Parking Lot Kids

Chapter 26: Somebody That I Used To Know

Senior Year: First week of December

Sirius

I pushed the mashed potatoes around my plate aimlessly, half listening to James talk about his upcoming basketball game. The dining hall buzzed with chatter, but our table was relatively quiet. This was the first time all of us (the girls and the Marauders) were having dinner together since The Fight™. It had been a little over a week, and I was still feeling super shitty about it. Less shitty about what Remus had done, and more shitty about what I said. Unfortunately, I got my sharp tongue and short temper from my mother. As much as I despised that woman, I couldn't deny the similarities that emerged every once and awhile. I was still angry at Remus, but I never should have made that comment about his dad.

Lily and Marlene had pivoted the conversation to their cheer practice tonight, when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Actually it was someone. Remus. "God, we can't do anything without this guy showing up to ruin our fun," I sighed.

All of the heads at our table turned to look at me. Shit. I said that out loud. Remus was still a touchy subject in our group, and I promised James I wouldn't talk about him tonight. The girls and Peter exchanged awkward glances, while James' eyes bore a hole in the side of my head. "Sirius, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, gesturing toward the door.

I stole one last glance at Remus before muttering "Um, yeah." In my anger, I think I forgot how hot Remus was. Seeing him again, brought back memories of our first meeting. Stop being sentimental Sirius, he hurt you, my brain screamed, but I pushed it away.

"Uh, Sirius?"

"Yeah, I'm coming James."

I followed James out of the dining hall and into the hallway, mind still on Remus. The way his stupid grandpa sweater framed his lean body. His soft brown waves that he never put any effort into but always looked flawless. His long legs, his sharp jaws, his beautiful silvery scars, his everything. Wait. What the fuck. Why am I thinking about him like this?

"Hellooooo, Earth to Sirius!," James exclaimed, waving his hands in front of my face. "I've literally been talking to you for like two minutes."

"Oh, sorry," I shrugged. Get it together Sirius!

"Dude, I know you're going through a bad time right now, but you need to drop the Remus shit. Like, now," James said.

I knew he was right, that continuing to talk about Remus was just beating a dead horse. Remus was out of the group. No one had talked to him since the fight. But for some reason I couldn't get his stupid face out of my head. I think it was mostly guilt about the whole abusive parent thing, but I think I also felt bad for not telling everyone the entire truth of Remus' alleged infidelity.

"Sirius, are you listening to me?"

"What? Oh, yeah."

"So you're going to drop the Remus thing right?"

Just then it hit me. I had to tell Lily the whole truth. "Sorry James, I have to go talk to Lily about Remus," I said, turning to walk away.

"What? Sirius? I just told you to cut that shit out!" James yelled after me. A few students turned to look at us.

"Sorry!" I yelled back over my shoulder. I knew what I had to do. I pulled out my phone while walking out to the parking lot.

Sirius: hey can we talk?

Lily: why?

Sirius: i have something important to tell you

Sirius: its about remus