It was four in the morning when Remus Lupin decided that he probably wasn't going to get any sleep. He rolled over, pulling his duvet tighter in around himself to conserve warmth, and squinted at his alarm clock, trying to figure out if there was a way to turn off the alarm without having to leave his cocoon of blankets, which there wasn't. Groaning, he reached his arm out into the cold of his empty bedroom and fumbled with the tiny glowing buttons on top of the device, cursing his anxiety for the next day. The next week. Month... Year.
Remus Lupin was one hundred percent not ready for university.
He wasn't ready for the parties and the drinking that he'd inevitably be forced into. He wasn't ready for meeting new people and getting used to a new city. Most of all he wasn't ready to come out again.
As he thought it his stomach twisted and he buried his head into his pillow. The last time had been a disaster. Being gay at an all-boys' boarding school is not the best thing, despite what people might think, and Remus had been trapped in a dormitory for the last two years of his life with five prejudiced dickheads who were so terrified he might have a crush on them that they went out of their way to make him miserable. It was safe to say that he was happy he'd never be seeing them again.
Despite that, he still found himself longing that it would be them he would be seeing that day, not six complete strangers that he'd only ever spoken to briefly on Facebook over the past week. He craved the familiarity, the safety of his dorm room. Moving into university halls of residence with people he barely knew sounded terrifying at that moment.
He didn't know why, though, they had all seemed perfectly nice. They had all spoken to him, apart from one boy, and none of them had seemed the type of people to judge. Lily Evans was an LGBTQ rights activist, according to her profile, and so Remus had decided that she was going to be his best friend already and James Potter seemed too interested in talking about himself to be bothered about anything Remus had to say. Remus liked that – he liked to slip under the radar.
The phone on his bedside table buzzed loudly, the screen lighting up the room so suddenly and violently that Remus had to retreat back under his duvet for a moment to get his bearings. He peeked back out and squinted down at the screen, seeing a blue notification that flashed persistently. He sighed; someone had posted in the group. At four in the morning.
He wasn't the only one awake, then.
'Sirius Black – 04:23
sorry i havent said hey ive been busy with family stuff lately. im sirius and im studying art. you all seem like cool people and i cant wait to meet you tomorrow (today, whatever)'
Remus blinked. The lack of punctuation and proper grammar was truly painful to the English student, and he had to resist correcting every mistake in the comment section. He decided, however, it would be best not to get a reputation as 'that guy', and so scrolled down to greet Sirius instead.
'Remus Lupin – 04:26 - Hi, I'm Remus. Studying English Lit. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who's nervous?'
'Sirius Black – 04:27 – nervous? dude ive just finished marathoning miranda im not even CONSIDERING bed yet. english lit? Yawnnn i thin id even rather do history ha!'
'Remus Lupin – 04:28 – History was my second choice of course.'
'Sirius Black – 04:29 – english and history eh? you and me are very different people'
'Remus Lupin – 04:30 – You and I.'
Remus clicked the lock button and threw his phone back down on his bedside table, rolling over to face the wall and pulling the duvet back over his head. Why was he so angry? Everyone had been so nice and now some arse had turned up and ruined it by being a cocky bastard. It wasn't as if he'd even said anything offensive, he just seemed like he was teasing Remus. He groaned.
He'd never get to sleep now.
His mother had cried when she had said goodbye, clinging to him slightly too tightly in a bone-fracturing hug. Remus had laughed, insisting that he would be fine, and that there was nothing for her to worry about, and of-course-I'll-make-lots-of-friends, and yes-I'm-fine-with-cooking-don't-send-me-lasagne.
All of this was a lie, of course, but he couldn't let his mother worry. His father eyed him knowingly, but there was an unwritten agreement between them to keep his mother in the dark about Remus' deep-seated anxieties about university life, and so nothing was mentioned. However, when Lyall Lupin pulled his son into a hug, tousling his hair despite Remus being a good four inches taller than him, he whispered hurriedly in his ear,
"Everything will be okay, call me whenever."
Remus nodded, smiling weakly at his father, before escorting them back to their car and waving them off. He had been the first to arrive in their hall, however others from the building were milling about, carrying suitcases and cardboard boxes up the staircases, and as he made his way back up to the third floor left-hand corridor (his home for the year) he made a conscious decision to smile at as many people as possible. He probably looked mad, but at least he wouldn't get a reputation as a dick.
He collapsed down onto his (new) bed, despairing at the state of his (new) mattress, its (new) springs sticking into his (old) arse uncomfortably. He knew that wouldn't be fun to sleep on. Sighing, Remus unzipped the backpack he had thrown carelessly down on the bundle of bedclothes behind him and fished out his phone, unlocking it and scrolling through his contacts.
He wanted to talk to someone but he didn't know who. He hadn't moved far from home for university, only about an hours drive, but his best friends had gone almost three times that in the opposite direction. His fingers hovered over Alice Prewett's name, longing to call her, but he knew that she too would be moving in to her halls. She'd probably already met people she liked better than Remus, and he couldn't blame her. He'd only met her and Frank Longbottom during their gap year, and he figured that you couldn't be that great friends with someone you had only known for a year. Remus locked his phone and put it back down on the uncovered mattress, dropping his head into his hands and rubbing his eyes, as he so often did when he felt like this.
"Knock knock,"
Remus' head shot up, and he physically jumped at the sound of someone else's voice penetrating the silence of the hall. A blonde girl who he recognised as Marlene McKinnon was leaning against the doorframe, her arms folded, a messenger bag hanging from one shoulder and a smile plastered on her perfectly contoured features.
"Oh," Remus stood up hastily, wiping his hands (which were unusually sweaty – gross) on his jeans before moving over to stand opposite her, "Hi, I'm Remus."
"I know, silly," She hit him lightly on the shoulder. Remus noticed her perfectly manicured nails as one hand settled on her hip, "We spoke on Facebook the other day. I'm Marlene, doing Veterinary Science?"
Remus nodded at her but then stopped when he realised he probably looked like one of those dogs people like his dad had on the dashboards of their cars, "Yeah," He cleared his throat, "Are your parents not helping you move in?" It was a stupid question, but he wasn't in the mindset for conversation at this point. His leg had started shaking.
"Yeah, they're downstairs unloading the car," She grinned, "I just wanted to see if anyone was here yet. Have you seen the kitchen? Is it nice?" Before Remus could even start an answer she was off down the hall again (Remus had chosen the room closest to the exit, to minimise the number of people he would have to speak to on his way out on a morning), leaving him with a "See you later Remus!"
Remus sighed, convinced that, again, he had managed to balls up a potential platonic relationship with his general awkwardness. Cursing himself for being so goddamn socially-inept, he turned back to his bed and began to unpack his belongings, while a niggling voice in the back of his head told him to suck it up and call Alice.
Remus had closed his door so that he could freak out in the peace of his own room, and therefore had missed the entry of the majority of the rest of his new hall-mates. He could hear them crashing about in the hall, and particularly next door, where someone was playing pop-punk obnoxiously loudly and singing along tunelessly. Having already unpacked, Remus found there was nothing to do now but sit in the worn desk chair and spin idly, taking in the surrounding of his new room.
He had put up two posters, the only ones he could bare to take down from his walls at home – one showed the members of Bombay Bicycle Club, and the other was a reproduction of an 1800s world map. His desk was perfectly organised; his mother had bought him organisers and boxes to keep all of his equipment and files ordered; and his record player was nestled in the corner. Being an English student, his shelves were filled with books, apart from the one that was stuffed with vinyl records, and all had been meticulously ordered according to the alphabet.
There was a knock at the door and Remus stood up to answer it, poking his head around to see a lanky boy – almost entirely too skinny to be legal – a few inches shorter than Remus, grinning at him from behind a pair of thick black rimmed glasses.
"Hiya, I'm James, I'm guessing you're Remus?" He held out his hand to shake and Remus took it gingerly, hoping his palms weren't too sweaty. After Remus nodded, James continued, "We're all going to order pizza and eat in the kitchen if you want to come meet everyone?" He had one of the poshest accents the Remus had ever heard, and his clothing and the way he stood told Remus straight off that he was dealing with football captain, privately schooled, 'my parents own a multi-billion pound business' James Potter, who spoke more about himself in conversation than anyone else Remus had ever met, "Just go tell Lily what you want, she's ordering. Room 306, next to mine." He ended on a wink, which made Remus feel immensely uncomfortable, then retreated back to his own room.
An evening in the kitchen with pizza, he could do that. How hard could it be? All he had to do was be normal.
Of course, that wasn't going to happen, was it?
He gazed at his reflection in the mirror he had propped up on a bookshelf for a while, studying what he saw and trying to assess if he looked acceptable enough to be allowed to socialise with other humans. The jumper he wore was garishly pattered and two sizes too big, so he looked slightly like he was drowning, but it was cosy and smelt of home; and the skinny jeans he wore were almost a year old and were getting baggy around the knees. His face was just how it always was – average. He sighed; he may as well start the year as he meant to go on.
He slipped his phone from his desk into his pocket and set off towards the kitchen, noting how the constant noise coming from the room next door had seemed to have ceased. He turned as he left his room and walked directly into something hard. Something that smelled of leather and motor oil and wet dog.
"Watch it, mate,"
The boy was shorter than Remus by quite a way, but had much more presence. His hair was long, almost brushing his shoulders, and fell effortlessly around his eyes, which were a startling grey. He wore a worn leather biker jacket and a pair of the tightest jeans that Remus had ever seen. Not that he was looking.
"S – sorry," Remus stuttered, not entirely sure where to look. The boy had the best cheekbones Remus had ever seen.
"No worries," He slapped Remus on the back, and turned to walk down the hall towards the kitchen. Looking back on the taller boy over his shoulder, he asked, "You coming for pizza?"
Remus nodded, then stopped himself – dashboard dog again, dammit – and followed the boy down the hall, "Yeah, I'm Remus."
"Ohhh," The tone of his voice was knowing, and he laughed lightly, "The English student."
"Oh shit," The words slipped out before he could think to stop them, "Sirius."
"You don't sound very favourable," He raised an eyebrow, holding the door to the kitchen open and allowing Remus through, "I was only having a laugh, you know."
"Hmm," Remus looked at him pointedly, and sat down at the large, round table, where most of the others had already gathered. He sat between Marlene (who was deep in conversation with another girl, who had dark hair that was twisted into a messy bun on top of her head, and spoke with her hands animatedly) and Lily, who he had only previously said the word "Hawaiian" to, but she smiled at him as he collapsed into the seat anyway.
It was typical; the hot guy in the tight trousers was an arsehole. He was still hot, though.
The group seemed to be congregated around a scale model of Mount Everest made entirely out of Domino's boxes, surrounded by a moat of cans of cider. Remus noticed Sirius didn't wait to be offered a drink, and cracked one open, taking a long drink before turning to James, who stood in the doorway,
"Ayy! Join the party!"
James gave the boy a strange look, but a smile creeped over his lips and he sat down next to him, taking one of the cans of cider from the table and breaking it open.
"Everyone's here?" Lily asked, then counted them, pointing to each person with a long, pale finger, "Great! Okay..." She picked up the lid of the first box and squinted at the contents, "Okay who wanted pepperoni?"
Marlene took the box, and the rest of the company dove at the boxes, inspecting the pizzas and distributing them properly.
"Hey Pete, you wanted a margherita?"
"Who asked for barbeque?"
"Which heathen ordered fruit on their pizza?"
Remus looked up to where Sirius sat, holding the closed box above his head like a trophy, a look of mock disgust on his handsome features. Remus sighed,
"Me," He paused, taking the box from Sirius' outstretched hand, noticing the leather bracelets on the boy's arm as the sleeve of his jacket pulled back, "thanks."
They sat and ate, and the conversation was dull and predictable – what school did you go to before? Which A Levels did you take? What subject are you doing? – Sirius did not participate, Remus noticed, and instead elected to piss about with James, throwing bits of onion from his pizza into a tub that had contained chips in the centre of the table. Mildly aware that Lily was talking next to him, Remus watched Sirius carefully; watched the way his eyes crinkled as he laughed, and the way he ran his fingers through his hair to keep it off his face, and the way that –
"What about you, Remus?" Lily turned to him, but Remus was still in his trance,
"I am so gay." He said it without being able to stop himself. The words tumbled out of his mouth like pizza falling out of a box as it was knocked over by someone hastening to leave a room.
Which is how Remus ended up sat on the floor with his back pressed to his door, hiding his head in his hands and trying to pretend he was not hungry for the pizza he had just dropped all over the kitchen floor. He groaned and drew his knees up into his chest, hugging them; cursing himself for being such a stupid, anxious twat.
No, he would not make the mistake of dining with Sirius Black again.
Remus Lupin – 22:03 – Alice I'm going to jump out of a window.
Alice Prewett – 22:03 – Dude, it can't be that bad, I thought you said everyone seemed nice on FB?
Remus Lupin – 22:05 – I came out by basically drooling over my next-door neighbour in front of everyone
Alice Prewett – 22:06 – Ah.
Remus Lupin – 22:07 – I know, right? I literally said the words "I am /so/ gay" while staring at him Jesus fuck my life.
Alice Prewett – 22:08 – I'm sure it wasn't that bad?
Remus Lupin – 22:09 – It was. It was so, so bad. I'm never leaving this room again.
Alice Prewett – 22:10 – Is this guy gay? Any chance of a romance?
Remus Lupin – 22:11 – He doesn't look gay. He looks... hot. Like, 'too hot to be interested in me' hot.
Alice Prewett – 22:12 – You're blushing, I know you are.
Remus Lupin – 22:14 – Shut up.
Remus managed to successfully avoid everyone in the flat for three days, waiting until they left for some fresher's event before he left to get food or showered. He hid in his room, listening to his records and reading, occasionally mustering up the courage to text Alice, who was still pressing him to talk to Sirius, and marathoning TV shows on Netflix. All in all, the year was starting how Remus had thought it would.
On his fourth night in the building, Remus listened intently for Sirius' music to be turned off and for the group to leave. Lily once again knocked on his door, asking if he wanted to go out with them and telling him about some deal they'd got on at a nightclub in the city, but Remus politely declined, giving the excuse of required reading. She didn't sound like she believed him, but she wasn't the type to force anyone into things they didn't want to do, and so they left, leaving the coast clear for Remus to make his way down to the shared bathroom and shower.
The bathroom wasn't really a bathroom, but a row of five shower cubicles, which Remus hated with a passion. The worst thing about Durham University was that you didn't get to choose between en suite and shared bathroom facilities, and so Remus had been stuck sharing a shower and toilet with six other people and the constant terror of someone walking in on him peeing.
He was washing his hair when he heard the door open.
"Shit," He muttered, then raised his voice so he could be heard through the cubicle door, "Who is it?"
"Remus!" A voice exclaimed. Oh God, it was – "It's Sirius, obviously." There was a hint of amusement in his voice. Remus sighed, shutting off the water and pulling back the curtain that separated the changing area from the shower. He could hear Sirius pottering about behind the cubicle door as he scooped his towel from the floor and wrapped it around his waist, and he contemplated the best way to manoeuvre the situation. He decided that leaving as quickly as possible was probably the most favourable option, and so he scooped his clothes off of the floor and unlocked the door, stepping out into the corridor where Sirius stood, seemingly waiting for him.
"Why have you been avoiding everyone?" He demanded, crossing his arms across his chest. He wasn't wearing his leather jacket today, but was still wearing those obnoxiously tight jeans and ludicrous boots.
"Can we talk about this when I'm wearing clothes?" Remus asked, exasperated. He was very conscious of the fact his towel wasn't secure around his waist and didn't want to accidentally flash his hall mates during the first week. Especially not Sirius.
"You go get dressed, I'll yell at you through your bedroom door."
Remus sighed, but set off towards his room regardless.
"No but seriously, if you're worried about the other night –"
"I don't want to talk about the other night." Remus interrupted, feeling his face grow warm as a light pink hue brushed his cheeks. His hands were shaking, he noticed.
"No one laughed at you, just FYI."
Remus was determined not to look round at Sirius, "I don't believe that for a second."
"Well you should," He heard Sirius sigh and stop in his tracks, "You dropped a sock, by the way."
Remus stopped, the cheap carpet feeling scratchy on the soles of his feet, and bent down to pick it up, "I heard you guys laughing as I – Oh fuck."
Remus dropped his clothes in his haste to grab his towel, which had fallen as he went to retrieve his fallen sock. Of course, he was too late, and Sirius dissolved into a fit of laughter behind him.
"Amazing," He walked past, slapping Remus on the back as he went back to his room, "Be a bit more subtle next time you try to seduce me, Moony."
Remus was left in a heap in the middle of the hall, groaning into the carpet and praying, harder than he ever had in his life, that that nickname didn't stick.
"Morning, Moony,"
Remus cringed. He had thought everyone had left, but found himself alone with Sirius again.
"Must you call me that?" He reached up and opened his kitchen cupboard, pulling out a box of Shreddies and a cereal bowl, along with a spoon.
"Of course, Moonshine." Sirius sidled up next to him, grinning, "Wanna hit up the poster fair after breakfast?"
Remus poured cereal into his bowl, using it as an excuse not to meet Sirius' gaze, "Sure, why not?" He shrugged, placing the box back in the cupboard, "I've got nothing better to do."
Sirius made a gasp of mock shock, clutching at his chest, "Moonface is going to leave? He's actually going outside?"
Remus looked at him out of the corner of his eye as he took the milk out of the fridge, "I've decided that nothing can be more embarrassing than what happened yesterday." That was true, Remus still felt physically sick whenever he thought about it, "Are the moon related names ever going to cease?"
"Not right now, moon emoji."
"You just hit a new low."
Sirius laughed – it could almost have been a bark – and threw his head back. Remus' eyes lingered on the boy's neck for a little too long, and his cheeks went a pale pink. Sirius didn't seem to notice, "You're kind of funny, you know that, Moony?"
"I've been told." Remus lied, placing the milk back in the fridge and closing the door. He began eating his cereal, leaning against the sideboard and looking at Sirius, who was now sat on the table.
Sirius watched him as he ate his cereal, which was strange, and swung his legs forwards and backwards under the table. He was wearing pyjamas that seemed a few sizes too big, as they were so long they covered his feet. The shirt had a picture of a large black dog printed on it.
"James was saying he wanted to hang out with you today, just FYI," Sirius said finally, picking idly at a loose thread on his pyjama pants. Remus looked up at him from the bowl of cereal in his hands,
"Why? So he can laugh at me?"
Sirius shook his head, "You're not a joke to us, you know. Come on, hang out with us, it'll be fun."
Sirius didn't look like he was joking, but Remus was still sceptical, "Fine, but I'm not promising I'll enjoy myself."
"Excellent decision, Moonlight."
Remus Lupin – 10:34 – Alice help I'm venturing out into the Real World
Alice Prewett – 10:36 – Where you going? Will the hot guy be there?
Remus Lupin – 10:37 – Do we have to talk about him?
Alice Prewett – 10:37 – That's a yes then.
Remus Lupin – 10:38 – Shut up, he wants me to go to some poster fair with him.
Remus Lupin – 10:39 – AND HIS MATES before you go saying it's a date.
Alice Prewett – 10:40 – HE WANTS YOU TO HANG OUT WITH HIS MATES AW you guys are adorable
Remus Lupin – 10:41 – I've literally spoken to him twice and one of those times I dropped my towel and he saw my arse
Alice Prewett – 10:42 – oh my fucking god
Remus Lupin – 10:43 – He calls me Moony now.
Alice Prewett – 10:44 – Amazing.
The student's union building was grey and square, and possibly one of the most threatening things Remus had seen in his life. Students were surging in and out of the doors in groups, many with bags containing rolled up posters. Remus stopped as they approached the building, daunted, and saw Sirius go on ahead, seemingly unaware of the lack of Remus at his side.
"Uh," Remus started, reaching out and touching Sirius' shoulder. The boy turned and looked at him, his face puzzled, "James and Peter are in there, right?"
Sirius shrugged, "Yeah, I guess." Then turned towards Remus fully, taking a step forward. It occurred to Remus that he may look as bad as he felt, "Are you okay, mate?"
Remus cleared his throat, rubbing his face with his palm, "Yeah, I'll be okay when I get in there, I'm just kind of –"
"Anxious?" Sirius interjected.
"Yeah." Remus sighed, "Sorry."
Sirius laughed and Remus' heart sank, but the boy placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, "Dude, don't apologise. You're such an idiot sometimes."
Sirius continued walking, and Remus jogged to keep up, "Wow, thanks, man."
"I'm just saying; it's stupid to apologise for something you can't help." Sirius shrugged, looking up at Remus, "if you're terrified of people, you're terrified of people."
"I'm not terrified –" Remus was cut off by a look from Sirius, "Okay maybe a little bit."
They began making their way down several flights of stairs. The walls were a deep purple and littered with posters advertising various fresher's events.
"You coming to the fresher's fair tomorrow?"
"Is that not what we're doing today?" Remus asked, wondering how many days these ridiculous events could be dragged out for.
"No," Sirius dragged the 'oh' sound out for as long as he could, "This is a poster sale you dumbass."
"Did you just call me –"
"Shhh, we're here."
They turned right into a large room. The centre was lowered into the floor like a conversation pit, but about twenty times the size. The walls were, again, purple. Remus wondered if he'd ever get away from the colour. There were stalls set up in rows, presumably they would be there all week, which today held stacks of posters, as well as small knick knacks and a few second hand books. Sirius was immediately on his phone, texting James, Remus presumed. He slipped his mobile back into his jeans pocket and grabbed Remus by the hand, dragging him down the steps into the mass of people and stalls. Remus blushed.
"Come on, we've gotta find Prongs."
Remus hastened to keep up with the shorter boy, who was powering through the crowd, "Who?"
"What? Oh," Sirius dropped Remus' hand, looking over his shoulder, "James. He stabbed himself in the nose with a fork so I call him Prongs now."
"Amazing," Remus said, deadpan, "At least I'm not the only one with a stupid nickname."
"We'll all have one by the end, just you wait!" Sirius sounded much too excited by this prospect, in Remus' opinion.
"Hiya, mate!" And then James was there – and on top of Sirius. The two shared a hug so violent that Remus was shocked that neither fell on the floor. Apparently over the last four days the two had discovered that they were soul mates, or something.
"Prongs! Had a good morning?" Sirius was actually tousling the other boy's hair now. Remus was amazed.
"Not really, operation Bolts fucked up."
"Operation Bolts?" Peter Pettigrew, a short, stout boy who was studying geography reportedly because 'he liked to colour in but was no good at art' asked, appearing from behind the still embracing James and Sirius.
"Prongsie asked Lily out, didn't he?" Sirius said, as if this was common knowledge. Remus hadn't even known he had a crush.
"Oh," Peter's brow furrowed, "Why did you call it Operation Bolts?"
"Because Bolts is her nickname, dickweed." Sirius tutted, releasing his grip on James' neck and laughing at Peter.
"I really hope that doesn't become mine." He muttered, scratching the back of his neck and shifting uncomfortably on his feet.
"It's better than mine, to be honest." Remus raised his eyebrows, "He calls me Moony."
James laughed, throwing his head back on his skinny neck so violently that Remus was sure it would snap, "I don't even want to know where that came from."
"No," Remus admitted, his cheeks burning, "You really don't."
Sirius let out a bark of laughter, before throwing an arm around Remus' shoulders and starting to walk down the isle of booths, "Come along, Moonbeam, we're gonna get you some posters."
Somehow the four boys ended up in Remus' room, where Sirius was rifling through Remus' record collection and making disapproving noises. James and Peter sat on the bed cross legged, watching the boy with matching amused looks. Remus sat in the desk chair, spinning it from side to side and trying his best to not look as uncomfortable as he felt.
"Who the fuck are Drenge?" Sirius asked, waving an LP in Remus' general direction.
"I swear to God if you drop that I will die right here, right now," Remus sighed, "And they're a band, just like all the others you've asked about."
Sirius shook his head, "I'm going to get you into good music this year, Moony, I promise."
"If that means the trash you blast through the walls until 3am every night then no thanks." Remus' remark earned a snort of laughter from James and a sound of realisation from Peter,
"Oh my God that's you!"
Sirius turned away from the shelf he was inspecting to look pointedly at Peter, his expression incredulous,
"Pete, how you managed to get into a top five university truly baffles me. Like, seriously."
"Hey, that's unfair." James cut in, "You asked me if ducks could fly yesterday morning."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Sirius pointed at James, "Those ducks outside have never once taken flight in front of me."
James shrugged, "They're just chill. Ducks fly, idiot." Sirius looked offended, but James continued, "Anyway, onto something important – Operation Bolts. I propose a Three Year Plan."
"That sounds vaguely Communist." Remus smirked. Sirius groaned,
"You with your history again." He rolled his eyes, slipping the record back onto the shelf and hopping up to sit on Remus' desk, crossing his legs on the light wood. Sirius' lips curled up into a sly smile when he saw Remus' disapproving look. God, it was attractive.
"I think you enjoy it under your punk exterior."
Sirius blew air out of his nose in lieu of a laugh, "Gotta maintain my image, Moonage Daydream."
"What did you just call me?"
"You have Bowie records." Sirius raised his eyebrows, "What's this Three Year Plan then, Prongs?"
"I dunno, but I figured that it was going to take me three years to convince her to go out with me because she seemed kind of opposed to it."
"Then why not give up if she's not interested?" Peter asked, looking puzzled, which Remus had noticed seemed to be his default expression.
"Because she's a gift from the gods. She's so smart and beautiful and goddamn radiant." James was gesturing to the sky as he described her, "She cares about everyone, and she's doing a fucking medical degree at Durham. She's a genius." Remus could practically see the hearts in the boy's eyes.
"Yeah, but you're a scrawny arrogant prick," Sirius said pointedly, "And you're doing physics. Like a nerd."
"He's rich, though." Remus pointed out, looking over at Sirius, who was silhouetted by the sunlight streaming in through the window.
"You make an excellent point, Moony." James clicked his fingers, "I shall woo her with extravagant gifts."
"Ah yes, the way to a woman's heart – her purse." Sirius said flatly.
"Is everyone calling me Moony now?" Remus moaned.
"Yes." James and Sirius were perfectly in sync as they answered; looking at Remus as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Great."
Remus was pulled out of his dream by a persistent knocking on his bedroom door, accompanied by a whining noise so loud the boy pulled his duvet over his head in an effort to hide from it. He was not a morning person.
The longer he lay there the less the noise sounded like a whine and the more it sounded like words. Maybe just one word. Remus poked his head out from his cocoon and squinted into the gloom, listening intently.
"Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooony!"
It was Sirius. Remus groaned, glancing at the alarm clock on his bedside table – it was half past seven.
"Go away."
"But Moonlight, you promised me you'd come to the fresher's fair." Sirius' voice was singsong. He sounded much too awake considering he and James had stumbled in at one in the morning.
"I will at a reasonable hour." Remus rolled over to face the wall again, pulling his duvet back over his head.
"Mooooooooooooony," Sirius cooed, "Prongs won't wait and I want you to come with us."
Remus sighed, sitting up. He'd be lying if he said his mood hadn't lightened at the thought of Sirius wanting his company. He pulled the duvet around himself like a cape and padded over to the door, unlocking it and peeking around at Sirius, who grinned.
"You look delightful, Moonshine."
"Ha ha," Remus glared at the boy, who was eying his hair with a distinct look of amusement, "Tell Prongs I'll be half an hour, unless he wants me to go in my pyjamas."
Remus decided that he probably would prefer to go in his pyjamas, but he was bound by societal norms to change, so he shut the door after Sirius gave him a polite wave and went about trying to find something that wasn't a jumper to wear. He gave up after two minutes and pulled on a green sweater, before scooping yesterday's jeans up from the floor and changing into them.
Sirius was still waiting for him when he eventually left his bedroom, wearing his ridiculous leather jacket and a smirk on his handsome features, "Ready to go, Moondream?"
"Are you just making up words now?" Remus ran a hand through his hair, suddenly very conscious of the fact that he had neglected to comb it.
"Can't go around repeating nicknames, can I?" Sirius shrugged, leaning back against the wall, folding his arms across his chest, "Prongs has gone off somewhere trying to chat Bolts up, so you probably have time for breakfast if you want it."
Remus sighed, a note of faux annoyance in his voice, "So I got out of bed early for no reason at all."
"No," Sirius said, unfolding his arms and setting off down the hall towards the kitchen with Remus in close pursuit, "now you get to eat breakfast with Wormtail."
"Who?"
Sirius immediately burst into a fit of bark-like laughter, doubling over and slapping his thigh, "Oh my God, you weren't there! It was amazing!"
Remus' brow creased, "That still doesn't tell me who it is."
"Pete! Oh my God," There were tears in Sirius' eyes now. Remus suspected that the story of this nickname was going to be a huge anticlimax.
"May I ask why?"
"He made spaghetti and –" Sirius broke down again into peals of laughter, "No, I can't – I can't say it. Just trust me, it was hilarious, you really should eat dinner with us one night."
"You're the only one without a nickname now, Sirius." Remus cocked an eyebrow, smirking at the boy, who had stopped laughing but was still very much red in the face.
Peter was sat at the table in the kitchen, a half eaten bowl of congealed Frosties sat in front of him as he texted frantically, his watery blue eyes focused intently on his phone screen.
"Who you talking to, Wormy?" Sirius plonked himself into the seat next to Peter, draping an arm around the boy's shoulders as Remus set about making toast, "Got yourself a girl yet?"
"It's mum, actually," Pete looked up from the screen for a moment to frown at Sirius, who smiled wryly,
"Well, you know what Freud said."
Remus snorted with laughter - "Oh my God, Sirius," – while Peter, on the other hand, looked confused.
"I never did psychology," His brow furrowed. This only increased Remus and Sirius' laughter.
James reappeared as Remus took his last bite of toast a little later, looking flustered and rather red in the face.
"How'd it go, mate?" Sirius asked, pushing himself up and out of the chair next to Peter and throwing his arm around the skinnier boy with zeal. James did not look happy,
"She called me an arrogant twat."
"Ooooohh," Sirius screwed up his face as if he was in pain, "I take it wooing her with expensive presents didn't work then?"
"I tried to give her the necklace but I just got a lecture on how corrupt the diamond trade is." James shrugged, "I don't understand women."
"The diamond trade is incredibly damaging, to be honest." Remus pointed out.
Sirius shushed him, "Now is not the time for social justice, Moon Warrior. Now is the time to collect vouchers for free cocktails, promotional t-shirts, and leaflets on STIs – onwards, comrades!"
Remus hadn't thought it was possible for the student union building to be even more crowded than it was the previous day, but that morning he found himself proved wrong. Despite it being half past eight in the morning, a throng of seemingly hundreds of students were squashed into the comparably small conference room, where the Fresher's Fair was taking place, a practically terrifying sight to Remus, who stopped dead in the doorway – causing a minor pile up behind him.
He felt a hand on his arm, gripping him reassuringly for a moment before letting go, "Alright, Moony?"
Remus looked down at Sirius and gave him a weak smile before continuing into the room after James and Peter, who did not seem to have noticed the other boys stop.
Sirius seemed to be looking for something specific; his shaggy head whipping from side to side to read the signs presented proudly on each stall as the two of them waded through the crowds. When they eventually caught back up to James, Sirius nudged him with an elbow, "'You seen it yet?"
"Not yet, mate, keep your eye out, though." James slipped his hands into his pockets, glancing to his right to read another banner, shaking his head, "There's got to be a football team we can join."
Sirius turned to face Remus quickly, a grin on his handsome features, "Hey, Moon face, do you play?" Remus laughed,
"Only with a gun pointed at my head."
Sirius huffed – "You're no fun" – before resuming his search, his head moving as if he were an overenthusiastic tennis umpire.
Peter dragged the four of them over to a stall for 'The Doctor Who Society', and began talking animatedly to the leader of the club while Sirius sighed loudly at periodic intervals.
"Why are we friends with such a massive nerd?"
James hit him lightly on the arm, "You were asking me if they had a comic book society earlier." He gave Sirius a disapproving look, which was returned with equal zeal,
"You know that's different."
"Excuse me?" The three boys turned to see that they had been leaning against a stand for the Journalism Society, behind which stood a blond student with a pinched face and an emerald green dress, who glared at them reproachfully, "If you're not interested in the Journalism Society could you try not to sit on my example articles? That would be great, thank you."
"Nah, we're not interested in writing for some magazine," Sirius winked at the girl, who frowned at him, "We all know I'm front page material."
James let out a snort of laughter, and grabbed Sirius' arm to pull him away from the girl, who was beginning to look murderous.
"Come on, Pete," Sirius threw an arm around the boy and began dragging him away from the Doctor Who stall, but not before Peter had scrawled his name down is blue Sharpie and waved goodbye to the stallholder.
The foursome wandered down several more aisles, still not finding any clubs or societies that interested them, but laughing about the encounter they had just had. Eventually James stopped in the middle of the group of bustling students, tapping Sirius' arm with a distant, shining look in his eyes.
"Prongs, you found it!"
Remus and Peter watched on, nonplussed, as Sirius and James hugged furiously, almost on the verge of tears. Remus cleared his throat,
"Are you going to sign up for the football team, or are you just going to cry about the prospect of it?"
Half an hour later, the four boys were still huddled by the football team's stand, Sirius and James in deep discussion with the captain, who seemingly wanted to know every single detail of his new recruits' playing histories. Peter and Remus hung back slightly, the latter leaning against the edge of the adjacent stall, watching Sirius as he gesticulated enthusiastically, smirking at his excitement. He felt someone tap on his shoulder briskly, and turned to see a student in a powder blue button down shirt, holding a green folder and eyeing Remus with concern,
"Would you mind not sitting there; I'm trying to set out the signup sheets."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't realise, I was just –" Remus tailed off, realising the boy was only half listening, but backed away slightly, so that he could read the banner that adorned the booth: 'UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE TEAM TRYOUTS', "Is that University Challenge as in the TV show?"
The boy behind the stall brushed his golden-blond hair out of his eyes exasperatedly, "Yes, of course," He placed his folder down on the table and held out a hand to Remus, "Gilderoy Lockhart, reading Renaissance Art History; I took last year's team to the final – would have won it, too, if Edinburgh hadn't been dirty cheaters, haha!" His laugh was false, but his smile dazzling. Remus thought his teeth were entirely too white to be real.
Remus shook his hand, "Remus Lupin, I'm reading English Literature."
"Good, good!" Lockhart gripped Remus' hand a little tighter and leant towards him, "How's your general knowledge?"
"Oh no, I'm not here to –" Remus began to protest, pulling his hand from Gilderoy's grip, but found himself interrupted by Sirius, who appeared almost instantly at his shoulder,
"You're signing up for University Challenge!" His grin spread from ear to ear as he reached for the pen that was taped to a clipboard on the table.
"No, no I –" Remus was interrupted again,
"There, I've put your name down as well – we can test each other!" Sirius winked at Remus, who felt a blush arise on his cheeks, but his grin dropped as he saw the look on Remus' face, "What's wrong?"
Remus looked from Sirius' perfect cursive on the signup sheet to Gilderoy Lockhart's eager face, up to Sirius' eyes, which shone with hope. He couldn't say no now.
"Nothing," He sighed, "Absolutely nothing at all."
a/n - the title comes from a dry the river song just fyi. i have my a level exams so i probably wont upload for about a month but yeah feel free to leave a review ^_^