about you

James Potter felt like he has been on his feet ever since the band released their new album.

Every night he seemed to be in a different place either doing press for the album or the band had a gig. James felt like he had been scrambling from place to place trying to meet various people from either the band or their management team.

He barely saw Sirius outside of mandatory events since the album released, which was definitely odd for the two of them. James usually found himself spending nearly every moment with Sirius, but recently he could barely remember the last time the two of them hung out together when there wasn't an event bringing them together.

Halloween had come and passed while James and Sirius were busy, and it was now early November. Usually, James and Sirius were together on Halloween. James can't recall a Halloween where they weren't together either at Hogwarts or in the past few years. While at Hogwarts, the two always threw the best Halloween parties. James and Sirius attempted to continue that tradition into adulthood, but it seemed that they lost their streak this year.

If missing Halloween wasn't enough, James hasn't spoken to Sirius since before Rita Skeeter article was published. Sirius barely spoke to him about the situation aside from a few texts they exchanged. It was extremely uncommon for the pair to go awhile without talking to one another. James felt like Sirius was moving on in a way due to the lack of complication, but deep down James knew he and Sirius weren't drifting from one another. They were both extremely busy.

James' knowledge didn't stop his doubts entering his mind. He liked to believe that he was secure in his identify and himself. Well, James wasn't a insecure person until it came to his friendships. It wasn't uncommon for a person to feel like they're being forgotten or replaced. As a matter of a fact, James felt as if he had a genuine fear of being left behind. He knew Sirius would never in a million years replace or forget him, but the thought lingered in his mind. When James saw pictures of Sirius and Remus together just days before, James' insecurities became more persistent. The photos did nothing except strength his internal belief that he was getting replaced.

Another factor of these insecurities was the fact that James hadn't found the time to meet up with Regulus much in the past couple of weeks. Sure, the pair frequently exchanged texts and the occasional phone call, but they only saw each other once a week at most James knew they were both busy people and had a lot of things going on at once, but he still missed Regulus despite knowing him for such little time. He was completely aware that Regulus was tied up with things related to his band's new album, but he still couldn't shake the thought that maybe Regulus just didn't want to see him.

James had to admit that he missed both Sirius and Regulus, more than words could say. So naturally, as soon as James saw a free day on his schedule, he decided he needed to see both Sirius and Regulus.

He was sitting in his apartment, debating how he was going to get the pair to even be in the same room as each other, let alone speak to one another. James had no clue how he was going to manage to convince either, seeing how things ended when they first met. James had noticed that upon even the mention of one of their names, the other had a negative reaction. Sirius constantly brought up their argument and his damaged ego while Regulus completely disregarded anything said about Sirius.

Before James made a complicated plan, he texted Sirius and Regulus separately. He figured it would be harder to convince Sirius, so he texted him first.

prongs: SIRIUS
are you free today

padfoot: JAMES HI
i am

prongs: CAN WE PLEASE HANG OUT

padfoot: YES
i haven't seen you in so long im forgetting what u look like

James stupidly smiled at his phone. He was already looking forward to seeing Sirius, even if it meant witnessing Sirius and Regulus arguing the entire time.

prongs: YIPPPEEE
can regulus come too

padfoot: What
i mean... can i say no..
im sick now and i have sooo many errands sorry james i wont be free for two weeks!

James audibly groaned. He knew Sirius would be overly dramatic with the situation, but he didn't expect this much.

prongs: no you cant just take back you being free
PLEASEPLEADPELEd I HUNG OUT WITH YOU OR REGULUS IN SO LONG

padfoot: killing two birds with one stone
I see i see

prongs: alright shakespeare enough
can u do me a favor and just endure the suffering of hanging out with regulus for ONE DAY

padfoot: are u being genuine right now im about to call u
this is crazy

prongs: YES IM BEINF SERIOUS
PLSPSLSP

padfoot: haha Sirius

prongs: just know i am not laugh rn

padfoot: Wow Okay
anyways ill come
ONLY if i can bring remus

prongs: is he your emotional support animal now..

padfoot: No James
it'll be good press for us I guess

prongs: No clue what that means but OKAY!!! ill text u with details later

padfoot: see you later with r*gulus:(

James let out a breath in relief, as he knew Sirius would be the worse out of him and Regulus. He was confused by Sirius requesting Remus to come along, since he thought the two were still on bad terms.

James wasn't exactly sure why Remus had to come with Sirius either. It reminded him of when the pair first began dating and they wouldn't go anywhere without the other being near. James felt a pit in his stomach when he started thinking about if Remus was coming along because Sirius didn't want to see James as much as he wanted to see Remus. He decided there was nothing to worry about and that something happened that he was unaware of. The improv hang out would just have to be a double date situation.

After debating internally about the whole situation, James closed his and Sirius' texts and opened Regulus' contact.

future husband james: REGULUS!!!!
can we pretty please hang out

LOVE OF MY LIFE: james!!!
i was actually about to ask you the same thing since i have the day off
so yes we can

future husband james: YAYY
i have a question tho

LOVE OF MY LIFE: ask away
should i be scared..

future husband james: maybe
depends on how u feel ab a certain Person

LOVE OF MY LIFE: absolutely not
you're not about to ask me if sirius can come along
please say you're not

future husband james: u took the words out of my mouth!

Before James could type anything else, his phone started ringing. The contact name was Regulus', so James answered immediately.

"Hello?" James barely got out before Regulus started speaking.

"Why would I want Sirius to be with us on a date? It's extremely bold of me to assume that you asked me out on a date, but either way, Sirius cannot be there. I mean, he hates me and I hate him, so at least the feeling is mutual," Regulus rambled.

"Regulus, it's fine. First off, I would like it to be a date, but I thought Sirius could come along and bring someone. I didn't think anything of it because he doesn't hate you!" James attempted, which resulted in Regulus groaning.

"Do you remember what happened at your album premiere party?" Regulus questioned.

"One bad conversation doesn't mean that Sirius hates you," James pointed out.

"I don't know if I would say that considering that Sirius gave me dirty looks for the rest of the party," Regulus said.

"Regulus, just hear me out. Sirius already agreed, so this could be an opportunity for you two to make amends or whatever!" James said, which resulted in a scoff coming from the other side of the call.

"How long did it take for Sirius to agree? Did you have to bribe him?" Regulus asked.

"I didn't bribe him or make any deals, Regulus," James said with a harsh tone before realizing Sirius did, in fact, only agree to come if Remus could be there. "Actually, he did say Remus had to be there."

"See! Sirius is making his boyfriend come with him because that's the only way he fan get through this," Regulus pointed out while James nearly dropped his phone upon hearing the word boyfriend.

"What do you mean boyfriend? They're barely even friends from what I've heard," James questioned in disbelief.

"Remus told me they were back together last week," Regulus replied before his tone changed from annoyed to something that sounded pretty close to empathic. "Did Sirius not tell you?"

"No, he didn't," James said quietly. He had no clue how Sirius forgot to tell James important life updates, especially an update that included Remus.

"Shit," Regulus mumbled after a few seconds on silence. "I'm sorry, James. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Not your fault, Reg," James stated as he continued to think about Sirius and Remus.

"I'll come along to hang out with you. Hell, I'll even pick you up, as long as you agree to not beat yourself up over this Sirius thing," Regulus insisted with a small amount of worry in his voice. James really didn't want the day to be ruined over a mistake, especially one like Sirius forgetting to tell him something.

"I'm not going to beat myself up over this, that would be stupid," James commented with a huff.

"Whatever you say, James. At least talk to someone, it's not good to keep all of your thoughts bottled up in your head," Regulus said.

"I'm fine. I'll see you later, I'll text you the details," James mumbled out before hanging up. He sat and stared at the wall in front of his couch for what felt like hours, still in disbelief over what Regulus told him.

After staring holes into the wall, James decided Regulus was right. He had to talk to someone about this, or else he would slowly destroy himself over his silly little worries. James knew exactly who he had to talk to, even if it was over text.

Before he had an improv therapy session, James quickly texted Sirius and Regulus details about their small get together. He decided on going to a restaurant that wasn't too fancy for the outing in about two hours. Once everything had been sorted out, James got ready. He picked out a decent outfit for the small restaurant they were going to and changed. James didn't put much more effort into his appearance, considering he had already showered earlier in the day and he knew he couldn't fix his hair to be slightly presentable.

James checked the time to see he still had about an hour before Regulus was going to pick him up.

"Perfect," James said to himself as he opened his phone to his messages, where he then clicked on Peter's contact. James knew Peter was one of the only other person he could go to for advice. Sure, he could've went to Lily, but Peter had been there for James more times than he could count on two hands.

prongs: peter! can we please talk

wormy: james :-)
of course we can unless im in trouble
i swear im innocent

prongs: nothing for you to worry about, the cops are NOT on their way
BUT did u know remus and sirius were back together

wormy: yeah, he told me
why?

prongs: oh
he never told me and i found out through regulus
im a little bit hurt by it i guess
never though remus would go back to him considering the cheating

James audibly groaned after he realized what he said. It was only after he sent the message did he remember that Sirius never told Peter what really happened. He wasn't sure why exactly Sirius hadn't told his other best friend about the downfall of his relationship, other than the fact that Sirius cheated. James and Lily were the only two people who knew, since they were the only two Sirius and Remus had told.

wormy: what..

prongs: never mind!
I'm Fine Now!

wormy: JAMES WHAT

prongs: SiriusCheatedOnRemusWithBenjy

wormy: HOLY FUCK
AND I WAS NEVER TOLD???

prongs: DONT TELL ANYONE PETER
SIRIUS WILL KILL ME

wormy: i won't!!!! swear
but do you mean benjy FINWICK??? THE INTERN???

prongs: YES!!!! THE INTERN!!!!

wormy: shit
i'm so sorry about everything james but ive gotta run

prongs: Are you seriously going to leave after i told u that

wormy:IM SORRY
im going into a meeting

James stared at his screen for a solid minute. He knew there weren't any meetings for anyone in the band today. Was Peter seriously blowing him off?

prongs: righttttf okay bye pete

James messed around on his phone, trying to distract himself from his intrusive thoughts in his mind. He kept feeling that he was getting left behind or betrayed by nearly everyone. James knew he should be happy, since he was seeing two of his friends and the guy he liked in less than an hour. He just could not shake his thoughts of abandonment.

Before he knew it, James got a text from Regulus that said he was outside. James felt his mood almost instantly sky rocket after he realized he would be seeing Regulus in a few moments. He hurriedly gathered his things and put his shoes on before racing down stairs.

James nearly ran out the main doors of his apartment building and spotted Regulus waiting nearby.

"Regulus!" James called out while rushing towards him.

"James, oh my god," Regulus managed to get out as James tackled him into a hug. "It's barely been a week since we last saw each other."

"Too long," James mumbled as he put his head atop Regulus'. The pair stayed entwined for a few moments, just relishing in each other.

Regulus was the first to pull away, "As much as I would love to stand here forever, it's a little cold and Sirius is waiting for you."

James nodded before he smiled at Regulus, "Are you ready to leave then?"

"As ready as I'll ever be to face Sirius, I guess," Regulus said with a small laugh. James offered Regulus his hand, which he accepted and the pair began walking.

The two walked in a comfort silence for awhile, simply looking around at the scenery they passed along the way. James was comforted just knowing that Regulus was next to him and he felt his own nerves calm down.

They were about a block away from the restaurant when Regulus broke the silence.

"Are you going to ask Sirius about him and Remus tonight? I can tell something is bothering you, and I can only guess that's what's causing the problem," Regulus remarked.

James shrugged and glanced at Regulus, "Maybe if there's a chance for me to ask. I don't want to randomly ask him and look like an asshole."

"I'm not sure if you would be the asshole in that situation, he did completely forget to tell you, his best friend, about his relationship," Regulus said reassuringly. James thought about what he said for a second before he replied.

"You're definitely not wrong, but Sirius doesn't have to tell me everything. Beside, I'm barely upset by it," James lied which caused Regulus to raise an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Sure," Regulus said with a sarcastic tone.

"I'm just being honest! It's not like he owes me anything," James pointed out.

"Who owes you?" Someone said from front of James and Regulus. James shifted his gaze from Regulus to see that Sirius and Remus were standing bear the entrance of the restaurant they agreed to meet at.

"Sirius, Remus! What's up?" James asked with excitement as he rushed to the pair. He wasn't sure how exactly to greet them, so he just skidded to a stop in front of them.

"It's nice to see you two," Regulus added from behind James, which caused James to smile. At least Regulus and Sirius were being semi-friendly for the moment.

"You too, Regulus," Sirius replied with a halfhearted smile.

"I feel like I've seen Regulus more than my own mother in the past two weeks, so I'm not sure if I am glad to see you," Remus joked from next to Sirius.

"Speak for yourself, I haven't seen James in ages. I forgot he wore glasses," Sirius added with a grin.

"I haven't seen you except for when we're playing at a gig, so I guess that makes sense" James mentioned.

"Oh wow," Remus said. "That's unusual for you two. I feel like you're always conjoined at the hip."

James was almost relieved that he wasn't the only one who thought Sirius distancing himself from James was odd.

"I know! Never again will I spend more than a night away from my precious Prongs," Sirius said as he threw an arm around James' shoulder. Remus and Regulus just stared at the dup, unsure of what to say or do.

"I'm not sure if your boyfriend would enjoy you spending every single night with James," Regulus commented and James thought he saw Sirius' jaw hit the sidewalk when Regulus mentioned the word boyfriend.

"Oh right, congratulations you two," James said quickly while he turned to face Sirius and Remus. The two were giving each other odd looks, and it seemed to James that they were communicating through their eyes.

"James, we're n-" Sirius began before getting cut off by Remus.

"Thank you, James. We appreciate it," Remus said loudly, almost as if he was trying to cover up what Sirius had began to say. The four seemed to linger in an awkward silence after the mention of Remus and Sirius' relationship.

"Right," Regulus said. "Should we go inside now?"

"Yeah, no use in standing outside all night," Remus replied and then began to make his way inside.

The rest of the group followed Remus, but Sirius seemed to linger behind in order to get James alone for a second.

"James, I know I didn't tell you about Remus and I, but there's a good reason," Sirius whispered.

"It's fine, Sirius. You don't have to tell me everything," James insisted.

"I didn't tell you because we're not back together, it's a publicity stunt!" Sirius whisper yelled.

James shot him a confused look, "What do you mean publicity stunt? Are you seriously fake dating Remus?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it fake dating necessarily," Sirius replied.

"You're so confusing sometimes," James mumbled before he continued walk to the group's table.

James took a seat next to Regulus, who was giving him an odd look.

"What was that about?" Regulus asked quietly once James was sat.

"No clue," James replied honestly since he really wasn't quite sure what Sirius meant.

James glanced around the restaurant to take in his surroundings. He was met with the sight of the paparazzi outside, cameras already flashing.

"Seems that we can't go anywhere nowadays," Remus said with a sigh.

"I'm sure it's not about us," Sirius assured with unjustified confidence.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Sirius. What are the odds that more than one group of celebrities are eating in the same restaurant at the same time?" Regulus pointed out with a smug look on his face.

"The odds are actually pretty high, considering celebrities are seen at this place often," Sirius replied in a harsh tone.

"Well, I haven't seen any other relevant celebrity while we've been here," Regulus remarked.

"You said relevant, but what about the irrelevant ones?" Sirius asked.

James put his head in his hands in defeat after hearing them argument back and forth.

So much for no arguments.

"Guys, please calm down. I'll check Twitter to see if it concerns us or someone else at this restaurant, so please shut up," James finally said, sick of the childish feud. He grabbed his phone and opened it in order to check Twitter.

James saw a new tweet from Rita Skeeter, which was never a good sign. He clicked on the tweet.

@ritaskeet:it seems sirius black is back together with remus lupin after being spotted on a double date with james potter and regulus black.

only one of the black 'brothers' was able to hide their past, while sirius wasn't that lucky.

what secrets could sirius black be hiding?

⬇️new article with exclusive interview below ⬇️

James looked up to see the rest of the table waiting for him to say something.

"So? Who was right?" Sirius asked, causing Remus to elbow him in the side.

"Seems like Regulus was, but you might want to check your phones..." James said in a hushed tone, trying to avoid attention being drawn to their table.

James looked back at his phone and opened the article. He briefly read it until a certain part caught his eye.

The popstar the entire world knows and loves, Sirius Black, seems to have some dirty history regarding past relationships.

An unknown source reported facts that Remus Lupin and Sirius Black's sudden break up was caused by Black cheating on his fiancé with an intern at his management's office.

"I only briefly knew about Remus, but Sirius made me swear throughout our affair to not tell a single soul," Benjy Fenwick, the previously mentioned intern, said in an interview with our very own Rita Skeeter.

Fenwick went on to describe the rest of their relationship...

James forced himself to stop reading. How could someone possibly reveal all of this to Rita Skeeter?

"Jesus Christ," Sirius mumbled from across the table. James glanced up from his phone to see Sirius with his head in his hands, clearly upset.

James looked over to Remus, who was even more distraught and upset than Sirius. He knew this was probably the couple's worst nightmare.

"You guys can leave if you need to," James brought up after sitting in silence for awhile.

Sirius and Remus shared a quick look before turning back to James.

"We better go, thank you guys for the invitation," Sirius said as he stood up before leaving. Remus simply nodded and followed Sirius out.

James looked next to him to see Regulus in awe.

"Despite our differences, I feel awful for Sirius right now," Regulus said. "This is all so fucked up. Who could possibly tell Rita Skeeter all of this?"

James nodded in agreement before he began thinking. Regulus brought up a good point--who would do this to Sirius? James knew the few people who were aware of the situation and he thought about the people involved before a realization hit him.

James told Peter about this scandal earlier in the day, and coincidentally Rita Skeeter published an article about it within the same day. James felt the color drain from his face when he realized that he caused this entire mess.

"James? Are you okay?" Regulus asked from next to him.

"Regulus, I fucked up. I told someone about Sirius cheating on Remus earlier today and they told Rita. Sirius is going to kill me! I never knew Peter would do something like this to one of this lifelong friends, but here we are. Did I seriously just name drop Peter too? Oh my god," James rambled.

"Oh shit," Regulus mumbled once hearing James' explanation. "Peter Pettigrew, as in yours and Sirius' best friend since Hogwarts?"

James nodded, "He was also the one to leak all of our tweets, which explains why he had almost none in the article."

Regulus suddenly jumped up and seemed to wait for James.

"What?" James asked, extremely confused.

"Come on, we have to tell our managers or this could get worse," Regulus explained. James continued to sit in his seat, not quite understanding Regulus' logic.

"Are you telling me we have to go right now? Like this very moment?" James questioned.

"Yes!" Regulus huffed out in frustration. "Hurry, we need to get to Lily and Mary soon."

"But shouldn't Sirius and Remus go to them rather than us?" James asked.

"We're going to them first so you can explain yourself to Lily and Mary and so that I can tell all of you something," Regulus said, his patience wearing thin.

The puzzle pieces finally clicked in James' mind and James jumped up.

"Alright, let's go," James said as he held his hand out for Regulus to take. "What do you have to tell them?"

Regulus took his hand and began walking, "You'll find out everything soon enough."

James followed after Regulus, still baffled from the past hour.

The only thing James could do at this point was hope that Regulus was right when he said he'll find out everything soon.