A.N. Thanks for all the reviews, alerts etc. It really makes my day when I open my e-mail to see e-mail from .

Stand just a little too close

Rose woke up suddenly and completely as sunlight streamed in the small gap between the dark curtains around her bed. She knew it was later than she normally slept until, but that was the beauty of the weekends. She lay still, looking up at the ceiling, hearing the snores of her roommates who liked to sleep as long as they possibly could on the weekends. Rose snuggled into the warmth of her bed as she let her thoughts play out in her mind. She sighed as she thought of Scorpius, before reluctantly sitting up and shaking her head at her thoughts. Even if he did like her like that, her family (minus her cousins) would not appreciate it. Plus reporters would probably end up following them around. A Weasley in love was one thing, and not at all that exciting, but a Weasley dating a Malfoy? It was hard enough as it was keeping their friendship out of sight of the reporters that roamed around Hogsmeade on the weekends the students were allowed to go.

Rose climbed out of bed, wincing at the coldness of the floor as well as the cold air that flowed over her body. She quickly threw on her clothes hoping to gain some warmth back and ran down the hall to the common room. A few of the students were lounging about in the yellow and black room. She sighed as she realized Scorpius must have gone to breakfast without her. He knew she liked to sleep in on the weekends, unlike him, who was somewhat of an early bird (at least compared to Rose). Now that she had accepted the fact that she fancied her best friend, not having him around gave her a sick feeling. She missed him. She hadn't seen him since last night and she missed him. Rose frowned at herself. She hoped she wasn't going to become one of those clingy girls who had to be around the guy she liked 24/7.

"Morning Rose!" Scorpius grinned at the girl as he climbed in through the entrance holding a plate with a muffin on it. Rose's heart starting beating twice as fast as her breath left her. She smiled at Scorpius.

"Hi Scorpius," The greeting came out breathy and far flirtier than she intended. Scorpius raised an eyebrow as Rose took the muffin from him, giving the girl a strange look before shrugging it off.

"Thanks." Rose held the muffin to her and looked into Scorpius' eyes feeling the sappy smile overcome her face. They stood there a moment before Rose realized just how close she was standing to the boy. As soon as she realized that he was far closer than a friend would be she couldn't think of anything else. Did Scorpius realize how close they were? Did he like it? Did he think they were too close? Was he uncomfortable? Or worse, did he not think anything of it? Was she just a good friend, one he was comfortable being close to, one he could be close to without thinking anything of it? Far too soon Scorpius moved away and sprawled on the nearby couch, Rose noticed without any reaction at all. She felt her heart sink as she realized he hadn't even noticed how close they had been.

"Want to go outside? It's nice out." Scorpius grinned up at her as Rose began pulling apart the muffin, putting a piece into her mouth. She swallowed.

"Sure, all my homework is done." Rose replied casually. Scorpius laughed at her response. Standing up he reached out and put his thumb to her cheek rubbing it.

"You had some chocolate on your face," Scorpius explained, licking his thumb off. Rose swallowed hard at the intimacy of the gesture, turning around to hide the redness of her face.

Walking outside Rose ate the rest of her muffin. Chocolate chip, her favorite. She smiled to herself at how well Scorpius knew her before biting her lip and reminding herself that it did not matter. The duo went over to a tree and sat down next to it. Rose looked around and saw James and Hugo whispering together and looking over at Lily and some of her friends. Rather pretty friends, Rose noted giggling to herself.

"What is it?" Scorpius propped himself up on his arm, Rose hadn't even notice the boy lay down.

"Hugo and James checking out some of Lily's friends." Rose said trying to stop giggling at how silly her relatives looked eying the girls.

"Oh are they good looking?" Scorpius moved his head so he could get a look. A flash of jealously punched Rose in the gut. She forced a smile on her face.

"Yea I guess so." Rose said pretending the question didn't hurt, shrugging her shoulders. Scorpius looked at Rose and propped himself up. He reached out, grabbed Rose around her waist and pulled her down next to him. Rose smiled as she lay down next to him putting her head on his chest as he put his arms around her. She breathed in his fresh, clean scent and closed her eyes enjoying the warmth radiating off of him.

Rose woke a while later to find herself inside the castle the stone walls moving on either side of her. She raised her head and realized that once again, Scorpius was carrying her.

"Hey sleepy head, you slept through lunch." Scorpius remarked as he felt his best friend move in his arms. Rose could feel the vibrations in his chest as he teased her. Her stomach growled and Scorpius laughed.

"Don't worry Rosie-pose we're going to the kitchens." They stopped outside of a picture of fruit and Scorpius adjusted Rose to raise one hand to tickle the pear. Rose gripped Scorpius even tighter as they stepped through to the kitchens that were filled with activity. He placed Rose down, she stumbled and he caught her. She looked up; he was standing so close, just a little too close for Rose's comfort. Her eyes locked on the familiar grey ones.

A.N. So thanks for reading and for your lovely review (hint hint). I just wanted to give a heads up in advance that while next week I'll update at my regular time (I'm assuming) the week after that I will be on vacation in Seattle and then Connecticut so you'll have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday. Oh and I would love to get up to review #50 please and thank you.