Never Be The Same {SCOROSE}

Chapter 32 - Scorpius

Supper was, to say the least, tense. Rose clearly had not expected me back so soon, and she had no idea what to do. Honestly, I wasn’t sure why I had come back tonight. It could have waited. Perhaps I just wanted to see her flustered, because it was cute. Really, though, I wanted to rip the bandage off. I figured that the unavoidable conversation between us was not going to end the way I wished it to. 

It didn’t help that Rose’s father clearly still had issues with me. There wasn’t much I could do about that, but it bothered me nonetheless. Why was he so insistent on not accepting me? I had tried time and time again to prove myself to the Weasleys, but they were not easily swayed in their biased opinion of my family. 

“Scorpius, how has Albus been? We hardly see him these days.”

The question was posed by Mrs. Granger-Weasley, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to answer it. She wasn't exactly informed on everything about him. "He's doing well. I didn't get to talk to him for long today. He's going out tonight with a… friend from work." I figured it wasn't necessary to specifically say that it was a guy he was going out with. 

Al wasn't really out yet, at least not to his family as a whole. Lily knew, and Rose obviously. I doubted James did, considering they'd never gotten along in the first place. His parents… were complicated. He hadn't told them, but he thought they knew, or at least suspected. Still, he'd asked out a guy from the Ministry, and I was glad of it. He deserved to be happy. 

"Rose, dear, are you quite alright?" her mother asked suddenly. "You haven't said a word this whole time, and you've hardly eaten a bite." 

The redheaded girl very determinedly didn't look in my direction as she answered the question, gnawing on her lip nervously. "I'm fine, Mum. Just a bit tired is all. I think I'm coming down with something… actually, do you mind if I head up to bed? I've got to put Willow to sleep anyway."

Mrs. Granger-Weasley frowned. "I suppose so. You do need rest… Scorpius could put Willow to bed-"

"No! No, Mum, I can do it myself. Um… good night, then." Rose smiled rather forcibly, and disappeared down the hall before anyone could say anything else. 

Willow, I knew, was in the family room, so Rose wasn't going directly upstairs. If I went now, I could catch her before she retreated to her bedroom. I pushed back my chair. "My apologies, Mrs. Granger-Weasley, but I've just remembered I promised my dad to run an errand for him before I came home, and Flourish and Blotts closes soon. I hope to see you again next week, if not before then." The errand part was true. But there was certainly enough time to intercept Rose.

She smiled graciously. "Of course, dear. We'll look forward to it." She prodded her husband with her elbow, elucidating a grudging agreement to her statement.

"Thank you very much for the wonderful supper," I said with a grin. Then I took my leave. 

I stepped into the hall just as she was turning the corner to the staircase, Willow in her arms. "Rose, wait." I called, trying to keep my voice from being heard in the dining room. 

She paused, but only for a moment, then continued on her route up the stairs. I followed. "Rose, come on, we have to talk about it sometime."

This time she came to a full stop, but didn't turn. "No, we don't." She took the remaining two steps at a quicker pace, and I sighed, trailing her into her room. 

"You can't just pretend it never happened!" I protested. She ignored me, setting our daughter in the crib. "Damn it, Rose, will you just look at me?"

Finally, she did. Her face was a bland mask. "Fine. Say whatever you came here to say."

"I'm not here to beg you to go out with me, if that's what you think."

She sat down on her bed, arms crossed. "Good. So why are you here?"

"Because I… because we… we did things today that we haven't done in a long time, and it just… you let it happen. And I don't know how to… react. How to feel. Because it really seemed like you were… like you wanted it. And I need to know if there's even the smallest chance that you… that maybe in the future, we could… be something."

Rose stared at her feet. "You told me the night of the Graduation Ball that you didn't want me to give you that hope."

"I know. I needed time, you know? I needed to… reassess things. And I did. Neither of us is the same person we were last summer, and if you think that at some point in the future there might come a time where you would be open to trying again… I guess it goes without saying that I'm not opposed to the idea. And I'd just like to know, is all."

The girl I couldn't get over looked up at me, biting her lip. "Scorpius, I… What happened earlier shouldn't have happened. I can't think about this right now. Willow has to be my first priority, and that isn't going to change any time soon. It could be years before I have the time and energy to commit to a relationship. And it wouldn't be fair to ask you to wait for me."

"I wouldn't mind waiting."

"I know that, but I don't… I don't want it to turn into a conflict, Scorpius. And I know it would. You would grow tired of waiting, and I would feel pressured, and it would all go to hell. I don't want that to happen."

"I'm already here all the time, though," I argued. "Hardly anything would really be changing. What difference does it make, if I'm here as your daughter's father or as your boyfriend?"

"Actually, a lot would be changing. Besides, what happened to not begging me to go out with you again?"

I chuckled half-heartedly. "Okay, you're right, I got slightly off track. But… do you think that maybe someday…?"

Rose hesitated. "I don't want you to wait for me."

"You can't stop me."

She sighed. "Well in that case…" A small smile formed on Rose's lips. "Maybe, Scorpius. Maybe someday."