Rubies & Emeralds (Scorose Fanfic)

VIII: The Calm Before The Strom

They hadn't spoken to each other since then. Not one word had been exchanged. Scorpius pretended Rose didn't exist and, after a point of time, Rose stopped trying to get his attention. Lily convinced her to give him "space and time" and said that he would be fine in the end. Rose didn't completely agree but she decided not to push him to speak to her. She really was jealous. And she knew that. But she was living in denial. Every time her mind told her that she was jealous, she would scoff at it and ignore it. But one day, almost three weeks later, a miracle happened:

Scorpius came downstairs with his books. Rose was already there. She glanced up at him and met his eyes briefly but immediately tore her gaze away, feeling her cheeks heat up. She really hoped he wouldn't see them. And then the miracle happened.

"Hey." Scorpius said. Rose looked at him, her eyebrows shooting up and a smile beginning to appear on her face. She said, "Hey." With as much warmth as she could muster. Scorpius must've noticed the warmth because he gave a small smile of his own. Rose beamed now but went back to working, determined not to push her luck.

"So... what have you been up to lately?" Scorpius asked, opening his Transfiguration textbook and writing down the heading of questionnaire they were supposed to be answering. Rose was already halfway done with it. Scorpius wouldn't admit it but he had missed Rose. He hadn't forgiven her but he still missed her. The way she laughed, the way her whole face lit up when she was happy, the way...no Scorpius. Stop. The voice inside his head ordered him and he agreed with it. He was determined to be in denial too.

"Oh nothing. Homework. Meals. Classes. Studying. What about you?" Rose said, snapping Scorpius out of his thoughts.

"Pretty much the same."

"No more flirting with the Month Sisters?"

"Nope. I actually haven't spoken to them since that day." He said, starting to write.

"Oh." Rose said, the events of that day playing vividly in her mind. They lapsed into an awkward silence and worked that way for a while. Then Rose broke the silence and said, "I really am sorry, you know."

"I know." Scorpius said, simply.

"So...?"

"So...what?"

"Do you...um...forgive me?" Rose asked. Scorpius paused for a moment, as if contemplating the thought, and then said, "Yes." Not a "sure" not a "why not" but a yes. Not even a sarcastic one. A strong yes with a sense of finality. Rose couldn't even contain herself. She grinned and launched herself at Scorpius, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Scorpius chuckled, sending reverberations down his chest which Rose felt perfectly well. He said, "This is probably the most body contact we've ever had."

"Yeah, it probably is." Rose said, unable to stop smiling. She got off Scorpius and said, "Thank you. And sorry about the hug." Although she wasn't sure if she meant this apology. She had completely meant to hug him but felt the need to apologise anyway. Scorpius laughed again and said, "It's alright, Rose."

"We should probably get back to work." Rose said, now blushing profoundly. She didn't even bother hiding it this time. Scorpius stopped laughing and stared at her. He said, "You're blushing."

"It's the cold."

"There's a fire in here. You're blushing."

"No I'm seriously not. Now let it go."

"You're blushing."

"Stop it!"

"You're blushing." He said.