1982 | Remus Lupin

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"I'm not late today!" Romy exclaimed with a grin, lazily throwing her things at her feet and quickly tying the back of hair apron. She pulled her hair into a half-assed updo atop her head, her grin still capturing her face when Penny popped her head in from the kitchen.

"I'm so very proud of you!" the girl giggled, nudging her arm towards some empty tables that needed cleaning and Romy almost groaned. She started later than she usually did, but it was intentional. Charles had given her the morning off after she stayed later on her last shift, and she was rather happy for it.

"Your friend was in," Penny called, leaning against the door frame just behind the counter and watched Romy spray the table before cleaning it. She had the cart beside her with dirty dishes which she had stacked each cup and saucer and small plates messily in order to get them out of her way, "that pretty boy that's been stalking you."

Romy couldn't help but roll her eyes, "he's not been stalking me, Penny. He's an old...acquaintance."

"I forgot to tell you last night," said Penny, ignoring Romy's words, "he was here on your day off. I told him you wouldn't be in - that you were off and that you'd be back, but he didn't come in at all yesterday. Came in this morning, though. I told him you'd be in later."

"What if he was a serial killer?" asked Romy, "or what if I was only being nice to him because I was working and you're letting him know when I'll be working?!"

"Well, is he?"

"No. That's not the point, though. When was he here?" Romy frowned. She felt quite bad that she had missed him on her day off, she had wondered if he'd come back, much like she had offered - she wondered if he only cared about the free coffee she promised to give him rather than to see her.

Not like she cared, she didn't. She was more curious than anything, Remus Lupin was - as she said - an acquaintance, an old acquaintance. She wasn't sure if she could even call him that, but that wasn't the point. He was a piece in the puzzle of her old life, and it was a very, very tiny part of the puzzle - a part so miniscule that she'd not be able to tell if it were missing.

In fact, he didn't even have his own piece of the puzzle. He was nothing to her, it wasn't rude or mean but just the truth.

"He was here this morning." Penny shrugged, grabbing a cloth from the sink and moving to the counter to clean it, "I think he likes you."

"I think you're being nosy," Romy teased, sticking her tongue out at the girl when she flipped her off, "I'm joking...but he doesn't. Honestly, we don't know each other very well at all. We are practically strangers."

"Strangers don't wait for strangers to be finished with work," Penny trailed off, smirking when Romy stopped what she was doing to turn to her.

"How did you know that?!"

"I know a lot of things, Romy. Maybe he doesn't like you - if you don't know each other well then that's likely, but someone who is fine with just being strangers doesn't stay for hours on end just to talk to you. So, let him. Don't shut him out like you do most people." Romy frowned at Penny's words. She didn't think she shut people out, she could think of people she drifted from but...was that her fault?

She ignored the feeling that it was that bubbled in her stomach, focusing more on the tablets that needed cleaned and stacking the dirty dishes onto the cart she was weaving through the small, round tables. It kept her occupied and passed time rather quickly, and she preferred that to not doing anything.

"You know, you could help!" Romy almost snapped, turning to Penny who was leaning against the counter doing nothing. Romy loved Penny, but sometimes the girl could do things that got under her skin. They never did anything outside of work, never saw each other outside of work and Romy knew that Penny had many of her own friends besides Romy...Romy couldn't say the same.