Chapter 1
sirius had been doing ballet since he was 6, he couldnt remember a time when him and his brother regulus hadn't gone to the dance studio twice a week for practice. he wasn't sure he wanted to either. the truth was, he didn't mind ballet, he would even say he enjoyed it.
the only downside to going to the little studio near their house was that there was an old house there that was used as a squat frequently for what his mother refered to as "rough boys".
from what sirius understood and saw, these were poor kids who smoked and drank and swore at people in the streets for no reason. he was always being told not to stare at them and keep on walking. like they were an infectious disease and if he looked at them too long he would be riddled with it and there would be no end to the affliction. despite this, sirius couldn't help but be intrigued when he was a boy in a grubby sweater 2 sizes too big stumbling home and rubbing his eyes before he entered the studio.
he found himself thinking about what might go on in the alleyways and derelict buildings these boys called home. perhaps his parents were right, or perhaps they were just normal boys. either way, he had no way of knowing anything more about these boys.
his only real source of information was when his father,who worked on the council, wispered to his mother about them before the two went to bed. his father often asked his mother is she really thought it was worth it to bring the two boys so close to the delinquents just so they could be educated in dance, she often replied saying she wasn't sure, yet in a few days they would be back in ballet, practicing for an upcoming show.
one thing,however, got him intrigued.the next time they were walking from the car to the doors of the studio,he spotted two boys. one had brown curls,the other closely shaved stubble for hair, there was nothing unusual about the two. there was always boys like these running around. what shocked him most was that these two boys were kissing. he'd heard his father talk about "queers" overrunning the cities and causing problems,but this was his first encounter with real life ones. he shook it off pretty quickly though, when regulus called out to ask if he was coming.
despite trying to forget it, sirius found himself thinking about the two boys fairly often,wondering about them, wondering if there was other "queers".
now, he started looking for them whenever he entered or left the studio.
it was one of these nights,which occurred under a pretty unique circumstance, when sirius found himself walking home with regulus after their usual driver fell ill. they were just leaving after a very successful session,both feeling tired and looking forward to getting out of the rain and into their beds for the night, when sirius thought he heard something coming from an alleyway.
he wanted to investigate,but didn't want his brother coming with him. lest he get injured and leave sirius to face the wrath of their mother. "one second reg, I think I forgot my water bottle, you carry on and i'll catch up,yeah?" and Regulus being cold and tired replied with a simple 'ok' and continued on.
upon inspection of the alleyway,sirius first assumed the noise must've been a cat or stray dog of some kind, before hearing a quiet " 'm over here" coming from a corner. he ventured further into the alley to notice a boy that seemed weirdly familiar. he had messy brown curls and was strangely skinny,his face was dirty, and if sirius looked closely he could notice the boys eyes looking red.
however,most noticeably, the boy had a particularly blood like stain slowly appearing on his old,grimy looking t-shirt.
"are you all right?" sirius asked
"s'nothin-" his reply was interupted by him coughing roughly and pressing a hand to a spot on the side of his stomach.
"do you want me to call an-"
"NO" the boy interrupted "sorry,sorry. nah 's fine. I'll be fine"
"are you sure? that seems like alot of blood"
"yep. now will ya do us a favour and 'elp me up"
sirius responded with a nod and put his arm around the boy to support him. he stumbled a bit,trying to get his bearings and rubbing his eyes for a moment. then he tried to take a step forward,only to instantly cry out and clutch his side.
"really,if you won't let me call a doctor at least least let me get you somewhere safe"
he sighed "ya really wanna 'elp me don' ya," sirius nodded again
"fine" He lifted his arm in order for sirius to slip his arm back round him.
"do I get a name, if I'm going to be helping you" sirius asked once they'd started walking along at a slow pace. "remus, 'ow bout you,posh'n"
"sirius" remus scoffed "wot kinda name is sirius"
"what kind of name is remus?" sirius shot back
"touche" he smirked.
they continued walking in silence for a few more minutes,both boys wondering how to break the silence and what to do. in the end it was sirius who spoke first.
"so how did you get stabbed" it was a wild guess that he'd been stabbed,but from the grimace that formed on remus' face,sirius guessed he was right.
"go' in a figh' with one of the other lads" sirius didn't really know how to respond to that. how could he. he had no clue what the 'other lads' were like. he wasn't one of them. he was just a boy who was completely seperated from this world. so he didn't even respond.
"where are we going?"
"squat me and a couple others 're stayin' in"
"ok"
they continued on for another street,with remus stopping once or twice to get his breath back. eventually they reached a grimy building with a broken door. sirius nocked on for remus. another boy stood in the doorway. he was tall,and didn't look pleased to be the one opening the door. but then, his expression changed when he saw remus there, leaning on some boy he didn't know and bleeding from his stomach. "holy shit remus!"
the boy rushed forward,taking sirius' place in holding him up
"see ya around sirius" remus smiled as he was carried inside.
a moment layer the boy returned. "remus is being sorted out now. he should be fine"
"I'm glad" sirius wad surprised to realise that he was genuinely hoping with all he had that the stab wound didn't hit anything fatal and that remus would survive.
"thanks for helping him by the way. most people would've walked on and ignored him"
"no problem"
the guy nodded "go home now posh boy. you aren't safe here"
at that, sirius turned tail and walked and the boy shut the door. sirius only later realised,as he lay in bed going over the experience, that the boy was the same one he had seen kissing the boy with buzzed hair a month or two ago. he tried to convince himself he didn't care. after all, he was a no good queer who was probably in a gang.
or was he?