Cellophane

God James was fucking cold. The stands of the Quidditch pitch were freezing, and despite the efforts of Mooney’s little umbrella; he was still absolutely drenched.

First Quidditch match of the year. It hadn't even started yet, and it was absolutely awful.

“Jesus Christ” muttered Remus from his spot next to James. “This is a fucking murder,” Spat Sirius from the other side of James

“Well..” started Peter, “Do you think Ravenclaw will pull through?”

“No pete, unfortunately I think those Slytherin bastards are going to steal this thing. Total bullshit.” Sirius dropped his head to his hands and groaned. "its all politics."

“Shut up, it hasn't even started yet.” James said, shoving Sirius in the side.

They were surprised Sirius even came. After everything that went down this past summer. The tension between Sirius and his sister was at a record high. James didn't think Sirius would want to watch her play. Especially when Slytherin was probably going to win, and Regulus was undoubtedly very good at Quidditch.

James glanced at Remus, he had put his umbrella down, giving up on the notion of attempted dryness. “My god-” started Remus, “Shut up!” shouted Peter, “they are finally starting the bloody thing.”

“GOOOOOOD MORNING HOGWARTS STUDENTS!”

  “Old Ed is as lively as ever isn't he.” Sirius said, chuckling. “Yeah, and I don't think Mcgonagall is jumping with joy 'bout that fact.” James observed her making yelling gestures at him, as he stopped to listen, laugh and then mouth an apology to her and the other staff. “Sorry about that folks, hopefully we will have a nice clean match today! And welcome back everyone!” The crowd cheered. A good portion of the student body had shown up. Being it was the first match and everyone was excited about the new year and the new couple of inches they had grown over the summer.

The stands were packed on all sides. 

“Welcome team Ravenclaw!”

The crowd cheered. They all trotted out, one at a time. Brooms in hand, smiling and waving. They had a pretty solid team. But the odds were still stacked against them.

“Bless their hearts” James muttered, and Remus snorted a laugh. 

“And the Slytherin team!”

The crowd cheered, and booed a bit too. “Slimy bastards,” Sirius said, scoffing. “I just hope they don't jinx anyone," Remus said, cringing. “Agreed,” James added, wiping rain water from his face with the sleeve of his sweater. His nice sweater. That was drenched. 

Whatever. 

The Slytherin team walked out. Led by their captain, Thomas Bleaker, he was tall with shaggy blond hair. And he walked out with a cocky, unsettling grin. The rest of the team followed one at a time, ending with Regulus Black.

Sirius didn't say anything. The air around the four of them just filled with a (recently very familiar) painfully sharp tension. They all noticed. No one said anything about it. 

And now, James got that all too familiar pang of guilt in his chest. 

It was almost funny, considering how much Regulus and Sirius hated each other, and how different they were. Despite it they still had the same way about them. It didn't matter that she was the smallest on the team, her presence could fill up the field, it could fill the whole fucking stadium. And Sirius was the same. 

They looked alike. Everyone said it, and for the most part it was true. So similar. But also, so violently different. 

They had the same hair. Both long, and effortlessly elegant. They were both slender with sharp jaws. Their eyebrows were the same, and their eyelashes. They had the same eyes. That grayish blue. They both filled a room. That was the strangest part of their similarities, James thought. Sirius was loud, and honest, and witty. Regulus was also honest and witty. And loud. But it was different. Regulus's loudness could be heard in a condescending glance.A twitch of her eyebrows in annoyance. A roll of her eyes. For Regulus, an exhale could be an atomic bomb. 

Sirius was very popular. Obviously. 

Regulus was respected. No one fucked with her. If she had wanted it, she could have as many friends or whatever, as she wanted. She didn't though. Obviously. 

Sirius was tall. Regulus wasn't. Regulus was very pale, she made it work so it suited her elegantly. She still could be mistaken for a corpse at a quick glance. Sirius was tanned, naturally. Sirius Never wore his uniform properly, there was always one button undone, maybe two, or a loose tie, or whatever else. Regulus would never stoop so low.  Sirius was a slut. It was true, he would be the first to admit it. Regulus wasn't a slut. She wasn't a prude either. Regulus, in all her Regulus-ness, had somehow combated the power of teenage sexual labels. People didn't think about weather Regulus was having sex and then judging her accordingly. If they were a Slytherin or in that category, they were thinking about weather she liked them or not. How not to piss her off. How to make her think they were also cool. If they were a Gryffindor, or in that category, their emotions for Regulus were usually, a classic, fear and hatred.   

Everyone watched her walk to join her team, the hair from her ponytail swung as she walked. Already dripping wet strands fell in her face. 

Both teams were dripping wet. “Captains shake hands.” James watched as the Ravenclaw captain, and Thomas Bleaker, shook palms. Both looking very defiant. His eyes fell over to the Slytherin team. It was made-up mostly of boys. Only exception being Regulus, and a tall girl with long braids named Alice cass. Regulus turned to look at Alice and said something that made her giggle and shake her head. 

James heart lurched.

"AND THE GAME BEGINS"

Jesus fucking Christ, thought Regulus.

She was cold and fucking exhausted. There was no way in hell it was only the end of September, not with this weather. 

Her uniform was drenched, her shirt underneath it was drenched, so was her hair, her eyelashes, her pants, her fucking socks. She gripped harder around her broom, then rolled her head in a circle, properly cracking her neck. 

She wanted to go back to her room and sleep.

She looked down at the pitch from where she hovered above. Slytherin was winning, thank god. All she had to do was catch the bloody Snitch and this could all be over. "Hey!" Shouted one of the beaters, Eric Dean, from below her, "Catch the bloody Snitch already! I've had to take a piss for the past 20 minutes!" She rolled her eyes. Eric was actually fine. She liked him enough. In fact she thought pretty decently of most of her team. Not like she would ever tell them though. "relax." was all she said back.

The rain was making it hard to see. So was her exhaustion and the hair in her face. Regulus would feel better once she saw it. Adrenaline would rush through her and she would feel alive and fast. That was the best part. All she needed was the Snitch. All she needed-  

whoosh.

And there it was.

She dove without hesitation. The Gryffindor seeker followed suit of her descent, trying to catch up. But he was too slow. 

“And there it is,” said Sirius bitterly. “Fuck.” peter dropped his head to his hands.

James watched as Regulus flew down to the field, snitch in hand, immediately being crowded by her teammates, patting her back and shoulders before picking her up. They laughed, and she let herself smile softly.

Fuck. James though, and his heart renched at the sight of her. 

“I fucking hate her,” Sirius said.

And James fucking hated her too. Of course he hated her.  A lot. He hated her hair, and her wrists, and her collar bones, he hated the way she walked, and they way she spoke. Jesus did he hate the way she spoke. And he was serious, despite whatever…arrangement they had. Because it meant absolutely nothing. It was just... physical. No feelings attached, no anything attached. And he could break it off anytime he wanted to. That's why there was no reason to feel guilty. Because it wasn't even worth mentioning.

It started at the beginning of the year. He couldn't even pinpoint how it began. Just hatred and everything else taking form in something completely different.

And they both agreed it meant nothing. It was just sex. No feelings. Jesus, she didn't even let him kiss her. Literally nothing. But it's perfect, it's not like he wanted to kiss her in the first place. Regulus had said, if he recalls correctly "It's corny for us to kiss and pretend we don't loath each other." James then continued shoving his fingers inside her. Apparently that wasn't "corny." 

But my god did he still feel guilt like he never has felt before. It was just the lingering feeling of betrayal that James never let himself indulge in.  

“Let's go back,” said Peter, “I'm starving.”

“Me too,” Remus said, standing up and yawning. "prongs, mate, we don’t have all day” 

"yeah, yeah" James said, waving his hand at them, standing up slowly.

    The dining hall was packed. Ravenclaws mourning their loss. Slytherins celebrating in the hall before undoubtedly going back to their common room to get drunk. James was sitting next to Sirius opposite peter. His eyes, despite knowing better, went to find the younger slytherin.

She looked...tired. Her hair was back down, falling a bit in her eyes. Pale fingers held a book with one hand, and her chin rested in the palm of the other. A few people seemed to be attempting to converse with her. Probably wanting to talk about the game, but she wasn't contributing anything other than a nod every now and then. After a moment she put her book down, stood up, and stretched her arms before making her way out of the hall.

James watched. He bit the inside of his cheek and internally cursed himself out.

When he stood up Remus, Peter and Sirius’s eyes followed him. “Hey, where the hell are you going?” Asked Remus. “Library.” James replied, yawning. “Library,” Sirius repeated slowly, “classes have barely started and forgive me prongs, but you’re not exactly Lily Evans academic rival if you know what I mean.” They all laughed, and James cracked a smile, “I’ve got to get a book,” he said, taking one last swig of his goblet, and not giving the others time to respond before quickly trotting away.

He smiled and waved to a few people as he left.

Once out of the hall he saw Regulus only a few steps ahead. She had changed back into her uniform. Her hair still looked a little damp.

He caught up to he and then walked a few steps ahead, before turning back around to look at her properly.

Fuck. Honestly, she wasn't even trying.

Yeah, thought James. I hate her.

 She looked a little irritated as she stopped walking to look at him as well. Neither of them said anything before James gestured to a storage closet to the left. “After you, Black.” He was Mocking a slight bow. Her eyebrows twitched together and she cocked her head to the side. She then obliged.

“Really potter-” She began, but the moment the door shut, his lips were on her neck. Bitting, and sucking. And he was shoving her back against the door. one hand on the back of her neck, tilting her chin up, and the other gripping painfully into her waist, pulling her against him.

James broke from Regulus’s neck to gaze down at her, she looked flushed and dizzy. He was rather proud.

"beautiful work out there, black, shouldn't you be doing a bit of gloating?" a mocking smirk graced his face. "Well, not everyone can be born as arrogant as you, Potter," She said back, wanting to be angry, but with everything James was doing it was coming out soft and breathless.

"Right, right,” he said slowly, “of course."

he always looked at her so intensely, she couldn't brake the eye contact. And she would never admit it. Never say it out loud. Not on her last dying breath. But he made her fucking nervous. And she knew he realized that.

His hand went to her face, his thumb tracing the bag under her eye “Have you been sleeping?”

“Stop,” she said, pulling away from his hand. They agreed not to do shit like that. 

James sighed before glancing down to her white collared shirt and starting to undo the buttons. He then continued, leaning back down to kiss and nip at her neck down to her collar bones. The heat of the small closet was making her dizzy, and James was so fucking close.

Bastard.

He pushed his knee between her thighs and she had no choice but to lower her hips down. His thigh hitting the perfect spot. As good as it felt, she made no move to continue the friction.

“Go on, don’t tell me you’re shy?” James spoke, and he dragged his leg against her painfully slowly to coax her along. “Fuck you,” she said through whimpers into his neck. “Hmm, right,” he said,bringing his tongue from her collar bone slowly up her neck, to her jaw. And she let out shaky breaths as he went. “Go on,” he said again. Always mocking.

And now she did, letting herself grind against his thigh, failing to hold back broken moans. “Atta girl,” James said, straightening his back to look down at her properly. Her head was leaning against his chest. Her hands, gripping at either side of his biceps.

“I like you best like this,” James said, bringing one hand down to help in pushing her hips against him “you’re so much less infuriating,” He was obviously trying to piss her off, but she clearly wasn't listening anymore, her ego thrown to the wind as she rolled her hips against him, craving stimulation.

“Fuck you–ah-” James was very proud indeed.

He brought his free hand up the back of her shirt to touch and feel the cold, bare skin of her lower back. “Your skin is too cold,” this was an observation James had made before, and would probably make again.

“Your hands are too hot,” she stuttered out. And her voice, be it irritated, was small and whiny.

James let out an arrogant laugh. His arrogance was all very hypocritical because had been painfully hard throughout the whole thing. But he still couldn't see her face. James pulled his hand from its place under her skirt, she was moving her hips fine on her own now, getting desperate, it seemed. And he put the back of his hand under her chin, using his knuckle to motion it up. Her default blank, uninterested expression was long forgotten. Her eyebrows were turned up in pleasure, and he watched her throat as she swallowed heavily.

“Fuck,” breathed James.

“ m’ close,” she whined. Turning her chin away from his knuckle, shy from the close inspection, and pushing her forehead back down against his chest. “Yeah, I can see that.” Her back arched and she pressed flush against him as she finally hit her peak. Whimpering and moaning into his chest and shoulder.

The real murder was him trying to keep it together well she came down from her high. He was biting down hard on his cheek. 

He slid his hand up her shirt and dragged his thumb down her spine. She was still catching her breath, and her face didn't leave his chest. A few beats passed of Regulus letting James hold her. It didn't last long though. once successfully catching her breath, Regulus pushed off of his leg. 

"you should go. Your little friends are getting hammered without you right now, They need their snake princess." Her face was still flushed as she fixed her uniform. 

"Right,right." This was one of James favorite parts, the part after they had done something and Regulus was now fresh out of witty or obnoxious things to say. 

She was completely raw. 

"well...I'm going to go," she muttered quickly before looking up at James one last time. 

He nodded, simply. 

This however, was his least favorite part. When she left, and now all James could feel was unfiltered guilt. And it would only increase the next time he saw Sirius.