Disclaimer: I don't own anything that J.K. Rowling owns. But I sure wish I did sometimes. Come on, Rowling, share the wealth!
Author's Note: Well, ladies and gents, boys and girls, people of distant lands (and other planets who will be reading this in the past), here is the first chapter of the sequel to Can't Touch This, also known as, The Marauder's Guide: To All Things Good! I'm so happy that you have taken to reading or are just starting to read. This is the first in many chapters to come and we, that being myself and my good friend Amulet Girl 5 who will be writing Lyla's point of view as well as some of the Marauders, are so excited that you are joining us! Please, feel free to stay as long as you like and to leave a review and let us know how we're doing if you have the time. We are so thankful to those who read the first story and really happy for those of you who are sticking around to join us for this story as well. The names of the chapters, to those who may be confused, will also be the rules that are presented in the story and come directly from the Marauders themselves. So, without further ado, we present to you, chapter one!
Xoxo,
Prongslittleflower
Alexa's Point of View
"Rule 28: The subject of conversation shall be dropped when it is said to be dropped; otherwise the subject of the conversation has all rights to 'drop' the other subjects in the conversation."
Letting out a breathy sigh, I glanced down at the boy underneath me. His eyes were still closed, his mouth slightly parted, and I felt my heart surge as I held still for a moment more. As his hands fell from my hips, I rolled gently away and fell to his side. Trying to remain completely still, I took deep breaths while my heart raced again. My whole body felt sensitive and my mind was reeling.
The room was silent as we lay side by side in the bed. His heavy breathing had calmed slightly back to a normal pace after a few minutes, and finally my heartbeat had slowed to something that was considered to be normal a moment or two after his. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see his hands run over his face, his eyes closing momentarily. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak as I felt his hand move along the bed towards my own. Jumping up quickly and dragging the tangled bed sheet with me, I quickly pulled it over my naked body into some sort of towel-like structure as I began to search for my clothes.
"Well, once again," I made some sort of motion with my hand in an awkward gesture of thanks (why I was thanking him for mind-blowing sex again? Even I didn't know that one) as I gathered my things off the bedroom floor in James' guest bedroom. Pulling the duvet up around his waist, Sirius sat up as I pulled my knickers on and then hastily pulled my jean shorts on. Turning around so I wouldn't have to see his penetrating eyes, I dropped the sheet from my chest as I shrugged my arms into my bra. Then I jumped slightly as his hands replaced my own as he pulled the clasps together for me.
"Alexa, we need to talk about this." He said from behind me. Raking a hand through my longish brunette-again hair that had been messed up by what had just happened and pulling it into a ponytail, I turned to face him. Looking at his bare chest instead of his eyes, I shook my head. "It's just sex, Sirius, not rocket science. I thought that this, being you and all, wouldn't have to be complicated."
I glanced up at him slightly to see him struggling for words and took that moment to look around the room. The bed was just an accusing object for what we had just done, the clothes scattered around the room his, and the blinds drawn shut from the outside world where I knew my friends would be arriving any minute for some of the first wedding preparations.
Moving away from his presence, I picked up my shirt from the ground, pulled it right side out and slipped it on. Then I moved towards the mirror on the wardrobe and made sure I didn't look too flustered anymore. My hair was messy, no longer the straight style that it had been when I'd arrived this morning but no one would notice that if I just ran his brush through my hair quickly, which I then did after taking the high pony tail out and pulling it back to rest at the nape of my neck, and my cheeks were flushed as were my swollen lips, but those would die down soon. "Get dressed, Sirius, we have to go downstairs. Like we've already established, this didn't mean anything." I said while meeting his eyes for the first time through the mirror.
No emotion crossed his eyes but the smirk on his face was false, just like my smile. I knew how much this meant, how much I wanted this to mean; we were only fooling ourselves for the moment. This had been happening for a while. It wasn't like I didn't want to be with Sirius; at that moment I probably would have given my right arm to be his girlfriend again, but I didn't want to get hurt either. It was the summer before our seventh year, we were both single, and we both wanted to have fun. So that's how it worked out. Instead of being together, we decided that friend with benefits was a much easier thing to go about doing.
As I shut the door behind me and leaned against the hard wood, I sighed while wiping the sweat that was forming on my brow. James' house may have been the shit and really old and historical, but it was hot as hell during this unusually sweltering heat of the English summer. Collecting myself again, I skipped down the stairs and out the back door while smiling at my sister who was sitting on the porch with Mrs. Potter and my own mother.
Mrs. Lupin was on her way over with Remus at any moment, and Blair and James were in the kitchen making snacks for everyone. After greeting my mother with a kiss and taking a seat next to Lyla around the large table that was set for lunch, I crossed my arms and waited while the parents discussed what flowers should be used if the florist was unable to get Lyla's first choice. Speaking of Lyla, her calculated gaze was focusing rather harshly on my right. Turning and giving my sister the most dazzling smile I could, my smile faltered when I saw her face.
The smirking was getting old. "And where have you been, my little Maid of Honor?" She asked while resting her hands on her protruding stomach. The teal colored, empire-waist shirt she was wearing hid her baby-bump but also made her skin glow with the help of her tan and I couldn't help but think she was probably the prettiest pregnant woman I had ever seen. Then her question hit me, and I raced to come up with an excuse.
"Oh, just in the bathroom and all." I said while giving her a slight smile and averting my eyes to where James and Blair were coming out to the back porch, James precariously holding a tray with one hand and tickling Blair with the other. When I looked back to Lyla, her face was growing ever more 'all knowing' by the second.
"And it took you a half-hour in the bathroom, eh?" Her eyes began to twinkle as I struggled to come up with a response. I was saved from further questioning, however, when Sirius's booming laughter was heard from inside and he and Remus walked out onto the back porch carrying a photo album. Lyla's smile grew to the size and wattage of the sun as Remus locked eyes with her and walked over to kiss her cheek. They were so cute it was almost disgusting.
"What do you have there, Pads?" James asked while Mrs. Potter took his tray and began to set out drinks and samples of the food that Remus and Lyla (mostly Lyla) had chosen for their dinner. Sirius's eyes looked like they were literally glittering in the afternoon sun and he tossed his hair from his eyes (doing weird things to my nervous system, that did) as he held the photo album high in the air.
"This, my dear Prongs, is a yearly dating of our dear Remus. Shall we have a look and relive the awkward years of ickle Reems?" He asked teasingly. Blair clapped her hands together before joining Sirius at his spot by the table. The parents rolled their eyes and began to discuss wedding plans, which usually just consisted of them squealing for hours while not getting anything done, while Lyla and I piled our plates with food as Remus joined us instead of reliving his past.
As we sat quietly at the other end of the table from the mothers, Remus made a face at one particularly grueling picture of himself. To ease the stress that the young couple usually felt while talking about the wedding, I took a large bite of some weird maroonish looking paste that had been slathered on my plate by Mrs. Potter, who was in charge of helping my mother locate caterers.
Choking the chalky substance down, I did my best to smile at Remus and Lyla who were both watching for my reaction. "Well, I'm not going to lie to you all, that was awesome." At their raised eyebrows, which seemed to happen in sequence nowadays, I took a large drink of my water and scraped my teeth over my tongue. "Okay, so that was the most disgusting thing I've ever put in my mouth."
"And we all know where that mouth has been, don't we Padfoot?" James asked as he plopped in the seat next to me and wiggled his eyebrows. Sending a sharp look at him, I turned quickly to make sure none of the adults had heard him.
"If we weren't in blatant view of your mother, I'd kill you right here, James." I said in a pleasant voice and then turned back to my food. Lyla's laughter came from across me and I tried not to roll my eyes as she and Remus took turn sampling the food. "So, Lyls, Reems, any idea on the food that you plan on serving at this shindig?"
"This 'shindig' is a wedding, Alex. Gosh, you act like they're just throwing some hoedown in the backyard or something," Blair whined and I leaned over some to see her sitting next to James at the large picnic table. Shrugging my shoulders, I felt heat on my person and covertly peered down at Sirius, who sat completely smooth next to Remus. The only tale-tale sign that he wasn't so nonchalant being his eyes locked on mine. The sound of a throat clearing almost had me jumping from my skin, but I let out a quiet relieved sigh when I saw that it was Mrs. Potter interrupting our chatting.
"Blair is exactly right! This is a wedding. There's so much to do! Now, if you all would, let's turn to the lovely chart that James and Blair constructed yesterday, shall we?" Flourishing her wand, a piece of cardboard, emblazoned with pretty pastel colors came zooming out of the kitchen to hang in the air next to her. As she adjusted the glasses that hid her pretty brown eyes, just like her sons without the green flecks, she smiled at us all.
Taking the job of official wedding planner from my mother, who had more than enough on her plate with Gran and some of the Parker family at the house this summer, and Remus' mother, who was more of a homebody than someone to get out and go, she had employed us for every spare moment to help with the organizing. With the wedding about a month and a half away, there was so much to do but as we really had no clue, she was in charge.
"Okay, now, I know we had talked about some flower choices, but Lyla you need to give us your final decision and choose a color scheme so we can talk to the florist today when you all leave here." Turning her gaze on Lyla, who had suddenly turned a nice blushing color, she waved her hand to the board where next to the bolded word 'Flowers' was a blank spot large enough to hold a picture.
"Well, uhm, Remus and I weren't really set on anything just yet." Trying to stall, she looked to my mother who just raised an eyebrow and narrowed her gaze telling her it wasn't going to work. Trying to find solace in Mrs. Lupin, who also seemed to think Lyla had to make this decision, she slumped her shoulders and sighed. "I hate making decisions."
I couldn't help but laugh slightly and settle back in my chair a bit more, pushing my plate away from me and watching Lyla suffer a little bit. Blair, who had been silent as Mrs. Potter took over, now spoke up again. "Lyla, you have to make the decisions though! It's your wedding here. And trust me, as much as I'd love to plan the whole thing for you, we're going to need your input so your totally content when the day comes."
"She better be content now," Remus muttered teasingly and then reached over to tuck my sister's hair away from her cheek. "Why not those big bunches of flowers that you like in the greenhouse? The ones that we cut last spring?" We all waited for Lyla to settle on something and when she did, her eyes lit up and she gave Remus a tight squeeze.
"Oh, I know what I want!" She exclaimed and then blushed slightly when we all jumped at her exclamation. "Well, I think the flowers should be blue and purple hydrangeas. And the color scheme is going to be blue, purple, and pink pastel colors."
Clapping her hands, Mrs. Potter set to finding the perfect color with Lyla and the moms who stood next to her now. James, who seemed to have had enough of the wedding preparations already, leaned forward while motioning to Remus, Blair, Sirius, and myself. "So, I'm thinking we ditch this and go play Quidditch in the field out back." Pushing the pâté around on his plate, he grimaced before shoving it away. "And Remus, if you serve this at your wedding I will make a totally drunken speech about your life."
"I'm not embarrassing, James. And I can't ditch this, you idiot. It's my wedding." He said annoyed, but I saw the smile on his face when he mentioned Lyla.
Shrugging my shoulders, I sat back in my chair. "I'll stay a bit longer and then skip out; if we can do something other than Quidditch though. We did that the other day and I've still got the bruise from it." I said while rubbing the sore spot on my knee from hitting that freaking tree branch. Rolling his eyes, James muttered something about clumsiness that I chose to ignore for his safety only.
"Well, I was thinking about going to look at flats if you lot wanted to join me." Sirius said casually and we all looked up at him in surprise. Seeing our looks, he shrugged us off. "It's about time I stopped mooching off of the Potters, even though I consider you all family, and after the inheritance I got from my late uncle, I can afford a place of my own for now."
"That's actually really mature of you, Black." Blair said with a grin and he shrugged his shoulder at the acknowledgement, but I noticed the slight tilt of his lips indicating he appreciated the praise.
Sighing, James leaned over to cuff his best mate across the shoulder. "As much as I'll miss seeing you go, it'll at least give us a place to party out of the watchful eyes of mum," And with a brotherly look, the clasped hands. Rolling my eyes, I pushed back my chair, and after confirming that I'd go too, I walked my plate inside.
Passing the parents who were talking about the venue (a church in London for the ceremony, James' backyard for the reception), I gave Lyla the best smile I could before letting it drop as I reached the house. After putting my plate in the sink, I leaned against the counter and poured myself a glass of iced tea from the pitcher that was still waiting. The condensation felt good against my hand, so I held it up to my cheeks and took a breath.
I hadn't really realized it until Sirius had said it, but Lyla and Remus getting married meant that my sister would no longer just be across the room from me. I wouldn't wake up in the morning to her getting out of bed at an insane hour. We wouldn't spend almost every waking minute together. And at night we wouldn't gossip into the wee hours of the morning about stupid shit like we did now.
My heart fell a little more when I thought about the fact that in just a few months after the wedding, she'd have a child, my goddaughter, which would take up even more of her time. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I used my t-shirt sleeve to quickly stop any of the salty liquid from dropping.
"You going to be alright?" A voice asked from behind me and I jumped, and then turned around with a bright, albeit fake, smile to look at my best friend. "Yeah, of course, just a little hot out there so I came inside." I lied through my teeth and as Blair's eyebrow rose I knew she knew I wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Are you sure?" She asked again and walked over to the sink to put her dishes down. Sucking in a quick breath, I nodded decisively. She didn't buy it, and I knew a tirade was coming, but Sirius stepping through the doorway, James hot on his heels, luckily saved me. "What are you two doing in here?"
"Evon wants us all outside. She's handing out the timeline and duties for the wedding. Merlin, Alexa, she's even scarier now than last Easter." James said quickly before ducking back outside. Smiling, I started to trail after James, pushing my thoughts aside. I was almost out the door when Sirius' hand landed on my shoulder, affectively stopping me. Blair moved past us gracefully, giving me a meaningful look that make me feel like I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar and I briefly wondered if she knew about Sirius and I. However, I was saved when she whispered that we would talk later about what was wrong.
Looking up at the boy, I waited for him to say something. But he just continued to stare at me until finally I couldn't take it anymore. "What?" I asked, sucking in a breath when the word came out a lot harsher than intended. "What is it, Sirius?" I amended and he continued to look at me before shaking his head and removing his hand.
"I just wanted to let you know, that even though we're having this," He lowered his voice so no one would overhear, "Fling, that we're still friends. We can still talk about shit and what not." Smiling I patted him on the upper arm as I started to walk forward again.
"I know, don't worry. And nothing is wrong." Sending him a smile, I walked back out to see what kind of torture my mother had for me now. "Maid of honor, reporting for duty." I said with authority and I saw Lyla roll her eyes but hand me a paper from an envelope. And actually, it was more like a large packet of paper.
At my questioning look, my mother brought us towards the end of the table where Blair now sat in front of her own packet of paper. While the boys were corralled into something for Mrs. Potter, which sounded a lot like measuring sections of the yard, we awaited my mother's orders. "Okay, girls, what you're going to do is take this menu of all the things we've tasted over the past few days and rate them on how good they were. In the end, Lyla will have the final decision, but we need to get a feel for this. You'll find the menu of the items on the sheets I gave you."
Nodding that we understood, I flipped through a few pages before frowning. This was a lot of stuff. "So after we're done doing that we can go?" I asked hopefully, and my mother outright laughed in my face.
"Of course not, after you finish that you'll be going over this," She lugged a huge stack in front of us, to which we all widened our eyes in horror. "And you will decide who you want to invite to the wedding." Before we had a chance to protest or fake an illness should the need arise, my mother had stalked off to see how the others were faring.
"This is torture!" Lyla moaned and then put her head on the table and her hand on her protruding stomach. "Not only do I have to decide on the food but they want me to go through all the people I've ever met and invite them to the wedding? Could it get worse?"
"Well, at least we're not making packets of almonds into a bow." I said with a grin as I looked at the first item on the menu. 'Agave Fruit Compote' sounded nice enough, not that I remembered eating it, so I gave it a 6 and moved on. "And we're not measuring the yard." I put in. Blair nodded and continued her survey with rapt attention but I noticed that Lyla was staring at her paper nervously.
"Lyls?" Blair asked looking up and seeing my sisters slightly green face. Then, without warning, she raced from her seat and inside to what I assumed would be the bathroom. As Remus took off after her, Blair looked at the list Lyla had been looking off of. "Well, I assume that 'Gizzard' won't be on the menu."
Passing us by with a string trailing from his wand, James let out a 'Thank Merlin' before being reprimanded for slacking and Blair and I turned briskly back to our work. A while later, after Lyla had come back and was now working quickly next to us as we narrowed down the menu to some appetizers, main course, and some desserts besides the cake, I looked over to the boys who were all resurrecting some random fencing mechanism that would be the pretend 'tent' where things would take place. Mrs. Potter wanted to see how everything would look, and after measuring off a safe area, she had set the boys to work.
"So, I know how much you hate talking about this, but have you decided on a dress or even looked at any in the catalogues mom showed you?" I said as I marked one last dessert down on my sheet of paper. Pushing it to the stack of keeps that was sitting at the end, waiting for Remus to agree with what we had picked, I looked at my sister who raised an eyebrow at me in warning.
Blair, seeming to notice this, piped in as she finished her last sheet as well. "It's just with the wedding six weeks away, you need to be semi-prepared for the day and that includes having a dress and knowing what you want with your make-up and hair."
"Ignoring the fact that I assume by saying semi-prepared you mean we're going to have some sort of disaster, I know that the wedding is six weeks away. And while I'm excited that also means that I'm going to be six weeks more pregnant. I'm going to have swollen ankles and feet, fatigue, and loss of appetite. It's supposed to be the happiest day of my life and I'm going to feel miserable." She said at a loss while putting her hand on her baby bump.
"At least your breasts look fantastic though," Sirius announced his appearance with a wink as he collected our stack of rejects to be thrown away. Throwing her pen at the boy, she rolled her eyes as Remus smacked him over the head. "Pretending that didn't happen, I don't really want to talk about the subject anymore, alright?"
Looking at my right towards Blair, I shook my head at my sister before turning back to look at her. "For once, I'm going to have to agree with Sirius and his round about compliment. You're still beautiful as you were when you weren't pregnant. And look at you now; it's five hundred degrees outside," She raised an eyebrow at my slight exaggeration, "And you're not even sweating. Plus, you've barely gained any weight and nothing about you is swollen or gross. You're pregnant. Not ugly."
"Alexa, don't just say that to make me feel better." She said quietly and then folded her hands over an extra piece of paper and smoothed the edges down across the table. Reaching out a hand to stop her, Blair smiled at her sincerely. Tearing up a little, as was her habit these days, Lyla smiled and then let out a shaky laugh while wiping at her eyes. "You guys are the best, you know that?"
"Well, duh, that's just the way we are." I said cockily while getting up from my seat and dusting off the back of my jean pockets. "So you'll come shopping with us soon?" I asked her and she nodded while swinging her legs over the edge of the bench to get up and go check on Remus. Stretching her arms over her head, Blair also stood up and walked over to where James and Mrs. Potter were standing and surveying the mock tent.
I noticed Sirius standing over near my mother and casually began to amble over, straining my ears to catch what little of their conversation as I could without looking like I'd been caught out. Secretly I was hoping that they'd be talking about me, but I quickly stopped my train of thought when I realized that that would be taking the friends with benefits idea into the area of 'caring' and would thus blow my life up again.
"And what's this riveting conversation about?" I asked with a smile as I stepped up to my mother and allowed her to put her arm around me in a hug. Since all the wedding preparation had begun, my mother had turned into a more 'touchy-feely' person, not that I was complaining. It was like now I actually had something to look forward to when she came to talk to me or wanted to know how I was. Mom hugs were the best. Second only to best friend hugs and Marauder hugs.
Patting me on the shoulder, my mom turned her smile towards me before returning her gaze to Sirius, who stood with his hands in his gray cargo shorts. "Sirius and I were just having a conversation about owning your own first home. It's such a lovely experience and if you can officially live on your own then you can really do anything." She said looking over to where Lyla and Remus were standing, his hand on her stomach as she smiled up at him adoringly. Catching Sirius' eye, I raised both my eyebrows once and casually tilted my head to the side.
As his eyes widened, he countered with another raised eyebrow, and I noticed his hands casually slip from his pockets, his right thumb hitching back towards the house. Biting my lip, I turned my most innocent smile on my mother. "Mom, I'm about to go inside and get some lemonade. Would you like me to get anything while I'm in there?" Crossing my fingers behind my back, I willed her to say yes or something of the like while she thought about it for a minute.
"Now that you mention it, love, I believe Margaret said she needed something from the linen cabinet; something about table settings or the like. Sirius, would you mind helping Alexa with those? I'm afraid she's just too short to reach them." Grinning like a fool, he agreed to help while I slipped away from my mother's hold. Pouting at being called short, I started to walk towards the inside, while my mother called after me. "Don't be ashamed, Al! The short genes run on my side of the family."
Locating the linens cabinet in the closet outside of the Formal dining room, I opened the door and looked to the top shelf where I saw what my mother was talking about. Feeling Sirius come up behind me, I put my hands on my hips before glaring at the shelf. It really was too tall. "Damn," I muttered while Sirius' deep laughter came from behind me. "Well, come on then, show me what you've got." I said before I went to move out of the way.
"Oh, I believe you've already seen that." He said before giving me a chance to move and stepping right up to me, while reaching his hands up and easily scooping the cloths from the shelf. Holding my breath as his arms circled me, I felt him dip his head down to speak directly in my ear. "And I believe your exact reaction was to say my name a little louder." And just as he said it, he bit down on my earlobe, causing me to jump and all of the linens in his hands to drop all over the floor.
"Sirius Black!" I shrieked as he laughed even harder. Footsteps running down the hall made me take a step away from him, just as James and Remus rounded the corner. Seeing Sirius laughing still and my reddened face, as well as the linens on the floor, James smiled while Remus rolled his eyes.
"Padfoot, you know it's against the Marauder's code to scare a woman while she's carrying out the duties of Margaret Potter." James reprimanded with a light in his hazel eyes. Sticking my tongue out and I then huffed at the boys' amused expressions before sliding past Sirius and whispering so only he would hear. "You're totally not getting anything for the rest of the week."
Walking back outside and letting the boys pick up the mess, I sat back down at the picnic table with Lyla, Blair, my mother, and Remus' mother. "Well, let's get the guest list knocked out, shall we?"
"Pads! This one has a pool." James said as he scurried around the back of the flat we were all looking at, at the moment. Rolling my eyes, I walked a little behind the realtor and Sirius, who were discussing prices, amenities, and things that really were just over my head. When we had met the woman earlier that day, her charm and skyscraper heels immediately smote Sirius and James. I, on the other hand, had kept my wits about me. Seeing as I didn't want to be the only person accompanying these two Marauders on the hunt for Sirius' bachelor pad, I had hung back, only offering my opinions when they asked for them.
"It's a modest flat with a nice open floor plan for the living room, kitchen, and dining area, but the loos and the bedrooms are, of course, closed off. There's a master suite, an extra bedroom, and a guest bathroom. Furniture is not included, but as Mr. Potter pointed out, there is a resident pool and sauna." Tottering around, she put the key in the door and pushed, slipping slightly and smiling coyly at Sirius who caught her before she hit the ground.
Ignoring the constricting of my fingers, which were now happily clenched into fists, I slugged James in the arm as I passed him on the way into the house. "Uhm, ow?" He called after me and I rolled my eyes again while taking in the flat. It was moderately spaced, nothing too huge and not a closet either, and then made my way to the big window/door that led out to a small balcony. Seeing as we were on the third floor of the apartment complex, the window would still allow privacy and a nice view.
"What do you think, Alex?" Sirius asked me and his voice rang out down the hall. Following the sound of his voice, I stopped in front of the door that led to the master bedroom. Easily the largest room in the house, apart from the open floor plan of the kitchen/living area, the room boasted a big bay window, it's own private bath, walk in closet, and enough room for lots of furniture. "Well?" He prompted as he came out of the bathroom.
"It's by far the best one we've looked at today." I said, still slightly in awe of the perfectness of this room. "If you don't buy it, I will." Smiling at the boy, he grinned back while going to stand by the bay window. James came into the room, putting a hand on my shoulder and smiling at me knowingly, causing me to send him a questioning look.
"We all know this is the room you'd like the best." He winked once and I whipped around to see if Sirius had heard him. Luckily, it didn't appear to be so, but I sent James a scathing look all the same. Trying to stay calm, I was about to tell him he was stupid and had no clue to what he was saying when the woman walked back in with her clipboard. "Well, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter? What do you think?"
Sirius turned from the window and came to stand by James and I, his gray eyes glinting and James seemed to understand the meaning behind his hidden look. I felt Sirius' arm wrap around my waist and James let his hand drop closer to my chest from where it sat on my shoulder. The realtor's eyes followed their movements, her smile not wavering in the slightest, and my face flamed when I realized what they were implying.
"Well, we just want our girl happy and she seems to really enjoy this bedroom." Turning his sultry gaze to my eyes, I tried my best to glare at Sirius who squeezed me, causing me to jump back into James' arms. "How much is the asking price?"
"Rent for three would be easily split, and because it's a muggle neighborhood, it will be a bit higher." She glanced at her clipboard and I stomped none too lightly on James' foot, causing him to release me before I stumbled out of Sirius' hold. "It'd just be one rent, actually. I'm, uhm, not with them you see. We're just friends." I tried to recover my credibility but the look on the woman's face told me she didn't believe a word I was saying.
"It's not my place to judge, love. And between us girls, they are such a fine catch. And you got both of them!" I felt my face flame up again and as I opened my mouth to plead my case again, I felt a sharp swat on my backside. "Sirius!" I shrieked and he just winked, putting his hand on the realtor's back and guiding her from the room to talk numbers. Turning to James, who was laughing to himself, I did my best glare before stalking the room. "I'll be waiting outside." I announced to the group, who all got a little laugh at my expense.
Twenty or so minutes later, as I was leaning against the railing of the apartment complex looking down at the street below, the door opened to the flat and the realtor smiled at me before she walked to the stairs and began to make her way down them. As the boys stood to either side of me, I kept my eyes straight when I talked to them. "So, I take it the flat is now under the name Sirius Black?"
Tugging on my ponytail, Sirius pouted when I wouldn't look at him. "Technically, not for another few weeks. I have to think about it and then sign on it."
"But the woman did try to get him in on some sexual deviancies. Gave him her address and all, she did." Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sirius roll his eyes and shake his head at James, whose own eyes were twinkling with knowledge of something he thought he knew. "Well, I'm going to head home. Busy day and all, and I happen to be knackered." With a kiss on my cheek, trying to lighten my mood, he disapparated loudly, causing us to both jump and curse while looking around to make sure there were no muggles about.
As Sirius and I stood for a few moments more in silence, I sighed and pushed myself off the rail before making my way towards the stairs. "Well, I'm not too far from here so I think I'm just going to walk it." Turning the corner, I saw Sirius let out a breath of air and then follow after me.
"You can't walk home by yourself, Alex." He said while taking the stairs quickly to catch up to me. By the time we reached the bottom, we were eye level as I stood a few steps above him. "It's getting dark. You might as well let me walk you." Looking around, and not at his pouting face, I noticed that the stores on the street were closing down and the street lamps were turning on.
"Fine, but only because I don't want to get caught doing underage magic if someone jumps me." Sending me a grin, he slung an arm around my shoulders as we ambled down the street and just like that I seemed to forget all about the joke he played on me earlier. "Mr. Black, I daresay you're getting awfully boyfriend-like tonight." I said jokingly and he sent me a look while rolling his eyes.
"Ms. Parker, I'm highly offended. Who am I to resist walking a defenseless woman home?" I rolled my eyes at the defenseless part and he continued over my discretion. "Besides, an arm around the shoulder is nothing. Now, holding hands; that's dangerous territory." I couldn't help but laugh, as he sounded so offended while saying it. Allowing myself to lean against his side some, I meandered down the street with him.
Within a few minutes, as I had tried without success to think of something to say to him, we had arrived at my front porch. Looking down at his watch, I noticed that it was only 7 o'clock, but all of the lights were out inside. "Well, looks like it's home alone for the night. They must have gone out to eat without me." I said, meaning it was a joke but realizing that it had come out a bit bitterly.
"Well, I'm here. I can stay if you'd like me to." Sirius said with a smile. My heart leapt involuntarily and I frowned slightly. Standing under the dark porch, I felt covered, knowing that if I asked him to come inside it would solidify our friendship, but if I said I was fine and went alone, we would remain in the awkward unbalance. Naturally, I knew what to do.
"I think I'll be alright tonight. I'm not really looking to do anything tonight." I said with emphasis on the 'anything.' Sirius' smile faltered for a moment and then he smiled broadly at me again, his teeth shining in the darkness as he reached into my hand and took my key from it.
As he unlocked the door, he spoke to me again. "That's good because you've kind of exhausted me. We're friends, Alexa, and friends hang out. Let's just talk and do nothing for a while. Besides, I know your mom has leftovers from dinner the other night and I'm starving."
Laughing, I knocked him with my hip nudging him out of the way to extract my key from the hole and push the door open. As expected, no one was home (even my extended family who visited so often) and I found myself taking the familiar route to the kitchen in the dark. Sirius, who was on my tale, waved his wand and the lights came on through the swinging door.
"Well, let's see what we've got going on in here." I opened the fridge, pulling out items as Sirius got down plates and cutlery for us to use. "We might as well cook something, Sirius, there's not much going on in the ways of prepared food." Peering over my shoulder, he looked into the refrigerator and let out a huff that ruffled the loose hairs on my shoulder.
"Looks like a whole lot of nothing." Rolling my eyes at his obviousness, I moved him out of my way to pull dry noodles and soup cans from the cabinet. "Grab some of the chicken out of the freezer, would you? I'm going to make something." Nodding his head, he got what I asked for as I rummaged around for pots and pans. He leaned against the counter, handing me things, as I needed them, before eventually he got bored.
"Where's Little Sirius at?" He questioned me while making a tower out of the spice bottles I had requested from him. Grabbing the salt from the counter before he could add it, I raised my eyebrows at him and made a face, which he returned.
Sighing, I pointed to the direction of the kitchen door with the knife I was using to cut up the chicken. "He's upstairs in my room, but I swear to Merlin, if you prank anything up there I will chop your fingers off, Sirius." Raising his hands in surrender while grinning, he swaggered away towards the door before winking over his shoulder. Trying hard to retain my smile, I turned back to dicing the chicken, grabbing spices off of the tower that he had built as I went. As I was placing the pieces into the pan that was sizzling with oil, Sirius walked back in cooing to my cat that had grown substantially since Christmas.
"I don't think you're cooking that right," Sirius said in a nasally tone as he stood behind me watching the oil pop and the chicken turn from pale pink and raw to white and cooked.
"Stop being an asshat, Black, and stir the noodles." Mocking me from behind, he held Little Sirius in one hand while picking up the spoon and stirring the noodles that were slowly cooking in the pot next to the chicken pan. After flipping the chicken and setting the top on it so oil wouldn't splatter everywhere, I washed my hands quickly and took my meowing cat from Sirius' arms. "Who's a good little kitty?" I cooed while Little Sirius licked my face.
Scratching him under his chin, Sirius stood in front of me before snatching the cat away. "Hey!" I cried in outrage but he silenced me by pulling me over to a chair to sit down. He sat on the other side and then put Little Sirius in the middle, which stood and swung his head to either side to look at us.
"We're going to have a little experiment. Neither of us are going to say or do anything, and we're going to see who Little Sirius likes more." Rolling my eyes, I leaned back in my chair.
"That's a bad idea, Sirius. Someone is going to get their feelings hurt." Waving me off, he leaned back in his own seat as well, acting like he wasn't fazed at all. "No they're not, because he's going to pick me and it will all be good."
Sighing, I crossed my legs and watched Sirius' face as Little Sirius continued to stand in the middle of the table like a dunce. I loved the cat to death, but sometimes he was too much like human-Sirius to fathom. Eventually, as he started to move, I looked into the little green eyes of my black cat and smiled widely when I felt his little pink nose on mine. "He knows who takes care of him." I said while patting his little white feet as he meowed happily.
"Yes, well, he just doesn't realize who he really loves because I'm not around him as much as you are." Sirius said as he scrambled to sit up and hide his sadness. Laughing, I nudged Little Sirius towards human-Sirius and grinned when Sirius smiled at the little cat. "What are you grinning at? Your noodles are boiling over."
Jumping from my seat, I cursed as water went all over the stove, smoke rising as it hit the hot surface. "Shit, shit, shit." I said while removing the pot from the burner and setting it on a potholder so it wouldn't burn the counter. Sirius laughed while coming over to help me clean up the mess. Putting his chin on my shoulder when we were finished and I had turned back to the kitchen, he sighed and then wrapped his arms around my waist.
"What's next?" He asked, and as his breath fanned over my neck I shivered before popping the lid on the chicken broth and other soups. "Well, we mix in the cream cheese, cottage cheese, and soups and then add the noodles and bake it." I said while trying to control myself. Moving away to get me the cream cheese, I looked down at the pan and tried not to feel my face flame red as I blushed. Merlin this boy was having the strangest effects on me today.
Eventually as the oven dinged and we put food on our plates, we went into the living room to watch the muggle television that my father had installed earlier in the summer. Turning it on to a random game show, we sat together on the couch while we ate in semi-silence. Once everything was finished, Sirius sat our plates on the coffee table and I leaned back against the arm of the couch while placing my legs in Sirius' lap.
He placed his hands on my calves and then pulled me down some so I was lying down and squeezed my legs soothingly while Little Sirius moseyed into the living room and sat himself on my stomach. "I'm going to fall asleep and leave you to clean everything up if your not careful, Sirius." I said sleepily as he flicked the lights off with his wand. He smiled at me as the nightly news came on and the clock in the living room chimed nine times.
It wasn't long after that my eyes closed on their own accord and my hand slowly stopped it's petting of Little Sirius. I dozed dreamlessly, barely moving when Sirius got up from the couch. My eyes wrenched open, however, once the clock chimed in the living room. Listening to it, I heard only one ring and looked around confused when I saw Sirius sleeping in one of the chairs across the room. The television was off and I got up, slowly putting Little Sirius on the cushion beside me.
Walking into the kitchen, I saw that it was all cleaned up and there was a note on the counter from my parents telling me they were upstairs and that Lyla was at the Lupin's for the night and to head upstairs when I woke up because they would be leaving early in the morning. After grabbing a quick glass of water, I walked back into the living room and leaned against the door for a moment watching how innocent Sirius looked in his sleep.
Smiling to myself, I walked over to him and moved some of his hair out of his eyes before waking him up slightly. As his eyes blinked open, I smiled. "Hey, we fell asleep." I stated obviously and he sat up, cracking his neck from its uncomfortable position. Looking at the clock that was glowing from the light the half-moon gave he widened his eyes.
"I better get going then." He whispered while getting up and going to put his shoes back on. Stopping his hand, I brushed some of my extremely messy hair out of my eyes and shrugged my shoulders.
"Stay, please." I tacked on for good measure. His eyes widened and then he nodded, allowing me to take his hand and pull him from the living room, Little Sirius weaving through our legs and bounding up the stairs ahead of me.
Quickly changing into an oversize nightgown/t-shirt and throwing Sirius a pair of Remus' sleeping pants, I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. Sirius joined me, shirtless as usual, as I was putting moisturizer on my face. Leaning down to brush his own teeth and wash his face, I couldn't contain my laughter when he snatched my sparkly silver headband to hold his hair out of his face.
Jumping up on the counter and sitting while he finished his nightly routine, I smiled at his soapy face and he made a hum of dissatisfaction at my laughter as he rinsed his face. Then, to piss me off he shook the water off of his face all over me. "Sirius, you loser." I shrieked and he laughed at my comeback, mocking me in a high-pitched voice as I walked out of the bathroom and turned the lights off on him.
Following me out, I watched him hesitate when it came to choosing a bed to sleep in. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed his wrist and brought him over to my bed and shoved him towards the side next to the wall, where I didn't usually sleep. As we climbed into bed, I turned on my side to face him, smiling as he wrapped an arm around my waist and brought me closer. Cuddling, I closed my eyes once again, falling asleep to the easy sound of Sirius' steady heartbeat and rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.
Two days later, I stood outside the bathroom door, dancing around on my tiptoes as Lyla did whatever it was that she does inside of the bathroom with the door locked. "Come on, Lyls. I have to go to the bathroom!" I yelled in once again to no answer. Finally, after I pounded on the door once more, Lyla opened the door, waving her hand to allow me access.
Once I had returned from the bathroom, I walked over to my bed to start pulling clothes for the day out of my drawers. After grabbing my undergarments, I turned to look at my sister who was freshly showered and was putting makeup on at her dresser. "You ready for this fantastic day of shopping?" She asked me in a mock happy voice as she opened her mouth slightly to put her mascara on.
"Wait, so we actually have to look nice today instead of slumming it?" I asked while raking a hand through my brown strands that were a curled mess from sleep. Looking at my pajamas, which consisted of sleep pants that were fraying at the hem and my faded t-shirt, she raised an eyebrow and then shooed me towards the bathroom with her mascara wand.
"If I find a way to get up in the morning, shower and get ready, while carrying this baby around and constantly being hot and having to use the restroom, then yes. I actually expect you to look nice today." Rolling my eyes and waving her off, I stepped into the bathroom to ready myself for the day.
Forty minutes later, we stepped through the front door of the house, Lyla swinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, which contained all the day's essentials, as I shoved my pockets into my cuffed blue-jean shorts. Once we had reached the entrance to our neighborhood, Lyla and I started up a conversation to make the day flow a little more smoothly. I knew she didn't want to be walking around in the heat, but it was the only way we were going to get anything to happen seeing as we couldn't drive muggle cars and there was no way we were taking brooms.
We had also figured that shopping in muggle London would be one of the easiest ways to go because not only would there be less people to run into, but we also wouldn't have the shop keepers to worry about constantly. "So where do you want to go first? There's the baby store in the shopping center or the maternity store or," I racked my brain for things they would need but Lyla cut in when she saw my struggle.
"At some point, we'll need clothes, bottles, nappies, toys, wipes, food. I'll need clothes and new undergarments. We'll need furniture for the baby." As she continued to talk about the things she would need, I widened my eyes realizing something that was very important.
"Uhm, I know that you and Remus are swamped right now, but aren't you all going to need a house or are you going to live with us still after you marry and have a child?" We stopped in front of the baby store and looked into the windows at all the happy people inside. Some men stood helplessly while their wives and soon-to-be mothers threw things into carts. Other women stood together and debated while holding up jumpsuit looking things.
When I turned back to Lyla, she was holding a piece of paper that looked to be a list of things she wanted to get today. "Well, when we get to Hogwarts again, it will all be picked out for us. The dorms we'll live in will be set up and ready to live with everything that we need. But, I guess for now, we're just going to do the best we can and set up a baby room in the guest room of our house. Here, let's go in and take a look around."
Following her inside, a lovely looking lady who shoved a cart in our direction greeted us and then we were on our way, looking around at the immenseness of the store and all it had to offer. After Lyla had went off in search of pink 'onesies,' as she called them, I wondered around picking up cute blankets and socks and a few outfits that I thought Lyla would like. Then, my eyes lit on the strangest contraption I had ever seen. Picking the box off the shelf, I held it discretely and looked for Lyla when the lady from earlier found me stalking around. "Uh, hello." I stuttered out while her smile widened at my find.
"Oh, I see you've found our latest breast pump model. This one has great suctioning abilities and helps mothers release twice the milk of the other models that we had from last year." My eyes widened and my face flamed, as she looked me up and down. "Although, you seem to have gotten the wrong size, love. And you can't be more than a few weeks pregnant at the most. You do just have that mother's glow about you don't you?"
Turning around to go back to the place where I had found the 'pump,' she took the box from me and as soon as she was out of sight I did what any respectable 16-year-old girl would do and bolted. By the time I found Lyla, she was tearing up over by the baby cribs, and I paused to catch my breath before walking over and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, Lyls, that one is perfect."
She nodded and I placed my findings in the cart as we continued to look at the crib that was set up in front of us. It was a white crib with different types of baby animals carved into the molding. The bedding was a pretty powder pink, with yellow stripes running down the side of the sheets and the bumper. The bed-skirt was the same yellow with pink accents at the bottom. Turning from the bedding, which I was adamantly staring at, Lyla shook her head and addressed me.
"Where have you been this whole time, by the way. I've been over hear ogling this crib like a stalker and you have been M.I.A." She said while turning from the bed and beginning to push the cart away. Turning away, I followed her as she continued to look around the crib and stroller section of the store.
"Had a run in with a medieval torture device that literally sucks the milk from your boobs like a suction hose. But why aren't you getting that bed stuff?" Laughing at me, Lyla stopped to look at something else with a slight frown on her face.
"First off, it's called a breast pump and I've heard it can be very useful. You need to do some research before you come baby shopping with me again. And the bedding is pretty fantastic, but the crib and everything that comes along with it is too expensive." Looking at my frown, she sighed and put down the things she was looking at. "Remus and I are on a budget. And while it's great that mom and dad are paying for the wedding, we still have no way to pay for a honeymoon, no apartment money, and we have so many other things to pay for with this baby. We've both agreed to just use one of our hand-me-down cribs."
Gaping at my sister, I tried not to roll my eyes before grabbing the things I had picked out of the cart and walking towards the register. "I'm going to pay for my things, and you pick out your things, and we'll hit up the next couple of stores before lunch." Walking off, I pulled my money out while trying not to feel too terrible for my sister and my friend.
A couple of hours, and some slightly less awesome bedding later, Lyla and I sat in a café for tea and sandwiches. Since I had been waiting for the perfect time to breach the subject all morning, I took a sip of my tea and put it down while Lyla continued to sip on her non-caffeinated drink. "So, Lyls, I wanted to talk to you about something. Now, just go with me here. I mean I know that you don't really want this but it's inevitable and something really needs to be done. And seeing as I'm your sister and Maid of Honor, it is my job to see that something does go down."
Putting her drink down, Lyla frowned at me and then rolled her eyes. "We are not throwing some stripper livened, crazy drunk, final blowout bachelorette party, Alexa. If you hadn't noticed, I'm four and a half months pregnant. I no longer have ankles, nor can I drink. A party is not what I really want right now."
"But it's tradition, Lyla!" I yelled out, and then covered my mouth as many of the heads in the café turned towards me. Giving them a slight wave I turned back to Lyla. "Besides, if this party isn't epic as hell then Sirius is going to give me hell forever."
Raising an eyebrow, Lyla leaned towards me from across the table. "Is this about throwing me a party or one-upping Sirius, Alexa? I thought you were over him, by the way?" She sent me a look that she clearly didn't believe that and I scrambled for words as I thought about the fact that she could very well know about our little arrangement.
"It's about throwing my favorite and only sister the bachelorette party she deserves with her best friends. And if it just so happens to be amazing in all things and blows other peoples parties out of the water, then that will just be a happy little bonus." I told her truthfully with a smile, hoping she would buy it and believe me. Leaning back in her seat, she folded her arms across her protruding stomach and pursed her lips.
"I'll think about it." She said and I cheered happily but she then looked at me sternly. "But if I say no, then that's it."
"Aye, aye, Captain." I said and then slammed the rest of my tea before shoving my sandwich in my mouth. "Well, what are you waiting for? We have a party to plan, dresses to buy, and more maternity things to get for you." Grabbing her by the arm, I hauled our bags in the crook of my elbow and we made our way out of the café as Lyla flung our payment to the table, leaving a generous tip for my outbursts.
Later that night as we walked home, carrying numerous bags and talking about how Blair was going to flip her lid when she saw all of the baby clothes, I thought about telling Lyla about Sirius and I. It was irrational, and probably weird to think of it, but I couldn't help it. Ever since he had spent the night a few days ago, I had been getting that bubbly feeling; the one I hadn't felt since we first started dating and then again when he told me he loved me for the first time.
Not to say that the feeling wasn't every bit as exciting and lovely as the first times it happened, but I couldn't be feeling that now. Sirius and I were just friends, friends who had sex, nonetheless, but still just friends. And I wouldn't change that. Couldn't change that.
Sighing as we walked towards the door, I opened my mouth to tell Lyla that I wanted to talk when the door burst open and Blair came running towards us yelling insane things about babies and how she was going to rip the bags open if we didn't just hand them to her now. Smiling at my friend, I waved off Lyla's questioning look. It was better to just throw myself into baby mania anyway. I did not want to think about my own problems or what the boys were up to right now.
James' Point of View
Sirius and Alexa were totally shagging again. And they thought I didn't know. If I wasn't extremely insulted by their blatant disregard at my ninja status, I would totally be excited for them. As it was, however, I was pretty enraged. Did they no longer think that I, the head Marauder and sleuth extraordinaire, would find out? As Sirius, Remus, Pete, and I all sat around on our standard issue, wooden barstools in the middle of my bedroom awaiting the beginning oath of the Marauder's for our meeting to start, I totally would have laid into the boy. But, I had a duty to do, and right now they were counting on me.
I'd get to him all in due time.
"Gentlemen, if Messer Moony would be so kind as to read out the oath so that we may all swear upon it?" I said in a booming voice. Peter looked about ready to wet himself before I rolled my eyes and said in a normal voice, "It's been sound barrier-ed, Wormtail. Chill it out."
Taking a deep breath, Remus cleared his throat and then began in the old English vernacular. "I, Remus John Lupin, do swear that I will well and truly serve our fellow Marauders and Marauders of the past in the office of pranking and mayhem, and I will do wrong to all manner of people, especially Slytherin gits, after the laws and usages of this realm, with the use of fear and favour, affection and illwill. So help me God, Merlin, Godric, and Dumbledore."
"So help me God, Merlin, Godric, and Dumbledore." We all repeated after him and as we rubbed our wrists, a left over reaction from the one time we decided we should all become blood brothers and it went terribly wrong (blood everywhere, my mother furious, the house-elf scared shitless), Sirius rocked back on his stool and looked at me.
"What's the agenda for the meeting tonight, Prongs? Didn't we just have one of these the last week of school? And that was what," He paused and thought in his mind, "Only three weeks ago?"
"Yes, Padfoot, three weeks that you have been hiding something very important from your fellow Marauders. Now, isn't there something you wish to tell us all?" Seeing as I had Moony and Wormtail's attention, I continued on. "I believe that, if you don't remember or have forgotten the rules,"
"That's the same thing, Prongs." Remus interrupted.
"Anyway, if you don't tell us what I know, then you must strip to your skivvies and run through the neighborhood. Not a good prospect if you think about the time Mrs. Emerson from down the street told you she was lonely and had seen you do this once before."
Shuddering, Wormtail let out a squeak as Remus shook his head in slight pain. "Whatever it is, Padfoot, you might just want to give it up now. I'd rather not go out in the heat tonight." He said and I nodded my head at my friends in triumph. Sirius, who had only moved his eyebrow at the mention of Mrs. Emerson, now sat forward on his stool so we would all gather in.
"Well, boys, Prongs here is correct. I've been devious," He said with a swift twitching of his eyebrows at the word. Before he went any further, Peter spoke up.
"I'd really not hear about any more of your conquests, Padfoot. Can't we go back to the days when you only shagged Alexa and wouldn't tell us about it? It'll save all of our ears." As everyone turned their attention to Peter, he shrank back some and blushed at our attention. The boy really needed to loosen the hell up.
Rolling his eyes, Sirius brought the attention away, sparing Peter anymore of his awkward blubbering, "What I was going to say before being interrupted was that the devious thing that I have been doing is going to blow all of your socks off. I, Sirius Black, am," While I smirked at what was obviously coming next, Remus and Peter looked on in rapt attention. "Going to buy a house."
Sending me a wink, Sirius leaned back with a smirk of his own. "That's not really all that surprising, Sirius. We knew you have been looking at houses lately." Remus said while leaning back and examining his fingernails in boredom.
Swallowing the urge to knock the smirking ebony haired boy from his perch, I put my hands on my hips best I could without standing up. Rule number 12 of the Marauder's: Never stand during a meeting lest your punishment be a pile on of the other Marauders. "Padfoot is a dirty rotten liar and if he doesn't come clean in the next thirty second, he will pay by way of Mrs. Emerson."
Weighing his options, Sirius looked torn between what to say and I smiled evilly. First, I knew that if he were made to see Mrs. Emerson, he would either be taken alive by the man-eater and would die in her clutches or would be beaten senseless by her husband, who seemed to not know anything of her man-eating ways. And second, I knew that he was weighing the option of being killed in cold blood by Alexa if the secret of them shagging got out. Finally, right as his seconds were ticking down to zero, he decided on which punishment was worse.
"Fine, that's not it." Glaring at me, he looked at each of the four of us with a stern expression on his pureblood features. "I swear on the Marauder's Guide though, if you all tell anyone what I'm about to tell you then I will personally feed you to the Bloody Barron. Swear it on the Guide."
Summoning the book from my bedside table, I put it on the table that Remus had conjured in the middle of us. Looking at the book, we all smiled fondly for a moment at the Guide that started it all. The Marauder's Guide: To All Things Good was like our version of the Bible. Or Filch's version of How to Catch a Prankster. If one made a promise to the Guide, it was kept until stated that it was all right to release the promise.
"I'll swear on it." I said with a smile and put my hand in the middle, right above the antlers that had been embossed on the cover.
"Definitely," Remus said, placing his hand below mine on the moon. Peter was next, silently placing his hand on the rat located cattycorner to the edge. Finally, Sirius placed his hand at the top above the words.
Once we had all taken our hands off, Sirius took a deep breath. "Okay, for the past few weeks, since the train ride home, I have been partaking in a small friends with benefits relationship with Alexa." As he waited for everyone's reaction, I noticed that the only one who had reacted was Peter. "What, no big gasps or anything?"
"Well, I obviously already knew since I was trying to get you to come clean," I said nonchalantly while shrugging my shoulders.
"And it was pretty obvious that something was going on. I mean, really, you smell like a girl lately, Padfoot and anyone in their sane mind would recognize Alexa's perfume because she's the only one that wears it." Remus said with a grin and Sirius face-palmed in annoyance.
"Why didn't anyone say anything? Do you think the girls notice something is up? Because if they do then you can guarantee that this will be over and we'll be back to the friends-only zone in less time than it would take for me to turn into Padfoot." As my best friend got all worked up, I raised an eyebrow and something clicked in my head.
"Dear lords, Padfoot, are you saying that you like Alexa Parker again?" I questioned while leaning forward. Remus tilted his head to the side and Peter even tuned in while we watched Sirius squirm.
He stuttered on for a moment before clearing his throat and sitting up straight in his chair. "No, don't be silly. We're taking part in this because we are both hormonal teens. Not because we want an actual relationship again. Everyone knows how well that turned out last time."
"But that doesn't mean you wouldn't get it right the second time," Moony said while putting his thinking expression on. "Everyone has fights. I mean, Merlin, Lyla and I were almost done for good but now we're getting married with a baby on the way."
"And everyone knows that Blair and I were almost finished over the Lily fiasco a few months back." I put in to make him feel better. As we had discussed in numerous talks before, Sirius was better with Alexa. Less arrogant, more understanding, not as prickish and playboyish, as he would be without her.
"Yes, well, it's not going to happen so can we implement rule 28 and drop the subject, please?" He sighed while running a hand through his hair and Remus and I exchanged a look before letting the subject drop for now. Rules were supposed to be followed and we would do that for him.
"Well, alright, but what else is there to talk about?" Remus asked while fiddling with the edge of the Guide that still sat between us all. With a shit-eating grin, Sirius put his mask back up for the time being and tapped his fingers along the table for a few moments. "What?"
"Two words for you, Moony." I said catching Sirius' drift. As we looked at the boy in question, we both smiled evilly. With the seventh week until the wedding winding down quickly, we knew what we had to do so no more time would be lost and the girls wouldn't one up us again. Remus groaned when he realized what we were up to and Peter squeaked in excitement again.
"Bachelor Party!"
