Chapter xiii
Regulus expected various things when he got into James’s car: scolding for his self-deprecating “jokes” that they both knew were serious, or maybe some further pushing to do the quartet. What he hadn’t expected was for James to look dead serious and stare at him.
“You need to be nice to Pete,” the older man said solemnly.
What?
Regulus didn’t even know where to start with that, but he figured understanding the situation would help.
“Who the fuck is ‘Pete’?”
Which James didn’t seem particularly pleased at.
“I’m not joking, Reg. He’s a good guy, and Sirius and I won’t stand for you being mean to him. He’s our friend.”
That didn’t answer Regulus’s question. Sirius and James, social fucking butterflies that they were, had quite a few friends. Most of whom probably thought Regulus was a jerk.
“That’s great, James, really, I’m happy for you. Doesn’t change the fact that I’ve no blasted idea who this elusive ‘Pete’ is.”
This seemed to aggravate James even more, which Regulus found more entertaining than was strictly necessary. “Oh, now you’re just being thick on purpose. Pete’s obviously short for Peter.”
This did nothing to clear up the situation for Regulus, who had no idea who ‘Peter’ was, either.
“Who the f-” Regulus’s eyes rolled despite his better efforts. “Timmy? Timmy’s name is Peter?”
Now it was James’s turn to be confused. “Timmy? Who- no, Peter is not Timmy, Peter is Peter. Who is Timmy?”
“Peter, apparently,” Regulus answered, being purposefully oblivious just to get on James’s nerves.
“No, Peter is Peter!” James argued, frowning at Regulus. “I have no idea who this Timmy prat is.”
“Might hurt his feelings to hear you say that, seeing as he’s always hanging around you. He was just in your car, you really should remember. Do you have a terrible short-term memory, James?” Regulus was having more fun with this than he should’ve, but it was just too easy.
It took James a moment to figure out what Reg was talking about, but he eventually did, leaning back into his seat, closing his eyes, and sighing. “Timmy is Peter.”
“Like I said,” Regulus confirmed.
“And why is Pete ‘Timmy’?” James asked, seeming exhausted by their conversation.
“Well, what else was I supposed to call him?”
“His name?” James suggested, seeming ready to roll his eyes. He didn’t, though, the restraint of which Regulus admired.
“Couldn’t do that when I had no idea what it was, could I?”
James didn't seem to want to respond to this. “Right. Well. Be nice to T- fucking hell, I mean Peter. Be nice to Peter. This is your fault, Reg.”
Regulus wasn’t particularly repentant at the revelation that he was, in fact, to blame. “I’ll be so nice,” he lied. “Kisses on the lips and everything. Happy? Now will you please take me back to my dorm before Pandora burns it down?”
James didn’t seem pleased with that answer, but he started his car anyway. “Just don’t purposefully traumatize him.”
Regulus didn’t quite want to make that commitment, but he truly was scared for the safety of the dorm if Pandora was left alone in it for too long. “Fine.”
James accepted the answer and started driving. It was silent between them for a while, and Regulus found it almost comfortable. He didn’t feel the need to prove or refute anything, at least.
But it didn’t last forever. “It matters to Sirius that you get along with us. He won’t say it, but it matters.”
Regulus wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He missed the silence. Before he could figure out how to kill the topic of conversation, James started again. “You’re already so close. Rem and I- we like you, and I think you like us. Just- give Pete a chance. For Sirius.”
“I’m not the type of person to have friends. I can’t just- make myself magically get along with him. And at this point, I don’t want to.”
“See, but that’s the thing,” James said, his voice tense with emphasis. “You guys would get along great if you just gave him a chance! I know it, he’s not what you think.”
And Regulus was tiring of the discussion. “James, drop it. We’re not going to be friends. I don’t like him.”
“But you don’t even know him,” James argued back, his voice getting louder as he got more upset. “You can’t dislike him, you don’t know anything about him.”
And Regulus was done with the discussion. “No? Well, I know he thinks it’s his place to get involved in my life when it’s not,” he argued, not bothering to keep his voice kind. He didn’t want to have to defend himself on this. “I know he thinks my weight is an appropriate topic of discussion. Which it is not. I know he thinks I’m unstable and an asshole. So. Be friends with him, I don’t care, but I won’t.”
Finally, James was silent.
It was less comfortable than Regulus had hoped it would be.
And it dragged on. James kept driving, staring ahead as if he was looking into the future. By the look of his expression, the future wasn’t particularly nice. And Regulus didn’t like it. But he wasn’t going to interrupt his hard-earned quiet.
James didn’t talk as he parked outside of Regulus’s dorm building. He didn’t talk as Regulus unbuckled his seatbelt. He didn’t talk as Regulus reached for the passenger-side door handle. And Regulus really didn’t like it.
“Thanks for the ride, James.”
James stared at him for a long moment, still not talking. It was so uncomfortable, and Regulus just wanted out. Out.
But then, as Regulus pushed the truck’s door open, James’s voice made its appearance. “I’ll text you to explain things. Just- please, Reg, try not to hate Pete. He- just keep an open mind. I’ll explain.”
And Regulus didn’t want to agree. He didn’t want to like Peter, he didn’t even want to keep the option of liking Peter open. But there was something in James’s expression.
“Fine.”
And he left the car, closing the door behind himself, and walked to his dorm.
And it was quiet.