maple syrup | remus lupin [1]

37. intellectual

CLAUDIA KNOCKED THREE times on the wooden door of the four boys' dormitory the next morning after she had left breakfast. Inside was a pacing Remus, who was nervous out of his mind for his date.

He didn't want to go.

He was beginning to think that he had said yes too soon. Which he had, for the record. Sophia Aster, his date, had come up to him a few minutes before class and asked him, and in a confused and panicked way he quickly answered yes.

It wasn't like it hadn't happened before. But, Remus was scared of the awkward and anxious parts of getting to know someone, which often caused him to politely decline or... run away. Which he would apologise for later, but that's besides the point.

He was also scared of what people would think about his "furry little problem", which was another reason to why dating freaked him out a bit.

"Yeah," he said, and in came a smiling Claudia with a plate in her hand. A plate with a stack of pancakes and golden syrup on it.

"Good morning!" She said cheeringly as she walked over to him. "I've got you some pancakes!"

"I see that," he chuckled. "Thank you."

"Of course," she said with a smile, and then she turned around and sat down on the floor, leaning her back against his bed.

Oh, speaking of Claudia's back, it had eventually healed just fine, so she was back to functioning like a normal person.

"Sit," she said enthusiastically as she patted the spot next to her.

"You're rather chirpy today," he said with a smile as he sat down next to her.

He liked seeing her like that.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that I woke up on the right side of the bed," she chuckled. "Anyways, what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You weren't at breakfast," she shrugged. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he lied.

"I don't believe that," she said worriedly. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I guess it's just... the date. It just doesn't feel right," he said.

"Doesn't feel right in a we don't belong together way or in a I'm scared something will go wrong way?" She asked.

"I guess it's the we don't belong together kind of way."

"Oh. Well, you won't know unless you try!" She said encouragingly. "And if it's not right like you think it isn't, there's no harm in that. It just means that it isn't right."