Rotten To The Core

Their first day in Udiria was going fine so far. They had all found their dorms easily, thank god they had put Regulus and Remus together, same with Marlene and Mary. It definitely took some getting used to since they were all accustomed to the dark colours and messy streets, whereas here everything was bright and in pristine condition, like no one ever lived there. At least they didn’t have to wear uniforms, Regulus would rather drown than wear any of those fancy, colourful suits everyone seemed to wear most of the time. But he didn’t have to, they were free to wear whatever they want, so Regulus stayed in what he was most comfortable in: his black jeans, dark red t-shirt, and black hoodie, topped off with a leather jacket over it. They went to lessons, just as everyone else did, but theirs were a bit different. Instead of the usual English and history and science, they had goodness class with Professor McGonagall. As much as he wanted to hate it though, he couldn’t hide the fact that he actually quite liked the professor. The way she was nice but also stern enough so that you didn’t get too comfortable with her. It was nice to have someone be less over-the-top with their welcome. At lunch they went down to get food, which for that day was burgers and chips, and sat outside eating. They were happy to find that the food in Udiria wasn’t as bug-infested as on the Isle, and tasted a whole lot better. 

After their first day of school had finished and they were left to do their own thing, Marlene had gone down to the sports field to try out for the football team, and Remus and Mary had gone to see if they could find Lily so Regulus was sat in his dorm by himself, trying to make the room less.. bright? He just wanted it to feel more like home because, in all honesty, all the different colours were giving him a headache. He was just trying to find a way to cover up the curtains when someone knocked at the door. No one else would come by so he just assumed it was Remus and went to open the door, and he was surprised to see James on the other side. 

“Hey Regulus!” James said, his face lighting up when he saw who opened the door. Regulus smiled slightly in greeting after being brought to silence when he saw James. God he had forgotten how good looking he was. But not in an ‘I’m attracted to you’ way but a ‘yeah, you look good’ way. Regulus hated himself for even thinking that it was in an ‘I’m attracted to you’ way. 

“I didn’t see you around at all today so I just wanted to check that everything went well.” He looked around the room, seeing what Regulus was trying to do. “Nice decorating, i really like the lack of light” Regulus laughed at his sarcastic comment, despite his attempt at keeping serious “but yeah, how’d your first day go?”

“It was fine I guess, I mean it’s nice to know you made an effort to accommodate to us being here. You know, the whole goodness class thing” Regulus said

“Oh- oh no that wasn’t my idea I swear. My parents thought it would be safest to include it just in case. Not that I think you guys need it, I’m sure you’ll turn out fine. Not that you’re not already fine but-” James kept trying to correct himself.

“James, it’s fine, I was joking. Jesus there’s no need to get so worked up. I thought it was kinda funny to be honest.”

“Really? Oh thank god” James sighed with relief “for a second I was worried I had already messed things up.” Regulus was looking right into James’ eyes, he couldn’t help it. They were a deep shade of brown, yet they had little bits of yellow and orange weaving their ways out from his pupils. Regulus could read every emotion he was feeling just from looking into his eyes for that long, it was like looking through a gateway into a part of someone that others were never meant to see, but he was letting Regulus in. He was allowing him to see every part of his mind, just through his eyes. 

“You seem like you’re not a very good liar. You’d be terrible at poker too.”

“What! Why? I happen to be a very good liar” James sounded offended, but in a joking way, like he didn't really mean it and was just playing it for fun.

“Your eyes. I can see everything you’re feeling just by looking at them, and I could tell that you were lying about being a good liar so maybe try harder next time.” 

“Well what can you see in them now?” James asked, looking at Regulus.

“I can see where you’re looking for one thing, eyes up here love” Blushing slightly, James instantly brought his eyes up to meet Regulus’. 

“I can tell you what I see” James said, leaning slightly closer to Regulus “I can see that your flies are down” he whispered. Regulus looked down and quickly pulled his zipper up, feeling very embarrassed that he had to be told that by a prince. And not just any prince, but James. But it didn’t seem like that much a deal to James, he was too busy laughing at Regulus’ reaction.

“Oh ha ha very funny” 

“I’m sorry I’m sorry! Oh god that was bloody brilliant.” James said, still laughing but trying to compose himself. He finally managed to catch his breath, but carried on grinning. “I mean what did you think I was gonna say? I’m not as good at reading people as you” Regulus rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep a small smile from tugging at his lips.

“Just wait, I’ll find a way to get you back for that your highness.”

“Oh how awful! I’m utterly terrified” James said jokingly, leaning against the wall dramatically. “Anyways, I'm glad you’re feeling more comfortable than this morning. You really seem to loosen up when it’s just us” Regulus felt warmth at James’ words but quickly hid it with a smirk “Careful James, you might actually start to like me”

“Who says I don’t already?” James said, not showing a single sign of a joke. There was a moment of silence, the air around them charged with a new kind of tension. Regulus’ heart skipped a beat as he tried to hide his surprise at James’ words. 

“Anyways,” James clapped, breaking the silence “I’ve gotta go, royal stuff. But I’ll see you round Reg. And remember, I’m always here if you have any questions. Oh and uh, keep those flies up why don’t you.” and with that, he winked at Regulus and walked out the door. Regulus quickly closed the door, feeling overcome by this new feeling. He was never going to forget that conversation. The way James was so close to him, the way he looked at him with those hazel eyes that went on forever. He fell back onto his bed, going over that moment in his mind until he realised. Holy shit. He didn't know exactly what this feeling was, but he definitely felt something for James.