✨Jegulily✨

Chapter 3: Thunderstorms.

The rain was coming down fast. The storm came out of nowhere. Sure, it had been fairly cloudy that day, but no one predicted the storm. James and Lily ran back up to the castle, laughing, hand in hand. James and Lily had walked around the grounds and sat by the lake, until the rain came. It was in that moment that James REALLY wished he could control weather. Well, okay he wished that a lot. It would be SO cool! But anyways, they got back up to the castle right before the first flash of lightning showed itself.

Lily saw Marlene almost immediately after coming inside, so she said goodbye to James and kissed him on the cheek before running off with her friends. James stood dumbfounded for a minute before jumping up and down like an excited little kid. Sirius and Remus walked up to him at that very moment. "Have fun?" Sirius asked, smirking that famous Sirius Black smirk. "Hell yeah!" James said. He finally got a proper date with Lily Evans! Of course he had fun.

James, in all his excitement, noticed something. Remus kept looking over at Sirius, but blushing and focusing on the ground every time he did. Huh. "L-let's go to the tower" Remus said after a moment. Sirius nodded and led the way, and James followed behind them, smirking a little. Maybe he wasn't the only one crushing.

They got to the common room just as a huge crash of thunder hit over the castle. Sirius jumped a little but quickly settled. James knew that both Black brothers had history with thunderstorms. "Anyone up for a game of chess?" Remus asked, sitting down on the sofa. "Sure!" Sirius announced.

A couple hours later, after many games of chess and Gobstones, Remus said he was going to bed and Sirius followed shortly after. (A/N: I can see the comments from a mile away...) James wasn't at all tired, so he decided to walk around the castle for a bit. He stared at the ground as he walked, listening to the lightning crack and the thunder rumble above.

James had no idea where he was, wandering down the corridors lost in his thoughts. He heard a slight sniffle from down the hall, and looked up. It was.... Regulus Black? He was sitting with his arms around his knees, crying. His tie and shoes were thrown around him, and he had blood on his fists, like he was punching the wall. James stood stunned for a second, deciding between leaving him alone and quietly walking away, or helping him.

Sirius was asleep, and what good friends did Regulus have? Besides, James still had small feelings for Regulus. "Regulus?" He asked cautiously. Regulus jumped and held his wand out at James before identifying him and hiding his face. "What are you doing?" He asked in a mean tone.

"I-I was taking a walk..." James said, trying his best to be calm and supportive. "Why aren't you with my stupid brother?" Regulus said, retrieving his tie and shoes and wiping his tears with the sleeve of his wrinkled shirt.  "Sirius is not stupid." James said, defending his best mate. "But... are you okay?"

It was at that moment that a bolt of lightning struck, and Regulus screamed, letting out a sob and backing into the wall. Realization hit James. "Oh..." he said, a worried look crossing over his face as he sat next to Regulus, who began crying into his hands again. He cautiously put an arm around his best friends brother, as if he was a bomb that could go off at any second.

James noticed how uneven and shaky Regulus' breathing was, and how hard he was crying. It broke his heart a little bit. Thunder rumbled above them, and Regulus started screaming again, covering his ears until it passed. James wanted to cry at the sight of this. He pulled Regulus into a hug, wiping some of the tears from his face.

"It's okay..... it's okay." He said calmly, stroking his hair. Regulus started to calm down a bit, not screaming any more, only crying softly. "Your okay..." James said. Regulus looked up at him and blushed a little. "I'm so sorry you must think I'm so pathetic or-" James cut him off. "Reg, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I understand."

They exchanged a small smile before James noticed the rain was slowing down, no longer the raging storm it was earlier. He took Regulus's hand in his own. "Your so brave." He said, trying to be kind but not patronizing. Regulus looked down and smiled a little. "You think so?" He said shyly. "I know so." Said James with a grin.

"Oh shit- It's past curfew, we should probably get going." The two boys exchanged a look, both wanting to say something, but it wasn't a good time. "T-thank you." Regulus said, standing up and trying to fix himself up, not wanting to announce to the world he had just had a panic attack. "Any time." James said with a wink and a reassuring smile, turning on his heel and walking away, Regulus going the other way.

James got to his dorm safe and sound, changing into pyjamas and lying down, closing the curtains around him. He smiled a little, the memories of Regulus still fresh in his mind.

Damn it his feelings were back.