Thank you all sooooooo much for the reviews, I'm very grateful to Rebecca Reilly() who gave me a very well rounded review. Let me explain about the time frame, Rebecca (Leisa). I want it to seem very obvious that she's from a very different time period. I want to show her as a real kid, someone like us, who just happens to meet the boys. And she has to know about the fifth book. Thanks to Ginnifir, who loved all my stories from the start, and QueenofIce on hp.com, who inspired me to read The Princess Bride, which I mention in the prologue. Thanks also to Aireglarien and Anarah who said they loved this story. Now I feel really nervous about this part because of all the reviews. I don't want to disappoint anyone. Please excuse the boring parts (like when I'm describing the house) because I couldn't help myself.
Nothing is mine. It's J.K.'s work with my ideas added in. Except for the Pirates of the Caribbean part. That was that Gore director guy's. Anything in ** is directly from the movie.
Chapter 2.
Movie, Dinner, and Feelings
"Good!" James responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Smith's positive answer. "Now, where did you get the impression that we were raised to be proper?" Farren laughed.
"You said it was in England. And if you are polite, and don't horse around too much, she'll love you. Please, just pretend! Use those skills that you learned at Hogwarts balls, and when you're meeting ministry workers and such." She slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that last bit, she'd just done it on an impulse, and now they were staring at her in the weirdest way.
"S-sorry?" She tried meekly. "It just popped out. I'm not even sure what made me say it." The four boys shared another one of those looks, and another nod.
"Well," Remus said in a brave attempt at conversation. "I'm glad we get to go. Now, don't you think we ought to be getting to class?"
Farren giggled at the question, because she had asked the same to Hordan on her first day during last hour. "Last 35 minutes is spent doing anything of your choice. Library, study hall, phone calls, stuff like that. We should probably get our bags though, so that when we the bell rings, we have our stuff."
"We do have homework, don't we?" Peter said suddenly.
"Yes, we do. Sorry." Farren said to him kindly.
"But, why?" Peter said, reminding Farren forcefully of Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie.
"'*But, why the rum?*'" Farren laughed, not being able to help herself.
"She's completely off her rocker." Sirius said dryly.
"I think she's quoting that movie again," Remus said fairly, before grabbing her arm. "Come along, Pirate, we must get our bags-er treasure, and what-not." He pulled her from the room gently, laughing as he did so. She stumbled behind them, pulling up when they turned towards their lockers, and going back towards hers.
"We'll meet you back at the place where you make birth then, Ship o' Farren. Onward to our island and our treasures!" Sirius said exaggeratingly and began to skip down the hall in what Farren could only assume was his impression of a ship at sea. She turned away laughing, and fiddled the combination on her lock.
Just as she was finishing grabbing her bag and tossing her books in it, she heard the boys returning. With many shouts of 'Sirius!' and 'You're making me seasick just watching you', they came down the hall, Sirius now tossing himself about like a ship lost in a storm. He ran right into Farren, knocking her to the ground. Sirius himself fell as well, but he did it with much dramatics and a call of 'Abandon ship! We're sinking mates! This is the end, those bloody pirates sunk us!'
"Sirius," Farren said suddenly, once he was efficiently on the ground and quiet, "You were the pirate. How could you sink yourself?" The others laughed and Remus extended a hand down to Farren. She grabbed it and he helped her up, leaving Sirius on the ground to stand of his own accord.
"Hey!" Sirius said in mild protest.
"You're male." Remus said innocently. "Therefore, I don't have to help you up."
"Farren acts to much like one of us to be a lady!" Sirius snorted. "Though I suppose we could always check…"
"Sirius!" Farren said harshly. She leaned down slightly and smacked him on the back of his head.
"Fine, fine. You act like one of us, but your still nicer and more feminine, and you most definitely look like a girl, and I will never again remark otherwise." Sirius said in a bored tone, as if he had done this one too many times. He rubbed his head and hoisted himself to his feet. "Girls get everything." He muttered softly. "Including me, so I suppose that's all right."
"Oh, Sirius, shut-up. I mean that in the best way, of course." Farren said. Just then, the bell rang, and Farren led them through the crowds carefully, down the stairs, out the door, down the long row of buses to the very last one and got onto it. You could tell the parents paid more for their kids to ride this bus, because it was bigger, had dark blue upholstery seats, air conditioners and heat, a bathroom, and four mini televisions. The boys stared around in shock at the contents of the bus. That's why they didn't notice Spencer grab Farren's arm and pull her to the back.
Spencer held onto her arm harshly and pulled her to the very last seat. He pushed her into the window and sat down next to her, grinning composedly at the people around him. Apparently, girls often sat back here with him, because no one questioned him, or made any sign of noticing Farren, except to give her a smirking look. Farren raised herself to her knees on the seat, looking around for the four boys. They stared back at her, looking shocked and confused. She made motions with her hands to tell them to sit down in a seat, and they did, saving her one. Spencer pulled Farren down from her knees and into the seat, as the bus started moving. She could tell from his expression that he was not happy.
"Yu brought them home with you? I just told you what mother would think, and you brought them home with you? How idiotic can you get? It's not like they actually like you. You could do so much better than that group of …little boys." He snarled quietly, leaning very close to her face as he did so.
"Oh, and I suppose you think you would be a better choice?" She said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.
"You should never suppose, Farren, but yes, I do think I would be." Spencer said coyly. He then leaned in even closer. "Besides, even though they're coming home with you this once, I can guarantee you they wont be back."
"W-why?" Farren said uncertainly.
"Because now, mother knows all about the terrible things they've been doing all day, and about how you feel about the way my family treats you. You know, how we don't even know what you're interested in? I took the liberty of telling mother your thoughts over the phone, likely just after you'd got off with her. Of course, I'd be willing to put in a good word for them…for a price."
"What do you want?" Farren asked slowly. If Spencer had said terrible things about the boys, surely Mrs. Smith would believe him over a girl she barely knew? But if Spencer were willing to put in a good word for them, would it even help?
Spencer grinned slyly. "You can start by going out with me on Saturday. What do you say? Remember, you're relationship with you friends is at stake!" Before Farren could even open her mouth to refuse, however, he had leaned in to kiss her.
Farren was all ready smashed as far back against the window as she could be, and, having the window seat, she saw no way she could get out of the situation. But, she knew she had to try. She leapt up, pushed passed him, and walked quickly to the middle of the bus, dropping into the empty seat behind Remus and James and next to Sirius and Peter. The bus driver slammed on her brakes, pulled to a harsh stop, and stood up, glowering at Farren.
The bus driver's name was Tanya Norlings. She was not very old, had long, curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and was rather curvy. She was very flirty and giggly, but at that moment, she looked terrible mad, reminding Farren somewhat of a spitting, angry cat. Tanya advanced slowly towards Farren, who could feel her uncertainty rising with each step Tanya took.
"Were you just walking on my bus?" she said slowly. "You are only allowed to move around on the bus if you are traveling to or from the bathroom."
"Well, I did move seats." Farren started hesitantly. Tanya snorted angrily and Farren was hit by a sudden idea. "But, I had a good reason. See, I was sitting back there with someone in the window seat, and I'm rather claustrophobic, and I was starting to feel very uncomfortable, and I didn't want to throw-up on him, so I had to move-" She looked up at Tanya innocently, imploring her to be okay with her explanation.
"Oh." Tanya said, still looking suspicious. Farren thought she might have just made another adult enemy. "Well, all right. From now on, sit by yourself, okay?" She walked back up to the front of the bus and started it up again. The bus moved swiftly and smoothly, even without the customary loud brake sounds that normally a bus was associated with, but this was no longer enough to distract any of the four boys, nor a boy who was sitting behind her watching her so intently that Farren immediately felt his eyes on her long hair, and so turned about to face him.
The boy was tall, at least six-feet something, but thin. He had no football like attributes; that is to say, his shoulders were not wide, his chest was of normal width, and he had a neck. In fact, she vaguely recognized him as the laidback, casual, and informal basketball star that was in her math class. He had red hair, cut short and sporty, but it was more carroty than Farren's long dark auburn tresses. His eyes were large, dark brown, and slightly exotic looking. He blushed somewhat at her abrupt change in attention to him.
Despite the fact that he was a star on the court, much like how Spencer was star on the football and winter sports team, Farren though he was very different than Spencer. Something about the way that he was blushing because of her attention on him, and the spot he had chose on the bus, which was not in the back with the popular kids, nor in the front with the suck-up kids, made her think he was much more modest about his feats and social life. She couldn't help but wonder if all of Collins Senior High's basketball players were like him. It was a nice change.
"Hello!" She said, skillfully arranging her voice so it was cheerful and covered up the lingering anxiety that Spencer's performance had left her with.
But, being the laidback, to the point, basketball star he was, he wasn't fooled. "Hello. I'm Randy L'Keith. You're Farren Alma, aren't you? What was Spencer doing to you?"
Farren was slightly shocked. "Er, nothing. Honestly, I moved because I'm claustrophobic."
"Sure, you did. I bet that's the first time in the weasel's life he's ever been brushed off. Er, run off."
"You don't like him either! Oh, good, I thought I was the only person in this whole school who saw him for what he really is."
"Ahem!" Sirius's voice behind her made her realize what she was saying. She turned and surveyed them. Peter was staring three rows back at a girl, who was fixedly ignoring him. Sirius was looking affronted; she realized that they probably didn't like Spencer any more than she did, and she was acting like she hadn't even noticed. ('Oops!") James was looking at Randy suspiciously, like he didn't like that she'd forgot all about them when he'd arrived in the picture. But it was Remus's look that hurt her most.
Remus looked as though he was trying hard to act normal. He was turned around in his seat, staring into her eyes. He grinned nervously, but Farren knew that it was a cover up, because all day she had seen his true smile, and it was not remotely like the one he was flashing now. His eyes were filled with diminished hope and cloaked hurt. She wondered why he looked so hurt. She wondered also, why his pain made her feel so guilty.
"Sorry, guys. Spencer kind of pulled me back there while you guys were marveling at the buses contents. Randy, this is Peter, Sirius, James, and Remus." She smiled at them as she said it, her eyes lingering a bit on the dark blue depths of Remus's eyes. "Randy's in my math class. I guess he'll probably be in your guys' too, now that I think about it. The boys are coming over for dinner and to watch a movie." She directed this last bit a Randy, who raised his eyebrows slightly as he took in this information.
"Hmmm." He murmured indistinctly, but his eyes held an emotion that Farren couldn't quite read.
"You guys don't happen to call yourselves The Marauders, do you?" Farren said suddenly, on a whim.
They looked rather surprised. Again they shared a look and a firm nod. "We do." James said, scrutinizing her with his eyes.
"Cool!" Randy said, laughing. Farren had a feeling he was suddenly completely forgiven for whatever the reason was that the Marauders didn't like him. "That's funny. People have been talking about you four all day you know! Wait until I tell them what you call yourselves!" He seemed to think this was one of the most hilarious things he'd ever heard, as he fell into the seat laughing. Farren was hit with the sudden thought that he was like Ron Weasley. She giggled.
"What are you laughing at?" Remus said to her quietly, while the other's talked enthusiastically to Randy over her head. She looked up at him, leaning casually over the seat back and smiling softly at her. She felt her stomach twist again.
"I was just thinking that he is kind of like Ron Weasley." Suddenly, she felt caution stabbing at her stomach, and she thought that maybe she shouldn't have said that.
He stared at her. "I-is he related to Arthur Weasley, perhaps. Or Bilious? Or what about the youngest girl, Elizabeth?" She stared at him. Did he read Harry Potter? But, some of those names was never mentioned at all in the books, was it? Something told her she should be quiet on the subject,
"Um, maybe, I don't know." Perhaps he noticed her pale face and nervousness, but in any case, he changed the subject.
"So, do the Smith's have any animals?" He asked, and Farren, grateful for the change, began to tell him about their fat, white cat Muffins, and how she had her own chair, which was bought just for her. The rest of the bus ride passed in a flash.
When the bus arrived at Farren's stop, she gestured to the Marauders, thinking as she did so that they're was something ironic about them calling themselves that, but she couldn't put her finger on it. They tumbled of, laughing and joking, and followed her inside. She was walking particularly quickly today, so as to get inside before Spencer did. Luckily, she succeeded.
"Hello, dear!" Mrs. Smith said as they came through the side door and into the kitchen, where she was working at the desk. The kitchen was huge, as was everything else in the house. But, since Mrs. Smith was Mr. Smith's campaign director, publicity manager, and secretary, the kitchen was the biggest of all the rooms in the house. There was a large cooking area, a kitchen table, and a small nook between the two that held the desk, a separate phone line, a small filling cabinet, and a huge window that always had the burgundy curtains on it pulled.
Mrs. Smith looked like a secretary type person. She was of medium height, had pale skin, blue eyes, and long blonde hair. She was pretty, skinny, and curvy. Sirius gapped at her. Farren reached over and put her hand on his jaw, forcing it back up. He blushed.
"Hey, Mrs. Smith. This is Peter and James." She pointed to the two of them, who were looking around in awe. "James is the one with impossible hair. And this is Sirius, and Remus." She smiled into Remus's eyes, before turning back to Mrs. Smith.
"Oh, hello, welcome to our home!" she said happily, shaking each of their hands in turn. Sirius didn't seem to want to let go. "Farren, why don't you show the boys around, while I fix dinner? We can eat early so that you have time to finish the movie. Now, where did Spenc- Oh, there you are, sweetie, hi!" Spencer came in, looking as if he had sulked and procrastinated as much as he could. He glared at Farren nastily, but the look he gave the other boys was even worse.
"Come on, I'll show you around." She said, gesturing to the Marauders, who followed her quickly out of the room. She showed them around, first the sitting room, then the office, then the living room, the family room, the laundry room, the two bathrooms, the library, and the indoor greenhouse (complete with dark green glass walls and ceiling). Then she led them to the stairs.
"This place is huge!" Sirius exclaimed loudly.
"It is. I'm surprised I haven't gotten us lost yet." Farren agreed. "I mean I just got here last Friday evening." She led them up the stairs to the second floor.
On the second floor were bedrooms and bathrooms. She showed them the master bedroom first. It was huge, with many corners and turns. It had a large walk-in closet, and was done all in cherry wood. The canopy bed was high off the ground and had a deep blue and gold bedspread on it. There was an old fashion wardrobe tucked in one of the corners, and a piano in another. Around a corner there was a huge window with a cherry wood frame and deep blue curtains. Nestled beneath it were a window seat and three low armchairs in blue and gold, which looked beautiful against the gleaming wood floor.
"Wow." Remus said softly from behind Farren.
"Yep." James said in shock.
"It's the nicest house I've ever been in." Peter piped up.
Farren laughed. They sounded like her when she had first come. She then led them to the two guest bedrooms. Both were of medium size and rectangular, but one was done in soft amber colors and jade green, and the other was done in deep scarlet and cream. The Scarlet room had light oak and a small desk, while the other had two bookshelves and mahogany wood. Farren then knocked on Spencer's door.
"Who is it?" He snarled from inside the room's depths.
"Farren." She answered politely, ignoring his nasty tone. She heard quick pounding and the door was quickly thrown open. On his face she saw a look of intense lust and desire, but it quickly faded into a sneer when he saw her company.
"Oh, " He said nastily, "You brought you're little…friends. What do you want?"
"I just wanted to show them the room. Obviously, you are in a bad mood, so we'll be moving on." She said, knowing full well that being nasty back to him wasn't helping, but not being able to help it. She slammed his door in his face, and walked off, pulling Remus's arm with her. The others followed.
"He didn't seem very happy at all! Oh, no he didn't. I wonder what has pretty boy upset?" Sirius said, a plotting smile on his face. Farren sent him a warning look.
"NO pranks. NO jokes, NO snide remarks, NO anything! He'll come back and do something to me because of it. I know the Marauders' reputation." They all stopped dead.
"You do?" Peter asked, looking twice as dim as usual. "H-how?"
"Er-I don't know how." Farren said, wondering why that had slipped out of her mouth. "Lucky guess?" The boys were doing that glance-and-nod thing again. It was starting to get on her nerves. "Well, why don't I show you my room next?" She said hesitantly.
They nodded, and so she led them past the bathroom, which connected Spencer's room to the one she was staying in. She opened the door and let them in. They surveyed it. The bed was a queen and was in the far right corner from the door. It's bedspread, along with the curtains, and lampshades, were ones of French blue. Her trunk sat in a corner, next to a table with a swivel mirror and the closet. A desk sat in the other corner, with an empty bulletin board above it. It was a nice room, but not very personalized.
Later, Farren would reflect that it was a good thing she hadn't fully unpacked, because if she had, the boys might have seen five life changing things that came in the form of books. They stared around, smiled politely, and then Sirius and James, not being able to help their selves, leapt on the bed. Their wild jumping was amusing to watch, but Farren couldn't shake the feeling that something about the situation was wrong. The knowledge was eating at her stomach, poking at the corners of her brain, and racing through her blood, but she could not grasp the concept it was pushing towards her. Feeling slightly sick, she sat down on her trunk. She watched James and Sirius for a few seconds, but that made her feel distinctly dizzy. She switched her gaze to Peter, who was sniggering at the others and sitting on the desk chair. Remus sat down beside her.
"Are you all right?" He asked, his honey colored hair falling onto his brow, and his deep blue eyes looking concerned and compassionate. She nodded slightly. It was perhaps a good thing that at that moment Mrs. Smith's voice echoed around the house, calling them to dinner. Sirius turned quickly in the air to survey the door, falling as he did so.
"How did we just hear her? She's not even there!" He said, ignoring James, who was laughing at his fall, Peter who was covering his mouth up and snorting, and Remus, who had turned the corners of his mouth down as far as he could to hide his smile.
"She had an intercom installed, to use for parties and stuff. It's a big house, you know?" She said innocently, but he could see her smile.
"Humph." He said, and he led them down the stair and to the dinning room, mock pouting all the way. Farren laughed and followed behind him. She could hear the others behind her, exaggeratingly mimicking Sirius. She smiled harder, pushing away the misgivings that were still resting in her stomach. Sirius, following the smell of food, led them to the dinning room, where they were all standing around the chairs, waiting for Mr. Smith to arrive and sit first. The boys situated themselves in various chairs around the table. Farren had never eaten in the dinning room before, and was dazzled by the white linen, good china plates, and glassware. Sirius was nearly drooling at the sight of a whole turkey sitting in the middle of the table, along with some type of potato dish, and some spiced green beans.
Mr. Smith came in and stood at the head of the table, gesturing for them to sit down. He looked a lot like Spencer, only older, kinder, and wiser. However, his eyes were green instead, and his wavy brown hair was receding elegantly towards the back of his skull. He sat on his chair with a natural grace and command, but he still looked kind and gentle. He smiled.
"Ah, Farren, Marsha told me you would be bringing some friends home. How do you do boys?" He asked in his deep, even voice. They smiled and nodded through their mouthfuls of food. Farren introduced them, gesturing to each as she did, wishing that the family would focus on something else. Luckily, dinner was family time in the Smith house, and so their attention was soon on Mrs. Smith, as she told about her day and the phone call she'd gotten from the senior citizen home.
"I'll have to look into it and see if we can afford to give them more money." Mr. Smith said, wiping his mouth buoyantly on his linen napkin.
"How was you're day, dear?" Mrs. Smith asked her husband. The next twenty minutes were filled with boring explanations of expenses and loans. Farren had never been particularly interested and even Sirius had had enough food.
"Farren, honey, why don't you take the boys to the family room and watch a movie, all right?" Mrs. Smith said gently.
"All right. Thanks for dinner it was very good. I'm glad you had a good day, Mr. Smith." She said quickly and politely, pulling the boys from the room. The all breathed sighs of relief once they were out of the room. Sirius, somehow remembering where the family room was, bounded forward into it and plopped down on the couch.
"I'm ready to watch this c c d thing!"
"DVD, Sirius!" Farren said, laughing. "Honestly, you'd think you never watched a movie before." The boys exchanged raised eyebrows behind her back. Farren, not noticing slipped, the movie into its player and turned on the TV. Carefully, she navigated to the beginning of the movie and started it. Then she plopped down on the couch next to Remus. Sirius and James were on the floor and Peter was in a rocking armchair, seemingly enjoying it more than the movie.
At certain parts, James and Sirius couldn't help but entertain them by acting them out, and Farren herself often said the lines of the characters along with them. This seemed to annoy Peter, but everyone else enjoyed it, and so none of the four made any effort to stop.
"They're drunk!" Exclaimed Sirius nearly an hour later when the movie hit Farren's favorite scene, which involved a tipsy Jack Sparrow and a scheming Elizabeth Swann. Farren giggled and began to quote, doing such a good job that even James and Sirius stopped acting to listen.
"'*It's not just a keel and a desk and sails, that's what a ship needs. But what a ship is, what the Black Pearl really is, is freedom.*'" Farren quoted right along with Jack, even doing the hand motions. Then she dropped down onto Remus's shoulder, fully planning on doing Elizabeth's part, not noticing Remus's flush, nor Sirius's smile, or James's raised eyebrows (Peter was asleep).
"'*Jack,*'" She murmured softly, perfectly in tune with the actor, "'*It must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island.*'"
"'*Oh, yes.*'" She said, smoothly transitioning to Jack Sparrow's part. "'*But the company is infinitely better than last time. Scenery's definitely improved…*'" She trailed off, intending to switch to Elizabeth's part, in which she would push herself off of Remus (Jack) and chastise him slyly, while still managing to make him pass out. However, she never got that far, because Sirius leapt up and paused the movie, which he was getting very good at doing, as he'd done it three times now.
"What is it now, Sirius?" She questioned, not moving, but staring at his sly smile and wondering if she should.
"Well, it seems to me," He said, his smile growing larger, "That you can't play both parts."
"I was doing just fine, thank you!" She said, angering a teeny bit.
"I know you were! But, it seems to me," He repeated, "That Remus should be saying and ACTING Jack's part."
"I don't know the lines!" Remus protested mildly.
"Well, it seems to me-" Sirius began, but Farren interrupted him.
"I didn't know Sirius could deduce so much at one time." She said softly, looking up at Remus, who smiled shyly.
"AS I WAS SAYING," Sirius bellowed, "It seems to me that if I'D just had a pretty girl throw herself on my shoulder, I would improvise and do the lines the best I could. Especially if I LIKED HER!"
Remus blushed deeply. Farren could actually feel heat radiating off him. However, being young and naïve as she was, the comment rolled right off her.
"I suppose YOU would. But, see, there's some flaws in you plan. First, this is Remus, not YOU. Second, if Remus WERE to have someone he liked throw herself at him, he probably would have responded different than he did. And third, before you even start on who I like, do you remember what Hordan said?" James looked disappointed at the result of Sirius's matchmaking, Peter snored, and Remus relaxed. But Sirius just looked confused.
"Um, Hordan said some stuff about Hindus, some stuff about dogs, oh yeah! He said something like 'Why would you like Farren?'" Sirius said, scrunching up his eyes to remember.
"Precisely," Farren laughed. "People just don't like people like me like that. It just doesn't happen. And so, I'm free to throw myself at whomever I like, rather it involves quoting or not. They DON'T notice…or care." She stuck her tongue out at him. He stared at her incredulously.
"Fine," He muttered, still staring at her disbelievingly. "Just because YOU don't notice doesn't mean REMUS doesn't." He said this softly, but Remus still flushed a bit. He then turned the movie back on. Farren picked herself off of Remus's shoulder and scooted over a little bit. The rest of the evening passed without event, but Sirius seemed a little put out. Farren wondered if he was trying to set her up. She wondered if she would let him.
By the time the movie ended, Sirius was back to his old self. Peter had woken up in time to see the end and Sirius's near tantrum when he thought Jack was going to be hung. Farren had to laugh as Sirius bounced back to his old self. Mrs. Smith stuck her head through the door for the first time since dinner just as Farren was putting away the movie. She smiled at the five of them.
"I'll have to take you home now. It was lovely having you. Next time I'll be sure to speak to you more. Farren, honey, I know you probably want to drive home with them, but Spencer's just told me that there was homework, and so I want you to get started on it, all right?" Farren nodded and walked with the boys to the car. In the garage she ushered them in to the mini-van and watched James stare with longing at the driver's seat. She giggled. Typical boys. James sat himself in the front; Peter squished himself into the window farthest Farren, with Sirius (unhappily) centered and Remus closest to her. They shut the doors and started the car as Farren waved. She stepped back a bit as they started to back up slowly, but she kept her hand on the window. Remus pressed his slightly larger palm against hers from the other side, and she watched them drive out of view. Remus's hand was still imprinted against the window and his eyes seemed to holler his disappointment at leaving.
Nothing is mine. It's J.K.'s work with my ideas added in. Except for the Pirates of the Caribbean part. That was that Gore director guy's. Anything in ** is directly from the movie.
Chapter 2.
Movie, Dinner, and Feelings
"Good!" James responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Smith's positive answer. "Now, where did you get the impression that we were raised to be proper?" Farren laughed.
"You said it was in England. And if you are polite, and don't horse around too much, she'll love you. Please, just pretend! Use those skills that you learned at Hogwarts balls, and when you're meeting ministry workers and such." She slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that last bit, she'd just done it on an impulse, and now they were staring at her in the weirdest way.
"S-sorry?" She tried meekly. "It just popped out. I'm not even sure what made me say it." The four boys shared another one of those looks, and another nod.
"Well," Remus said in a brave attempt at conversation. "I'm glad we get to go. Now, don't you think we ought to be getting to class?"
Farren giggled at the question, because she had asked the same to Hordan on her first day during last hour. "Last 35 minutes is spent doing anything of your choice. Library, study hall, phone calls, stuff like that. We should probably get our bags though, so that when we the bell rings, we have our stuff."
"We do have homework, don't we?" Peter said suddenly.
"Yes, we do. Sorry." Farren said to him kindly.
"But, why?" Peter said, reminding Farren forcefully of Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie.
"'*But, why the rum?*'" Farren laughed, not being able to help herself.
"She's completely off her rocker." Sirius said dryly.
"I think she's quoting that movie again," Remus said fairly, before grabbing her arm. "Come along, Pirate, we must get our bags-er treasure, and what-not." He pulled her from the room gently, laughing as he did so. She stumbled behind them, pulling up when they turned towards their lockers, and going back towards hers.
"We'll meet you back at the place where you make birth then, Ship o' Farren. Onward to our island and our treasures!" Sirius said exaggeratingly and began to skip down the hall in what Farren could only assume was his impression of a ship at sea. She turned away laughing, and fiddled the combination on her lock.
Just as she was finishing grabbing her bag and tossing her books in it, she heard the boys returning. With many shouts of 'Sirius!' and 'You're making me seasick just watching you', they came down the hall, Sirius now tossing himself about like a ship lost in a storm. He ran right into Farren, knocking her to the ground. Sirius himself fell as well, but he did it with much dramatics and a call of 'Abandon ship! We're sinking mates! This is the end, those bloody pirates sunk us!'
"Sirius," Farren said suddenly, once he was efficiently on the ground and quiet, "You were the pirate. How could you sink yourself?" The others laughed and Remus extended a hand down to Farren. She grabbed it and he helped her up, leaving Sirius on the ground to stand of his own accord.
"Hey!" Sirius said in mild protest.
"You're male." Remus said innocently. "Therefore, I don't have to help you up."
"Farren acts to much like one of us to be a lady!" Sirius snorted. "Though I suppose we could always check…"
"Sirius!" Farren said harshly. She leaned down slightly and smacked him on the back of his head.
"Fine, fine. You act like one of us, but your still nicer and more feminine, and you most definitely look like a girl, and I will never again remark otherwise." Sirius said in a bored tone, as if he had done this one too many times. He rubbed his head and hoisted himself to his feet. "Girls get everything." He muttered softly. "Including me, so I suppose that's all right."
"Oh, Sirius, shut-up. I mean that in the best way, of course." Farren said. Just then, the bell rang, and Farren led them through the crowds carefully, down the stairs, out the door, down the long row of buses to the very last one and got onto it. You could tell the parents paid more for their kids to ride this bus, because it was bigger, had dark blue upholstery seats, air conditioners and heat, a bathroom, and four mini televisions. The boys stared around in shock at the contents of the bus. That's why they didn't notice Spencer grab Farren's arm and pull her to the back.
Spencer held onto her arm harshly and pulled her to the very last seat. He pushed her into the window and sat down next to her, grinning composedly at the people around him. Apparently, girls often sat back here with him, because no one questioned him, or made any sign of noticing Farren, except to give her a smirking look. Farren raised herself to her knees on the seat, looking around for the four boys. They stared back at her, looking shocked and confused. She made motions with her hands to tell them to sit down in a seat, and they did, saving her one. Spencer pulled Farren down from her knees and into the seat, as the bus started moving. She could tell from his expression that he was not happy.
"Yu brought them home with you? I just told you what mother would think, and you brought them home with you? How idiotic can you get? It's not like they actually like you. You could do so much better than that group of …little boys." He snarled quietly, leaning very close to her face as he did so.
"Oh, and I suppose you think you would be a better choice?" She said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.
"You should never suppose, Farren, but yes, I do think I would be." Spencer said coyly. He then leaned in even closer. "Besides, even though they're coming home with you this once, I can guarantee you they wont be back."
"W-why?" Farren said uncertainly.
"Because now, mother knows all about the terrible things they've been doing all day, and about how you feel about the way my family treats you. You know, how we don't even know what you're interested in? I took the liberty of telling mother your thoughts over the phone, likely just after you'd got off with her. Of course, I'd be willing to put in a good word for them…for a price."
"What do you want?" Farren asked slowly. If Spencer had said terrible things about the boys, surely Mrs. Smith would believe him over a girl she barely knew? But if Spencer were willing to put in a good word for them, would it even help?
Spencer grinned slyly. "You can start by going out with me on Saturday. What do you say? Remember, you're relationship with you friends is at stake!" Before Farren could even open her mouth to refuse, however, he had leaned in to kiss her.
Farren was all ready smashed as far back against the window as she could be, and, having the window seat, she saw no way she could get out of the situation. But, she knew she had to try. She leapt up, pushed passed him, and walked quickly to the middle of the bus, dropping into the empty seat behind Remus and James and next to Sirius and Peter. The bus driver slammed on her brakes, pulled to a harsh stop, and stood up, glowering at Farren.
The bus driver's name was Tanya Norlings. She was not very old, had long, curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and was rather curvy. She was very flirty and giggly, but at that moment, she looked terrible mad, reminding Farren somewhat of a spitting, angry cat. Tanya advanced slowly towards Farren, who could feel her uncertainty rising with each step Tanya took.
"Were you just walking on my bus?" she said slowly. "You are only allowed to move around on the bus if you are traveling to or from the bathroom."
"Well, I did move seats." Farren started hesitantly. Tanya snorted angrily and Farren was hit by a sudden idea. "But, I had a good reason. See, I was sitting back there with someone in the window seat, and I'm rather claustrophobic, and I was starting to feel very uncomfortable, and I didn't want to throw-up on him, so I had to move-" She looked up at Tanya innocently, imploring her to be okay with her explanation.
"Oh." Tanya said, still looking suspicious. Farren thought she might have just made another adult enemy. "Well, all right. From now on, sit by yourself, okay?" She walked back up to the front of the bus and started it up again. The bus moved swiftly and smoothly, even without the customary loud brake sounds that normally a bus was associated with, but this was no longer enough to distract any of the four boys, nor a boy who was sitting behind her watching her so intently that Farren immediately felt his eyes on her long hair, and so turned about to face him.
The boy was tall, at least six-feet something, but thin. He had no football like attributes; that is to say, his shoulders were not wide, his chest was of normal width, and he had a neck. In fact, she vaguely recognized him as the laidback, casual, and informal basketball star that was in her math class. He had red hair, cut short and sporty, but it was more carroty than Farren's long dark auburn tresses. His eyes were large, dark brown, and slightly exotic looking. He blushed somewhat at her abrupt change in attention to him.
Despite the fact that he was a star on the court, much like how Spencer was star on the football and winter sports team, Farren though he was very different than Spencer. Something about the way that he was blushing because of her attention on him, and the spot he had chose on the bus, which was not in the back with the popular kids, nor in the front with the suck-up kids, made her think he was much more modest about his feats and social life. She couldn't help but wonder if all of Collins Senior High's basketball players were like him. It was a nice change.
"Hello!" She said, skillfully arranging her voice so it was cheerful and covered up the lingering anxiety that Spencer's performance had left her with.
But, being the laidback, to the point, basketball star he was, he wasn't fooled. "Hello. I'm Randy L'Keith. You're Farren Alma, aren't you? What was Spencer doing to you?"
Farren was slightly shocked. "Er, nothing. Honestly, I moved because I'm claustrophobic."
"Sure, you did. I bet that's the first time in the weasel's life he's ever been brushed off. Er, run off."
"You don't like him either! Oh, good, I thought I was the only person in this whole school who saw him for what he really is."
"Ahem!" Sirius's voice behind her made her realize what she was saying. She turned and surveyed them. Peter was staring three rows back at a girl, who was fixedly ignoring him. Sirius was looking affronted; she realized that they probably didn't like Spencer any more than she did, and she was acting like she hadn't even noticed. ('Oops!") James was looking at Randy suspiciously, like he didn't like that she'd forgot all about them when he'd arrived in the picture. But it was Remus's look that hurt her most.
Remus looked as though he was trying hard to act normal. He was turned around in his seat, staring into her eyes. He grinned nervously, but Farren knew that it was a cover up, because all day she had seen his true smile, and it was not remotely like the one he was flashing now. His eyes were filled with diminished hope and cloaked hurt. She wondered why he looked so hurt. She wondered also, why his pain made her feel so guilty.
"Sorry, guys. Spencer kind of pulled me back there while you guys were marveling at the buses contents. Randy, this is Peter, Sirius, James, and Remus." She smiled at them as she said it, her eyes lingering a bit on the dark blue depths of Remus's eyes. "Randy's in my math class. I guess he'll probably be in your guys' too, now that I think about it. The boys are coming over for dinner and to watch a movie." She directed this last bit a Randy, who raised his eyebrows slightly as he took in this information.
"Hmmm." He murmured indistinctly, but his eyes held an emotion that Farren couldn't quite read.
"You guys don't happen to call yourselves The Marauders, do you?" Farren said suddenly, on a whim.
They looked rather surprised. Again they shared a look and a firm nod. "We do." James said, scrutinizing her with his eyes.
"Cool!" Randy said, laughing. Farren had a feeling he was suddenly completely forgiven for whatever the reason was that the Marauders didn't like him. "That's funny. People have been talking about you four all day you know! Wait until I tell them what you call yourselves!" He seemed to think this was one of the most hilarious things he'd ever heard, as he fell into the seat laughing. Farren was hit with the sudden thought that he was like Ron Weasley. She giggled.
"What are you laughing at?" Remus said to her quietly, while the other's talked enthusiastically to Randy over her head. She looked up at him, leaning casually over the seat back and smiling softly at her. She felt her stomach twist again.
"I was just thinking that he is kind of like Ron Weasley." Suddenly, she felt caution stabbing at her stomach, and she thought that maybe she shouldn't have said that.
He stared at her. "I-is he related to Arthur Weasley, perhaps. Or Bilious? Or what about the youngest girl, Elizabeth?" She stared at him. Did he read Harry Potter? But, some of those names was never mentioned at all in the books, was it? Something told her she should be quiet on the subject,
"Um, maybe, I don't know." Perhaps he noticed her pale face and nervousness, but in any case, he changed the subject.
"So, do the Smith's have any animals?" He asked, and Farren, grateful for the change, began to tell him about their fat, white cat Muffins, and how she had her own chair, which was bought just for her. The rest of the bus ride passed in a flash.
When the bus arrived at Farren's stop, she gestured to the Marauders, thinking as she did so that they're was something ironic about them calling themselves that, but she couldn't put her finger on it. They tumbled of, laughing and joking, and followed her inside. She was walking particularly quickly today, so as to get inside before Spencer did. Luckily, she succeeded.
"Hello, dear!" Mrs. Smith said as they came through the side door and into the kitchen, where she was working at the desk. The kitchen was huge, as was everything else in the house. But, since Mrs. Smith was Mr. Smith's campaign director, publicity manager, and secretary, the kitchen was the biggest of all the rooms in the house. There was a large cooking area, a kitchen table, and a small nook between the two that held the desk, a separate phone line, a small filling cabinet, and a huge window that always had the burgundy curtains on it pulled.
Mrs. Smith looked like a secretary type person. She was of medium height, had pale skin, blue eyes, and long blonde hair. She was pretty, skinny, and curvy. Sirius gapped at her. Farren reached over and put her hand on his jaw, forcing it back up. He blushed.
"Hey, Mrs. Smith. This is Peter and James." She pointed to the two of them, who were looking around in awe. "James is the one with impossible hair. And this is Sirius, and Remus." She smiled into Remus's eyes, before turning back to Mrs. Smith.
"Oh, hello, welcome to our home!" she said happily, shaking each of their hands in turn. Sirius didn't seem to want to let go. "Farren, why don't you show the boys around, while I fix dinner? We can eat early so that you have time to finish the movie. Now, where did Spenc- Oh, there you are, sweetie, hi!" Spencer came in, looking as if he had sulked and procrastinated as much as he could. He glared at Farren nastily, but the look he gave the other boys was even worse.
"Come on, I'll show you around." She said, gesturing to the Marauders, who followed her quickly out of the room. She showed them around, first the sitting room, then the office, then the living room, the family room, the laundry room, the two bathrooms, the library, and the indoor greenhouse (complete with dark green glass walls and ceiling). Then she led them to the stairs.
"This place is huge!" Sirius exclaimed loudly.
"It is. I'm surprised I haven't gotten us lost yet." Farren agreed. "I mean I just got here last Friday evening." She led them up the stairs to the second floor.
On the second floor were bedrooms and bathrooms. She showed them the master bedroom first. It was huge, with many corners and turns. It had a large walk-in closet, and was done all in cherry wood. The canopy bed was high off the ground and had a deep blue and gold bedspread on it. There was an old fashion wardrobe tucked in one of the corners, and a piano in another. Around a corner there was a huge window with a cherry wood frame and deep blue curtains. Nestled beneath it were a window seat and three low armchairs in blue and gold, which looked beautiful against the gleaming wood floor.
"Wow." Remus said softly from behind Farren.
"Yep." James said in shock.
"It's the nicest house I've ever been in." Peter piped up.
Farren laughed. They sounded like her when she had first come. She then led them to the two guest bedrooms. Both were of medium size and rectangular, but one was done in soft amber colors and jade green, and the other was done in deep scarlet and cream. The Scarlet room had light oak and a small desk, while the other had two bookshelves and mahogany wood. Farren then knocked on Spencer's door.
"Who is it?" He snarled from inside the room's depths.
"Farren." She answered politely, ignoring his nasty tone. She heard quick pounding and the door was quickly thrown open. On his face she saw a look of intense lust and desire, but it quickly faded into a sneer when he saw her company.
"Oh, " He said nastily, "You brought you're little…friends. What do you want?"
"I just wanted to show them the room. Obviously, you are in a bad mood, so we'll be moving on." She said, knowing full well that being nasty back to him wasn't helping, but not being able to help it. She slammed his door in his face, and walked off, pulling Remus's arm with her. The others followed.
"He didn't seem very happy at all! Oh, no he didn't. I wonder what has pretty boy upset?" Sirius said, a plotting smile on his face. Farren sent him a warning look.
"NO pranks. NO jokes, NO snide remarks, NO anything! He'll come back and do something to me because of it. I know the Marauders' reputation." They all stopped dead.
"You do?" Peter asked, looking twice as dim as usual. "H-how?"
"Er-I don't know how." Farren said, wondering why that had slipped out of her mouth. "Lucky guess?" The boys were doing that glance-and-nod thing again. It was starting to get on her nerves. "Well, why don't I show you my room next?" She said hesitantly.
They nodded, and so she led them past the bathroom, which connected Spencer's room to the one she was staying in. She opened the door and let them in. They surveyed it. The bed was a queen and was in the far right corner from the door. It's bedspread, along with the curtains, and lampshades, were ones of French blue. Her trunk sat in a corner, next to a table with a swivel mirror and the closet. A desk sat in the other corner, with an empty bulletin board above it. It was a nice room, but not very personalized.
Later, Farren would reflect that it was a good thing she hadn't fully unpacked, because if she had, the boys might have seen five life changing things that came in the form of books. They stared around, smiled politely, and then Sirius and James, not being able to help their selves, leapt on the bed. Their wild jumping was amusing to watch, but Farren couldn't shake the feeling that something about the situation was wrong. The knowledge was eating at her stomach, poking at the corners of her brain, and racing through her blood, but she could not grasp the concept it was pushing towards her. Feeling slightly sick, she sat down on her trunk. She watched James and Sirius for a few seconds, but that made her feel distinctly dizzy. She switched her gaze to Peter, who was sniggering at the others and sitting on the desk chair. Remus sat down beside her.
"Are you all right?" He asked, his honey colored hair falling onto his brow, and his deep blue eyes looking concerned and compassionate. She nodded slightly. It was perhaps a good thing that at that moment Mrs. Smith's voice echoed around the house, calling them to dinner. Sirius turned quickly in the air to survey the door, falling as he did so.
"How did we just hear her? She's not even there!" He said, ignoring James, who was laughing at his fall, Peter who was covering his mouth up and snorting, and Remus, who had turned the corners of his mouth down as far as he could to hide his smile.
"She had an intercom installed, to use for parties and stuff. It's a big house, you know?" She said innocently, but he could see her smile.
"Humph." He said, and he led them down the stair and to the dinning room, mock pouting all the way. Farren laughed and followed behind him. She could hear the others behind her, exaggeratingly mimicking Sirius. She smiled harder, pushing away the misgivings that were still resting in her stomach. Sirius, following the smell of food, led them to the dinning room, where they were all standing around the chairs, waiting for Mr. Smith to arrive and sit first. The boys situated themselves in various chairs around the table. Farren had never eaten in the dinning room before, and was dazzled by the white linen, good china plates, and glassware. Sirius was nearly drooling at the sight of a whole turkey sitting in the middle of the table, along with some type of potato dish, and some spiced green beans.
Mr. Smith came in and stood at the head of the table, gesturing for them to sit down. He looked a lot like Spencer, only older, kinder, and wiser. However, his eyes were green instead, and his wavy brown hair was receding elegantly towards the back of his skull. He sat on his chair with a natural grace and command, but he still looked kind and gentle. He smiled.
"Ah, Farren, Marsha told me you would be bringing some friends home. How do you do boys?" He asked in his deep, even voice. They smiled and nodded through their mouthfuls of food. Farren introduced them, gesturing to each as she did, wishing that the family would focus on something else. Luckily, dinner was family time in the Smith house, and so their attention was soon on Mrs. Smith, as she told about her day and the phone call she'd gotten from the senior citizen home.
"I'll have to look into it and see if we can afford to give them more money." Mr. Smith said, wiping his mouth buoyantly on his linen napkin.
"How was you're day, dear?" Mrs. Smith asked her husband. The next twenty minutes were filled with boring explanations of expenses and loans. Farren had never been particularly interested and even Sirius had had enough food.
"Farren, honey, why don't you take the boys to the family room and watch a movie, all right?" Mrs. Smith said gently.
"All right. Thanks for dinner it was very good. I'm glad you had a good day, Mr. Smith." She said quickly and politely, pulling the boys from the room. The all breathed sighs of relief once they were out of the room. Sirius, somehow remembering where the family room was, bounded forward into it and plopped down on the couch.
"I'm ready to watch this c c d thing!"
"DVD, Sirius!" Farren said, laughing. "Honestly, you'd think you never watched a movie before." The boys exchanged raised eyebrows behind her back. Farren, not noticing slipped, the movie into its player and turned on the TV. Carefully, she navigated to the beginning of the movie and started it. Then she plopped down on the couch next to Remus. Sirius and James were on the floor and Peter was in a rocking armchair, seemingly enjoying it more than the movie.
At certain parts, James and Sirius couldn't help but entertain them by acting them out, and Farren herself often said the lines of the characters along with them. This seemed to annoy Peter, but everyone else enjoyed it, and so none of the four made any effort to stop.
"They're drunk!" Exclaimed Sirius nearly an hour later when the movie hit Farren's favorite scene, which involved a tipsy Jack Sparrow and a scheming Elizabeth Swann. Farren giggled and began to quote, doing such a good job that even James and Sirius stopped acting to listen.
"'*It's not just a keel and a desk and sails, that's what a ship needs. But what a ship is, what the Black Pearl really is, is freedom.*'" Farren quoted right along with Jack, even doing the hand motions. Then she dropped down onto Remus's shoulder, fully planning on doing Elizabeth's part, not noticing Remus's flush, nor Sirius's smile, or James's raised eyebrows (Peter was asleep).
"'*Jack,*'" She murmured softly, perfectly in tune with the actor, "'*It must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island.*'"
"'*Oh, yes.*'" She said, smoothly transitioning to Jack Sparrow's part. "'*But the company is infinitely better than last time. Scenery's definitely improved…*'" She trailed off, intending to switch to Elizabeth's part, in which she would push herself off of Remus (Jack) and chastise him slyly, while still managing to make him pass out. However, she never got that far, because Sirius leapt up and paused the movie, which he was getting very good at doing, as he'd done it three times now.
"What is it now, Sirius?" She questioned, not moving, but staring at his sly smile and wondering if she should.
"Well, it seems to me," He said, his smile growing larger, "That you can't play both parts."
"I was doing just fine, thank you!" She said, angering a teeny bit.
"I know you were! But, it seems to me," He repeated, "That Remus should be saying and ACTING Jack's part."
"I don't know the lines!" Remus protested mildly.
"Well, it seems to me-" Sirius began, but Farren interrupted him.
"I didn't know Sirius could deduce so much at one time." She said softly, looking up at Remus, who smiled shyly.
"AS I WAS SAYING," Sirius bellowed, "It seems to me that if I'D just had a pretty girl throw herself on my shoulder, I would improvise and do the lines the best I could. Especially if I LIKED HER!"
Remus blushed deeply. Farren could actually feel heat radiating off him. However, being young and naïve as she was, the comment rolled right off her.
"I suppose YOU would. But, see, there's some flaws in you plan. First, this is Remus, not YOU. Second, if Remus WERE to have someone he liked throw herself at him, he probably would have responded different than he did. And third, before you even start on who I like, do you remember what Hordan said?" James looked disappointed at the result of Sirius's matchmaking, Peter snored, and Remus relaxed. But Sirius just looked confused.
"Um, Hordan said some stuff about Hindus, some stuff about dogs, oh yeah! He said something like 'Why would you like Farren?'" Sirius said, scrunching up his eyes to remember.
"Precisely," Farren laughed. "People just don't like people like me like that. It just doesn't happen. And so, I'm free to throw myself at whomever I like, rather it involves quoting or not. They DON'T notice…or care." She stuck her tongue out at him. He stared at her incredulously.
"Fine," He muttered, still staring at her disbelievingly. "Just because YOU don't notice doesn't mean REMUS doesn't." He said this softly, but Remus still flushed a bit. He then turned the movie back on. Farren picked herself off of Remus's shoulder and scooted over a little bit. The rest of the evening passed without event, but Sirius seemed a little put out. Farren wondered if he was trying to set her up. She wondered if she would let him.
By the time the movie ended, Sirius was back to his old self. Peter had woken up in time to see the end and Sirius's near tantrum when he thought Jack was going to be hung. Farren had to laugh as Sirius bounced back to his old self. Mrs. Smith stuck her head through the door for the first time since dinner just as Farren was putting away the movie. She smiled at the five of them.
"I'll have to take you home now. It was lovely having you. Next time I'll be sure to speak to you more. Farren, honey, I know you probably want to drive home with them, but Spencer's just told me that there was homework, and so I want you to get started on it, all right?" Farren nodded and walked with the boys to the car. In the garage she ushered them in to the mini-van and watched James stare with longing at the driver's seat. She giggled. Typical boys. James sat himself in the front; Peter squished himself into the window farthest Farren, with Sirius (unhappily) centered and Remus closest to her. They shut the doors and started the car as Farren waved. She stepped back a bit as they started to back up slowly, but she kept her hand on the window. Remus pressed his slightly larger palm against hers from the other side, and she watched them drive out of view. Remus's hand was still imprinted against the window and his eyes seemed to holler his disappointment at leaving.