"I still don't understand why you would say something like that to my future wife."

"It's a girl thing. Gotta play hard to get. She's gonna get jealous if she thinks you're moving on from her. As simple as that."

"But what if she doesn't? Get jealous, I mean. What did she say when you told her? What face did she make? And more importantly since when do you know so much about girls?"

James had completely forgotten about his shoe, which laid abandoned on the floor. Learning about what Remus had said to Lily, he had sat on one of the benches, looking defeated. But Moony's arguments were starting to grow on him and he no longer hated the idea. He understood where Remus was coming from and the urge to punch him in the face had been absorbed by the shame he felt.

Because he still felt bad about it, even if the lie didn't come from him in the first place. It felt very petty, making up things to get Lily's attention and James was sure there were other ways she could notice him. But he decided to go along with it for a while and give it a try, because Remus' ideas always proved to be good and he trusted him more than anyone else.

"You gotta admit, it does look like you and Alice fancy each other." said Sirius, stretching all of his length.

James looked revolted.

"Her? She's like my annoying older sister!" he protested, finally getting back to his shoe. "Besides, the day I get over Evans is the day I die."

"We know," sighed Peter.

On the way back to the castle, James, who was trailing behind Sirius and Remus with Peter, was suddenly overcome with a rush of anxiety. Lily had always liked Remus best out of all the Marauders. They had Study of Ancient Runes together and they sometimes shared notes and worked on assignments together. What if Remus was only trying to get James out of the way so he could date Lily? The more James thought about it, the more it made sense. He rarely ever talked to Remus one on one anymore, ever since him and Sirius got closer.

James felt a migraine coming. He couldn't start spiraling down that tunnel of paranoid thoughts. He was not that guy. He was relaxed, self-assured, loving and full of trust. He was not worried.

He chewed on his lip, maybe a little stronger than anticipated, and drew blood. So when Sirius turned around to check if his friends were still following, it was only to witness James licking the blood out of his lips absentmindedly.

"Prongs, can I talk to you for a minute?"

James didn't fail to notice Sirius sounded alarmed. Under other circumstances he would have reassured him right away, but this time anxiety was eating away at his stomach so he just shrugged.

"Yah mate."

Peter did as Sirius motioned and hurried along to match Remus' pace while James and Sirius fell behind.

"Is it still about what Moony said? Because if you're worried it's not gonna work I can talk to Lily and take it back you know."

James shook his head for an answer, afraid his nervousness would translate to his voice.

"What is it then?"

Sirius was not giving up, and James felt like a small pressure was taken from his shoulders knowing his best friend would always be there no matter what.

"Because I can tell something's off, you haven't open your mouth in over five minutes, that's gotta be some sort of record for you."

Sirius came to a stop and his eyes widened as he seemed to realize something.

"Merlin, you don't have a concussion do you? I knew it, you hit your head so hard! We need to go to Madame Pomfrey right now."

Sirius grabbed James's head and looked at it thoroughly, pretending to examine his skull for bruises. He knew very well James had had no intention of seeing the school nurse, who had promised him that if he came in with another Quidditch related injury she would ban him from sports all together.

"Piss off, I'm fine!", ceded James, laughing and shoving his friend off him, "And you can't see a concussion, Mother Hen."

Sirius laughed with him and put his arm around his shoulders.

"I told Moony to summon your cloak and the map and go down to Honeydukes with Peter through the passage, so we could have a candy night."

"Marvelous idea. What's the occasion?"

'Candy nights' were what they called the evenings they spent after raiding the candy shop. Evenings when they would stay up too late and plan out the future pranks they were going to pull. They had candy nights almost every week in second year, when they discovered the passageway leading from Gunhilda's statue to Honeydukes' cellar, but they became less frequent after the four of them realized they were starting to get a little sick of candies.

"We need to come up with something to scare Snivellus for good, and our brains work better at 3 in the morning and on sugar highs," explained Sirius as they were climbing up the stairs to the boy's dormitories.

"Cheers."

James crashed on his bed as soon as he passed the door to their rooms, but raised his head in confusion at the sound of the door locking loudly. Sirius was looking at him with a mischievous smile, his wand still pointing towards the door.

"So. Now that you can't escape the conversation, I expect you to tell me exactly what the hell has been going on with you lately."

James grunted and closed the curtains of his bed with a flick of his wand. He hated to talk about his feelings. He rolled his eyes when the entire curtain rod fell on the floor, revealing a triumphant Sirius.

"You can't escape this Prongs. Talk to your best mate."

Sirius climbed on the bed with James and sat crossed legged in front of him. His attitude was nonchalant as always, but he was clearly concerned and serious about wanting to listen. He was as loving as a Black could get, and although he couldn't always find the right words, his presence and willingness to help were reassuring to James.

"You are the worst person I've ever met. But fine."

"Thank you, and I'm all ears."

James struggled to organize his thoughts for a minute. He didn't really know where to start, everything was mixing up in his head. He chose to lead with what caused the biggest knot in his stomach.

"I'm worried about Moony."

"We all are."

"Do you want me to talk or not?" said James, punching his friend's shoulder. "Let me at least line up two sentences."

"Sorry, sorry," apologized Sirius, rubbing his shoulder, "Carry on."

"I'm worried about Moony, and I keep thinking about Snivellus and what he might say, to who. He's hanging out with some really dangerous people, pureblood supremacists, people whose parents are involved in the war. The wrong side of the war. What if Moony is attacked one day? Each time he goes somewhere alone I can't help but worry. And I worry about Lily too, ever since the war broke out, muggleborns have been a target for slimy Slytherins, and she's got quite the temper on her. And if.. if something happened to her, or Remus.."

James sighed, and looked up at Sirius, who was nodding solemnly. He didn't realize how good it felt to confide in someone who probably had the same concerns as him.

"And I don't want to bring it up in front of Moony, because I know how much all of this weighs on him. He still thinks we're morons for the Animagus thing."

Sirius used his wand to tie his black silky hair up in a bun, as he always did when he needed to focus. He took a small breath in, and James could tell he was thinking really hard about what he was going to say.

"I understand. And I'm worried too. But we'll find a solution like we always do. Besides, it's like you always say, if Evans likes Snivellus he can't be all evil, right? There's gotta be a part of humanity in him somewhere. I don't think he's gonna rush and tell the whole castle about Moony's furry little problem, at least not right now, as things are."

James smiled and relaxed a little bit. Sirius was using his own arguments against him, the clever man. Indeed, as much as James hated Severus, the fact that Lily was his friend gave him the benefit of the doubt. At least for now.

"Reckon you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Wanker."

"Dickhead."

They smiled at each other. But despite his smile, Sirius's eyes still looked concerned.

"Is that everything?"

James frowned. No, it wasn't everything, it was just the beginning of a long list. But somehow the rest of his problems felt more personal and futile, and in a way more embarrassing to admit. He debated whether or not he should open up about them, but Sirius seemed to have read his mind.

"You know I won't make fun of you. You can talk to me."

And maybe it was because he had already started confiding, or maybe it was Sirius's very rare solemnity, but James decided to tell him everything.

He told him how lonely he felt since his two best friends had grown closer. He told him about his fear of being excluded, forgotten. He told him about his dreams and his most frequent nightmares. His hands clenched into fists when he talked about how he felt Remus was trying to get him out of the way to date Lily. He told him how weak he felt sometimes, at night, when everyone else was sleeping.

And Sirius listened. He listened to every sentence, never looking away from James's face. He listened and he nodded encouragingly.

And when James finally stopped talking, Sirius leaned toward him and pulled him close for a hug. Confused at first, James gave in after a second and held him back, trying to put all of his gratitude and friendship and everything else he couldn't express into this hug.

When they parted, Sirius looked a little red but he was smiling shyly.

"I didn't know you felt this way. And I can't apologize enough for leaving you out. You're my best friend and you don't deserve to feel alone, not at Hogwarts, not when we're around."

James waved a dismissive hand. He already felt so much better just talking about what had been stuck in his mind since the beginning of the year, and it meant the world to him that his friend had listened.

"It's okay, really. I'm actually happy you and Remus are getting along, he needs the support right now."

"James..."

"What?"

"There's something I need to tell you. Something I could probably have told you sooner."

"Well go on then."

"It's... delicate."

"You're delicate."

"Piss off."

James' smile faded when he looked up and saw Sirius's expression. He had rarely seen him looking so vulnerable. Long strands of black hair had started escaping his bun and he was avoiding James's eyes. He looked almost scared.

"Padfoot?"

"What?"

"It's okay. Whatever it is you need to tell me. It's okay."

Sirius chuckled, but it sounded forced. James felt like an idiot, not knowing what to say, or what to expect.

"Just promise me you won't hate me after I tell you?"

"For Merlin's sake Padfoot, just say it!"

"Fine! Moony and I are seeing each other!" Sirius blurred out.

James started to laugh, thinking of a joke, but then he saw how apprehensive Sirius looked, and his laugh died. It wasn't a joke. Everything suddenly seemed to click in his head. Every conversation he was excluded of, the smiles shared when they thought no one looked, the whispers at night when they thought no one heard. And the hand holding, obviously the hand holding. As observant as James was, he had failed to link all the elements together the right way. He felt silly, but oh so happy.

Sirius misinterpreted James' sudden silence and lowered his head, which was entirely out of character for him. He looked so small.

"I understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

James shook his head, disoriented.

"My friend? Padfoot, you're my brother. Nothing can ever change that. Besides, it's 1975! Did you think I would be mad or something?"

Sirius shrugged. The tips of his ears were red, and his brow was still furrowed.

"Dunno. Was scared of your reaction I guess."

"Well Black, I'm ecstatic," said James, getting up in a swift movement. "Do you know what this means? It means the two best looking guys in the school are out of the competition to date Lily!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and laughed, slowly getting back to his old self.

"Why does everything have to be a competition with you Potter?"

"Because everything is!" replied James, who had started a celebratory dance in the middle of their dorm room.

The twist inside of his stomach was gone. Lily was still his to woo, his best friends were dating, not ignoring him, and they were just about to come up with a plan that would both save Remus from an unwanted werewolf outing and embarrass the hell out of Snivellus. And it was such a beautiful day outside.

He met eyes with Sirius, and the relief he saw in them reflected his own. He was incredibly thankful his friend had trusted him enough to share what seemed to be something he was insecure about. James was happier than he had been in a long time.

It was at this moment the door from their room opened to Remus and Peter, arms filled with so much sweets you could only see the top of their heads. They both dropped all the candy on Sirius' bed, and before any of them could say anything, James rushed to Remus and pull him into a tight hug, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thanks for the sweets."

"Erh, you're alright mate."

Remus, embarrassed, quickly escaped James's arms to sit on the bed next to Sirius. Their body language mirrored perfectly and James felt as though his heart would burst with pride if it could. Peter looked slightly offended.

"Where's my hug? I went and got the sweets too!"

James beamed at him before hugging him too, with just as much conviction and love. All was well.