A/N: Hey everyone. I'm back, and so soon after I already updated! So be happy! You get more of the bet in this chapter and you do get a little more of Riley and Sirius. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling and I don't even bear the slightest resemblance.
Kisses on the Balcony
By ByeByeBirdie
Chapter 29: Of Cat Fights, Quidditch Practices & Sane Relationships
Lily skipped brunch the next day. Sitting across from James in the Great Hall would give her too much temptation and no way was she giving in before James. James had to learn to own up to his mistakes and how to fight his own battles. He had to learn that avoiding things didn't create answers.
It was after brunch had ended when she realized James had Quidditch practice and would have gone to brunch early. But this did give Lily the courage to leave her room and head to the Gryffindor house where her friends would be.
Lily pushed open the door to her old room without knocking. She walked in and fell back against Kay's bed, the closest to the door, which was unoccupied as Kay was in the shower.
"Good afternoon to you, too," Riley snickered from her own bed, reading a day-old fashion magazine. "Where the hell were you at brunch? You missed a major cat fight going down between Rhett and Sirius."
Lily sat up, intrigued. "Ooh, do tell."
"Words were thrown around, insults were made, wands were whipped out, a fist was thrown, and finally McGonagall stepped in and scolded the boys for being stupid and ignorant, specifically for stirring up a fight in front of the professors. I think she used the words 'daft, silly boys who aren't ready to graduate if they can't learn to keep their hands to themselves.'" To Lily's surprise, Riley had a smile on her face.
"Why exactly do you look happy about this?"
"Oh, it was quite amusing," she explained with a giddy smile. "They didn't even know what they were fighting about half the time."
"I'd put money on the answer to that being you."
Riley shrugged and flipped to the next page of her magazine. "That's how it started anyhow. Then somehow Sirius brought up Quidditch and Rhett's prior girlfriends—'cept I believe he used the word whores and even the outdated word 'call-girls.' Basically, Sirius was just trying to pick a fight with Rhett and Rhett was clearly not going to let that happen. Rhett fought back immediately with his own string of insults and shut Sirius up. Which is a huge task considering Sirius never shuts up."
The bathroom door opened and Kay entered wearing a towel, scrunching her hair with her hands. "Ooh, retelling the story of brunch, huh?"
Riley nodded and returned to her magazine.
"How did it even start?" Lily questioned.
Instead of Riley replying like Lily expected, Kay jumped in. "Rhett came over to the Gryffindor table and before Riley could even say hi to him, Sirius jumped up claiming that Rhett clearly needed a compass because his table was on the opposite side of the room. Rhett argued back, saying he just wanted to say hi to his girlfriend. Sirius argued that Rhett only came over to make Sirius jealous."
"Rhett asked why Sirius would get jealous considering I'm not Sirius' girl anymore and he has Rachael now," Riley continued.
"Actually, Rhett's exact words were 'do you remember Rachael? Or are you still tongue-tied over Riley who just happens to be my girlfriend now?'" Kay giggled. "That's when the wands were pulled out. Oh man, the whole argument was captivating! The entire Great Hall was silent as they watched on."
"Captivating, sure. But also quite embarrassing," Riley muttered. "I was hoping the gossip would have died down about the two of us by now but after this morning, it just got worse. I can't believe Sirius started a fight. What a prick."
"Just a minute ago you said it was quite amusing," Lily pointed out.
"Well, it was," Riley explained further with shrug. "Mostly because Sirius assumed Rhett would just roll his eyes as per usual and ignore Sirius. He was completely thrown when Rhett actually fought back."
"And it became totally laughable once Rachael came over to calm Sirius down," Kay explained, opening up her trunk to find clean clothes to wear. "Because he knew he couldn't argue about Riley with Rachael around."
"Yeah, that's when he started blabbing about him being a pathetic Quidditch player or whatnot," Riley explained.
"Which was quickly followed by Sirius accusing Rhett of being promiscuous in his past and owning call girls or whatnot. It was Sirius' clear attempt to put Rhett down." Kay threw her bra and underwear on in the corner of the room, quickly followed by her jeans.
"So basically, the whole school is buzzing about how Sirius is jealous of Rhett," Riley murmured with a sigh. "Which does not help my situation any."
Kay walked over to the mirror and threw her hair into a wet, messy bun. "Did you really expect it to die down?"
Riley sighed and flipped to the next page of the magazine slowly. "No. But I continue to be overly hopeful."
"With this school gossiping? You sure are an optimist," Lily teased.
Kay laughed and returned to her trunk to find a sweater. "So, Lily, why weren't you there for brunch? It's not like you to miss a meal."
Lily frowned sullenly. "I did a stupid thing last night."
Kay whirled around. "Please tell me you didn't break up with James."
Lily whimpered unenthusiastically. "Don't mention his name."
Riley gasped and closed the magazine immediately, tossing it to the floor. "You didn't!"
"No, we didn't break up, but we might as well have considering we'll be avoiding each other as much as possible for the next few days," Lily sighed. She propped herself up by her elbow. "We made an incredibly stupid bet."
"Ooh, details please," Kay asked curiously. She hurried over to her bed where Lily was lying and knelt down on the floor in front of her.
Riley nodded furiously, sitting up in her bed. "Playing games with James Potter? Intruiging..."
"We weren't even arguing. I was just explaining how stubborn he's been with you and Sirius and one thing led to another and somehow I accused him of going through withdrawal if we didn't snog on our rounds last night," Lily said hastily, embarrassed by the whole bet. "He said I'd go through withdrawal before he ever did. And that's when we dared each other not to snog the other and the first one to cave, loses. I honestly have no idea how it came down to that."
Riley and Kay stared at Lily blankly. "That's the most perverse bet ever made," Kay snickered.
"You guys have a rather interesting relationship, that's for sure," Riley snorted.
"This coming from the girl who dated Sirius Black."
Riley scowled at Kay as Lily moaned and fell back against the bed again, ignoring their quibble. "Why did we do that?" she whined. "He was right unfortunately: I am going through withdrawal. The idea that he's unattainable is making me want him even more."
"Well yeah," Riley said, shrugging matter-of-factly. "It's common knowledge that a man out of your reach, a man you can't have for whatever reason, your foolish bet included, makes him that much more irresistible."
Lily whimpered.
"So basically, you're screwed," Riley snickered.
Lily sat up long enough to glare at Riley before she returned to her reclining position.
"My advice is to avoid him if all possible," Kay offered, climbing off the floor. She returned to finding a suitable sweater. "It's the only way you'll last."
"See, that was my first instinct," Lily mentioned, sitting back up slowly. "But don't you think I should try to be around him as much as possible? In order for James to cave? Don't you think it might be in my favor to dangle myself in front of him?"
Both Riley and Kay pondered that before Riley spoke up. "Well God knows that boy couldn't last a day without snogging some girl. I don't think he's gone twelve hours without some sort of make-out session ever since he lost his virginity," Riley teased.
"That is not making me feel better."
Riley laughed. "I'm just agreeing with you. Maybe surrounding him constantly is the way to go. I knew there was a reason you bagged Head Girl."
"Because I make bets on withholding physical contact with my boyfriend?"
"No," Riley said, ignoring Kay's laughter beside her. "Because you're clearly quite logical."
"If she were logical, she'd be snogging her boyfriend right now."
Lily glared at Kay. "Thanks for the reminder."
Kay grinned. "That's clearly what I'm here for you."
Lily couldn't help but chuckle as she scooted off the bed. "I'm gong to go watch his practice. Let's see how distracted he gets when he realizes I'm there."
Kay giggled. "Ooh, count me in. I gotta watch this unfold."
Lily pointed at Kay's abdomen. "You might wanna throw on clothes first."
Kay winced. "Good point." She pulled out a turtleneck and threw it on.
"You coming?" Lily asked Riley.
Riley gave her a look. "Why would I want to watch two people who I despise most in this world fly around on brooms for an hour or so?"
"You wouldn't be watching them fly around on brooms. You'd be watching James quickly cancel practice because he can't concentrate since I will be sitting in the stands looking positively breathtaking," Lily explained with a teasing grin.
"Well, then you're going to need to change that shirt."
Lily glared at her.
Riley shrugged and hopped off her bed. "But I guess I do want to be there to see the boy cave. Then I can laugh at him even more than I already do."
"That's the spirit. Now grab your coat, let's go!"
James was mad when he found out he skipped brunch for no good reason. He was planning on avoiding Lily as much as possible but flying around the Quidditch pitch with no food in his stomach was killing him. He probably should have headed to the kitchens before practice.
His team was looking great and he was thankful he had Quidditch to take his mind off of Lily even if Sirius was making it impossible for him to run his practice.
James ducked as a Bludger was sent his way, dropping the Quaffle in the meantime. "BLACK!" James barked for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Dezzy raced after the Quaffle before it hit the ground. "I don't believe I ever suggested that every time I attempt to make a shot through one of the hoops, you send the Bludger my way!"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I don't do it every time. You're paranoid."
"I have the bruises to prove it, Black!"
"Baby," he muttered, loud enough for Jamse to hear.
"Stop acting like a selfish git and start acting like a member of this team or don't think I won't pull Harper up from the alternate position to play with this team!"
"You wouldn't dare," Sirius smirked. "I'm too good."
"Try me."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault your big head seems to be in my way at all times."
"DAMMIT, BLACK! We're supposed to be a bloody team and you're not acting like it!" James shouted as the other five players began assembling around them with frustrated sighs.
"You wouldn't know how to be a member of a team if it smacked you on the ass like that last Bludger," Sirius sneered. "Start looking in the mirror, m'friend." He shot James a glare before racing off towards the clubhouse.
"Sirius, stop," Dezzy snapped, zooming in front of him to stop him from leaving the pitch. "Can't we at least try to have some semblance of a successful practice?"
"Tell that to your jackass of a brother," Sirius snapped.
James glared at him but chose not to comment. "How about we try this again?" he muttered, gesturing to his sister to throw him the Quaffle. "Randy, get back to guarding the hoops and Black, get over to the other side of the pitch. Lets' go!"
"What's the point?" Drew muttered to Dezzy as they both flew back towards the middle of the pitch together. "This is the most unproductive practice ever. With Sirius and James still mad at each other, nothing is getting accomplished."
"Do you have something to add, Gilmore?" James called after her.
Drew glanced at Dezzy briefly befor turning around to face his Captain. "Actually, I do. I think that until you and Sirius learn to work together, practices are going to be basically useless."
"I think I'll make that call, Drew," he said coldly. "I'm letting out the Snitch this time, so maybe stop paying more attention to your girlfriend than the game. We don't need any more distractions."
Both Drew and Dezzy scowled.
"Then how come your girlfriend gets to watch?" Randy said with a teasing grin, pointing to the stands where Lily sat shivering with her two friends.
James' heart skipped a beat and he glanced over to where Randy was pointing. Sure enough, there was Lily looking more gorgeous than ever. He swore under his breath as she waved at him. What the hell is she doing here? "Er…okay, let's get back to practice! Just ignore them!"
Lily had never found Quidditch a hotter sport than at that moment. James looked positively breathtaking, flying around with much speed and elegance. And his occasional shout to a teammate made Lily realize that power was such an erotic quality. "I am so turned on right now," Lily muttered, her eyes on James the entire time as she gnawed on her thumbnail.
"No!" Riley yelled, slapping Lily on the shoulder. "You have got to win this! For womankind!"
"How is withholding sexual favors from my boyfriend going to benefit womankind?" Lily questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"It's the statement it makes," Riley clarified. "It means that we have ultimate power over men."
"Which we do. And always should," Kay chimed in.
Lily rolled her eyes. "I can see that coming from Riley, but you, Kay? Aren't you all about equality?"
Kay shrugged. "If you totally give in, the ball is always going to be in his court."
"What ball? We're just messing around."
"No, actually you're not messing around," Riley interjected with a teasing smile.
Lily glared at her.
Kay shook her head incredulously. "Lily, you've barely gone fourteen hours without snogging James. And most of that time, you were sleeping. You can last longer. Stand strong, Evans!"
Lily whimpered and placed her head in her hands. "God, I'm pathetic, aren't I?"
Riley sighed and patted Lily on the back. "Well, yes. But that will pass once James caves and you can control him in every way possible."
"Forever," Kay added.
"I don't want to control him. I just want to make out with him," Lily whimpered.
"Yes, you're definitely pathetic," Riley mumbled, sharing a smile with Kay.
Lily inhaled slowly and lifted her head up. She glanced towards James. "Are you sure I'm the strong one?"
"Yes! Men are always weaker than women, especially the Potter family!" Riley snickered. "Their mother screwed them up for life, babying them every second of their life, especially before they leave the house at eighteen. If that. Brite stayed for another year during his training program. Granted, his father tried to kick him out plenty of times. Mr. Potter was constantly claiming to the Potter men when they were younger that their lives were going nowhere because they didn't work hard enough. Needless to say, Mr. Potter is a huge workaholic." She hesitated. "Okay, where was I going with this?"
Lily and Kay stared at her blankly. "I have pretty much no idea," Lily snorted. "But can we go back to my dilemma?"
"You don't have a dilemma," Kay argued. "Because you are going to win this bet of yours, no matter how ridiculous it is."
Lily made a face, but nodded, still unconvinced. She returned to watching the practice.
It was no use. Practice was just a waste of their time. Sirius was still acting like a prick, attempting to stop James in every way from reaching the hoops and because James wasn't paying as much attention as he probably should have been considering Lily was a few feet away from him, he got nearly hit twice in the face from Sirius' Bludgers. James sighed and blew his whistle. "Okay, this is virtually futile. Hit the showers and we'll just meet back here tomorrow night for an emergency practice. I'll book the field."
The whole team groaned.
"Aw, c'mon. If practice was useless today, do you really think by tomorrow night it will be any better?" Dedalus Diggle whined.
"Hey, if you want to grumble and complain about it, we can fly a few hundred laps before we head in," James warned.
"But-" Dedalus started.
Skyler elbowed Dedalus in the stomach ("Ow!"). "Then again, tomorrow night might be fun," Skyler replied sarcastically.
The entire time flew down to the ground and Sirius was the first to rush into the showers in the Quidditch clubhouse, wanting nothing to do with James or Riley. The rest of the team soon followed, wanting to get away from James before his anger caused him to make the team clean the Pitch or something to that extreme.
James flew down to the stands to meet the three girls.
"And that's my cue to leave," Riley muttered. "I saw what I came to see. See you later, girls."
Lily and Kay waved as James grimly watched her walk away.
"What are you doing here? I figured you'd be avoiding me," James said. It was weird not to greet his girlfriend with a kiss. And hell, that's all he wanted to do. She may have been bundled up in tons of layers, a thick winter jacket and her Gryffindor scarf included, but he was remembering just two nights earlier when he had last seen the beautiful curves of her body. The image was encompassing his entire mind and he rubbed his eyes, trying to rid the picture from his mind.
Lily smiled innocently and shook her head. "How were rounds last night?" she asked impishly.
James pouted. "Lonely," he admitted with a curt shrug. "How was the rest of your night?"
"Uneventful. I finished my book and went to bed." In my own bed without you there. She had tossed and turned the entire night, wishing James' arms were wrapped around her body.
"Fun," James replied.
"And I finished my essay for Slughorn's class. As you can see, it was a very thrilling night for me," Kay chimed in. "Thanks for asking."
Lily laughed, breaking eye contact with her boyfriend.
"Hm," James mused curiously, his eyes not straying from Lily. "If I recall, you had over two hundred pages left to that book when I picked it up last night."
"If you're trying to make a point, then make it," Lily drawled.
"Couldn't sleep, huh?"
"I don't know what you're insinuating," she replied, shrugging innocently. "I just like a good book before bed."
James smirked, the yearning in her eyes unmistakable. "So you never answered my question: what are you doing here?" he prodded.
"I just thought I'd come by and see how the team was doing," Lily replied in what she hoped was a casual tone.
"In the freezing cold March weather?"
"I like the snow," Lily lied.
"No, you don't."
"Well I thought I could use some fresh air," she protested, shaking her head with a forced smile. "I haven't been outside in quite some time."
James gazed at her until Lily's smile wavered slightly. "Why, Miss Evans, you are playing dirty."
"However do you mean, Mr. Potter?" Lily replied just as politely and innocently.
"You're trying to get me to cave first." He pointed an accusing finger in her face.
Lily rolled her eyes, played it off as cool as she could. "You are paranoid. Did you ever think that I just enjoy watching you play Quidditch?"
"Not at a winter practice, no. That thought did not cross my mind."
Lily chuckled, shrugging innocently. "Just because I can't snog you doesn't mean I can't support you with your talented hobbies."
"Ah, because you're missing those other talented hobbies of his he pronounces in the bedroom?" Kay interjected with a suggestive grin.
Lily scowled, her cheeks going slightly red as James couldn't help but chuckle. "Kay?" Lily muttered.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Kay laughed as James continued scrutinizing Lily's every move. "If you can tell me who on the team last scored, I'll believe you're here just for moral support."
Lily blinked, glancing towards Kay who was grinning in pure amusement. "Er...you?"
He smirked and leaned closer to her, so close his nose was barely an inch away from her face. "You are playing dirty," he repeated in what he hoped would come off as a seductive voice.
Lily's heart skipped a beat as James' warm breath erased the numbness of her nose. She leaned in another centimeter. "So what if I am?"
James stared into her eyes, not blinking. "I can't believe you think that poorly of me. Guys like me don't surrender. We tough it out. I'm a man. It's what we do."
Lily shrugged coyly. "Exactly: you're a man. You can't go a day without a proper snog," she smirked, lifting an eyebrow suggestively.
"Maybe you're right," James concurred with a slight nod. "But there are hundreds of other women in this school who probably know how to properly snog, am I correct?"
Lily gasped overdramatically, narrowing her eyes. "Now, who's playing dirty?"
"Yeah, did you really never want to snog Lily ever again?" Kay snorted, trying to suppress her laughter.
"Oh, you know I would never actually do that to you, Lils," he whined, pouting guiltily. "Apparently not making out with my girlfriend can make a guy say crazy things."
"Are you admitting defeat?"
"Not until I lay one on you, Lillian Evans," James said, blowing a kiss at her. He winked before jumping off the stands to the grounds. "Shower time."
Instead of heading to the showers provided for the Quidditch teams, James walked past them and into the school, planning on showering in his own shower in his private quarters. He wasn't going to give Lily the chance to blindside him again.
Lily whimpered and placed her head in her hands. "Okay, not only did that get me nowhere—actually, it got me further away from winning considering James just informed me he will be snogging other girls—but now my extremities are frozen solid. Let's get outta here."
"James wouldn't ruin his relationship with you just because he needs a good snog. He's not that desperate and shallow."
"Yeah, I know," Lily muttered with a sigh. She hesitated. "What guys do you think would make out with me?"
"Lily!"
Sirius spent far too much time in the shower, mostly drowning himself in sorrow. He thought pissing James off would make him feel slightly better about the situation, but in hindsight it was just reminding him how much he had lost over the past few weeks. He honestly wasn't even that angry anymore. He was apathetic about the whole thing. He wished he was angry so he could feel something other than heartbreak, but he couldn't control his emotions any more than he could control his relationship with Riley.
He had no idea why he bothered starting a fight that morning in the Great Hall. It wasn't as if he cared that Riley and Rhett were dating (okay, that was a lie - he cared, but he wasn't going to admit it aloud) and it wasn't as if he particualrly disliked Rhett (another lie - he loathed Rhett for swooping in so quickly after he and Riley broke out), and yet when he saw Rhett chatting up Riley, it was as if his blood immediately boiled over. Maybe it had something to do with Rhett or maybe it was because of Riley or maybe it was because he knew he had to go off to practice and listen to James bitch at him, but before he knew it, he was insulting Rhett. And Rhett was more than happy to insult him back. Which he definitely deserved.
When he heard the clubhouse go quiet insinuating that the rest of his team had disappeared, he finally shut off the water and reached for his towel hanging on the hook outside the shower. He was suddenly struck with a very vivid memory of a time or two when he and Riley would sneak off to the Quidditch showers late at night together. He recalled the way her hair would cascade sensually down her back. He reminisced on the drops of water slipping down her cleavage. The wet kisses, their moans echoing off the shower walls, the water adding such intimacy to an already intimate situation.
He quickly frowned, shaking his head of the memories from his past as he whipped open the shower curtain.
"I was beginning to think you had drowned in there."
Sirius let out a yelp, gripping his towel tightly to his body as his eyes fixed a stare on Riley who was splayed across one of the benches casually. She slowly sat up, a smirk resting in her eyes.
When Sirius was able to gain his composure, he shot her a look before slowly heading over to his cubby where his clothes were hanging. "What are you doing here, Riley?" he muttered.
She shrugged, picking herself off the bench in the corner to make her way over to him. "To tell you that the next time you want to pick a fight with my boyfriend, don't."
"Sound advice. Thanks. You mind leaving now so I can get changed?" he muttered coolly, reaching out for his T-shirt.
"Nothing I haven't seen before."
Sirius's hand froze on his shirt as he slowly met Riley's gaze. She merely shrugged, offering him a curt smirk. Every word she spoke, every movement she made, every expression on her face just proved to Sirius that she clearly was over whatever it was they had. Which just made him think that she had never cared in the first place. "You've said what you wanted to say, Riley. I get it. I'll leave your precious boyfriend alone," he muttered. "Now please get out."
She slowly frowned, sensing the hostility in his voice. She opened her mouth a few times quickly proceeding to close it, resembling that of a fish, before sighing. "Alright," she muttered. But she didn't make any movement towards the exit.
As Sirius threw his T-shirt over his head, the towel still wrapped tightly around his abdomen, he turned to glance at her. "Was there something else you wanted?"
The question made her hesitation. She had no idea what she wanted. She understood the fighting between them. The bickering and the insults. The sneers and accusations. She could accept the angry and frustrated side of Sirius. What she wasn't prepared to handle was this cold, detached, unfeeling side of Sirius. It was like he no longer cared. Which shouldn't have bothered her because why should she care if he cared or not? But there was a strong part of her that was finding this all quite unsettling.
"No," she murmured. "No, I don't want anything else from you." She locked eyes briefly before turning on her heels to walk out.
Sirius watched her go, his heart sinking with every step she took. Once upon a time they were having intimate sex in the showers there and now they could barely hold a decent conversation. He hated how things had turned out between them. But he knew he had to start getting used to it.
Riley slid into the chair beside her boyfriend. "Hey Rhett," she greeted, kissing him briefly on the cheek. "How goes the work?"
Rhett made a face. "Herbology sucks."
Riley laughed. "Don't I know it." She pulled out her own books and placed them on the empty table in front of her. She had barely gone five minutes of reading before her mind was wandering to the fight her now boyfriend and ex-boyfriend had that morning. And then to the short conversation she had shared with Sirius in the Quidditch clubhouse. Why was everything so confusing? She frowned, wondering why she was letting Sirius take over her mind. A small part of her (smaller than she would have liked to admit) still hated him for what he had done and yet she went out of her way to seek Sirius out after practice. What was she doing to herself?
"You okay, Riley?"
Riley snapped back to reality and nodded furiously. "Oh yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"
"You just looked a little out of it, that's all," he explained with a reassuring smile.
"Just tired, I guess," she lied. She mentally hit herself. Ehat was she doing thinking of her ex-boyfriend in the presence of her actual boyfriend? She needed to rid Sirius of her mind. Forever. "Let's do something special tonight."
Rhett raised an eyebrow. "Er…like what?"
She leaned in so her face was barely a centimeter away from his. "I think you know," she whispered suggestively.
Rhett's heart skipped a beat at the implication. "How about Astronomy Tower?"
Riley grinned. "How cliché," she teased, winking at him. "I'm in."
Rhett grinned, leaning over to kiss her. His tongue traced a line over her bottom lip and then he broke away, staring at her intimately. "I'll meet you outside your portrait, say, ten?"
Riley nodded and for a reason she could only blame on Sirius, she f elt guilty. But she forced out a smile anyway. "Perfect."
Jillian slid into an empty seat beside her boyfriend at one of the round tables in the back of the library. "Something is seriously up with those two," Jillian murmured, kissing her boyfriend.
Remus glanced up from his notes. "What two?"
"Sirius and Rachael, who else," she muttered, leaning back in her chair. "I was just attempting to have a conversation with Rachael and she completely blew me off in order to go run off and have sex with him. Those two have such a dysfunctional relationahip. Sirius barely likes the girl and is just using her and Rachael is fine with it as long as he's with her. They're a mess."
"Yeah, I know," Remus said with a sigh. "This is all indicative to relationships he had before Riley. And I use the term relationship quite loosely."
"But why is he back to acting like that? He can do better. We've seen him to better."
Remus frowned broodingly. "Well, for one thing, he doesn't know what else to do," he murmured.
Jillian gazed at her boyfriend, recognizing a sense of desperation in his eyes. "Both he and Riley are kinda floundering right now, aren't they."
Remus could only nod. "The only difference is, is that Sirius knows it. He knows he's using Rachael for his own personal benefit and he's fine with it. But Riley? She just hasn't yet realized she's using Rhett."
"Do you think Riley still has feelings for Sirius?" Jillian asked curiously.
Remus shrugged. "I think that there was more to their relationship than either one is willing to tell us," he murmured. "Damn, why do relationships seem to be so complicated nowadays?"
Jillian quirked an eyebrow. "I would hope not all relationships," she teased.
Remus leaned in close to her so their noses were almost touching. "I think our relationship may be one of the only sane ones at the present time."
"What about James and Lily?"
Remus snorted. "Oh God! They used to be one of the normal ones until they decided to withhold any physical contact with each other."
Jillian's mouth dropped. "And James Potter agreed to this?"
Remus laughed, shrugging. "I know. Shocking, right?"
"Those two are a lot more screwed up than I thought. Good to know they're the ones who ended up as Head Boy and Head Girl," she murmured with a chuckle. "I guess you were right then. We have the sanest relationship by far. Our relationship totally kicks all of their relationships' asses."
Remus smiled, his heart twinging ever-so-slightly for the beautiful girl in front of him. He leaned over, gently placing his lips to hers. "I'm grateful for that."
Jillian smiled, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "I am, too," she whispered.
Remus said his goodbyes to Jillian and headed up to his room late that night. He and Jillian had ditched the library sometime quickly after their conversation and went for a stroll around the hallways just enjoying the company of one another. With everything that had been going on between Sirius and Riley and now even James and Lily, Remus was grateful to know he had Jillian in his life to keep himself from completely going crazy around his drama-filled friends.
Remus opened the door and walked into his room, surprised to find Sirius lying on his bed flipping through the latest Quidditch catalog. "I figured you'd be with Rachael," Remus greeted, dropping on to the edge of his bed.
"I figured you'd be with Jillian," Sirius responded dryly, not taking his eyes off of the latest version of a broomstick.
"I was. Just got back," Remus claimed.
"You were gone all day. Library?"
Remus shrugged. "For the most part. But I ditched the library plans after dinner and ended up spending the night with Jillian."
"Things are going well then?"
Remus wondered if he cared or if he just wanted to focus on someone else's relationship besides his own. "Yeah, very well."
Sirius merely nodded and threw the catalog on to the floor, rolling over on to his back. "I've had the longest day of my life today," he muttered, thinking back to the disastrous practice, the conversation he shared with Riley, and the time he spent with Rachael in the North Tower where she kept asking him what was wrong.
"Good?"
"Bad," Sirius murmured. After he had left the clubhouse, he had immediately gone looking for Rachael, hoping to really start putting his best foot forward to move on from his past relationship. Unfortunately, it didn't work.
Remus offered him a lopsided smile filled with sympathy. "Well, I've got some hilarious news that might cheer you up."
"Hilarious news is exactly what I need right now," Sirius stated firmly. "If it's gossip, even better."
"I guess it can be considered gossip." Remus shrugged. "Have you heard the latest with James and Lily?"
Sirius made a face. "Not interested."
"Believe me, you'll be interested."
Sirius raised an eyebrow in shock. "Don't tell me they broke up."
Remus chuckled. "Worse."
"Oh God, Lily finally had enough sense to kill him, didn't she?" Sirius sighed and shrugged indifferently. "Eh, no complaints here."
"No, she didn't kill him," Remus argued with a laugh. He sat up. "But you're about to call them both idiots."
"One of them already is so I'm halfway there."
Remus rolled his eyes. "They are in the middle of an interesting bet."
Sirius stared at Remus blankly. "That's the hilarious news? They're betting each other?"
"Once you hear the bet, believe me, you'll be laughing so hard tears will be streaming down your face."
Sirius shrugged. "Okay, shoot."
"They're withholding any physical contact with each other: holding hands, hugging, snogging, et cetera."
Sirius' mouth dropped open and much to his chagrin, he burst out into laughter. "Oh…my…God!" he said in between laughs. "You're right. They really are both idiots. What the hell is wrong with those two?"
"I wish I could answer that." Remus shrugged as he climbed off his bed with a snicker. He headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth before crawling into bed.
"Does James really think he can last an hour without feeling her up?" Sirius snorted. "Jeez, this kid's a moron. He waits six years to date her. He finally gets her and it lasts a few good months. And now he's backed himself into a corner unwilling to touch his girlfriend. He's right back where he started six years ago! Prat."
Remus popped his head out of the bathroom, the toothbrush in his hand. "I know. I cracked up for a good hour when he informed me of this last night," Remus agreed.
Sirius sat up in bed. "Wait, last night?" he repeated. "But wouldn't you think they'd be avoiding each other? Lily came to Quidditch practice this afternoon."
Remus grew quiet, pondering that statement. He spit into the sink and scowled, once again apeparing in the bathroom door to face Sirius. "Good God, that girl is playing dirty. She's trying to get him to cave first."
Sirius snorted. "Well played. It will be him to cave first."
"He can't cave first," Remus whimpered, exiting the bathroom. He sifted through his trunk looking for his plaid pajama pants. "He's standing up for mankind everywhere! We need to keep control of the power in relationships."
Sirius raised an intruigued eyebrow. "And you actually believe this?"
"I think I've been hanging out with you too much."
Sirius chuckled.
"I do think that if he caves, James will officially be whipped," Remus pointed out.
"Well, get ready for James Potter to become Lily's little bitch because James Potter is probably crying into his pillow right now about how he can't touch his girlfriend inappropriately," Sirius snickered, grinning wickedly. "Man, and I thought my life was dysfunctional but James takes the cake on this one."
"You are enjoying this way too much," Remus said, shaking his head. But he was smiling. "Jillian and I determined earlier today that we clearly have the sanest relationship out of anyone right now."
Sirius snorted. "Yeah, you're just lucky you told her told her about your, ahem, furry friend. Otherwise, you'd be just as screwed up as the rest of us."
He started stripping off his sweater as he scowled. "Way to ruin my ten seconds of fame, man."
"It was more like two," Sirius teased.
Remus threw his sweater at Sirius.
"So what are the terms of this bet?"
Remus froze midway, his undershirt halfway over his head. "Uh…what do you mean?" he stalled.
"I mean, if James loses, what does he have to do and vice versa?" Sirius asked.
Remus turned his back on Sirius as he stripped off the rest of his clothing. "Uh…well…James didn't inform me."
Sirius could tell by Remus' stammers he was clearly lying. He just didn't know why. "You're hiding something."
"No I'm not," he said a little too quickly.
"Yeah you are. What aren't you telling me?"
Remus didn't respond. He threw on his pajama pants and crawled back into bed, averting his eyes anywhere but towards Sirius.
Sirius gazed confused at his friend. "Moony, what the hell are the terms?" he asked irritably.
Remus sighed and glanced up at Sirius, who was glaring at him heatedly. "They involve you," he muttered.
"What?"
Remus nodded, gazing at Sirius for his reaction.
Sirius stared at Remus dumbfounded. "How so?"
Remus sighed. He had a good feeling James would injure him if he told Sirius the arrangement but at the same time, Remus was really curious to see what Sirius' reaction might be. "If James loses, he has to apologize to you. If Lily loses, she has to talk to you on behalf of James."
Remus planned to scrutinize Sirius' reaction, but it never came. Sirius' face simply clouded over with an unreadable expression. "But…but why?" Sirius asked softly. "Does he even want to apologize?"
Remus curtly nodded.
"Really?" Sirius asked, this time with surprise in his voice. "I thought he rather enjoyed being a dipshit to me considering it's all he's been good at over the past few months."
"He doesn't enjoy being a dipshit," Remus muttered. "He just didn't know what else to do. He found it easier pushing you away than dealing with it all."
"He didn't find it so hard pushing Riley away."
Remus glanced over at his friend, catching desperation in his voice. "What do you mean?"
Sirius didn't respond, falling back against his pillow with a heavy sigh. After the day he had, he really didn't want to get into it. But he also needed Remus to understand that an apology wasn't going to change anything between him and James. "I just mean it's always been about Riley with him," he eventually spoke softly. "He was trying to protect her from the very beginning. She was the one he stood up for all along. He made it very clear to me that he had to choose her side over mine. He didn't care about me and he definitely didn't care about us. It was always about Riley. And an apology isn't going to change any of that."
Remus frowned. "So this really isn't about whatever James may have said or done to judge you and Riley, is it?"
Sirius' gaze fell on the stones of the ceiling, wondering why it was he found himself staring up at them far too often recently. "That was the old fight," Sirius muttered. "This is an entirely new Quidditch pitch."
Remus never realized the exact circumstances as to why James and Sirius stopped speaking to each other (either time) and he didn't recognize the hurt that Sirius possessed when it came down to it. But looking at a broken Sirius now, Remus was finally beginning to understand. "So that's it then?" Remus asked curiously. "James is no longer your friend?"
"He was never my friend to begin with," he muttered.
"You're right, he wasn't," Remus said softly. "He was your brother."
"You keep saying that, Moony, but that doesn't make it true."
Remus sighed. "I hate seeing you both like this."
"Look, none of it matters anymore," Sirius muttered. "What happened happened and we just have to accept that. In the end, I guess he was right about Riley and me so I guess I can't-"
"In terms of what?"
"He said from the very beginning we weren't good for each other. He knew we'd break up and…and that Riley would get hurt." He sighed and turned his gaze away from Remus. "I guess he never stopped to think that…that I would get hurt, too."
Remus was shocked to hear Sirius admit that. Sirius was usually so good about not letting his emotions get the best of him and Remus couldn't remember the last time Sirius admitted to being vulnerable. He always did a good job hiding what he truly felt and never talked about his feelings with his friends ever. Hence why he was with Rachael - being with Rachael made him forget about his problems. Seeing Sirius this down was something Remus wasn't used to. "You're…you're not over her yet, are you," he stated simply.
Sirius swallowed hard and let out a long sigh. "It's pretty hard to get over a girl like Riley in just nine days."
It was then that Remus first noticed how much Riley really did mean to Sirius. He wouldn't be surprised if Sirius had been falling in love with Riley. "Then why are you with Rachael?"
"Same reason Riley's with Rhett," he murmured.
Remus looked at Sirius inquisitively.
"Neither one of us does well alone, Remus."
"Question," Remus approached hesitantly. "If…if you're both hurting, if you're both not over each other yet, if you both don't do well alone, then why don't you-"
"Get back together?" Sirius finished with a laugh. He shook his head and sighed, frowning deeply. "We…we had our chance," he murmured, biting down on his lip. "It didn't work out. It wasn't meant to be. She'll never trust me again, that's for sure." He shrugged casually, a rueful smile replacing his frown. "It's okay, though. We'll move on, meet other people. It's over for us." He sighed and shook his head. "It's over."
That was the first time that Sirius had said those words aloud and hearing them come out of his mouth, he realized it was true. It was over. He had to stop living in the past and had to start moving on. He had to stop picking fights with Rhett. He had to stop feeling this uncontrollable need to look after Riley as if she were still his girlfriend. He had to stop seeking her out to discuss their situation. He even had to stop having any conversations with her if he really expected to let her go.
By the look on Sirius' face, Remus had a feeling it was the first time Sirius actually believed that. "I'm sorry, Sirius."
Sirius turned over in his bed to face the wall. "Yeah," he murmured. "Me too."
A/N: I don't know why but I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Both the James-Lily stuff and the Sirius-Riley stuff. Poor Remus being stuck in the middle. Sigh. Next chapter: more bets and what's this about a double date?
