The Beginning
Evan had mixed opinions on ballet. Sure, he liked the rush he got from it, but that was about it. His parents put him in a program as a child, but they wouldn’t care if he quit. He was only still doing it because he was good at it. He loathed practicing, and preparing for competitions, but yet he never quit.
Evan was confident this was going to be the year he quit. He had no reason to keep going, he was just sick of it.
That was until his parents told him they were moving to France. Paris, specifically. The factor that made him stay was that he was going to be dancing for the same company as Regulus Black. The Regulus Black.
And well, how could he say no to that?
Besides being one of the best dancers in the nation, he was also hot. Like extremely hot. Girls swooned over him.
Maybe he didn’t have to quit just yet.
The opportunity to dance with him was too good to give up. He was exceptional with everything he did. Evan also wouldn’t mind having to spend day after day with him.
The entire plane ride to France, Evan did research on the company. Sure, most of it was looking at pictures of Regulus, but it was just research. Nothing else.
Okay, so maybe he just wanted an excuse to look through articles about Regulus- and his social media accounts- but he was learning things! Who could blame him though. Regulus was extremely good looking, and Evan couldn’t help but want to know more.
Regulus obviously wasn’t a very big social media person, given the fact he rarely posted anything. Most of his posts were just reposts about competitions, or him posting something in the off season. Some of these posts were just random scenery pictures, others were ones of him out with his friends, and then there were Evan’s personal favorites. The mirror pictures.
To the average person, they were meaningless posts, but to Evan, they were so much more than that. The way he stood in front of the mirror, the way he was so careless of how he looked- it was just breathtaking.
By the time the plane landed, Evan had gone through Regulus’ entire Instagram account, and read most of the articles that he could find. There was something so perfect about the boy, almost like he had to have secrets. His life seemed too mundane for someone like him, especially with his family.
Everyone and their mother knew about the Black family; they were everywhere. They had relatives spread across the globe. Regulus was the only one from his generation to stay in France. His brother was in America, and his cousins were all in different places.
There was definitely more to Regulus than just being an incredibly good dancer, and Evan was determined to figure out what it was really like in his life. There had to be secrets, there had to be something that made his life more interesting than just dancing in huge competitions.
Evan decided that he would get close with Regulus. He would learn his secrets, his likes, his dislikes, everything. All he wanted to do was be close to him. Maybe it was a little obsessive, but who cares? An obsession never hurt anyone before.
Evan would be friends (maybe even more if he got his way) with Regulus. He was determined.
And when Evan was determined, there was very little you could do to stop him.
~
Ballet had always been Regulus’ passion. Ever since he was a child, he loved it. Ballet had been the one thing that his mother forced him to do that he actually enjoyed. The competitions, the thrill, everything. It was the one thing he was passionate about, besides poetry. The best part was that he was good. Regulus won almost every competition, and every time, it made him more and more eager to do better.
In truth, ballet was the only good thing in his life. His brother left him all alone with their parents. He left the moment he turned eighteen, and Regulus can’t really blame him. If anyone deserved to get out, it was Sirius.
Even with being moved out of his childhood home, Regulus never felt truly free. Yes, he has his own apartment. Yes, he doesn’t even see them anymore. Even so, he felt a weight over his shoulders constantly. Maybe it was the fact he was always too cowardly to leave on his own. Maybe it’s the fact that he never actually ran away. They still live in the same city.
Or maybe he still feels guilty for everything that happened in that house.
When Sirius left, he felt completely alone. Sirius was the one good thing in that house. Selfishly, he wished Sirius stayed. Regulus knew, realistically, Sirius couldn’t stay. He knew that. But that doesn’t stop the longing for him to just have stayed, to have kept Regulus safe.
Ballet was his distraction. He didn’t have to think about all the times his parents hurt him, he didn’t have to think about how alone he was, he didn’t even have to think at all. It was his freedom.
Being up on stage in front of so many people made Regulus feel wanted. They wanted to see him. They wanted to tell him how good he was.
All of the articles, all of the reviews, everything about it was what he needed. It was a distraction.
Becoming well-known helped. He had to sneak around, carefully watching for anyone in the streets. His mind was always in fight or flight, trying to see if there was anyone who would try to jump him. It kept the constant longing feeling out of his mind.
Regulus’ mind used to reel with anxiety- his parents’ doing, of course. It got better once he moved out, but the fear and anxiety never truly left. There was still the lingering feeling that he wasn’t safe. That he would see his parents, and they would hurt him again.
He’s even more afraid of seeing Sirius.
When Sirius left, Regulus resented him for it. He didn’t want to be all alone in that house, he didn’t want to be stuck with his parents, and he really didn’t want to lose his best friend.
Regulus never called, he never even tried to reach out. He was convinced Sirius hated him. Sirius never called either, so what was the point?
He did finally call Sirius eventually. The circumstances weren’t great, but that’s a story for another time. He didn’t know what else to do, so he called Sirius. He always goes crawling back to Sirius.
Since then, they sort of stayed in touch. Sirius was planning on visiting Regulus this summer, but who knows if he would actually follow through. Maybe he would forget about Regulus, just like when they were little.
Regulus didn’t let many people in anymore. There were his friends, Barty and Dorcas, but that was about it. He hung out with their partners sometimes.
He never loved. It wasn’t really Regulus’ thing. Plus, it would be all over the internet. He didn’t want that. Because of that, he stayed by himself, all alone in his apartment, with the occasional party that Barty would drag him to.
So Regulus would continue dancing, and he would continue avoiding his past, because really, what else was he supposed to do?
~
Regulus thought it was just going to be like every other Monday morning. He got his coffee, and then he headed to the studio. Everything was fine.
It was all fine until there was someone new there. He was talking to the director. He had very obviously bleached hair, soft blue eyes, and looked almost as pretentious as Regulus did. Almost.
Once the boy had finished talking to the director, he walked up to Regulus. What the fuck. He did not want to be talked to. What was this dude doing?
“Hey, I’m Evan. Evan Rosier.” He had what was almost like a French accent, but not quite.
Oh my fucking god, is he from Quebec?
“Regulus Black.” Regulus says quietly, looking this wannabe French guy up and down.
“I just moved here from Quebec-” Of course Regulus was right.
“Fake France.” Regulus interrupts. He already was judging this guy.
“What?” Evan asks, confusion filling his tone.
“Quebec is just fake France.”
“Well aren’t you just a bundle of joy.” Evan says, rolling his eyes.
“Just stating the truth. Quebec tries to be France, but it isn’t.” Regulus had always hated the idea of Quebec, why would anyone want to live there? (He has no reason to hate it so much, but if Regulus is anything, it’s dramatic.)
Maybe Regulus seemed closed off and cold, but he didn’t really care. He never let people into his life, not since Sirius left.
“Well it was nice to meet you, Regulus.” The knock-off French guy said, smiling. Why was he being so nice? Was it not obvious enough that Regulus wanted nothing to do with him?
“Yeah… nice to meet you too…” Regulus was just simply concerned at this point. Why on earth would this dude be nice to him? This was so unordinary, and so, so odd.
The bleached hair boy leaves, and Regulus lets out a breath. Why had he been holding his breath in the first place?
Regulus just simply shakes it off, and packs up his stuff. His entire routine was thrown off, so he might as well go dwell in his dark and completely silent apartment. As he leaves the studio, he notices the oddly tall boy just standing outside, leaning against a wall.
“Do you always stand out in the street and look like a creep?” Regulus asks bluntly. Why was he even making conversation with this dude? He couldn't care less about him.
“Not that it matters, but I’m just waiting for a taxi.”
“You can’t drive?” Now Regulus was even more perplexed. What is up with this dude?
“Never really had a need to.” The Quebec boy shrugs, looking back down on his phone.
Regulus sighs. He can’t believe he is actually doing this. “You aren’t going to get a taxi anytime soon. Where do you live?” This couldn’t be happening.
“You’ll drive me?” Now this guy was the confused one.
“No other way you are getting home in a decent amount of time,” Regulus sighs again. “Come on. Just tell me the address and I will take you home.”
“Here, give me your phone. I will type it into your GPS.”
Regulus reluctantly obliges, handing him his phone. Bleach boy quickly types in the address, and Regulus has to take in a moment to freeze in place.
It was the same apartment building as his.
That was just his luck, wasn’t it? Of course this random dude (who for some reason annoys Regulus extremely) lived in the same building as him.
“That’s my apartment building.” Regulus states quietly.
“Oh! Well then that just turned out well, didn’t it?” He was smiling again, and god, Regulus just wanted to curl up and die.
Why did this dude make him so annoyed? Regulus couldn’t even remember his name.
Regulus reluctantly leads Canada boy to his car, and he just stands there in shock.
“That’s what you drive?” His mouth was literally hanging open.
“Yeah.” Regulus replies monotonously, unlocking the car with his keys.
Regulus knew why this guy was shocked, but it was still hilarious to see his face. He drove a jacked up pickup, with almost completely tinted windows. He had to have it this way in order to avoid people taking pictures of him while he was driving. It was either this, or he had to have a personal driver, and Regulus was not about to get his driving privileges taken away.
“It has to be like that for me to be able to drive by myself,” Regulus says, stepping up into the vehicle. “Get in.”
It was a brand new pickup. In the words of his manager, it had to be the “best.” Regulus didn’t really care what he drove, he just wanted to be able to go where he wanted. Alone.
The ride to the apartment building is deathly quiet. Only the quiet sound of the radio can be heard. It was playing some stupid song that plays 30 times a day. There’s no way it can actually be popular, it’s impeccably annoying.
He pulls into the parking garage, feeling a sense of relief. He could finally get rid of fake French guy.
They both climb out of the pickup, and Regulus locks the vehicle as they head to the elevator.
After what felt like the longest elevator ride in history, they finally left. Regulus thought they would part ways, but he’s not that lucky.
Evan is two doors down from him.
Two. Doors.
What did he ever do to deserve this treatment? This was absolutely horrible.
“I’ll see you soon, Regulus.” Quebec boy says, unlocking the door to his apartment.
Unfortunately, that was the case. That stupid boy was everywhere. He was at his studio, he was at his apartment building, they even lived on the same floor! He would never get rid of the stupid bleached hair boy.
“Mhm.” Regulus hums, before quickly entering his own apartment, letting out a long breath. Why was he getting so worked up about this guy? He was just another person he needed to add into his daily routine, that’s all. It shouldn’t bother him this much.
Obviously Regulus needed to figure something out.
~
“So you're telling me it’s a sign from hell?” Barty asks, confused. Regulus invited him over, mainly because he needed to talk to someone about this.
“What else would it be?! I’m freaking out here. This random dude from Quebec just shows up and ruins my Monday morning routine, and then he has the audacity to live in the same building as me! Not only that, but on the same floor! Two doors down!”
“Regulus, take a breath. This isn’t a sign from hell. It’s probably pure coincidence that this even happened. This isn’t a sign from hell.” Barty was trying to be the reasonable one, and that rarely happened.
“Oh my god, he’s a stalker! Barty, he’s stalking me-”
“Regulus!” Barty semi-yells, stopping Regulus’ ranting. “Calm down. He’s not stalking you, okay? Do the breathing exercises James taught you.”
Barty’s boyfriend, James Potter, just so happened to be in the medical field. When Barty told him about Regulus’ tendency to overthink every little thing, James taught him some breathing techniques so he wouldn’t start completely panicking. They did work on the few occasions Regulus actually did them.
After Barty managed to make Regulus think a little more rationally, he started to ask questions about this message sent from hell guy.
“So what’s his name?”
Regulus didn’t have an answer to that.
“Uhm… I think it’s Eddie? No it's Ferdinand- Wait! It’s Avery definitely Avery-”
“You don’t know the guy’s name?” Barty was giving him The Look. Regulus hated when Barty did that.
“I wasn’t listening all that close!” Regulus tries to defend, but it’s no use.
“Reg, get a hold of yourself. You are making a big deal over nothing.”
“No, there is something weird about this guy, I’m telling you. I will figure it out.” Regulus was getting off vibes from him. Maybe he wasn’t a sign from hell, but there sure as hell was something going on with that dude.
“Well you have fun with that,” Barty says, standing up. “But my boyfriend is waiting for me at home, so I’m gonna get going.”
“Yeah, yeah okay. Fair. Thanks anyways.” Regulus sighs. Maybe he was overreacting.
“Go to bed soon, alright? You’ll feel better if you actually sleep.”
“I will, I will. Just go make out with your stupid boyfriend.”
Barty leaves while smirking, and Regulus leans his head back. What was wrong with him? Nobody had ever affected him this much. There had to be something he was missing.
After laying on the couch for who knows how long, something hit him. He immediately bolted upright, and grabbed his phone. He opened Barty’s contact, and quickly sent him something.
Evan.
Regulus didn’t get a response until late in the night, which was typical for Barty.
what do you mean???
Regulus rolled his eyes, and responded right away.
That’s his name. Evan.
Barty didn’t take as long to respond this time, but it wasn’t an immediate response either.
first why are you even awake
second glad you could remember that
go to bed
Barty was persistent on this. He was still awake as well, so Regulus didn’t see a problem, but he didn’t comment on it.
Fine. Going to bed. Goodnight
goodnight!!
Regulus, in fact, did not go to bed. Once he finally remembered what Evan’s last name was, he stalked every social media platform he had. He needed to figure out what this guy was all about.
He actually didn’t look half bad in some of his pictures. Not even Regulus could lie about that.
There wasn’t a whole lot of information on Evan. Just some articles from newspapers about him winning local competitions, achievements in school- those kinds of things. Nothing that really could tell Regulus what this dude was actually like, or why he got such bad vibes from knock-off French guy.
Regulus wasn’t crazy. He knew there was something off about this guy. Something just wasn’t adding up. This random guy just moved here from Quebec, and suddenly he’s everywhere? It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense.
It could very well be a stalker case. Regulus didn’t need that kind of stress in his life right now, but what else could it be? He knew he was somewhat famous in the dance community. He has won almost every single competition he has ever participated in. He has been winning since he was 6 years old. Even beyond that, he was his mother’s prodigy. He was naturally smart. He was top of his class every year. Hell, he graduated a year early. Regulus was well known, so a stalker was very possible. It’s why any vehicle he was in had to have tinted windows. It’s why he had to go to hundreds of events.
But if Evan was a stalker, then why did he immediately talk to him? Wouldn’t he watch from afar? None of this made any sense.
Regulus didn’t sleep that night. If he wasn’t trying to find something on this Evan guy, then he was pacing his apartment, trying to figure out what was going on. Nobody just happened to move to France, go to the same dance studio as him, and live in the same apartment building, let alone the same floor. Something was off- Regulus just couldn’t figure out what.
When the sun began to rise and the light pierced through the window, Regulus groaned. He literally pulled an all-nighter stressing over this random dude.
Thankfully, he didn’t have anything planned for the day. He climbed into his bed and finally went to sleep. Of course, it wasn’t long, because every single dream was about Evan. Eventually, he got sick of it, and just made himself coffee instead of trying to fall asleep.
Regulus didn’t know why he was obsessing over this. He needed to stop, but that was physically impossible for Regulus Black. He didn’t just stop. He kept going and going until he absolutely couldn’t.
He didn’t know how to stop.
~
Everything was going great for Evan.
He already met Regulus, which was pure coincidence. So was the ride to the apartment building. What wasn’t a coincidence was Evan living in the same building as Regulus.
Evan’s parents thought it was weird when Evan said he wanted his own apartment, but they didn’t question it. He was an adult, after all.
The rooms being so close was also a coincidence, but that was whatever. Easier for Evan, at least. Regulus seemed extremely closed off, so this was going to take some work.
The universe truly was in Evan’s favor today. He also saw Regulus’ coffee cup sitting in the studio, so he knew what shop he liked.
This seemed extremely stalkerish, but none of that was really supposed to happen. It was completely accidental.
He would have to try and stay away from Regulus for a bit. He didn’t want to freak the poor boy out. He wanted to get to know Regulus so bad.
Evan didn’t know why he was so adamant on this, but he just was. Regulus was his role model, in a way. He had always wanted to learn from him, to be as good as him. Maybe something else could spark in the process.
Was he doing too much? What if he just scared Regulus away? This all wasn’t a part of the plan. He just wanted to be friends with Regulus. The “maybe more” part didn’t have to truly happen, although Evan wouldn’t mind it. He liked how blunt Regulus was. He loved the boy’s soft curls that sat just perfectly around his face. He loved his greyish-blue eyes and how they barely ever had any light in them, except for when he was dancing.
Regulus was absolutely mesmerizing. Evan just wanted to talk to him, to be close to him, to have someone who actually understands him. Regulus being closed off was good. It meant that if he could get Regulus to trust him, then they could have a special bond. All Evan wanted was for someone to notice him. Anyone.
He knew he had to fix this, and fast. He seemed incredibly creepy with the events that unfolded. He had to figure out how to fix it before Regulus avoided him like the plague.
He would stop at nothing to figure this out. This wasn’t supposed to happen, and he had to fix it. He just had to. He didn’t mean for the previous encounter to happen how it did, but he can’t change it. What he can do, though, is try to make it right. He just had to figure out what to do.
Evan would make it right. He wouldn’t scare Regulus away. He would back off. He knew very well this was a delicate process, but he would do it for however long it takes. Regulus was just so pretty, and he seemed so perfect, like he didn’t have a single flaw.
Evan will fix this. How hard could it possibly be to get Regulus Black to like him?