heart to see him cry, even though it was joyous tears.
"That's my daughter." He whispered quietly, a goofy smile spreading across his tan face.
Cherry gripped her back as she discreetly hobbled towards the staircases leading to her next class, attempting to hold her heavy textbooks at the same time. No one at school except herself, Scorpius and Lily knew about the pregnancy, which posed a problem with trying to keep from looking like a far along mother would.
Reaching out to grab her books from her hand, Scorpius stepped up beside her. He had seen her struggling to get to the stairs and had rushed to catch up with her, not wanting suspicions to be raised about the way she was waddling.
"You really should ask someone to help you. All this strain isn't good for you." He whispered down into her ear, smoothly brushing strands of blonde hair away from her face. Their sudden contact with each other created whispers throughout the crowded staircases as they rose to the seventh floor, but the blondes didn't pay attention.
A sudden gloominess soured Cherry's mood, causing her face to crumple into an aggravated expression. "I get that you surprisingly care about the baby, but you don't have to pretend that you give a shit about me. You never had feelings for me anyway, it's not going to change now."
This seemed to shock Scorpius. He wasn't sure where the sudden aggravation had come from, but he couldn't help defend himself even though he knew it was earned by him. "What are you talking about? I care about you, Cherry. Maybe it just wasn't the type of feelings you were hoping for."
"You're right." Spinning on her heel to step in front of the tall boy, she stared up at his face hopelessly. "You only ever cared about me when you wanted to get laid. Maybe you should have realized that I'm in love with you. It hurts like hell to know that while I'm staying up at night thinking about you, you couldn't give two shits about me. Just admit that if it wasn't for the baby you wouldn't even be standing here right now."
Opening his mouth to argue, something in the hurt girl's eyes made Scorpius clam up. She was definitely right, the blonde boy hadn't even thought of her as more than a toy to play with whenever he fancied. But now she was going to have his baby and there was no doubt that their paths would forever be intertwined. So then was as good a time as ever to just tell the truth.
Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut tightly before speaking quietly, "I care about you, but just as the mother of my child. I'm so sorry."
He reached out to comfort her but she stepped away before he could. "Don't be sorry, Malfoy. I'm sorry that I had any hopes in the first place. See you around."
Taking back her books, the young girl turned on her heel and ascended the rest of the stairs hurriedly. Why did everything have to turn to shit so quickly?
Droplets of water tracked down Lily's raincoat, propelling her to reach the cover of the Forbidden Forest. She could see the two blondes already waiting on the edge of the forest, watching her thin form grow closer. Pulling the collar of her inner jacket up around her ears, the redhead reached the pair waiting for her.
"Sorry I'm late. Albus decided he was going to keep me from leaving the common room." She sighed, letting her weight shift from foot to foot. "What did you need me for?"
Cherry's pale lips spread into a sad smile. Reaching out, the blonde girl pulled Lily's hand to lay across her slightly bulging stomach. A sudden thump of force hit the redhead's hand, sending her reeling backwards in shock. Scorpius' smile was startling in the darkness of the tree cover as he genuinely laughed at the girl's surprise.
He had gotten over the guilt of causing Cherry so much pain rather quickly, his mind immediately flipping to think only of his daughter. What had once been fright and worry over his abilities to be a father had now turned to anticipation. If there was one thing that he was sure of, it was how unconditionally he loved the tiny human that was growing within the girl standing beside him.
Catching eyes with the thrilled boy, Lily couldn't help but smile dumbly. She quickly realized that their eye contact had lasted too long and shifted her focus back to Cherry's protruding belly. "That's amazing. It's all so real now."
"It hurts like hell, but at least I know that the baby's doing alright." The thin, blonde girl whispered as she ran her sloppily manicured hands over her stomach. It didn't occur to the others at that moment, but Cherry had yet to refer to the baby as hers. Even she wasn't aware of the true meaning behind her detachment at that moment, though it would become clear to her sooner rather than later.
Laughing as she felt the thump of the infant's kicks against her palm yet again, Lily nodded. "I think kickboxing is a good career choice for you to look into for her."
The lightheartedness of the laughter from the three teens was darkened by the figures lurking in the shadows of the forest behind them. A pair of young Slytherins had overheard the entire conversation, quickly piecing together the truth of what was tying the three older students to each other in more ways than one.
By the time Cherry, Lily and Scorpius had returned to the castle, almost every student within earshot of the young Slytherins knew about the secret pregnancy. It was too late to stop the rumors from spreading, not that Cherry cared to try. Listening to the vicious words being flung at her from all sides, the blonde girl lost control of her sanity.
It was at that moment that she realized that she hadn't, nor would she ever, fit in Scorpius' world. And there was no reason to pretend that the situation was any different where the baby was concerned. The best thing for her daughter was to disappear as soon as possible.
And that's exactly what she planned to do.
Dark hands slammed Scorpius against the stone wall of the common room. Roland didn't care that the entire room of students had frozen, watching the ex-best friends prepare to tear into each other. His hot breath washed over the blonde's tan face, their eyes meeting in a hard look of temporary hatred.
"What the hell, Stone?" Shoving the darker boy away from him, Scorpius shook of the embarrassment of being caught off guard.
Not answering right away, Roland grabbed his best friend's shoulder and shoved him out of the common room, not stopping until they were safely in hallway of the dorm rooms. "Do you just enjoy being a dumb ass? Because you're fucking succeeding." The dark haired boy spit the words with as much venom as he could muster, his entire body shaking in rage.
It hadn't taken long for the news of Cherry's pregnancy to reach the seventh year, immediately sending him into a frenzy of rage. He didn't think that the fellow boy could screw up his life any more than he already had, but obviously that theory had been proven wrong rather quickly. Hugo had seemed more upset that he had been out of the loop for so long rather than angry, but he didn't bother trying to stop Roland from searching for the Slytherin Slut. The nickname had been whispered in hushed voices for weeks, but now that the biggest scandal to happen had Hogwarts had been reveled, it was loudly pronounced throughout the student body.
"Jesus Christ. Get out of my face before you end up out a window." Scorpius mumbled, turning to walk away from a disastrous fight that he could feel brewing. All of his energy had been drained from trying to stop the vicious rumors about Cherry spreading through the school, the only thing he wanted to do now was fall asleep and not wake up for a very long time.
Roland wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily though. Grabbing the back of his friends sweater, the brunette pulled him backwards. "You can't just blow this off, Malfoy. This isn't even about you anymore. There's a life in stake now."
Spinning on his heel, Scorpius stepped into the other boy's face, his eyes filled with determined fury. "You really think I don't know that? I'm not as stupid as everyone assumes. So butt your faggot ass out."
A sudden shove sent Roland staggering to the ground. When had their relationship turned from carefree and brotherly to this aggressive, insolent hatred. The ghetto part of Roland that had made a reappearance after visiting his family screamed to pummel the blonde standing above him, but the seventeen year old just started laughing uncontrollably.
This didn't go over well with Scorpius, his face taking on a furious expression of embarrassment. "What the hell are you laughing at?"
"What are we doing, Scorpius?" Roland choked on his laughter, his brown eyes meeting the slowly melting blue of Scorpius'. "So much has happened and we don't even like each other enough to talk. I miss you, man."
His hard expression shattering, Scorpius reached down to help the brunette to his feet. "Same here. I'm going to be a father and you- Well I don't even know what's up with your crazy ass."
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Roland shrugged. "My dad died. Finally. Our last conversation didn't go over too well. Anyway, that's not even important right now. How are you going to take care of a baby?"
"No idea. But one thing's for sure. She's going to have the best life I can possibly give to her." And just like that, the most important relationship either of them would ever have was repaired.
Bumping his shoulder against the blonde's, Roland smiled at the concept. "I believe it."
Cold air bit at Lily's cheeks and nose, making her eyes flicker towards the window she had used to reach her secret spot on the Astronomy Tower, longing to return to the warmth of her bed. Elle and 'Manda had been chewing her ear off for the past two hours over how stupid it was to help the very people that had ruined her life, driving her away from the warmth in order to find peace and quiet.
Just as she was moving towards the window, a dark form appeared at the edge of the roof. "Oh shit. Sorry, I didn't know you were- I'll leave."
Tensing up at the sound of Scorpius' voice cutting through the bubble of silence she had surrounded herself with, Lily mouth betrayed her brain. "You can stay."
She could see the older boy's outline freeze before crawling up onto the roof beside her. After he was settled a full foot away from her, the silence resettled across the roof. Though it now seemed wrong to not say anything to the one person that she had so much to say to.
"You needed peace and quiet too?" Lily whispered to the night sky, trying to keep emotion out of her voice.
Pulling his feet under his thighs, Scorpius stared at the sprinkles of light glittering across the vast blackness spreading out before him. "Yeah." They stopped speaking after that, only jump starting the conversation when Lily moved to leave. "Roland and I are cool again. He wants to help with the baby, Hugo too."
Lily smiled at the thought of her cousin's reaction to a fresh person that he could mold into a fashionable, gorgeous mini-him. "That's really great. It seems you won't need my help much anymore."
Blonde hair swung towards her quickly, "Are you kidding? You're the glue that's holding this mess together, Lily."
Even though she knew it was true, the redhead couldn't help but feel saddened by the feelings of being unneeded. It bothered her to know that Scorpius still had enough power of her to spiral her into any sort of emotion. The transformation into the new Lily was supposed to take care of her ties to the older boy, but it had only seemed to glue their destinies together even more.
Reaching out to touch Lily's hand before she slipped from the roof, Scorpius met her eyes in the dark. "I meant what I said, you know. You'll love me again."
"I know." The redhead whispered so quietly he almost missed the words.
Students chattered loudly as they were set free to begin the Potions assignment that was due at the end of the hour. Cherry took to making the potion quietly, not having received a partner because no one wanted to be associated with the pregnant girl. It hurt her more than she let show, forcing her to hide the thick tears that slipped silently down her thinning cheeks.
Even the new Potions professor watched her with a scrutinizing gaze. It was as though the blonde couldn't see what was going on, or maybe they just assumed that she didn't matter enough to worry over. She had just started to have enough with the vulgar whispers floating throughout the room when the door was pulled open.
To her surprise, Scorpius strode into the room confidently, looking for something with a determined look on his face. Laying eyes on the thin blonde, the older boy crossed the room to stand directly in front of her.
"Scorpius, what are you doing? You're going to get me in trouble." She hissed, already watching the professor make her way towards the corner of the room where the pair stood.
Shaking his head, the tall boy raised his hand as if to stop the worry from entering Cherry's head. "I don't care. I was sitting in my class and something hit me. You don't seem to realize how much I want us to work out as a family.
"You said you knew that I didn't love you and maybe that's true, but that doesn't mean we can't be there for our baby in the same ways that a couple would be. I want to be in my daughter's life as much as possible and no one is going to stop me from doing that. So it's time that you realize that I'm always going to be around. And I need to know if you can handle that."
It was such a random time to bring up the issue, and it be such a public discussion, that Cherry was speechless. What was she supposed to say the boy looming above her? No, you can't be the father you want to be?
Shaking her head in disbelief, the thin girl looked at the shocked faces throughout the room. "That's- Okay? Sure, Scorpius. I'm not going to stop you from anything."
He didn't bother telling her that he had been kicked out of his class only five minutes prior, because he had punched a grimy, Ravenclaw boy after he had made a comment about how Cherry should take all paternal rights away from Scorpius. Nor did he let it be known how much the concept had scared him. His life was already centered around his unborn child so completely, he couldn't fathom not being there for the tiny life form.
"Great. Have a nice class." Kissing the girl on the cheek quickly, Scorpius turned and strode out of the classroom as quick as he had entered.
Men.
Did you like it? I'm sorry that it's been a while since I last posted.. School. :( Anyway, leave me reviews please! Love you guys!
