Chapter 6.

Beth could not fall asleep, and she knew the exact reason why.

She looked over at the clock, groaning when she saw the time. Beth had told James she was tired and going to sleep two and a half hours ago. Now, here she was, over one hundred pages in to the employee handbook she'd been given on her first day, bored out of her mind, and still watching the numbers tick by.

Shutting the book harshly, she thought back to the seven cups of coffee she'd had today, promising her future self that it would never happen again. It had been a remarkably easier day than the past four had been, especially after her filing fiasco on Wednesday. Just as it had been suggested, someone had come in and worked with her closely, helping her discover what she was doing wrong and ensuring Beth that all she had to do was ask for help. The relief at the statement had nearly brought her to tears, and she had promised she would work hard to make sure the situation never happened again.

"I was so worried I was going to get fired," she had confessed.

The girl helping her had laughed. "Are you kidding? You're doing an arduous amount of work for this company and getting paid in experience. They're not going to fire free labor."

Beth still wasn't entirely sure how to take that statement, but she let the assurance that the possibility of her being fired was slim be her main focus. She had come in to work this morning with that statement as her mantra, picking up a cup of coffee before heading to her desk. I'll just drink one, she had thought, using the extended visit at the Potter's the night before as her reasoning.

And then she'd had six more.

Throwing her employee handbook to the side, she heaved the blankets off of her and walked towards the kitchen, deciding she'd have a cup of tea before attempting to go back to sleep. She didn't know how much it would help though, because as much as she tried to deny it, it wasn't the coffee keeping her up.

Bringing her thoughts away from that, she thought of the wedding she was attending tomorrow. Caitlin's cousin had called her right before she'd left for dinner with the Potter's, telling her how excited he was to meet her and thanking her for agreeing to go with him. He'd sounded nice enough over the phone, asking her about her day and her visit with James before they'd decided where and when to meet. To steer clear of any awkward conversations that she honestly didn't want to be a part of, she'd assured him that she would take the tube over rather than having him pick her up. He'd seemed relieved at her idea, only politely arguing that he could pick her up once before agreeing to her decision.

"If we go separately, both of us can leave whenever we want to," she'd explained, remembering that he had just come out of a relationship. Attempting to make him feel better, she'd finished with, "I probably won't know anyone but Caitlin there, so I might just stay around until the dancing starts."

"I was thinking of doing the same thing," he'd replied. "I already don't feel up to staying for a long time."

Setting the tea onto the stove, she moved to stand by the counter, staring at the wall ahead of her. She really hoped he didn't try to make a move on her. She wasn't sure she had the willpower to deal with a recently dumped guy and—

"I thought I'd heard the tell-tale signs of tea."

Beth jumped violently, staring at the very person she'd been trying so hard to forget. "Are you ever not here?"

Sirius smirked, coming into the kitchen with an unnecessary swagger. "Got a problem with that?" he teased, reaching for two tea cups.

"Don't you have your own place?" she asked, choosing not to fight him on his assuming he could join in on the tea she'd made especially for herself.

"Well of course I do," he replied, throwing her a wink. "But there's an astonishing lack of single ladies there."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, marveling at how the very person she'd been trying to stop thinking of just happened to be awake and here. This had to be karma for her actions at dinner last night.

She wasn't sure what had possessed her to join in on all of Sirius' ministrations. In any other situation, she would have thrown the guy a nasty look and forced him to stop. Heck, if it had been even two days earlier, she probably would have done the same thing to Sirius himself. It was incredibly forward, something she typically didn't like in a guy, and nothing would have given her more pleasure than to completely shoot him down.

And yet, she hadn't. Quite the opposite in fact. She could still feel her hand tingling from the small circles his thumb had made and was still trying to ignore how perfectly her hand had fit into his. She had been amazed at how strong yet soft his hands were, finding it incredibly too easy to trace her fingers over it. They had remained that way the entire night, and she had missed the feeling of his hand on hers the second they had parted ways. The rest of the night, she had traced her own fingers over her hand, trying to recreate the way it felt. She couldn't do it justice, however, and had went to sleep with the determination to forget what had happened and move on.

And yet, she hadn't, for here she was, standing in front of the person she had had to drag her thoughts away from all morning, finding them all come back with an intensity that had yet to be matched in her life.

"What are you doing up?" Sirius asked, bringing her thoughts away from him and back to, well, him.

"I drank seven cups of coffee," she said, telling him the same lie she had been telling herself all night. "What about you?"

"I'm always up late," he told her, moving to lean in slightly closer. "Nighttime activities are my speciality."

"Oh, okay." Beth walked over to the fridge to get some milk out. "That's why you're in your best friend's house having tea, right?"

Sirius reached up into the cabinet for some sugar, chuckling at her response. "At least I'm not using coffee as the reason for staying up."

Beth quickly turned her head to meet his gaze, her confused face meeting his smug. "What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned, suddenly wondering if he was up for the same reason she was.

Sirius shrugged and faced away from her, reaching for the tin of biscuits. "You choose," he said. "I'm sure whatever conclusion you come to is probably one I'd agree with."

Beth found herself more confused than before. "I think it means that I lied before." Sirius stopped moving, immediately locking his eyes back onto hers. She wasn't sure what emotion she saw flash through his eyes, but something certainly did. Deciding it was too late to test the waters, she replied, "I drank eight cups."

Sirius kept his focus on her, however, and once again she found herself absolutely captivated by his eyes. She'd begun to notice that whenever he was intently staring at something, the color would slowly darken and he would squint ever so slightly. She stared back at him, wondering if he could read her thoughts. The look was so focused that she didn't think she would be surprised if he suddenly announced that he could. She wondered which thought he would be the most startled by, that she was thinking so intently about his eyes or that he was the reason she was finding it so difficult to fall asleep.

"Well then," he finally said when the teapot began to whistle. "Let's hope this tea works."

They each made their tea to their liking in silence, moving around each other easily. Beth couldn't help but think about how domestic this all felt, as if they had been doing this all their lives. The notion of it coming so easily surprised her, but she kept this observation to herself. She could only imagine the different responses Sirius would have to it, suddenly imagining him proposing marriage with the idea of, "Well, we're already making tea together. We might as well."

She wasn't sure how she'd respond.

"You have a wedding to go to tomorrow, don't you?" Sirius said, trying to fill the silence.

"Yeah, my friend Caitlin's," she replied, bringing her tea and biscuits over to the table in the dining room. "Worried you won't get to see me?"

"Oh, absolutely heartbroken," he mocked, following her to the opposite side of the table. "Are you going with anyone?"

Noticing he didn't look up at her when he asked, she nodded before continuing, "Yeah, her cousin. He's positively dreamy."

That got him to look up at her, and she threw a wink at him for good measure. Good grief, who winks this much? she thought to herself, embarrassment immediately settling in. She prayed it wasn't too obvious on her cheeks and took a sip of her tea, hoping it at least masked it.

"Speaking of weddings," she said, trying to turn the focus away from her. "Are you nervous about James and Lily's?"

He shook his quickly, almost out of instinct. "No," he said, just as quickly. "Why would I be?"

Beth shrugged. "I don't know. You've all been really close for so long. Does it feel weird knowing that it might change?"

Sirius took in what she said, taking a gulp of his tea while thinking. "I don't think it will," he finally replied, giving her a definite look.

Beth smiled softly, realizing she had reached a tender spot. "I really hope it doesn't."

"You've remained friends with him all this time," he noted, looking down at his tea. "Did you ever feel like you weren't as close after he met all of us?"

Beth took in his words, remembering the day that she had hugged James goodbye all those years ago. Was that how he felt? "I think it's different for me," she said, realizing she'd have to choose her words carefully so as to not worry him. "I was moving completely away. We both knew we wanted to remain friends, but we also both knew that we were going to make others. We had our memories to hold on to, but we also had so many more to make. He met you guys, and I kept on moving. I have friends everywhere that I try to keep in contact with, but he has always had you. You've been with him through so much more than I have, and so much more than I ever will. You're not going to lose him," she promised. "You're too important to him."

Sirius nodded to himself, taking in her words. "I guess I did move in with his family," he finally said, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Yeah, that might be a slight indication that everything will be fine," Beth teased, feeling victorious when his smile got larger. "But where will you live once they get married?"

"Oh, I've already made James promise that there will be at least two extra rooms in the house they get."

"What did Lily say to that?"

He shook his head. "It's easier to just get James to agree and then convince him to talk to Lily about it."

Beth laughed, then immediately brought her voice down. She'd forgotten James was still asleep, and knew that waking him up wouldn't be good. "Does it ever work?"

Sirius took note of her hushed voice and copied her whisper. "No, usually he has to get Remus to talk to her for him."

Beth laughed again, then reached for her cup. "When do I get to meet Remus?" she pressed, taking a sip of her drink.

"You haven't met him yet?"

She shook her head. "No, and I'd preferably like to meet him before James and Lily marry me off to him."

"I thought you didn't fancy him?" Sirius said, reaching for a biscuit.

"Well I haven't met him yet," she repeated, not trying to hide her sarcasm. "Think he'll be the one for me?"

"No," Sirius said, swallowing his bite. "I think you're more on track with you not liking him."

"Oh, you think so?"

"I know so."

Beth thought to herself quickly about how to play this conversation, unsure where it was going to go or where she wanted it to go. "I don't know, everything I've heard about him sounds pretty close to what I'm looking for."

Sirius leaned into the table, and Beth watched as his eyes did it again, squinting slightly and slowly growing into a darker shade. "You think Remus will know when you need to cry and when you need to laugh?"

Beth picked up her tea and took a sip. "I think you got lucky with that one."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Lucky enough that I got you to hold my hand?"

Beth stopped moving for a second, stealing a glance at the person in front of her. His look was questioning and curious, and she could tell he had no idea how she was going to respond. She picked up her spoon and began stirring her drink idly. "Maybe I was just saying thank you."

Sirius nodded slowly, the questioning look slowly fading into a somber one. "It was fairly intimate for a thank you."

"I held your hand," she said, rolling her eyes. "I didn't steal your virginity."

"You don't think hand holding is intimate?"

Beth laughed. "I hold hands with my little brother and my elderly grandmother," she said. "Do you think that's intimate?"

"Do I think that something you've reserved solely for dear members of your family applies as intimate when it's used on me?" Sirius smirked, and before she knew it, his hand was holding hers. "You tell me, Beth."

Beth looked down and stared at the their intertwined fingers, feeling her heart rate quicken ever so slightly at the sight. She compared it to the sensation she felt when they had done this in secrecy the night before, deciding that seeing it out in the open like this was much more intimate than she could have realized. Dang it, she thought. He's right. She stole a look at Sirius' face, whose smirk had been replaced with a look of interest, and Beth knew he was waiting for her to comment on what was going on. Taking a breath, she took another look at their hands and, as she slowly began to mimic her movements of the night before, said quietly, "Maybe I just see you as a brother."

Sirius pulled his hand away, confusion crossing his face. "Do you?"

"Maybe," Beth whispered, looking down at her tea. Her voice sounded weak, as if it truly was unsure, and Beth knew he could pick up on it when he asked his next question.

"But you don't know for a fact?"

Beth sighed and looked back up at him, refusing to back down. "I know that I am here to see one of my closest friends get married and to complete my internship. As far as I'm concerned, those are the only things that matters. I don't really have time for anything else."

Sirius took this in, nodding his head slightly at her revelation. "But," he said, facing her directly again, "you said maybe."

Beth finished the last of her tea, making a show of it being done. "Maybe," she repeated, standing up to take her cup to the sink.

Sirius quickly stood up and reached out for her arm before she could pass by, gently stopping her. The sudden proximity to him made her nervous, though more out of anticipation than uncomfortableness. Not one to back down, she stared up at him, defiantly matching his intense gaze in an attempt to sway him.

It didn't work.

"A maybe is all I need," Sirius said quietly, and Beth felt her heart rate quicken as she felt his breath tickle her face. They stayed there for a moment, both seemingly daring the other to make a move. All too soon though, he let her go, and Beth quickly scurried to the kitchen all the thoughts of him that she'd been trying to forget, to omit, to ignore, suddenly coming back.

What exactly was going on?

She'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't find herself attracted to him. That, she felt like, was a given. He was extremely handsome with his long locks and broad build, and he held the "bad boy" persona so well that she wouldn't be surprised if he had invented it himself. She'd spent the last several nights going through every minute detail about their interactions together, giggling over certain ones and finding her breath taken away at others. However, while she was attracted to him and could admit that, she still wasn't sure how she generally felt about him. There was a huge difference between finding someone good-looking and finding their character just as pleasing. A little over a week ago, she had been fighting and arguing with him over nearly anything, unafraid to make him stand down. Now, he was suddenly kind and caring and interested in everything she did, and the thought of such a sudden change concerned her. Lily had said that Sirius was wonderful once you got to know him, but she had also said it had taken her nearly five years to reach that level with him. Why would she, a person who would only be around for a couple of months, have more success at winning him over than a person who had been around him for years?

Shaking her thoughts away, she quickly washed and dried the teacup before setting it back in it's place. She still wasn't tired, she realized with a groan, but the wedding tomorrow wouldn't begin until later. She sighed as she resigned herself to reading her employee handbook until she fell asleep and went to return to her room.

"Goodnight," she said over her shoulder, doing everything she could not to turn and look at him.

"Wait, Beth," Sirius called. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and took in another breath before turning around, directly facing him.

"Yes?"

"You'll meet Remus soon," he promised, giving her a forced smile that Beth realized had no intention of being masked. Any tension that had been between them moments ago was gone, and she couldn't help but notice that his demeanor had changed from confident to resigned. "He's sick right now, which is why you haven't met him yet, but he'll be back around in a couple of days. I do believe he'll be quite taken with you."

Beth steeled her face, willing herself not to give in to the emotions crowding her mind, but her perplexed feelings found their way through. He's basically told me he fancies me, she relayed to herself, and yet he advocates for Remus. Did everyone truly believe that she would be so enraptured by this person that she would forget how enticing, how mysterious, how alluring Sirius was?

The thought startled her, and suddenly, her mind was made up on what she would do about him. Giving him one last look, she replied, "Out of the choices I have, I think you know which one I'd prefer to be taken with me."

Throwing him a wink for good measure, Beth returned to her room, only realizing after she had gotten back in her bed that she had yet to breathe.

A/N: I'd like to take a moment to let you know that this chapter, not including the author's note, is exactly 3,333 words long. How beautiful can life be?

To all of you who are reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing this story, I cannot thank you enough. You mean everything to me. I wish I could hug each and every one of you (especially you, nimblescrivener. Have I mentioned you're the best beta ever?).

To everyone who is starting school soon or has already started, good luck! Keep that head held high and never stop striving for success. I believe in you!

To Sirius and Beth, JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY.

Up next, Beth has a slight change of plans regarding Caitlin's wedding. Think you can guess what will happen?