Chapter 14
James didn’t know what he was witnessing.
He had been on lunch in the afternoon with Sirius and Remus, and the boys decided they wanted to go to the beach after. James felt like a third wheel (nothing new really), so he decided to take Evan along too. Evan however, did not answer any of James’ texts or calls, so James decided to see if he was home and had a good reason to not react.
Evan fell asleep easily, you see. So if Evan fell asleep, he wouldn’t react to his messages. That made sense to James. He told himself that was the reason, and not because Evan was once again sneaking off to do some weird ‘errands’.
He knocked on the door, but got no reaction. He could vaguely hear music coming from inside, so Evan must’ve been home. ‘Ev?!’ James yelled, not sure if his boyfriend could hear him inside. Probably not, because he didn’t open the door. Or maybe he was ignoring James. Was something wrong? Was something going on?
No quiero vivir con otro desamor. No otra vez.
James was pulled out of his spiral by Sirius, who pushed him aside and unlocked the door. James gaped at him. ‘How? Where? You have a key?’ James asked, appalled. ‘Nah, he left his key underneath the flowerpot. It’s so obvious too,’ Sirius said, putting the key back and shrugging. ‘After you, Remus,’ Sirius said, giving James a wink and walking in after Remus, who sighed deeply and shook his head.
Sirius was the first to stop halfway into the house. His eyes became wide and his mouth dropped open. James was still in thought when he bumped into Sirius, who turned his head to give him the shocked look. ‘Sorry, man. What? What’s wrong?’ James asked, frowning and looking at Remus whose eyes were definitely staring at something else than Sirius. James looked into the house while asking ‘why are you both-’, but stopped halfway and felt his cheeks becoming redder every second that passed. ‘Oh,’ he punched out, shocked.
Because Evan was, he was dancing. And not like the waltz or something or just a little dance he did to his own music. No, Evan was dancing to Spanish music, in a latin style. It looked like he was dancing bachata, but then alone instead of with a partner.
He was moving as if he’d done this his whole life, though the big, frustrated frown on his face told differently. ‘Look at those hips, James. He moves better than me, and I’ve been practising for years,’ Sirius muttered, his eyes glued to Evan’s body. ‘He’s really good at it. This can’t be his first time,’ Remus said, his voice soft so as to not disturb Evan. ‘I’m sure it is. I wasn’t allowed to dance, so he definitely wouldn’t be allowed to dance,’ Sirius said in a breathy voice. This seemed to catch Remus’ attention, because his eyes let go of Evan and gave Sirius a look.
‘You’re not catching feelings for James’ boyfriend, are you?’ he said, his voice suddenly irritated. ‘Nah. But what’s the harm in a little crush?’ Sirius said, still staring at Evan. James didn’t hear it though. He was slowly walking towards Evan, who had his back turned to the three of them. He smiled when the next song came on and he carefully moved close enough to Evan to grab his waist.
‘You need to move the hips a little more. Like this,’ he whispered, carefully guiding Evan’s hips who went freely in his grip. James could see his frown slowly disappearing and being replaced with a smile. They stayed like that for a little over a minute, dancing together to the rhythm, until Evan suddenly became stiff in James’ hands and turned around.
‘What are you doing here? Huh? How’d you get in? Why? How? I- I,’ Evan said, his eyes growing wide from shock. He stepped away from James’ grip and his cheeks became red. ‘I am so- oh Dieu, I am making the biggest loser of myself like this, huh?’ he muttered, looking up at James with bright green eyes. ‘No! No, you’re not. Ev, this- you, your moves. All of it is… awesome. Have you ever danced before?’ James asked, his eyes filled with awe as he stared down at Evan.
‘No. Wasn’t really allowed to do anything other than waltzing and I was terrible at that,’ Evan told him. His hair was a little wild, and James had a wild thought about making it look even wilder than it did now. ‘You move like a natural, Ev. I think you’ve just found your calling,’ James muttered, his eyes dropping down to Evan’s hips which had started to subconsciously move along the rhythm again.
‘I uh… Thanks?’ he said, smiling shyly. ‘It was supposed to be a surprise. Since I found out you’re Spanish, I thought you’d like going to the Spanish dancing club around the corner, but I had to have a few moves ready when I did take you…’ he muttered, his eyes on the floor. James kissed his teeth to prevent himself from full on making out with Evan while Sirius and Remus were watching.
‘Evan, that’s one of the sweetest things someone has ever done for me,’ James admitted, his gaze tracing Evans body before falling back on his eyes. They dropped down to Evan’s mouth quickly, but Evan noticed it. ‘You can. You always can, James. You know that right?’ Evan asked, smiling a little bit. ‘Yeah, I know. But Sirius and Remus are watching and I’m not sure if I can keep it to just kissing when I’m so turned on as I am now,’ he whispered back, leaning down to whisper in Evan’s ears.
‘But we have no plans tonight. If you want to, I can always teach you to dance. People say a private tutor is more effective than a class anyways,’ James whispered in Evan’s ear. He saw Evan’s neck turn red, and brought some space between the two of them to look at Evan’s bright red cheeks. Evan was full on, open mouthed, staring at him. ‘Now I think I realise why Regulus is so hellbent on keeping you for himself, Jesus,’ Evan muttered, still staring at James with open mouth. ‘I’m James, not Jesus. But uh… thanks?’ he asked, not really sure who he was asking.
Evan let his head rest on James’ shoulder, softly shaking from his silent laughs. They were in their own little bubble. A calm place where Evan could just be, and James could see him for who he really was. Because he had never really seen Evan as anything else than Regulus’ friend, but now he could see there was so much more to the blonde haired boy than he knew. James felt overwhelmed with the urge to protect Evan from all and any harm coming to him.
A loud cough interrupted James’ thoughts, and his head, along with Evan’s, shot up to look at Sirius who was raising both eyebrows at them. ‘He’s hot, we get it James, but I’m also hot, and I want to go to the beach,’ Sirius said, making Evan frown. Sirius noticed and smirked at him, before winking and turning his gaze back to James.
‘Oh right, the beach,’ James remembered, turning back to Evan and smiling at him. ‘That’s actually why we came here,’ James explained which earned him a soft smile from Evan. ‘You can’t even go one day without me, can you?’ he asked, amused. James shook his head. ‘No I can’t. And especially not with these two.’ He whispered the last sentence so they wouldn’t overhear him, but Sirius still crossed his arms.
‘I heard you, James. What’s so wrong about us?’ Sirius asked, defensively. ‘Nothing, I promise. You’re just uh-’ ‘Incredibly gay for each other, so get over yourselves,’ Evan interrupted him, also crossing his arms and giving Siirus a look that spoke for itself.
‘Okay, I don’t take advice from backstabbing friends, and I’m pretty sure I can figure out my own love life,’ Sirius said, completely missing Remus’ shocked look and red cheeks. James saw it though. He always saw how both boys reacted to each other, and now he could see Remus coming to a realisation of his own.
So before Evan and Sirius could get into another fight, James coughed loudly and grabbed Evan's arm, pulling him to his bedroom, and leaving Sirius and Remus alone. ‘Let’s not fight with him again. Please?’ James asked, giving Evan a begging look. Evan raised his eyebrow. ‘It’s so fun though,’ he said, grinning. ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you think it’s fun to push his buttons, and I don’t really know how you do it so effortlessly, but please stop. Sirius will hit you, and he hits hard,’ James said, trying to convince him, but Evan just pursed his lips. ‘Nothing I’m not used to.’ He shrugged and grabbed a pair of swimming trunks and a towel from his bathroom.
‘What? Ev!’ James scolded, softly pulling on Evan’s arm to make him look at James. ‘What? I hit Barty and he hits back? Regulus also hits all the time, but that’s just because I’m a little annoying at times. It’s all in good fun,’ Evan explained, frowning at James. ‘That’s not what I mean. I’m trying to get you to stop being so infuriating to Sirius. Let him figure out his own life and stuff. You don’t need to be friends with him, but just be nicer?’ James asked, his eyes desperate. Evan sighed and his grin fell.
‘Listen James, I get that he’s your best friend and all, but Regulus still is one of my friends. And as long as Regulus is not on good terms with him, I’m not. It’s just how it is,’ Evan said, looking at James with resolute eyes. James also heaved a sigh and nodded. ‘But I’ll try to not push his buttons as much as I do,’ Evan added, making James smile. ‘Thank you, Evy.’
‘Anything for you, sweetheart.’
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Okay so, maybe Regulus wasn’t entirely okay after all.
He pretended to be okay. He always did. He never learnt to open up about feelings, so he was always closed off, and maybe a little rude, but now it felt like all that emotion was eating him up from the inside out. He didn’t get why this sudden overwhelming feeling started now. Maybe it was because of everything that had happened.
Maybe it was because he was alone right now. Or maybe it was because he just had sex with Barty, and Barty left right after. Regulus told himself that wasn’t the reason, but it stung, whether or not he ignored the cold hard fact. He knew it would be like this, Barty was always the quick fuck then dash kind of dude, not the aftercare, nor staying to sleep over kind of dude.
But this felt different. Barty always ran because it was over, now it felt like he ran because it wasn’t.
Regulus tried to shake the feeling away, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t forget it. He tried to do something else, put on music to distract his brain, but it didn’t work. Regulus feared he may have started something that could change him entirely, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to change.
He knew he had hurt a lot of people around him. Evan, James, Sirius, but he also knew that he had to. He had to hurt them to make sure they were safe from his self destructiveness. Maybe it was good Barty left, because if Barty created the distance, Regulus wouldn’t have to push him away. He sighed and opened his phone to look for a nonexistent message from Barty. He did have a message from Dorcas though.
10.25 AM
Where are you dork?
I wanna do something fun with you
11.28 AM
What do you mean ‘do something fun?’
I’m on the other side of fucking Europe.
11.30 AM
Nah, Ev didn’t tell you?
You guys are actually fighting so bad that you don’t talk anymore?
11.31 AM
Yes we are. Get to the point.
11.31 AM
Ah okay
I’m in France
Staying over at Evan’s, but Marlene and Ev are both away and I’m bored
This was actually the perfect distraction for Regulus right now. He missed Dorcas, and he was sure she would have some things to say about the current situation.
11.33 AM
Picking you up in ten. Be ready
11.34 AM
Fun! What are we doing?
Regulus didn’t react, because he didn’t have an answer. He put on a clean set of clothes and made his way out of the hotel, grabbing a coffee for the inside of the taxi. He got it now, why Evan bought a scooter. Taxis aren't cheap, and it was terrible to go around on foot. He put on his headphones and stepped into the taxi.
‘Où aller?’ teh driver asked, turning around to face Regulus. Regulus pulled off his headphones again and scowled at him. ‘What?’ he snapped. The driver raised an unimpressed eyebrow. ‘Où aller?’ he repeated, staring at Regulus. Where to? Regulus’ face softened. ‘Oh,’ Regulus muttered, after which he told the driver Evan’s address and put his headphones around his neck. For if the driver had to ask something else.
The driver had great taste in music anyway. He was playing Maisie Peters’ ‘lost the breakup’. One of the songs that was actually in multiple of Regulus’ playlists, even though he was sure he was the one who lost the breakup, not James. ‘Pouvez-vous jouer votre propre musique?’ Regulus asked the driver, who gave him a look through the mirror. His eyes crinkled from a smile, which instinctively made Regulus think of James and his always smiley face. Do you get to play your own music?
‘Ouais. Avantages du travail,’ the driver said, raising an eyebrow at Regulus through the mirror. ‘Tu rends visite à ton ami? Parce que je dois te dire que tu n'es pas le seul garçon à aller à cette adresse,’ the driver asked him, which peaked Regulus’ interest. Yup. Advantages of the job. Are you visiting your boyfriend? Because I must tell you that you're not the only boy going to that address. ‘Qui d'autre est allé ici?’ Regulus asked, sitting up straighter to see more of the driver’s face. He had a slight stubble on his jawline, which made him look older, though Regulus doubted he was older than 20. Who else went here?
The driver scoffed and shook his head. ‘Je ne peux pas vous le dire, mais il était très intéressé par ma vie amoureuse,’ the driver answered, earning an angry ‘Barty’ from Regulus. Can't tell you that, but he was quite interested in my love life. Of course that scumbag was flirting with random French drivers.
He was a dick like that. It just confirmed everything Regulus needed to know. Barty didn’t really care. He never did, never will. Even though he keeps spouting nonsense about Regulus being his ‘first love’. It wasn’t true. Barty didn’t know how to love anyways, just like Regulus.
‘Il était un peu trop dur pour moi. J'aime les plus calmes, comme moi,’ the driver said, noticing that Regulus knew exactly who was in his cab earlier today. He was a bit too rough for me. I like the quiet ones, like myself. Regulus frowned. ‘Cependant, vous n'êtes pas vraiment silencieux.’ The driver’s eyes found Regulus’ through the mirror and he winked. You're not really quiet, though.
‘You’ll never get a chance at romance if you never speak, do you?’ the driver said, his eyes crinkling into a smile again. Regulus frowned for a minute, processing that the driver actually could speak English. He had a slight accent, but it wasn’t as bad as Evan’s when he first came to Britain. ‘You’re not French?’ Regulus asked, completely skimming over the driver’s comment.
‘Nah, I moved here when I was five or so. My dad got a better job here, and my mom wanted to open a restaurant in France,’ the driver said. He pulled over beside Evan’s family house. ‘But that wasn’t the most interesting thing about my move, I hope. You can give the cold hard truth to me, if you’re not interested,’ the driver said. ‘But if you are, here’s my number,’ he said, handing a slip of paper to Regulus who stared at it.
‘You… You’re attracted to… Me?Really?’ he said, eyeing the paper warily. The driver frowned. ‘Why wouldn’t I be? You’re kind of hot, if you don’t mind me saying,’ he answered, smiling shyly at Regulus. ‘No, I don’t mind. Thanks? I uh… I gotta think about it, but I’ll hold on to this. Thank you,’ Regulus muttered, stepping out of the taxi a little flabbergasted.
‘Oh, shit! What do I owe you for the ride?’ Regulus asked, turning around to look at the driver through his open window. The driver smiled at him. ‘It’s on the house. Just think about a date, okay?’ he said, winking and starting his car. Regulus was left on the sidewalk, shocked.
Someone liked him. Someone made a move on him. Wow.
Normally no one dared to even approach him, but the driver wasn’t scared of him. Regulus was losing his edge. He crumpled up the number and put it in his pocket.
He wouldn’t think about it.
He kept telling himself that throughout the day while he waited on a message from Barty, but when no message came, he decided to take matters in his own hands. He said goodbye to Dorcas, who insisted on hugging him, and walked around the block before calling the number on the note.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi. Are you free tonight?’