Unspoken Love

18: NEW YEAR'S BALL

     Scorpius had successfully resisted Rose's presence for 2 whole days before she finally cornered him in the dormitories on Tuesday night. He managed to take back his alihotsy stash but it was running low by now and Slughorn had moved his key, no doubt Rose tipped him off of somebody stealing. He knew Rose just wanted to help but the stuff was addicting and well, he couldn't imagine life without it. Just the few minutes between waking up and taking another dose was awful, imagine hours upon hours, days upon days, he was happy living in denial. And besides, it was distracting him from the other thing he couldn't live without. Well, Person.

"Rosie please-"

"No!" Rose exclaimed as she continued digging through Scorpius's trunk, despite his protests. "Ah ha!" she said triumphantly, pulling out his nearly empty bag of alihotsy leaf that was resting at the bottom, buried under rogue jumpers.

"Rose you can't take it." Scorpius said desperately, "What are you-" he jumped to his feet as she quickly rounded to the bathroom, "Please don't, thats the last of-"

"Reducto!" she said, flicking her wand as she held the bag over the drain. Its entirety merely turned to dust in her fingers and slithered into the piping. Scorpius had burst through the doorway as the last of it disappeared down the drain.

"Rose!" he shouted, surging forward. He scraped at the sink with his fingernails as if it would bring it all back.

"Scorpius, do you even see yourself?" Rose asked, standing back to watch him with disbelief, "You were going to run out tonight anyways!"

"I know that." Scorpius cried as he staggered away from the sink in defeat.

"You need help Scorp, and I'm going to help you." Rose said, grabbing his arm gently. He tugged it out of her grip and cast her a dark look.

"You can't help!" he seethed before brushing past her and back into the dormitories, the effects were wearing off, he could tell by the anger peeking through the cracks in his facade. He started pacing back and forth, crossing the length of the room over and over as his breathing became heavier every time he turned.

     Maybe if he just kept moving, he wouldn't notice..but after a few moments of this he stopped a few feet away from Rose who had been leaning in the doorway of the lavatory, watching him apprehensively. He slowly looked up at her from his feet with tear stricken eyes.

"Rosie," Scorpius whimpered softly, "I really messed up didn't I?" his voice cracked and his face crumbled. Rose's bottom lip trembled slightly as she moved forward to pull him into her arms. He buried his face into her shoulder, though it didn't quite fit. Not like he fit with Albus.

     Everything was perfect with him. Their hands seemed to fit together like magnets, there was never a fumble. Albus was the perfect little spoon because he was shorter and Scorpius liked to have something to hold onto anyways-- Albus just liked to be held. When they hugged, Albus either wrapped his arms around Scorpius's neck while slightly on his tippy toes and Scorpius would hold his waist, but sometimes Albus would instead embrace Scorpius's torso and bury his face into his chest while Scorpius pressed his face into Albus's shoulder and laced a hand through Albus's hair, cradling the back of his head ever so gently. They always fit.

     Albus was the artist and Scorpius allowed himself to be the canvas. He missed the faded ink drawings that Albus would leave on his hands or forearms just from mindless doodling while they laid cuddled up in bed or by the lake's edge...

"Scorpius, come sit." Rose's voice interrupted his thoughts and he felt her leading him back to his four-poster. She released him from her arms and he crawled under his blankets, squeezing the wool in his fists with pale knuckles.