The best friend song
James woke up in his bed with Marlene passed out beside him. "Marls! Wake up!"
She jumps up. "What? What? Who died?"
James laughs. "No one."
"Fucking asshole."
"Why didn't you sleep with Dorcas?" James looks around the room. It's not his. It's Marlene'.
On the dresser, there are pictures of him and Marlene at Hogwarts. pictures of her, Lily, Mary, Bellatrix, Narcissa, Alice, Andromeda, and Rita. her, Lily, and Mary on tour. James, Lily, Mary, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and her at Hogwarts. A bunch of James and Marlene as kids. And some of James.
"When did you take those?" James pointed at the pictures of him.
"A while ago. You don't like taking pictures by yourself, so I snuck them."
"How did we even get here?"
"I'm not sure." Marlene looks at the clock. "Oh my god. It's already noon." Marlene and James, get up and go to the door.
They get to the kitchen to see everybody is already up. "Sleepyheads." Sirius says.
"What even happened last night?" Marlene asks.
"Oh, you don't know? You slept together." Alice says.
Marlene and James laugh. "We didn't even sleep together when we were dating." James says.
"Well, apparently you did now." Narcissa says.
"Haha. Very funny." Marlene says.
"James, Marlene, come get some food!" Effie calls from the kitchen.
Marlene goes to the kitchen, and as she does, Dorcas' gaze follows her. James smirks and walks up to her and whispers in her ear, "You should really stop staring. It's not polite."
She wispers back, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Marlene walks out of the kitchen at that exact time and Dorcas is still staring at her. "Yeah. Definitely."
***
I'm 23, and my folks are getting old
I know they don't have forever, and I'm scared to be alone
So, I'm thankful for my sister even though sometimes we fight
When high school wasn't easy, she's the reason I survived
I know she'd never leave me, and I hate to see her cry
So, I wrote this verse to tell her that I'm always by her side
I wrote this verse to tell her that I'm always by her side
I wrote this verse to tell her that
The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad
If we got each other, and that's all we have
I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand
You should know I'll be there for you
When the world's not perfect
When the world's not kind
If we have each other, then we'll both be fine
I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand
You should know I'll be there for you
You should know I'll be there for you
A voice comes from James' bedroom door. "That's a great song."
James looks up and sees Regulus. "Thanks."
"I didn't know you had a sister."
"It's about Marlene."
"She's like a sister to you?"
"Yeah. Ever since we were fourteen."
"Nice."
James raises his eyebrows. "What did you want?"
"I - um -"
"Did I leave the great Regulus Arcturus Black speechless?"
"Shut up. I just wanted to... hang out?"
"You mean, go on a date with me?"
"Yeah, that."
"I need to work on songs if you want to, too."
"Sure." Regulus walks to his room and comes back with a guitar and a notebook.
"Marlene' coming to work on songs, too."
At that moment Marlene comes rushing in. "James, James, James! I figured it out! I got our next song!"
James smiles. "Great, play it?"
"Duh." Marlene starts playing.
Fuck her, flip her
Bend her backwards
Baby put your back into it
Smash it, grab it
Go bananas
Listen, I'm gonna talk you through it (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Fuck her, flip her
Bend her backwards
Baby put your back into it
Smash it, grab it
Go bananas
Listen, I'm gonna talk you through it
"Ok! Marls! Why do all the songs you write are about sex?"
"Because it's sex!"
"No! No more writing songs!"
"Alright, fine then. Let's see what you have, genius."
"Fine. I just wrote this one a few days ago, anyway."
James starts strumming.
I wanna murder my feelings, murder my feelings
There I go trapped inside a daydream
One look, and you make me lose my self-control
There you go, hitting all the right notes
Loving you, I might go super psycho
And I can't live with my heart in the prison
But I let myself fall
Past the limit, keep your distance
I, I, I, I
Wanna murder my feelings, take an axe to your name
"Ok, ok, quit bumming people out. Regulus, do you want to go?"
"Yeah, sure." Regulus starts strumming.
I hate the world today
You're so good to me
I know but I can't change
Tried to tell you
But you look at me like maybe
I'm an angel underneath
Innocent and sweet
Yesterday I cried
You must have been relieved
To see the softer side
I can understand how you'd be so confused
I don't envy you
I'm a little bit of everything
All rolled into one
I'm a bitch
I'm a lover
I'm a child
I'm a mother
I'm a sinner
I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell
I'm your dream
I'm nothing in-between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way
"Did you write it?" Marlene asks.
"Yeah. Father didn't feel right, though. So, Panda and I talked it through and decided to go with Mother."
"I like it. You're talented. Wanna hear another song?"
"No!" James yells. "No more sex songs. This is exactly why someone besides Sirius needs to be with you when you write them."
"Damn, sorry. I just thought you would want to hear it."
"Is it a sex song?"
"No."
"Fine, go."
Take you like a drug
I taste you on my tongue
"You said it wasn't a sex song!"
"Just listen."
You ask what I'm thinking about
I tell you that I'm thinking about
Whatever you're thinking about
Tell me something that I'll forget
And you might have to tell me again
It's crazy what you'll do for a friend
Go ahead and cry, little girl
Nobody does it like you do
I know how much it matters to you
I know that you got daddy issues
And if you were my little girl
I'd do whatever I could do
I'd run away and hide with you
I know that you got daddy issues, and I do, too
"Now you're bumming everyone out."
"Well, I'm sorry that all the songs that we write are emotional. But in my defense, you do, too."
***
"Boys," Minevra starts, "you're going on tour with the girls."
James' eyes widen.
"I set something up with the Skittles manager, Alice, and they'll be going on tour with you."
"You mean Reg is going on tour with us?" Sirius asks.
"That's what it means, dipshit." Mary says.
***
Marlene screams. "Oh. My. God. You're letting us open for you!?" She screams again. "I knew you liked me."
"Marls, you are my best friend. How could I not like you."
"I don't know. I was just surprised that Sirius allowed it."
"Sirius doesn't need to know."
"My god, Jamie. Did you consult anyone else?"
"Yes." James pauses. "No."
Marlene laughs. "James!"
"It'll be fine. Just don't sing a sex one, ok?"
Marlene rolls her eyes. "Fine. But I can't be held accountable for what happens after."
***
"Why are the girls on stage?"
"I know you're probably mad, but I let them open for us."
"What? Prongs!"
"I wanna say I'm sorry, but I'm not."
Gentle music starts playing, and then it starts to get more upbeat.
Fuck out my way when you see me
I'm rollin' with the LGBT
Fuck out my way when you see me
I'm rollin' with the LGBT
I'm rollin' with the LGBT
I'm rollin' with the LGBT
Lookin' like we belong on TV
I'm rollin' with the LGBT
Their song ends. "Thank you, everyone! We're the Valkyries!" They exit.
Marlene screams. "Ahh! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jamie! That was amazing!"
"That was the song you chose?"
"Minnie approved it."
"That's cause she's gay, too."
"Guys. stage. Now." Minnie says, ushering them on stage.
James is the first on stage. He walks to the mic while Sirius walks to his drums, Peter to his mic after grabbing his guitar, and Remus to his keyboard.
They zoom through their songs, and now it's time for the song he wrote, especially for Marlene. He looks out at the crowd and spots Marlene, Mary, and Lily in the front. He smiles.
"This song I wrote especially for my soul sister, Marlene McKinnon. Marls, I love you to the moon and back." He pauses. "The actual moon, not Moony." The crowd laughs. "Marlene, my love, come up here?"
She walks backstage, and a minute later, she's standing right next to James. James smiles. "The first part of this song is for my grandma."
She was nineteen with a baby on the way
On the east side of the city, she was working every day
Cleaning dishes in the evening, she could barely stay awake
She was clinging to the feeling that her luck was gonna change
And, 'cross town she would take the bus at night
To a one-bedroom apartment, and when she would turn on the light
She would sit down at the table, tell herself that it's alright
She was waiting on the day she would hope her baby would arrive
She'd never be alone
Have someone to hold
And when nights were cold
She'd say
The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad
If we got each other, and that's we have
I will be your mother, and I'll hold your hand
You should know I'll be there for you
When the world's not perfect
When the world's not kind
If we have each other, then we'll both be fine
I will be your mother, and I'll hold your hand
You should know I'll be there for you
James sang the rest of the song, and when it was Marlene's part, she started tearing up. James smiles.
I will be your brother and I'll your hand
You should know I'll be there for you
The song ends. "I love you, Marls." At this point, she's full on sobbing.
"I love you, too, Jamie." She says through tears. They walk off stage together, hugging and sobbing.
***
Mary laughs. "You actually made Marls cry. I can't believe it."
"I made her cry a lot -" Marlene shoves her elbow in in James rib. "Ow! What the fuck!"
"I don't cry."
James chuckles. "Yeah, sure." He pauses. "Marls, I forgot. How'd your date go?"
"Shut up."
"Marls had a date?" Lily asks, surprised.
"I didn't think she could get a date." Peter says.
"Peter!"
"You can't say you didn't think that, too, Pads."
Sirius sighs. "Yeah, a little."
Remus rolls his eyes. "Who was your date with?"
"I hate you, James."
James just smiles. "Go on. Tell 'em."
She mumbles, "Dorcas."
"I'm sorry, I don't think they heard you."
"Dorcas." She says a little louder.
"Dorcas," Mary says, "as in Dorcas Meadows. As in Regulus' friend, Dorcas?"
Marlene nods. Lily smiles. "That's our Marls!"
"Whatever and the date went really well."
"Tell us." Peter says.
So, Marlene does. She tells them about their coffee date at the Three Broomsticks. How Dorcas admitted that she liked her and didn't know if Marlene was gay. How Dorcas gave her a peck on the cheek before leaving. And how Marlene pulled her back in to go for a full kiss on the lips. And also how they set up another date next week.
It's supposed to be another coffee date, but Marlene has other plans that she doesn't want to tell them just yet.