Moony
Their booth is packed by the time James, Remus, and Sirius arrive at the bar. James gave Remus a ride, after pulling him into a bear hug and slapping him on the back so firmly that Remus could swear he almost dislodged a lung.
The assembled group is as follows; Lily, Peter, Mary, Sirius band, Dorcas, Marlene, Frank, and Pandora, from Regulus’ band, as well as another girl who Remus doesn’t think he’s ever met. Then, of course, there’s Sirius and James. Everyone is on their feet, clapping and cheering—even those Remus doesn’t know—as soon as Remus is in sight. They’re acting like they’ve won gold at the olympics.
Remus stifles any desire to smile, even though their display is quite ridiculous. He plops down in the both and snatches up the closest drink. He thinks it’s Franks, but no one protects.
There’s more cheering when Remus slams the empty cup back down on the table. Lily, seated next to him, throws an arm over his shoulder, shaking him a little.
“You’ve got no idea how happy I am to see your face!” She has to shout a little over the rest of the group, who are all still celebrating very loudly.
“I imagine it’s close to how unhappy I am to be seen.” Is Remus’ dry reply. Lily gives him a little shake again, as though she can shake his displeasure away like an etch-a-sketch.
“I’d like to introduce you to some new friends—” Lily movies on like Remus said nothing of importance. “That’s Frank, whose drink you stole.” Frank waves, unbothered. “That’s Alice, his girlfriend.” The blond girl that Remus didn’t recognize waves at him, too. “That’s Marlene over there.” She points to the girl with a dirty blond wolf-cut. Remus doesn’t think he’s seen so many piercings on one person before. Marlene nods, smiling a little, mid-sip of her drink. “And that’s Pandora.” She indicates the very pale, very blond woman sitting beside Dorcas. She waves excitedly, smiling wide. Remus gives a tight, thin lipped grin in response. When did his social circle get this big? When did it grow so far past Lily? And why does Remus get the feeling that these four new additions aren’t just temporary visitors?
It’s not much longer—Remus sitting in despondent silence all the while—before James and Sirius are dispatched to collect their next round of drinks.
It takes until the second drink is through for Remus tow arm to this whole situation. Only a little, and he has no desire to talk to anyone but Lily, but it’s something. He’s trying his level best to hold onto his bad mood—he refuses to give Sirius a full victory. But the more drinks he gets in him, the more that control starts to slip through his fingers.
And yet, he keeps drinking, relishing in the dog that overtakes his head after so long spent running on steam. Perhaps its not the healthiest coping mechanism. Perhaps Lily is giving him looks that indicate she wants him to slow down. But she doesn’t say so, not willing to risk him running off when she only just got him back, Remus guesses.
But he’s laughing now, and he’s not sure when he last did that, so how bad can it be?
Alice and Frank both leave around eleven. Remus makes an attempt to follow, copying their excuse of wanting to rise early the following day, but Lily grabs his arm and pulls him back into the seat.
“Nuh-uh, you’re seeing this through.”
“But—”
“No. You don’t have to keep drinking but you’re not going anywhere.”
“I’ve got—”
“Nowhere better to be. You’re staying.”
Remus gives in, pouting into his drink.
The bar, though theres’ music playing, is decidedly not the kind of bar that caters to dancing. There’s no stretch of empty floor really big enough to allow for it.
Do James and Sirius let that stop them? Not when they’re this plastered, apparently.
James stands abruptly when a song he seems to recognize comes on. It’s not one Remus is familiar with. He wobbles a little on his feet, then, once he’s steady, reaches out a hand to Sirius. Sirius is already grinning.
“Join me for a dance?” James says in a posh accent.
“Why I thought you’d never ask.” Sirius replies, putting on a falsetto tone in an equally posh accent. He allows himself to be pulled to his feet and led to the largest swathe of empty floor in the building.
There, James leads Sirius in a salsa.
Remus looks on in embarrassed silence, ashamed to be considered one of the group that includes these two. He’s not the only one watching, either. Pandora is clapping along to the beat, giggling drunkenly. Dorcas just sighs before returning to a hushed conversation with Marlene. Lily has her head in her hands. Everyone else in the bar seems to have their eyes on the pair of dancers, eyes displaying a spectrum ranging from amusement to thinly veiled disgust.
Remus watches on, almost in awe of how little they care about the rest of the bar. He knows that perhaps they wouldn’t be this bold if they weren’t drunk, but he still almost envies them. What must the world be like to someone who can think as though it belongs to them? To someone whose more selective about whose opinions matter to them?
His envy doesn’t last, though.
Never once does the pair verbally communicate their next steps, but they’re still on the same page. Sirius backs up to the bar. James backs up as far as he can until he is pretty much flush with the nearest table. IT’s empty of people, not that James would care if it wasn’t. Sirius runs at James, leaping at the last moment into a lift that lasts approximately .2 seconds before they’re topping backwards into the table.
There’s a crack loud as a gunshot as one of the table legs snaps off, sending them sprawling.
There’s a moment of shocked silence. Then boisterous laughter from Sirius, James, and Pandora. Then the shouting begins.
What must be a manager to maybe the over comes storming out from behind the bar. Wild black hair, hands on her hips, the woman stands over the pair. Remus can’t help but grin a little, at the sight of these two getting what’s coming to them.
“Sorry, Andy.” Sirius mumbles. He’s trying to get to his feet, but his and James legs are all tangled together. “A little help?”
The woman—Andy—takes a deliberate step back. Remus likes her, he decides.
“Wow, really feeling the love.” Sirius grumbles, still struggling.
“Just get the fuck out of my bar.”
Sirius gives her a salute, finally on his feet. Remus is more then a tad disappointed by the lack of consequences. They should be charged for damages, at the very least. But Sirius is embarrassed, flushed bright red, which Remus supposes is punishment enough for someone like Sirius.
Lily stands beside Remus, climbing over his lap to get out of the booth.
“Come on, let’s clear out.” She mumbles. Remus stands to follow.
“Finally.” He’s more then ready to go home. This night has been a lot, to say the least.
“You’re not running away yet.” Lily snaps. “You’re stuck with us until those two—” She points at Sirius and James—“Run out of steam.”
“That’ll be never.” Remus knows he’s whining. He doesn’t try to stop himself.
“Good.” Lily has reached James and grabs him by the arm, pulling him to his feet. “Walk.” She demands, pointing towards the door. He does as he’s told, the rest of the group following.
James and Sirius recover quickly and are soon leading the group—loudly—through town. Remus can’t tell if they have a destination in mind or if they’re just wandering aimlessly. Whichever once, they end up at a local playground, the two acting as if this was intentional.
“Can I really not leave?” Remus groans, stalling behind everyone else. James and Sirius make a break towards the nearest play structure, a plastic climbing wall that’s shorter then either of them. They stumble drunkenly all the way, giggling as they pull themselves up onto the playground.
“Really.” Lily insists.
“But why? We’re probably breaking all kinds of public intoxication laws.”
“No ones around to see. And you’re nowhere near loosened up enough for me to let you out of my sights.”
“When, then?”
“When you start having some fun.”
“Never, then. Got it.”
Lily shrugs. “If that’s what it takes.” She grabs his hand and pulls him towards the sing set, plopping down on one of the blue plastic seats and letting it sway just slightly beneath her. Remus joins her, watching the rest of the group. Marlene and Dorcas are seated on the bark-chip ground beside the swings, talking. They seem the most sober out of the group, besides maybe Remus.
James and Sirius are racing eat other on the monkey bars, Pandora and Mary cheering them on. Peter has scaled the play structure and is watching the race from his perch atop a bright yellow tub riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. It seems far too precarious a perch for someone under the influence, but Peter appears surprisingly steady as he referees the monkey-bar race.
“Why do you hate me?” Remus asks as he watches as well.
“Oh shut up. You’re my favorite person and you know it.”
“Even over Mary?” Lily glances over at Mary, just in time to watch her fall to the ground in laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks, as Sirius falls face first into the mulch. Luckily the monkey bars were made for children and it’s not much of a fall. Remus snorts, though, when he gets to his feet, as he has a few stray pieces of mulch stuck to his cheeks.
“It’s not a competition.” Lily says. “But yes.”
Remus kicks at the mulch beneath his feet, not sure what to do with the seriousness in Lily’s voice.
“Oh.” He mutters, pushing off the ground so he’s swinging a little more. He was already a little dizzy from the alcohol, and that combined with the swinging is an oddly pleasant sensation. Like he’s feeling the earth turning beneath him.
There’s a long moment of silence. Remus watches Sirius and James as they take turns on the monkey bars, each of them eating shit more often then they make it to the other side. Pandora seems to be having the time of her life, each fall bringing a fresh wave of high-pitched giggles. Mary seems to be laughing more at her laughter then she is at the falling.
“You really had me worried there.” Lily says. “I thought it was going to be senior year all over again.” Remus remembers only bits and pieces of his senior year. He was so busy that most of it has blurred together. Much like his last week. He feels bad for scaring Lily, he really does, but he’s also not sure what other option he has if he’s to hold himself to the standards he would like to. And he really does want to graduate at the same time as Lily.
“I know. I’m sorry.” He says anyway. He is sorry. That he scared her, at least.
“You need to take care of yourself, Remus.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Before Peter brought you all that food, what had you eaten that day?”
“I… don’t remember.”
“Remus.”
“Fine. Nothing, I think. I was distracted.”
“That’s exactly my point. It’s not healthy, these obsessive episodes you have.”
“It works, though, doesn’t it.”
“Remus.” Lily’s voice is choked, and when Remus turns, he sees that her eyes are silver-rimmed with barely held back tears.
“I’m sorry.” Remus really doesn’t want to make her cry. He doesn’t want her to worry about him.
“I mean it. You have to take care of yourself. Eat real meals. Drink water.”
“I’ll do better, I’m sorry. I just… get obsessed, like you said.”
“And you have to leave your room. And talk to people. Talk to me. Get some sunlight.” Lily continues. “Go for walks. You can’t just do school, you have to also, y’know, live.”
“I’ll… I’ll try harder. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t try harder, that’s the whole problem. Let go a little.”
Remus nods. “I’ll… work on it.”
“I’m holding you to that, you know.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
“We’re not doing a repeat of senior year. If I have to send Sirius in again, believe me, I will.” She says this lightly, jokingly, and Remus is glad to have the mood take a happier turn. He embraces the shift.
“God, please no, have I told you what he did?”
“I don’t know that I care, if it worked.”
“He was singing Hamilton, Lily.”
“What do you have against Hamilton?”
“Everything, apparently, when Sirius is the one singing it.”
“He’s got a decent voice, though.”
“Oh but he didn’t—he did this awful Lin Manuel impression the entire fucking time. Like, even the songs that weren’t sung by him. Have you ever heard Hopeless sung in Lin Manuel Mirandas voice? It’s torture.”
Lily laughs. “I’ll file that away for future reference, then. ‘Awful Lin Manual Miranda impressions will get Remus out of a funk’. So noted.”
“Please don’t.”
Lily grins.
“No no no, really, don’t.”
“You say” She sings in a nasally imitation of the composers voice.
“Nonono, stooooop” Remus covers his ears with his hands, but Lily just sings louder.
“The price of my loves not a price that you’re willing to pay!”
“Lilyyyyy!”
“You cry,” She waves over the rest of the group, and soon Sirius and James are right behind Remus, pushing and pulling on his swing, joining the song.
“In your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by!”
“I’ll leave, I really will.”
“Why so sad?” Remus’ ears are assaulted by awful Lin Manuel impressions. Peter joins in from a distance, still perched on the yellow tube. Remus wonders if he can even get down. Pandora, Dorcas, Mary, and Marlene are quick to follow.
“Remember we made an arr—” They are interrupted by a loud chirp and a flashing red light. The group goes silent, looking towards the noise to see a police car flashing it’s lights at them.
“Scatter!” Sirius shouts, still in Lin Manuel Miranda mode, before taking off in the opposite direction.
And everyone does just that, stumbling away on drunken feet. Except, Remus notices, for Peter, who is shouting at them from the play structure. “Hey!” He shouts. “Wait for me!” Remus turns to see him stuck at his thighs in one of the holes of the tube. He must have tried to re-enter the tube but failed to get all the way through.
“Leave him!” Sirius shouts, pausing at the edge of the playground, running in place.
“What the fuck?” Peter shouts.
“Natural selection!” Sirius shouts back.
Remus groans, turns, and runs back to help Peter. He clambers up the structure—he must be more drunk then he thought, because he struggles far more then he should getting up to the tube—and climbs in.
Remus tugs at Peter, trying to force him through the tube frantically.
“Hurry up they’re coming!” Peter whisper shouts, trying to help by wriggling, which in reality is extremely unhelpful.
“I’m trying!” Remus gives an especially hard tug, and rather then pull Peter through the tube, he ends up… pulling his pants right off of his body.
“Remus!”
Roars of laughter sounds from outside. Sirius laughter is loudest, so loud, in fact, that he sounds more like he's screaming then laughing. Remus tries to get Peter’s pants back on him, his face so hot with embarrassment that he’d swear it was on fire, but he’s stuck too tightly for Remus to get them back on. Remus gives up, returning to pulling on Peter’s legs. Finally, thank God, Remus tugs Peter back into the tube. There’s a ring of red around Peter’s upper thigh where the tube was tightest around him. Peter scrambles from the tube, pulling his pants back on as he does so, tumbling to the ground with Remus right on his heels.
“Pick up the pace, Moony!” Remus hears someone shout at him. He thinks it’s James.
“Shut up!” Remus replies, but he does pick up the pace. The group takes off—as fast as they can manage in their inebriated state—everyone but Remus at Peter cackling.
Remus is certain that the officers could have caught up with them—they weren’t moving all that fast—but they manage to make it to a nearby gas station, the cops nowhere to be seen. They call their respective rides, their brush with the law deterring any of them from staying out any longer. When Remus climbs into an uber with Lily, James and Sirius call “Bye Moony!” After him, quite cheerily, and he knows then that the nickname has stuck.