Chapter 21: Time Stands Still

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Lily stared into the bathroom mirror and frowned at her reflection. She reached one shaky hand up and smoothed down her hair, sighing when it frizzed up again. She tried one more time in vain, before resigning to brushing it all back into a ponytail. She took a deep breath and turned on the cold water, cupped her hands under the stream and splashed it onto her face. She turned off the water and allowed her face to drip down onto the counter. A glance at the clock made her heart give a painful leap.

She let out a ragged breath and slowly reached for a small hand towel on the counter. Lily picked up the towel to reveal a small stick of plastic with a pink cap over one end. She lifted the pregnancy test into her hands and stared down at it with wide eyes. "Two lines," she said to herself. She dug through the paperwork and scanned down. "Two lines means..."

Lily dropped the paperwork into the sink and took a step back, hitting against her bathroom wall. She slid to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. The banging on the door was lost to her ears as her entire body was shaking in the floor. She was crying, the tears flowing down her cheeks and dripping onto her shirt. Before she knew it, her sister was flitting around the bathroom, cleaning up her mess.

"Come on, Lily. Get up, please. I'll help you, but you have to get up."

Sirius flinched as an earsplitting crack shot across the batting cages. He grinned when he spotted Remus swaying his hips in victory, his eyes locked on the boy's movement, then licked his lips and turned towards Alice, who was smirking at him. "What?" he asked innocently, a small laugh in his voice.

Alice giggled quietly and cut her eyes into the cage adjoining Remus', where Frank was taking his stance. "Nothing. I can't say anything, I love when Frank does that." She pulled her low ponytail over her shoulder and ran her fingers through it. "I'm glad we're doing this. The whole double date thing. It's fun."

Sirius nodded and glued his eyes back onto Remus. "Leave it to Moony to wanna come do this the day after he gets his cast off." He grazed his teeth over his bottom lip and hooked his fingers into the cage. He gave a small hoot and whistled when Remus made another loud hit with the bat.

Remus turned around and winked at Sirius, then pointed his bat at him with a smile. Sirius tilted his head in confusion and glanced at Alice when she bumped her hip against his.

"That's his way of saying he's hitting them for you. Like saying I love you, only in baseball language. It sort of marks you as his to anyone that may be watching," Alice said, waving to Frank and blowing him a kiss when he pointed his bat at her, copying Remus. "I saw what you did to his cast. That was so sweet. Did you really do it when he was sleeping?"

"Yeah," Sirius said with a laugh. "It was hard to do. I had to hold the flashlight with my teeth because he kept trying to move his arm. I was afraid he would wake up." He smiled at the memory of it and blushed faintly, realizing that Remus had been talking, nay bragging, about him to Alice.

"You mean it, right?" Alice asked, her usual bubbly tone replaced with a serious and cold one. "He's heard that a lot, but he's never said it back before you and if you're just..." She shook her head and pressed her lips tightly together.

"I mean it," Sirius answered with sincerity. "I've never said it before him either and I wouldn't have if I wasn't sure that it is true."

Alice nodded and grinned at Sirius. "Sorry. I'm just trying to look out for my friend."

"I know you are." Sirius smiled back and cut his eyes towards Remus. "Heard it a lot?" he asked, distantly.

"Don't be so insecure, Sirius." Alice gave a small giggle and mussed the boy's hair. "Remus is hooked, trust me."

Sirius laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. He licked his lips and rushed over to Remus as he was exiting the cage. He waited patiently (though he was sure Remus was being slow on purpose to torture him) as the boy put away his rented gear into the proper spots. The helmet had barely left Remus' hand when Sirius threw his arms around the boy's neck and pulled him down into a passionate kiss.

Remus returned the affection, hooking his arms around Sirius' waist. When their lips parted, he gave a bright smile and touched his forehead to the other boy's. "I will never get tired of that," he whispered.

"Of my kisses? I hope not." Sirius raised his eyebrows at Remus.

Remus closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. "I mean, the way you always kiss me like it's the first time." He pushed one hand through Sirius' hair. "It's just one of the many things I love about you."

"Okay, lovebirds, let's go. I'm hungry," Alice said, poking Remus in the shoulder.

Remus stepped back from Sirius and took the boy's hand into his own. "You're always hungry, Alice," he sighed, rolling his eyes at the bouncy girl. "You eat more than me and Frank put together."

"I do not!" Alice cried out, giving a high giggle.

The laughter followed the teens into the parking lot and throughout the rest of their day.

James was taking his time in the locker room after basketball practice. He lingered in the shower until everyone but Sirius had gone from the locker room. He pulled on his jeans and pushed the towel through his hair, making sure it kept its messy charm.

"Come on, Jamesey, get a move on. I wanna get out of here," Sirius whined at his friend. He dropped down onto the bench next to him and pouted.

"Yeah, I'm sure you have to go meet Lupo," James muttered, turning his face away. "Just go on alone."

Sirius frowned at James for once again calling Remus by the wrong name, but he didn't feel like getting into it again. "What's your problem, man? You've been acting weird all day." He folded his arms over his chest and looked over at James with worry.

"Like you care," James muttered under his breath. "You're too busy with him to give a shit." He pulled on his shirt and turned away from Sirius.

"You're acting like an idiot. I am not too busy with Remus. I have tried to spend time with you, we could hang out more if you weren't so against Remus." Sirius moved to James' other side and looked at him with annoyance. "I really didn't expect you to have a problem with it. Not after everything we've been through."

James sighed and leaned back against the wall, dropping his shoes in front of him. "I didn't... at first. I have never liked that guy. Lily talks about him like he's so great and I can't stand it. Then you," he waved his hand towards Sirius, "start palling around with the jerk. That was bad enough, but then..." He rolled his eyes and scoffed, shaking his head.

"He isn't a jerk. You see, that's your problem, James, you're so fucking jealous of him that you won't even give him a chance." Sirius hung his head and dragged his hands back through his hair.

"I am not jealous of that fa-" James caught himself and looked away, quickly.

Sirius blew a sharp breath from his nose as his eyes widened. "Go on. Go ahead, James, you aren't jealous of that what? You never had a problem saying it before. Fuck, I said it too, that's the really screwed up part." He hit his head back against the wall behind him and looked over at James. "I would do anything for you, man. You're my best friend. You have been since the second grade when you moved in next door."

James licked his lips and pushed his hand into his hair. "I know. It has always been you and me. I wish life could just be Power Rangers in the back yard again." He sighed and gave his hair another muss.

"James, I don't want to lose you as my best friend... but if you can't..." Sirius took a deep breath and shook his head. "If you can't accept the changes in my life, then we can't keep on like this."

James' jaw tightened and he kept his face to the floor. He kept his gaze down as Peter scurried into the locker room and started gathering up the towels.

"Hey, James! Hey, Sirius!" Peter called out, stumbling as he hurried around the room. "That was an awesome practice tod-"

"Peter!" James yelled, interrupting the boy. "Just get the fucking towels and get out. We're trying to talk here." He stood up and tossed his own towel onto the collection in the boy's arms. "Last thing I want to deal with right now is your fat ass thinking we give a shit about you."

Sirius stared at James, eyes wide and jaw dropped. He watched as Peter bolted from the room, tears forming in his eyes. He stood up and spun James around to face him. "What the fuck was that? James, sometimes you can be an ass, but that was just harsh."

"Like you give a shit about that fat fuck or his feelings." James glared at Sirius and formed his mouth into a sneer. He snorted a cruel laugh and sat back on the bench. "Maybe you do, actually. I guess you're a full sissy now." He pulled his shoes on and looked back up at Sirius with anger in his eyes.

"You're a jerk," Sirius muttered, grabbing his bag from his locker area.

"I'm a jerk?" James repeated, standing up and putting his face into Sirius'. "I'm the one who has been trying to get back his friend. The friend that skipped class and made fun of guys like Lupo." He shoved his hands against Sirius' chest, pushing him back a few steps. "I've had to watch my friend turn into a fucking sissy."

Sirius dropped his bag and took several deep, calming breaths. "Stop."

"Stop? All you can say is stop?" James shoved his hands into Sirius again, backing him against the wall. "The Sirius Black I know would have knocked me out for less than that."

"Maybe I don't want to be that guy anymore." Sirius closed his eyes, trying to block out his friend.

James let out a laugh and stabbed his finger into Sirius' chest. "Yeah, you wanna be a sissy guy. Sirius Black was good looking enough for Lupo, but something had to be done about that behavior." He shook his head and popped his hand lightly against Sirius' cheek. "You're all fixed up now, though. Barely drinking, going to class."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Sirius looked into James' eyes, barely recognizing him.

"Nope. It's a great thing... for him. Who knows," James let out a high laugh, "maybe if I pin you down and stick myself up your ass, you'll go back to normal."

Sirius cut his fist through the air and slammed it into the side of James' jaw, knocking his face sideways and sending his glasses flying across the room. "Is that normal enough for you?" he shouted, grabbing his bag and charging for the door.

"Lily's pregnant!" James shouted, rubbing his jaw. He dropped into the floor and looked up at Sirius, who had frozen at his words. "She told me last night. Sirius... I don't know what to do."

Sirius took a deep breath and let his bag drop to the floor. He picked up James' glasses and tossed them into the boy's lap. "Why the fuck should I care, after the way you've been acting?"

James pushed his glasses back on and wiped at his eyes. "You shouldn't care. But I know you do." He chewed on his bottom lip and stared straight ahead of him for a while, silent. When Sirius started to walk away again, he caught him by the pants leg and looked up. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't break my toy, James. A simple apology isn't going to fix this." Sirius tucked his hair behind his ear and looked around the room, as though the walls would give him the solution. "You fucked up. You've fucked up our friendship and I don't know if we can get it back. You really fucked up with Lily, though."

"I know," James whispered.

"It was hard enough when you were just cheating on her, but you've ruined that girl's life." Sirius grabbed his back once more and stood in the doorway, not looking back at James. "You want my advice? Tell her to take care of it. She'll have less regrets over that than she will over being stuck to a son of a bitch like you the rest of her life."

James buried his face in his hands as Sirius tore out of the locker room. He got onto his hands and knees and crawled over to his locker. He pulled a small bottle from his bag and dumped three tiny, blue pills into his hand. He swallowed them quickly and hung his head, crying.

A Note From the Author: What do you guys think of that? Can Sirius and James get there friendship back after this? Will James just get worse or do you think that he can make a turn around? -Jenna

Now Beta'd by ANP from the HPFF forums.