Knock, Knock it’s Anxiety
Remus Lupin bit his lip impatiently as he waited in line at the coffee shop. His anxiety always spiked when he was in here, his leg jittered rapidly, and he tugged at the arms of his jumper; pulling at them so they covered the entirety of his fists. The root of Remus’ anxiety today was the gorgeous Barista working the counter today.
His name was Sirius, and he looked like a Greek God. He certainly had the bone structure. Despite his looks and Remus’ overwhelming and pathetic crush on the guy, he was a dick. To Remus at least.
And the worst part? Remus didn’t know what he’d done to deserve it. The man’s charming personality and smile would disappear at the mere sight of Remus, replaced with a scowl and a grumpy demeanour. Remus was doing a coffee run for work. He was always doing a coffee run from work.
He had tried explaining to Marlene about Sirius - “Remus, don’t be dramatic. It doesn’t suit you.” - yet here he was, a bundle of nerves, with a pathetic crush on a man who hated him.
He walked up to the counter, waited for Sirius to see him - ah there. The smile dropped and the brow creased. “Oh, you.”
“Yeah, me.” Remus smiled. “Your usual order then?” Sirius grunts, pushing a hand through his sleek hair. “I - no, sorry. Em, t - two Iced Lattes,” he floundered under Sirius’ glare, “A Flat White, and an Americano.” A moment. “Please.”
Sirius scoffed, “Tell me, eh - Ron - ”
“Remus.”
“Whatever, do you enjoy making my life harder every time you order something?” Remus avoided eye contact with the boy, he could feel his cheeks heat. “You got to sing for your supper, Black,” comes a familiar voice from behind the counter.
“Dorcas!” Remus cries, “I didn’t know you worked here.”
Dorcas Meadowes grinned, “Two fucking years here, Remus, it’s a bloody nightmare. Ignore Black - I don’t know why he’s being a dick.” Marlene glared.
“Whatever,” Sirius grumbled, “go stand over there Ryan.”
“Remus.”
“Sure.” Waiting was excruciating. Remus felt judged by everyone in the room, and then he felt self-centred for thinking anyone would give a flying hoot about him. This place had the ability to strike instant fear into him, and cause him to spiral. Maybe it was just Sirius.
Dorcas, for further reference, was Marlene’s newest girlfriend. She was the longest lasting one so far (Six months on Tuesday), and the only one Remus actually liked.
She was stunning too. Remus was gay, not blind. Chocolate coloured skin, a head of shiny curls, and a personality worth a million. She was a kind person, yet brutally honest. One minute the girl would be complementing you, the next she was making an extremely inappropriate and scandalous joke. Remus loved her, and he loved her for Marlene.
“Oi, Reese,” Sirius hollers, snatching Remus’ attention. “It’s Remus.” Sirius hands him the coffee, and then moves immediately onto the next person in line. Not wasting a moment longer with Remus. Ouch.
Remus walked back down the road to the book shop / record store that he co-owned with his best friend, Lily Evans. Another girl with a stunning personality. She was snarky and always there with a witty comeback. But she was kind, and had yet to fail Remus when he needed her.
“Hey, guys, coffee.”
“Coffee! Remus you are my saviour.” Mary.
“Fucking finally. Bet you were flirting with that cute Barista - eh.” Marlene.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Lily.
“No,” Remus mutter’s pitifully, “He still hates my guts.” Lily rubbed Remus’ arm comfortingly. Remus offered her a small smile. “Dorcas works there though, I saw her today.”
“Really? Oh, I bet she looked hot,” Marlene gushed. “She’s always hot - wait! You mean Sirius Black is your crush that hates your guts?”
“That would be him.”
“Nope! I call bullshit, I’ve met the guy, he’s lovely.” Remus nodded his head, “He is. Just not to me.”
Marlene whistled, “You must have really fucked up, Lupin.”
“I know!” Remus complained, “I just don’t know how! Ergo, I don’t know how to fix it.”
Mary chuckled, hand on hip, head cocked. “A living breathing person, hate Remus John Lupin? No way. I think he’s hot for you.”
Remus trembled slightly, fuck anxiety. People say Karma’s a bitch, try meeting Anxiety, it really puts things in perspective.
“Fun take on the situation, Mary, however regrettably the guy hates my guts. And despite my insanely huge gay crush in him, he still strikes fear into my heart.”
Mary shrugged. “I’m just saying, you apologise for so much shit that isn’t even your fault Remus. I highly doubt you did something that bad that the guy still holds a grudge, and you don’t know what it is.”
“I agree with Mary.”
“You always agree with Mary.”
“Yeah, well, that’s cause Mary is always right.”