Chapter 4
Almost two months have passed since Vega started school.
She seemed to grow more and more distant as the days went on, and it drove Sirius crazy. He just couldn't understand Vega, and he just wanted her to talk to him.
Though no matter how much he seemed to push, Vega seemed to be pulling in the opposite direction. She was spending less and less time at home, and more time anywhere else.
"Extended soccer practices", the library, Pandora's house, and staying for "extra help" at school. It drove Sirius mad.
"Yeah so I just don't understand why she is being so distant."
Sirius was currently confiding to Lily about his feelings at the Starbucks near both of their buildings. The duo often went together after work to get a coffee and catch up; it usually would be Sirius venting, and Lily offering words of wisdom.
Lily hummed considerably. "She has been quite distant with all of us actually. Marls, Mary, and I were going out for Karaoke last Friday night, but when we asked Vega to come out along, she insisted that she had to get extra rest for a soccer game the next morning."
Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "That can't be right. She didn't have a soccer game last Saturday."
Lily nodded hurriedly. 'Exactly! James always goes to her games, so I knew there couldn't be one because he didn't bring it up."
"Now that you mention James, Vega keeps making up excuses to not have their private coaching on Saturdays," Sirius said thoughtfully.
Lily sighed, her shoulders slumping a little. "I don't think this is a puberty thing," Lily said honestly. "There just seems to be something she isn't telling us."
Sirius nodded, subconsciously pulling to check if Vega sent him anything. When she first got her phone last year, she always sent small messages throughout the day about what she was doing, the excitement about having the ability to text clear. "Shit!" he exclaimed, taking notice of the time. "It's almost time to pick up Vega from soccer practice."
"Give me updates on her," Lily replied sternly, pointing a finger at him.
Sirius only rolled his eyes before flipping the redhead off and rushing off, the sounds of Lily's exclaims getting quieter and quieter as he left
Sirius watched as Vega quickly got in the car, shivering from the new October breeze. Daylight hours were starting to decrease and the weather seemed to be getting chiller as the days of October went by. Over her soccer uniform, Vega wore a large gray pullover that basically draped to her knees.
"Could you drop me at Dora's house?" was the first thing that Vega said as she got in the car.
A frown immediately took over his face from the question. "You're always there though," commented Sirius. "Can't you spend a little time at our flat?"
Vega shifted uncomfortably. "All kids my age want to spend all their time with their friends," she insisted. "It's normal."
Sirius couldn't really argue with that, well speaking from his experience at least. It was different for him though; he grew up with shitty parents, so of course he wanted to be away from them! He was certain that if his guardians were good people, he would wanna spend some time at home.
A smug smile lit up Vega's face at the lack of response coming from her older brother. "See. I bet you were always at James's house at my age."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but that was different. My parents were shit."
Vega furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean our parents."
The words made Sirius scowled as he immediately shook his head. "Don't think of them as your parents. Don't give them the right."
Deciding not to continue where this conversation was going, she let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. I'll come home."
Sirius grinned in triumph.
"So Halloweens coming up," Sirius brought up casually as the two walked inside the complex. "What are you planning to be? We should start shopping soon."
Vega shrugged.
Sirius held back a sigh at the lack of verbal response. They use to always discuss what Vega would be for Halloween. There had been so many great years: pirate, pumpkin (that was when Vega was really young), cat, and so many more.
The rest of the walk back to the flat was quiet, and as soon as they entered the flat, Vega immediately went to her room, shutting the door completely.
Sirius let out a groan at the lack of progress he made. It seemed like every conversation he would attempt, Vega would reflect it back to him like it was nothing.
It wasn't until a few hours later Vega finally came out of her room with the exception of her taking a shower an hour ago. Her hair, as always, tied up, and a huge gray hoodie wrapped over her body. Sirius noticed her hair was still damp from the shower, making him narrow his eyes. "You're going to catch a cold. Go dry your hair."
Vega ignored his words. "Mr. Lupin said parent teacher conferences are coming up, so you have to sign up early to get a good slot."
Sirius raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Mr. Lupin told you this now?"
"Yeah.." Vega said as if it was obvious.
"And how may I ask-"
"-Don't ask then."
Sirius could almost feel his patience slipping away as he held back a scowl. "How and why is your English teacher contacting you?"
Vega crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as if Sirius was the one being difficult. "Mr. Lupin said I could email him whenever I needed someone to talk to. When he wrote his email back, he added that there was a parent teacher conference coming up."
Sirius paused, a wave of confusion hitting him. Someone to talk to? What did Vega need to talk to him about, and why couldn't she just talk to him? A feeling of fear washed over him as he stared at his little sister. This girl in front of him who used to tell him everything now seemed to have built walls around her. Walls that Sirius couldn't break through. Even if the distance between them was small, Sirius couldn't help but feel they were oceans apart.
"What do you need to talk to him about?" he asked, his voice raspier than before.
The emotion in her older brother's voice made Vega's tough exterior falter.
Sirius watched as Vega seemed to go through an internal conflict of whether to tell him or not causing flickers of hope to rise. Talk to me, he wanted to beg.
Though as if the hesitance was never there, Vega's eyes hardened and her shoulders went stiff. "None of your business," she said coldly, turning around to walk back to her room.
Her door slamming was almost as loud as Sirius's heart breaking.
Sirius couldn't pay attention all night. It was the night of parent teacher conference, and as much as he loved to hear Vega's teacher praise her, he was anxious to meet the man Vega confided in instead of him.
Mr. Lupin was last on the list. He had just finished talking to Vega's art teacher Ms. Trelawney, and now walking down the hall to Mr. Lupin's classroom.
A-13.
Stopping in front of the door, he took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves before entering. This was Vega's fucking teacher, not the Pope gt; But then again this was an adult Vega actually talked to these days. Sirius didn't know what to expect, a probable assumption of his was that Lupin would be a nice old man in his mid sixties, but oh how he was wrong.
Sitting at the desk was a young man around Sirius's age, and was probably the most attractive person Sirius ever saw. Sirius could feel his mouth part slightly in shock, but quickly tried to recompose himself when Lupin looked up.
"Hi you must be Vega's brother Sirius," Mr. Lupin said, a small grin plastered on his face as he gestured to the seat across from his desk.
Sirius took a seat and nodded, his heart thumping at bit. The reason? He didn't know. "It's nice to meet you.." Sirius drifted off, not knowing the man's first name.
"Remus," Mr. Lupin filled in, offering a hand to shake.
"Remus," Sirius repeated slightly to himself, taking the hand.
His heart thumped again.
"Thank you for making it today. Vega truly is-"
Sirius cut him off. "What did Vega email you about the other week?" Sirius knew it was straightforward, but he just needed to know. The curiosity had been bothering him for the past two weeks, almost suffocating him.
Remus looked taken back. "Pardon?"
"The other week," Sirius started. "Vega emailed you to talk about something."
Remus's eyes widened in realization as he suddenly broke eye contact, deciding to look at his hands instead. "I'm sorry, but that is information that Vega wanted to keep private. If you want to know you should ask her about it."
Sirius scowled. This was his baby sister they were talking about, Sirius had every right to know. "She's under my guardianship, I have every right to know information regarding her."
Remus suddenly scowled back with the same, if not more, intensity. "I am aware, but Vega trusted me with that information, and I will not betray her trust. The youth need someone they can trust."
Sirius's knew that Remus didn't have a condescending tone or any negative intention, and really he should be happy that Vega was talking about her feelings to someone, but that didn't make him any less mad at Remus's words.
"She can trust me!" Sirius exclaimed, his next words coming in sharp. "You're just her teacher that she will never see again after this year. But I will always be there, so you should just tell me what the hell is going on with her, so I can fix it!"
A tense silence followed after, the only sound being heard were people talking outside the classroom. Sirius watched as the harshness in Remus's eyes seem to shift, and his eyes suddenly become very cold.
"If she trusted you she would tell you," Remus said coldly. "I am aware I'm just her teacher, but I do care about her," he continued sharply. "And if you do care about her, you would wait for her to tell you instead of going behind her back."
If Sirius was a calmer person, maybe he could find reason in Remus's words. But he wasn't a calm person. Sirius Black was like fire; once a flame was lit, it would not stop, only grow and grow with no hesitation to burn everything around it. "How dare you!" he bellowed in anger. "How dare you question if I care about her. Vega has and always will be my priority."
He stood up abruptly.
"I don't understand why Vega would trust someone like you, " Sirius snarled.
He sent one more final glare before stomping out, not once looking back.