x James x
“REMUS!” Remus winced, immediately recognizing James’ voice across the library, followed by a “shhhh!,” undoubtedly from Madame Pince. It was a wonder he and Sirius hadn’t been banned from the library yet; both could barely keep their voices below a shout for more than two minutes at a time.
James appeared from behind a bookshelf, walking backwards with his hands held up in surrender. He spun around abruptly, knocking over a chair and tripping before landing in the one next to Remus. “Remus,” he repeated.
“James, do you know what a library is? It’s a place of solitude, quietness, and concentration.”
“All things I absolutely can’t stand,” he smiled, then rolled his eyes when he saw Remus’ all-too-familiar exasperated expression.
“Sorry mate,” James started, obviously not meaning his apology in the slightest. “I needed you. And you’re never not in the library.”
“That’s because if I spent all my time with you and Sirius, my eardrums might burst.”
“Hey! What about Peter?”
“Pete’s quiet as a mouse. Well, most of the time. But at least he doesn’t give me a headache.”
“Not our fault you have sensitive ears.”
“You’d have to be deaf to miss you two’s conversations. Especially when it comes to Quidditch or girls.”
“That’s actually what I needed you for,” James teetered in his seat, either anxious or unable to stay still; the latter being the more likely of the two. Though, when Remus saw James’s expression, he no longer ruled out anxious.
When it was apparent James wasn’t going to continue, Remus glared up at him from his book, raising an eyebrow as if to say ‘go on.’
“What is that you’re reading, anyway?” James stopped fidgeting for long enough to make a swipe at the book. Remus pulled it back before he could, causing him to fall onto the table in a mess of gangly arms.
“I- I... nothing,” Remus felt himself blush, shoving the book into his lap before James could try to take it again.
“You’re blushing a whole lot for it to be nothing,” James leaned his chair back on two legs, folding his arms. He gasped, leaning forward again. “Is it porn?”
“NO! No. Well, I- I mean,” he shook his head fiercely, feeling his face grow another degree hotter. “It’s a book about vampires and werewolves, but it’s not very accurate, at least for the werewolves, anyway. And the writing is kind of terrible.”
“So… it’s not porn?” James pouted, clearly disappointed that Moony had not yet become as corrupt as he hoped.
“No, James. It’s just a muggle fiction book that Lily left in the common room. Now, what was it you needed me for?” Remus asked, desperate to change the subject.
“Oh, right. It’s Evans, actually,” James looked down solemnly, with the air of someone whose dearest pet just died.
“Of course it is,” Remus sighed. James was too stubborn and oblivious to take Lily’s hint (The hint being that she wouldn’t want to touch him with a 9 ¾ inch pole).
“I just thought to ask you for help, since you seem to be good at this stuff.”
“At what stuff? Romance stuff?” Remus blatantly glanced down at the paperback in his lap. He only wished he could be as mysteriously-cool as Edward or a rugged werewolf like Jacob. Instead, he got stuck with ugly scars and stuttered sentences.
“More like people stuff. Emotions. Human interaction,” James clarified, moving his hands lazily as he tried to come up with the words.
“Human interaction?” Remus laughed, shaking his head. Remus had to admit he was the more sensitive member of the Marauders, but Remus couldn’t help but laugh at the human part of his statement. He was less than human, and James was one of the few he trusted to know this.
“Oh, stop with that, Moony. I don’t care what you, or anyone else says; you’re human. And you’ve got both book smarts and people smarts. Well, you’re far better at talking to people than me, at least.”
“People, James. Not girls,” Remus bit his lip before he could add in “and it doesn’t take a whole lot for someone to be better at talking to people than you.”
“Girls are people,” James reminded him, as if he had actually forgotten. As if Remus was the one who needed a lesson on sexism. “And Evans talks to you all the time.”
Remus thought ‘all the time’ a huge overstatement. “She doesn’t talk to me often. Really only when she wants to pity me or try to get me to convince you to bugger off.”
“Yeah, but at least she doesn’t hex you when she does.”
“Well, I don’t see any visible signs of hexing now, so it couldn’t have gone as badly as it usually does,” Remus observed, feeling a bit hopeful about ending this Lily business once and for all.
“She had left her wand in her dorm room when I cornered her,” James offhandedly said. “I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong! All the other girls in our year know they’d be lucky to have me. What’s different about Evans?”
“You could start with calling her by her first name,” Remus suggested.
“Why? She answers to her surname,” James shrugged. There was always some part of his body that was moving, not counting his mouth (which was always moving).
“And she answers with a sneer, doesn’t she?” James opened his mouth again to protest, but snapped it closed with a smack! when he realized Remus was right. “And, you could stop cornering her every time she tries to leave the common room alone.”
“But she won’t talk to me if I don’t get her alone and without escape!” James protested, evidently, to Remus’ horror, thinking this a good counter-point.
“Crowley, James, don’t let anyone else hear you speak like that or you’ll land a cell in Azkaban; you sound like a proper serial killer.”
“Sorry Rem,” he sighed, lowering his voice the smallest degree and actually meaning his apology this time. “But you know it’s true.”
“What did you say to her this time?” Remus questioned, actually wanting to make progress and help his hopeless friend.
“I just said ‘hey, Evans, you’re hair is a lovely shade of strawberry. I was wondering if the carpet matched the drapes?”
“Oh my God,” Remus stared at James, shocked so badly that he swore like a muggle. He then started laughing hysterically, most likely looking more like a person who belonged in Azkaban than James sounded. He just could not believe his friend was both so oblivious and vulgar. Actually, he could, but it killed him a little each time he was reminded. “That’s… that’s harassment, James. I’m not performing the counter curse next time she hexes you; you deserve it.”
“You wouldn’t have to do counter curses if you just helped me!” James exclaimed, exasperated, earning another shush from Madame Pince. “Tell me how I can fix it.”
“We’ve been over this, James.” It was Remus’ turn to be exasperated. “Next time don’t say anything about her carpet, or her drapes, or any part of her body. And don’t say things like ‘I know you like me, Evans,’” Remus paused for a second as James tilted his head in thought, deciding if Remus’ impression of him was spot-on, then nodded. Remus smiled briefly, but it quickly faded and was replaced with a scowl. “It makes you sound arrogant. And you’ve got to start calling her by her first name. Also, don’t corner her and force her to talk to you. And you shouldn’t-”
“All right, Moony!” James cut off his ramble, the library falling considerably quieter. “Merlin, I thought you’d never shut up.”
“Now you know how Lily feels,” Remus smirked, and didn’t even mind when James leaned over the table to push him a-little-less-than-lightly.
“So how am I supposed to talk to her, then?”
“I dunno. Just try to talk to her like you talk to me.”
James’ eyes widened, and he stopped his constant fidgeting for long enough to choke out, “but I don’t want to snog you,”
“Oh, good, I was beginning to get worried.” Remus teased. “Just… talk to her about something that interests you. ...Something that interests you that isn’t her. Like Quidditch!”
“Quidditch? But she’s a girl!”
“Honestly!” Remus shook his head and stood up. “Do you even hear yourself when you talk?”
“Wait, where are you going? We’re not done yet!” James grabbed Remus’ forearm, forcing him to stop where he was.
“Yes, we are. You didn’t hear a word I just said. Or, if you did, then you weren’t listening.” He sighed when he realized James wasn’t going to let go of his wrist and patted him firmly on the back. “Get up. We’re going back to the common room. C’mon.”
James finally stood, sulkily following Remus.
x Peter x
“Hey, Remus,” Peter shyly approached Remus, who holding a thin red book and sitting cross-legged on the sofa in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. It had become infamously known by all Gryffindors as the “Marauder Sofa.” Nobody, except for James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter dared sit on it after a few second years had been hexed off it so badly they landed in the hospital wing. Remus still felt bad about that, but it wasn’t really his fault as he didn’t cast any of the nearly-fatal spells (though his offhanded complaint to Sirius about having nowhere to sit was what caused the other Marauders to draw their wands). James had even want to spell it so “MARAUDER SOFA” was stitched in gold lettering across the back, but Remus had talked him down from it and they compromised on etching their initials into each wooden leg.
“Hey Pete,” Remus smiled up at him, closing his book and setting it on the arm of the sofa.
“Sorry to bother you,” Peter shuffled towards the sofa and gingerly sat down on the cushion next to him.
“Not at all. It was getting quite boring anyway,” Remus gestured to his book, and Peter leaned forward to read the front cover.
“Huh. Quidditch Through the Ages. You’ll let me borrow that?”
Remus shrugged, “It’s the library’s, so sure. I’ll let you know when I’ve finished it.”
“Okay,” Peter smiled, pulling one leg under him onto the couch so he sat half crossed-legged like Remus. Remus noticed he was gripping his wand tightly against his thigh.
“Peter? Did you want to talk to me about something?”
“I uh, yeah,” he resigned and slouched into the couch. “I’m still not really getting yesterday’s Transfiguration lesson.”
“Oh Pete,” Remus frowned. Peter looked up, panicked, preparing for Remus to reprimand him for not understanding the lesson. “You shouldn’t ever be afraid to ask for help. Especially from me; you know I don’t mind. It makes me happy, in fact, to help a fellow Marauder.” Peter’s face brightened a bit at the use of their group name, but he stayed slouched over.
“I just feel so stupid! You guys always do things so well on the first try, and it takes me dozens of times just to make progress. And even then, it’s still not as good as yours!”
“Hey,” Remus placed a gentle hand on Peter’s back. “I’m rubbish at potions. We’re all bad at something; it doesn’t make you stupid.”
“Hmm…” Peter mumbled, inaudible to anyone else in the common room besides the boy sitting next to him. “Yeah, okay,” He straightened up, then smiled at Remus confidently. Remus beamed.
“So, what are you having trouble with?”
“The vanishing spell. I think maybe if you showed me the wand movement I could do it.”
Remus nodded in agreement, willing to help his friend in whatever way he wanted him to, and pulled out his wand. Peter concentrated as Remus flicked his wand up twice, then sharply to the right. Remus repeated, a couple times slow then once at normal speed. He stopped to look at Peter, and saw him frowning.
“What is it?”
“That’s… that’s exactly what I’m doing.” Peter crumbled, his confident posture disappearing as quickly as it came.
“It’s okay, It’s okay,” Remus pushed Peter’s chin up with his palm, and Peter pouted in response. “Why don’t you try to perform it in front of me?”
Peter nodded then looked around the room. His eyes landed on Remus’ book, and he pointed his wand at it. Remus yelped, then snatched the book up and held it protectively to his chest.
“Not the book! Never the book! What’s wrong with you?” Remus felt fire in his eyes briefly, and tried to push it away. Surely Moony wasn’t also upset about the destruction of a book? If he became feral over a book, that would make him an even bigger nerd than he already was.
“I- I’m sorry!” Peter scooted over on the couch, staring at Remus with his eyes wide, shaking slightly.
“If you vanished it, I’d be in so much trouble with Madame Pince!” People were staring at them now; Remus could smell their eyes on him as well as a hint of fear, which was undoubtedly coming from Peter.
“I’m sorry, Remus! Merlin, you must really think I’m stupid now!”
“No! I-” Remus drew in a deep breath, feeling the fire finally leave. He exhaled, feeling only a fraction calmer. But it was enough. “That was Moony. I’m sorry. It’s almost that time of the month, and I guess he got upset that you tried to destroy my book.”
Peter relaxed as Remus’ voice grew softer, but he did not return to his position next to him. He tried for a small smile. “I guess even wolves can like books too,” he whispered, so no one else would hear him. The rest of the common room had stopped watching them, and Remus hoped they would pretend nothing had just happened between him and Peter.
“I guess so,” Remus returned his small smile, which caused Peter to break out in a full-on grin. They sat for a moment just smiling at each other before Remus broke the eye contact. He looked around the room, spotting Lily Evans and Alice Richards sitting in a corner writing furiously. Paper balls littered the space around their feet.
“Hey Ev- Lily,” Remus had evidently spent too much time with James today, as he almost called her by her surname. “Could you throw me one of those paper balls?”
She gave him a strange look, then shrugged and picked up a paper ball. She chucked it at him, and he caught it with very fast reflexes. Lily raised her eyebrows, then smiled and clapped softly. Remus did a fake bow, and turned back to look at Peter.
He gave a little gasp, surprised to see James wedging himself between Peter and himself. James ignored Peter’s indignation and pointed his wand at Remus’s throat. “Why were you flirting with Evans?”
“That wasn’t flirting!” Remus swallowed, a bit intimidated by James’ wand and the crazy, determined look in eyes, which glistened with almost as much fire as Remus’ had just a moment ago.
“Then what was that?!”
“I just asked her for a favour!”
“But she smiled at you!”
“Yes, that’s typically what people do when you make pleasant conversation with them. Now, please put your wand down.” Remus lowered his voice, “before Moony gets angry.”
James’s eyes widened, and he immediately stuffed his wand in his robe. “Sorry, I just know that given the option, Evans would certainly pick you over me.”
“That’s because you’re still calling her Evans,” Remus pushed past James to hand the paper ball to Peter. “Here, Pete, try vanishing this.”
Peter took the paper ball, and Remus watched out of his peripheral as Peter mumbled and pointed his wand at it.
“Okay, L-lily,” James blushed.
“Is it really that difficult for you to call her by her name?”
“It just makes me feel so weak… and- and vulnerable.”
“It shouldn’t.”
“But it does! She… she intimidates me,” James mumbled, and Remus felt this was something he wouldn’t have been able to admit to anyone else. Even Sirius.
“She is pretty intimidating,” Remus agreed.
“I even took your advice and tried to talk to her like I was talking to you, but it still didn’t work.”
“What happened?”
“I said ‘hey Lily, can we talk about Quidditch?’ and she said ‘alright,’ then I couldn’t actually think of anything to say so I started stuttering and she just walked away.”
"Oh?” Remus couldn’t help but smile at James’ failed attempt. He wasn’t as suave as he pretended to be. “Well, it looks like Alice just left, so now’s your chance to apologize.”
“Apologize? For what?” James furrowed his eyebrows.
“Stuttering like a fool. And, just like, for yourself in general.”
“Rude!” James pushed him as lightly as he had in the library, and Remus laughed. “Fine, I’ll apologize. But don’t you dare tell anyone that I apologized to someone. Especially not Sirius.”
“Of course not,” Remus smiled, then pushed James off the sofa. “Now, go get her, lion.”
Once James was gone, Peter scooted closer to Remus on the sofa. “I’m still not getting it,” Peter grumbled, opening his palm to show Remus the paper ball still in his hand.
“Hmm… do it again so I can see.”
Peter nodded, then put the paper ball on the floor, scared he’d mess up and somehow vanish his own hand. He screwed up his face in concentration. “Evanesco!” Nothing happened.
“Oh!” Remus bounced, excited now that he had figured out what was causing Peter so much trouble. “It’s evanESko, not evANesko.”
“You’re right!” Peter smiled, just as excited as Remus. He pointed his wand at the ball again, and recited the incantation confidently, full of excited vigor. The paper disappeared, as well as the giant red hearth rug spanning the Gryffindor common room. Peter didn’t seem to notice.
“All right, Moony! I got it!” He bubbled, turning enthusiastically towards Remus.
“Bravo. I’m proud of you,” Remus smiled, patting him on the back. Peter beamed. “Though, next time, let’s try only to vanish what we intended to.”
Peter looked down at the ground, noticing the missing rug for the first time. It did nothing to deter his mood, however. He simply shrugged and mumbled a small
“whoops.” Then, he pushed himself off the sofa. “Thank you, Remus,” he said, before bounding off in the direction of their dorm room.
Remus looked behind him to see James and Lily sitting next to each other in the corner. James had a hand on the nape of his neck, his elbow pressed to his chest. Remus watched in disbelief as Lily threw back her head to laugh, looking happy instead of scornful. Feeling proud of himself for helping two of his friends this evening, he melted into the sofa and continued to read.
x Sirius x
Sirius fell onto the Marauder Sofa with practiced ease, his feet finding their way into Remus’ lap. Remus was happy to pretend he wasn’t there; the only indication being Sirius’ scent as he watched him read. After a couple minutes of silence, Sirius tilted his head to the side and crossed his legs, accidentally kicking his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and thumping it closed. “All right, Moony?”
“I was, until you entered the room. Do you always have to be this bubbly?” he reprimanded, smirking despite himself. He reopened his book and summoned a rather plain-looking bookmark from the open trunk in his room, then pressed it between the pages.
“Not when I have to wake up before eight am. Unless it’s for Quidditch. Speaking of, why on Earth are you reading a book on it? That’s so unlike you. Well, the book part is, but not the Quidditch part.”
Remus’s eyes darted down to the fading red cover, tracing the etched golden title with his finger. “Because when you lot talk Quidditch, it all sounds like gibberish to me.”
“Well, mate, I hate to break it to you, but a history book on Quidditch isn’t going to teach you anything useful. You’re way better off learning from actually playing.”
Remus shook is head quickly, his eyes wide. He remembered the time in fourth year when he had somehow managed to dislocate both of his wrists from an incident that involved a Marauder prank and him flying, and had sworn to never get on a broom again. “No, I’d much rather just stick to the books.”
“You’re missing out,” Sirius shrugged, dropping the subject. By now, they had all realized convincing Remus to like Quidditch would always be a losing battle.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Merlin, Sirius, yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re all pale and… and you kept biting your lip,” Sirius mumbled the last part, causing Remus to almost miss it. Sirius’ cheeks were slightly pink, and although
Remus could not fathom why, he felt his own cheeks grow hot in response. Maybe it was embarrassment from being pitied?
“I was reading. That’s what I do when I read,” he answered simply, still fidgeting with the book in his lap. “And I’m pale because it’s almost that time of the month. I can’t exactly help either of those things.”
“I know, I know. I was just… making sure.” Sirius shrunk back into the couch. “You also look a little… frenzied. Your hair looks like an owl’s nest.”
“Gee, thaannkss.” Remus rolled his eyes, then attempted to smooth his hair down self-consciously. “It’s probably just because I’ve been helping James and Pete all evening.”
“Helping them? With what?” Sirius demanded, feeling left out.
“James with Lily; Peter with Transfiguration.”
Sirius softened. “Oh. They’re both hopeless.”
“Hmm,” Remus hummed. “Actually, Peter managed to vanish a paper ball. ...and the rug.”
Sirius leaned over the sofa to see the wooden floor. He raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s progress, at least.”
“If you think that’s progress, have a look at James,” Remus turned towards him and Lily and Sirius followed his gaze.
“Well, color me pink and call me a pygmy puff! You did that?”
Remus shrugged. “More or less.”
“What’d you do?”
“Nothing, really. I just told James to stop harassing her and just talk to her like a normal human being. ...The key is being yourself.”
“I don’t think being himself is going to help James, though I do suppose that’s how you pull people.”
“Pull people? Sirius, do you see any girls flocking to me right now? Or ever? Since when have I pulled anyone?”
“I didn’t mean girls, exactly.”
Remus blinked, slightly confused. “Then who?”
“Well… you got James, Pete and I to be your friend just by being yourself.”
“You guys hated me all of first year,” Remus pointed out. “And anyway, that’s different from someone fancying me.”
“Yeah, but we liked you once we got to know you!” Sirius protested, obviously still feeling bad about how the other marauders treated Remus first year. “I think Lily has already gotten to know James,” Sirius chuckled, “and I don’t blame her for not wanting to be with him.”
“He’s not a bad guy, just rubbish at talking to girls.”
“Maybe he should learn from the best.”
“And who’s that?”
“Why me, of course,” Sirius dramatically held a hand to his chest, offended.
“Uh huh, Sirius,” Remus rolled his eyes and made to pick up his book from its resting position on the arm of the chair. Sirius nudged him with his foot.
“Hey! You know it’s true. I’m the most handsome guy at our school, and I can talk to girls without stuttering.”
“I won’t deny that,” Remus avoided looking at Sirius’ face, knowing that would just cause him more reason to agree. Sirius was rather attractive, but Remus wouldn’t admit it without it being in jest. “But none of the girls you’ve talked to you’ve really fancied. Not in the same way James fancies Lily, anyway.”
“I’ve never really fancied any girls,” Sirius shrugged.
“Any boys?” Remus asked plainly, trying to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal, but his breath caught in his throat at the last syllable and his voice rose an octave.
Sirius shrugged again, looking like he was also trying not to make a big deal out of it. He looked away from Remus and down at the now nonexistent rug.
Remus bit his lip in thought, and feeling the conversation had come to an awkward conclusion, picked up his book. He wondered silently if he had been the one to make things awkward, or if he was reading the conversation wrong and the atmosphere wasn’t awkward at all. He felt like James’ statement, that he was good at reading emotions, was wrong. He had trouble reading his own most of the time. Especially now, sitting in front of the fire with Sirius’ feet in his lap.
“Would you stop doing that?” Remus drew himself from his thoughts, hearing Sirius’ soft voice. He felt himself panic a little, hoping he hadn’t actually done something to upset one of his best friends.
“D-doing what?” Though he could talk to girls just fine, Remus
often became a stuttering mess when he tried to talk to Sirius.
“Biting your lip. It’s distracting.”
“D-distracting?” Remus stared down at Sirius’ feet in his lap. He could feel Sirius staring at him again, and his smell was so intense and full of smoke that it threatened to burn a hole in his heart. “What is there to distract you from? You were just staring at the fire.”
"My thoughts.”
“Sirius thinking? That’s scary,” Remus said, trying to ignore how curious he was to know what Sirius was thinking about.
“You’re so mean to me, Moooony,” he drawled out his nickname, and Remus could practically hear the pout, though he still wouldn’t allow himself to look over.
“If I’m not mean to you, then who will be?”
“But you’re supposed to be the nicest to me. I’m your best fwiend.”
“Yes, I suppose you are,” Remus finally glanced over at Sirius. “Stop pouting, Sirius. It’s distracting.”
“You’re being mean to me; I can’t help it.”
Remus sighed, running a hand through his hair and turning it into a nest again. Sirius was going to kill him one day. “What thoughts did I interrupt, then?”
“I was just thinking about that thing you said.”
“Which thing?”
“About James being himself. I don’t think I could teach him, because he’s missing something I have that he doesn’t.”
“And what’s that?”
“It’s the hair.” He pushed a falling strand away from his eyes and winked. Remus’s stomach did a somersault. “Nobody can resist.”
“I’m resisting.”
“You’re not doing a very good job, then,” when Remus just stared at him, unblinking, Sirius added another wink.
That caused Remus to blink rapidly, as if he was making up for not blinking at all. “I- I d-d-don’t…”
“Relax, Moony, I was just joking,” Sirius gave a small chuckle, but his statement did nothing to stop the blush that crept up Remus’ neck and settled on his cheeks.
“I know,” Remus mumbled, holding his book too close to his face for him to read, in an attempt to hide his blush.
“Moony,” Sirius leaned forward on the sofa, and pushed Remus’ book down with his pointer finger, then curled it under Remus’ chin and turned his head to look at him. Once again, Remus felt his breath catch in his throat. He felt Sirius move his hand to press the back of it against his forehead. His hand was cold, but his touch made warmth pool below his bellybutton.
“You’re warm. Maybe you have a fever. Do you need Madame Pomfrey?”
“No,” Remus shook his head slightly, waiting for Sirius to remove his hand. There were some problems that not even Madame Pomfrey could fix. “It’s just the moon.”
“Are you sure? If anything happened to you, I’d blame myself forever.”
Sirius would be the death of him one day, but that day wasn’t today. “No need to worry about me. I’m fit as a fiddle.”
Sirius finally dropped his hand. He tilted his head. “Erm… what’s a fiddle?”
“Nevermind,” Remus shook his head, smiling, still not used to Sirius’s total ignorance of muggle culture.
“Well, now that I know you’re okay, I can actually get some sleep.” Sirius withdrew his feet from Remus’s lap and bounced off the sofa. Remus immediately missed the warmth.
Before Remus could protest, Sirius mussed his hair and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “I think it’s really nice you’re reading up on Quidditch for me,” then as an afterthought, he added “and James.”
The warmth of Sirius’ breath on his ear made him shiver. He breathed in Sirius’ blue-grey scent with each inhalation of breath, his heart hammering furiously in his chest, threatening to jump out of his throat. He somehow managed a small “mhm.”
“But I do think it’d be better if you learned about it with a more… hands on approach… and I just so happen to be an excellent teacher.”
Remus wanted to argue, wanted to tell him he would be a horrible teacher, in all subjects-- even Quidditch. But his breath was still caught in his throat, and Sirius’ warmth made it difficult to think, so instead, he just blinked down into his book, biting his lip to keep himself from replying with something stupid.
Sirius pressed a gentle kiss to his temple, right on top of one of his scars, then disappeared into their dorm room.
xxx