black coffee | remus lupin [2]

23. intertwined hands & last-minute plans

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

IT WASN'T SUPPOSED to hurt as much as it did, she thought. Sitting there on the other side of the table for the third time in less than two weeks with her eyes always trailing back to him and that girl he seemed awfully close with as of recently.

Claudia felt angry at Remus. She knew that it wasn't fair, since she was the one who had left him, and since he was allowed to move on from her. But it still killed her inside to watch him always talking to that girl, and she didn't understand how he didn't notice that or even consider her feelings.

What she didn't know, however, was that the only thing on his mind all the damn time was her, despite how much he tried to fight it.

"Claudia?"

She looked up to find Peter standing there, watching her with raised eyebrows, and that's when she also realised that she was the only one left sitting at the table.

It seemed that the others had moved into the living room, with the exception of herself and Peter of course. She had zoned out, for longer than she realised, which had been the cause of that.

Remus was there as well, she realised, since she met his eyes as he stood by the door and watched her as if he didn't wish to be seen doing so. But, as soon as she laid eyes on him, he was gone again, so she looked back to Peter.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm great," she said with a faint smile, immediately standing up as if her life depended on it. "Just a little tired, is all."

"Okay," Peter nodded, standing there awkwardly as silence washed over the two.

"Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm great," he said with a smile, and then he walked out of the room before her.

And, the thing was, that smile of his didn't seem so genuine, she thought.

Brushing that thought away from her mind, Claudia followed the others into the living room, where music already was playing and the others were back into their loud conversations.

The first thing Claudia noticed, of course, was that Remus and Tallulah were not sitting by one another for once. No, he was sitting on the couch and Tallulah was sharing an armchair with Betty.

And, naturally, the next thing Claudia noticed was that the only free seat was next to Remus.

Of course.

She was trying to keep herself as far from him as possible, and it seemed to be more and more difficult every day even if none of them even tried to make their distance smaller.

It just happened naturally.

But, this time around Remus did make the effort, considering how he caught her standing there in the doorway with a weary look on her face as she pondered wether she was supposed to take that empty seat next to him and sit as closely to him as that meant. He looked at her with a lopsided smile and mouthed a small little "sit".