Ch.5

Rose looked around abashedly.

"Well, that went well," she muttered. Scorpius snorted.

"Yeah, you can say that. My head still hurts from being whacked. She refrained from continuing her lecture.

"C'mon Scorp, let's go try on some dresses!" At that, the Malfoy blanched in fear.

"No way! Don't you think I've suffered enough?" Rose rolled her eyes and towed him over to the juniors section. She stood, her hands on her hips, surveying the selection of fancy dresses.

"Take everything ridiculous or crazy you see, but make sure it'll fit me." And with that command, they started gathering. A few minutes passed, and they both had armfuls of awful dresses. They rushed over to the dressing rooms. Rose said,

"Because you refuse to try anything on, just wait outside. I'll come out ad model each one." She took the piles of dresses and hopped into the stall. Scorpius sat on the uncomfortable chair outside and thought about Rose.

She seemed so different. He had seen her scared, angry, embarrassed, nervous, almost every emotion under the sun. Except for the one he was seeing right now. She seemed so open, so carefree. He rather liked the version he was seeing now. He focused hard on this, trying to forget where he was and what he was doing, lest he turned an unbecoming shade of red.

The door banged open, startling him. There stood Rose, striking a pose in a dark purple dress covered in sequins. The fabric went up to her jaw, and out to her fingertips. She strutted down the aisle. Rose came out next wearing a frumpy, ribbon-covered sack.

Scorpius shook his head in good natured disgust. She went in and returned again and again. Dresses came and went, each worse than the last. After about and hour, Rose called through the door,

"I'm getting tired, this is the last one for today." And she stepped out and struck an elaborate pose. The low-cut, black, lacy dress hugged her in all the right places. It come down to mid-thigh, and one of the straps slipped off her shoulder as she twirled. The dark red slip underneath accentuated the highlights in her hair and made her eyes twinkle and shine.

Scorpius gaped at her.

"How is it?" She asked. He stuttered for a second. She frowned a bit.

"That bad?" He shook his head wildly.

"You have to get that!" He burst out, finally finding words. She smirked.

"You do realize that this is all just for fun, right?"

"Well, yeah, but you look positively perfect in that dress!" He felt his face turning that unbecoming shade of red when he registered what he said. Rose blushed with him. She didn't know if she was pleased by his comment or just embarrassed. She picked up the price tag on the side of the dress.

Scorpius cleared his throat, trying to forget the fact that she had rendered him speechless for several moments. He looked down, then pulled his cloak around his body, pretending to be cold, but really trying to conceal the slight tent in his pants. He looked at her, still trying to make sense of the price tag. She frowned as she flipped it over, then back again, turning it sideways and upside down.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she flipped it over again. His eyes traveled over her again. Her hair tumbled messily over her shoulders. Her arms were pale and slightly freckled. Her white legs were thin and had a dusting of hair on them. His pants grew tighter. Why was this happening? It wasn't like he hadn't ever been attracted to someone before. Scorpius had a reputation for a date and dump method.

He had dated girls much more attractive than Rose. Sleeker hair, thinner middle and longer legs. But he no longer cared. None of the other girls had the ability to captivate and enthrall him. With the other girls, he could predict every single word they would say. With Rose, it was always a surprise. It didn't matter what she looked like, she was perfect the way she was. Too bad he had already ruined it for himself. Annoying her at every chance he got, kissing her just for laughs then getting rejected, everything he had done had spoiled it all. And he was in love with her.

As soon as he thought that, his brain beat itself up. No you don't! You can't! She's a Weasley! You're a Malfoy! But despite his head's protests, he knew it was true. He looked at Rose in all her glory, in that glorious dress with her glorious body encasing that glorious mind. He had to shut his eyes for a minute and think of public restrooms until his pants fit normally again. He opened his eyes.

"Scorpius? Scorp?" He looked around. What had he missed?

"Yes?"