Superficial Love|Slytherin Thorn

Chapter 37 - Fairy lights

A weight weighed on Roses chest, pushing her down into the mattress. The pressure of it was strange, a warmth almost too strong to bear. Rose blinked, forcing her eyes open, unsure which side of sleep she was on. Slowly her room materialised from the darkness, grey shapes forming on the outskirts of her vision. 

Raising her neck slightly, Rose strained to see the weight compressing her chest. Her fat lump of a cat stared back at her. Tiger had his eyes closed and a smug expression on his fluffy ginger face as he purred contentedly away. 

"Get off." Rose muttered."I can't sleep." He opened one eye, stared at her through it and closed it. She glared at him. Confidance and arrogance radiated off of him. 

Tiger hissed as she lifted him off her with difficulty. Roose dumped him onto the other half of her bed and rolled over. No sooner had she got comfy when she felt him jump onto her and sit very precautiously on her hip. 

Rose rolled over again and he tumbled off with a second hiss. Seconds later he was walking across her pillow and standing on her hair. There was a tail in her face, tickling her nose and brushing her cheeks. 

"Get off!" Rose scowled. Taking a blanket and pillow with her, she swung back her covers and strode across to her window seat. She curled up, her head resting against the window, her pillow between the two. 

Rose stared out at the garden. It was coming along nicely. The flower beds were looking tidier, the edges cut neatly, the first of the flowers starting to bloom. Scorpius had been working hard. On that first day, after she'd had lunch and he his pancakes of which he'd convinced her to eat one, He'd given her a tour of his work. He'd spent hours chatting about it. 

THUMP. At the sound Rose drew her gaze away from the garden. Her first instinct was to look towards Tiger. But he'd finally settled down in the tangled nest of sheets she'd left behind. Slowly she stood and moved towards her bathroom door, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders. 

Rose knocked on it twice, the sound echoing around the room, and gently pushed the door open. She stood in the doorway, staring at the mess of Scorpius's room. The bookshelves on the far wall were completely empty, the books themselves were spread across the room in small stacks. Scorpius sat in the middle of it all gazing aimlessly around. 

"Scorpius." The blond boy jumped as she spoke. "What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep." Scorpius said as if that alone was an explanation. Rose waited for him to continue. "I decided my books needed organising." He gestured at the numerous piles around him. "Now I'm not sure what to do with them."

Rose moved towards him and sat down besides him. "How were you going to organise them?" She looked across at him. There were bags under his eyes and exhaustion clung to him. 

"I can't remember." 

"Why don't you try and go to sleep again?" Rose suggested. "You might remember in the morning." 

"I don't like the dark." Scorpius whispered. He wrapped his arms around himself in a hug. He looked so lost. 

Whilst the comment puzzled Rose, He'd never had an adversion to the dark before and they were currently sat in the dark, the only light coming from the moon outside. She merely got up, putting the blanket over him, and disappeared into her room, leaving Scorpius to stare into the abyss. 

When Rose reappeared she had a string of fairylights in her hand. They'd once hung in her bedroom in her parents house. The room was now empty except for the furniture, she liked to take everything with her incase she never returned. 

Rose stood on Scorpius's trunk at the foot of his bed and laced the lights around the wooden posters. "Come have a look at these." Finished, She sat back on the bed. 

Scorpius turned to her. "They look nice." 

"They look nicer from up here." Rose patted the sheets beside her. "Come on." 

Scorpius hesitated, glancing at the books before joining her. Rose smiled at him as he sat down cautiously, his knees clutched to his chest. Rose lent back on her elbows and studied him. He stared transfixed at the lights. The soft golden glow lit up his face, bouncing off his silver moons and making them sparkle. A gentle peace washed over him. 

"Scorpius." Rose whispered. He shifted slightly. "Try and sleep." He stiffened as she reached for his hand. Holding it in both of hers, she traced patterns on his skin. At her soothing touch he relaxed. "Come on." Scorpius allowed her to pull him down besides her. 

"I can't sleep." Scorpius stared at the dark green canopy above their heads. "There's too much going on in my head." 

Rose turned to look at him. He was still and with each movement he made: stiff. He was a shell of the boy he'd once been. "Have you got your wand?" He sent her a puzzled look, reached across to his bedside table and handed it to her. 

Rose twirled it in her hands, feeling the familiarity of it. The wood was cool beneath her touch. The designs on it moved with her fingers. She pointed it upward. "Sidus." She uttered, concentrating slightly harder than she would with her own wand. Whilst hers and Scorpius's wands were almost interchangeable, they could practically use the others wand all the time and achieve the same, if not better results, it did require more focus than usual. 

A burst of light shot out the tip of the wand. It spread across the air and disappated. "Wow." Scorpius exclaimed. A blanket of stars had appeared above them. It was as though the ceiling had disappeared and they were staring at the night sky. 

"When I can't sleep, I try and count as many stars as I can." Rose's hand still intertwined with his, she lifted it and pointed at one. "Look, it's you. Scorpio." 

Scorpius moved their fists to the right. "The two dippers. You said their your favourites."

"You remember?" Rose turned to look at him. He was already lookjng at her. Grey eyes locked on brown. 

"Of course." Scorpius pulled their hands back down. "I couldn't forget anything about you, Rose. Myself maybe but not you." 

Rose stared at him, her cheeks flushed, her heart thumping, unsure what to say. The feeling that rushed through her was alien. She didn't ever want to let go of him. 

Scorpius turned away. He shuffled down the bed so he could rest his head on her shoulder. She felt him curl his legs up, his knees digging into her side. He squeezed her hand, his fingers icily cold but reassuring. "Thank you, Rose." 

"For what?" Rose tracked the outline of the Scorpio constellation with her eyes. 

"For being there." Scorpius said, his face angled towards the starry canopy. "For being my friend." 

"I think you'll find I don't have a choice." Rose didn't dare look at him. "I can't survive with out you." 

Scorpius chuckled. The first sound of happiness he'd made in a long time. "That's the two of us then. You're the only thing that makes life worth living." 

"You should probably find some other reasons as well." Rose said thankful of the darkness. She knew they'd never be having this conversation if it were daytime. 

"I'm serious Rose, You make the darkness a little lighter everyday." 

"And I'm serious as well Scorpius. You can't just rely on one thing to bring you happiness. You need to have some other things that make life worth living, like your garden." Then with a lighter tone and a smirk, she added. "Although I can be number one." 

Scorpius laughed and it was the best thing she'd ever heard. It was a sound she hadn't heard in months, years. It made the world a little brighter. They were lying so close that she felt his body shake with mirth, she could hear the vibrations rattle around his chest. It made her happy. Maybe things would be okay.