Bug Bites
When James suggested a summer in America, Sirius didn’t take much convincing. Despite being out of his parent's house, and life, for a year, he was still feeling their shadows in the streets of London. A summer adventure sounded like just what he needed.
“Isn’t this exciting?” James looks positively beside himself as they trundle down the bumpy road. Sirius has to admit he is excited, he just had to get past the idea of no AC and lots of mosquitoes, and then Minnesota didn’t sound too bad.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Sirius shakes his head and grins.
“It’ll be good for both of us,” James has a knowing look on his face and Sirius feels a surge of gratitude for his best friend.
“Hey Minerva, right?” The blonde girl in the front seat asks. “How much longer?”
“Twenty minutes,” answers the older woman. Minerva picked them up at the airport that morning. She was stoic but not rude, and there was something about her that Sirius liked immediately. Call it a hunch, but Sirius had a feeling the woman had more heart to her than you would think.
Marlene falls back into her seat and groans. Sirius shares her sentiment about the long bumpy car ride but chooses to keep it to himself. He had met her and Mary just this morning as he and James were grabbing their luggage from baggage claim. Despite it being five in the morning both girls had been kind and energetic. Sirius had a good feeling about both of them.
“So where are you guys from?” James plops his head on the seat in front of him.
“Wales,” Marlene says, though her accent was enough to tell them that. “I moved to London when I was 14 though.”
“We’re from London too,” Sirius points between himself and James. “Why’d you move?” The car ride had been relatively quiet so far, and he was glad for something to distract from the anxiety he was definitely not experiencing.
“My parents are music producers, and the Welsh countryside wasn't exactly a happening music scene,” She shrugs.
“Mary?” James asked. The girl tears her eyes away from the passing countryside and pulls out one of her earbuds.
“I was born in a tiny town in the North of England, but my family moved all around. My parents are horse trainers on the English showjumping circuit, so I lived all over the country.”
“You're both from London, what do your parents do?” Marlene asks.
James grins, always happy to talk about his family. Sirius feels his stomach sink. “My Mum’s an artist and my Da’s a family practice doctor.”
“Wait,” Marlene’s mouth drops open. “Is your mum Euphemia Potter? I saw one her her exhibits last week, it was wicked cool.”
“That’s her,” James said proudly.
“And you?” Mary looks to Sirius. He feels James’s concerned gaze turn to him but shrugs it off.
“I live with James,” His words come out a little louder and harsher than he meant. Marlene raises he eyebrows ever so slightly, and Mary frowns. Thankfully James jumps in and pulls the conversation to other topics. Sirius doesn’t know what he did to deserve such a good friend.
“So how did you both end up here?” James asks.
“You mean why did we pick a camp in the middle of nowhere Minnesota?” Marlene raises an eyebrow. “My parents are convinced this will help me find my purpose, or some bullshit like that,” Marlene says with a heavy air of sarcasm.
“It might just,” Mary says sagely, and Sirius can’t tell if she’s joking or not.
“Don’t tell my parents,” Marlene’s voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper, “I’d never live it down, but I really am quite excited.” Mary laughs.
The rest of the van ride passes in a blur and before they know it they’re pulling up to camp. Outside of a modest green cabin stands seven Americans clad in jean shorts and tank tops. Tall green pine trees stretch over the lake towards the sky behind them.
Sirius takes one deep breath and then another. He shoves down any thoughts of home and plasters on a grin. He won’t let his nervousness win over his excitement. James reaches over and squeezes Sirius’s arm, and when Minerva opens the van door his friend almost falls on the ground out of excitement. Sirius steps out after him. A wave of humid air rolls over Sirius and a green, earthy smell comes with it.
A redheaded woman with bright green eyes introduces herself as Lily and launches into a welcome speech. As she rambles on about sunscreen and mealtimes Sirius turns to his best friend who is enraptured by the redhead. He scoffs quietly, and James elbows him without taking his eyes off her.
Sirius tunes out her cheery voice and takes in the other six people. First is a kind-looking older woman, then a sunburned blonde chap, a tall dark-skinned woman, a red-headed couple, and finally a very tall, slim man with soft brown hair. Sirius feels a little bit like he can’t breathe as the man’s pretty hazel eyes rest on him. Sirius offers a smile, but the brunette's face remains unreadable. He’s vaguely aware of James introducing himself and pulls himself out of his thoughts to offer his own name.
Seconds later the redhead is talking again. “Like I said, I’m Lily, I’m the head counselor here,” she pauses and turns to those next to her. The older woman, Poppy, is the camp nurse. Arthur and Molly run the waterfront and the ranch respectively. Peter is the cook. Dorcas claims to “do a little bit of everything.” Minerva, whom Sirius is already acquainted with, offers that she is the camp director.
“I’m Remus,” says the tall man. “I’m just a counselor,” He smiles sheepishly, the first bit of emotion he’s displayed. The smile makes his whole face scrunch up. Sirius tries once more to get the man to acknowledge him, but Remus’s smile has already disappeared.
“Which is what you all will be doing as well,” Lily swoops back in.
Arthur and Molly start to unload the bags from the van as Lily chatters on. Remus is silent and Dorcas whispers something in his ear. Sirius feels a little as though he is being made fun of.
“Jesus!” James exclaims out of nowhere. “These bugs are killer.”
Dorcas snorts and Remus laughs loudly. Sirius is now sure they are being made fun of but is having a hard time caring. Remus’s eyes crinkle as he smiles fully this time and Sirius is so glad James dragged him here. When Sirius finally catches his eye though, Remus’ face drops quickly. A flash of annoyance runs through Sirius but it’s overpowered by a surge of interest. He doesn’t mind a challenge.
As Lily leads them down a winding, wooded path Sirius finds himself already falling in love with the camp, his anxiety fading away. Tall trees reach towards a perfectly blue sky and a dark blue lake can just be me made out between their trunks. It’s a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of London. His fights with his parents, and with his brother quickly seem so very far away.
Remus and Lily lead them throughout camp. From the dining hall to the cabins, to the trail that leads to the barn. By the end of the next hour, Sirius has sweat through his leather jacket and has collected enough bug bites to last a lifetime.
~~~
Remus stumbles into the main room of the staff house and flips on the light. James, he’s learned, snores and after an hour of counting sheep, he gave up on sleep. He adds earplugs to his mental list of things to buy next time they go into town.
An owl hoots quietly outside and Remus rummages through his bin of snacks. He emerges victorious with a chocolate bar and flops down on the couch. The radio is still quietly playing country music and he hums along. While never his first choice at home, country feels perfectly acceptable at camp. Remus ponders the fact that this may be because the radio plays nothing but country here.
A small sound echoes across the empty room and Remus looks up to find Sirius standing near the microwave. His hair is loose around his shoulders now and his heather grey sleep shirt softens his features. His eyes are slightly wide and something about the shadows makes the dark circles under his eyes more prominent, Remus didn’t even notice them before. Though he had been trying very hard not to notice anything about Sirius, so maybe that’s why.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone else was awake,” Sirius’s accent sounds wildly out of place surrounded by the log walls and tacky camping decor.
“You’re fine,” Remus responds slowly. “Can’t sleep?”
“Yeah, um, new place and all you know?” Sirius waves his hand around, he runs his hands through his hair.
“Mhm,” Remus nods noncommittally and takes another bite of chocolate.
“Mind if I sit?” Sirius asks.
“Go for it.”
Sirius, to Remus’s surprise, drops down right next to him, as opposed to the opposite, and empty chair. He smells faintly of aftershave and laundry detergent.
“I feel like you don’t like me,” Sirius says, matter of factly.
“What?” Remus splutters, he wasn’t sure where this conversation was going to go, but that wasn’t what he was expecting to come out of the other man’s mouth.
“Sorry, I just get the feeling you don’t want us here.”
Remus sighs, he briefly considers denying it but doesn’t. “You’re not who I would have picked,” He says tersely. “You all seem-”
“Like stuck-up rich kids?” Sirius grins.
“Well, I wasn’t going to say that,” Remus grimaces.
“But you thought it.”
“Um,”
Sirius gestures towards the candy in Remus’s hand. “Can I have a piece?”
Remus hands him a square. He thinks he may be getting whiplash from this conversation. “You are a very strange man,” Is how he decides to respond.
“Thank you,” Sirius pops the chocolate into his mouth. Remus is pretty sure Sirius is talking about the chocolate but he’s not sure. They fall into silence, and Remus feels it itching against his skin. The windows across the room are open and the waves lapping against the shore is the only sound in the room. Remus is quite confused by the whole interaction and is about to get up and return to his bunk when Sirius breaks the silence.
“I’ll have you know I can make a mean friendship bracelet, I taught myself on the flight here,” Sirius offers up his wrist where a bracelet, that looks an awful lot like a clump of knots, hangs. He’s grinning now and the way the smile lights up Sirius’s face makes Remus feel a little sick. He’s not supposed to like this man.
“I’m not sure that exactly qualifies you,” Remus laughs softly. “Besides, even Pete can make a better bracelet than that, and that’s saying something.”
“Okay well, I tried,” Sirius pouts, but then more seriously says: “My point is maybe we’re not ‘the type’ but we’re excited to be here. James even got his lifeguard certification and everything, you know? Give us a chance?”
Remus just stares at him for a moment. “Sure,” he says quietly. Sirius smiles and gets up.
“Good,” Sirius nods. “Night Remus.”
“Night.”
Remus will give them a chance he decides. He comes to terms with the fact that his misgivings may have been just a little bit unfounded. Though if he's judging them off Sirius's bracelet skills they all still have a lot to learn.
Remus stays on the couch lost in thought. He can hear Sirius tossing and turning in the room next door and wonders if his sleeplessness is more than just the new place.