stay with me.

      "Just stay with me a little longer," Scorpius' voice trembled, and his grey eyes widened in surprise - it seemed the words were said before he had time to fully understand them himself. He turned away immediately, looking away in embarrassment. "Bloody hell... That was awkward and ridiculous. My apologies. Just forget it and go rest."       "No, that wasn't ridiculous at all, Scorp," Albus shook his head firmly, showing his disagreement. "Quite nice of you to ask this, if you want to know my opinion." He chuckled, but after noticing Scorpius' slightly confused and upset reaction, he quickly took a serious look. "Are you sure you want this? Would that be okay for you? I can leave..."       "I guess it would be nice if you stayed," Scorpius muttered back, trying hard to avoid his neighbour's gaze. He turned away from him, leaning against the balcony railing and pulling a new pack of cigarettes from his large cardigan pocket. In fact, Scorpius hardly ever smoked - he was afraid he wouldn't notice the nicotine addiction developing. But conversations like this raised his anxiety level quite a bit. At such moments he couldn't help it - his hand reached for a cigarette and a lighter. Perhaps he already had some kind of addiction. Cigarette smoke worked better than any sedative. God forbid his father to ever find out about this habit. He would probably give an hour-long lecture about how rapidly Scorpius was shortening his lifespan with every cigarette he smoked. Well, fuck it - he never planned to live to a ripe old age anyway.       "Well, alright then," Albus smiled softly, following Scorpius out onto the balcony and leaning on the railing beside him. "If you find me being here uncomfortable, or if you just want some time to yourself, feel free to kick me out of here, okay?"       Scorpius didn't answer, he didn't even look at his neighbour and seemed immersed in his own thoughts. His fingers tapped nervously on the plastic railing, revealing all the hidden anxiety. Albus wasn't expecting an answer anyway. In this short dialogue, he had already heard more words from Malfoy than he had in the entire time they had lived together. It was senseless to require more from him.       Albus wasn't really complaining, though. In Scorpius' company, he found it pleasant even to just be silent. There was something special about this guy that made it comfortable to be around him in any circumstances.       "A couple of weeks ago, not that he wouldn't have asked me to stay, but he would have left himself the moment I showed up in the room," the thought crossed his mind, and Albus smiled again. Did it mean that Scorpius was beginning to trust him a little more? Probably yes.       And that realisation for some reason made Albus a little happier. These were only the first steps toward an understanding between them, but even they meant something.

***

      "So, Al, did you come to your senses a little? Calmed down?" James grinned, watching his brother's embarrassment. "Seems like our conversation didn't end well last time, don't you think?"       "Stop teasing me," Albus rolled his eyes, unwilling to admit the fairness of that statement. Yes, he had let his emotions take over last time, and, unable to stand his brother's jokes, he had left the meeting with a scene and promises never to interact with him again, which had been very... impulsive. Pretty soon he started regretting it. James meant no harm, and Al should have gotten used to his brother's behaviour by now. More so, that night Albus seemed to have given his brother something to joke about for the next couple of years for sure.       "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Watching you so angry is quite entertaining," James shook his head and, noticing his younger brother's blushing cheeks, couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Al, you're so cute sometimes."       "And you're disgusting all the time," they'd only met a few minutes ago, but Albus had already rolled his eyes a few times - and the evening had just begun. James was a professional at pissing him off.       "Just for you, angel. A lot of people would disagree with you," Albus' face grimaced in disgust, and James chuckled again, but quickly pulled himself together. "Okay. I admit it would have been nice to just tease you for an hour, but that's not why I called you here."       "Does this have something to do with what I asked you last time?" Albus looked up with interest, now staring at his brother curiously. It was honestly surprising that he took his words seriously this time.       James nodded with a smile, pulling his phone out of the pocket of his leather jacket.       "Frankly, I felt crappy after you left last time. I guess… I went a little too far on the jokes," Albus' surprise showed on his face, which now caused James to roll his eyes, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not a moron, I can admit my mistakes. That conversation was one big fuck-up of mine, and I'm sorry, okay?"       "You're apologising?" Albus' dramatic shock was obviously playful, clearly teasing his brother.       "Yes, Albus Severus Potter, I apologise to you. Accept my remorse and finally pay your fucking attention to what I'm about to show you, don't act like a jerk."       'Watching Albus angry is entertaining?' Well, the annoyed James looked just as hilarious. A satisfied smile appeared on Al's lips at the sight of James' flushed cheeks. Now they both looked equally embarrassed and could be considered even.       "Get out of your thoughts for a minute and pay a bit of your 'precious' attention to whatever I'm showing you, goddammit," oops, Albus was apparently a little distracted from the conversation, thinking about his successful revenge. James looked tired, but his gaze softened slightly at the sight of confusion on his brother's face. "Here, look through the pictures in the gallery, swipe left to right," he put his phone down on the table and turned it toward Albus.       Albus picked up the phone carefully and looked at the screen. The gallery contained pictures of the rooms of a fairly small but nicely arranged flat. There were only two bedrooms, a living room combined with a kitchen, a bathroom and a balcony. Despite the size of the flat, it was obvious that a lot of money was invested in it - modern renovation was completed with high quality (well, as far as it could be judged from the photos). The furniture was also obviously either custom-made or high-priced. Albus couldn't call his parents' house poor, he'd grown up in a wealthy family - and looking at the interior here, the living conditions were quite the same, he thought.       "It's also handy located! In a building that's minutes away on foot from the university where you'll be studying," James watched his brother's delighted face with a smile.       "That looks and sounds perfect! The flat is exactly suitable for a student," Albus sighed, looking at James. "But heck, even rent would probably cost quite a lot. I've been checking all the flats for rent near the university, there's a big overcharge for location. You know I can't afford it. Only if you're suggesting that I rob a bank..."       "Okay, stop. No robberies, you little brat!" the older guy laughed, kicking his brother lightly in the shoulder. "Well, first of all, I remind you that our parents are rich as hell-"       "Yeah, and they're also against me moving out of their house because they think I'll starve to death the first week alone. They'd rather die themselves than give me money for the rent, Jame."       "...and second of all, the big brother has everything under control. Don't be so dramatic, Al, our parents aren't monsters. Yeah, they may have sounded categorical at the time, but that was six months ago. You've changed in that time, so have they. Besides, you know they didn't mean it. They're just worried about their beloved little son, who, frankly, was a pain in the ass all his childhood and was always getting into trouble. So, technically, their mistrust-"       He faltered mid-sentence, seeing Albus' frowning face, which literally said 'thank you so much for your support, big bro, it's really nice to hear words like that, they give me so much strength and confidence!'       "Sorry, got carried away. I mean, I just want to point out that maybe their opinion has changed now. Besides, I told you, I've got it under control. The rent won't be as much as you might think."       "Yeah?" A hint of sarcasm could be heard in his voice and a look of disbelief on his face. "Look at this flat! Yes, it's small, but it looks extremely good, it has high-quality and beautiful furniture, and it's also located a couple of minutes away from the capital's main university. It can't be 'not that expensive'," he was silent for a moment, and then grinned. "Well, unless you sold your soul to the devil for lowering the rent on this apartment, Jamie?"       "I didn't, but you will have to soon," the older one muttered, glancing down at the table. Albus looked confused by this reaction and James corrected himself. "Just kidding. No one's sold anyone anything and no one will. It's just... you'll figure it out for yourself soon enough, okay? I've arranged a meeting with the landlord. You'll see him and you'll understand."       "Um, and when is this meeting going to be? I guess if I plan on trying to negotiate with him, I should do it all as soon as possible. If the rent isn't too much, there's probably a lot of people interested," Albus took on a thoughtful look.       "Yeah, well, actually, you'll see him in," James looked down at his wristwatch, "in about five minutes, I think. We agreed to meet a little later, but I think he's the kind of man who comes to a meeting early."       "What the hell do you mean-" he couldn't finish his sentence of indignation, because at that moment a tall, proud-looking man approached their table. And at that moment Albus realised exactly what James meant when he said 'the devil' and 'you'll figure it out' with a chuckle, because he saw none other than Draco Malfoy in front of him.       Draco fucking Lucius Malfoy. He approached their table with an emotionless face, pointing to the chair in front of Albus with his hand as if to ask permission to sit down, and then shifting his tense gaze to James.       "Good evening, Mr Malfoy," James said awkwardly, rising slightly from his seat. "I apologise for the bother. As you've probably understood all along, here's Albus, who, in fact, wants-"       "I suppose young Mr Albus Potter can introduce himself and carry on a dialogue with me, can't he?" The man's voice sounded calm, without a tone of joke or sarcasm, but the message was heard. James immediately nodded and, packing his things quickly, stood up, intending to leave them alone. Dropping a quiet 'good luck, angel. I'll wait for you outside," he walked away.       What the fuck.       "There's no need to turn pale and look so frightened, Mr Potter. I won't eat you, don't be afraid," The man glanced over at Albus, studying him with some interest. "I remember you being bolder in your younger days."       "I'm sorry, Mr Malfoy. It's just... I wasn't warned about all this, I wasn't prepared, so..." Albus, previously awkwardly looking at his hands on his lap, now allowed himself to look up at the man he was talking to.       Draco Malfoy looked exactly the same as Albus remembered him from their last meeting almost four years ago. His blond hair had grown quite a bit during that time and now rested on his shoulders, a couple of strands gathered into a loose ponytail to keep it from falling over his eyes. All in all, he looked younger than his years and preserved better than Albus' father, even though they were the same age. His style of clothing also remained almost the same. As long as Albus remembered him, Draco had always worn only dark, business-like clothing. Sometimes, by Astoria's (his beloved wife) wishes he diluted his outfits with coloured things, like a blue suit jacket instead of the usual black one, or a red tie instead of a black bowtie. Now there was no one to ask him to add bright elements to his clothes, so his outfit looked rather standard: a black shirt with a black tie, a jacket of the same colour and straight trousers that visually elongated the figure of an already tall man. From his seat Albus couldn't see the shoes, but he was sure they were classic patent leather shoes. Generally, nothing special, but his style of dress suited Draco. He looked strong and solid, but at the same time, he didn't lose his elegance and even some of his softness.       He wondered how Draco remembered him. How much had Albus changed over the years? Pretty much, probably, judging by the interested look on the man's face. It wasn't really surprising, though. The last time they saw each other was when Albus was just fourteen - he and Scorpius, Draco's son, had just finished high school then. Now the boy was almost eighteen. He had grown taller, now looked more like his father. Children change a lot in their teens generally, so Draco's slight surprise was understandable. Albus wondered if Scorpius had changed just as much. Well, of course he had. It would be nice to see him again...       "Sorry about that... intense look," to Albus' surprise, Draco smiled slightly. "You've grown a lot, Potter-the-younger. Will you let me hold up our conversation for a little so I can make an order? I'll be right back," With those words, the man rose from his seat and headed towards the barista counter, leaving Albus alone with his thoughts. Honestly, he was glad to be alone.       His hand reached for his phone instantly, immediately opening the list of contacts in messenger.       Message sent (Albus):       JAMES WHAT THE FUCK       It didn't take long for an answer.       Message received (James):       SO SORRY BRO, THIS WAS NECESSARY.       Message sent (Albus):       I WILL KILL EITHER YOU OR HIM OR MYSELF       Message received (James):       SELECT YOURSELF BRO              Message sent (Albus):       ?!?!?!? YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE       "That's it, sorry for the holdup," Albus didn't notice Draco return in his intense texting. The man held a small mug of black coffee in his hands. Of course, what other coffee drink could Draco Malfoy prefer. "Now we can get to the point of the conversation, if you don't mind. James and your father have given me the basic details, but I'd still like to clarify the main points. You are applying to the major..?"       So father knows too.       "I'm applying to the design major."       Draco looked slightly surprised by the answer. Apparently this detail wasn't specified by Albus' family. "Design?"       "I've always been interested in that field. In the last few years, I finally decided on it. My parents tried to change my mind, but it didn't work out." Albus shrugged. Everyone was surprised. He was used to it.       "Well, the important thing is what you like, not your parents," Draco nodded with surprising understanding. He himself didn't have much say in choosing his future in his childhood, that's the reason, Albus thought.       "...The flat was originally bought for Scorpius alone, he's applying to this university too. But there are several rooms in the flat anyway, and... for some reasons, Scorpius wouldn't be comfortable living alone. My job won't let me stay with him, so I had to find him a roommate. Scorp... You probably remember what he's like. Quiet, shy. I'd like him to live with someone we both trust. I couldn't think of anyone better than you. You've changed your phone number over the years, so I had to contact your father and brother. And it seems to be a perfect fit. You need a good place with a convenient location, Scorpius has one and he needs a roommate. You've been close before, I think it's a win-win situation for both parties."       Albus' heart ached unpleasantly at the mere thought of having to live with Scorpius. Seeing him every day after so many years apart. Some wounds of his soul even time failed to heal. However... Was he losing something by agreeing? He would be a fool to pass up such a good opportunity because of a childish grudge. "That’s true. Are we going to sign some sort of contract or...?"       "It's too early for that now. The university acceptance letters haven't been sent out yet. I'm confident in Scorpius and your family has also claimed that you did well in the entrance examinations, so you're definitely getting into the major, but... I don't like the rush." The man pulled a small business card with two numbers on it from his jacket pocket and held it out to Albus. "My contact information. The top number is my work number. The bottom one is my personal one. Contact me when you get your acceptance letter. You can use either number, but I respond faster and more willingly to messages on my personal number." Draco chuckled softly.       "Okay," Albus nodded back. "If we've discussed everything, may I go now? James is waiting outside..."       "Running away from me already? Of course you can go. Have a good evening, Mr Albus Potter."       "You too, Mr Malfoy," grabbing the phone, Albus headed for the exit in quick strides.

***

      Once outside, Albus sighed heavily, closing his eyes tiredly. This evening turned out to be much more difficult than he had expected. After all, he had only prepared himself mentally for a meeting with his brother, which never meant anything serious. What he got in the end... It was a miracle he hadn't had a nervous breakdown yet. Was it so hard for James to say one word of warning?       "Hey, angel?" speak of the devil.       Albus opened his eyes, his gaze meeting his brother's worried face.       "Call me that again, I'll personally send you to hell."       "Al, don't be silly, angels don't send people to hell. Total defiance of logic       "You want to talk about religion?" Albus raised one eyebrow, looking at James expectantly.       "... I'm sorry, Al," understanding what the younger one was implying, James smiled apologetically.       "Draco Malfoy. Of all possible people," another heavy sigh. "How long ago did you and father decide everything behind my back?"       "... Less than a week ago, the day after our conversation with you. To be fair, he was the one who contacted us. It wasn't my and father's plan to leave you in the dark. In fact, we were only trying to help. The perfect opportunity for you literally found us on its own. I admit I should have warned you, but Al, let's face it. You wouldn't have come to the meeting if you'd known. We couldn't let you miss a chance as rare as this.       Much to Albus' dismay... James was absolutely right. But he wasn't going to admit it out loud, of course.       "My flatmate will be Scorpius," the boy's voice held no emotion and his gaze was fixed on the ground.       "Isn't that great?" James got a disapproving look from his brother. "To finally see an old friend after all this time?"       James' smile looked a little strained. He knew the argument was pretty lousy himself. Albus nodded, chuckling sarcastically.       "Friends? We were. Almost four years ago. May I remind you that he left the country without even notifying me?"       "There was a reason for that, mate."       "There was." Albus nodded slowly again. There was no point in denying it. His reaction looked rather calm externally. Emotionless, perhaps. Cold, even. Internally, however, he felt like he was either going to lose his mind or cry on the spot from the renewed aching pain in his heart from the memories.       To realise that so many years had passed since they had last seen each other was rather strange. All the memories still glowed brightly in his mind, as if their parting had actually happened only yesterday and had lasted no more than a couple of hours. Albus could describe every moment he had spent with Scorpius with details. He remembered exactly what his friend's smile looked like and what his laughter sounded like; he could tell what his habits were - Scorpius always unknowingly took Albus' hand as they walked side by side; rubbed the sleeves of his turtlenecks and fidgeted with his rings when he was nervous; covered his face with his hands when he was embarrassed or laughed; he could accurately list all the subjects that interested little Scorpius (he loved astronomy and read lots of books about the planets, knew all kinds of dinosaurs and could name them; during recess he would tell Albus his favourite Greek myths, talk about the new little things in his collection, and much more. He was interested in everything and shared all the new information with his dearest friend. With Albus). To be frank, Albus even kept every single thing related to Scorpius with him to this day, often going through letters, gift keychains, various coloured postcards and drawings.       Reminders of Scorpius were so frequent in his life that Albus sometimes even forgot that the boy was part of his past, not his present. And that he really was, not just as a figment of the imagination of Al's lonely mind. Although, in truth, even that didn't help sometimes. He still at times felt like he was actually losing his mind.       But Scorpius really did exist. Somewhere far away, in the remote corners of France. And their friendship with Albus existed too. But not in France (though, perhaps, there too), only in the remote corners of Al's broken heart. And somehow that realisation only made it hurt more. Scorpius existed, but not beside him.       And the worst part of it was that Scorpius himself was fine with it.       How much he missed him. Really, genuinely and deeply missed him. It had been years... Wasn't it foolish to miss someone after four years? He should have let the situation go by now. And Albus tried! He really did! Tried to socialise more, to find a new best friend and to forget. But as it turned out, apparently, by becoming the first close friend Albus had made, Scorpius automatically destroyed all the boy's chances of finding someone else. Not because he didn't want to (well, okay, he didn't), he just wasn't good at bonding with people. It was easy with Scorpius, they'd become friends almost from the moment they first met. With the others, it was more complicated, and any relationship either fell apart quickly or ended after the first argument. So Albus stopped trying and decided to just go with the flow. Someone would want to be friends with him? Fine. Suggest they stop being friends after the first hang out? Whatever.       While Albus was gathering every memory of Scorpius piece by piece from the past, grasping at their friendship like a lifeline, Scorpius seemed to have learnt to live without him. Was that a bad thing? Not at all. But Albus couldn't contain his resentment at the mere realisation that he'd been searching through contact addresses in desperate attempts to find a trace of the Malfoys, and his (once) best friend, always knowing where to find him, had never sent him a message, never contacted him. Just silently disappeared.       Did Albus even have the right to be angry? He wasn't sure, but the burning feeling in his chest wouldn't go away. His family had always considered him overly dramatic. They were probably right. Though Albus was sure they just never lost their best friend. A soulmate, even.       "Al..." James was about to say something comforting when the boy shook his head.       "Please don't. I don't want to talk about it. Let's just split up and go home, okay?"       The older brother's gaze expressed worry and hesitation about this decision, but he didn't argue.       "... You'll get home on your own?" James had been living on his own for a few years now, while Albus had yet to move out.       "Yeah. I want to have some time by myself. I think you understand," Albus shrugged.       "You'll be okay?"       "Of course," He won't actually. Not today. But why bother his brother.       "Take care of yourself, angel."       Nodding in response, Albus headed towards the bus stop. Getting home would at least give him a chance to unwind.

***

      Every time something in his life reminded him of Scorpius, Albus temporarily shut himself away. And it happened pretty often. Years later, it hurt a little less, but it still hurt.       Apparently everyone in his immediate family knew about the meeting with Malfoy, so when Albus refused to have dinner, claiming he was very tired, and locked himself in his room, none of them seemed surprised or bothered to stop him. It didn't make sense - he needed to be alone at times like this. His mother's sympathetic look and his father's slightly worried gaze didn't pass Albus' attention, but he wasn't ready to talk about everything that had happened.       He spent most of the evening in the silence of his room, only disturbed a couple of times by Lily coming to see her brother. She brought him some biscuits and hugged him tightly. Albus said nothing, but it caused a faint smile on his face. How lucky he was to have a little sister like her.       His phone vibrated from time to time due to James' message notifications, but Albus didn't feel the energy to respond. It wasn't until the morning when he managed to pull his head away from the pillow. Chaotic thoughts about everything that had happened - about Scorpius, their friendship, their past, that stupid dramatic grudge - were suddenly released when his gaze fell on the photograph hanging above his desk.       He and Scorpius stood together, hugging each other tightly. Genuinely happy smiles were shining on their faces. Albus even remembered when exactly this picture was taken - a school sports competition in their second grade. Albus had won the relay race for their class, and Scorpius was the first one to run up to him with congratulations, repeating what a wonderful job he had done. They both stood there happy, hugging each other in a shared celebration of victory. Astoria, who had accompanied Scorpius to the competition that day, captured the touching moment in a photograph, a copy of which she later gave to Albus. He hung it up in his room that same day. Even after losing Scorpius, the boy could never find the strength to get rid of the photo.       Perhaps that was a good thing. Because suddenly, looking at that photograph changed something in Albus's view of the situation. Yes, it had been years, he and Scorpius were both different now. They might not even be able to become friends again. But their sincere friendship still existed some time back. And Albus still treasured it. Even if they couldn't understand each other again... Albus will at least have a chance to make sure that the person he once considered the dearest to him was okay. Maybe he could even learn some bits of truth about their time apart. And the rest of it suddenly didn't matter so much anymore.       Albus was tired. Tired of his own resentment and pain. Tired of crying at the memories of perhaps the happiest time of his life. How would Scorpius react to him? How will he react to Scorpius? No one could predict that. But he wouldn't torture himself with it anymore. Whatever will happen. He handled losing a friend at fourteen? He could handle seeing him again at eighteen.       His hand reached for the phone. Finding Mr Malfoy's business card in his pocket, Albus typed the man's personal number into his contacts.       Message sent (Albus):       Good morning, sir. Sorry to disturb you. This is Albus Potter. You mentioned you didn't have my number. I thought it might be convenient to let you know what it is.       The reply came almost immediately.       Message received (Draco):       That's very considerate of you, young man. Thank you. Be sure to contact me when you receive your acceptance letter.       Albus didn't respond, putting the phone aside and falling back onto the bed. His eyes were sleepy from exhaustion. He hadn't realised how much he wanted to sleep when his mind was full of thoughts. With a soft sigh, he wrapped himself in the blanket.       "...Maybe it won't be as bad as I imagined. There's a reason James calls me a drama king."       With that thought, he finally allowed himself to relax and drift into slumber.