Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter is property of J.K Rowling, including the characters and places. I do not own anything. Everything presented here is just for fun!

A/N: Ok so I'm finding it harder and harder to make some time to write, so I can't update quite as ofter as I used to. So Sorry about that. And sorry about the absolutely dreadful wording of this chapter. I haven't had time to revise and check the spelling. But oh well, when has that really helped TBH.

Chapter 9

Friendship

"I'm not gonna cry" was the mantra Scorpius repeated to himself in his mind. He was at the Library, sitting at a dusty old table at the end of the room, where no one ever went because there was hardly any light.

"I'm not gonna cry!" he repeated. His head rested over his wrapped arms on the table. As he repeated the words in his head, slow teardrops started falling from his closed eyes. "Stop, Scorp!" He whispered to himself. But it was useless, he felt devastated. He felt like he had lost the one thing that was beautiful in this hell that he called life. This time he had lost Albus for good.

"Don't fucking cry!" he muttered to himself, sniffing, feeling his cheeks wet. The tears rolled down to his lips and he could taste them.

Scorpius heard footsteps approaching, so he sniffed loudly and tried to dry his tears by rubbing his face against his arm, but he didn't rise his head.

"Hey..." he heard Albus say, almost in a whisper. His voice sounding just beside him, across from the table. Scorpius felt his body go tense at the surprise of hearing that voice.

"Go away" he said, his voice muffled by his arms. But Albus didn't leave. Scorpius heard the chair in front of him move and felt the other boy sit on it. Potter was always so stubborn.

"Go away! How did you even find me?" Scorpius asked, still not ready to look at Albus.

"I...have my ways" replied Albus, hiding his father's Map in one of his pockets. "Anyway, I...I wanted to talk to you, there's some things I need to tell you..." he paused

"I don't wanna hear it"

"I wanted to say Thank you." Albus said, with a confident voice.

"What?" Scorpius felt confused. He was completely lost. "Why?" he asked.

"For treating me like I was nothing special. For saying you didn't care about my last name"

"It wasn't a compliment." came Scorpius' annoyed voice from his crossed arms.

"I know. Still, no one had ever treated me like that. I think I needed it, I think...I think I needed someone to punch me back to reality."

"You deserved it" Scorpius muttered.

"I know. And...I also came here to say that I'm really, truly sorry Scorp." Albus said, this time he sounded more gentle, his words softer.

Scorpius felt a lump in his throat, and his eyes started filling with tears again. If he said one word, he would certainly break. The fact that Albus was here, apologizing, still talking to him after he thought Albus wouldn't want to see him again was just too much for him.

"I...I should've listened to you. I should've trust you. I came to the wrong conclusions, and I was so unfair to you." Albus stopped briefly. He sighed and continued, "I just...I know that to you I might be just another random bloke, and you don't really care that much about me, you already made that clear, but...you're the first person in the world that I felt I could really trust. When I talked to you, yesterday...I felt like I was safe..."

Scorpius' head rotated slowly to look at Albus. he didn't believe what he was hearing. Could Albus possibly be more naïve? How could he ever think that he meant nothing to Scorpius?

Albus looked at Scorpius, with his shiny silver eyes and his slightly pink cheeks, and slowly moved his hand and placed it over Scorpius'. The blond boy felt his whole body go stiff at the gentle touch.

"You made me feel safe. And I had never felt that kind of trust before. And when I thought you had said all those thing to everyone, I...may have over reacted. If it had been someone else I would have been pissed, but I would have just rubbed it off. But because I thought it had been you, I was really devastated. And it hurt so much." Albus lost trail, and stayed silent for a while, his hand resting over Scorpius's hand.

"Why can't you just...trust people?" Scorpius asked, his voice low, too aware of his hand under Albus' gentle touch.

"I...don't know. I wish I could, but...I guess not trusting people is my way of making sure there's a part of me that still belongs only to me...I don't know if that makes sense..." he said, looking at his hand.

"Can you forgive me?" Albus looked expectantly, but suddenly Scorpius frowned.

"No, Al, I can't." he said slowly, looking directly into Albus' eyes. He wanted to forgive him more than anything, but he wanted to help Albus, make him realize his mistake.

Albus stared back in shock. he wasn't expecting that answer at all.

"I can't be your friend, if you are unable to trust me."

"But I trust you"

"You don't." Said Scorpius immediately. "You don't trust anybody, I can literally see the walls you build around you. You push away everyone, you don't even let your friends in."

"They still like me, they trust me" Albus said, yanking away his hand, looking enraged and confused.

"But you don't trust them" continued Scorpius. "What kind of friendship is that? In a friendship you must let go, you must know deep in your heart that you are safe with them, that they will never betray you, that they will stay true to you even in the most difficult situations. If you don't feel like that, then you really don't have any friends."

Albus just looked at Scorpius, his expression was deep and thoughtful.

"I..." he knew what he wanted to say, but struggled as to how to say it. Finally he decided to just let it out. "I want to have a friend...I want you to be my friend, Scorp."

Scorpius stared back at Albus for a long time, feeling both sad for Albus but determined to not make a mistake.

"I think you should really think this through. Take your time, and think about it, because I can't be your friend if you can't trust me." he said, and with that he stood up, pushing the chair back, and walked hastily out of the library, leaving Albus just sitting there, looking forward while his confused brain tried to make sense of everything.

Sunset found Scorpius sitting comfortably on his bed reading his Potions book, scribbling every now and then on a piece of parchment laying by his side.

Albus opened the door slowly, going back to Scorpius for the first time since their discussion earlier that day.

"Hey..." he said, his voice thin.

Scorpius raised his head, and as he saw Albus a rush of excitement and fear ran over his body. "Hey..." he replied, in almost the exact same tone.

Albus entered shyly and closed the door behind him. He stood quite still for a while, just standing beside the door. Until finally he spoke.

"I've...I've thought about what you said, Scorp..." he said, his voice low but full of determination. "I really, really want to be your friend. I don't want to loose you." he finished.

Scorpius just looked at him, a knot in his stomach started to tighten as his eyes rested on Albus' face. the boy was so incredibly beautiful. His face and his personality, and his voice and his everything. The pessimistic side of Scorpius, which used to awake during dusk, said "He only wants you as a friend. Nothing more will ever happen." He knew he loved Albus, because even though he couldn't bare to have Albus just as a friend, he was willing to do it just for the sake of Albus' happiness.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, standing up slowly, leaving the book lying over his bed. Albus gave a few steps forward, hesitating.

"I'm sure. And I'm ready to tell you everything you want, if that's what you need." he said, completely secure of his words.

Scorpius' brain repeated the words "Only a friend, Just a friend" over and over again, mocking his feelings. He only wanted Albus, and it had been a torture to wait for him the whole afternoon, half expecting Albus to never talk to him again. But now that he knew that friends was the limit to their relationship, he felt a wave of sadness embrace him tightly. But he was willing to do it. He was willing to leave his feelings beside just for the sake of Albus' own happiness.

"Alright then" Scorpius said, forcing a smile. "I don't want you to tell me anything, I believe you. And I hope that next time you trust me when I tell you something." he finished. He wished he could just kiss Albus one time, just to know how it would feel, before he abandoned all hope. As Albus turned around with a smile on his face, walking towards the door, Scorpius began to get desperate, he didn't want to let go of the feeling yet. He didn't want Albus to leave the room.

"Wait!" He shouted, before he could control himself.

Albus turned around fast and looked curiously at Scorpius.

"What?" he asked, smiling. Scorpius was thinking fast, feeling his body react to Albus' smile in odd ways.

"I...I've decided what I want" he said, trying to keep his voice cool.

"Want from what?" Albus asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.

"When I agreed to help you with the treatment, you said you would give me anything. I've decided what I want." he said. Each word was deliberate and calculated, so he wouldn't sound worried or nervous.

"Oh...that's great. What is it then?" replied Albus, now walking slowly towards Scorpius. He stopped just a couple of feet away with his hands in his pockets. He waited for Scorpius to answer. Scorpius took a few silent breaths, preparing himself for what he was about to say.

"A kiss." he said finally. Looking straight to Albus' eyes. The words came out very cold and serious, and Albus' face went through a full transformation from surprise, to curiosity, and finally settling for a worried look.

"W-What? W-Why?" he asked, stuttering just a little, his voice quivering. Scorpius just shrugged, trying to keep his tone neutral.

"I just thought about what we talked last night. When I said I had never kissed a boy. And you know...I just want to try it. Curiosity, I suppose." he lied, trying to decipher what was going on inside Albus' mind. The dark haired boy didn't know if it was all part of a joke, or if Scorpius was being serious. He looked back at the blond boy for a while, trying to understand the situation.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Of course. It's not such a big deal after all, is it?"

Albus had run out of words. "No...I suppose not..." he answered, but worry and curiosity were marked on his face. "Alright...You are really weird, Scorp. But let's give it a go." Albus finally said, fueled up by an eager sensation building in the pit of his stomach as he started to lean forward.

"Wait." said Scorpius. "I'm the one who has to do it." Albus stopped and stood still, looking at Scorpius expectantly. Scorpius' body was filled with adrenaline and anxiety. "The first and the last, Scorp" he said to himself. His hands were slightly trembling, and he dared not touch the dark haired boy with them. He took a deep breath and leaned forward very slowly. He stopped when his lips were inches away from the boy, looking at Albu's lips, like the breath you take before diving, and finally he moved his head forward, closing the short distance between them, as their lips crashed together. It was more a bumping of lips than an actual kiss, but he automatically closed his eyes, letting himself be consumed by the sensation and the knowledge that he was kissing Albus. Their lips didn't move for a couple of seconds, but then he felt Albus tilt his head slowly to the side and part his lips, kissing Scorpius' lower lip. Scorpius thought everything would be over within seconds, but suddenly he found himself overwhelmed by the feeling of Albus' tongue touching his lips, so he responded by parting his lips a bit more so Albus could slid his tongue, and as their tongues touched, passion and arousal exploded in both boys.

Albus didn't understand half of what was happening. He had never felt this way with Emily. The sensations came in waves that washed over his entire body, and he had never known that a kiss could feel this good. This was how it was supposed to feel. Their lips fitted perfectly and he just wanted more, so he placed his hand on Scorpius' cheek and forced his way deeper. Scorpius responded tilting his head and opening his mouth even more, their tongues entwined and their teeth bumping together. In the back of his head he knew he was taking it too far, that it was not normal, but the feeling grew stronger as Scorpius' tongue started moving with his, and he could taste every bit of Scorpius' mouth.

Suddenly the door opened and both boys jumped back in terror. Their faces flushed and their eyes widening in terror of what had happened. Tom entered the room oblivious to the whole situation. He didn't pay attention to the boys, ignoring completely their confused and terrified faces, or how close they were from one another.

Albus looked terrified, his body was completely aroused but his mind was in a state of shock. He took two slow steps backwards and then turned around and ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"You okay mate?" asked Tom, looking at the door and then at Scorpius, who looked perplexed and out of place.

"Yeah..." said Scorpius, looking at the door. He raised one arm and touched his lips with his fingers, still unable to believe what had happened. "Yeah...I'm alright...