Chapter 4
“I hate it Marls!” Sirius whined, tearing up his paper napkin. “I don’t get it, my entire life, people have swooned over me, but the one time I’m actually interested in a guy, he bloody rejects me!” It had been 18 hours and 4 minutes since Sirius had finished work on Friday, and he still couldn’t get over the occurrence with Remus.
“Well, it’s about time, Sirius. You’ve got to know that not everyone is mandated to be in love with you,” Marlene said lazily, swirling her tea. They had gone for brunch in a cozy mom and pop shop just off Hogsmeade, something called The Three Broomsticks. It was a little shaggy, but that only added to the overall allure of the store, if you ignored the flies.
“Marlene!” Dorcas gasped, slapping her girlfriend lightly in the arm. “Sirius is clearly distressed about this man, and I don’t think your comments are very helpful,” Dorcas had always been the sweeter of the two, Sirius often thought of them as sunshine and clouds. Marlene had an edge to her, being of Latin descent, she had quite the kick. Dorcas, on the other hand, was honey in human form. Her curls accentuated her soft features, and she practically always wore warm colors to match her deep umber skin. Sirius figured that’s why they work so well. He still got occasionally jealous of his so deep-in-love friends, and couldn’t help but hope a similar relationship was coming his way.
Marlene brushed the hair from her face and said, “Look, if there’s one thing I live by it’s this. ‘Don’t. Give. A. Shit.’, and so far, it’s done me well,” She pondered for a moment and gave them a cheeky grin, “That and, pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza.”
Sirius cracked a smile, if anyone could make him laugh during heartbreak, it was Marlene. Sirius adored her for her brutal honesty, which was part of the reason they became friends, to begin with. “I can hardly not give a shit about the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, and I hate liking him, it pisses me off, but no matter how hard I try to stop liking him, I can’t- it’s just, infuriating!” Breaking down in the middle of a day in a shop where he could feel the cockroaches scuttling around his feet, was not too high on his to-do list.
“I think you just need to accept the fact that you like him,” Dorcas placed a hand over his, “I know it’s hard, but getting over the denial will help you move on. There’ll always be others,”
“Yeah, but I want this other,” Sirius said. He stuffed more pancakes into his face, munching angrily.
“Siri, babes, if you really like him, you should go for it,” said Marlene. Sirius appreciated the few times she could be serious with him, no pun intended. Dorcas nodded heartily, tearing into her breakfast burrito.
“But you heard what he sai-” Sirius started.
“But, you could’ve heard wrong. You went back to your client after that little comment, didn’t you? You hardly heard the whole conversation,” Dorcas pointed out, fork dangling in her hand, it flying as she spoke. And she was right, Sirius did leave halfway through his sentence, perhaps he had more to say? Unlikely, but it was worth a shot.
“She’s right, she always is,” Marlene added, gazing adoringly at her partner. Sirius dramatically gagged, causing Marlene to throw a mozzarella stick at him. Dorcas stopped them both before it advanced to an all-out food brawl.
“You really think I should go for it? What would I even say?” Sirius mocked, “‘Hey, fancy going out with me because I just so happened to hear your absolute refusal to even consider dating me?’”
Marlene rolled her eyes while Dorcas pursed her lips, “Look, if I had never reached out to ol’ Dorky here, we would’ve never gotten together. Of course, I was scared, what teenager isn’t, but the reward was so worth it. Now, if you do decide to ask him out, just remember if it goes badly, you have her and me to rely on. Not to mention the countless others who love you,” Marlene said. She wasn’t emotional often, but when she was, you knew it came from her heart.
“Thanks, you sap,” Sirius said with sweet venom. He was really starting to rethink this whole ‘admiring from afar’ business he had concluded from his experience with Remus. All his life people had made decisions for him, whether it had been those asking him out, or his parents micromanaging everything he did. It was time to take control, and never let go.
“On the plus side, he said you’re attractive, so at least we got some leverage there,” Dorcas said. Sirius let out a sad chuckle, twirling some egg on his fork. “But we’ve known that, so not much is new,” She added, throwing in a wink.
Sirius barked with laughter while Marlene shot him a dirty glance, Dorcas just looked plain gleeful. “Hey, remember that one time Reginald Vane asked out Sirius to the Yule Ball, and Sirius almost got an allergic reaction from the flowers he gave him?” Dorcas cackled, and Marlene could hardly contain herself, adding, “Who knew Mr. Loverboy was so allergic to tulips!”
Sirius slid down in embarrassment into his seat, covering his flushed face with his hands, but behind that, he shared a grin.