Mascara
Regulus needed to get a grip.
She was running as quickly as she could to the Slytherin dorms. vaguely aware of the fact that her hair was still a mess and she felt terrible.
She slid into the Slytherin common room, trotted up stairs, and slammed the door behind her.
“Son of a bitch,” she mumbled and slumped her back against the door.
“ What's up with you?”
Regulus looked up, Caroline March,her roommate, was sitting on the floor leaning against her bed. She was painting her nails a pale purple color. And was looking at Regulus with a concerned tilt of her head.
Regulus had always thought Caroline was very pretty, even when they were first and second years and didn’t get along. She was tall and round with dirty blond hair and had freckles all year round. She and Regulus used to fight a lot. Mostly because Caroline was loud, arrogant and always thought she was right.
Regulus was also loud, in her own way, arrogant, and always thought she was right.
They were both just too young and smart and angry. At the time this didn't mix well.
Caroline could also back this up. Because she was smart, quick, and-admittedly- one of the best arguing opponents Regulus had ever faced.
Alice always said, "To the blurry eye you seem like complete opposites, but you’re very similar. I think that's why you don't get along. You reflect each other too starkly.” Those observations always made Regulus a little uneasy. and she tried not to think about the fact that she was quietly being analyzed and thought about by the girl who slept next to her every night.
When they were kids their fights would be so epic that both Alice, and their final roommate, Iris, changed the bedding situation so that Caroline would be closest to the door and Regulus would be on the other side closest to the bathroom. That way they would never accidentally run into each other in the middle of the night and start throwing punches.
But Regulus had gotten over the dislike she had for Caroline a while before they actually stopped fighting. She came to realize Alice was right. And that Caroline was, unfortunately, really cool.
It had been fun to argue with Caroline, even on the simplest of things, much more fun than the fights she had with her mother, or was starting to have with Sirius.
Half way into their third year, Regulus was having so much fun during their verbal ping pong that she had begun to laugh. Really, truly, uncontrollably laugh. The first few times this had just made Caroline even angrier.
However after the fifth or sixth time Regulus had begun uncontrollably giggling during a long and complicated fight over who got to use the shower first, Caroline had started to smile, and then slowly began laughing too. Loud, girlish, unstoppable laughing. The kind of laughing that had them both doubled over and grabbing each other's arms to keep themselves up straight.
Things had obviously gotten better after that.
“What?” Regulus said, kicking off her shoes.
Caroline rolled her eyes “Why are you running?”
Regulus sighed, “I have quidditch practice. I’m going to be late.”
“Ohhhh, boring. Just don’t go if you don’t want to.” She said in an aloof and casual voice. She looked back down at her nails, brought her hand up close to her mouth and blew lightly. Regulus appreciated how relaxed Caroline always was.
“I have to go. I’ve missed a ton already. Not to mention we play Gryffindor Monday.” Regulus had opened her wardrobe and was digging around for her clothes, well simultaneously undoing her shirt.
“I don’t see why you play if you hate practicing.”
“I like playing games. I’m just not fond of practicing when I would rather sleep or something.”
Regulus turned back toward Caroline and began slugging her clothes on.
Caroline observed her for a moment.
“You should have more sex. You seem all tense and shit.” Caroline said, yawning. "Plus you're really hot. It's honestly a waste."
I could be having more sex, Regulus thought bitterly, if James wasn't such a fucking bitch.
Regulus simply rolled her eyes “I’m not tense.”
“Yeah you are. What’s the big deal? I can think of like thirty people right now who would totally have sex with you.”
“Oh yeah?” Regulus had sat down on the end of Iris's bed, next to Caroline's, and was pulling her socks on. She looked down at Caroline with a half grin of amusement. “Go ahead then.”
“Oh god, well where do I even start? There is uhh, Sam Pevensly, Thomas Bleake-”
“My captain? No way.”
Caroline grinned and chuckled a bit as she spoke. “Yes way! He’s mad about you actually. He’s kinda fit too don’t you think?”
Regulus rolled her eyes, “Yeah he’s fine-”
“Anway there is also Max, Steven, Henry Winters, Sasha Jones, uhh who else- oh!”
“Okay stop,” Regulus interjected. “I get it.”
“I don’t think you do.” Caroline playfully rolled her eyes, then looked at Regulus a bit more seriously. “It’s Friday, let's do something tonight.”
“Like what?” Regulus stood up and walked over to her bed, bent down, and was fishing for a pack of cigarettes that had been there since before the summer. Caroline kept talking.
“I don’t know, shopping? I need a new lipstick for all the parties coming up.”
“Oh,” Regulus had gotten the pack and stood up. “That’s smart actually. I need more mascara and black tights."
"Fuck." Regulus said, suddenly remembering, "And something for Slughorn's party."
Regulus had blissfully forgotten about that.
"Oh shit," Caroline said looking sympathetic "I know those parties are torture. At least you can drink though right?" she asked,
Regulus rolled her eyes.
"Yeah I guess. I got the invitation with Lupin though, it was fucking awkward." Regulus lit a cigarette. "Remus?" Caroline asked,
"yeah."
"Jesus, I can only imagine."
Regulus took a drag and groaned. She was happy Caroline wasn't inquiring further. she didn't want to tell her the shit Lupin said about her brother. Telling her would just make it all too real. The whole situation made her uncomfortable.
"whatever," Caroline began, "Don't kill yourself over it. You attend these every year. You will be fine." She waved her hand passively.
Regulus suddenly became very annoyed. She put out her cigarette.
Everything was so fucking awful and irritating. Everything was making her skin crawl and pissing her off.
"Fuck Bleaker, I'm the best on the team. I can miss another practice." Regulus said.
Caroline raised an eyebrow at her.
"You wanna get high?"