II

The first day of classes finally came, and Sirius was running late, of course. He didn't know how to navigate the campus; it felt like a maze. There were no signs telling you where to go, you just had to know. He had to ask four different people to find the studio drawing class.

Luckily, he made it to the classroom with a bit of time to spare. Sirius wound his way through the room looking for a seat. There was a platform in the middle of the room, with an empty chair and a ring of easels surrounding it. Sirius gripped his portfolio case, trying not to knock it into people. Since he was cutting it close, there was only one seat left. He made his way around to it, sliding his large black case next to the wall.

The life-drawing model made his way into the centre of the room. Right as Sirius turned around, he dropped his robe and was standing completely naked in the centre of the circle. Sirius's eyes popped wide open, and he tripped over the foot of the person next to him. He tried to catch himself, but managed to knock the tea out of his classmates hand. It tumbled to the ground, slapping onto his shoes.

Sirius cursed under his breath. He tried to apologize for spilling the tea, but he felt his face flush. He just gaped at him. The man sitting next to him was cute, really cute. He had a mess of sandy brown curls atop his head, freckles littered along his cheeks and striking amber eyes. He felt immediately drawn to him.

"What have you never seen a naked man before?" The guy joked.

Sirius felt completely mortified. "What- I- " he spluttered.

The man made to open his mouth again, but the teacher cut him off.

Life drawing was not Sirius's thing, he didn't enjoy drawing. He was trying his best but was finding it hard to translate what he was seeing in front of him onto paper. He spent the entire first half of the class growing more and more frustrated. Until finally the teacher told them it was time for a break.

Sirius had 15 minutes. He didn't want to go too far from the classroom because he was worried he wouldn't find his way back. But he felt awful for knocking over that boy's tea. So, he rushed across campus finding a small coffee shop. He ordered his usual black coffee and then got tea for his classmate. He had no clue what he even drank, or what he took in it. The tea he had spilled looked like it had been black tea, so he went for an earl grey while grabbing a handful of sugar packets and milk creamers.

Then he rushed back across campus. He was sure he knew the way. Left. Right. Right again. Left. Left. And then he skidded in front of the door to the studio. Success!

Sirius found he was a bit early. Only a few students began returning to their seats. The man was still there. He was talking to a girl with wavy ginger hair, who was sitting on the other side of him. It occurred to Sirius that this might be his girlfriend, she might think Sirius buying him a tea was a really strange thing to do. But there was no going back at this point. What was he going to do? Pretend he got two drinks? They would think he was so strange sitting there with a handful of sugar packets. Now that he thought of it, he had got more sugar and milk than anyone would ever need. Seven sugar packets were sitting in his hand. But he had already committed. There was no going back.

After sitting down, Sirius waited for a break in the two's conversation. The perfect moment presented itself. The girl reached down into her bag and started looking for something within it. Sirius cleared his throat, turning his body towards the man. When he caught his eyes, Sirius awkwardly pushed the tea out between the two of them. "I got you this," he said, biting his lip. He held up the other hand full of sugar and milk.

"And this…"

"Thanks," the boy said, his lips tugged up at the sides, pink creeping across the bridge of his nose, filling in the spaces between his freckles. He took the tea and placed it down beside his easel before grabbing the milk and sugar.

"It's earl grey," Sirius explained, feeling stupid. "I don't know if you like that."

"I do," he chuckled.

"I won't get offended if you don't drink it."

"I like all tea."

"Oh, good," he said, smiling smugly. "I'm Sirius."

"Remus."

Sirius's eyes darted to the girl next to him, who was eyeing them. "This is my friend Lily. Lily this is Sirius." She waved at him, smiling.

When the teacher came back in, Sirius pulled his unruly black hair out of his face, then returned to his frustration. He huffed as his pencil broke and he frantically tried to sharpen it. The teacher walked behind him, looking at his paper. She gave him a few suggestions and then looked at him, assessing him. "What do you want to major in?"

"Photography."

She nodded knowingly. "You draw like a photographer."

As she walked away, Sirius could hear Remus laughing next to him. He scowled at him. "No need to rub it in."

He exhaled sharply through his nose. Sirius was used to being good at art, without needing to try. He had never loved drawing, but he, Marlene, and James had always been the best artists at his school. There weren't many people to compete with, even in the art mediums he wasn't as good at. As he walked around the room during the break, he couldn't help but compare his work to the others clipped to the easels around the room. Everyone was unquestionably talented. He felt silly. Of course, they were going to be good. This was one of the best art schools in the country. He just thought that he was as good as everyone else. In that moment, he was feeling rather inadequate.

"Draw like a photographer," he muttered, mostly to himself. "What does that even mean?"

Remus tilted his head, looking at Sirius's page. "I think it's the shading," he told him. "You're doing it too dark. You're looking at it like it's a high-contrast photo. You're seeing it how you would want to take a photo of it. The light in here is softer, more defused." Remus picked up his pencil, leaning into Sirius. He smelled of spice and cloves, underlying hints of sage.

Sirius's breath hitched as Remus's arm brushed his, as he cross-hatched a part of the drawing that Sirius had not gotten to yet. His strokes were lighter and blended better than his.

Remus sat back, looking at it. "See?"

"You make it look so easy," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. But when he went back to his drawing, he tried to replicate what Remus had done. Finding he was having more success. "Want to tutor me in drawing?" Sirius whispered, gaining a small laugh from Remus.

As the two packed up their things, at the end of class, they learned that they all lived in the same dorm. The three agreed to walk back together.

Marlene was leaning on a set of lockers across the hall from the studio waiting for him. Sirius didn't see her at first, causing her to shout, "hey dickhead! Introduce me to your friends."

"Sorry, Mar!" He said. "I didn't see you there. This is Lily and Remus."

Marlene looked Lily up and down, clearly checking out her outfit. Lily was wearing an oversized denim jacket, with a soft plush pink sweater underneath it. "I love this sweater," Marlene gushed, looping her arm into Lily's. The two began chattering about where she got it from.

Sirius and Remus trailed behind them, Remus glancing at Sirius as they walked. "Is she your…"

"My what?" Sirius asked, slow to pick up on the social cue.

"Your girlfriend," Remus said, not meeting Sirius's eyes, red creeping up the back of his neck.

"Oh, Mar?" Sirius said, slapping his hand to his forehead. "No, we grew up together. She's my best friend. You and Lily?"

"Same," Remus said, a hint of satisfaction in his tone.

"We should hang out sometime," Sirius offered.

"I would like that." He rummaged in his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. Remus typed into it before handing it to Sirius, getting his phone number.