"Good lord, Sirius, you're covered in lipstick! What were you up to all night?" James teased as the pair trudged back to their dormitory.
"Well, it wasn't my idea. And the roof is absolutely lovely this time of evening. I should take you there some time, darling," Sirius joked.
"Just say the word," James replied seriously, not laughing a bit.
"How did things end up for you?" Sirius inquired.
"Well, alright with Ellie Mae. But you won't guess who asked for a dance," James said, sounding tired.
"Vanessa Riddle." Sirius guessed.
"Sirius, I said you wouldn't guess. Don't make me out to be a liar," James replied.
"I heard Clarissa tell Kyla last week while I was in detention," Sirius admitted.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" James asked, mockingly aghast.
"Well, I meant to, but it seems to have escaped me before I actually bothered," Sirius replied, so tired that he almost walked into a wall.
"Kissing pretty girls can do that to you," James replied, wisely.
"Well, what did you tell her?" Sirius asked.
"More or less to screw off. Then I kissed Ellie. I think it sent the right message," he summarized.
"What, that you have some kind of a death wish? Merlin, James, when I've been turned into a mouse and skewered as revenge, send my remains to my Uncle Alphard, the only one in my family who really loves me," Sirius requested, opening their dormitory door.
"I shan't. Postage is far too expensive nowadays. I'll just bury you next to my dead rabbit in the garden. And besides, I doubt that even Vanessa could do anything to you without provoking your mother."
"That is, if she still considers herself my mother. There was a reason that I showed up on your doorstep last summer," Sirius replied, darkly.
Peter snored a bit louder upon their intrusion, but otherwise, he seemed to have completely dropped. It was already 12:30 in the morning, and neither of them were awake enough to actually get properly ready for bed.
"Ellie's worried though. Remember what the witches did to her second year?"
"No one's ever going to forget that," Sirius replied, hanging his mask on the corner of his small wardrobe.
"She's worried something like that will happen again, I think," James confided.
"Well, for Merlin's sake, we should stop them! Do you know what Rose would do if something like that happened again? She would get herself expelled for sure this time," Sirius replied, suddenly alarmed. If she was expelled, what would he do?
"The only reason she didn't last time was because Dumbledore stopped her. Remember that?" James asked. Sirius, meanwhile, had sat on the bed and was staring up at the ceiling.
"In the great hall, before god and everyone. How could I forget? That was the first time I noticed her, I think. When she was standing on the table, I-oof," Sirius' voice had obtained a dreamlike quality while he talked about his girlfriend, and James had consequently thrown a pillow at him from across the room, which had found its mark right on his jaw.
"Siriusssss, shut up about your love life," James moaned.
"It's not my fault that you're too afraid of rejection to actually ask anyone out. Not that they'd say yes, because of what an ugly old bat you are," Sirius replied.
"Everyone says that I'm the better looking one, so up yours. And it's not rejection I'm afraid of," James replied.
Sirius opened his mouth to say that everyone was lying because Peter was clearly the good looking one, but changed gears mid thought as he heard James come close to a secret.
"And what is it you're afraid of?" Sirius pestered.
"None of your beeswax," James replied, ready to put up a good fight.
"Tell me." Sirius started.
"No."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Tell me."
"You forgot the magic word." James taunted, reluctantly.
"Alohamora."
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"I'm going to find out anyway."
"For the fourth time, no."
"That was the fifth time, actually."
"I wasn't counting."
"Why not?"
"I was too busy telling you to screw off."
"Ouch. Well, I suppose I could just hex it out of you," Sirius threatened.
"Ugh, fine. But it's not going to be worth the 'please'," James replied, knowing that Sirius' threat was empty, but still tiring of the situation.
"I'm afraid that they won't leave. That I'll be with them forever. Not that I'd be stuck with them against my will, or anything, but one of these days, the next girl I choose might be the one I marry. And then there will be children. And then I'll be old and my life will be gone. I'm not worried about that sort of thing until I think about really seriously dating, and then when I do, it all just seems like too much. Like, I'm going to lose the rest of my life. I've already lost a good fifteen years, and if the next fifteen go this fast, then I'm already a good halfway to dead. And it doesn't worry me until I think about how someone will be there with me and if I choose the wrong person, then all those years will be a waste. I mean, I like Ellie, but is she what I want for the rest of my life? Only some girls make me think that way, about having something real. Something permanent. Some of them are more, 'wouldn't she be good for snogging', but Ellie's different. She makes me think, and makes me feel, and she's just genuinely got this personality that I adore. But she scares me too. Because when I think of being with her, I think of having that permanent relationship, and I just wonder if I'm good enough for her, and if I can handle that, losing all of those years, and if I really can be capable of something so...forever. It's easier just to act like an ass and get everyone to leave me alone. I just... I don't know. You know?"
James awaited a response, but amidst Peter's obnoxious snores, realized that Sirius too had been claimed by sleep.
So much for listening.
James just sighed, and pondered his situation, until sleep overtook him too.
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You know how I said I was bad at writing teenage guys? Well if this isn't proof, then I don't know what is. James and Sirius for the win though, brotp forever. Thanks for reading and reviewing so far! Don't let the muggles get you down!
post edit: rip my writing abilities, its starting to get late and i'm barely even paying attention any more. Oh well. Thanks for reading and reviewing through all of this chaos.