(A/N): Hey Guys! Sorry, I pretty much just passed out last night... I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing your recognise.

Remus

"I can't believe he lied to us!" Elaine growled, pacing a short line in front of the table I sat at.

"Again," I reminded her dryly.

Her eyes flicked to me, stuck in a constant glower, but before she could vent further, we became aware of the fact we were no longer alone. We hadn't expected to be, at least not for long. "He can hear you, you know," Leo announced as he entered, but Elaine just rolled her eyes at him.

She crossed her arms over her chest and sniped, "You lied. Therefore, you have no say." Leo frowned, dropping into the seat beside mine.

"Well, it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter."

Elaine stopped pacing, and we both turned to stare at him. "What?" She asked, but Leo shrugged.

"What do you mean, 'you had no choice'?" I repeated, and Leo smiled.

"Stop paraphrasing. Besides, you think Brooke wanted it to get out that she was half-veela? No! And she has a lot of dirt on me, so I couldn't tell you anything." Elaine's eyebrows furrowed.

"What does she know that we don't?"

The door banged shut, obviously on purpose, and there stood Brooke with her arms crossed much like Elaine's had been, though she hadn't been wearing a smirk like Brooke was. "Oh, I know all of Leo's dirty little secrets," She said slyly, moving forward to trail a hand across the width of Leo's shoulders.

"What secrets could possibly be left?" Elaine asked bluntly, her anger and frustration leaking into her voice, but Leo just smiled softly at her.

"They aren't necessarily big secrets, like my heritage, but they're still things I wouldn't to get out."

Brooke shrugged smugly, leaning down to position her head next to his. "And I know all of them." Leo winced slightly.

"Most of them." Her eyes widened, and flicked sideways to stare at him.

"'Most'?"

Elaine failed to hide her laughter- or maybe she didn't even try- and I, too, watched on in amusement. "Well, I do need some secrets," Leo reasoned, and Elaine rolled her eyes at him.

"You have secrets Leo- many, many secrets." He shook his head, though he was still smiling slightly- Elaine tended to have that effect on him.

"I meant private secrets. Private."

We all stared at him, though Elaine looked especially aggrieved. "I don't have any secrets, I don't see why it matters to you so much." My eyebrows jumped upward at such a claim.

"Yes, you do."

She paused briefly, then reluctantly nodded. "Right, yeah. Yeah, I do." Leo laid a hand over hers in an attempt to comfort her, and it was a testament to the kind of relationship they had that she accepted it, even though she was as cross with him as she was.

"Ooh, secrets!" Brooke cooed eagerly, and the warning look Leo shot her way went unheeded.

"It's not something I like to talk about," Elaine said stiffly, and Brooke became serious in an instant.

She paused for a second to looking Elaine over, then rather bluntly announced her verdict- "Abuse." Elaine blinked in surprise.

"How did you-? How did she do that?" The second question was directed at Leo, whose brows had drawn together slightly- though whether that was because of the uncomfortable subject matter Brooke had brought up, or because he didn't like the fact that Elaine was the person on the other end of the conversation, I couldn't tell.

"I'm guessing she saw your scars," He said, and Brooke shrugged, smiling somewhat sadly.

"That, and the way you carry yourself. Leo's exactly the same- so closed off, and afraid of looking weak."

Leo's gaze dropped to the ground, whereas Elaine looked her dead in the eye- a clear, defiant challenge. "I'm not afraid of anything,"She said, and Brooke pursed her lips.

"Maybe you're not," She acknowledged, only to finish things up with, "Nothing except your daddy, that is."

(A/N): So, what did you think?

Please review and/or check out my other stories!

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 30/12/22 - here to hear, you're to your.

This chapter has had edits made to it on 13/3/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring of sentences so they make more sense.