It's Nice To Have A Friend

39 - Risk It All

Mallory looked up as the living room finally turned green. She got up from the dinner table and walked over as Sirius stepped out of the fireplace. "James is going to be pissed," she stated softly, a terrible feeling settling in her stomach uncomfortably.

"It'll be fine," Sirius assured her quietly, looking down at her with a small smile.

"He's going to be so mad at us."

"I won't let him be angry with you. It was my idea," Sirius reminded her.

"Siri, he's going to be pissed off."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I know," he impatiently said, "I'll handle it, alright?"

"And now you're annoyed with me..." Mallory grumbled.

"I'm not annoyed with you," Sirius immediately said, "but I did come out here to see you, and all you've done is talk about James. If you want to snog him, then do it already. Nobody's stopping you."

"What?" Mallory questioned. "No. I just don't like-"

"No. I can go get James right now if you'd like. You two can snog until the world ends."

"Sirius, you're being ridiculous," she told him simply.

Sirius sighed and looked behind Mallory at her family. He quickly faked a smile. "It's nice to see you too, Mallory," he said.

Mallory smiled guiltily back at him. "It's nice to see you, Sirius," she told him, pulling him in for a proper welcome hug.

Sirius buried his face in her neck and held her there for a few seconds before pulling away and looking back at her family. "Good evening," he politely said, waving. They all responded, their responses blending together.

"Do you want to sleep on the couch again or do you want the bed?" Mallory asked Sirius as she started to lead him towards the two sets of stairs.

"Better save the bed for you and James," he grumbled as he started toward the basement with his bag in hand.

Mallory smiled over at her family before running after Sirius. "I don't like James like that," she told Sirius as she walked over to the couch. Mallory watched him as he scoffed at her and rolled his eyes.

She remembered what James had told her to do when Sirius was in one of these moods. She hated that she had to be confrontational, but she didn't want him to be acting like this when they were with her family.

"And I don't appreciate your snarky comments about me liking him," she added.

Sirius looked over at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "If you don't fancy him, then why is he all you've talked to me about?" he asked her.

"Because he's going to feel betrayed by two of his best friends."

"So what? He wouldn't let me come over here earlier!"

Mallory realized Sirius didn't get it. He didn't understand the loneliness of being everyone's second choice. He had no idea how much it hurt, but Mallory did because she had experienced it before. She had cried countless times because she felt like she didn't have a best friend because she was second to all of her friends. Diane and Mallory were friends, but Diane liked Anthony more. Drake and Mallory were friends, but he always had a whole other group of friends. The same went for her other friends and she eventually realized that she was nobody's first choice in her family. She was never the one that her siblings went to for help or to talk to.

That's when she went to Hogwarts. Her mental health had gotten so bad that she needed to leave Utah, and she met her best friends, and sure, in the back of her mind, she may have had a feeling that she wasn't any of their first choices either, but Marlene was always telling Mallory how much she loved her and was constantly boosting Mallory's confidence. Sirius was Mallory's best friend and he stayed by her for the most part. James would never want Mallory to ever feel like she was no one's first choice, and Mallory didn't want him to feel that way either.