Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

_I promised myself that I wouldn't post up a new story until the ones I already have up are done, but this little thing has been jumping around in my head for a while and I thought I should get it out before it drives me nuts._

_Disclaimer: The site is called fanfiction, so I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own this. All the names and things you recognize, I don't own._

_Warnings: As stated in the summary, this is a SLASH story. If you don't like that stuff, then I suggest you leave now._

Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter One

Remus was angry. And the object of his anger was a petite little blonde who was blatantly flirting with Sirius Black. Sirius was flirting back, but Remus could tell he wasn't really into it. There was an almost bored expression in his gray eyes that the dim blonde didn't seem to notice. Remus's glare hardened when the girl dared to plant a kiss on Sirius's pale cheek.

Sirius smiled at the girl charmingly. He didn't encourage her, but he didn't discourage her from kissing him either, as Remus noticed. Finally, the young Black heir seemed to feel someone's gaze on him, because he turned his attention from the blonde and looked at Remus. For a brief second, a look of guilt flashed through those eyes before they disappeared and were replaced with an almost apologetic smile.

Sirius looked about ready to leave the company of the blonde and walk over to Remus when said blonde decided to even be more daring and moved to sit closer to Sirius. They were pressed together from shoulder to knee; they were so close she was practically on her lap. With a loud sigh, that caught the attention of his two other friends, Remus shut his book quite loudly.

"What's up?" James asked. It was rare he saw Remus looking so angry.

"Nothing, Prongs," Remus smiled softly at his bespectacled friend. "All this noise is just starting to bother me is all. I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"Do you want some company?" James was looking for an excuse to get out of doing his homework. He'd been a lot more studious since he started going out with his long time crush, Lily Evans, but he still hated working.

"No, I'm alright. Besides, don't you have a potions essay to finish?"

James made a face and Remus laughed softly, before standing up and walking out of the bustling Gryffindor common room. He could feel a pair of gray eyes watching him the entire time.

Remus walked out into the courtyard and felt the crisp cold air, even through his robes. It was only October and already it had begun to get very cold. Winter seemed to be coming early this year. He walked to a nearby bench and sat down. Curfew was still a couple hours away, and there were still some students outside. The young werewolf thought back to the reason he came out in the first place and frowned. Sirius was one of the most frustrating people he had ever met. But at the same time, he was one of the people who made Remus truly happy.

Remus sighed and pushed thoughts of Sirius aside. He stared at up at the starry sky. Before he got bitten, he used to love gazing at the stars and the moon. Almost unconsciously, his hand reaches up and touches a spot on his right shoulder where a scar that was a permanent reminder of his condition resided. His body was littered with scars, most of which people don't notice unless they really look at him.

After about an hour of sitting outside and looking at the stars, Remus decided to head back to his common room. He took his time walking through the halls and managed to get back right at curfew.

"Had a nice walk?" James asked. He was still seated in the same place Remus had left him in, but he seemed to have finished his work and was now helping Peter with his. Remus also noticed that Sirius had left the blonde and was sitting on the couch across from James and Peter. Remus moved to sit beside Sirius.

"It was alright," Remus replied with a small smile.

"You were gone for a couple hours," Sirius pointed out. "Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere in particular," Remus shrugged. "I spent most of my time sitting in the court yard, actually."

"Moony, will you help me with this? I don't understand James." Peter held up his parchment while James made a face at the shorter boy.

"Sure, Pete," James stood up and said he was going to talk to Lily, so Remus took his seat next to Peter, leaving Sirius alone on the couch once more. Remus felt Sirius's gaze on him the entire time he was helping Peter, but continued to ignore him.

Once Peter was done with his essay, Remus bid his friend goodnight and headed to the dorm rooms. He continued to ignore Sirius, who was following him up the stairs.

As soon as they entered their dorm room, Sirius grabbed Remus's arm and spun him around so they were facing. "I'm sorry, alright?"

Remus glared and said nothing.

"Remmy, I'm sorry," Sirius stepped closer to the smaller boy and pulled him into a hug. He smiled when he felt the other boy's arms wrap around his waist to return the hug.

"I don't like her," Remus said after he pulled away, though his hands were still on Sirius's waist.

"I didn't either," Sirius said with a small smile before leaning down and kissing Remus softly. "She talked way too much."

"I hate it when girls flirt with you."

"It's not my fault they can't resist my charming good looks."

Remus laughed and playfully shoved Sirius away. He walked over to his bed and sat down. Sirius sat beside him and wrapped his arm around his waist.

"I still hate it though," Remus said in a much softer voice, while leaning into Sirius.

"I'm not telling them to flirt with me!"

"You aren't discouraging them either."

"Moony, we've already talked about this," Sirius sighed. They seemed to be having this particular talk on a daily basis now.

"I know, I know," Remus sat up straighter and turned to face the other boy. "But I hate it, Padfoot. I hate keeping our relationship a secret. We can't even tell James and Peter!"

"We can't risk having anyone find out, you know that."

"It's James and Peter! They're our best friends. They wouldn't tell anyone."

"I know, but I don't want to risk it." Sirius was starting to grow very tired of this conversation. It was the same every time. "I can't have anyone finding out about our relationship. If word gets out and my brother finds out, he'll tell my parents and they'll kill me. You understand why no one can know, right?"

"I do," Remus sighed. "I just hate that I can't let anyone know how much I care for you."

"Me, too, love," Sirius pulled Remus into another hug and kissed him on the forehead. They sat together in silence before Remus spoke up again.

"But do you have to flirt with every girl you see?"

"They start it!"

"That doesn't mean you have to flirt back!"

"We went over this already, too." Sirius ran a hand through his long hair in frustration. "That's how I used to act before we went out, and if I don't act the same, people might start to wonder why."

"But you know it really bothers me. I get the whole flirting thing, but when they get too comfortable and start touching you and kissing you, it's taking all my will power not to go over there and do something about it."

"You know I love you." Sirius placed a soft kiss on Remus's lips with those words. "Those girls mean nothing to me."

"I love you, too." Remus decided to drop the subject. When Sirius had his mind set on something, there was no changing it. "Just…try to cut down on the flirting at least? For me?"

"Sure thing, love," Sirius smiled down at his boyfriend before capturing his lips once more.

_I actually have the next few chapters of this typed up already. When the idea came to me I just typed and typed and ended up with a bunch of chapters. But I want to see what kind of response this gets before I post up the rest. So if you want more, be sure to say so :D_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to those who reviewed/alerted :D _

Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Two

"The first Hogsmeade trip of the year is this weekend," Peter announced happily.

"Why don't you ask out that Hufflepuff you've been staring at the past few weeks?" James suggested, causing Peter to blush brightly.

"N-no, I c-couldn't," Peter stammered out.

"Of course you can!" Sirius declared happily, placing an encouraging hand on his friend's shoulder.

"B-but, she doesn't even l-like me!"

"You never know until you try, Pete," Remus spoke up.

"And if you ask her, you can go on a double date with me and James!" Lily said brightly.

"I can't! I just…can't!"

"But why not? Want me to ask her for you?" James suggested. Peter's face darkened even more and he began to sputter gibberish, all to the amusement of his three friends.

"Oh, leave him alone," Lily giggled, finally taking pity on Peter. "He's just not ready, is all. How about you Sirius?"

"What about me?" Sirius stopped laughing at the still tomato-faced Remus and looked at Lily in confusion.

"Why don't you come on a double date with me and James this weekend?"

"Who am I going to bring?"

"Why don't you ask someone? I'm sure there are a bunch of girls who'd love to go with you."

Sirius glanced at Reus and saw that the smile had fallen from his face. "I don't really feel up to asking anyone. I'll just go with Moony and Wormtail so you and James can have some quality alone time."

"Oh, but I have a friend who would just love to go with you!" Lily insisted.

"But…"

"Come on, mate," James spoke up. "It'll be fun. We can hang out while the girls talk and gossip and whatever it is girls do when they're together."

Lily smacked James lightly on the shoulder, but the smile didn't leave her face. "How about it Sirius? It's just one date after all."

"Well, all right," Sirius agreed hesitantly. He could feel the intensity of Remus's gaze boring a hole in his back, but ignored it.

"I'll meet you downstairs, Prongs." Sirius made his way to the bathroom while James went down to the common room to meet Lily and her friend, Cassie. He was dreading this double date. Ever since Lily told Cassie that he agreed to it, she hasn't been leaving him alone. This of course, made Remus upset.

He pushed open the bathroom door and saw Remus standing in front of one of the sinks. From the looks of it, he had just finished brushing his teeth.

"Ready for you date?" The wolf asked bitterly when he saw Sirius enter the room.

"I'm ready for it to end already," Sirius walked up behind Remus and encircled his arms around the slim waist. He rested his chin on the other boys shoulder and looked at through the bathroom mirror. "I'd rather spend the day with you."

"Then why'd you agree to the stupid date in the first place."

"You know how insistent Lily and James can be. There was no way there were going to let me go without saying yes or giving them a real reason why I couldn't."

"I still think you should tell them about us."

"I'm not ready to tell them yet."

"Alright," Remus sighed in defeat. "You better get going then. I'm sure they're waiting for you. And I think I can hear Peter waking up."

"Alright then," Sirius turned Remus in his arms and kissed him deeply. "I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks after this date thing then?"

Remus nodded and the two kissed one more time before Sirius reluctantly left the bathroom. Remus looked into the mirror and his shoulders sagged slightly. He wasn't feeling up to going to Hogsmeade with just Peter, especially when Sirius was going on a date with someone.

At the sound of the bathroom door opening yet again, Remus plastered a small smile his face and greeted Peter good morning.

"Moony, are you alright?" Peter asked. The two of them were at Honeydukes, Remus's favorite place in Hogsmeade.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"You've just seemed a little out of it since we left Hogwarts. Are you sure nothings bothering you?"

Remus thought about it. He wanted to tell Peter what was bothering him, but knew that Sirius would be angry with him if he did.

"Pete, what would you do if you were seeing someone, but you couldn't tell anyone?"

Peter was taken aback by the question. "Well, why couldn't you tell anyone?"

"Because the other person would get into some real trouble if people found out that they were in a relationship." Remus replied in a calm voice. He kept from using any words that may give any sort of information away, even gender.

"I guess that makes sense. You wouldn't want the other person to get in trouble, right?" Peter wondered where this was going. The two left the store—Peter was shocked that Remus didn't buy anything—and continued their conversation outside as they walked around the village.

"But, what if the other person goes around and flirts with other people and goes on dates and everything just to make sure that no one suspects that they're in a relationship?" Peter thought he could detect a hint of sadness in the taller boy's voice.

"They have to hide that they're in a relationship, don't they? If they flirt and see other people, then no one would ever suspect that they're in a relationship with anyone."

"But what if they knew it hurt the one that they're in a relationship?"

"Then that would be mean," Peter answered. "Have they talked about it? Do they know that it's hurting the other person?"

"They've talked a few times, and it's led to quite a few arguments."

"I understand that they need to keep a secret and the flirting thing doesn't seem to bad, but to constantly do it when you know it hurts the other person is just not right."

Remus made a sound of agreement but said nothing. It was nice to know that someone agreed with him, even if Peter probably didn't know what was going on.

"Moony, what were those questions about?" Peter asked after a while. "You're not in a secret relationship, are you?"

"No, it's not me, Pete." Remus lied, looking at a spot over Peter's eyes. The other boy didn't seem to realize that he wasn't telling the truth and Remus was grateful for that. "I was just wondering is all…"

"Wondering? That's a weird thing to just wonder about out of the blue, Moony."

"I guess I'm just weird like that, huh?" Remus said with a small grin. Peter grinned back, glad that his friend didn't seem so down anymore.

_I've noticed that a lot of stories tend to neglect Peter, so I thought I'd let him have a moment. _

_I have most of the story typed up already, but it's subject to change. So, feel free to make any suggestions and I'll try to add it into what I already have._

_Please review. They let me know I'm doing a good job and help me improve :D _


	3. Chapter 3

_You know, I don't think I got all the ages right for some of the other characters. I hope you don't mind._

Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Three

"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked Peter. He, James, Lily, and Cassie had just arrived and immediately saw Peter sitting at the Marauder's usual table near the back of the room. The first thing that Sirius noticed was that Remus wasn't anywhere in sight.

"He went back to the castle," Peter replied, looking up from his conversation with Frank Longbottom. "He said he wasn't feeling too well."

"Is he sick?" Sirius sat across from Peter and put down the bag of chocolate he had bought for Remus down on the table in front of him."

"I don't think so." Peter answered, looking thoughtfully. "He did seem pretty down earlier, though."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked while James ordered everyone some drinks.

"While we were walking around earlier, he was always staring off into space with this almost sad looking expression on his face. I asked him what was wrong but he said he was fine."

"That's strange." James agreed. "He seemed fine this morning."

"Maybe he's just ill again?" Cassie suggested from besides Sirius. "Isn't he always going off to the infirmary because of some weird illness thing?"

"I don't think so," Sirius shared a look with James and Peter. The full moon was still three weeks away. Remus shouldn't be showing signs of any "illness" for another two weeks at least.

"We should do this again sometime," Cassie suggested when the foursome, plus Peter, entered the common room.

"Yeah, sure," Sirius answered, not really hearing what she said because he had been too busy scanning the common room for his werewolf. He didn't see the delighted look Lily and Cassie shared while he was searching.

His search finally ended when his eyes landed on a familiar head of light brown hair. Remus was sitting next to the fire place, talking to a student Sirius recognized was a seventh year, though he couldn't remember his name.

"Look! There's some empty seats over there!" Lily announced, pulling James over to a pair of seats. She and James sat on one, while Cassie pulled Sirius to sit next to her on the love seat across from them. Peter excused himself and went over to play a game of chess with Frank.

Sirius growled slightly. He wasn't sure if Remus had seen him, and with the way he was sitting now, he had his back turned to Remus.

"You alright there, mate?" James asked when he noticed the sour expression on the other boy's face.

"Yeah," Sirius grinned. "Just thought I forgot something." The two boys then proceeded to tell the girls about all their exploits, which caused numerous laughs, and Lily to threaten to tell the headmaster.

After a couple of hours and numerous stories about pranks on Slytherins later, Sirius looked around the room. A lot of the students have already left for bed. The only ones left were the older students. He spotted Peter with Frank and his girlfriend, Alice. The two of them had stopped playing chess and seemed to be talking about something or other.

He glanced back to the fire place and saw that Remus was still there with that seventh year. The two boys were sitting quite close together and seemed to be pouring over the contents of a book that Remus was holding. Sirius's eyes narrowed when the other boy said something that made Remus laugh.

"Who's that bloke talking to Remus?" Sirius asked.

"That's Molly's brother, isn't it?" Cassie asked Lily, who looked at the boy then nodded.

"Molly?" James asked.

"Molly Prewett? She was a student here two years ago. Her boyfriend proposed to her right before the year ended. It was the sweetest thing ever." Lily answered.

"Prewett?" James looked thoughtful. "Oh! That must be Gideon's brother, then?"

Gideon Prewett was a fifth year who played alongside Sirius as a beater on the Gryffindor quidditch team. "I never knew he had a brother. What's his name?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it's Fabian," Cassie answered. The group was looking at Remus and Fabian now, the two unaware that they had an audience.

"How cute would it be if they got together?" Lily asked with a mischievous look in her eye. She seemed to already be coming up with a matchmaking ploy.

"Remus is gay?" Cassie's eyebrow shot up into her hairline.

"He came out at the end of the year party last year after quite a few shots of fire whiskey." Lily said with a giggle. Sirius smiled at the memory. That little drunken confession had led to the two of them confessing their feelings for each other and getting together late in the dorm rooms when Peter and James were both in alcohol induced stupors.

"What makes you sure that Prewett is even into blokes?" James asked, having noticed the look in his girlfriend's eyes. "Didn't he go out with one of your friends last year?"

"Well, there's a rumor going around that he's bi." Cassie answered for Lily. "No one knows for sure, though since we've only ever seen him going out with girls."

"How'd that rumor start then if he's only been dating girls?" Sirius looked curious and slightly worried. What if a rumor like that was started about him? Regulus didn't need any solid proof before he had to tell his parents anything. A rumor was good enough since according to his mother, all rumors were based on some form of truth.

"Someone said that they saw him kissing some bloke from Ravenclaw. But the person who said she saw them was a bit on the drunk side that night, so no one knows for sure if it really was a bloke he was snogging. Or if it was even Prewett for that matter."

Sirius continued to watch Remus and Prewett talk. From the smile on his face, Remus seemed to be enjoying the conversation very much. Sirius felt anger and jealousy burning up inside him. He didn't like that Prewett guy.

"Sirius, are you alright?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah," he flashed a quick false smile. "I'm just getting tired is all."

"I'm starting to get tired, too. We should head to bed." Lily stood up and yawned.

"Goodnight, Sirius," Cassie and Sirius stood up while James walked over to the stairs leading to the girls' dorms with Lily.

"Night, Cassie,"

Cassie closed her eyes and leaned forward expectantly. Sirius silently cursed, but leaned down and pecked her quickly on the cheek to say goodnight. Cassie took the chance and wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him in place so she could plant her lips on his.

It seemed that Remus chose that particular moment to look at Sirius. His breath caught when he saw the two in what looked like quite a passionate kiss. A cold feeling swept over him as the kiss continued. After a few seconds, though they felt like hours to Remus, Sirius finally pushed the girl away.

"I…er… goodnight, Cassie," Sirius mumbled, before walking away from the girl as fast as he could. He didn't stop until he reached the foot of the stairs. He turned back to see Remus giving him a hard look. He hoped his eyes showed how much he didn't mean for that kiss to happen. Then it was Sirius's turn to glare when Prewett came up behind Remus and placed a hand on his shoulder to ask him what was the matter.

_This chapter wasn't set to be up until this weekend, but unfortunately I have two exams on Monday that may keep me occupied. _

_Thanks for all the reviews. You guys are great! _

_The next chapters are already written, but any ideas or suggestions you may have are welcome and can be fitted into the later chapters if I can work them into the plot._

_I'm not too sure I need a beta for this story, but any help to better it for the readers is welcome. So if you're interested, feel free to contact me via message._

_Also, this is irrelevant to this story, but I have a new story in the making (all these ideas just came at once and they won't seem to leave me alone until I write them out LOL) Anyway, the details are in my profile. Feel free to check it out if you have some time and you're interested._

_Anyway, you've probably all got tired and stopped reading by the second sentence (haha). _

_Thanks for reading and please review. They really do make me happy. ^_^_


	4. Chapter 4

Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Four

"Took you long enough to get up here," Sirius said when Remus entered the room. Peter was already asleep and James was in the bathroom taking a quick shower before bed, so no one would hear them for a while.

"I would have come up sooner but there was some people snogging in my way. I didn't want to interrupt them." Remus retaliated. Sirius had the decency to look ashamed.

"She was expecting a goodnight kiss, Remmy." Sirius said softly.

"It's bad enough that you kiss them on the cheek, Sirius," Remus walked over to his bed and pulled the curtains open. "But do you have to go and snog them now?"

Sirius glanced to the bathroom door. He could hear the sound of water running so he walked over to Remus and wrapped his arms around his small waist.

"I didn't want that to happen. I tried to kiss her on the cheek but she pulled me into that kiss. She has a pretty strong grip for such a small girl."

"Please don't tell me you're going out with her again," Remus said after a while.

"I don't plan on it," Sirius said with a small smile. He leaned forward and kissed Remus softly. "I missed you today."

"I missed you, too," Remus said between planting kisses on Sirius's soft lips.

"I got you something," Sirius spoke up, suddenly remembering the bag he brought up with him. He handed it to Remus, whose eyes brightened when he saw the familiar logo on the bag. Sirius laughed softly and handed the bag of chocolates.

"I never got a chance to buy some earlier. Thanks, Siri."

Sirius heard the water stop and he moved his arm from around Remus and moved away slightly. He nodded his head to the direction of the door to answer the silent question in the other boy's eyes.

"Peter said you weren't feeling well earlier."

"I wasn't." Remus shrugged. "Maybe it was too cold out or something. I didn't really wear a thick coat or anything. I thought I felt a cold coming."

"You feel better now Moony?" Sirius and Remus turned around to see James, clad in pajama bottoms and drying his hair with a towel, come out of the bathroom.

"Yes, Prongs," Remus answered while putting away his treats. "I guess I just needed to get out of the cold."

"You and Prewett there seemed pretty warm and cozy together," Sirius said bitterly.

"How do you know Prewett anyway?" James asked.

"He's in my Ancient Runes class."

"But he's a year above us!" Sirius raised an eyebrow at the sudden blush that showed up on Remus's cheeks.

"What did you say?" James asked when Remus mumbled incoherently.

"Professor Hawthorn decided to put me into the seventh year class. I'm a little behind everyone so Fabian offered to help me catch up. We're the only Gryffindors in there."

"You're in seventh year Ancient Runes?" Sirius asked in surprise. "When did that happen?"

"Yesterday," Remus got even redder.

"That's great, Moony!" James said enthusiastically. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know," Remus shrugged, still looking very embarrassed.

"But that's great, Remus," James said while suppressing a yawn. "I'm off to bed. Good night, mates."

"Goodnight," Sirius and Remus said in unison. They watched James get into bed and pull the curtains shut around him. It only took a few seconds before they heard his soft snores.

"Why didn't you tell me you got into a seventh year class?" Sirius moved closer to Remus.

"You guys were already teasing me enough as it was with my study habits," Remus replied, the blush returning to his face.

"You know we don't mean anything about it," Sirius rested his chin on the other boy's shoulder and hugged him tightly. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Padfoot," Remus turned to the side and kissed Sirius lightly on the forehead, making the other boy smile before he picked his head up kissed the other boy.

Sirius liked kissing Remus. He was a much better kisser than all the girls he had snogged before. And he was definitely much better than Cassie. Sirius pulled Remus closer to his body and ran his tongue along the other boy's bottom lip. Remus made a sound in the back of his throat and parted his lips, allowing Sirius entrance.

"Good morning!" Sirius and Remus looked up at the bright cheerful voice that greeted them. Cassie smiled brightly before taking a seat next to Sirius and planting a kiss on his cheek. Remus's grip tightened no his fork. "I wanted to come down with you but James said you already went ahead."

Sirius looked down at the pouting girl and tried not to grimace. "Sorry, I decided to follow Remus."

"Well, that's okay," Cassie smiled brightly and began piling her plate with food. "Anyway, want to go study with James and Lily after classes?"

"I, err..." Sirius heard a small thud and glanced over to Moony. He was stabbing his sausages and taking angry bites. "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on!" Cassie pouted again. "It'll be fun! It'll be like another double date!"

"I don't know," Sirius mumbled.

"Oh, please?" Cassie leaned forward and put her arms through Sirius's. She stuck out her lower lip and it began to quiver. Remus rolled his eyes and went back to stabbing his food.

"I…err…" Sirius looked back from Remus to Cassie, unsure of what to say.

"Remus!" A new voice came up behind Sirius, stopping him from making a decision.

"Fabian! Good morning," Remus greeted, his anger momentarily forgotten.

"I found my notes from last year," Fabian held out a very old beat up looking book and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry if it's a little messed up. It was buried at the bottom of my trunk."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Remus smiled and took the book.

"Sirius!" Cassie whined, trying to get the attention of the boy who was currently watching the exchange between his boyfriend and the older student.

"What?" Sirius glanced down, but his attention as still on the two boys chatting beside him.

"So are you going to come study with me and Lily and James?"

"Yeah, sure," Sirius said distractedly. Remus was laughing at something Fabian said.

"Great!" Cassie said loudly, taking Remus's attention from Fabian. Cassie smiled brightly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him right on the lips. Remus glared, his grip on Fabian's book tightening.

"Anyway, I'm going to head over to class now," Fabian said, making Remus turn back to face him. "I have to ask the professor something about the lesson."

"Oh, let me follow," Remus pushed his plate away and stood up from his seat. "I was supposed to go talk to Professor Stone before classes started."

Without glancing back at Sirius, who was still in Cassie's arms, Remus walked off with Fabian.

_How was it? Feel free to throw in suggestions. I may be able to fit it into the chapters I already have written._

_Don't forget to review and tell me if I should continue this ^.^_


	5. Chapter 5

Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Five

Remus had a headache. He was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Peter, trying to make sense out of his Runes textbook. The class seemed pretty easy in the past few years, but now he had no idea what was going on. He was starting to regret having agreed to skip an entire sixth year of Ancient Runes and go straight to Seventh year. Now he had to keep up in the NEWT level class and learn a year's worth of class on his own.

"I'm bored, Moony," Peter announced from his seat across the coffee table. He had long given up on his Potions essay and was looking at random things around the common room. "Where are Prongs and Padfoot?"

"They have a double date," Remus replied bitterly. Thinking about Sirius and Cassie was making him angry all over again.

"Oh," Peter glanced down at Remus's hands. They were clenched in tight fists on his lap. "Are you alright, Remus?"

"Huh?" Remus looked up at Peter. He silently cursed himself for not having better control of his emotions. "I'm just fine, Pete. Why do you ask?"

Peter opened his mouth but closed it again. He was confused. He looked down at Remus's lap but his hands were no longer in fists. Remus smiled at him again and Peter shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was probably just imaging things.

Sirius entered the common room after his "date". James was besides him and Cassie and Lily were chattering behind them. He searched the room for Remus. He saw Peter in the corner talking to Frank and Alice. His eyes narrowed when he saw Prewett near the fireplace. But there was no Remus in sight. After another quick one over of the common room, he decided that Remus must be in the dorm room.

"I'm going up to the dorm, alright?"

"But why? It's still early," Cassie pouted up at Sirius. Sirius fought the grimace that was threatening to end up on his face.

"I just have to check something real quick. I'll be back." Sirius didn't wait for a response before he dashed up the stairs that lead to the dorm rooms.

Once he got to the rooms, he hurried over to Remus's bed. The other boy hadn't looked up when Sirius opened the door. His nose was buried in a book and his eyes were narrowed in concentration.

"What have you got there, Remmy?" Sirius sat down next to the other boy and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"Runes stuff. I have a lot of catching up to do in that class," Remus leaned back against Sirius's chest. "How'd your date go?"

Sirius frowned at the tone in his boyfriend's voice. He hugged him tighter and planted a kiss on his cheek. "It was horrible, Moony! She's a dreadfully boring person with no decent personality and she's not the brightest of people."

Remus's lips twitched slightly at the act Sirius was doing. He shifted until he was comfortable in the other boy's arms. Sirius smiled down at him and planted a nice slow kiss on his lips.

"Don't you have to get back down there?" Remus asked after a few minutes of snogging.

"But I'm having more fun here with you!" Sirius pouted and hugged the boy tightly.

"Hey, Pads," Sirius and Remus looked up when James sat across from them on the table. "When are you going to ask Cassie to be your girlfriend?"

"What?" Sirius almost choked on his drink. From beside him, Remus stiffened.

"Well, you've been going on dates with her for a while now. Apparently she's been waiting for you to ask her to be your girlfriend for a while now and so Lily asked me to talk about it with you."

Sirius used to like how James was straight forward with everything and never held anything back. But now he was starting to think against that when he felt the tension radiating off of Remus. Sirius cursed under his breath and tried to think of something to say.

"Padfoot?" He looked up and saw that he had everyone's attention.

"I don't know, Prongs," Sirius shrugged. "I never thought about it before."

"What's there to think about?" James took a bite out of his toast. "You've gone out with her for a while now. You like her, don't you?"

"I guess, but…"

"But what?" James insisted. "What's stopping you from making her your girlfriend?"

Next to Sirius, Remus was taking deep breaths to calm him. His hands were clenched into tight fists on his lap as he tried to keep his anger from boiling over. With jaw clenched tight, he waited, along with his other two friends, for Sirius's answer.

"I…I don't know, Prongs."

"Sirius, I don't get you. I know you've had commitment issues before, but you haven't been dating anyone but Cassie for a while now. And she really likes you and you guys are hitting it off. So what's there to stop you?"

"N—nothing, I guess," Sirius choked out. From beside him, Remus clenched his fists even tighter that he was sure his nails have cut the skin on his palm by now.

"Good, then you'll ask her later, won't you?"

"What? Later?"

James gave him a sheepish smile. "Lily and Cassie kind of got me to promise that you'll ask later."

Sirius was prevented from answering when Remus abruptly stood from his seat and walked out. Mentally berating himself, he stood from his seat, ready to go after the other boy.

"Sirius!" A voice interrupted him. He turned to see Cassie and Lily approaching the table. Cassie rushed over to Sirius and hugged her arm. "I was hoping we'd walk to breakfast together, but James said you left early."

"Yeah, I have something to do," Sirius tried to pry his arm away from the girl, but she held on tight.

"Nonsense!" Cassie pulled Sirius so he was sitting down again. "You barely touched your food!"

Sirius tried to think of a reason to get away from breakfast so he could get to Remus, but whatever he said, Cassie always had something to keep him from leaving.

_Wow, it's been a while since I updated, hasn't it? I apologize for that. School just came out of nowhere and took me by surprise. I had classes that decided to put their tests all on the same two days, and then I had presentations to prepare for then midterms rolled around. And now I have to find a song to analyze for my sociology class. Suggestions anyone? LOL._

_Anyway, enough excuses from me. I know this chapter may be a little short and probably not all that great, but I wanted to get a new chapter out since it's been so long. Anyway, reviews would be appreciated and suggestions are welcome. _


	6. Chapter 6

Pain surged through Remus's entire arm. He looked down at his fist. His knuckles were torn bloody from punching the wall a few times. Looking down at his fist reminded him of why he was so angry in the first place.

_Flashback_

_Remus walked into the Gryffindor common room and found an empty seat. It was his free period so he thought he'd come up here and do some reading. He didn't have much time to read lately because he always seemed preoccupied with something. _

"_Remus!" The werewolf glanced up when he heard his name called. He fought the urge to glare when he saw Cassie walking up to him. "You have a free period right now, too?" _

_He nodded, moving a little when the overly joyous girl sat down next to him. He raised her eyebrows at her large smile, which just made her smile even wider._

"_Oh, the greatest thing happened today!" Cassie explained. "James told Lily that Sirius has agreed to by my boyfriend! Isn't that great?"_

"_Yeah, congratulations," Remus managed to get out. His fist clenched tightly in anger. He could feel his fingernails digging into his palm. He was grateful for that pain because otherwise, he would have taken it out on the girl in front him. "I have to go to the library, I'll see you around."_

_Without waiting for a reply, Remus abruptly stood up and walked out of the common room. He walked through the halls of the school without knowing where he was going. When he finally stopped walking, he found himself outside, near the back of the school. He could see a few people in the distance, but they were too far away to notice him. _

_Remus walked over to the castle wall, leaned on it, and took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. But it was no use. He kept hearing Cassie's words in his head like a mantra he couldn't get rid of. With a frustrated growl, he turned and punched the wall as hard as he could. _

_End Flashback_

Remus turned back and saw some people walking over to the greenhouses. He looked down at his watch and cursed. He had five minutes to get to his next class, and he still had to get his things from his room. After cursing his luck, Cassie, and his spineless boyfriend one last time, he hurried to his rooms.

Sirius frowned when the teacher began class. Remus wasn't in class yet, and it wasn't like the prefect to be late for anything. He went through the other boy's schedule in his head and remembered that before this class, Remus had a free period. Perhaps he fell asleep or something? He turned to his left when he felt someone nudge his foot. He saw James mouth 'where's Remus' and answered with a shrug. What could be taking him so long?

Fifteen minutes into class, the door opened and a haphazard looking Remus walked in mumbling apologies to the teacher. Whispers erupted throughout the class, each person wondering what could have kept the punctual student. Sirius noticed that their professor also looked surprise. He even let Remus get away for being late because it was a very rare occurrence.

Remus plopped down into the empty seat next to Sirius. He reached into his bag, pulled out his things, and began taking notes. Sirius watched his quill fly across the paper as he hurried to take notes. Once it looked like Remus had caught up, he kicked the other boy's foot lightly to get his attention. The werewolf turned and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Where were you?" Sirius whispered. Remus just shrugged and went back to his notes. Sirius was taken aback by the other boy's reaction. It wasn't like Remus to just dismiss him like that. For the remainder of class, Sirius tried to get Remus to talk to him, but the werewolf kept his eyes glued to his notes.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius grabbed Remus's arm as he walked out of class and forced him to look at him.

"Nothing," Remus replied in a cold voice. "We have to get to class."

"Did I do something wrong?" Sirius kept a firm grip on the other boy's arm. James and Peter stood to the side, wondering what was going on with the two who were always so close.

"Nothing, Sirius," Remus sighed. "We're going to be late if we don't start walking now."

Remus pulled his arm and started walking down the hall. The other three Marauders had no choice but to follow. Sirius stopped Remus again once they reached the door to their class. He motioned for James and Peter to go inside without them.

"Okay, Moony, what's going on with you?"

"I have to get to class, Padfoot. I was already late once again."

"Stop avoiding the question, damn it!" Sirius growled out in frustration. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong with you?"

"I told you," Remus said in a cold, steady voice. "Nothing is wrong." Remus moved away from Sirius and reached for the door. Before he turned the knob, he turned to face the taller boy. "Oh yeah, congratulations on your new girlfriend."

Sirius winced at the harshness in Remus's voice. He wanted to get to him and explain the situation before he heard it from someone else, but someone had beat him to it.

"Oh, crap. How am I going to get him to listen to me?" he said to himself as he made his way into the class.

_Another chapter done. Sorry its short. I'm lacking motivation to write. I think its finals coming up in a few weeks. Ugh. Lol. Anyway, reviiiew :)_


	7. Chapter 7

"Moony, are you alright?" Remus looked up from the book he was reading to look at Peter, who was seated across from him. The two Marauders were in the common room doing their homework while James and Sirius were at Quidditch practice.

"I'm fine, Wormtail, why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering, is all," Peter shifted around in his seat. Remus noticed that he started biting his bottom lip, which is something he did every time he was nervous about something.

"Is there something else you'd like to ask?" Remus said in an encouraging voice.

"Are you mad at James and Sirius?" Peter mumbled quickly. Remus barely understood him.

"I'm not…" Remus stopped to think about it a little. He hadn't spoken to either of the two boys in almost a week. He was angry with Sirius for agreeing to date Cassie and hadn't given the boy a chance to explain himself. And, if he had to be honest with himself, he didn't really want an explanation. All he ever got were stupid explanations. And, as for James—well, Remus was angry with him for pressuring Sirius into dating Cassie. Though, he knew it wasn't really the boy's fault; he didn't know that Sirius and Remus were dating. If anything, it was Sirius's fault for wanting to keep it a secret from their friend. "I'm not angry at them, Peter."

"Are you sure?" Peter noticed the way the older boy hesitated before answering him.

"I'm sure." Remus turned back to the book in his hands and started reading. Peter took this as a sign that he wanted to drop the subject and decided to keep his questions to himself. He didn't want the werewolf to be mad at him either. He went back to the essay he was trying to write and the two sat in a companionable silence for a while.

"Remus," The two looked up when a voice broke the silence between them. Fabian Prewett stood behind the couch Remus was currently occupying.

"Fabian," Remus smiled up at the boy and Peter nodded his greeting. "What brings you here?"

The boy smiled sheepishly at Remus. "I was wondering if I could borrow your Runes book. I can't seem to find mine and I still haven't done the translations for tomorrow."

"Sure thing," Remus marked his page in the book and set it down. "My book is up in the dorm, though. I'll just go get it for you."

"I'll follow you up," Fabian said as Remus stood from his seat and headed for the stairs. "I was going to head up to my room to finish my work anyway."

The two boys made their way up to the dorm room, leaving Peter behind. Peter was about to go back to his paper when someone called his name. He turned to the direction the voice came from and saw Sirius and James entering the portrait hole, with Cassie and Lily coming in behind them.

"Heya, Pete," James greeted as he plopped down on the couch next to Peter. Lily said her hello and sat down next to James.

"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked as he sat down on the seat Remus had previously occupied. He noticed the other boy's things were still there.

"He's up in the room with that Prewett guy." Peter answered while he listened to some stuff James pointed out on his essay.

"What? What's he doing up there?" Sirius asked. His fist clenched in anger on his lap. Cassie gave him an odd look before reaching for his clenched fist and trying to hold his hand.

"Did you talk to him?" James asked.

"He said he wasn't mad at you guys," Peter answered with a small frown. "But he took a while before he answered so I'm not too sure he meant it."

"Remus still isn't talking to you?" Lily asked from beside James. "Are you sure it wasn't because of that prank you pulled on poor Severus?"

"No, it wasn't." Sirius said in a hurt sounding voice—he knew why Remus was mad at him, and he could guess why he was mad at James. "He started being distant the morning before we pulled that prank."

"Do you want me to try talking to him?" Cassie suggested. Remus and Sirius were always such close friends and she wanted to form a decent friendship like she had with James.

"I don't think that's such a—" Sirius stopped when he saw Remus descend the stairs and make his way toward them.

"I'll see you guys later," The werewolf said as soon as he was near them. He started picking up his things and putting them into his bag.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked as he handed Remus a book that was near him.

"I'm going up to Fabian's room," Remus took the book and dropped it into his bag without even looking at Sirius."

"What? But why?"

"I realized that I misinterpreted some of the Runes, and I already told Fabian that I'd let him borrow my book. So we're just going to work on it together."

"Why don't you guys just work in the common room?"

"It's too noisy in here." Remus looked around to make sure he didn't forget anything.

"There's always the library. Why do you have to go to the guy's room?" Sirius didn't like the idea of Remus being alone in a room with Fabian.

"That's too far a walk. I'll see you guys later." Remus turned and walked away, not giving Sirius a chance to say anymore.

Sirius watched the boy leave and wanted so bad to call him back. He had yet to explain to him why he did what he did. And, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that his excuse wasn't much of an excuse at all. He knew that it was a bad idea to go out with Cassie, and an even worse idea to agree to be her boyfriend, but he didn't know what he was going to do. James was so insistent and he couldn't come up with a good enough reason not to be in a committed relationship with the girl without telling James about his relationship with Remus. And, though he did trust James—the guy was his best friend after all—he wasn't ready to tell him about Remus. He wasn't ready to tell anyone. His parents would kill him if they ever found out, and the less people who know, the less the chances there are of someone finding out and telling his parents.

"Those two have been spending a lot of time together," Cassie commented as she watched Remus walk up the stairs.

"Huh?" Sirius turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Remus and Fabian Prewett. They've been spending a lot of time together lately." Cassie replied. "I wonder if they're together."

"That would be so cute," Lily giggled. The two girls began to talk about how nice it would be for the two to get together while Sirius tried not to let his anger get the best of him. He glanced over at the stairs and fought the urge to rush up there and take Remus away from Prewett.

_Don't forget to show some love and review :D_


	8. Chapter 8

Sirius sat on his bed, waiting for Remus to return from his study group session. James and Peter were downstairs in the common room with Lily and Cassie. He had told them that he had a headache and wanted to go lay down. Cassie had offered to come with him but he told her to stay. He came up here because he knew that Remus would come straight up here as soon as he got back. Sirius sighed and thought about the other boy. They hadn't talked to each other in a week and it was driving him insane. He wanted so badly to talk to the other boy and explain what was going on. He missed him terribly.

Sirius turned his head when the door opened and Remus stepped into the room. "Remus."

The werewolf looked up at him and his eyes widened. He hadn't noticed the other boy earlier. He looked as if he wanted to leave the room.

"How long are you going to keep doing that?" Sirius asked before the other boy could leave.

"Doing what?"

"Ignoring and avoiding me."

"How long are you going to date Cassie?" Remus shot back, his anger at the situation returning.

"Moony, let me explain, please?"

"What's there to explain?" Remus walked over to his bed and took a seat. Sirius moved to stand in front of him.

"Remmy, please?" Sirius pleaded. "I—I didn't know what to do. James cornered me and somehow got me to agree to going out with her. You know how persistent he can be."

"You could have said no." Remus turned his head away because he felt tears threating to appear in his eyes. "Going out on a date with her is one thing, Padfoot, but actually being her boyfriend? I agreed to let you go on a few dates so that no one will 'suspect anything is wrong' or whatever you said, but this?"

"Remus," Sirius put his hands on the other boy's face and turned it so they were looking at each other. He frowned when he saw his eyes shining with tears. "You know I love you and only you. Cassie means nothing to me."

"I love you, too," Remus sighed and leaned into the other boy's touch. "But everyone in this place thinks you love Cassie. Some people are even saying how she managed to change your womanizing ways."

"I could never love her." Sirius planted a soft kiss on Remus's forehead. "You are the only one I love. This is just a little something we have to deal with for a little while. I'm sure she'll get tired of me eventually."

"But I hate that she goes around telling everyone that you're hers while I sit in the sidelines and watch her cover you in kisses."

"If you were really watching, then you could see that I never return those kisses."

"I guess," Remus shrugged in defeat. He cared for Sirius too much stay angry with him. Sirius leaned down and pulled the boy into a tight hug.

"I've missed you, Remmy."

"I've missed you, too, Siri." Remus returned the hug with as much enthusiasm.

"Remus," Sirius pulled out of the hug first and sat next to the boy. "What's going on with you and Prewett?"

"Fabian? Nothing's going on. Why?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with him. And I don't like the way he's always coming to you."

"He's in my class, Siri," Remus recognized the jealous tone in his boyfriend's voice and immediately tried to calm him down. "I have a lot of catching up to do in Runes because I have to learn this year's lesson along with the entire year I skipped. I need all the help I can get."

"But there are other people in your class! Why does it have to be him?"

"He's one of the only other Gryffindors in that class, love." Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius's waist and leaned his head on his shoulder. "I don't see why you don't like him so much. He's a nice bloke."

"Cassie and Lily said he was caught snogging another bloke one time."

"Yes, Fabian is bisexual."

"What if he's coming on to you?"

"Sirius!" Remus sighed, but hugged the boy tighter. "We're just friends. You have nothing to worry about, okay?"

Sirius pouted and crossed his arms. Remus chuckled at the childish display. This was a sign that he wasn't so upset anymore.

"You're such a child," Remus said in an affectionate voice and planted a big kiss on the pouting boy's cheek.

Sirius hmph-ed,but turned his head to take the next kiss on the lips. He kissed the smaller boy eagerly, expressing in that one kiss how sorry he was and how much he missed him.

Loud voices nearing the bedroom door caused the two to separate. Sirius moved away from the boy right before the door opened and Peter and James walked in. Remus frowned at the new distance between the two of them but said nothing.

"I see you're feeling better, mate." James commented, seeing the boy on Remus's bed.

"Hello, Peter, James." Remus greeted with a small smile. James smiled back. This was the first time the werewolf had talked to him all week and he was starting to worry about what he did. But it looked like all was better now.

Things went back to normal after that night. Remus went back to hanging out with the Marauders, even though seeing Cassie and Sirius together still made his blood boil. Sirius and Remus went back to seeing in other in secret. But even though things were back to normal, Remus still wasn't happy. He still resented the fact that Cassie could flaunt Sirius being her boyfriend. And even though Sirius constantly reassured him that Cassie would soon tire of him, the girl showed no signs of leaving him soon.

"How long is this going to go on?" Remus asked, his face contorted in anger.

Sirius sighed. They have been having this argument for weeks now, and he was really getting tired of it. "I don't know, Moony. She confronted me this morning and said I was being distant—Maybe she's getting tired of me and will break up with me soon."

"You said that last week when the two of you fought because you apparently didn't hug her enough." Remus rolled his eyes at how stupid that sounded coming out of his mouth. "You guys have been fighting almost every week this past month but in the end nothing happens. Why can't you just break up with her? You've been together for like two months now. Isn't that enough to prove that you're 'straight'?" Remus fought the urge to make air quotes at the word 'straight'.

"We already went over this. She has to be the one to break up with me!"

"Why does it have to be that way?" Remus shot back. "Breaking up with her doesn't make you gay."

"It just has to be that way, Remmy. Why can't you understand that?" Sirius asked in a tired voice.

"Why can't you understand that I want to be able to tell everyone that we're together?" The pain was evident in Remus's voice.

"You know I can't, Remus." It pained Sirius to hear that much hurt in the boy's voice. But this was something he just couldn't do. "But you know I can't do that. My parents would kill me if they found out."

"Why does it matter to you what they think? You hate them anyway."

"Remus, please. We've been fighting about this almost every other day. Can't we stop for once?"

"Ignoring the problem doesn't make it disappear, Sirius." Remus said in barely a whisper.

"If you just dropped it and stopped letting it bother you, then there wouldn't be a problem," Sirius snapped, his anger getting the better of him.

"Would it bother you if I went around pretending that I was dating someone so they won't suspect that we're together?" Remus said in a sarcastic voice.

"But it's different with you!" All this arguing was really making him frustrated.

"How is it different?" Remus asked.

"You don't have a reputation and a name to live up to!"

"But you're the one who was always saying you hated that name anyway! Why does it only seem to matter to you when it comes to our relationship?"

"Because they're my family," Sirius was no longer shouting. "No matter how much I hate that, I'm going to have them in my life forever. They're my family and there's no changing that."

Remus raised his eyebrows. He didn't like the way that sounded. "So I'm not going to be with you forever, huh?"

"What? I didn't say that!"

"But that's what you meant!"

"No! You're putting words in my mouth!"

"You said that you're family is going to be a part of your life forever, Sirius. So either this relationship, if you can call it that at this point, ends sooner or later, or we keep it a secret forever."

"What do you mean 'if you can call it that'?" A part of Sirius wanted to stop this argument now before it got any worse. But his anger was just making him speak before thinking. "Of course this is a relationship!"

"A relationship is more than meeting in the astronomy tower late at night so no one can see us together. I want to be able to go on dates with you," Remus walked out onto the balcony and stared up into the stars. It was almost a full moon and it was throwing his emotions out of order.

"What's wrong with what we have, Remmy?" Sirius asked, walking up behind the boy. "Aren't you happy?"

"I _am_ happy, Siri." Remus turned and faced the boy. Tears were glistening in his eyes. "But I want more. I want a boyfriend I can be with. And not be with in secret. I hate having to hide this relationship. And I hate that we're hiding it by making you be Cassie's boyfriend. And, by the way, don't you think you're just leading the poor girl on?"

"If you hate it so much, then why are you staying in this relationship?" Sirius regretted the words as soon as it came out of his mouth. But once he started, he couldn't stop. "I'm not forcing you to stay, Remus."

Remus stared at him with wide eyes. He didn't know how to respond to that. There was an odd tightening in his chest at those words and he had to work real hard to stop the tears from falling down his face.

"I'm staying because I love you," Remus finally replied in a cold, calm voice. "But apparently that doesn't stand for much."

Remus rushed past Sirius and hurried out the door. The tears had started falling over almost as soon as he said his piece. He didn't want Sirius to see him cry. He ran through the halls, unsure of where he was going to go. He didn't want to return to their room because Sirius would eventually end up there and he didn't want to see the boy just yet.

Back up at the astronomy tower, Sirius was frozen where he stood. He was staring at the door Remus ran through. What had just happened? Did they just break up? At that last thought, Sirius felt his breath leave him and his blood ran cold. He couldn't let that happen. Gathering his senses, he quickly ran after the other boy.

_This was written in about an hour and a half on my sister's super teeny netbook while she and her friend borrowed my laptop to watch Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. How was it? Review and tell me what you think. Please? :D This was a pretty quick update. That's got to earn me some reviews, right? Lol. _

_Anyway, I NEED YOUR HELP. I know where I want this story to go and I have the ending all outlined and everything. But I'm not all too sure about this next part. So did they break up? Or is this just one of those big fights? Also, who comforts Remus? Fabian? Or Peter? (If you noticed, I'm being extra nice to Peter XD)_


	9. Chapter 9

Remus woke up feeling groggy and disoriented. He blinked his eyes a few times before he realized that the ceiling was not that of the Gryffindor dorm rooms. He shot up in bed and looked around. The room he was about the same size as the dorm rooms, though it only contained one bed, a bedside table, and a small armchair across from a dying fire.

"What the…" Remus began before the events of the night before came to him. After leaving Sirius at the Astronomy tower, he didn't want to face the boy again so decided not to go back. While he was trying to think of a place he could sleep for the night, he came across a door he didn't remember ever seeing before. Out of curiosity, he opened the door and peaked inside. There was a bed and a fire in the fireplace, though it didn't look like anyone was staying there. Too tired to give it much though, he went to lie on the bed and almost instantly fell asleep.

He checked the time and saw that breakfast should be starting soon. He sat on the edge of the bed and tried to figure out what he was going to do. He still didn't want to face Sirius right now. He needed to change for classes but he couldn't go to back up to the rooms because Sirius and the others would still be in there. If he waited for them to go down to breakfast, he wouldn't have time to eat first. And he couldn't go down to breakfast first still dressed in yesterday's clothes.

Remus sighed in frustration and looked up. His eyes widened when he saw a door right across from where he was sitting. That door had not been in there, he was sure of it. He stood up and made his way to the door. He cautiously opened it and was surprised to see a bath in the room. He walked into the room, leaving the door open. It looked just like the bath in prefects' bathroom. Deciding that taking a bath was the best option at this point, he slipped out of his clothes and into the bath.

After his bath, Remus returned to the main room with a towel wrapped around his waist and his clothes bundled up under one arm. He had just been wondering how he was going to get a fresh change of clothes when he noticed a clean uniform on the bed. Remus raised an eyebrow. Where did that come from? After deciding that it was probably from the house elves, he hurried and got dressed. Once he was done, he went down to breakfast.

Sirius stood in front of the mirror and fixed his long hair. He glanced over to Remus's empty bed in worry. After he couldn't find Remus last night, he went back to the dorm room because figured that the werewolf would return eventually. Sirius stayed up until about four in the morning when sleep finally claimed him. When he woke, he was hoping to see the boy curled up in bed, but saw nothing. He went down to t common room, thinking Remus slept down there instead. Worry started to creep in him when all he saw in the common room was a few students who were doing some last minute homework. Where could he have gone?

After he was done getting ready, he bid a quick goodbye to James and Peter and hurried downstairs. He practically ran into the Great Hall and his eyes hurriedly scanned the Gryffindor table for a familiar head of hair. His eyes finally spotted Remus and was about to walk over to him to ask him where he had been all night when he realized who he was sitting next to. Right next to Remus was Fabian Prewett. He glared at the other boy and was about to walk over when someone called his name.

"Sirius! I've been following you since you left the common room. Didn't you hear me calling?" Cassie looked out of breath as she talked to him.

"Oh, sorry," Sirius mumbled, his attention elsewhere. "I guess I had something else on my mind."

"Well, let's go sit with Jennifer. I haven't talked to her in a while."

"But I really have to go talk to Remus," Sirius tried to move away but Cassie grabbed his hand.

"Sirius!" She said in a stern voice. "I haven't had much time with my friends since we started dating. It's not fair that I spend so much time with my friends but you don't spend any with mine."

Cassie pulled the boy to the other side of the Gryffindor table. Sirius stared at Remus. The werewolf looked upset and Sirius wanted nothing more than to go up to him and comfort him, but Cassie was pulling him to the other direction.

"Remus?" Fabian said softly. Remus looked up from his pancakes and up at the older boy. "Are you alright?"

"I guess," Remus replied with a shrug.

"What's wrong?" Fabian put a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

"I just didn't sleep well, I guess."

"There's more to it than that."

"I just…" Remus shrugged again. "I don't know what to feel right now?"

"Why? What's wrong?" Fabian looked down at the boy who he had become quite close to with a worried expression on his face. He noticed that something seemed to be bothering the boy lately. "You can tell me."

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Remus looked around and noticed that more and more students were coming down to breakfast.

"Sure, let's go outside," Fabian stood up and Remus followed suit. The two boys walked out of the Great Hall, neither one of them noticing a pair of eyes that followed them the entire way out.

"What's wrong?" Fabian asked when they were out by the lake.

"I just… I don't know," Remus sighed and leaned against a tree.

"You can tell me anything, Remus."

"I'm with this guy…" Remus started out slowly.

"You're seeing someone?" Fabian asked in surprise. "Who?"

"I…can't say," Fabian could hear the bitterness in Remus's voice.

"He doesn't want anyone to know," Remus continued. "We've been together for a while now but we've been seeing each other in secret. He doesn't want anyone to find out in case they tell his parents. His parents are apparently really strict about those kinds of things. And I hate that I can't tell _anyone _about it. I want to be able to let people know that I love him, you know?"

"I see," Fabian said slowly. "But, I mean, at least you guys are together right? I mean, it must be a lot of pressure on the guy trying to hide it from his parents."

"But, that's not it." Remus glared down at the ground. "He doesn't want anyone to know that he's gay. So he used to go on a date with some girls every now and then to make sure that no one will ever accuse him of being gay."

"What? You agreed to that?" Fabian looked shocked.

"I really cared about him," Remus shrugged. "And it was fine. He just took them out on a few dates and other than a peck on the cheek, they did nothing."

"Oh, then I guess that's not too bad," Fabian replied, though his voice still sounded skeptical.

"But then it got worse," Remus continued. "One of our friends set him up with this girl his girlfriend is friends with. They went out on a couple dates, and it wasn't too bad at first. But then she wanted to be his girlfriend, and so our friend tried to convince him to do it. And, he did. We got into a few fights over that. But then he reassured me that their relationship wasn't going to last too long and it was only a matter of time before she got tired of him.

"But it's been two months or so and she still hasn't. It's starting to really bother me. I hate that she can tell the entire school that they're together but I can't even tell our closest friends. And every time I fight with him about it, I ask him why _he _can't be the one to break off their so called relationship. But all he tells me is that she has to be the one to do it."

Remus was ranting by now. Fabian looked at him and noticed the tears that were forming in his eyes. He pulled the boy closer to him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Remus. I'm sorry. You don't deserve that."

Remus buried his head into Fabian's shoulder and finally let the tears spill. He wrapped his arms around Fabian's shoulders and clung to him tightly.

"Why do you let him hurt you like that, Remus?"

"I just…" Remus said through his tears. "I love him so much."

"You don't deserve that, Rem," Fabian said into the boy's hair. "You should be with someone who isn't too scared to stand up to his parents for the sake of your love."

"I guess." Remus pulled away from the boy and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry about your shirt."

"It's alright," Fabian smiled softly at the other boy. His arms were still loosely wrapped around the boy's waist. "But really, Rem. You don't deserve that kind of treatment."

"But, I love him so much, Fabian." Remus said sadly.

"But he hurts you so much," Fabian reached a hand up and wiped away the remaining tears on Remus's face. "You deserve someone who can love you and not be afraid to shout it for the whole world to see."

Remus looked up at Fabian. The older boy still cupped his cheek with one hand and had the other on loosely placed on his waist. Remus gave him a sad smile. "I guess you're right."

_Did you know that the last chapter had the most reviews for this story? It even had the best hit to review ratio (I don't know if I just made sense there XD) Anyway, I thought I'd give you guys another chapter because that just made me so happy. That, and school is over! Whooo. Lol. Or, well, there's still finals week next week, but hey I made it this far! Can't wait because I'm off to PI for vacation, and HOPEFULLY Singapore (just waiting on confirmation from my uncle) ANYWAY, enough about my. Lol. _

_Let me know what you think? And throw in some ideas and stuff you wanna see if you like. Thanks for reading and for reviewing the last chapter, guys!_


	10. Chapter 10

Remus sat on his bed and hugged a pillow to his chest. James and Sirius had detention with Slughorn and Peter was down in the common room last he checked. He sighed and hugged the pillow tighter. He had a lot to think about. Fabian's words still rang through his head. He loves Sirius, but he can't stand the secrecy anymore. Remus put the pillow down and sighed. He needed a second opinion.

The young werewolf walked down to the common room and looked around for Peter. He spotted him in the corner playing a game of chess with a younger student.

"Hey Peter, you think I can talk to you for a bit?"

"Sure thing," Peter stood up and followed Remus to a more deserted corner of the common room. "What's wrong? Is it about what happened between you and Sirius?"

"He told you what happened?" Remus's eyebrows shot in surprise. Had Sirius finally told their friends?

"He said the two of you got into some argument. He didn't want to tell us about it, though."

"Oh," Remus's face fell. "No, it's not that; that's nothing. I wanted your opinion on something."

"What is it?" Peter looked at the other boy curiously. It wasn't often that Remus asked him, or anyone for that matter, for help with something.

"Let's say you had a…girlfriend," Remus started nervously. "And you really, really like this person. But she can't have you as a boyfriend. So your relationship has to be in secret but you really don't want to have to hide it. What would you do?"

Peter raised an eyebrow at his friend. Could Remus have a girlfriend that no one knows about? Is that why he's been acting so weird lately? But, wasn't he interested in guys? "Well, if you really like the person, then you'd be willing to keep it a secret until she can have a boyfriend, right?"

"But, what if, she can see other people, just not you? So to hide the fact that you're together, she goes out with other people."

"That doesn't sound like a very fair relationship…"

"I know. And Si—she," Remus silently cursed himself for almost letting Sirius's name slip. "She always says its nothing and it's just a cover."

"Well, if it means nothing, then that's fine, right?" Peter was at a loss of what to say. If this really was Remus's situation then he was in a bit of a mess.

"But what if she started steadily seeing someone and they've been together for a while now and there seems to be no way that relationship is going to end soon."

"Then I guess…" The mouse animagus scratched his head as he tried to think of something. "I'm sorry, Remus. But that seems to be a real mess of a situation. It doesn't sound fair."

"No, it isn't fair," Remus said softly.

"Maybe…Maybe the person isn't ready for a real relationship, especially if they have to hide it from everyone."

"Maybe they're not…" Remus's eyes glanced over to the common room door, where Sirius and James had just walked in. Sirius's eyes scanned the room before landing on Peter and Remus. Their eyes locked for the slightest of moments before Remus turned away. "Thanks, Peter."

"Don't mention it, Remus." Peter smiled, glad he was of some help.

"Oh, by the way," the werewolf saw James and Sirius weaving around the common room to get to them. "You can't tell anyone about this—not even James and Sirius. Alright?"

"Alright…" Peter sounded a little unsure. The Marauders never kept anything from each other before.

"You have to promise me, Wormtail," Peter wasn't sure, but he thought he could detect some urgency in Remus's voice. "Marauder's honor."

"I promise, Moony. Marauder's honor."

Remus ran off before James and Sirius reached them.

"What was that about?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," Peter shrugged, trying to think up of a lie. "He was just wondering if I knew where Lily was."

Remus dropped down onto his bed with a heavy sigh. Both Fabian and Peter pretty much said the same thing. This relationship—if you can even call it that—with Sirius isn't fair to him, and it seems like Sirius isn't ready for a real relationship. He agreed with them. But, he really cared for Sirius. This was so frustrating.

"Remmy?" a soft voice sounded out of nowhere. Remus sat up, surprised that he didn't hear the door opening. Sirius stood at the foot of his bed, looking down at him with a small, hopeful smile.

"Siri," Remus sat up and looked at the other boy.

"Can we please make up now, Remmy?" Sirius asked softly, his lip coming out in a soft pout that made Remus just want to kiss him.

"Sirius, we have to talk first." Remus patted the bed beside him and Sirius sat down in it.

"Look, Remus, I'm really sorry about that night—"

"It's not about that night, Sirius." Remus started. "I just…I don't know how much more I can take of this."

"Take of what?" Sirius asked, his blood running cold.

"This," Remus gestured between the two of them. "I really don't like that we have to hide this Sirius and—"

"You know I can't let my parents find out," Sirius interrupted.

"I know, and I can deal with that. But this thing with Cassie? I can't stand for that Sirius. It isn't fair."

"But you know I have to do that." Sirius's infamous temper was beginning to show.

"It's _not fair_!"

"But, Remmy—"

"No, no buts Sirius," Remus said in a stern voice. "I'm tired of this. It isn't fair to me."

"So what do you want me to do then?"

"I want you to choose. Either you tell James and Peter about us, or there is no us."

Sirius looked at Remus forlornly. There was nothing but seriousness in the smaller boy's eyes. "Remus, you know I can't…if my parents…I just…"

Remus stood up from his bed and turned away so Sirius couldn't see the tears in his eyes. "Then I guess this is the end of our relationship."

_Whoo. New chapter out. Haha. Sorry it's been a while. I just got to the Philippines a couple days ago, and tomorrow I'm leaving for Singapore for Christmas :D Hehe. Anyway, I'll be in Singapore for a week and I'm leaving my laptop behind so I won't be able to write. For those of you who follow No Strings Attached, sorry it's been a while. I'm just trying to work out the details and stuff._

_Happy Holidays, people! A review would be an awesome gift, dontcha think? Lol._


	11. Chapter 11

After Remus left Sirius he walked without knowing where his feet were taking him. When he finally stopped to take in his surroundings, he found himself by the lake. He watched the giant squid's tentacle reach out of the water and go back down. Remus took a seat by the tree. He hugged his knees to his chest and rested his head atop his knees. The tears began to fall from his eyes. He hugged his knees tighter as sobs shook his body.

Remus had left almost ten minutes ago, but Sirius was still in the dorm room. He had so any emotions going through his head right now. He sunk down onto the nearest bed and rested his head in his hands.

"Oh, Remus," he sighed out. He closed his eyes tightly and was surprised to find a few tears leak out. He didn't want to lose Remus, he really didn't. But he couldn't let his family find out. There was just no way they could understand; if only he could get Remus to understand where he was coming from. Remus didn't have to worry about his parents caring or not if he carries on the bloodline or not. A knock on the door sounded and Sirius hastily wiped at his eyes.

"Sirius?" Cassie poked her head into the door and smiled when she noticed her boyfriend sitting on the bed. "I've been looking for you!"

Sirius smiled at the girl and walked towards her. He liked her. She wasn't too bad. But, he'd never see her as anything more than a friend. He hated kissing her. It wasn't that she was a horrible kisser. If he had to be honest with himself, she was actually pretty good. But, he's just not that into her. And when she got clingy and bothered him for not doing "boyfriend things" he wanted nothing more than to just be with Remus.

Remus. The name brought him back to the events that happened only minutes before. He and Remus were no longer together. He felt his chest tighten at the thought. He loved Remus. He really did. But, he couldn't tell his parents, they would kill him. Remus could never understand just how insane his mother got when she was angry.

"Sirius?" Cassie waved her hands in front of his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Sirius smiled at her and took her hand. He pushed thoughts of Remus from his mind and decided to focus on the girl in front of him. "Let's go down to the common room."

It was dark by the time Remus returned to the common room. He glanced around the room and immediately saw Sirius sitting in the middle of the room, laughing at something James was saying. Remus's heart constricted in his chest as he watched the other boy laugh as if everything was okay. He felt anger bubbling up inside him—he just spent the past couple hours crying his eyes out, and he was Sirius, laughing and joking around as if nothing was wrong.

He was about to walk past and go straight to bed when he saw Fabian waving him over. He thought about it for a while and decided that he needed to be with someone right now. He walked past his friends, making sure not to glance their way, and walked to where Fabian was sitting.

"Hey, I was looking for you earlier but I—are you alright?" Fabian looked up at him in shock. Remus guessed he probably looked like crap. There was no doubt that his eyes were red and puffy from all the crying he did earlier.

"I broke up with Sirius," Remus said softly. Luckily, no one was close enough to the two of them to hear.

"Sirius?" Fabian looked confused before realization came to him. "Oh, _that's _who you were talking about?"

Remus nodded slowly. He felt tears burning in his eyes and bit his lip to stop them from falling.

"Sit down," Fabian moved over on the couch and made room for Remus. The younger boy sat down slowly and Fabian put a comforting hand around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Remus. I had no idea. I mean, Cassie and Sirius have been all over each—I mean, I'm so sorry. I… I really don't know what to say."

Remus couldn't help but smile at the flustered smile Fabian was giving him. "It's fine, really. I actually rather just talk about something else if you don't mind."

"I got a letter from my sister this morning," Fabian said after some thought. "She and that Arthur guy are finally getting married. They set the date and everything."

"Your sister? Oh!" Realization appeared in Remus's eyes. "She's the one who got proposed to two years ago, right? I thought they would have gotten married by now."

"No, they haven't," Fabian smiled softly, glad that he found a topic that seemed acceptable. "They wanted to put it off until they were both settled and h ad a steady job and enough cash in the bank. They finally pulled through."

"That's great," Remus smiled, great for the distraction from his relationship problems. "So when's the wedding?"

"In the spring," Fabian answered. He then made an odd face that Remus raised his eyebrow at. "She wants to wait until Hogwarts gets out for the spring because she wants me and Gideon to be in the ceremony."

"That's great! What's with the face?"

"She wants us to wear these hideous dress robes. Molly's my sister and I like her and all, but the stuff she wants us to wear is downright embarrassing. It's all pink and frilly and lace and I don't need to try it on to know that I'll look like a complete dolt in it."

Remus laughed as he tried to picture Fabian in that silly outfit. Fabian mock glared at him but it wasn't long before he was laughing with the other boy. They continued talking about other random things. Remus managed to push away thoughts of Sirius for a while and actually enjoy the conversation with Fabian. He barely even noticed the loud laughing from across the room that could only be the result of James and Sirius telling everyone about their prank of the day.

"Wow, look at the time," Remus said when there was finally a lull in their conversation. He glanced around the room. It was almost empty except for him and Fabian, the Marauders, and a few other students here and there. "I hadn't realized how much time had gone by."

"I didn't either," Fabian stretched and stood up from his seat. Remus followed suit. "I should probably head up to bed. I have Slughorn first tomorrow morning."

"I should, too." Remus put his hand up to his mouth to hide a yawn. "Thank you, by the way."

"Don't mention it," Fabian smiled and took a step towards Remus. "I didn't even do much."

"Still, it was a lot of help. Thank you." Remus looked up at the older boy and smiled. Fabian returned the smile with a small grin of his own and held his hands out for Remus. The young werewolf just laughed and stepped forward, into Fabian's open arms. The two shared a friendly hug before pulling away and sharing another smile.

"I'm here anytime you want to talk, alright?" Fabian moved towards the stairs and Remus followed a step behind him.

"Oh, did you see that?" Lily asked when Remus and Fabian disappeared up the stairs. They had been discussing the new creatures they saw in Care of Magical Creatures today but stopped when Cassie pointed out Remus and Fabian standing from their seats. The five friends stopped their conversation and watched the exchange between the two.

"That was so cute," Cassie agreed. "Do you think they're together now?"

Sirius turned his attention from the stairs to his fists clenched tightly on his lap. They were clenched so tight that his knuckles were white. He bit down on his lip to keep from saying anything. He saw the hug and the small smile on Remus face and wanted nothing more than to curse Fabian.

_It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. School got the better of me. That and I've found myself in love with the awesome-ness that is Klaine. I was never into glee, I always thought it was a little lame, but then I saw the cover for teenage dream. Then I realized that Darren Criss was in it and so I decided to borrow season 1 from a friend of mine. I've realized that the story line and drama is still a little too much sometimes, but for the most part its interesting, and their covers are really good. And Darren Criss and Chris Colfer are awesome. Haha. Anyway, enough o that. Hope you liked it. Don't forget to drop me a line and tell me what you think. Thanks for reading! _


	12. Chapter 12

Remus made a point of spending as little time with the Marauders as possible. It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with them—they were his best friends after all—but being around Sirius right now hurt too much. What hurt the most was that Sirius didn't seem to act any differently, as if breaking up with Remus meant nothing to him. Luckily for him, Fabian was being a supportive friend and was hanging out with him so he didn't have to be alone.

But, unbeknownst to Remus, Sirius was ready to explode. It killed him that Remus wasn't speaking to him, and to add salt to an open wound, he now spent all his time with Fabian Prewett. It's gotten to the point where Sirius had to stop himself from reaching for his wand whenever he saw the Prewett boy put a hand on Remus's shoulder or make him laugh. He even found himself close to taking his anger out on Fabian's brother, Gideon, at Quidditch practice. The only reason that Remus didn't know these things was because Sirius was a good actor. And he wasn't about to let Remus know how much him breaking off their relationship was killing him because that's not how the heir of the Black family should act.

Cassie was a pure-blooded witch who could bear his children. That was what his parents were looking for. Remus was a male, a half-blood, and a werewolf. That was everything the future spouse of the house of Black should _not_ be. So, Sirius tried to focus all his attention on Cassie. He had gotten a letter from his parents in the mail today. They heard about Cassie and were requesting to meet her. So he was supposed to bring her home with him over the Christmas holidays next month.

-.-.-.-

Sirius groaned and wondered what possessed him to wake up so darn early in the morning. He checked the time and saw that he still had an hour before he really had to get up. He yanked the covers over his head and shut his eyes, willing himself to sleep. However, sleep eluded him. He tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position, but no matter what he did, sleep just wouldn't come. With another groan, he sat up and pulled the curtains around his bed open.

He waited for his eyes to get adjusted to the pre-dawn darkness before looking around the room. He heard soft snores that indicated that James and Peter were still asleep. He glanced to the one other bed in the room and was surprised to see the curtains pulled back to reveal an empty bed. Remus wasn't in the dorm.

Sirius stood up from his bed and shuffled over to the bathroom. It was empty. Where could Remus be? Sirius wondered as he washed his face in the bathroom sink. He walked out of the dorm room and saw a faint light coming from the bottom of the stairs. He stopped on the bottom steps and looked into the room. From where he was standing, he could see into the common room but still be hidden from sight.

Sirius's eyes landed on the only person in the room and instantly recognized Remus. What was he doing out here so early in the morning? Sirius heard a soft sound and strained his ears to hear some more. It took him a while, but he finally realized that he could hear soft sobs coming from the other boy. Remus was crying.

The taller boy felt his heart break at the sound. Remus had gone through a lot as a kid and it took a lot to make him cry. The sobs seemed to call out to Sirius and he fought the urge to walk over there and wrap his arms around the smaller boy. He always hated it when Remus cried.

Sirius was just about to take the step that would put him into the common room when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. Making sure that Remus couldn't see him, he slipped out of the stairway and hid between a small alcove nearby. He held his breath and waited for whoever it was to get downstairs. His eyes widened when he saw Fabian walking down the stairs, still in pajamas and his hair disheveled. He looked like he just woke up. The older boy made a beeline for Remus.

Remus looked up at the sound of footsteps and Sirius watched silently as Fabian approached him. The older boy merely held his arms out, and Remus stood up from where he was curled up in an armchair and threw himself into his arms. The sobs came harder and Sirius could actually see the werewolf's body shake with his heart wrenching sobs.

Fabian held him close. He had one arm wrapped around Remus's slender waist, and the other was gently combing through his brown hair. Remus had his head buried in the crook of Fabian's neck and Sirius wasn't sure, but he thought he could see Fabian saying something softly into the other boy's ear. Fabian led Remus over to loveseat and sat down, pulling the other boy with him. Remus still clung tightly to him and was practically on his lap. Sirius's fists clenched tightly and he saw red.

Sirius wasn't sure how long he stood in that alcove watching Fabian comfort Remus. He knew he should have stopped and gone back upstairs, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes off of the two boys even though the longer he watched them, the angrier he got. Sirius almost let out a sigh of relief when Remus finally pulled away, wiping at his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled softly.

"Don't be," Fabian's arm remained around Remus's waist as the other reached for his face to help wipe away the tears.

"But it's so early and I woke you and I cried all over your shirt."

"Hey, it's no big deal." Fabian answered softy. "I have a free period after Potions so I'll just nap then. And besides, when I told you to call me whenever you needed me, I meant it."

"Thank you, Fabian," Remus sniffled. "I just don't know how much more of this I can handle. I'd be such a mess right now if it weren't for you."

The two met in an embrace and Sirius couldn't stand it anymore. He ran upstairs as quietly as he could. He sat down on his bed and pulled the curtains close around him. He glared at the foot of his bed as he thought back to the scene he just witnessed. Fabian had no right to comfort Remus. He had no right to hold him close like that and whisper comforting things in his ear. He had no right to have Remus sitting in his damn lap and hugging him tightly. It should have been him doing those things with Remus, not Fabian.

-.-.-.-

"Okay, what's going on?" James asked when he walked to lunch with Peter and Sirius.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius all but snapped.

"You've been pissed all morning," James pointed out. "What the hell has gotten to you?"

"Nothing," Sirius grumbled. "I just didn't sleep so well."

James didn't believe him for a second. He assumed it had something to do with the fact that Remus hasn't been around them for a week now. He had no idea what was going on between there but Remus wasn't talking. He just kept telling James he had a lot of work to do and was always running off to be with Fabian.

When the three Marauders entered the Great Hall, instead of going to their usual spot at the table, James lead them to where Remus was sitting with Fabian.

"Hello, Moony," James greeted brightly. He noticed the uncomfortable look on Remus's face as they all sat down and the glare Sirius threw at Fabian, but acted as if nothing happened. "I didn't see you at breakfast this morning."

"Fabian and I got up early and ate," Remus responded. James thought he heard Sirius growl beside him. "Then we went to the library to go over some stuff for class."

"I feel like I haven't seen you all week, mate," James continued. He was getting to the bottom of this if it was the last thing he did. "And we share a dorm room!"

"Sorry James, I've just been busy lately." Remus gave his friend an apologetic smile.

"You spend all your time with Fabian now," Peter observed. Fabian, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke up.

"I'm helping Remus with Runes stuff. He has a lot of catching up to do. I'm just trying to make it easier for him." Fabian and Remus exchanged a smile and James thought he felt Sirius stiffen beside him.

"You guys aren't going out or anything, are you?" Peter asked innocently.

James noticed different expressions from each of the four boys around him. Peter looked curious. Fabian looked slightly amused. Remus looked taken aback by the question. And Sirius—that was the most surprising for James. James thought he saw a flash of anger in his best friend's eyes before it disappeared and it was replaced by cold indifference. That was definitely interesting.

"We're just friends," Remus replies slowly.

"Oh, okay," Peter responded, "Because it'll be totally fine if you guys were going out."

Remus and Fabian smiled at Peter but said nothing more. James then dropped his fork and bent down to reach for it. That was when he noticed Sirius's fists clenched tightly on his lap. He raised an eyebrow before picking up his fork and straightening in his seat. What's gotten Sirius so angry?

"Have you seen Cassie?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"She and Lily were supposed to stop by the library for something before lunch," James responded. "Why?"

"I forgot to tell her. I got a letter from my parents earlier. They want to meet her and told me to bring her home next month."

"Oh," James thought there was something weird going on. Even though the answer was pointed at him, Sirius was looking over at Remus with a cold look in his eyes. That was something he never saw Sirius do. He turned to Remus and could have sworn he saw tears in his eyes, but Remus looked down at the book in front of him, shielding his eyes from James's sight. James saw Fabian glare at Sirius, before placing a hand on Remus's shoulder and squeezing it slightly. What the hell was going on?

_Hah. Sorry about this chapter. I've got a bit of writer's block and lacking the flow of ideas with this story. So really, your suggestions would be of great help right now. Also, I've been focusing on a new story I posted up this week. It's a Glee story so if there are any of you out there who are interested, check it out._


	13. Chapter 13

As the days went by, things started to change with the Marauders. Remus was hardly spending any time with them anymore. He spent all of his time with Fabian now. The only time the rest of the marauders got to really see him was when he would come back to the dorm room for bed. Sirius was spending most of his time with Cassie now. However, he always looked so angry now, especially when he would notice Remus and Fabian in the room. And James, James always stared between Sirius and Remus, as if he were trying to figure out what was going on between them.

Peter sat back in the arm chair and pondered all of this. James and Sirius were sitting in the couch beside him with Cassie and Lily. Remus wasn't back from the library or wherever it was yet. Peter saw Sirius look up and glare at the direction of the portrait hole. Peter turned back to see Fabian and Remus walk into he common room. They went to the other side of the room where the seventh years were. Remus had been spending a lot of time with them lately.

Peter thought back to when his group of friends were last okay. It seemed like a long time ago. He remembered the last time he talked to Remus. He had been talking about being in a relationship where the person was afraid to tell everyone that they were together. Peter still hadn't figured out who that other person was. He knew it wasn't a girl and Remus was just using that for the sake of telling him about it.

The small Gryffindor turned in his seat to where Fabian and Remus sat. The two sat together on a love seat. Their heads were bent together over a book as they explained something to another seventh year that sat across from them. Peter had once thought that perhaps Fabian was the person Remus had been talking about, and that they resolved their issues and now they weren't hiding their relationship. But, he thought against it. Remus had looked so sad when he talked to him. And he looked sad right before he started hanging out with Fabian Prewett. If anything, Peter had to say that Remus seemed a lot happier now that he was hanging out with the seventh year.

Sirius, on the other hand, he seemed to get angrier and angrier as days went by. Peter vaguely remembered a day a couple of weeks ago. It was before Remus had stopped hanging out with them all together. Peter had passed by Remus in the halls; he had called out to the boy but he didn't seem to have heard him. Peter thought he saw tears on the boy's face, but he had turned a corner and Peter lost track of him. When Peter got back to the common room, he saw Sirius and Cassie together in front of the fire. Sirius had a smile on his face, but it looked strained. He looked like something was bothering him.

Everything that happened after that day was a bit of a blur. All Peter remembered was that as Remus got happier, Sirius got angrier. Peter furrowed his brows in confusion. Maybe he'd tell all of this to James and see what he thought about it.

-.-.-.-.-

"It's a Hogsmead weekend tomorrow," Fabian announced as he took a seat next to Remus at lunch.

"That it is," Remus said slowly as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"Do you have any plans?"

"No, why?"

"I was wondering," Fabian started slowly. "Would you like to go with me?"

"I—" Remus was taken aback. He obviously had not been expecting this. "I'd love to."

"Great," Fabian smiled at Remus and began his lunch.

-.-.-.-.-

"Remus," Remus turned to see James walk into the dorm room after him.

"James," Remus smiled at his friend. "I just came to get some stuff. I'm supposed to meet Avery in the library."

"Avery? That seventh year?" James raised an eyebrow. "You know, you've been spending a lot of time with the seventh years now."

"They're friends of mine," Remus replied as he put some books into his satchel.

"We're your friends." James pointed out.

"Am I not allowed to have anymore friends?" Remus raised an eyebrow at looked at James.

"No, you can have all the friends you want," James hurried to respond. "But you stopped hanging out with us lately."

"I guess I don't like being a fifth wheel." Remus replied bitterly.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Prongs, when was the last time we've all hung out? Just us Marauders? No other people?"

James opened his mouth to answer but closed it when he realized that he didn't know the answer to that. He had been spending all his free time with Lily ever since they got together. And they got Sirius and Cassie together so they could all hang out. He hadn't realized how it must have been for Peter and Remus. And, now that he thought about it, Peter had been spending a lot more time with Frank Longbottom now.

"I'm sorry, Moony. I hadn't realized—"

"No, James, its fine." Remus slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder and turned to smile at his friend. "I'm happy for you and Lily. I, as well as just about everyone in this castle, have watched you pine over her for years. It's about time that you guys got together. And it only makes sense that you would want to spend all your time with her."

"But I—"

"No, Prongs. Really, its fine," Remus smiled sadly and made his way to the door. "And if you're wondering if that's the reason that I've been staying away, it isn't. I'm more than happy that you guys got together. Lily is my friend, too."

"Then…why?"

"It's something I rather not talk about," Remus shrugged. "I should really get going. Avery is waiting. I'll see you later, alright?"

"Okay," James watched his friend walk out the door. He felt bad for making him feel left out like that. But he could tell that there was something else that was bothering Remus. They have been friends long enough for him to know that Remus meant it when he said it wasn't because he was spending all his time with Lily.

He thought back to his other friend, Sirius. Something was wrong with him, too. And no matter what he did, he couldn't' get Sirius to talk. He mulled over Remus's words and Sirius's recent behavior. He wasn't too sure, but he had a feeling that whatever was going on with the two, it was because of the other boy.

-.-.-.-.-

"I had a great time," Remus smiled up at Fabian as they made their way back to the school."I don't remember the last time I had this much fun."

"I had fun, too," Fabian returned the smile. "It's good to see you laughing and smiling again."

"I can't thank you enough for that, you know," Remus said softly.

"I've told you before, you really don't have to thank me."

"But I want to."

"Remus," Fabian stopped walking and turned to face the younger boy. "I know this is probably too soon, especially after the whole thing with Sirius. But, I…"

"You?" Remus sounded a little breathless. He had a good idea of what Fabian was going to ask and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"I like you, Remus. I know you may not be ready for a relationship now, especially after the last one you've been through, so I'll understand if you don't want to be in another relationship right now. Just know that I do care for you and I'm willing to wait until you're ready to try this dating thing again."

"Fabian, I—" Remus stopped and looked at the other boy's face. He really did like Fabian. He knew he wasn't over Sirius just yet, but the more time he spent with Fabian, the more he found himself liking the other boy. He wasn't sure if he liked Fabian more than a friend just yet; everything with Sirius just messed up the way he was thinking. He looked into Fabian's eyes. He saw hope in there, but he could also tell that he was sincere when he said he was going to wait.

"Fabian," Remus started again. "I'll be honest. I'm still a little messed up about this Sirius thing. I don't really know what to think or how to feel right now. But, what I _do_ know is that I like spending time with you. You were there when I needed someone and you're still here for me now. You make me happier than I've been lately. It might not be fair to be with you when I'm still not sure about my feelings, but I do want to give it a shot."

"I understand," Fabian stepped a little closer to Remus. "And I know what I'm getting myself into. But I'm willing to try it for you."

Remus smiled shyly up at Fabian from under his lashes. He really did enjoy the other boy's company. Maybe they could get this to work.

Fabian leaned closer to Remus, bring their faces in. He moved slowly, giving Remus time to pull away if he wanted to. But Remus didn't move away. He stood his ground and looked right into Fabian's eyes, waiting for the boy to close the distance between them. Fabian smiled softly and brushed their lips together in a chaste kiss. It was sweet and far too short, but he didn't want to push Remus just yet.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" A rather loud voice called out, causing the two boys to break a part. Remus turned to the source of the voice and saw Cassie and Sirius standing not too far away with James and Lily behind them. He also saw Peter, and another one of Lily's friends—Margaret, was it?—walking up behind them.

Remus saw a bunch of different expressions on their faces. Cassie continued to gush about how cute it had been. Lily was grinning up at him with an expression that said she had been waiting for this for a while. Peter looked a little confused, but smiled at him nonetheless. Margaret smiled politely, though she really had no idea what was going on. James grinned up at him. His eyes telling Remus that he was happy for him. Remus returned it with a nod and a smile of his own.

Remus saved looking at Sirius last because he was afraid of what he would see. Sirius looked at him with a fierce intensity in his eyes. Remus suppressed a shudder as his gaze locked with Sirius's. He felt rooted to the spot. He felt Fabian reach down and squeeze his hand comfortingly. He looked up at the older boy and smiled gratefully at him.

-.-.-.-.-

_Well, I was on a writing streak with my glee story and so I decided to add to this one. I'm having a bit of trouble with where this is going right now. I know how this ends and how it gets to that point. But the build up to that just won't come to me. I hope this was alright though._

_Oh! Did anyone notice the cameo from my other story, __**Loving My Best Friend**__? Kudos to you if you did. If you feel like another story, I got another HP story out, called __**No Strings Attached**__. That's also a SBRL story with a little RLSS on the side, but its not much, don't worry. And, for those of you who watch glee and love the awesomeness that is Klaine, I'm going to shamelessly ask you to check out my glee story entitled __**Just a Game**__. You don't have to though. Just a thought. Lol. _


	14. Chapter 14

"James," Peter turned to his friend who was picking at his food with his fork.

"Yeah, Pete?" James looked at his small friend.

"What's going on with Prongs and Moony?" James put his fork down and thought about it. Sirius was currently serving detention and Remus was sitting with Fabian and his friends.

"I've been wondering the same thing, Wormtail," James sighed. "I tried talking to them about it but neither of them has given me much to go by. Sirius insists that nothing is wrong, and Remus just won't talk about it. Have you tried talking to them?"

"If Padfoot won't tell you, then he definitely won't tell me," Peter said after some thought. "And I haven't had a chance to talk to Remus since that 'girlfriend' conversation."

"What? 'Girlfriend conversation'?"

"Remus and I talked a while ago," Peter explained. "He was asking for my opinion on something. He told me this story—I can't really remember all of it. But it was about this girl or whatever who didn't want to tell anyone they were dating?"

"Remus had a girlfriend?" James turned to look at Remus in shock. Wasn't he gay?

"I don't think so," Peter said after some thought. "I think he just added that because he wanted my opinion. Basically, he asked me what I would do if I had a girlfriend, but we had to hide our relationship for some reason. And to help hide the relationship, the girl goes out with someone else."

"What? That's stupid!" James looked angry.

"So do you think Remus really had a secret girlfriend—or boyfriend?"

"He wouldn't have asked for your opinion if he didn't," James felt a bit hurt that Remus had been dating someone and hadn't told him. Weren't they supposed to be best friends? He wondered if Sirius knew about this secret boyfriend.

"Do you think it was Fabian?" Peter asked suddenly.

"I don't think so, Pete." James said after he stared at Remus and Fabian for a while. "Remus seemed a little upset before he started hanging out with Prewett. What did you tell Remus when he asked for your opinion?"

"I told him that the relationship wasn't fair," Peter thought back, trying to remember what he had said to the werewolf. "I can't remember if I said I'd end the relationship or not."

"Well, here's what I think: I think Remus broke it off with that boyfriend or whatever or his. That's why he was so upset and quiet before, remember?" Peter nodded and James continued. "Then I'm guessing he started hanging out with Prewett and now they're dating."

"Who's dating?" A voice behind the two boys asked. They looked and saw Sirius with a scowl on his face.

"Detention didn't too well?" James asked with a small smile. Sirius only grunted and took a seat next to James.

"So who's dating?"

"Remus and Fabian," Peter answered. James noticed a flash of anger in Sirius's eyes, but before he could give it much thought, Sirius snorted and looked down at his plate.

"Hey, Pads," James asked after Sirius had taken a few bites of his food. Sirius looked up at him. "Did Remus have a boyfriend before Fabian?"

"What makes you ask that?" Sirius asked in an eerily calm voice. James thought he suddenly looked paler than he did a few seconds ago. James looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them before repeating Peter's story.

"He never told me anything," Sirius said dismissively as he stabbed into his chicken.

"I wonder who it was," Peter said absently.

"Whoever it was, he sure was a bastard," James said bitterly.

"What makes you say that?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"It's bad enough that he was having Moony hide the relationship, he had to go out with someone else? That's just wrong!"

"But, you don't know the guy's story," Sirius said defensively. "What if he had a good reason for having to hide it?"

James scoffed. "Then he shouldn't have been in the relationship in the first place! You've seen how big of an ass I've made myself every time I tried to ask Lily out. If you love someone, then you should be with them completely; nothing should hold you back. Remus is a great guy and whoever he ends up will be lucky to have him. The stupid bastard shouldn't have been ashamed of him! He should have been proud that he had such a great boyfriend! The way I see it, he never deserved Remus."

Peter heartily agreed to what James said.

"I'm glad he's with Prewett now," Peter added. "He seems happy."

Peter and James began to speculate on who the mysterious boyfriend could have been. Neither of them noticed how silent Sirius had gotten or how upset he looked.

-.-.-.-

Sirius passed on hanging out in the common room with James and Peter. He reassured Cassie that he alright and made his way up to the dorm room. He was surprised to see someone already there.

"Sirius." Remus said in a surprised voice.

"Not hanging out with your boyfriend?" It came out sounding way more bitter than Sirius expected.

"He has a project he needs to get done," Remus answered with a nonchalant shrug. He turned his back to Sirius and began rummaging through his trunk. "And besides, I don't have to spend _every waking moment_ with him. I don't do clingy."

Sirius recognized the shot at Cassie but chose to ignore it. Because if he were honest with himself, Cassie was a little clingy. That was one of the things he liked about Remus. Remus didn't need to be by his side all the time. But, with Cassie, she always had to know what he was doing at every moment. She was a bit controlling.

"How long have you and Prewett been an item?" Sirius sat down on his bed and kept his voice as void of emotion as he could manage.

Remus pulled out a book and opened it. For a moment, Sirius thought he wasn't going to answer.

"That kiss you saw was right after he asked me to be his boyfriend."

Sirius lay back on his pillows and watched Remus as he read. He felt the urge to go over to the other boy and curl up next to him. Sirius glared at the boy who was too busy reading to notice and pushed away those thoughts. He and Remus weren't together anymore.

"Are you really bringing Cassie home with you for the winter holidays?" Remus asked after a while.

"Yeah," Sirius said slowly. He gave the other boy a suspicious look. "Why?"

Remus brought his eyes back down to the book in his hand. "Just wondering."

Sirius turned over on his bed so he was no longer facing Remus. He felt anger build up inside him at how blasé Remus sounded about everything. Had Remus really moved on now that he's with Fabian? Did he really not care that Sirius was with Cassie anymore?

Remus looked at Sirius over his book. The boy had turned over on his bed and wasn't looking at him anymore. Remus closed his eyes and a lone tear fell down his face. Talking to Sirius and acting like it meant nothing to him had been extremely hard to do.

-.-.-.-

_Hey guys. Here's another chapter. I know it probably seems rushed and nothing much is going on or whatever, but to be honest, I don't know where to go with this. I mean, I know what particular scenes I want, but I just can't seem to get to that part properly. I think I've lost my muse for this story. I hope I get it back soon though. I'd hate to not finish this after I've gotten so far, especially when I got a few readers who really want to see how this ends._

_For all of you who follow the awesomeness known as Klaine, feel free to check out my other story, Just a Game. I've been putting a lot of time into that lately and it's progressing better than this one :/ _

_Anyway, here's a bit of a 'teaser' for the next chapter of this. I haven't figured it out or anything yet, but those are the scenes I'm going to make sure I address. I'm hoping that if I get the scenes I originally wanted started, I'll be able to move this along. Wish me luck._

_**Next chapter:**__ Sirius and Fabian have a little 'chat'. Winter holidays start. James gets a little insight on what's been going on between his two friends. _


	15. Chapter 15

James suppressed as sigh as he sat through yet another boring lecture in his History of Magic class. But, the Elvin wars of the eighth century weren't what caused the sigh to pass through his lips. It was his friends. To his left sat Sirius, who looked half asleep. On his right was Peter, who _was_ asleep. And next to Peter was Remus, who looked bored out of his mind but was diligently taking notes. To the rest of the people in the room, there was nothing wrong with this seating arrangement. The Marauders always sat together.

But, to James, it said a lot of things. The Marauders always sat in a square—two people next to each other with two behind them—not a line. The square arrangement made it so that they can talk or pass notes easily to everyone. But this seating arrangement, in a straight line, made it so that you can talk to the person on either side of you, but not the one after them; At least, not without being too noticeable. With the way they were sitting, Remus and Sirius couldn't talk at all, not that either of them was trying to.

James had been happy to see an improvement in their friendship. Remus had started spending more time with them. Sure, most of the time Fabian was with him, but Lily and Cassie, and Melody, Peter's current girlfriend, were usually there, too so it was fair. And, when the girls—or boy in Remus's case—weren't around, it almost seemed like how they were before; almost being the key word there. Remus and Sirius hardly spoke to each other. They said a few sentences when it seemed necessary, but other than that, there was nothing.

This worried James because he knew how close Sirius and Remus were. He and Sirius were best friends, but Sirius didn't have the same relationship with him as he had with Remus. Remus and Sirius bonded in a way James didn't fully understand, but it was fine just the same. The two boys had been happy in their friendship and that was enough for James. But, James wasn't stupid. He saw the looks and flashes of emotion that passed through the two boys.

Whenever Fabian was with them, James noticed that Sirius would shoot glares at the older boy when he thought no one was looking and he seemed to get more touchy with Cassie. James had never seen him hug or kiss Cassie as much as when Fabian was around. When Fabian wasn't around but Cassie was there, Remus seemed more quiet. And there was an odd look in his eyes whenever she would hold onto Sirius or kiss him. But, before James could ponder those thoughts too much, Remus would blink and they were gone.

James also noticed something in Fabian and his interactions with Remus. There was no doubt in his mind that Prewett made a good boyfriend for Remus. If it weren't for the weird flashes of emotion he saw in the werewolf's eyes whenever he saw Cassie hugging or kissing Sirius, he would have said Remus had never been happier. But, whenever Sirius would pull Cassie into a deep kiss or something similar, he noticed that Fabian would tighten his grip around Remus's waist and kiss his cheek lightly. It looked like he was trying to comfort the young wolf. But, Remus would smile at him in an almost reassuring manner and kiss him lightly on the lips before snuggling into his embrace.

That was odd. If James hadn't been paying close attention to them, he probably wouldn't have noticed. But, why would Fabian feel the need to comfort Remus whenever he saw Sirius kissing his girlfriend? And why did Remus seem to tell him without words that everything was just fine? Sure, the degree of the looks had lowered over time, but there were still traces of them there and James noticed them. This thought was another thing that brought a sigh to James's lips. Something went on—is still going on—between his two friends, and they won't tell him or Peter. But, that Fabian guy seemed to know. Remus probably told him, and James understood since that was his boyfriend, but it still hurt a little. Remus had only started hanging out with Fabian this year, but he's been friends with James since their first year.

James took out a quill and a piece of parchment covered with a few words. He had taken to jotting down certain things that he noticed. He knew Peter was doing something similar. He was hoping that the two of them can put together their findings or whatever and see if they can figure out the mystery behind the falling out of Remus and Sirius.

He looked down at his parchment. One of the things he mentioned was the girl—boy—friend thing Remus had told Peter about. But, judging by when Peter talked to Remus about that and when he first noticed something off with Remus, the talk came after. Remus was upset before he even mentioned that to Peter. James also noted that all this year, Remus had been running off to places to be by himself every now and them. And when he would return, he always seemed to have this dopey smile on his face. James quickly wrote down something that just popped into his head. _'Remus's secret boyfriend has been around since the start of the year.'_

After jotting down that quick note, he thought about Sirius. When had Sirius started acting weird? James thought hard about it. Sirius had made random disappearances earlier in the year, too. The more James thought about it, the more he realized that Sirius always seemed to be missing whenever Remus was missing. Usually, they came back together or not too long after the one another. And they always both had dopey smiles on their faces. James made a note of that. That was something he definitely had to look into.

-.-.-.-

James paid even more attention, if that was possible, to the two boys in the next couple of weeks. Remus seemed to be getting better, which was good. Remus needs some happiness in his life. But Sirius, Sirius seemed to be acting really differently. Whenever Remus and Fabian were around, Sirius always seemed to shoot looks at the two of them. The looks he gave Fabian were mean; why he was angry at the older student, James couldn't figure out. But it was the looks he gave Remus that threw him off. His eyes held sadness, and what looked like _longing_. But, why would Sirius be looking at him like that? And, James wasn't the only one who noticed the looks Sirius gave. Fabian seemed to notice to, too. James had seen them in a death glare match that was only broken by the arrival of Remus.

And it was after one such staring match that James decided to follow Fabian. Remus had said something about doing work for Charms with a friend from Ravenclaw or something. Sirius had walked off and after Remus left, James noticed that Fabian had followed Sirius. So, after grabbing his cloak and the map from his trunk, James set out to follow them.

James walked until he reached the bleachers of the quidditch field. He saw the two boys staring intently at each other. Fabian seemed to have only gotten there right before James. Making sure not to make any noise, James inched closer.

"What the hell is your problem, Black?" Fabian was the first to break the tense silence.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Prewett," Sirius answered in a harsh voice.

"You know very well what I'm talking about." Fabian took a step forward. "I know you're a bastard, but why the hell are you trying to hurt Remus?"

James had to put a hand over his mouth to hide his gasp of surprise. Why would Fabian think that Sirius was hurting Remus? Sure, they weren't getting along right now, but they were still friends.

"I'm not trying to hurt him!" Sirius practically shouted.

"You are, and you know it," Fabian responded. "You don't think I've noticed? Whenever that girlfriend of yours is around when Remus is around, you act all touchy with her and kiss her when you _know_ Remus is looking. You're doing that just to hurt him."

James watched the two boys with confusion. What was Fabian talking about? And, why would Sirius kissing Cassie hurt Remus?

"What's the matter, Fabian? Jealous?" Sirius asked out of nowhere. James knew that look in the boy's eyes. Whenever Sirius got cornered into something, he would change the subject so he wouldn't have to admit to being wrong.

"Of course not," Fabian said with a small smirk on his face. "I have nothing to be jealous of."

"Oh?" Sirius looked at him suspiciously. James took a step closer and pulled the cloak tighter around him.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed it, Black." Fabian put his hands in the pockets of his robes and took a step back. "As more days pass by, Remus stares at you a little less. And it doesn't hurt him as much anymore when he sees you with that girl. He's happier now. He's happier with _me_."

Sirius glared at Fabian. "You think that now. But you're nothing but a rebound to him."

James's eyes widened behind his glasses. So Sirius knew about Remus and his boyfriend?

"You know, that's what I thought at first," Fabian said with a shrug. "But I thought I might be able to get him to change his mind. Get him over _you_. At first, I thought it was a lost cause because even when we were together, I saw the sadness in his eyes whenever he looked at you. But, then things changed. And I know that _you_ can see it, too.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull, Black. But if you're trying to get Remus to go back to you by making him jealous of that girl of yours, then I recommend that you stop. It obviously isn't working. He's getting over you. It won't be long before he's completely moved on. So, just give up. You're just giving that girl false hopes about your 'love' for her. I know you're a bastard—I mean, after what you did to Remus—but you really shouldn't go about hurting anymore people."

With those last words, Fabian left. James watched Sirius in shock. The other boy seemed too surprised to do anything at first, but then he let out a frustrated scream and punched the post of the bleachers beside him.

James slowly walked away and left Sirius to vent out his anger. He processed all the information he had just heard. _Sirius_ had been Remus's secret boyfriend? When did they get together? Why hadn't they told him or Peter? And, if Sirius was Remus's ex, then that meant that Sirius was that bastard who hurt Remus. What the bloody hell is going on?

-.-.-.-

Well, here you go. I'm still working on finding my muse for this story again. It's hard, but I'm working on it. So, please let me know what you think. Also, any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.


	16. Chapter 16

"James," James looked up from his parchment to his girlfriend, who was sitting across from him. They were studying together in the library on Lily's insistence.

"Yes, Lil?"

"Are you alright?" Lily asked with concern evident in her voice. "You've been a bit…quiet lately. And you've had your nose in that parchment the entire week. Is something going on?"

"I've just had a lot to think about," James answered with a tired voice. Ever since he overheard—eavesdropped—on Fabian and Sirius's little talk, that was all he could think about.

"Like what?"

"Can I ask you something?" James changed the subject. Lily motioned for him to continue.

"How are Sirius and Cassie doing?"

The question took Lily by surprise and she had to stop and think about it. "Well, she says that he's really affectionate, like more than he used to be now, which is great. And she can't wait to meet his family for the holidays."

"Is that all?" James asked. "She never noticed anything weird about him?"

"She _was_ complaining about how they're never together alone anymore. Whenever they spend time together, he always wants to be out on the grounds or in the common room. And those are the only times he seems to kiss her or something?"

James looked thoughtful for a moment and added a quick note onto his already full parchment.

"Are you going to tell me what that is?" Lily asked. She tried to get a look of it but James's arm was in the way.

"Just some notes."

"On?"

James looked at his girlfriend's inquiring green eyes. He still hadn't told anyone, and if he told Lily, maybe she could help him. "You can't tell _anyone_."

"I won't," Lily promised.

"Sirius and Remus have been acting weird lately and I've been trying to figure out why since neither of them seems to want to talk about it."

"I noticed that, too." Lily said softly. "I thought it was just because Sirius had Cassie now and Remus had Fabian. You know how some people get when they're in relationships; especially when it's still new."

"Can I ask you a weird question?"James asked after much thought. Lily nodded. "Do you think Sirius could ever be gay? Like, hypothetically , of course."

Lily stopped to think about it. "I suppose I wouldn't find that too hard to believe."

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "I can just see it. I mean, with the way he used to date around before, it seemed like he wasn't very interested in those girls; he just dated them because they were there. In fact, I think most of them asked him out and he just agreed. Also, there was a point where I thought he and Remus were dating."

James's eyes widened behind his glasses. "Why would you think that?"

"Because they just looked so close and comfortable with each other," Lily answered. "I know they're both your best friends, but you never acted like that with them. I've seen you put your arms around their shoulders and I've seen you even give them a hug once or twice, but it was different. When I saw Sirius put his arm around Remus, it seemed to hold him just a little too tight and a little too long for it to just be between friends. But, it was weird because I'd see Sirius dating someone every other week."

"If I tell you something, will you swear not to tell?" James asked slowly. "Especially not Cassie?"

"Of course, James,"

"I overheard Sirius and Fabian arguing the other day. They were pretty angry with each other." Lily gave him a look that clearly meant he had to elaborate. James took a deep breath and quickly planned out what he was going to say in his head. "They were fighting about Remus. And, from what I could gather…Sirius and Remus used to date."

"What?" Lily's green eyes widened in surprise. "When?"

"I don't know for sure because I haven't talked to Remus or Sirius about it yet, but I think they were dating when he started going out with Cassie."

"But, that doesn't make sense."

James handed the parchment with his notes on it so Lily could see what he's written so far. "Peter told me that a while back, Remus approached him with a problem. Basically, he was asking what he would have done if he was seeing someone, who wanted to keep their relationship a secret. And, in an effort to keep it a secret, the other person started seeing someone else, kind of like a 'pretend girlfriend' or something, but the girl didn't know."

"You mean…" Lily seemed to have come to the same conclusion James had after listening in on Sirius and Fabian's argument. James nodded solemnly.

"I'm guessing that he didn't want his parents to know that he was gay, so if he openly dated Remus, then someone was bound to tell them. He's got a cousin or two in Slytherin."

"Poor Remus," Lily said sadly. "And, oh my god, Cassie! Cassie is convinced she loves him and he returns her feelings. She's been going on about meeting his parents for the holidays."

"I wondered about that," James shrugged and pointed at something towards bottom of the parchment. "I guess that since he and Remus are over, he's focusing on Cassie now and being in a relationship with her."

"You've got to talk to him! What he's doing isn't fair to her!" Lily said a little too loudly. A couple students in the nearby tables stopped what they were doing and looked at their table. James waited until he was sure no one was paying attention to them anymore before he spoke again.

"I've been trying to," James took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "But every time I try to bring up Remus or his relationship with Cassie, he changes the subject or does something else. I've been bugging him about it lately and I think he wants to make sure I never find out about him and Remus."

"So that's why Remus never seemed to like Cassie," James raised an eyebrow at Lily and asked what she meant. "In the beginning, Cassie used to tell me that she got some negative vibes from Remus, like he didn't really like her? I thought she was just being insecure about Sirius's friends liking her and stuff. Poor Remus; Cassie's my friend, but so is he. He must have been really hurt by all of that. How is he doing?"

"I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him, either." James sighed dejectedly. "But, from the looks of it, he's happy with Fabian now."

"That's good. He deserves to be happy. I know Sirius is your best friend, but he's a bastard for what he did."

"I have to agree with you there, Lil."

The couple sat in silence for a while, both of them too caught up in their own thoughts. Lily read through everything James had written so far and James just watched her. After a while, Lily handed the parchment back.

"What are you going to do, James? We leave for winter holidays next week."

"I don't know," James sighed in defeat. "I can only hope for the best. I know it's real mean of me to say this, but I'm hoping Sirius's parents don't like Cassie."

"No," Lily frowned. "I understand. She's one of my best friends and I don't want her to get hurt, but I think Sirius is only using her as an excuse to keep his parents happy. I never really thought much about it before, but now that I know all of this, I don't think Sirius is over Remus. It wouldn't be fair to Cassie. And, frankly, I'm too afraid to be the one to break it to her."

"Sirius should be the one who tells her." James said grimly.

-.-.-.-

_Am I the only one who feels like the past couple of chapters have been useless filler? I can't seem to get things to move forward when I start working on these chapters. Hopefully, they aren't too bad and I haven't completely bored any of you. I am slowly recovering my muse for this. I hope. Anyway, until next time, whenever that may be. I've got midterms coming up so I'm pretty busy. _


End file.

Harry Potter, Romance