Chapter 3
In the last week, Regulus has been trapped in a broom closet with Potter exactly two times. Embarrassingly enough, he's fantasized about that very situation multiple times, but when it actually did happen, it did not live up to his expectations. Not even close. Now he’s scraping dried goo off the bottom of cauldrons while Potter whistles a tune and occasionally mumbles lyrics to a song he’s never heard before.
“Can you not?” he snaps.
“Not what?” Potter innocently asks.
“Stop whistling, it’s annoying,” Regulus replies.
Regulus decides against trying to get Potter to shut up again when he starts singing a few minutes later, but he would die sooner than admit that he actually likes the song, especially paired with James’ voice. He doesn’t realize that Potter has stopped singing until he’s in front of him, grinning so wide that Regulus is surprised his eyes are still visible.
“You listen to ABBA?” James asks.
“What?”
“ABBA, the band.”
“No. Why?”
“Oh, I just thought… you were humming 'Dancing Queen.' Never mind.” James looks dejected.
He hadn’t even realized he was humming.
“Oh.”
The silence has officially become awkward. James is quickly distracted by Regulus’ hands, though.
“What are you staring at?” Regulus snaps.
In response, James blurts out, “Wanna play 21 questions?”
“Why?” Regulus asks, his brows furrowed.
“I’m bored.”
“Fine, then,” Regulus replies, as if he’d rather do anything else.
“You can go first,” James tells him, instantly perking up.
“What a gentleman,” Regulus scoffs. After a few seconds, he seems to come up with something to ask. “How did you know that Mrs. Norris was there that first time? You never did tell me.”
James immediately panics. “Guessed?” he says unsure.
“You guessed,” Regulus repeats incredulously.
“Yeah, my turn,” James rushes out. “Do you like boys?”
Regulus is silent for a minute. “What?”
At least James distracted him from the earlier topic.
“Do you li-”
“No, I heard you, but what the heck kind of question is that?” Regulus giggles. He actually giggles, and James feels like he’s going to explode.
“Yes,” he adds when James doesn’t say anything.
“Oh, neat,” James says a little high-pitched and gets back to work, ignoring Regulus for the rest of the detention.
***
“I’m so stupid!” James wails dramatically into Lily’s shoulder.
“It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“Oh, it was bad. I said it was neat when he said that he liked boys, and, oh, I made him play 21 questions by the way, and then I ignored him for the rest of the detention. We didn’t even finish the 21 questions.”
“Okay, that’s pretty bad,” Lily concedes.
James reels back with a horrified look on his face. “You’re supposed to comfort me!”
This causes Lily to burst into laughter.
“Was it really that bad?” James says softer this time.
Lily doesn’t reply and is saved by Marlene bursting into the room and falling face-first into her bed.
"Cocks!" she screams into her pillow.
“That’s some very colorful wording,” Lily chuckles.
“Fuck off.”
“What’s up, Mar?” James butts in.
Marlene sits up abruptly, hair wild, and grins so hard it gives James whiplash.
“Cas just said... you know, the thing.”
Lily screams and jumps on Marlene’s bed to hug her until she taps Lily on the shoulder, asking to be allowed to breathe.
“What did she say?” James says enthusiastically, confusion apparent on his face.
“What do you think, James? She said the L word!” Lily laughs.
“Oh my god!” James says a bit too loudly, wincing at the volume of his own voice, which causes all of them to burst into giggles until a person they've never seen before tells them to shut up from the doorway and slams the door.
***
James wishes someone loved him... of course, there are many people who love him, but not in that way, not the way he loves them. He knows he has it so much better than most, and it's selfish, but... it doesn't matter; he should be happy with what he's got. Almost as soon as he slumps into bed, the door to the dorm slams open so hard it takes a chunk of wall off. He shoots up, surprised to see Sirius in the doorway looking regretful of how hard he opened the door. As soon as he has his attention back on James, he schools his expression into what would be disgust if it wasn't so comically exaggerated.
"Tell me it's not true," he wails dramatically, obviously trying to hold back a laugh.
“What?” James replies clueless.
"I heard someone talking about you smacking Reggie's arse in the dining hall, which is so stupid, right?" he says, unable to hold back his laugh anymore.
When James doesn't answer, his face twists into a much more real version of his earlier expression.
"Right?" he repeats, his voice several octaves higher.
James stares at him like a deer in headlights, then stands up and bolts out through the still-open door, the sound of bare feet slapping on the floor drowned out by Sirius shouting obscenities after him that only Remus could rival.
***