WOO HOOO!!! 2nd POSTING IN ONE DAY! THIS ROCKS, ne? Well… I don't own these characters, which is sad, because they'd love me if I did. Please review. Any one who does gets a slice of pie.

Pumpkin cookies for: xMadgirlx, Atiannala, Fade to Black, Rena Lupin, and anymos-chan. Thanks GUYS! Now, as promised, chapter 3.

Chapter 3: Returning From Nowhere

In no time at all the four Marauders were sitting in their train cabin, talking about Hogsmede, the school year to come, brooms, Quidditch, and, unfortunately most of all; girls. It wasn't unusual for Remus to be quiet in conversations, but when the subject of females arose, the young werewolf was dead silent. Not a word escaped his fine and fair lips. Instead, he busied himself with watching the countryside pass by his window.

He knew it was hopeless and impossible to love Sirius. Padfoot had his own fan club of girls in every house. Whether it was crooning, sweet-talking, or winking, Remus was sure that Sirius did it, and he did it so well and liquidly smooth that the girls were putty in the scruffy Marauder's hand. And deep down in the werewolf's heart, it ached, as if he was being teased and played along with the hundreds of Sirius' fan girls. But he didn't have any of that kind of attention, except as a friend.

"Moony, are you ok?" James asked as he noticed the utter silence emitting from Remus. "You're really… quiet."

"I'm fine Prongs, just a bit tired." He said as he tried to shrug off the attention that had been given to him. But, to the sheer agony of Remus, he wasn't forgotten.

"You sure?" James pressed on.

"Yes."

"I had an aunt who was really quiet once, then poof! She up and died in the middle of a visit with me mum." Peter commented, not at all helping the situation. "Turns out she was hiding pain inside her the entire time."

"That's…. depressing." Sirius said, fumbling while trying to find the right word. "Anyways, you're not hiding any pain, are you Moony?"

This was it; the silence fell stale as Remus deprived his friends of an answer. How could he answer them? If he told the truth, they would continue asking questions until the found out he loved Sirius, or he could lie and ruin his record for always telling the truth. So, he took a deep breath and decided to avoid the whole thing.

"Don't worry about me guys, honest. I'm fine, the moon is just really taking it out of me lately." He said with a forced smile. The marauders went back to talking, but Peter gave Remus a very long and hard look before contributing to the conversation again.

Having sensed something in Wormtail's stare, the werewolf stood and walked out into the hallway, where who should he run into but Severous Snape, or more commonly known to the Marauder as Snivellous. Sure the Marauders picked on him as a group, but when on his own, Remus was afraid of Severous and intimidated by his cold stare, icy eyes, and slimy hair, which was forever the subject of ridicule amongst them.

"What do you want, Lupin?" The voice was fiercely cruel and lacking any warmth or compassion. Much like his green eyes. Remus stiffened just as he ended the first word.

"I… sorry I ran into you… um… I-"

"You bloody well should be you ass, now move or else."

"Whatever Severous." Remus said and stepped into another cabin, which conveniently held his twin brothers and their best friend and partner in crime; Copernicus Helio, or more commonly known as Nicus.

"AH! Remmy! What're you doin' here? Did those lousy friends of yours kick you out?" Rital asked, mimicking the sincere tone of their mother.

"We'll give them hell if they did." Rigel continued.

"No," Remus reassured them, "just needed some… different air." The twins laughed.

"Well, that is the best way to put it considering that there is no real fresh air here, just different air." Nicus commented, half to himself. The twins gave him a look.

The poor werewolf had only just sat down when Sirius appeared at the door.

"Remus," he began, opening the compartment door. "I-"

"What is this, a party?" Rigel inquired cynically as he swallowed his mouthful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"A party, oh I do so love parties! Drinks all round!" Rital yelled, downing a butter beer.

Padfoot absent-mindedly shook his head and turned once again to Moony. "Remus, can I talk with you in the hall?"

"Sure," was his slightly high-pitched answer as Remus rose from his seat and walked into the hall behind the animagus. It was hopeless, and Moony was being foolish. Padfoot would never love him, and he was going to have to face it sooner or later. Yeah, here come the emotions. Get over it Remus, you're only setting yourself up for heartbreak. That's it, cry me a river, build yourself a bridge and get over it. Stop waiting for him because he's never showing up, he told himself, watching the ground.

"Moony, are you sure you're all right, because you're acting way more different than last year and I was wondering if it was my fault?"

Remus almost choked with the way Sirius' voice was so caring. Why did he have to be so considerate and yet so flaky at the same time?

The werewolf couldn't help but stutter as his crush put him on the spot. "I-yeah, I mean no, well, it's nothing to do with you, sort of. It's the moon! That's it, the moon, playing with me." Did Peter tell him?

"Ok, well, if you ever need anything, just holler." Sirius said with a tough grin as he disappeared back into the Marauder's train cabin.

"Holler…" Remus repeated to himself, grabbing at his own shirt collar. Barely above a whisper, he closed his eyes and admitted out loud, "I wish I could scream out loud that I love you, Sirius Black. I wish I could tell you what I feel for you without tripping over the words. I wish that there were words to describe what I feel for you, because keeping this secret is eating me up inside and I don't know how to keep it hidden anymore."

Silencing himself, Remus rejoined his three friends in the compartment; his amber eyes ready to cry even though he was doing his best to smile.

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So cute, ne? Well, there's chapter 3! Stay tuned for Chapter 4!