Chapter 4: 11:11 PM
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Numerous open books, wadded up sheets of used notebook paper and empty Orange soda cans were scattered over the large table in the Black family's study. All of this was a result of the third tutoring session between Sirius and Remus.
Sirius let out an annoyed growl and flung himself forward on the table, hiding his face in his arms. His hand shot out and flung his Chemistry book away from him. "This is so damn useless. I'm never gonna understand this crap," he called out, his words muffled by his arms.
"It isn't useless, Sirius." Remus reached over and slid the book back in front of him. "You're just stressed out is all. You're so focused on your past failures that you're causing a mental block." He pulled Sirius' arms away from his head and tried to make him sit up.
"How's the tutoring coming along?" Regulus asked as he stepped into the room, holding a tray.
Sirius sat up and glared at his brother. "What the fuck do you want?" he asked.
"Language, brother. That's no way to talk in front of company," Regulus said, smiling down at Remus. He sat the tray onto the table, revealing it to hold several small bowls of pretzels, popcorn and chips. "I just wanted to bring you two a snack. Can't think on an empty stomach." He leaned on the table and looked down at Remus. "As someone who makes top grades in all of his classes, I know this."
"All of his Freshman classes," Sirius said, bitterly. He reached out and snagged the bowl of pretzels then slunk down in his chair. He shoved several into his mouth and glared at his brother, disgusted by the way he was smiling at Remus.
"Yes, the same Freshman classes that you almost failed," Regulus said casually, not taking his eyes off of Remus.
"Fuck you, you little prick," Sirius spat, leaning forward and dropping the bowl angrily onto the table, causing it to tip over and spill onto Remus' book.
Remus reached out, his eyes wide with horror, to clean off the pages. His hands reached the book at the same time as Regulus', brushing against it.
"Here, let me," Regulus said, quietly as he brushed away the offensive material from the pages. He looked back to Remus after finishing and ran his tongue over the front of his teeth, a habit he picked up after getting his braces off. His lips pulled into a half smile. "There, no harm done." He licked his lips slowly and smiled again.
Sirius, having recognized his own showy move, had finally had enough. He jumped from his chair, charged around the table, grabbed his brother roughly by the arm and pulled him out of the room. He gave him a deadly glare before pulling the doors closed and latching them. He did his best to take deep, calming breaths as he headed back to his chair.
As Sirius sat down, Remus gave him a confused look and pointed towards the door. "Are you okay? You kinda freaked out there."
"It's fine," Sirius growled. "I'm really sorry about my little brother. The stupid fuck has got a crush on you."
"He does?" Remus asked, his eyes darting from the door to the tray then back to Sirius.
"Yeah. I keep telling him to knock it off. He has it in his idiot head that you're gay." Sirius shook his head in disbelief and lifted a can to his lips.
"I am gay," Remus said, raising his eyebrows at Sirius.
Sirius coughed into his soda and wiped the pain induced tears from his eye. He analyzed Remus' face, not sure if the boy was joking or not. Seeing no trace of amusement, he accepted the confession as real. "You don't...seem gay. You shoulda warned me."
Remus narrowed his eyes and bit down on the end of his tongue. "So sorry. Next time, I'll remember to wear my rainbow tee-shirt and 'I'm a queer' beenie." He made an annoyed sigh and closed his book.
"Wait! You're leaving?" Sirius stood up and watched in horror as Remus pushed his things into his bag. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
"It's fine. I'm plenty used to that reaction...or worse." Remus slung his bag up over his shoulder and looked at Sirius, not a single trace of anger in his face. "I have another job. I have to leave or I'll be late." He turned and headed out of the study, leaving Sirius dumbstruck.
Regulus was leaning back against the kitchen counter, waiting for one of the housekeepers to pull fresh cookies off of a pan so that he could snag one. He had his phone in front of his face, frantically tapping at the slide out keyboard, a pleased smile glued to his face. Sirius stepped up in front of his brother and snatched the phone out of his hand then tossed it onto the counter behind him. Regulus let out an aggravated whine and reached for his phone, but Sirius caught his hand, pinning it to the counter by his wrist.
"Look, you were right about him. Remus is gay." Sirius sighed.
"I know," Regulus said, dryly.
"Just because he's gay, doesn't mean that he wants you," Sirius snarled. "Just...just stay away from him. He isn't interested in you. The guy is actually really cool and I want to be friends with him. I can't do that if you're drooling on him all the time."
"What makes you think that he isn't interested?" Regulus asked, his voice betraying no emotion. He pulled his hand free, picked up his phone and shoved it in his pocket.
Behind the boys, the housekeeper quietly pulled the cookies off of the pan and placed them on a plate. She slid the plate onto the counter and rushed from the room. The employees in the Black household knew better than to be in the same room with the boys when they were using those tones of voice.
"I know he isn't. He has no reason to be. He is a book guy who has great taste in music and knows way more dirty jokes than any guy our age should. You are a little theatre freak-o with the compulsive urge to do anything that mom tells you to. You have nothing in common." Sirius raised his eyebrows, daring Regulus to argue.
"We do have something in common." Regulus reached behind him and picked up a cookie from the plate. "It seems that he's got a big thing for werewolf movies."
"Yeah, so? You hate scary movies. How is that something in common?"
Regulus smirked and ran his tongue over his bottom lip. "Well, what we have in common is... we will both be in the back row of Harkin's Theatre on Saturday night watching the newest wolfy release." He took a bite from his cookie and bolted out of the kitchen, knowing that if he waited for Sirius to absorb his words, he might not make it out of the kitchen without injury.
Sirius growled angrily after his brother, not feeling in the mood to make chase. He leaned onto the counter and picked up a cookie. He looked up as one of the housekeepers came in and bit into his cookie. "Hey," he called out to the young woman, who turned to face him. "Do you think it's possible to be friends with someone your brother's dating?"
The woman widened her eyes at Sirius and gave him a nervous smile. "Que?" she squeaked out.
Sirius exhaled sharply and dropped the cookie onto the counter. "Never mind," he muttered as he walked out of the kitchen. He was even more annoyed now, for he knew very well that she was one of the housekeepers who spoke English.
Remus pulled his truck to a stop in front if the Black's house, slightly uncomfortable with parking in the front drive rather than the side one. He pulled off his seat belt and inhaled sharply as a breeze blew past him through the open window. He turned to face Regulus, who had already shed his seat belt and scooted closer to him. He smiled down at him and unwittingly licked his lips, bringing a smile to Regulus' lips.
"You could have said that you weren't a fan of scary movies," Remus whispered. "We could have seen something else."
Regulus laughed quietly and shook his head. "It was fine. I'm...fine. Trust me, it wasn't that bad. Besides, I was watching you more than the movie." He winked and reached out, taking Remus' hand into his own.
"More like watching my shoulder," Remus said with a grin. "No more scary ones, promise."
Regulus laughed again and bit his bottom lip, anxiously. "Oh, come on. If you don't make me go to the scary stuff, I won't have an excuse to do this." He scooted over against Remus and pressed against his shoulder, looking up at him with a half smile.
"You're doing it now," Remus whispered. He reached up and brushed his thumb over Regulus' jaw line and leaned forward.
Their lips were so close that they could feel the heat off of each other's, but they didn't touch. They were interrupted by a large figure that crashed into the side of Remus' truck, causing them to both jump back. A loud, barking laugh came from the ground right outside of Remus' door. Regulus groaned loudly, knowing the sound, and leaned back into the seat. Remus looked down out of his window at the writhing figure that was Sirius. Sirius pulled himself to his feet and hooked his arm over the window of the truck, holding himself up. James stumbled up behind him and leaned against the hood.
"Hey! It's Lupo," James slurred out and began a manic laugh.
Sirius ignored his friend and stuck his arm out, pointing at Regulus. "You... are b-busted," he said, the scent of beer filling the truck as he spoke. "Your curfew is eleven o'clock. Right now, it is exactatcly..." he brought his wrist to his face and squinted at his watch, "eleven eleven."
"Oh shit!" Regulus cried out and scrambled to get out of the truck.
"Wait," Remus said, grabbing his hand. He leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against Regulus', lingering for a moment, before pulling away with a smile. "Good night."
"Good night," Regulus whispered as he climbed out of the truck.
Regulus ran towards the house, sighing as he noticed James start to follow him. James ran after him, a mischievous grin on his face. Remus leaned back in his seat and looked over at Sirius, who was glaring daggers at him.
"I didn't see to need that," Sirius slurred out.
Remus smirked and shook his head. "How drunk are you?" he asked.
Sirius perked up slightly and leaned forward. "D-drunk enough to tell you that you," he put his index finger on Remus' chest and stared up at him, "have got really...really prettyful eyes." He let his hand drop against the door and smiled drunkenly.
"Do I?" Remus asked, trying not to laugh.
"Oh yeah!" Sirius said rather loudly. He choked on a laugh and put his finger to his lips, making a shushing sound. "They are so...shiny. Oh, and blue, I like blue. It's my favorite color." He nodded and smiled and leaned closer. "Wanna know a secret?"
"Sure," Remus answered, still managing to hold back his laughter.
"Two weeks ago," he held up two fingers and smiled at them, "my favorite color was...red." He gasped and clapped his hand over his mouth.
Remus looked over at Sirius with a confused expression and shook his head.
"Hey!" Sirius tried to stand up properly and pointed his finger at Remus' face. "Don't-don't-don't...don't look at me like that. I saaaaaid, I'm druuuuunk!"
"Okay, sorry." Remus held his hands up in surrender.
"Wanna know another secret?" Sirius whispered, leaning back into the open window.
"I don't think I do. Your secrets should probably stay that way," Remus answered.
"Shush! Of course, you do." Sirius curled his index finger at Remus, wanting him to come closer. "Come here, I wanna whisper it." He moved closer to Remus' ear as he leaned towards him. He put his lips right against his ear. "Your eyes are pretty when I'm not drunk, too." he whispered.
Remus closed his eyes and laughed quietly at Sirius' drunken confession. His face suddenly became very un-amused as he felt Sirius' tongue move across his neck. "What the hell?" he cried out, slapping his hand over his neck and moving away from the door. He looked over at Sirius with shock.
Sirius' face looked broken, confused and a bit hurt. He closed his eyes and shook his head, frantically. "I'm so-" He never finished his apology, for he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a laughing James.
A Note From the Author: Thank you for reading. I'd love to know what you think of the chapter and what your predictions are for these characters. A thank you for all of those anonymous reviews out there. :D -Jenna
Now Beta'd by ANP from the HPFF forums.