"Scorpius!" Rose Granger- Weasly called to the Slytherin prefect, Scorpius Malfoy. He walked over to her, flashing her a smile.
"Hey, Thorn." he said playfully, lightly punching her arm. Rose hit him back; it was sort of like their signature thing. They weren't all lovey- dovey like other couples. Heck, they weren't even a couple. They were friends. Acquaintances. Nothing extra, nothing else. Just friends...
"Ready for Quiddich later today?" she asked, blue eyes lighting up in excitement. The final match of the season would be Gryffindor versus Slytherin; Rose planned to win, and wouldn't settle for anything else. Scorpius sometimes wondered why she wasn't in Slytherin. She had ambition beyond belief.
"We're going to win." Scorpius said confidently, portraying the famous Malfoy smirk. "Your team doesn't stand a chance."
Rose rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "You're just saying that to make yourself feel better. Your a decent seeker, and I'm a great chaser. Look at the odds, Malfoy."
Scorpius nodded. "Sure." he said, laughing. "Sure."
"I get my smarts from my mother, Scorpius." she said simply, flipping her red hair over her shoulder. "You and I both know that she was never wrong."
They both laughed at that comment; Scorpius gazed at her, still shaking his head, smiling.
"What?" she asked, tucking a flyaway strand of flame- like hair behind her ear.
"We have time before the game...do you want to go to the Lake for a bit?"
"Sure." Rose answered, glancing at him. Ok...she seemed pretty chill on the outside, but she was having an internal party. She smiled to herself as they walked along the path to the beach. They talked about pretty much random things on the way there; the new Divination teacher, different kinds of birds, and even the romance of Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasly. Seriously, they were the cutest couple ever. No one could deny that. Well, her cousin, Lily, thought otherwise. She thought that...never mind. Rose would NOT go into that. Immediately, her cheeks reddened to the same color as her namesake. Scorpius looked at her; his face reddened the slightest.
"What?" he asked, smiling, trying to cover up the fact that he was seriously blushing.
"Nothing." she said quickly, also trying to ignore it.
They walked in silence for the rest of the way until they got there. As Rose stared at the sparkling waves, Scorpius walked over to one of the shrubs that lined the beach. Rose bushes, to be exact. Taking out his wand and severing the stem, he stared at it. It was a bright, crimson rose; a similar shade as her hair. It was a perfect rose, even with the thorns. The thorns protected it from the dangers of the outside world. They acted as defense from any potential threats.
They were what Scorpius mentally promised he would be to her- someone that protected her. The roses and their thorns. The thorns and the roses.
He walked up to her; Rose turned around, and he searched her eyes for something- for anything. He took her hand and closed it around the rose, watching as millions of emotions and thoughts traveled through her bright blue eyes. She looked up from the flower and met his eyes.
It was almost as if in a dream- a dream that neither of them wanted to end. It seemed like time had slowed for a minute; and after time sped up, Rose could feel a pair of warm lips pressed against hers. Scorpius pulled back after a moment, and started to turn away. Rose took his hand before he could leave, and entwined her finger with his. She glanced down at the flower, and looked back at Scorpius, giving him a small smile. He turned back towards her, taking the a step forward that closed the distance between them. Scorpius took her hand that held the rose, so that they both held it.
"Thorns and roses." he whispered to her, their eye contact not breaking. After a silent moment, he opened his mouth to speak. "Rose, I..."
She held her finger to his lips. "I know." She laced her fingers with his again; they both leaned in at the same time, meeting each other in the middle. They stayed like that for a moment, gently breaking apart. Even then, he rested his forehead against hers, and smiled.
"Thorn." she murmured to herself.
"It suits you." he said to her quietly, glancing at the crimson petals. "You're my thorn."
"You're my thorn." she corrected. "The scorpion. I'm the rose."
"Thorns and Roses" he said, almost inaudibly, understanding what she was trying to say.
"Yes." she whispered. And that was it. One word with so much meaning. One word that could change other lives, just how it had changed hers.
She was his flower; she was the the rose. And he was her thorn; he was the scorpion.
It was their reality.
Thorns and Roses.