Our Love Is..?

🎵Freeze Your Brain from Heather the Musical🎵

James POV

Before the Fight

I knew it was bad to eavesdrop, but it wasn’t my fault. Not only was I here first, they were discussing tricking that poor person so loudly. I mean, who has a conversation about tricking your friend that loud in the school courtyard. I did kind of feel bad for the shorter one, it’s obvious he didn’t want to, but damn did he give in easily. The sweet girl, I believe it the shorty called her “Dora”, needs to find a better friend. So did the little guy, but whatever. It looks like they are leaving anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. Except for the small guy, who looked about 5 seconds away from breaking down in tears. Well, might as well make my presence known before the kid starts crying next to me, that would be awkward.

“Wow, that was sad.” I said while setting down my very interesting book.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!” He shouted while jumping, kind of like a cat, except less cute.

“Who the hell are you? How did you get back here? When did you get here? How long have you been listening in? Why are you dressed like you parents just fucking died? And why the fuck are you reading Harry Potter out of all of the pieces of literature in the world?” The kid shot off the questions like a spitfire.

Wow, this tiny guy was annoying.

“I am James Potter, I walked back here early this morning and have been here this whole time watching you get bullied into bullying your ‘friend’. Why are you dressed like you're about to go to an expensive restaurant? And what books do you read? Hm?” I fired back at him, very smugly might I add. He did not seem to like that.

“Well, uhm, it makes me feel nice, and I actually read a lot of poetry.” He said shyly? That shouldn’t even be a surprise, he does look like the type to like sad boy poetry. Although, that is also kind of cute. In an annoying way.

“Wow, poetry boy wants to talk to me about literature, surprisingly. Want to tell me what the blue shirt, that was mentioned once, means?” I meant for it to come out sarcastically, but it came off a little more fond than I wanted it too. He doesn’t seem to have realized that, as his face got really red in the face. He was definitely about to shout something stupid at me, when he was saved by the bell. Hah, literally. Instead I get a middle finger and he storms off. What a character, can’t wait to never talk to him again. I should probably get to class as well.

I start heading to class, passing the kid again, he looks to be lost in his head, walking slowly and thoughtlessly. He’s going to be late 100%, which sucks for him. I will not be, so I rush off. I see the classroom, but a little bit past it, I see 2 dudes following this girl, who is clearly uncomfortable. They keep saying weird things, very loudly, about her body, or pointing out her very red hair. I was originally just going to ignore it, as the classroom was right there, when she turned the corner. I don’t know this school very well, but I know around the corner, there was a blindspot to classrooms. So I hurry over to help her, they don’t seem like the guys to leave her alone. As soon as I turn the corner, I see the girl crowded in a corner, even more uncomfortable. One of the guys was leaning a little too close to her.

“Hey, leave the poor girl alone. She clearly doesn’t want your stink-ass breath all up on her.” I shout at them, which definitely gets their attention.

I quickly turn to the girl when I fully reach them and pull her towards me. “Are you alright? What’s your name?” I asked gently.

“Lily Evans, and I’m fine, I didn’t need your help.” She stated firmly.

“I’ll keep that in mind. I didn’t know you had it handled, sorry about that Miss Evans.” I said in a funny voice. It got her to smile.

Before she could respond, I was dragged back by the back of my hoodie. What a bitch move.

“The fuck you think you’re doing, trying to steal our girl like that?” Said the guy from before, his breath did in fact stink.

“Well, I think I’m saving, but not really saving, Miss Evans from a poor desperate prick who doesn’t know personal space or breath mints. She also isn’t yours, she’s not anyone’s, she is a person, not an object. So fuck off and leave her alone.” I answer in an annoyed tone. He was definitely angry now, not like he wasn’t before.

“What the fuck did you just say to me asshole? Do you know who I am, who my dad is?” He said, sounding like an absolute child in all honesty.

“You heard me. And no, I don’t know you or your dad, must not be that important.” I said unimpressed and smirked.

He did not like that and threw a punch. So of course, like any sensible person, I threw one back, even harder. So, now I was in a 1 v 2, which isn’t great, I could beat 1, but 2 is a little bit of a problem. I hate to admit it, they were actually pretty good at fighting, which sucks for me. We gathered a bit of a crowd now, they were shouting a bunch of shit I didn’t listen too much to. I was a little busy trying to make sure I didn’t completely embarrass myself. I was doing pretty well, I mean, I knocked out one of them already. He was behind me on the floor, groaning. I was a little busy trying to fight off the crazy one in front of me. He punched randomly and with so much aggression, and laughed like a psycho while doing it. He did slip up a little and left himself open, so I went for it. Only to hear gasps and get punched in the fucking face by the other one, the one that was supposed to be down. Annoying fuckers, they definitely planned that. I quickly covered my head, knowing what was coming. Not even a second later, I felt the other one start to hit me repeatedly. It hurt like a bitch, no lying about that, but it was only a matter of time. Or, it would’ve been, if it wasn’t for the thing I just slipped on. “Well shit” was my thought as I fell to the ground in shock. I think I saw that kid from earlier looking at me. I’m sure he’s enjoying this. Before I could even think anymore, the crazy fucker got on top of my and really went at it. I was 100% done for, if it wasn’t for the loud whistle that just sounded, startling all 3 of us. The guy on top of me stopped his fist mid-air, which was nice of him. Also dumb, I quickly struck the dumbass in the face and pushed him off of me. I looked around for Lily and maybe the black haired kid. It seemed he left though, I did see Lily though, she had a weird look on her face and seemed to be blushing some? Weird.

“Well well, Mister Potter, getting into fights this early and on your first day. This might be the record for the quickest first fight, and the quickest first suspension.” A stern voice spoke.

“Well you see, it wasn’t completely my fault. These 2 were harassing this girl, Lily Evans, and I simply wanted to help her a little. I just told them to back off and leave her alone, she clearly wasn’t enjoying their attention. The crazy guy then pulled me back and punched me. He started it, I was just finishing it.” I said quickly, completely ignoring that she was the one to save me from getting my ass beat there at the end. 

“Hm, that sounds about right, either way, I will need to speak with you, Mister Crouch, Mister Rosier and Miss Lily in my office, now.” The teacher spoke sternly, no room for argument. So we went with her. Not very happily, but we did go.

On the way there, Lily walked next to me and whispered “Thanks a lot Potter, you just got me dragged into this.” Lily spat my last name out like I had killed her cat.

“Well it’s not like you can get expelled for being the victim, you can support your new pal in his story. Make it an even 2 v 2 witness account.” I answered back. She just rolled her eyes and scoffed. 

The rest of the walk was in silence, other than the taps of feet and Rosary and Crunch’s quiet whispering. We reached the office in about 5 minutes. We all explained our sides, Lily kindly siding with me. No matter how it was put, I still got suspended and in-school detention, although only a day of both, while Crotch and Rectum got a couple more days. We were all thrown into separate classrooms while our parents were called.

“Thanks for supporting me Lily!” I said kindly.

“You're welcome, but I’m never helping you again, we’re even now.” She said with a slight blush? Weird.

“That’s fine, you totally got it next time.” I said in a joking voice.

We were silent after that, her parents came first, where the teacher brought them into the room, most likely to explain what had happened to their daughter. They came out about 5 minutes later. The woman, probably Lily’s mother, kissed her head, wished her a better day and walked off with her husband also giving a quick wish of a good day. Lily gave me a quick wave and left back to class. I guess I was just waiting for my dad now, which sucks. It’s still early, maybe he’s not passed out drunk. A hopeless dream, but never hurts to have some hope.

It was quickly when the door slammed open and my dad stumbled in. I am in hell. I get up to help the drunkard to the office. Maybe he won’t be that obvious. Another useless hope, you can literally smell the stench of weed and alcohol. CPS would definitely be back at their house later this week. The conversation was embarrassing for everyone involved, and was cut short. Who’s sake that was for, it was hard to tell. I grabbed my dad and we started our walk home. My dad stumbles the whole time, complaining about how I’m ungrateful and mom will scold me when I get home. Which wasn’t going to happen, unless he pulled a Ouija board out. Although I doubt mom would ever want to talk to dad again. He has not been the same since her death, but it’s fine, he’s not that bad. He only hits me sometimes.

I get the drunk idiot back to the house and he immediately starts searching for mom. Which I mean, maybe he will find her, by stumbling down the stairs and dying. I sneak away quickly and quietly  out of the house, heading for my favorite spot in the world. Seven-Eleven. God, I can never resist that place, on the way I spot M & M’s on the ground, now who would just leave those. I pick up the bag and look around, good. I’m not proud of it, but some were still in the bag, and I am not letting those go to waste.

I quickly run inside and grab my favorite drink in the whole world, a slushy from Seven-Eleven. Weird? Yes. Do I care? No. I sat there the whole day, all the way to night. Watching the stars and cars, sipping on an ungodly amount of slushies. It wasn’t until midnight that I started to gather my cups. Well I was going to, when I heard a very familiar voice.

“Wow, does your Mommy know you drink all that crap?” The black haired kid from this morning said in a baby voice.

“Not since she was alive.” I said blankly. I knew it would make him uncomfortable, it always works. 

“Oh, uhm, I’m sorry?” He says making a weird face. I laugh.

“It’s fine, I always make that joke, don’t worry about it. What brings you to a 7-Eleven at…” I check my watch. “...10:30 at night?” I finished in disbelief. Had I really been out here this long?

“Uhm, family shit. I don’t even know. I shouldn’t even be upset about this, but I am. Not that you would understand… I DID NOT MEAN IT LIKE THAT, I AM SO SO SORRY JA-” 

I interrupt his very cute panic. “It’s okay love, it doesn’t matter to me. I probably won’t understand, but I can try. If you want to rant I’m here. I might not go tell anyone if you tell me your name. I can’t keep calling you different versions of short kid in my head forever.”

He pauses for a second. “...Regulus.” He answers quietly with a little blush. Interesting.

“Well Regulus, want to tell me about your very complex family issues that I won’t understand because mine is dead?” He did not like that at all.

“Well don’t be a dick about it. I don’t even know where to start, it’s all so much, and it shouldn’t be.” He rushes out.

“Wow there love, calm down. You’re going to work yourself up. Here…” I get up and offer my hand out “...Why don’t we go inside for a second and grab a slushy for that fast moving head of yours? Hm?” I said sweetly. He nods and we go in and get two cups of slushies.

We sit in silence for a while, just slurping away when he asks me “Why slushies? What was the point?”

I think for a second, then answer “Well, when my mom passed away, I would always overthink it. I wouldn’t stop blaming myself. My dad wouldn’t either, and it was just all too much. Before I found the slushies, I would take it out on others, bully kids, beat the shit out of people, just because I was having a hard time. Then I found these amazing little things, they slowed down my brain, made it easier to think and relax. Basically it freezes my brain. It became a habit to come here when I felt like shit, and now I just can’t stop.”

Regulus just let out a faint “oh” and kept drinking his slurpy.  It went on like that for a while, us just sitting there, quietly watching the cars and stars together, enjoying each other's silent company. Or at least I was, I don’t know about him. We had sat there for about an hour before Regulus spoke again.

“I know I shouldn’t be sad…” Regulus started softly. “...But I can’t help it. I guess I should start with the fact that my dad is dead. Uhm, my dad wasn’t a good person, or a good dad.” Regulus took a deep, shuddering breath. “He and my mom were abusive to me and my brother Sirius. They hated each other and us to put it simply. My dad wasn’t as bad as my mom, I want to believe he loved us in the beginning. He actually talked to us, took us places, we did have a few good memories with our dad. That stopped as soon as he found out our mom cheated on him. Everything got worse from there, they fought more and took their frustrations out on me and my brother. He actually was kicked out at 16, he moved in with his boyfriend, Remus. I was left there alone for a couple years, until he reached 18, I live with him now. Anyways, not very important. Sirius told me today that dad died, and I feel like I shouldn’t be sad, but I do, I am sad, as well as relieved.” Regulus looked at the ground while playing with his hands, holding back tears. I felt bad, I don't even know how to reply.

We sat in silence for a couple minutes, Regulus getting more and more nervous while I tried to find the right words.

“That must suck.” Wow, am I stupid. Why would I go with that? Regulus busted out laughing. I just froze. That was the cutest laugh I have ever heard. 

“Yeah, I know. It really does, and to make it worse, my mom invited me to his funeral, and I have no idea if I want to go. I don’t want to see her, but I think I might want to see him one last time. Sirius says he wasn’t invited, but it’s up to me if I want to go. He’ll stay in the car and wait with Remus, as back up. Just in case. But it’s such a hard choice, y’know?” Regulus spoke after he stopped laughing.

“Yeah, it is a hard choice, but I think it might be the closure you need. He may have treated you like shit, but it might be good to see him off I guess.” I answered hesitantly. “I know for a fact I would go to my dad’s funeral. I know he isn’t as bad as your dad, but he isn’t the best one. But I still would want to see that asshole go in the ground. I would probably piss and spit on his grave, but that’s just me.” I finished, and Regulus let out another one of those beautiful laughs, making me stop and stare.

“James? Is something wrong?” I could faintly hear Regulus ask.

I quickly nodded. “Sorry, I was busy looking into your pretty eyes.” I said in my best flirty voice. The cute laugh and blush was back.

“Thanks, I like your laugh too. Although, I like you being silent more.” Regulus jokes. And wow, I want him to be mean some more. I was about to ask him to insult me some more, when someone called his name.

It was a tall man, he had brown unkempt hair. He had scars on his face and neck, they looked like a werewolf had jumped him. He wore a sweater and loose pants, and was using a cane, he looked no older than 22.

“Hey Little Star, how are you feeling? It’s pretty late, and Sirius is worried. I came to take you back home.” The guy said. He had a deep voice, but it was kind and worried.

“Yeah, okay Remus, just give me a second,” Regulus answered. He then turned towards me. “Well, I have to go. But thank you James, for the slurpy, for listening, and for being there for me. Even though we don’t know each other.” Regulus spoke in that soft voice again. It was nice.

“No problem, I don’t mind listening to you, you have a nice voice, plus you’re nice to look at. Good night…Little Star.” I laughed. He made a face.

“Don’t call me that!” He shouted at me, blushing. “Only family calls me that! Good night James.” Regulus rushed out. He went to walk away, but I quickly stood and grabbed him. I pulled him towards me into a hug. 

“Good night, love. I’m sorry about your dad.” I whispered. I released him and started my way back home. I knew my dad would be mad, but he was probably passed out anyways.

Regulus POV

I hate James Potter. How dare he say that and just leave. I stood there like an idiot for a full minute or 2 before Remus told me it was time to go. We walked home in silence. I hated it, I knew he would bring it up in front of Sirius, and I’m not sure I could take that, Sirius was relentless when it came to boys. He knew I was gay and always questioned when I got close to other guys. I hated it. He always went overboard.

The one time I brought home a guy that I really liked, he was practically tortured. Sirius had asked me to go get some snacks while he “got to know” the poor guy. He didn’t talk to me the next day, or the day after that. It took weeks for him to explain what happened. Apparently, Sirius had dragged the poor dude into the kitchen and threatened him with a knife. Then I had forced the kid to stay silent about it. I apologized profusely, and begged him to not tell anyone…and then ended up having to threaten him as well. But that’s not important, it was clearly all Sirius’ fault. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Remus clearing his throat.

“Who’s James?” Remus asked with a smirk on his face. I knew what time it was. He wanted to figure out if I liked James romantically so he knew if he needed to tell Sirius or not. Regulus really hated Remus sometimes. He may seem sweet but he loved to torture me and shit. He always made sure Sirius knew about my crushes.

“James is just a friend.” I said, but my body betrayed me. I was blushing. Shit. Remus definitely saw and I was definitely going to have to bring James over to be questioned. Fuck.

“Whatever you say Little Star.” Remus said. I was screwed. I always am. I hate everything.

We walked inside and I was immediately met with a fierce hug. How familiar. I tried to escape this time, but Sirius didn’t let me go, instead he started dragging me, while we were still hugging, to the living room. He then practically threw me onto the couch while Remus sat in the chair and he sat on my legs. I hated this.

“How are you feeling Reggie?” Sirius asked, still on my legs.

“I would be better if you weren’t crushing my legs.” I answered while struggling to pull my legs closer to my body.

“You would also feel better if James were here too, wouldn’t you Little Star?” Remus said with a shit-eating grin. I fucking hated him.

“Who’s James? Are you dating someone I don’t know about Reg!? Because you know the rules. I have to meet everyone you date, to make sure they are good for you.” Sirius questioned. I hate this.

“James is just a friend, I met him today. I am not dating anyone Sirius. And yes, I know the stupid rules. I’m fine as well.” I answered, tired and wanting to go to bed.

“Good, because then we would have to drag him here at 12:30 at night to make sure he is good for you.” Sirius said. He was absolutely mental. But it was sweet, no matter how crazy. It’s how he showed his love. Crazy, but sweet gestures.

“Yeah, I know. Can I go to bed? I’m tired, Siri. I know you’re worried about me, but I’m really fine. James helped me, we talked, he gave me some advice. I promise that’s all and I promise I’m fine.” I practically begged.

“Fine, but you’re staying home tomorrow and we’re having a family cuddle day. No exceptions. I’ll call your school and tell them about dads death. They’ll excuse you from school.”

Sirius said sweetly, but with no room for protests.

I sigh. “Okay Siri, I’ll see you in the morning for our…” I gagged playfully, “...family cuddle day.” I finished with a soft smile and left for my room.

I almost instantly collapsed in my bed, passing out immediately.

If only me and James knew how far this would go. How far this one late night talk and slurpy would go. If only we knew how much love and tragedy this would lead to, maybe we would’ve just ignored each other. Or maybe not.