crush?
Regulus was quite proud of himself. Really. His ceaseless longing for James Potter had made it so much easier to ignore the allure of anyone else’s blood. He’d spent half a day in the school already, without wanting to bite anyone except for James. That one scent he got when they crossed each other in the hall lingered on his senses for hours, making all other blood seem like sewer water in comparison.
In the bathroom he visited for no other reason than to avoid the suspicion he would attract if he never did, he met the other new kid. He looked an easy victim, but he didn’t have much to offer either, so Regulus left him alone. Or at least he wanted to.
“You’re the one they talked about in class, right? The other new kid?”, the chubby boy had asked as he washed his hands.
“Yes”, Regulus had given the shortest answer possible. He didn’t really feel like starting a lot of small talk with humans and he’d rather just get out of there.
“I’ve heard you were related to Sirius Potter?”, the boy asked either way.
“Sirius Black”, Regulus as good as spat in his face. Sirius was his brother. No one else’s. And whether he liked it or not, Regulus would always count him amongst his own family. He couldn’t escape his last name. Not on Regulus’ watch.
“Black?”, echoed Peter, “…interesting. So you are…?”
“Regulus Black. His real brother.”
“I see…”, Peter hummed, something cautious in his eyes caught Regulus’ attention. “Well, nice to meet you, Regulus. I’ll see you around”, the mousy boy then quickly said as he got out of the bathroom. I better not have made a human friend just now, was all Regulus could really think off. That wasn’t why he was here at all. He only wanted James to trust him. And copying Sirius seemed like the only way to achieve that goal. He had to live amongst humans, prove he meant them no harm, just like Sirius was doing, or at least keep the act up until school was over. Only that way he could get closer to James. It was the only way to ever manage to get the two of them in alone in a room. Then he could finally take everything he has been longing for.
Regulus looked down at his watch. Only four more hours to go. Then he could find a new prey and feed again. His mother had noticed him eating less, lately and his mind might tell him he wasn’t hungry for anyone beside James anymore, but his body still needed blood. He started regretting not biting the chubby kid when he got the chance, even though it would have completely blown his cover. At least that way he’d have the energy to make it through the day. Now he’d just have to endure it a little longer.
In the cafeteria, it was pure curiosity that made him actually get a plate of human food and stare down at the rubbish Sirius managed to shove down his throat. He risked a whiff and it was not that it really smelled that bad; it was more that tree bark or grass smelled about the same, and you wouldn’t catch him eating that either.
“Displeased with our school’s menu, new kid?”, asked a blonde boy who sat down across the table.
“Just not hungry”, Regulus lied.
“Say no more”, the blonde’s friend said while already stealing the food right out of his plate.
The blonde sighed. “Please excuse his behaviour. Barty knows no boundaries.”
“You don’t make such a problem of that when we’re alone, Rosie”, Barty said with his mouth full of food and a suggestive wink.
“My name is Evan, by the way. Not ‘Rosie’. That’s just what he likes to call me”, Evan quickly cleared up for Regulus.
“I’m Regulus.”
“Yeah, so I’ve heard. It’s strange. New kids spend their entire first days introducing themselves to everyone they meet, yet everybody has already caught their name somewhere else”, Evan noticed.
“It’s basic politeness”, Regulus stated. “Wouldn’t want a whole bunch of humans to think I’m some rude piece of shit.”
Evan let out a sniffle laugh. “You’re a strange young man, Regulus. Who refers to people as ‘humans’?”
“Aliens”, Barty remarked in such a way that Regulus could see all the chewed up food turn in his mouth. His stomach turned along with it.
“Oh, yes, I forgot to mention... I’m from Mars, actually”, Regulus went along with it, earning some more laughter. Maybe he did want to make some friends around here, even if they were human. How else could he ever make his act look realistic. And these two boys in front of him looked just a little less pathetic and whiny as other humans, so they seemed like a good place to start.
“From Mars? Really? How’s the weather there?”, Evan kept the joke going. “Not very sunny, I suppose, judging from your skin.”
Regulus had tried his best to give his cheeks some colour with a little make-up, just enough to look, you know, alive; but he was still very pale. He had judged that wouldn’t blow his cover, since Sirius was pale as well and no one suspected him. “No, not sunny at all…”, he responded, but his voice died down when he noticed James getting up. He’d been eyeing him the entire time and he kept doing so as he walked past their table to get to the trash can. Only for a second they made eye contact, but then James fixed his gaze on his tray again. He had walked just close enough for Regulus to smell him again, and his scent nearly got his fangs to out on their own.
“-hello? Earth to Regulus…? Or Mars…”, Evan snapped him back to reality. “You’ve got a little crush there already? On your first day?”
“Crush?”
“James Potter”, Barty huffed. “You like the bastard, don’t you?”
“I-i…”, Regulus stumbled over his words as he tried to deny it. Vampires didn’t get crushes on humans. And as far as Regulus knew, boys didn’t get crushes on other boys either, no matter the species. James just attracted him in other ways he couldn’t possibly explain to these humans.
“It’s alright”, Evan reassured him with a smug smirk. “But don’t be fooled by his good looks. Potter is a real piece of work…”, he huffed.
“And he’s head over heels for that ginger bookworm”, Barty added. “Lily Evans.”
Something about this information stung Regulus. He shouldn’t care who his preys had romantic relations with; it really didn’t make a difference for their blood. But the thought of James Potter being as infatuated with some girl as much as Regulus was infatuated with him, for whatever reason, made him sick to the bone.
Barty scoffed as he gauged his reaction. “Jealous? You’ll get over it soon enough. James Potter is not worth your time.”
“You’re one to talk”, Evan sneered. “You bullied my ex-girlfriend for a year because you were jealous of her…”
“And I have no regrets”, Barty claimed. “Aren’t you glad I fought to have you, Rosie?”, he asked while throwing his arm over his (apparent) boyfriends shoulder and kissing his cheek. Regulus frowned at it.
“You’re a couple?”, he asked.
“Yes, what about it?”, Barty asked. His grip around Evan’s shoulders became noticeably firmer as they both scowled at Regulus, like they were rethinking their entire decision to ever talk to him.
“It’s just…”-
“You some sort of homophobe?”, Barty asked before he could finish his sentence. The look in his eyes told Regulus very clearly he would gladly beat him the fuck up right in the middle of this cafeteria if he gave the wrong answer.
“No!”, Regulus quickly said, holding his hands defensively in front of him. “It’s just… I’ve never seen something… like that before.” It was true. Although he had been around for about a thousand years, most of his time was spent entirely with his family, who very much frowned upon anything divergent of tradition. The only contact with humans he had had up until know were the teeny tiny short interactions before he sank his teeth in their skin and sucked the blood out of their body until they either passed out or died, and between all the terrified begging for their lives and the fighting back, there was never really any time left to chat about their love lives.
“Okay. Now you have, so stop being a prick about it”, Evan said and they moved on to a different conversation. By the end of the lunch break, Regulus had to admit he actually enjoyed their company. If he just ignored the fact that they were human and if he just didn’t listen to their heartbeats for a moment, it was almost as if he were talking to other vampires. He could almost look at them like they were actually something worth spending his time with. Of course that wasn’t entirely true. He knew damn well he could still kill either of them if he ever caught them alone, if he was just hungry enough. But for now, it wasn’t too bad to at least pretend they were friends.