Chapter 15
No one called him that night. Or maybe they did. His new phone, which he had used just yesterday, had been powered off and stuffed in a drawer. He spent the night pacing his flat, praying the next sound he heard wasn’t a knock on the door. He fell asleep on the couch, in the early hours of the morning, and didn’t wake up until the pounding on his door was too loud to ignore. He felt a chill down his spine as he speculated who it could be, his tentative footsteps nearing the door as if it were a bomb ready to explode. But then he heard who was on the other side of it.
“Black! I’m serious! Open up!” Barty shouted.
He unlocked the door, stepping back as Barty stumbled in, two large bags remaining where he stood while he guided the two he was holding onto the counter. “What time is it?”
“Late one, was it?” Barty asked, going back for the other two bags. Regulus peaked into one, eyeing the numerous bottles.
“A bit,” he shrugged. He didn’t really want to talk about this with him.
“It’s past four, mate,” Barty laughed at Regulus’ jaw-dropping reaction. “Cmon, I told everyone it’s an early one, help me set this stuff out, right?”
Two of the bags were full of alcohol, one containing beer, while the other was full of spirits. Some were half-drunk, the others still brand new. One of the other bags had bags of crisps piled into it, with a cake box on top. The last bag was full of mixers, large bottles of coke and orange juice. They both went to work setting the bottles out in a bowl of ice, putting the rest in the fridge, along with a large pack of plastic cups that Barty had bought. They refrigerated the cake, Barty insisting Pandora would love it while Regulus let himself laugh at the ridiculous cats that were iced onto it.
By 6, they’d managed to hide the valuables from around the flat, hiding them in the back of Regulus’ wardrobe. Barty made sure to set up the speaker that he had brought, which was pocket-sized, but loud as Regulus soon found out. He also pulled a disco light from one of the drinks bags, setting it into the corner of the living room, after they’d pushed back the couches.
People started arriving by half 6, a few people they’d drank with in freshers week stumbling through his front door. More and more people began trickling in after that, Pandora arriving at 8 in a white dress, already tipsy from whatever pre-drinking she’d done with her girlfriends.
“I can’t believe you’ve thrown me a party,” she giggled upon seeing the cake in the fridge. She kissed them both on the cheek, hugging them tightly each. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Ah, but we did,” Barty shrugged.
“Couldn’t miss your birthday!” Regulus smiled.
“I love it!” She beamed at them both.
They did shots together, a few of Pandora’s friends joining them. The music was taken over by someone else, changing to a more pounding dance beat as the drinks continued to pour. Regulus felt himself almost dizzying around half 9, the alcohol making him giddy. A part of him, of course, was attempting to drown out the thoughts of the night before, but the other part was letting him relax with his friends, people who knew barely anything about him.
He was dancing with Pandora when Barty tapped him on the shoulder, grinning drunkenly as people stumbled around him. “Someone’s at the door for you.”
“Tell them I’m busy!” Regulus replied, laughing slightly.
“It’s Potter, he doesn’t look like he’ll take no for an answer!” Barty shrugged. “I’ll take over.” He snuck his way closer to Pandora who removed her arms from Regulus, wrapping them around Barty as she giggled.
Regulus laughed at the pair, turning away from them, his feet guiding him towards his front door. James looked very out of place in his grey hoodie and sweatpants. The rest of the party members were seemingly dressed well like Regulus, yesterday's outfit still intact.
“Potter?” He questioned as he got to the door. James looked at him, eyes travelling across his outfit.
“Can we chat?” James asked over the music. Regulus glanced back at the party, eyebrows raising. James stared at him, eyebrows raising back. “Please?”
Reluctantly, he nodded, and followed James towards the stairs, making his way down them until they reached the street below. Regulus dragged his pack of cigarettes from his pocket as James shoved his hands in his pockets, scuffing his shoes off the pavement. He lit one, using his RAB lighter as usual. James watched him for a second, eyes dropping again.
“I just think we should talk about last night,” James started. Regulus could hear the music from his flat pumping, making him feel bad for his neighbours, but not bad enough to request anyone turn it down. “About what Sirius said.”
Regulus didn’t say anything. He couldn’t think of anything to say. He simply took a drag of his cigarette, leaning against the wall of his building. James looked like he wanted to hear Regulus say something, but he continued nonetheless. “Was it true?”
Regulus paused, his eyes flickering away from James to the sky. “No,” he denied.
“You’re not in love with me?” James questioned.
Regulus rose an eyebrow, looking back at him. “Is that a surprise, James?”
He scoffed for a second, seeming to relax ever so slightly. “Well, how could you not be?”
“You’re right, it’s so hard to resist you everyday, I truly rethink everything,” Regulus teased, although his words were sadly true. James obviously didn’t realise that, though. He let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head.
“Look, Reggie, if Sirius was… serious, and you have a crush on me or something, that’s fine. You know that won’t, like, ruin our friendship or anything, right?” He questioned.
Deny, deny, deny, Regulus thought to himself, but he found himself nodding. “Of course.”
James narrowed his eyes, slightly, as if he were attempting to see through the act Regulus was putting on. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Regulus nodded, trying to stop himself from unconsciously swaying.
“Is this… crush.. Is this why Sirius has been so on edge the past weeks? Telling you to stay away from us?” He questioned.
Regulus shrugged, trying to remain cool and collected. “I think it started as that, but I think he just hates me.”
“He doesn’t-“ James started before cutting himself off, looking down. “I think he’s just going through something.”
“He’s always going through something,” Regulus snapped, suddenly, shaking his head. “He’s always fucking going through something. You know, when we were younger, he used to care about how things affected me, and now all he does is use anything he can against me!”
Regulus took a long drag of the cigarette, passing it to James who silently accepted it, taking his own drag. They both exhaled at the same time, their smoke disappearing into the sky above them. “You’re still going to come to Christmas, aren’t you?”
Regulus rose an eyebrow, uncertain. “You still want me there?”
“It’s a crush, Reggie. I think we’re both adults enough to know where we stand. You’ll get over it, and I’ll pretend it’s not amazingly flattering that the Regulus Arcturus Black has a thing for me,” he teased. Regulus finally let himself smile, shaking his head slightly. “Cmon, it’s fine. This kind of thing happens, Reggie. It’s not a big deal.”
“Are you sure?” Regulus asked, feeling his shoulders lose some of their tension.
James handed him back the cigarette. “Of course I am.”
“I’ll come for Christmas, then,” he agreed.
“Effy and Monty will be overjoyed,” James smiled.
“Good,” Regulus nodded. “I might have to get back.”
James rose his eyes to the building, eyebrows raising once again. “Right, your party.”
“Pandora’s birthday,” he explained. “You can come if you like.”
“Best get back,” he shrugged. “I’d love to stay, honestly. The flats a bit… Well, not great…”
“Right, of course…” Regulus nodded, finishing off the cigarette. He dropped it to the ground. “Is Lily okay?”
James took a moment before responding, nodding slowly. “She’s fine.”
“Good,” Regulus nodded again.
“Good,” James nodded back.
They remained in silence for a few moments before James finally took a step off the pavement. “I’ll call you, yeah? We can organise Christmas a bit more?”
“Yeah, just call whenever,” Regulus smiled.
“I will,” he smiled back.