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As if life wasn’t awkward enough being lumped with Scorpius in just about every sentence, in almost every conversation, he still insists that the unspoken rule that housemates sit with housemates should be null and void. So here he is, plopped down right next to me, eating his breakfast and completely unaware of all the staring directed at us.
I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but I don’t like being watched.
“Scorpius –” I begin, finally tearing my eyes away from the Hufflepuff girl sitting just across the way, her wide eyes boring holes into my skull as she absently spoons porridge into her lap (i.e. missing her mouth).
He points a porky sausage at me. “If you’re going to try and convince me to sit with my house again, I must inform you that my answer hasn’t changed in the last four minutes,” he replies pointedly, before taking a bite of his sausage and raising an eyebrow at me.
I shut my mouth for a moment.
“Actually,” I tell him, “I was just going to ask you to pass the jam.” I straighten the napkin in my lap casually. “But if you want to go and sit with them again, I won’t hold you back…”
“You’re so thoughtful,” He smiles, leaning towards me slowly as though he’s going to kiss me. And, to be quite honest, I really thought he was. Then he hands me the jam. “But I’d rather keep my lovely girlfriend company, if you don’t mind.”
I bite down on my bottom lip apprensively as he kisses my nose, and then leans away again.
When I look up, Lucy is hovering across the table from us. Her eyes are wide with horror. “Oh Merlin. You didn’t.”
To be quite honest, I had no idea what she was referring to.
“Sorry, Lu,” Scorpius replies for me, grinning triumphantly, “but she did.” I look at him, and catch a glimpse of underlying cheekiness in his comment.
I kick him in the calf.
He yelps.
“Lucy, he’s just being a ridiculous prat –”
“Is he?” Lucy inquires, sitting down across from us and eyeing Scorpius next to me. “Cos I think I believe him.” She starts to smile.
Am I missing something?
I open my mouth to ask, but then Lysander shows up. “Hey, Rose, are you going to eat that? I’m starved,” he reaches over my head and snatches up my plate. I jump to my feet, trying to get it back as he holds it teasingly over my head.
“Yes, that was my intention!” I tell him, “Now give it back, you berk!”
“Mmm…” Lysander says, shoving bacon into his mouth. While he’s distracted, I jump up and grab the plate back, hurrying back to my seat. He grabs me from behind and I shriek, holding it at an arm’s length in front of me. “Hey, no fair!”
“‘Snot my fault you’ve got short arms!”
“I’m going to get you for that later!”
I chortle with laughter. “We’ll see about that!”
A moment later, through our mingled laughter and rough-housing, someone clears their throat. We stop abruptly, looking round.
It’s Dom.
“Uh… Ly? What’re you doing?” she inquires, her eyes narrowing as they land on me. I roll my eyes; as if I could ever be intimidated by her. What does she think, that I’m stealing her boyfriend?
Well, sweetheart, I’ve got news for you; I’ve got my own to worry about.
“Just grabbing” – he steals the plate away again; I slap him in the back of the head – “a bite to eat.”
“I see…” Dom replies. “Well, you promised me that you would help me run lines this morning before try outs for the play.” She bats her eyelashes sweetly, clearly a façade as she keeps shooting me looks-of-death.
My brows furrow with confusion.
“Try outs?”
“Yeah,” Lysander tells me. “The try outs for that really popular muggle play are this afternoon in the theatre. Mr. Shaw told us about it on Friday,”
I frown slightly. Scorpius and I had him the day before.
I suppose that shows just where his priorities lie.
Dom scrunches up her nose at me as she approaches Lysander. “You’re trying out?” She says this as though it is a surprise.
Which I suppose it is, seeing as I never got around to telling her about it. Not that it was at the top of my to-do list anyway. Anyroad, she says it as though it’s an enormous surprise – like a Queen Bee would say to someone that belonged to the farthest recesses of the food chain.
Not that I do.
Oh, you get the point.
Right?
“You could say that,” I reply.
“And let me guess,” Dom continues, waving her hand, “you want the part of Katherine.”
“Well, yeah –”
In response, she starts laughing.
Dom takes Lysander by the arm and leads him towards the door, still laughing like a loon on loony pills that’s (somehow) escaped the loony bin.
“Minger,” I mutter.
Scorpius snorts into his pumpkin juice and starts laughing, too.
He stops, however, when I give him the stare-of-death. I smirk as he looks down and pokes at his remaining sausage, eggs, and toast intently with his fork.
Good boy.
“I honestly don’t see how Lysander could fancy someone like that,” I shake my head as I pick up my glass, cradling it with both hands thoughtfully and scrunching up my nose. “She’s so awful.”
“Well, this is sort of your fault,” Scorpius points out.
My eyebrows furrow and I look at him.
Why does must he be so right all the time?
I roll my eyes and nudge him with my elbow. “Oh, sod off,” I tell him. It takes every bit of willpower in me not to smile.
But, you know, I do anyways.
It’s impossible not to when he’s looking at me like that.
“You’ve got to be joking.”
Scorpius and I look up simultaneously. My brother is standing behind us, his eyes wide. “Gee, thanks Hugh,” I reply, rolling my eyes as I turn back toward the table. “I honestly thought you, of all people, would be happy for… us.”
I glance over at Scorpius next to me, as Hugh takes a vacant seat on his left side. It’s odd; ever since I’d met him, I had only dreamt of being with Scorpius, but now that it was all a reality; now that there is an us, I don’t exactly know what to do with myself. His hand lay inches beside mine on the bench; my fingers itch to reach out and hold it. Would that be too forward? Shouldn’t he be the one reaching out for my hand?
As I’m deliberating, he moves his hand to pick up his glass of juice. The corners of my lips pull down slightly as I put my empty hand in my lap and pick at the remains of my breakfast with little interest.
“I suppose we should run lines, too, yeah?” Scorpius murmurs, his warm breath tickling my neck as I look up suddenly. A slight smirk graces his pale pink lips, and faint crinkles adorn the corners of his bluish gray eyes. At this proximity, I see the competitive glint in his eyes, and I notice a tiny scar just below his left one.
“It’s not your part at stake,” I chuckle, unable to take my eyes off of the scar.
He tucks my fringe behind my ear gently, his touch sending tinkles across my skin. Something in his expression shifts, softens. “I know,” he nods.
I smile a bit, reaching up to run my fingertips along the tiny scar on his face. It reminds me of Griffin, who, I realize, I haven’t seen in what feels like ages. It’s always like this; every year, once I’ve been settled for a while and managed to get used to him being so far away, I remember that I won’t see him for another few months and my heart… hurts, a bit.
“What’s the story behind this?” I whisper, mesmerized.
Scorpius just laughs, standing up and offering me his hand. “Ran into a door when I was a kid,” he tells me simply as I take his hand and let him help me to my feet, “now can we go? We’ve got to get moving if you want to knock Dom from her high horse.”
“A door?” I shake my head. “Are you sure?”
“Why? Don’t you believe me?”
Once we’re a few feet from the doors to the Great Hall, Scorpius pulls me to him, his lips grazing my neck affectionately. My face grows hot, but I manage a good-natured laugh as I push him away from me playfully and scamper out into the Entrance Hall.
I walk backwards. “Of course I do,” I call. “I’m your girlfriend, it’s sort of required.” I wink, turning on my heel towards the grand staircase. But someone blocks my path with their body.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to –” I look up slowly as I try and gather my scattered thoughts, my eyes meeting those of the bloke whose hands are holding mine in an attempt to keep me upright. I feel all of the air escape my body at the moment, my eyes growing wide. I open my mouth, and then close it again as I take a step away from him.
Scorpius appears at my side. He takes my hand and squeezes it, but I barely feel him.
All I can feel are those familiar green eyes watching me, reflecting the surprise I feel on my face. His brown hair has grown a bit longer and his arms slightly larger, since last I saw him, but I know that face anywhere.
“Griffin?”
Author's Note OK, I know that the 'lesson/tip' wasn't entirely clear, but it was sort of implied with the cliffie and the bit with Dominique getting annoyed by Lysander and Rose messing around. What it essentially means, is that you should remain calm, and not get mad over small things like playing around with your best friend (who is of the opposite sex) or your old friend (who is also of the opposite sex) showing up in school. So. What did you think of it all? What do you think will happen next? The first chapter of the sequel has been written! Yay? YAY!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that's stuck with this story from the beginning, and to everyone who has left the helpful reviews that kept it going. Love you all! :)
General feedback/questions/comments/concerns are welcome and appreciated as always!
Until next time,
Nadhira
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