The sing along
Peter loathed sing-alongs, particularly the sober variety. The ban on alcohol and drugs enforced by James' mother only added to his disdain. Sharing a room with Sirius, who had no intention of abiding by the rules, made matters worse. Sirius dramatically produced two bottles of vodka from his bag, pouring their contents into a hydroflask.
"It's not like my brother and his little trolls are going to stay away from alcohol and all that shit," Sirius remarked as he transferred the alcohol. "I'm telling you, Peter, that's your name, right? They're definitely bringing alcohol, probably some blunts as well."
From his bed, Peter observed Sirius' actions. "I wish I had brought some with me too," he confessed after a moment. "I was afraid they'd check our bags for it like they did on those school trips."
Sirius smirked, his confidence unwavering. "Don't worry, Pete. You can have some of mine. If they were going to check, they would have done it by now," he reassured, emptying the first hydroflask and moving on to the second. "Besides, I don't think that girl is going to give us much trouble. I caught her smoking behind the chicken coop. I'm sure James is just a typical teenager as well; there's no way he'll rat us out, not if we offer him some of the goods."
"I just don't understand why they thought it would be a good idea to do a sing-along on the first night and have everyone be sober. That's almost abusive," Peter complained, his frustration evident in his tone.
Sirius emitted a dry laugh, his demeanor surprisingly casual. "Do you wanna know what abusive is, Pete? Your parents taking away all your food for like two days because you annoyed them," he retorted, his words carrying a hint of bitterness.
Peter's face flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry... I... sorry," he stammered, feeling awkward under Sirius' gaze.
Sirius waved off Peter's apology dismissively. "Ah, nothing to worry about. That behavior of theirs gave me something to joke about. And a beautifully, slutty, skinny waist," he added with a smirk, seemingly unfazed by the awkward exchange.
Peter nodded in response, unsure of how to react to Sirius' comment. Fortunately, Sirius took the lead in the conversation, easing Peter's discomfort. "I do agree, though. This sing-along feels like a stab in the back. James' mum seemed so nice, and now she's gonna put us through this torture," Sirius agreed with Peter as he ran a hand through his hair.
Finally, Sirius finished transferring the alcohol and flopped onto his bed, his gaze lingering on Peter for a moment. "You know, it's always the sneaky ones like you," Sirius remarked cryptically, his tone teasing.
Confused, Peter asked, "What?"
"They tell you not to worry about lads like you, but I see you. You've infiltrated the ranks of the ladies," Sirius declared with a mischievous grin. "Not that I see you as a threat. No, not at all. I don't like the ladies like that."
A brief silence followed Sirius' unexpected confession, leaving Peter feeling uncertain. Then, Sirius spoke again, breaking the awkward moment. "I don't know why I said that. What the fuck."
"Are you drunk, Sirius?" Peter inquired, taken aback by Sirius' sudden change in behavior.
"Might have had a little sip from the vodka," Sirius admitted sheepishly, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"So you started the fun without me," Peter commented dryly, glancing out through the window at the gathering outside. "Wanna have a sip?" Sirius offered, holding out the hydroflask filled with vodka. Peter accepted it, taking a swig and grimacing at the taste. "I'm never gonna get used to that taste," he complained, handing the flask back to Sirius.
"You won't have a choice," Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm definitely going to become an alcoholist and die an early death while I'm still gorgeous." Peter chuckled at the remark.
"Ready to face hell?" Peter asked, noticing the others making their way towards the campfire with the sunset casting a warm glow in the background. "Absolutely not," Sirius replied, lacking enthusiasm but getting up nonetheless.
Together, they approached the campfire. James and Alexi were already there, the former sporting a cowboy hat that surprisingly suited him. He had the air of a cowboy with his loose-fitted jeans, flannel shirt, and work shoes. "Looking good, Jamie," Sirius grinned, a sentiment Peter silently agreed with. It was undeniable that James had a certain charm. Peter marveled at how quickly James and Sirius seemed to hit it off, despite having just met.
"Why don't you guys just immediately start sucking each other off?" Alexi remarked casually as she tossed a few branches into the fire.
"You can't just toss them in, Lex," James chided with a playful tone. "There's a strategy for that. I explained it to you, so don't act stupid." He playfully knocked her baseball cap off her head.
Alexi muttered a curse under her breath and replaced her cap, her attire consisting of jean shorts that had clearly been cut from full-length jeans. "Did you survive, Pete?" She inquired, nodding towards Sirius.
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not even that bad," Sirius retorted defensively.
They were quickly joined by Remus, Dorcas, and a very pretty blonde girl. The blonde girl took a seat next to Peter, introducing herself as Pandora.
"Bubble and Ricky told me that you have a very gentle hand," she spoke in a soft and melodious voice. Peter furrowed his brows. "The horses?" he questioned. She smiled softly. "Yes, the horses. I'm a horse whisperer." That's when Peter remembered that James had mentioned a horse whisperer being present. "Oh, yeah, James told me about you," he quickly added. "He also told me about you," Pandora smiled, not offering any further details.
Peter was a bit startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Lily's. She sat down on the other side of him, while Mary and Marlene took seats next to her. Peter glanced around and caught Sirius' eye, who winked dramatically.
A moment of quiet settled over them until James unexpectedly began speaking in a different language. "Please stop rapping, James. You're awful," Alexi complained. This prompted Sirius to burst into laughter and join in on James' rapping, attempting some beatboxing that sounded more like an attempt to clear his throat. Dorcas exchanged glances with both Alexi and Remus, and they collectively groaned at the cacophony.
As the last few stragglers joined the group, Sirius couldn't resist a playful jab. "Damn, did the temperature just drop?" he quipped, feigning a shiver. His gaze landed on Regulus, and he couldn't resist adding, "Ah, it's just you."
Regulus merely raised both eyebrows in response, his expression unreadable. Peter half-expected Barty to chime in with one of his trademark retorts, given his penchant for witty banter, but to his surprise, both Barty and Evan appeared to be in a rather relaxed state, almost as if they were under the influence.
Taking a seat beside Dorcas, Regulus remained silent, while Barty initially made a move to sit next to Alexi before apparently reconsidering and opting to join Regulus instead. This left Evan to take the seat beside Alexi.
James, ever the enthusiastic host, couldn't contain his excitement. "So, a sing-along, huh? Sounds fun, doesn't it?" he exclaimed, flashing a grin around the group.
"Absolutely delightful," Remus deadpanned, his tone devoid of enthusiasm.
James chose to ignore the lackluster response, forging ahead with his plan. "Because everyone thinks this is shit and doesn't want to embarrass themselves, I'm going to embarrass myself so bad that no one else can do worse."
As James spoke, Alexi retrieved an old acoustic guitar from behind her, her hands trembling slightly as she strummed a few chords. She didn't seem entirely thrilled about performing in front of the group.
"Lex, give me the music," James requested as he rose to his feet, snagging a karaoke mic.
"What are you doing?" Alexi asked absentmindedly, her fingers still plucking at the strings.
"What am I doing? Girl, did you even pay attention to me?" James replied, feigning annoyance. "Brabant, of course."
"Oh, the gibberish one," Alexi remarked with a chuckle.
James nodded enthusiastically as he switched on his mic. "Ladies and gentlemen, you're about to witness an A-list performance by A-list musicians."
As Alexi struck the first few chords, James attempted to rally the group. However, the air was thick with awkwardness, and Peter could sense it hanging palpably around them. He heard Remus grumble about being too sober for this, while James managed to get a few people clapping along, albeit somewhat hesitantly.
Pandora and Mary were among the first to clap along enthusiastically, and eventually, Lily and Marlene followed suit, the latter even coercing Sirius into joining in.
The melody from Alexi's guitar didn't quite synchronize with the clapping, resulting in a pure chaos when James began to sing. His voice was off-key, his pronunciation worse, and it was clear that Alexi winced while Dorcas covered her face in embarrassment. Remus, however, found the whole spectacle utterly amusing and burst into laughter.
Unfazed by the less-than-stellar reception, James soldiered on. Peter found himself clapping along as well, albeit more out of politeness than genuine enthusiasm.
Across from him, Regulus appeared utterly disinterested, while Barty surreptitiously recorded the performance with a grin plastered on his face. Evan seemed torn between laughing with Barty and being captivated by Alexi's nimble fingers dancing across the strings.
And through it all, James continued to sing merrily, undeterred by the mixed reactions from the group.
“Ik loop hier alleen in een te stille stad
Ik heb eigenlijk nooit last van heimwee gehad
Maar de mensen, ze slapen, de wereld gaat dicht
En dan denk ik aan Brabant want daar brandt nog licht
De Peel en de Kempen en de Meierij
Maar 't mooiste aan Brabant ben jij, dat ben jij
En ik loop hier alleen in een te stille stad
Ik heb eigenlijk nooit last van heimwee gehad
Maar de mensen, ze slapen, de wereld gaat dicht
En dan denk ik aan Brabant, want daar brandt nog licht
En dan denk ik aan Brabant, want daar brandt nog licht
En dan denk ik aan Brabant, want daar brandt nog licht.”