dinner parties | scorbus

CH30: bitter pill

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CH30: bitter pill (5,372 WORDS)

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Albus' eyes blinked open early on Monday morning; surprisingly, to the light of the sun pouring onto his face through the open window. He yawned, stretching his arms above his head as his limbs gave a series of cracks. He glanced at the clock, noticing the early time written over the face, and immediately flopped back down to get more rest. His hands covered his eyes as he laid back and shut his eyes. He willed tiredness to take over, as his mind had recently started to recall the thoughts from the previous night and his actions. Suddenly, he had never regretted anything more than his argument with James.

The phone began to ring on the receiver, breaking the silence in the room like a knife punch to the gut. Albus dove out of his bed to answer it, hoping the noise hadn't echoed down the hall. He spun a small dial on the side of the phone to lower the ring volume and picked up the shiny handle.

"Good morning, beau," a voice called to him; soft and loving. Albus could have melted at the sound of the comforting voice. He sank onto his chair and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Morning, dear," Albus whispered; slightly embarrassed that someone would hear him down the hall and tease him later.

"Are you feeling any better? I wanted to check up on you because I know you were upset last night."

Albus scratched the back of his head. "I may have had an argument with James."

"You did not."

"I did."

"But he didn't do anything wrong!"

Albus took a sigh, his eyes sparkling with tears as he leant forward, hiding them in his knuckles. "I realised that after he lectured me. I feel awful, babe, I don't know what to do. I feel like such a dick."

"Just apologise, when he's ready to hear it. That's all you can really do. I can't promise it'll make things any better, but you've made an effort and he will see that."

Albus nodded, forgetting that Scorpius couldn't see him. He wished that the boy could; because he would cup Scorpius' face kiss his nose, murmuring words that made the situation better as they stood in the early morning snow.

"And hey," Scorpius added. "Forgive me for sounding mean, but recognising that you were an asshole is really important. I'm proud of you for coming to that realisation, even though it hurts. The best of men can't admit when they're wrong due to pride, but you can. It only makes me admire you even more."

Albus couldn't possibly fathom how Scorpius had managed to turn his out-of-line actions into a compliment, but he appreciated it more than words could explain. He wanted to tell Scorpius how he loved him at that moment, yet chickened out like a child in the dark. "What would I do without you?"

"You wouldn't have anyone to give you hugs whenever you wanted, that's for sure." And Scorpius giggled, and Albus pouted down the phone because he wished he could kiss the boy and feel the vibration of laughter against his lips.

"I wouldn't have my best friend in the entire world, either. My smart, brilliant, excellent, kindhearted best friend. Who, somehow, always finds a way to make me feel seen and appreciated. I lo— can't wait until I see you again." Albus silently clenched his hand on his thigh, teasing himself for his nerves. He hit his forehead on his hand. He could have just said it, he could have just told Scorpius he loved him. But the nagging thought remained in his mind — too soon?