this is not an apology (scorp)

[Deleted]

lily luna potter

It had worked. Not that he was surprised by that. Scorpius had ushered a challenge, and Lily couldn’t resist it. Now this was fun. He anticipated Lily would make a return move, since it seemed to be a game of chicken; who could push it the furthest before backing off. For one, Scorpius wasn’t going to give in now. This was a competition of will power. He had been working on fighting off Ondina’s temptations, Lily wasn’t going to be that more difficult, especially because they both knew this was all a game. She moved closer, like expected, and placed her hand on his chest. He hadn’t anticipated that big of a jump. Clearly she was raising the stakes to see if he’d back off, or put it at a whole new level. Scorpius wasn’t going to though. Not just yet.

“You’re right. We are brighter.” Technically not true, the Ravenclaws were leagues smarter than the rest of the students. Not him, of course, but he was in Slytherin for other reasons besides smarts. Obviously being cunning was one of them, and today that seemed to playing a roll. At least he thought it was. “But…” But what? None of this was serious in the first place. He was trying to get away from all of this and just turn back to Rose. Yet the temptation to push this as far as possible before giving up on it was too much. Scorpius reached around Lily’s arm and brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear before gliding his hand back to her chin, tipping it up slightly. "Who’s to say I wasn’t watching you the whole time too?” He grinned. This was becoming utterly ridiculous.

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Well, this was an interesting turn of events. It was too bad she wasn't in the towel still, or he definitely would have back out sooner. But now, the playing field was even and the ball was in her court. "But..." he said, and she felt her stomach do an uncomfortable flip. Where was he going with this? Ooh, there was no way in heaven or hell that he was going to win this. No. Way. In. Heaven. Or. Hell.

He brushed her hair back and she breathed in, letting his hand find her chin and tilt her face up toward him. "Trust me," she whispered, her eyelashes batting, "everyone watches me," and then, she won the war.

How you may ask? Well, she pressed her lips tightly against his. There was no way it would be enjoyable, since she was practically smashing his face and not letting her lips move at all or even enjoying it a little. Nope, it was merely a kiss, that last about thirteen seconds, before she pulled back.

And then she laughed.

A lot.

@scorp

[Deleted]

lily luna potter

Scorpius seemed to have caught her off guard a little with his words. Was that so surprising? He had roped both Ondina and Rose too. In one way or another, Lily was right. What was one more to the list? Of course this was all for fun, so it wasn’t like any of it was serious.

His grin widened when she said that everyone watched her. That was true. It was hard not too, since she was literally all over the place all the time. Doing that meant being in the limelight no matter what was going on. He would have killed for a little bit of that kind of glory; sometimes he got it, most of the time he didn’t.

But today he didn’t get that glory because Lily kissed him. Scorpius should have known better. There were no rules, no regards to who was going to do what. If she hadn’t done it right then, he probably would have been the one to seal the deal. But then she wouldn’t have won. It was hard to call it a kiss, since it was nothing like the ones he had before. More like it was just her pressing her lips against his for an extended period of time. That was one way to win, that was for sure.

As Lily pulled away and started laughing, it was impossible for Scorpius not to laugh too. This whole situation was bonkers mad. What on earth had possessed him to even mess around like that in the first place? “I guess you win. Not sure I can top that. Unless…” Scorpius moved back towards Lily, this time wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer again. He waited for a few seconds before letting go. “Just kidding.” Winking at her, he stepped back, observing the situation once more. It was hard to punish her after that show was just put on. He’d have to think about it a little more.

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Of course she won. She always one. But, suddenly, he was catching her waist and pulling her close again and she actually gasped. Then he said he was kidding and she stepped back, giggling a little at that wink and at his joke. "So, are you going to arrest me now or should we talk about your girl issues instead? I do know both girls pretty well," she offered, raising an eyebrow at him. She really was willing to help if he needed it. Even though they were joking around that wasn't anything that really made a difference. Scorp needed a smile, Lily could sense that, and she gave him one, even got him to play along. it was good for him, to loosen up every once in a while.

But, if he really wanted to get into all the oh-so-fun-stuff going on in his life, then she was willing. She did have some insight, after all. She knew these girls her entire life so she had a little bit of knowledge, even if she didn't really pay attention to others that much.

@scorp

[Deleted]

lily luna potter

“Arrest you? I guess I could…” Scorpius grinned, realizing that it wasn’t worth following through with any punishment at this point. That would be cruel, and he liked to think he was a rather fair person. Even when it came to competition. Lily deserved it, especially after beating him at a game he had no chance of winning in the first place. In all honesty, he wasn’t going to throw her to the dogs in the first place. Wasn’t worth it and he was sure he’d hear about it from Al at some point too. Plus the paper work was killer. “Nah I think I’ll let you go today. Early Christmas present. Al’s too.”

He backed away from Lily a little, not really needing to be within an arm’s length anymore. If she bolted at this point, he wasn’t going to give chase. Too much effort and he still had a bath to look forward to after this. But he could talk for a while. Although the topic of Rose and Ondina wasn’t exactly one he was hoping to go back to. Maybe Lily would have better insight though. “Yeah…that’s kind of a mess right now.” He wasn’t exactly sure how much Lily knew. From being around Al enough, he knew that not all of them got along; Al and Ondina being a shining example. “How much do you know? Or where should I start for that matter? This has kind of been going on for a little bit now.” Scorpius had a hard time not feeling ashamed about that too. There was no reason he should have ever allowed it to get to this point, and yet it had.

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Lily grinned right back when Scorpius joked about arresting her right back. But then he said he wouldn't. For a Christmas present! She giggled, "awe, aren't you sweet!" She lifted a hand to gently touch the side of his face before lifting that hand to lightly smack his face instead. She giggled as he soon backed away.

He answered her about her cousins, saying it was a mess and she nodded. "I don't know much, to be honest. I just know that they are two of the most stubborn cousins I have," she said, "and being stuck between them sounds like a bloody nightmare. "Start at the beginning. You and Rose are still pretty much a secret, but I figured it out. Not many have," she guessed, "when did you tell her you had feelings for her?"

@scorp
(test time colin hahaha)

[Deleted]

lily luna potter

Scorpius didn’t move as Lily lightly tapped his face. Somehow he expected that. On top of everything else that had just happened, this was rather tame for the Gryffindor girl. Apparently she could go at lower energy levels. He’d have to remember that for the future. “That’s the only one though. Don’t expect anything else from me.” He grinned again.

Taking a deep breath, Scorpius listened to everything Lily had to say. She wasn’t wrong at all by calling it a nightmare. He felt like he was in one. She was also right about both Ondina and Rose being stubborn. It was a never ending cycle of being stuck in the middle with them. Of course, that was all his fault to begin with, so he couldn’t exactly place all the blame on anyone but himself. “From the beginning? Merlin’s beard.” That went way back, because to be frank, it all started with him and Ondina ending it. Then everything that happened after pretty much fell into place and led to where he was right now. He also had to ignore the fact that Lily said she knew about him and Rose. Who didn’t these days? Ondina had probably already spread the news, and when that happened, there was no way to put it out. “Well, to start, Ondina and I ended. Nothing special there really, pretty typical. I guess around that time I had started to notice Rose. We never really got along before then, but some things happened and we ended up stuck in a closet together during the kidnappings last year…and yeah it kind of went from there.”

He had a hard time keeping his goofy grin from showing. How could he ever had made the mistake of turning back to Ondina? There was nothing left there, not with the way he felt about Rose now. “But then I messed up over the summer. Things were going great and I…I went back to Ondina one day. I don’t think I really need to spell that out. I have no idea why it happened, but she managed to pounce on Rose and me one day and let all of that out.” Scorpius let out a sigh. He realized that he had clenched his fists while he was talking, so he let them unfold, loosening his entire upper body in the process. All of this was beyond stressful, even if he did have a plan going forward. “So needless to say, I’ve made quite the mess of everything.”

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Lily pouted when he said that was the only Chrismas present she would bet getting, "Is it AL's only one too?" she asked, batting her eyelashes, calling him out. I mean, really, they guys were best friends, so he couldn't ONLY give him this Christmas present! Granted, Lily didn't get like anyone a present so that wasn't really a factor for love, she thought.

He started from the beginning as she requested. She nodded as he confirmed that's where she wanted him to start and she folded her arms, raised her eyebrow, and listened. Ondina and him dated on and off as she knew but they ended last year pretty standardly. Then he noticed Rose, but Lily was pretty sure he'd noticed her sooner than that. ooh, a closet! That was promising.

he said it went from there, skipping the details which made her roll her eyes. He smiled, though, which was a good sign. Then he spoke about messing things up and that he went back to Ondi, blah blah, she pounced on him and Rose, blah blah, and now Rose was pissed.

"I fail to see the issue," she said with her voice entirely serious, "I mean, I can see how Rose and Ondina are both stubborn, so that sounds pretty difficult but here is the thing," she cleared her throat, "if you love Rose, make sure she knows, and never stop. Unless it gets to the point that she wants to file a restraining order against you," she chuckled. "But really, if you want something get it. In this case, though, with another person involved, just give her plenty of opportunities. Tell her you'll be right there whenever she decided to want to be with you. Or whatever," she wasn't sure if she was helping, but eh, this was classic Lily advice. "I just don't see the point in worrying if it's not in your complete control."


@scorp

[Deleted]

lily luna potter

“Sure, it can be Al’s only one too.” Scorpius laughed. Even thinking about Christmas gifts was terrifying. He’d have to get out and do that at some point. The real question though was what he did with the Rose situation. Now wasn’t the time to think about that though. Lily was trying to help him make sense of all of this and he needed to be paying attention.

He nodded his head back and forth as Lily said both Rose and Ondina were stubborn. If stubborn was the right word for it. They were both practically brick walls that he had to climb over, only to find another wall behind that. Unfortunately Ondina knew how to build them up and break them down at her own behest, making things a living hell for him the last few months. Rose was more cautious, and rightfully so. She’d probably be even more apprehensive after all of this.

Scorpius found himself continuing his head nod as Lily explained what he should do. There were no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ about any of this. He had to make sure Rose knew. The part about the restraining order elicited a laugh from him. “Well, I might end up with one regardless of how things end up going.” He understood what Lily was saying though. Obviously chucking Ondina out the window (he was sure that literally doing that would actually do a lot of people a favor), had already happened, so now it was all about Rose. Waiting until the Yule Ball was the tricky part. It gave him enough time to think it all over and make sure things went the right way, but at the same time, it left too many opportunities open for her to back out. Scorpius wouldn’t blame her one bit if she did. “That makes sense. I guess it really isn’t in my control after all…”

[OOC: Think one more each?]

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Lily shook her head and chuckled as he said he may end up with a restraining order anyway. Then he said she made sense, that it wasn't really in his control, and she shrugged. "So take control and do your fifty percent and whatever happens, happens." She shrugged, then took a step forward to kiss his cheek quickly, "see? I was in control of that, but I'm not in control of your reaction," she explained, "but there is no point in worrying."

She moved away from him, walking toward the door, backwards so she could look at him, "now, take your bath. You obviously need one if you're going to deal with my cousins," she laughed loudly tossing her head back, "just don't think about it for twenty minutes. Give yourself a break," she added.

@scorp
(wrap it up!)

[Deleted]

lily luna potter

Take control. That’s what he had been trying to do as of late right? The addition of doing his fifty percent made sense though. Maybe he was trying too hard. This entire time, Scorpius had it stuck in his head that he wasn’t doing enough. Letting things take their natural course while doing his half certainly seemed like an easy thing to do. Rose hadn’t reached out to him since then either. She had probably figured all of this out already. Scorpius had his thoughts interrupted as Lily kissed him on the cheek again. Somehow her doing that didn’t really surprise him. She was the type to use action to describe what she was thinking. He stared at her as she finished her thought about not being in control of his reaction. Another good point. He understood now that whatever happened with Rose on Christmas was out of his control. That wasn’t his decision to make. Fighting to get her back was though, assuming he’d lost her in the first place. Of course he had no idea at this point and would have to wait until that was made clear or not.

Lily stepped away from him, and headed towards the door. He grinned as she stated he’d need to take a bath if he was going to deal with her cousins. She could say that again. “Especially after running into you.” He paused for a second. “And don’t let me catch you in here again.” Putting on a smile to show he was joking, Scorpius bent over to pick up some of his stuff that he had set on the ground. “Trust me, a break is the best thing I could do right now.” Waving at Lily, Scorpius turned back to face the bath. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any more interruptions tonight. Not that Lily was an interruption. She had helped out more than he had anticipated.

[THE END]