The dance floor was a rhythmic press of bodies and noise. It hadn't yet reached its crowd capacity, but it was getting up there. A large group of people crowded in a ring around a dancer up near where DJ Cecil presided. Rose navigated her way through the bouncing crowd, scanning for Luke's familiar figure.

There! Luke's back was to her, and he was talking to someone in one of the more sparsely occupied sections of floor. Rose came up behind him. And realized.

He wasn't talking to someone.

He was kissing someone.

He was kissing a girl.

He was kissing... what the hell?

Rose sucked in a sharp breath. "Drew?!"

Drew and Luke broke away from each other, turning as one to face Rose.

"Rose," said Luke, the disco lights dancing wildly over his features. Drew let out a nervous giggle.

Rose couldn't breathe.

The world tilted. Luke and Drew were abruptly replaced by Scorpius Malfoy and Jessica Mendell. The flashing dancers morphed into a dusk-lit orchard at Malfoy Manor. Memories Rose had tried so hard to repress were surfacing around her with all the force of a pod of whales, and she was drowning. She couldn't swim.

She couldn't get his horrified expression out of her head.

She couldn't get the pain out of her chest.

The music was too loud.

Rose whipped around violently, and ran into someone, who swore at her. The sounds of breaking glass tinkled into her ears. Someone yelled, and she felt a pair of arms grab her roughly from behind.

Rose kicked out instinctively behind her, and struck something. Then a cry of pain.

And then everything was gone.

*'*'*

A thunderous pain in her skull and the cold chaff of steel on her wrists shook Rose from a tangle of darkness.

The ground was hard and freezing beneath her and her arms were pinned in an awkward manner behind her — handcuffs, that's what they were. Fear spiked through her and — God. Her head hurt.

What the actual fuck was going on here?

She tried to think back, tried to recall something... anything. Pain obstructed her thoughts. She didn't want to open her eyes.

Cold, so cold...

And then. A clinking sound, movement, a soft groan.

Rose's entire body went rigid and she threw herself into the effort of peeling her eyes open. They felt sticky, weak, like she'd been sleeping away a long car ride.

Wherever she was, it was dark; this, at least, was a blessing to her vision. Rose blinked hard a few times and wished she could rub her eyes. And wondered why the hell she was handcuffed.

She was in a small, box-like room, completely unfurnished. The door on the wall opposite her was heavy, black, and forbiddingly padlocked. Weak light came from a little slit of barred window near the ceiling.

But what really caught her attention was the figure huddled in a corner on the far side of the room. He was stirring, rubbing his face on his knees, as though he, too, had only just woken up. Handcuffed, as well.

The worst part was that Rose recognized him. Involuntarily, she let out a little gasp of shock, and immediately wished she hadn't.

Scorpius Malfoy raised his head and locked eyes with her.

They stared at each other for a long, long time.

*'*'*

His eyes were so sad.

*'*'*

"What are we doing here?" Rose ventured at length, more to herself than to him. "What's going on?"

He shrugged warily, looking away from her. His white-blonde hair was dishevelled and contrasted with his dark jeans and black leather jacket. "They took my phone. Guess they took yours too." His voice was low and rough and sent an unwelcome shiver down Rose's spine.

She could feel the absence of her phone in her pocket, and she nodded. But it was so tense, so strained. The atmosphere snapped with unspoken things.

She watched him, drank in the sight of him, so close and yet so far away. Traced her eyes along the definitive lines of his jaw, his lips, his nose, his eyes. He looked like a mess; shaken, upset. He watched her right back.

I don't care, she chanted internally, like a mantra. I don't care. I don't care.

And then suddenly, as if a dam had broken inside her, everything came flooding back.

The party. Luke. Drew. Luke and Drew. Bumping into someone, being grabbed. A cloth smothering her face.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shove everything down. Could things possibly get any worse? Yes, they could. Because now she was prisoner in a room with Scorpius Malfoy. And she had no idea why.

Her head pounded.

Luke... Luke. Rose couldn't find it in herself to be upset at that point, it had merely been horrible déjà vu. She'd seen that coming, hadn't she? She and Luke weren't in love. He was just another marijuana-smoking player with a phone full of girls' numbers and a mouth full of perfect teeth and perfect lies.

Like Scorpius. Yes. Exactly like Scorpius.

But Drew? Really... oh well. Everyone is unpredictable to a certain extent.

A despairing sort of helplessness settled in the pit of Rose's stomach, the kind you feel when you're expected to do something but have no idea why or how or when you have to do it. When you just have no freaking clue and everything is falling apart and you're powerless.

Overcome by a sudden need to take action, Rose pushed her back against the wall and struggled to her feet, awkwardly pressing herself up and severely exerting her thighs. With that hurdle over, she leant back against the concrete and waited for the pain that flared up in her skull to subside.

Finding her feet felt like a triumph. Suddenly Rose was in so much more control of herself and her surroundings, even if her arms were out of the picture. It was elating.

She strode over to the slit that was their one indication of the outside world, peering up at it — it was too high to reach, but she could see green grass and hear the winds whispering all the secrets of the universe. I have seen all, they murmured. The world is small. You are even smaller. You do not matter...

And they rustled through the grass and the grass hissed out its agreement. Yess, yesssss... Small one...

Scorpius rested his forehead against his knees and said nothing.

He room smelled like him. A heavy mixture of deodorant, cologne, new clothing and the underlying hints of smoke and weed. It was intoxicating. It was one of the most intoxicating things about him.

Not that she cared, or anything.

He looked up quite suddenly. Caught her staring. Narrowed his eyes. Rose bit the inside of her cheek, and then quickly unbit it when she tasted the metallic tang of blood.

"You have no idea what's going on?" He said it like a confirmative statement, a little angrily.

"No idea. You sure you don't?"

"Anything out there?"

"Not that I can tell."

Scorpius struggled to his feet, and Rose's heart thudded. He had hardly taken a step towards her when —

CHUNK. CLUNK.

The door groaned open, swinging forwards slowly. Scorpius froze. Unbidden terror leapt into Rose's throat, and she backed up against the wall.

In strode the black-haired boy she'd seen Scorpius with before. Flanked by two men in black masks.

Rose glanced quickly at Scorpius, and saw an angry incredulity dawning on his face. Unease muttered through her; the masked men had holstered guns in their belts...

The black-haired boy stopped just within the doorway and shoved his hands into his pockets, the hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. There was something so awfully familiar about him, and not the kind where you know you've seen the person before, the kind where you feel as though you somehow know the person.

"How's it going, love bugs?" He had a weird lisp to his voice, but it sounded... fake?

"Fuck you," Scorpius growled, furiously. "I knew we never should have trusted you!"

"Love tends to cloud your reason, Scorpius." Amusedly.

"Don't fucking call me that!"

"Language!" Black Hair laughed humourlessly. "Why can't I call you by your name? You got a sick name, man."

"And you're a sick bastard, Sam," Scorpius snarled. Rose could practically feel the anger rolling off him in infectious waves.

"Oh? Like you're any better?" More sadistic laughter. "You were all ready to ruin little Rosie's life in order convince yourself that everything's her fault, not yours. If anyone's a sick bastard here, it's gotta be you, bro. Sorry." Although he didn't sound sorry at all.

Rose's gaze darted between them. "I'm lost," she announced, pleased to hear her voice come out a lot stronger than she felt. "Care to enlighten me?"

As if he had only just realized her presence, Sam turned sharply towards her, smirk unfolding menacingly. Rose caught her breath. He advanced, slowly, confidently, as if he had all the time in the world. Achingly familiar hazel eyes peered inscrutably down at Rose through shaggy black bangs. And when he spoke, the lisp was gone and his voice was like a punch to the gut.

She knew him. Oh, did she ever know him.

"Rose," he said softly. "Long time no see, little sis."

*'*'*'*

A/N: ah okay my knee hurts and now I'm stressed out!!

Welp I'll see y'all later I guess?? Say hello to the stars for me.

~ The Unicorn Queen