Scorrose

eleven

Rose had just reached the Great Hall's archway when she noticed a familiar figure standing just a few feet away.

"Siobhan!" Rose called.

Siobhan startled at the voice, though she grinned widely when she saw Rose and came bounding over as quick as she could in her heels. Her cheeks were flushed, like she'd been out in the cold.

"Where have you been?" Rose asked.

"I've been having the best time," She said, giddy with happiness. "That boy that asked me to dance, Jamal, he led me outside for a walk of fresh air, and he even kissed me," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you alone. I lost track of time."

So that was why Rose had been unable to spot her in the ballroom.

"Although I see you've been busy with a boy of your own," Siobhan said.

Scorpius flashed through her mind, as much as she wanted to shove him from her thoughts. "Huh?" she said lamely.

"That cute guy you danced the waltz with, with the curly hair. What was his name?"

"Oh. Oliver."

"Did he kiss you too?" she asked excitedly.

"What? No. He didn't— we just danced the waltz. That was it. I've barely seen him since. I don't think he's very interested in me."

Siobhan pouted. "I'm sorry."

Rose sighed. "It's fine."

"No, it's not. You seem sad."

Rose shook her head, forcing a smile. "No, that's not it. I'm... I feel pretty tired. I think I'm going to go back up to the dormitory."

"Already? The ball won't be over for another hour."

"You can stay," Rose said quickly. "I'm just... I think I've had enough dancing."

Siobhan glanced over to where Jamal stood, conversing with another boy, and back to Rose. "Are you sure? I don't want to leave you alone—"

"Don't worry about it," Rose said, earnestly. "Go, have fun. You've got a whole hour. I'll see you later this week, right?"

Siobhan nodded hesitantly. Rose shooed at her insistently. "Go."

"Fine. Okay. I'll see you later, we'll have to talk all about tonight." To Rose's surprise, Siobhan gave her a hug before returning to where Jamal stood.

Rose walked over to the steps and turned to look into the ballroom one last time. It was not quite as crowded as it had been when she had entered, though she suspected many of the couples might have left to find some secret areas to snog.

She began up the stairs, her dress feeling like an anchor on her body when before it had felt so light and comfortable on her skin.

She was only a quarter of the way up when a voice behind her said, "Leaving already?"

She turned to see Albus approaching the bottom step, watching her.

"Hey, Albus. What're you doing?"

"I saw you head out," he said. "And... I also saw you dancing with Scorpius earlier." He paused. "Did something happen? He's acting weird."

"No," she said.

"You're also acting weird."

"We've been talking for two seconds. How could you possibly know if I'm acting weird?" She said.

He shrugged. "I can feel something's off. You're my cousin. And he's my best friend." Rose gave him a dubious look, so he held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, and I saw you kiss."

Rose's cheeks flared. "We didn't kiss," she said defensively. "Why were you watching us, anyway? Didn't you have your own date to worry about?"

"I don't know, morbid curiosity," he said. "I didn't think I'd ever live to see the day you'd dance with Scorpius. Or kiss him."

"We didn't kiss," Rose said again, more firmly this time.

"Looked like it."

"No, he—" Rose huffed, looking away in embarrassment. "We almost did. He leaned away."

Albus stared at her like she'd just sprouted five heads and all five heads had told him Delphi had returned from the dead. "Are you serious?"

This was only prolonging her embarrassment. "Yeah."

"Scorpius rejected you?"

"Okay, goodbye Albus." She continued up the steps, stomping though she knew it was childish.

"No, wait," Albus said. "I'm sorry."

She turned back to him, frowning now. "What do you want?"

"You have been acting weird," he said. "Not just tonight, in general. And I'm sorry about all that stuff I said about you being unapproachable."

"You already apologized for that."

"I know, but that was because Scorpius made me. This time I really mean it. I think you're a good person. And Scorpius really likes you, he talks about you all the time." Albus sighed. "I don't want him to be bummed out, but you're sending him mixed signals."

"He's with Polly, what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't mean recently, I mean, since forever. It's like you've got him on a leash."

"I didn't ask for that," Rose said helplessly. "I never wanted him to feel like— to be so attached to me. It doesn't make sense to me, why he likes me so much."

"I don't get it either," Albus said. "But for some reason, he's had his sights set on you since first year."

"I get it," Rose said, annoyed. "I've been letting him down for five years now."

"That's not what I'm saying." Albus leaned against the pillar at the bottom of the staircase. "If you're returning his feelings, you're gonna have to give him time to process. He's dreamed about you for so long, I don't think he ever prepared for it to go anywhere."

"That's ridiculous," Rose said.

Albus shook his head. "No. It's just Scorpius." He grinned slightly. "He's exponentially cooler than he was last year, but he's still the same dorky kid. Don't be mad at him."

Rose wanted to explain that she wasn't mad at Scorpius, she was mad at herself, but she knew that Albus was just trying to look out for his friend. "Yeah, alright," she said.

"And Rose, don't take it personal. He's just confused." Albus glanced around and lowered his voice. "Anyway, I don't think the Polly thing will last."

Rose smiled slightly at her cousin. As annoying as he may be at times, he genuinely cared about people, and she was grateful he'd made the effort to both defend his friend and attempt to make her feel better. "Thanks, Albus," she said, genuinely.

He smiled back at her. "No problem, cuz."

"I'll see you later."

She made the rest of the trek up the stairs, trying not to let the memories of Scorpius' face bring her down.

"Night, Rose."