STARS | r. lupin (1)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"YOU- YOU KNOW," REMUS repeated, beside himself. She bit her lip and nodded solemnly. He shook his head and a bitter laugh bubbled up his throat. Althea barely discerned the next words that left his lips. "I should've known."

I should've known.

The words echoed in her head. Should've known what? She opened her mouth to say something, but her mind went blank. He narrowed his green eyes at her and she pulled back in shock at the anger within them. Her hands left their place on his shoulders. He backed up and disappeared around the corner of a corridor.

What the hell just happened?

Her hands shook and any sense of security left her system. She was utterly alone. She tried to follow him, tried to yell his name, to call him back, but her feet stood in their place and her mouth stayed glued shut. She didn't understand what she did wrong. Were they not friends? Did he not trust her with his secret? Was this some form of betrayal?

She rested her head in her hands and fell to the floor, inexplicable sobs racking her chest in a heart-breaking symphony.

*

Two weeks. He had managed to avoid her for two whole weeks. Whenever she threw a note at him he ignored it. He skipped potions, in which they were seated together. Had it not been for the N.E.W.T.s approaching, which kept her busy, she might have lost her mind.

Now they had Charms together, but she had given up on getting his attention. She just took long wistful looks at him and wondered desperately what she had done wrong.

When class was dismissed, she almost tripped over her own feet to try and get to the other boys. The ones who actually would talk to her. She placed a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder.

"Yeah?" he turned around and looked at her, "Oh, you."

"Yes, me." she sighed. "I don't know why he won't talk to me, but-"

Peter snorted. "Please, it's not hard to deduce. You scared him off."

The corners of her lips tugged downwards in a small, confused frown, but she stopped herself from saying something that she'd regret.

"Just give him this for me. Please?" she handed him a folded up piece of paper in which she had written the words:

Black Lake. 11pm. I want to talk.

Perhaps it was rather ominous, but she was certain that anything more than that would be better off said in person. Peter eyed the note suspiciously, but snatched it from her hands and quickly bid her goodbye.

"What was that?" Caroline raised a perfect eyebrow. Althea shrugged.

"I need a word with Remus." She said defeatedly. The blonde opened her mouth to protest, before snapping it shut.

"It's not like you to obsess over a boy. What happened between you two?" Caroline asked, her intense blue eyes burning into Althea's soul.

"It's not my place to tell." Althea crossed her arms over her chest. Caroline leaned forwards and studied her face.

"Hm." was all the latter said, before heading to her next class and leaving Althea behind.

*

The skies were so grey. Dark and threatening. Indicating a thunderstorm of some kind. Still, Althea stood next to the Black Lake, grasping at the small hope that, somehow, Remus had changed his mind and he would meet her.