Meretricious | Professor Lupin

76. Food for thought

"Have you bought the twins their gift?" Andrew asked as he brewed his potion.

"My gift to them will be brownies- if they don't like it they can suck on it" she laughed.

Andrew laughed in return, "I think I'm going to get them a box of hair dye."

"What color?" she smiled.

"Counter clockwise Ms. Venus" Snape stared at her.

Spencer looked back down at her cauldron, stirring as he said, not looking back at him.

"I think I might make them a scrapbook" she replied to Andrew.

Andrew stared at the both of them until Snape walked away.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Totally" she smiled.

She was "totally" not okay.

It had been a week since her... confession and things were, if not more, awkward than they were before.

She hadn't told anyone what she'd said.

She'd gone to talk to Sirius but he wasn't there.

Spencer had napped on the couch until he arrived and by then he was saying it was late for her to be out.

He was on edge, more so than her.

So she left, continuing to die from the inside.

"Totally" Andrew spoke, taking her out of her thoughts. "So what do you want for your birthday?"

"Nothing, seriously."

"C'mon you know I'm going to get you something anyway" he smirked. "Might as well be something you want."

"The moon" she replied.

Andrew laughed, "ok ok, but seriously."

"I don't know just," she shrugged, "buy me a shirt or something."

"You are the worst" he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah yeah" she chuckled. "How about you? How are you?"

"Rough patch with... you know" he shrugged.

"Oh?"

"Yeah" Andrew stared at his notebook. "It's whatever."

"Oh." Spencer gave him a sad smile, "rough patches are normal."

"You've never seem to go through them" he replied.

Spencer thought about that.

Remus and her didn't argue much which in itself was a blessing- she didn't know how go control her mouth when she was angry.

Snape was a witness to that.

"I know how to hide what I'm feeling" she shrugged. "I'm also a private person- just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen."

"Tell me... please" he looked up at her.

Spencer faced him, "he's avoided me and conversations that were obviously needed. We've yelled and made up, it's how relationships work."

"Vague but enough."

"My point is, Andrew, it takes work. We're all growing and situations arise and since we're with people it also affects them, even if you didn't want it to" she stared at the inside of her cauldron.

"It's the hiding" he cleared his throat, standing straight.

Spencer turned to look at him.

"It's ah- I guess gotten to him" he nodded.