Author:
asnowyowlTitle: The Summer Al Began Tried to Live: Chapter 3
Pairing: Albus Severus/Scorpius
Summary: In the summer before college, Al Potter finally begins living, but can he find the courage to show his family who he really is? In this chapter: The first date!
Warnings: A boy kiss
Rating: This chapter: PG13 (eventual NC17)
Beta:
bk7brokemybrainWord Count: 3658
Notes: Non-magic AU, set in present day, rural America. Setting based loosely on where I live in upstate NY. Please forgive my using 'Corey' for Scorpius's nickname. I tried to come up with a name a muggle teen might use if he were really saddled with 'Scorpius'. But be sure, his name is Scorpius, which will come out later in the fic. Written for week one of the 2009
ass_carnival. I plan on writing in this verse for the full 10 weeks, completing the fic toward the end of August.
Prompts used: Person: Fleur Delacour-Weasley, Place: France, Object One: beret, Object Two: poodle, Food: baguette, Song Two: Stars Are Blind - Paris Hilton, Freeform: A journey
Previous chapters
"Chapter 1""Chapter 2" The Summer Al Began Tried to Live
"… I don't care what you or anyone else thinks about Al's sexuality, and I'll thank you not to gossip about him."
Al hesitated at the kitchen door, standing back just far enough that he couldn't be seen. A low beep indicated his mom, Ginny, had hung up the phone. He waited several moments, hands fisted at his sides, sweat breaking out under his arms and along his lower back, before he walked into the kitchen, rubbing a hand through his hair, feigning nonchalance. He knew there were rumors around about him. After all, an eighteen year old boy who'd never had a girlfriend, much less a single date, was a creature worthy of comment. He just hadn't realized his parents had heard the gossip. Maybe they hadn't, at least until today. And wasn't this just the worst time for it to begin, just when Al was ready to go on his first date.
Al's mom startled, but then recovered, her deep frown giving way to a warm smile. "I thought I might have to wake you up. Aren't you driving Rose to her date?"
Al glanced at the kitchen clock. "Yeah. I have to pick her up in an hour." He passed by his mother on the way to the pantry, where he snagged a box of cereal. He worried his lip with his teeth as he prepared breakfast. Would his mom bring up the conversation she'd just had? Who'd she been talking to? Al worried that maybe she'd handled the call too easily, as if she was used to being questioned about her younger son's sexuality.
As he sat down at the table, Al saw an opened box.
"I email your Aunt Fleur asking for a few tips on making baguettes for the French Festival, and she sends me a cookbook." Ginny sat down at the table, opposite Al. "I don't need a cookbook. I've got plenty of recipes. What I need is a few tricks of the trade, something that'll give my baguettes an edge in the competition."
Al laughed. "Why would you ask Aunt Fleur? I don't think she knows the way to her own kitchen." Al remembered the one time he'd visited his Uncle Bill's family in France. He'd been eight years old and stunned by how non-maternal his aunt was. His cousins, Victoire and Dominique, had done what little cooking the family needed.
Ginny smiled. "You're right. I guess I was hoping for a miracle." She reached into the box and pulled out the cookbook, her smile sliding away as she set it heavily onto the table. Reaching back into the box, she pulled out an envelope and held it out for Al. "She sent something for you, too."
Al put down his spoon and opened the envelope. Inside was a picture or a pretty, brown-haired girl. Al looked at his mother and laughed. "Could it be any more cliché? A French girl wearing a beret and holding a poodle? Why'd Aunt Fleur send it to me?" He flipped the photo over, but the back was blank.
"There's more in the envelope."
Al set the photo down. The next item he pulled out was a note from his Aunt.
Dearest Al,
Bill and I think it is time for you to visit us again. Your cousins would love to see you, and Dominique's friend, Desiree, would like to meet you. I showed her your picture and she thinks you very handsome. I have enclosed her photo as well as an airline ticket for your journey. Come as soon as you graduate.
Love,
Fleur
Al glanced into the envelope. Sure enough, there was a plane ticket tucked inside. He stuffed the letter and photo back in and tossed it onto the table. There was no way he was going back to France. He'd hated it when he went before. He didn't understand what anyone was saying, even his Uncle Bill talked in French in front of him, claiming immersion was the best way to learn a language. And he had been pretty sure his cousins had said nasty things about him, the way they spoke, glanced at him, and then laughed. "I'm not going."
"Of course you're not. You have your work at George's store, and college preparations. I don't know what Bill and Fleur were thinking." His mother leaned over and tousled his hair as she stood and began unloading the dishwasher. "Maybe I'll give James the ticket. It'd serve Bill and Fleur right, thinking they can just make demands. James would love to go, and that girl… what's her name?"
"Desiree."
"Yes… well, Desiree would have a bit of a shock, wouldn’t she? James Potter is a force to be reckoned with."
And wouldn't Al's life this summer be so much nicer, so much easier, without James in the house? No one else paid quite so much attention to what Al did than James. It was like his older brother was always waiting for him to screw up. Al had to walk a straighter line lest his brother figure him out. Al ate his cereal in silence for a moment, trying not to think about the date he'd be going on later, and what James would say if he knew. He was nervous enough without imagining that.
When his bowl was about empty, Al dumped the remaining contents into the disposal. He was about to escape back to his room, when his mom said, "So, it's nice to be off on a Friday, isn't it? But tomorrow will be busy. I still can't believe you're graduating." She shook her head. What time's graduation practice?"
"Seven tonight."
"You'll be home in plenty of time?"
"Of course. Aunt Hermione would kill Rose if she was late to anything." Al gripped the kitchen doorframe. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to his mother, but he had a lot to do before he drove to meet Corey.
"This date Rose is going on…."
"Yeah?"
"A boy from Bloomfield?"
Al nodded, knowing his mom was going somewhere with this.
"Isn't that where you went the other day? To their school's carnival?"
"Yes."
"But Rose didn't go with you."
"No. Rose didn't go. James did." Al fidgeted, stepping back through the doorway just a little, wanting to escape. He could hear someone walking through the house and hoped whoever it was would show up in the kitchen. Soon.
"Hmmmm… yes, that's right. James told me you were watching a baseball game." Al's mom straightened up, a stack of clean plates clutched to her chest. She looked straight at Al. "He said that gay boy from Bloomfield was playing. Corey, isn't it?"
Al nodded.
His mother smiled. "It's interesting that you went to Bloomfield, but Rose is the one who ended up with a date."
The kitchen door swung open. "A date? Who has a date?" James eyed Al and then laughed. "Obviously not you." He strode across the kitchen, yanked open the fridge, and grabbed a slice of pizza, unwrapping it and stuffing it into his mouth.
"Rose. Rose has a date. And shut the refrigerator door," Ginny said. "Al's driving her to Bloomfield."
Al's stomach dropped. James wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even he was capable of adding two and two.
"Maybe I'll ride along. I saw a cute girl or two when I was there before."
Al lunged for the envelope on the table and tossed it to James. "Bill and Fleur sent me a ticket to France, but I don’t want to go. Mom thought maybe you would."
"Hell, yeah!"
Al rushed from the room. He took the stairs two at a time, burst into his bedroom, grabbed the clothes he was going to wear, and rocketed back down the stairs. He'd get ready at Rose's house, get out before James really did decide to go to Bloomfield with them.
His mother met him in the foyer, a smile on her face, and the truck keys dangling from her fingers. "Go on, then. And don't worry, I'll make sure James doesn't have a chance to go to Bloomfield to spoil your… I mean Rose's date."
Al ignored his mother's slip. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks."
********
"So why didn't you just tell her? It was the perfect opportunity. Sounds like she already suspects." Rose reflexively pushed her right foot into the floorboard of the truck, pressing an imaginary brake.
Al got the point and slowed a bit.
"Mom can't keep anything from dad. It might be all right for her to know, but I'm not so sure about dad." Al eased the truck to a stop at the only traffic light in Bloomfield and waited for it to turn green. "Jesus, Rose, we're almost there." He wiped his hands, one at a time, on his jeans and then clutched at the steering wheel as he took off across the intersection.
"What does he look like?" Rose asked, peering ahead at Kinney Park where a group of teenagers were lounging about on the bleachers.
"Corey? You've seen pictures of him."
"No. Vince. What does Vince look like?"
"We've gone over this, like, a million times." Al pulled in beside the other vehicles. His was easily the nicest ride there, the rest looking like they belonged to teenagers who had paid for them with what little they made at part-time jobs, which Al supposed was probably the truth.
"Which one is he?" Rose hissed, her eyes scanning the dozen teens, Corey's friends, Al supposed, all of whom were turned toward them, watching.
Al shut off the truck and finally allowed himself to look for Corey. He found him easily, his blond hair a contrast to those around him.
"Which one is Vince?"
Al tore his eyes away from Corey. "The big one."
Rose gasped. "The one with all the muscles?"
"That's him."
Rose leaned over and pecked Al on the cheek. "Love you, cuz."
"Of course you do." Al took one last deep breath, but it did nothing to calm his nerves. Corey and Vince were walking toward the truck, looking calm, as if they'd been on a million first dates. "I guess it's now or never," Al whispered. He opened the door and stepped from the truck, the heat of the day almost taking his breath away after the chill of air conditioning. It didn't help that the sight of Corey in a white t-shirt and jeans was already enough to make him breathless.
"I'm glad you came."
"Thanks for inviting me. Us." Al motioned toward Rose who was smiling shyly up at Vince… who was smiling shyly down at her.
Corey must have noticed, too, because he chuckled.
Al shook Rose's shoulder. "Rose, this is Vince. Vince, this is my cousin, Rose."
Rose was the first to recover. She stuck her hand out, waiting for Vince to take it. "It's really nice to meet you."
"Same here." Vince shook Rose's hand quickly. "Um…. " His eyes darted from Rose to Corey to Al, settling on Al. He grabbed Al's elbow and pulled him away, toward the copse of trees that shielded the park from downtown Bloomfield. "We need to talk."
Al certainly didn't want Vince to drag him away from Corey, but the hand clutching his arm gave him no choice. What the hell was going on? He glanced back at Rose. She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment. Corey smiled at him, shrugged, and then turned his attention to Rose. It took all his strength and he was afraid he'd end up bruised, but Al wrenched his arm away from Vince just before they reached the trees. "If you don't like Rose, then suffer through it for the afternoon," he said, angry that anyone would treat Rose cruelly.
Vince's eyes widened. "Not like her? She's beautiful. And smart too, right?"
"Um… yeah. But if you like her, why'd you drag me away?"
Vince rubbed the back of his neck with one huge hand. "How do I get her to like me?"
"What?"
"You're her cousin. You know what she likes. How do I get her to like me?"
Al shook his head. He looked back at Rose and Corey. Corey had an arm around Rose's shoulders, his head tilted toward her, talking low. Al felt a spike of jealousy, but then chided himself. Corey was gay. He wouldn't suddenly fall for Rose, but Vince… that was another story. "You just met her. Give it time. See if you like her and then just be yourself."
"I like her."
"How could you possibly know that? You said what? Two and a half words to her?"
"Love at first sight." Vince smiled and nodded.
God, this was surreal. "Really?"
"Yep."
"You're crazy." Al hadn't meant to let that slip, but really, how could he take any of this seriously?
Vince's smile dropped away, replaced by something that looked startlingly like fear. "I'm not. Really I'm not. I don't usually act this way, but there's just something about your cousin." He looked back at Rose, gave her a small wave.
She smiled weakly and waved back.
"How should I treat her?"
Al sighed. He'd never get back to Corey unless he gave Vince some sort of advice. "Treat her like she's special."
"She is special, but what do you mean, exactly."
Al searched for the words to explain what he knew Rosie wanted. "Treat her like she's pretty and feminine and not just a brain." When Vince gave him a blank look, Al sighed. "You know how the quarterback of the football team treats the head cheerleader - like she's the best thing ever?"
"Corey's our quarterback."
"Yeah, right, I knew that. Okay, so however the best football player that's not gay treats the pretty blond cheerleader."
"I don’t really care for cheerleaders."
This wasn't going so well. If Vince wasn't looking at him like Al might save the world or something, he might've just given up, but when a sad-faced puppy was begging for a treat, you threw him a milk-bone. "So, some stud on the football team and a random pretty cheerleader. You've seen them together, right?"
Vince nodded.
"Does he treat her well? Pull out chairs for her? Carry her books? Save a seat for her at lunch? Tell her she's pretty? Treat her kind of like a Princess?"
"Yeah."
"That's what Rose deserves. She's had a couple of boyfriends, but they always end up treating her like she's one of the guys. She's so smart, they don't think she wants to be treated specially. Get it?" God, Al hoped he got it.
Vince smiled. "Yeah. I get it. It's how I would've treated her anyway." He cuffed Al on the shoulder. "I really do sound crazy, don't I?"
"A bit."
"Sorry. It's just when I saw Rose it hit me like a shot. There's something special about her. It's like I suddenly want to know what love's like, what it can do, you know? Maybe I'm perfect for her."
Al relaxed for the first time since he got there. He might not understand exactly what Vince was saying, but perhaps he should cut him some slack. After all, hadn't he been thinking the same thing about Corey and him after they had only met once? "Maybe you are."
Vince's smile was dazzling, all white teeth against a tanned face.
"What about Corey? I doubt I'm his type."
Vince laughed. He threw an arm around Al's shoulders and began steering him back toward Corey and Rose. "Are you kidding? He's talked about you for days. I think he might have it nearly as bad as I do."
That was hard to believe, but when Corey turned back toward him and smiled, Al was partly convinced.
********
Three hours later, Al was exhausted and dusty and sweaty, but happier than he could ever remember being. He'd decided that making a fool out of himself with his lack of baseball skills - or coordination in general - was better than sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else have fun. And he'd been right. Corey's friends were pleasant and fun (except for one girl who remained on the bleachers, scowling at Rose, ignoring Al). The game never got too competitive and Corey had taken several opportunities to teach Al some of the basics of the game. Though he didn't expect he'd retain any of the batting tips, because, really, with Corey pressed against his back, arms wrapped around him, hands covering his on the bat, who could really listen?
Al tried not to be nervous when he was close to Corey, but it was hard. He'd had years of practice in pretending he didn't find men attractive. It was difficult to overcome that, even when it was Corey Malfoy, and even when their only audience was Corey's friends, people Corey claimed would never gossip about them.
It was late afternoon by the time they finished playing. A cooler was opened and everyone lazed about on the grass, drinking soda and eating sandwiches. Corey and Al sat a bit away from the rest. It was the first chance they really had to talk.
"I figured out who your dad is: Sheriff Potter from Jackson County, right?"
"Yeah." Al took a bite of turkey sandwich, chewing slowly, wishing the conversation had gone anywhere else. He was always being compared to his father, and was always found to be lacking. Just because he looked like Harry Potter didn't mean Al Potter was brave or heroic, or any of those things people expected.
"I can't believe I didn't realize it right away. I watch politics pretty closely, so I know what he looks like. You're right, by the way, you look just like him."
Al put down his sandwich. He felt his face heat, not sure if he wanted the answer, but asking anyway. "Is that a good thing or bad?"
"Good. Very good. Is it weird for me to say I always thought your father's handsome?"
"Yeah. Very weird."
"Ah. Then I won't say it." Corey took a drink. "What's his stance on gay marriage? I'm sure you know the state legislature is getting ready to vote on the issue."
"Dad doesn't have a stance on anything that's not related to his job." Al shrugged. "He's a policeman, not a politician."
"But he's pretty famous. Maybe the most famous person in these parts. He's got a good platform to champion causes." Corey looked at Al as if he couldn't believe someone well-known could lack a political agenda.
"Yeah, but you don't know my dad. He doesn't want to be known as the guy who caught a serial killer in the Adirondacks. He just wants to be a cop, that's all. I don’t think he really knows that much about politics." Al glanced back when a shadow fell over him. Rose and Vince were standing behind him, holding hands.
"Jesus, Corey, you're going to scare him away! Remember, you weren't going to talk politics." Vince arched an eyebrow.
Corey's face reddened. He mumbled something unintelligible.
"Don't let all that turn you off, Al," Vince said. "Corey wants to be a politician, and he'll make a damned good one, he just forgets to turn it off sometimes."
Corey glared at Vince for a moment, but then finally laughed. He looked at Al. "He's right. Sorry."
Al shrugged. The conversation had made him a bit uncomfortable, and he was glad it was over. He changed the subject, shielding his eyes with a hand, he looked up at Rose. "Are you having a good time?"
"Oh, yes."
"So am I," Vince said. He sighed. "But unfortunately, we have to leave. Graduation practice is in a few minutes."
"Damn." Corey looked at his watch as he jumped to his feet. "I forgot about that. I'm not going to even have time for a shower." He offered Al a hand to get up, and then didn't let it go even when Al was on his feet.
Al felt a bit foolish, standing there holding hands with Corey, Vince and Rose doing the same. It did feel good, though, Corey's warm hand tangled with his.
Corey tugged on Al's hand, pulling him farther from the rest, calling over his shoulder, "I'll just say goodbye to Al, and then I'll help pick up."
They walked to the back of Al's pick-up, where they were shielded from view. Corey turned to face Al, still not letting go of his hand. "I had a great time."
"I did, too." And he had. Other than the conversation about his father, everything had been great. So great.
"Can I see you again? Soon?"
Al nodded. "Tomorrow's graduation, but I'm free Sunday."
Corey took a step forward, crowding Al against the tailgate of the truck, enveloping him in the smell of ham sandwich and sweat, the heat of his skin making Al feel as if he might burn up. Corey whispered, "I'll call you and we can set something up, then."
Al nodded. Corey was leaning closer and Al's mouth had gone completely dry. He licked his lips, but tongue against lips felt more like sandpaper against unfinished wood.
Corey cupped Al's cheek with his free hand. "I don't usually kiss on first dates, but…."
Al, his heart pounding in his ears, took a bigger chance than he ever had. He grabbed one of Corey's shoulders, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to Corey's, taking his first real kiss, lightheaded at his own daring.
The kiss didn't last long. Really, it was nothing more than a brush of lips, chapped and warm, but Al didn't think anything had ever been sweeter. When Corey pulled back and ran his thumb over Al's lips, his eyes said that maybe he felt the same way. Suddenly Vince and his love-at-first-sight stuff didn't seem so crazy.
TBC