sink or swim - r.a.b

𐙚 chap. 15

It had been around a month since you'd gotten back from Christmas break, and everything had gotten back into schedule. Well, except for a few things. Sirius hadn't given up the idea that you were in love with his brother, and now Pandora was in on it, too.

You had done your best to ignore their teasing, and considering your stubborn nature, even if you did have feelings for Regulus, since they had brought it up before you knew yourself, you would never act on those feelings. After you snapped at Sirius, saying something almost exactly like that, he stopped teasing you about it, but you had a feeling that he was still talking to James about it.

The strangest part of the whole situation was that you didn't exactly mind the idea of you and Regulus together. Maybe it was the way he combed his hair out of his eyes with his pale, ring-adorned fingers. Maybe it was the way his grey-green eyes lit up when he figured out the answer to a question on the Defense of the Dark Arts homework. You didn't know.

What you did know, was that Remus was looking at Sirius the same way that Pandora described you looking at Regulus. It was probably just the Black family charm that seemed to entrap everyone and everything. But then again, Sirius would return that look when Remus was pre-occupied with something else.

After looking at the situation from angle to angle, you decided there was no sense to it. The same way there was no sense to how magic worked, or paintings talked.

⋅˚₊‧ 𐙚 ‧₊˚ ⋅

Looking up at your ceiling was not an ideal way to spend your afternoon, yet here you were. February fourteenth, the dreaded Valentine's day. Pandora and Emi had finally started going out, so they were in Hogsmeade together, enjoying their Friday afternoon. The boys simply decided to go reek havoc in Honey Duke's, and you hand no idea where the Slytherins were.

You slid off of your bed, and ended up in a sitting position beside your duvet that fell down with you. After peering around your room, looking for something to do, you'd drawn a blank. Sighing, you stood up, and threw you duvet back onto your bed.

You pulled on a sweater, and decided you leave you sweats that enveloped your legs on, opting for slipping on some slippers before finally coming out of your dorm. Meals usually ran late on holidays and weekends, so you began making your way to the great hall.

Upon entry, you saw that there was indeed lunch still going on. It was nearly empty other than a small group at the Slytherin table, and a few fellow singles scattered around. You peered over to the Slytherin table, and squinted in an attempt to see their faces in higher definition. You did recognize a mop of curly black hair, but that didn't necessarily mean it was Regulus. Until you recognized Barty's frosted tips, and Evan's unruly blonde hair.

After you made your way over to them, you also saw Dorcas squashed in between Regulus and Barty. The sight made something swirl in your stomach, but you had no idea what it was. You cleared your throat in an attempt to get the groups attention, and only Regulus picked the sound up, Barty seemed too busy staring at Evan, who was stuffing food into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten for days, and Dorcas seemed too lost in thought.

"Oh, hello [Y/N]." Regulus spoke up. "Fancy seeing you here, I thought you'd be in Hogsmeade with our dearest brothers." He added on sarcastically.
"Oh, yes because being in a crowded little town on Valentine's sounds just great." You replied, the sarcasm carrying into your voice.
"Do sit down. I don't bite, although I'm not sure about those two." He gestured toward Barty and Evan.

After not-so gracefully falling into the spot beside Regulus, you looked around the table for something that looked appealing. There seemed to be nothing, and when you found something, it was cold. Great, you thought to yourself. That's what i get for staying in bed 'till late. After deciding it was useless to continue your search, you turned to the Slytherins you were sitting beside.

Regulus seemed all to entranced by the apple he was holding up, and the other three were deep in a conversation about gods know what. You couldn't help but notice the way that the light fell onto Regulus, making him look almost ethereal. Soon after making that observation, you realized that the two of you were together on Valentine's day, and couldn't stop your mind from wandering to the possibility of a date.

You quickly tried to push the thought out of you mind, having to remind yourself that the two of you were strictly just friends, and that even if you did have feelings for him, James and Sirius would not let that slide in any messed up universe. Sure, Sirius was under the illusion that you were in love with Regulus, but it was most likely just a jest, a sick one at that.

All of the sudden, your mind was flooded with 'what if's that you did not want to entertain at the current moment. The worst part of it was that you couldn't stop thinking about them. What if you didn't have to leave the ball early that night? Would things have played out differently after you'd drank too much champagne?

You had no idea, and didn't want to think about it longer than needed. It was just a passing thought floating around anyways. "[Y/N]?" Regulus' voice pulled you from your thoughts.
"Oh," You cleared your throat. "yeah?"
"You okay, you seem very.. out of it today." He replied. "Trust me, I don't doubt that we have similar opinions on how stupid this day of love is, but you seem.. off."
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about how I need to review my notes sometime soon so I don't fail the test in Slughorn's class. You know I'm lousy at potions."
He nodded sagely. "Yeah, that'd probably be a good thing to do." He paused. "If you need help revising, just come down to the common room later, I can help."
"Oh, yeah I'll be sure to." You responded. He smiled slightly at your response, and you didn't know how to feel at the butterflies in your stomach. He looked over at the group of Slytherins that were now getting up.
"I guess I'll see you later?" He asked as he got up to join them.
"It's a date," You responded without thinking.

A/N
___
you guys really thought i was gonna stop
disappearing on you, didn't you?
yeah.. no sorry not sorry!

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