Never Be The Same {SCOROSE}

Chapter 16 - Scorpius [UPDATED]

"I know you're nervous, but I won't let you fall"

I heard a sigh from Albus' bed, and turned my head just in time to see him put down the letter he'd been reading and lay his head against the backboard. "News from home?" I inquired, my voice soft.

"Yeah," he exhaled. "Just the usual anxieties from Mum. I guess James is about one infraction away from being sacked, and he doesn't show many signs of improvement."

I scoffed. "The papers would love that, wouldn't they? Harry Potter ousts his own son from the Auror Office after intolerable bad behaviour."

"Salazar... I hadn't even thought of that aspect of the matter." My best friend rolled over, planting his face flatly in a pillow. "It gets worse at every turn," he groaned, his voice muffled.

I bit my lip, thinking over the matter. "Do you hear anything from your dad?"

He turned his head to face me, dark hair flopping to the side. "My dad apparently has far too much going on with his other children to worry about me."

My brow furrowed. "What's the matter with Lily?"

"Who knows?" Albus shrugged. "I only hear what Mum tells me, which isn't much on that front. I gather they think she's lonely. She hasn't got a lot of friends in Ravenclaw, you know, and I guess Rose and Lysa hang out with each other rather more than they do with her. I try to spend time with her when I can... but she needs more than a brother, I suppose."

I nodded slowly. "Still, it's better than nothing, you know."

Al met my eyes. "Maybe... but sometimes I really think I'd prefer to be an only child."

"You wouldn't like being one if it was only you and your father in the house all the time."

He huffed out a laugh. "Probably true." Then he added, "Have you heard from him lately?"

"My dad?" He nodded in confirmation. "Well... I had a letter from him a few weeks ago. It didn't say much; just that my Grandmother would be coming to the Manor to stay for the summer. I suppose I never replied to it... that was right before Rose and I... Well, before Rose and Andy... you know."

I swallowed; looked up at the dark ceiling. It didn't hold any answers to the questions I'd been asking myself ever since that day. I wondered if I would ever get any.

"It will get easier, Scorp."

I looked back at my friend, and saw that his green eyes held pity, but couldn't even find it in myself to be offended. I pulled my knees up to my chest, dropping my head with a frown. "How do you know?"

He let out a slow breath. "Because... as awful as it is to love someone you can't have... you do love them. If they're happy, a part of you is happy too... and that part will make it easier to live with it all."

"Do you think she's happy?" His silence was answer enough. "Probably happier than she was with me, right?" I muttered, trying not to sound bitter.

There was a pause before he responded. "For the record, I don't think she would have been unhappy with you, if she'd given you a real chance. But..."

I glanced over at him. "But what?"

Al looked away. "I don't know if it's fair of me to say this, but... Honestly, Scorpius? While you were hooking up with her, you spent more time being miserable than happy."

I couldn't help wincing at the words -- because he wasn't wrong, was he? It had all happened in little more than three weeks overall, and of those three weeks, it must have only seven or eight days that we were actually speaking to each other. The rest of it was just... pining. Hurting. Blocking out the pain.