Chapter 32
One week away from the end of summer break, and Regulus didn’t feel anymore sunny than he did going into this break.
He was trying to read his book in silence, but apparently being in a public place meant getting bothered every. Fucking. Minute.
He groaned again and threw his book down on Evan’s legs, who pulled a face as if the book had hurt him. Luckily for him, he kept silent and went on scrolling on his phone, putting his sunglasses up on his head to be able to read his phone.
He looked over the beach filled with people to find the disrupter of his peace and locked his jaw in place when he saw the two boys looking at him with big, innocent grins. His eyes met James’, who then muttered ‘Sorryyy,’ and laughed nervously.
‘Just… Shut up, okay? Or go annoy the girls who are swimming or something,’ Regulus huffed, crossing his arms and turning on his heel to go sit back down.
‘Regulus! Hey, uhm… Reg? Can we maybe… talk?’ Sirius asked, softly grabbing his arm to stop him from walking away. Wow. Now he wants to talk.
He glared at Sirius, pulled his arm free and walked back to his chair. Evan huffed out a laugh and shook his head. ‘Wow. That’s cold, Reg. Not even a word,’ Evan muttered, looking at him over the top of his phone. Regulus avoided his gaze as he grabbed his book, casually waving his hand in the air. ‘I’m not the one who almost beat him into a pulp, Evan.’
Regulus could see Evan’s face twist in shock and horror in the corner of his eyes. ‘I- I uh…’ Evan diverted his eyes to his phone, and just when Regulus had read two words, he was disrupted again. ‘I never told you that. And you don’t really talk with your brother at the moment, so how do you know that?’ Evan asked, clicking off his phone. When he got no answer, he grabbed Regulus’ book and pulled it down to force Regulus to look at him.
‘What?’ Regulus huffed in irritation. ‘How do you know that? Did Barty tell you? Putain d'enfoiré indigne de confiance qu'il est, je jure-’ ‘Shut up, Barty didn’t say anything to me. Now calm your tits, ‘cause he’s coming,’ Regulus interrupted him, nudging his head towards the sea, from which Barty was starting to walk towards them.
‘We’ll talk about this later,’ Evan said seriously, before his tone changed and he moved his head in Barty’s direction. ‘Hey.’
‘Hey lo-uh.. Ev! How are you?’ Barty said, a pink tinge of embarrassment on his cheeks. He lowered himself down on Evan’s beach stool by his legs and smiled at Regulus, who just raised his book to cover more of his face.
‘I’m good. It’s impossible to get a conversation out of ol’ Regulus over here, though,’ Evan complained, nudging him with his arm, which earned him a sharp glare from Regulus. Why he agreed to come, he didn’t know anymore.
‘Yeah, well he’s Reg for a reason. You know, why don’t we grab him some ice cream so he can cool off? It’ll do him some good,’ Barty said, winking at Regulus, or rather, Regulus’ book. ‘You can’t grab him some ice cream yourself?’ Evan asked, confused. Barty’s smile fell and he stammered ‘uh… yeah, I can but I thought…’ before Regulus interrupted him. ‘Just go with him, Evan,’ Regulus huffed. ‘Yeah, I mean sure, but it’s not really a two person job to get one ice cream, is it?’ Evan asked, still confused. ‘One? Don’t you want ice cream?’ Barty asked him, earning a groan and eye roll from Regulus.
‘No, not in the mood for ice cream,’ Evan said, shaking his head. ‘Oh… Well then I guess I won’t go and get Regulus an ice cream after all…’ Barty trailed off for a second. ‘Oh. Why not? If it’s such a big deal I’ll come with you, Bee,’ Evan asked, much to the annoyance of Regulus, who was still trying to read his book.
‘No, no it’s fine, I’m okay,’ Barty said, after which they were quiet for a record time of three seconds. ‘You know on second thought-’ ‘For fucks’ sake! He wants to snog you and I want both of you gone, so go!’ Regulus hissed in annoyance, giving both of them an irritated glare that could make a bird drop dead from out of the sky.
Evan and Barty shared one glance with each other right before they stood up to leave. As they walked away, Regulus could see Evan’s cheeks reddening and he couldn’t help but smile. Just because. Not because he was happy. Regulus didn’t do happy. Or smiling. So he stopped smiling before anyone saw.
‘I saw that,’ James said in a sing-song voice that was way too enthusiastic for Regulus. ‘Saw what? A bird dropping from the sky?’ Regulus asked, picking up his book and pretending to read to get rid of him.
‘No? Why would a bird drop from the sky? I meant I saw your smile,’ James said, confused but also laughing a little. Regulus shot him a cold glare. ‘Because- no nevermind, it’s not important. And as for the smile, I didn’t smile. You’re imagining things,’ Regulus said, huffing and turning a page in his book.
‘I saw it, though. It was real. Little, yes, but it was there,’ James said, wiggling his eyebrows at Regulus, who was looking at him over the top of his book. ‘Then your glasses must not be right anymore, because I didn’t smile,’ Regulus said, looking back at his book. James snickered at him and shook his head. ‘Okay, Reggie. Whatever you say.’
Regulus pulled a sour face. ‘Don’t call me that, that is disgusting,’ Regulus said, looking at him again. ‘Ah, but it made you look at me so my mission was accomplished,’ James teased, reaching out to grab his book, but Regulus pulled it closer towards his face. ‘Great, now you can leave again,’ Regulus said, though there was no bite to his tone.
James was silent for a little bit, before he started laughing again. ‘What is so funny?’ Regulus asked, right as he turned a page in his book. ‘I just think it’s incredible that you read a book upside down rather than right side up,’ James said, before standing up and looking at Regulus’ embarrassed red cheeks.
‘Care for a swim, Regulus? I’d like to have fun with someone other than your brother,’ James said, reaching out one hand for Regulus to grab. ‘No thanks, I’m perfectly fine right here,’ Regulus answered, right before James grabbed his book and put it down on Evan’s, now deserted, beach stool. ‘No you’re not. Come on. Please?’ James asked, giving him big brown eyes.
‘I… Really wish I could, but Evan and Barty are getting me some ice cream and they’ll be back any minute now,’ Regulus said, looking towards the ice cream truck. No Barty and Evan in sight, though.
‘Sure they’ll be. They’ll call you when they’re back. Come on,’ James said, grabbing his hand and pulling Regulus up. ‘You know what? I just realised I didn’t tell them what flavour I wanted. I should go and tell them,’ Regulus said, pulling his hand out of James’ grip and marching away from him.
‘I’ll come with you! I’ll pay for your ice cream, because I don’t think we’ll see Evan and Barty for a while, anyways,’ James said, grabbing Regulus’ hand again and smiling at him. Regulus put on his sunglasses and sighed. ‘Wonderful. But I’m paying.’
‘No, I’m paying. I insist,’ James said, while he started skipping on his way to the ice cream car. Regulus closed his eyes and sighed deeply. ‘Will you stop skipping if I let you pay for my ice cream?’ he asked, to which James nodded and instantly stopped skipping. Regulus heaved a sigh of relief.
After they had gotten ice cream and started on their way back to Regulus’ beach stool, Regulus’ phone started ringing. He frowned and picked up the phone. ‘Yeah?’
‘Hey Reg. So uh, something new came out and now we have decided to take a… detour,’ Evan said from the other end of the line. ‘Something new came out? What are you talking about?’ Regulus asked him. James frowned at him and Regulus waved his hand at him as if to say ‘later’.
‘Am I on speaker?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘The Vogue cover. It hit the shelves yesterday and people have already started to recognise me. I was swarmed within seconds when the ice cream man recognised me and called out my name. We probably won’t be back soon, because I’d rather not be swarmed again if you get me,’ Evan said, before the line got quiet and Regulus frowned. ‘Hello? Ev, that’s fine. Call me when you’re home, okay?’ Regulus asked, but he got no answer.
Evan had hung up already.
Weird.
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Evan felt a sharp tuck on his arm right before his lips crashed into Barty’s.
He got sucked into Barty’s warmth almost instantly, though he knew they had to talk about this first.
But Barty smelled so good, and his tongue knew exactly what it was doing to Evan and how could Evan ever break a kiss as good as this one?
Luckily Barty broke it after, to pull Evan closer into a dimly lit alley between two buildings so they were hidden from prying eyes. ‘Hey, bee we have to talk about this,’ Evan said. His breathing was shallow and being so close to Barty didn’t quite help. Almost as if Evan was talking to air, Barty ignored him and kissed him again, this time on his jaw and slowly trailing down his neck.
‘Barty,’ Evan tried, but no reaction. ‘Barty- Bee, come on,’ Evan said, softly pushing his hands into Barty’s hair to get him to look at Evan. His eyes were big and blue when he looked at Evan, feigning innocence. Barty reached out to wrap his hands low around Evan’s waist, making EVan’s insides squirm in a not quite uncomfortable manner.
‘What’s up?’ Barty asked in a soft whisper that was barely audible. ‘This is up, Barty. What is this? What are we?’ Evan asked, looking into Barty’s clear eyes as they clouded over and became a lot less vibrant. ‘Well, this is sneaking off to kiss each other,’ Barty started, getting closer to Evan so Evan could feel his warm breath on his face. ‘And we are humans. Right?’
‘You know that’s not what I mean, Barty. I’m talking about us. This… kissing. Is it nothing more than just that?’ Evan asked, looking for an answer in Barty’s face but finding no traces of one. Right when Barty was going to answer, a sharp click from a camera shutter sounded and Evan’s head shot towards the end of the alley. ‘Evan! Evan, can you please look at me for a second? Rosier, look right here please!’ the cameraman yelled, but Evan only heaved a deep sigh.
‘Fuck,’ he muttered, before pushing Barty away. ‘Isn’t there a rule in journalism against this? Mon Dieu,’ Evan muttered, taking a deep breath and putting on his sunglasses, before grabbing Barty’s arm a little more rough than needed before starting to run.
When the two of them were out of breath and they had found a safe spot inside of a small café to sit, Evan tried continuing the conversation. ‘So, about what I was saying,’ Evan started and Barty frowned at him. ‘What are we exactly, Barty? Nothing more than just friends? Is it really nothing more?’
‘...No it’s not? What else would you want it to be?’ Barty asked, confused.
‘Well I don’t know! I thought you’d like to call me your boyfriend, but it seems like that is not really the case,’ Evan asked, fiddling with his hands to keep himself busy enough to not start bawling right there and then.
‘Well, what did you expect, Ev? Can we honestly be together and not have troubles? Can we be together and not break up within an hour? I don’t think we can, so why would we try,’ Barty said, eyes seemingly even more dark now. But was that because Evan was wearing sunglasses or because Barty’s eyes really were darkening?
‘You need to want it for it to work, though. If you’re going into it thinking that we can’t be together, of course we won’t be able to be,’ Evan said, grabbing his hand over the table. Barty pulled his hand away and shook his head, diverting his eyes. ‘I think it’s just better to stay friends for now, Evan. I like kissing you, but I don’t think the rest would work,’ Barty said, before standing up and looking at the door, which opened and let in three guys who were busily talking.
‘Well, I’m not going to force you to do anything. If that’s what you want…’ Evan trailed off, taking a deep sigh and lowering his gaze on his hands. Having something was better than having nothing. Right? ‘That’ll be what you’ll get. Just kissing, nothing more,’ Evan ended his sentence, looking at Barty’s face.
Barty’s mouth was open as if he was going to say something, but he didn’t. He looked confused, and frustrated, and sad, but also relieved all at once. ‘That’s… Nothing more? Why do you have to say it like that?’ Barty asked, earning himself a deep sigh. ‘Is that not what you’re asking for, Barty?’ Evan asked, seeing the three guys slowly approaching and reaching for their cameras around their necks.
Fuck. How did Evan even miss the cameras the first time?
He threw some money on the table and bolted for the door, a confused Barty and three photographers behind him. ‘What’s wrong, Ev? Are you running from me?’ Barty asked, half yelling.
‘No I’m not, Barty. Look behind you,’ Evan answered, seeing Barty turn his head right before Evan disappeared behind a corner and pulled him along with him. Luckily, the photographers didn’t see them and they ran along the rest of the road.
When the adrenaline got less, Evan took a deep breath and realised how close Barty was to him. They were pressed together against a wall to avoid the photos, but Barty seemed comfortable enough and stayed like that.
‘What are you doing?’ Evan asked him, softly pushing him away, to no avail. ‘Seducing you, of course,’ Barty answered with a grin and a wink, right before Evan pushed him away a little harder and Barty stumbled and fell on the floor.
Evan snickered, before he caught himself and bit his lip. ‘Good luck. You made your intentions very clear, Barty dear. For now I’m gonna go home. Please go back to Regulus on the beach. We left him with his brother and Sirius’ lovely friends,’ Evan said. He turned on his heel and walked away, not answering Barty when he asked ‘So this is it?’
On his way home, he decided to pick up a pizza because he was hungry. He stepped into the familiar warmth of his favourite place and was greeted by… Alexander. Fucking of course.
‘Good after…noon. Hey, how’s-’ ‘Yeah, skip the small talk. Have you been up to loads of stealing in your free time?’ Evan asked him, raising an eyebrow. He just got big eyes back as an answer. ‘I’d like to have a pizza for takeaway,’ Evan said when he got no answer from Alex.
‘Oh. Right, yeah. Sure. If you could wait here, I’ll tell the kitchen. The usual?’ Alex asked. Evan raised an eyebrow and Alex looked back at him confused, as if he’d said something wrong. ‘Yeah. But don’t act as if you know me. You don’t.’ Evan’s eyes were blazing with anger while Alex walked away, and he didn’t stop looking at him until the door closed behind him.
Fucker.
While waiting for his pizza, Alex had come back and Evan had grabbed his phone to play a game on it. ‘Listen, I’m really sorry, okay? I didn’t know you and Barty were… Kind of something. Or not- I don’t know- but I have a feeling that that’s what this is about,’ Alex rambled, trying to get Evan’s attention. He said something else, but Evan was too bored to listen to him.
‘Listen,’ Evan said, interrupting Alex. ‘I’m not even mad at you. Some people you just don’t like. I wasn’t with Barty then, and I’m not with him now, so just leave me alone,’ Evan hissed, putting back on his sunglasses and turning his head back to look at his phone.
Evan could almost hear Alex’ burning eyes speaking to him. When he looked up, he indeed was staring at Evan. ‘What?!’ Evan snapped, not even caring if he was rude anymore. ‘Nothing! Sorry, I just… I’m just curious,’ Alex apologised, looking down and fiddling with some papers on the host stand.
‘It’s okay,’ Evan sighed deeply, shutting off his phone and looking at Alex through his sunglasses. ‘It’s not fair of me to keep acting so mad to you. What do you want to know?’ Evan asked, catching Alex by surprise.
‘I uh.. You and Barty aren’t together? I thought you would have been by now,’ Alex said.
Evan let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. ‘You and me both, honestly. But no, we're not together. Barty has his reasons, I guess, and I have mine." His voice softened, though his eyes remained guarded by more than just the sunglasses. ‘He thinks we’re better off this way.’
Alex tilted his head, watching Evan closely. ‘Better off… or safer? Those aren’t the same thing, you know.’ Evan’s jaw tightened. ‘I know that,’ He said, looking around the small restaurant and waiting for an answer, but getting none. ‘What are you, a therapist now?’ he finally muttered to break the silence.
‘No,’ Alex said simply, leaning on the counter. ‘Just observant. And if you want my opinion-’
‘I don’t.’
‘-I think he’s just scared. And maybe you are too.’
Evan’s lip curled in an unhappy smile. ‘Cute theory. But it doesn’t matter. Whatever this is between Barty and me, it’s complicated. And exhausting. I don’t have the energy to keep figuring it out right now.’
The kitchen door swung open, and a server handed Alex the pizza box. Alex grabbed it, holding it out to Evan. ‘Here. Your usual. But just… think about what I said, okay?’
Evan snatched the box without a word and turned to leave. Halfway to the door, he paused, glancing back over his shoulder. ‘You know, you talk a lot for a guy who claims he doesn’t know me.’ Without waiting for a response, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the crisp air.
The streets were quiet as Evan walked, the pizza warming his hand. His thoughts, however, were a loud mess of words and troubles. Alex’s words kept circling in his head, poking at wounds he wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
When he finally reached his house, Evan set the pizza on the counter and flopped onto the white couch, staring at the ceiling. The silence of the room pressed in on him, a stark contrast to the whirlwind of emotions still buzzing inside him. He reached for his phone, scrolling through contacts, his thumb hovering over Barty’s name.
Evan hesitated. Should he call him? Should he text? Should he ignore him?
Before he could decide, his phone buzzed with a message. It was from Barty.
Where are you? I want to talk about this, Ev
Please open the door for me?
Evan stared at the screen, his heart racing. He put his phone on the table, face down.
For now, pizza.
He’d talk to Barty later. Maybe.