He’d sort of hoped he’d find her here. Actually, as he’d made his way over, he’d been torn between hoping she’d be here and hoping she wouldn’t be—because he had a feeling she would be and though he’d set out today to try his hand at talking to her again, he dreaded what would happen when he did.
Scorpius hated confrontation even in his better moments, and he was especially nervous when it came to Rose. Not only because his attempts so far in making things right with her had failed, but because he knew she deserved to be as angry as she was. As hurt as she was. If she never wanted to see his face again, he’d understand. And that was sort of the worst part, wasn’t it? Because at the end of the day, he cared about Rose deeply, and she wasn’t the only one struggling to forgive him for what he did. He’d not been able to do that either. But finding a way to make things right with her was at least the first step in that direction.
A little bell dinged as he stepped through the door—charming, quaint—the bell (or charm, most likely) was probably more about atmosphere than necessity, seeing as the place was small and he doubted there were too many places one could be without being able to see the front door. And there Rose was—curled up in a chair in the corner, looking about as relaxed as she likely could be, given the circumstances.
He actually regretted that he’d have to take that from her. That when she’d hear his voice, or look up and see his face, this little sanctuary she’d built for herself would be shattered. Another easy reason for her to resent him, probably. As if she needed any more.
He took a breath, steeling himself to walk forward—and decided against it to announce himself too early. As though already being there, in front of her, would make his chances of her hearing him out just a little bit better.
“Hey, Rose.”
The day hadn’t been great. That was really all that could be said for it. But it would have been bearable. Would have been, if she’d just been able to keep her head down and be left alone. But no. No, when was the cosmos ever that kind to any Weasley? Of all the things that might have happened to her today, hiding in the corner of a tea shop, she hadn’t been expecting a visit from her ex.
The whole situation was a mess. Though surely he was doing just fine on his own, Rose was still nursing a, if not broken, very bruised heart. And ego, if she was being honest. After all, she would have gladly avoided him for the rest of her life and here he was walking up to talk to her bold as day. Clearly this whole thing hadn’t shaken him. The scene simply reminded her of the egg on her face still. Everyone they both knew seemed to be aware that things had gone badly between them but Rose hadn’t gone around telling everyone the details so it seemed the mostly assumed she was being a petulant brat and was probably to blame. She was, admittedly, an easy target. She wasn’t sure why, maybe the name had something to do with it, but she was an easy target to hate and blame. She’d gotten used to it but it was still bloody annoying.
She gave a nod that was half an admittance of defeat, wincing as she was greeted. “Mm, yeah... that’s about the tone of the day. Hi, I’m just leaving.” That was a lie and he probably still knew her well enough to tell that but she didn’t know what else to do about it. Being in the same place at the moment made her stomach twist in knots with shame and embarrassment and greif for what could have been.
