fatal love

Chapter 34

In the weeks after he broke up with Marlene, Sirius noticed he started receiving much more attention from girls. They were saying hi to him in the corridors and giggling, asking to do homework together, trying to sit next to him in class. He appreciated the attention and all, but he wanted to sit with James, or Remus, not some blushing schoolgirl.

Still, as long as they weren't getting in the way of his time with the Marauders, he generally encouraged the new treatment. He always made an effort to flirt back - he had discovered that if he flipped his hair, or touched their arm, they would all blush and titter and smile coyly at him, which was hilarious, and gave him a bit of a power rush.

Still, he didn't do more than harmless flirting until the end of January. He was in the Common Room late one evening, and it was mostly empty, though there were a few people still dotted about. But he'd left his Charms essay to the last minute, and was scribbling, trying to finish it as quickly as possible. He was about half-way through, when Lauren came over, and sat next to him on the sofa, so closely that their legs were touching. She was one of the girls who sent him a Valentine's card last year, Sirius remembered.

"Watcha doing?" she smiled, and, wow, her face was very close to his.

"Uh, Charms essay."

"Wanna take a break?" she asked, and somehow she'd leaned closer.

Sirius put his quill down, and tilted his head, smirking. "Is there something more fun I could be doing?"

"Maybe," she said coyly.

Sirius closed the gap, kissing her, and putting his hands in her hair. She made an appreciative sound, opening her mouth slightly, pushing her tongue against his.

This still wasn't what he was supposed to feel, Sirius thought. It wasn't bad, exactly - but he was bored, and he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be bored while snogging one of the hottest girls in the year above.

When he felt an appropriate amount of time had passed, he pulled back. "How was that?" he murmured.

"Amazing," Lauren breathed, beaming at him.

"Oh, uh, that's good then. I should, um, go up to the dorm now, so..."

"Sure, sure!" she exclaimed, and then kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Well, I mean, we go to the same school, so probably," Sirius joked.

She let out a high-pitched laugh, and it didn't help him feel any less awkward. Plastering on a smile, he grabbed his stuff and hurried out of the Common Room, not looking back.

"Hey, you finish your essay?" James asked when he entered the dormitory.

"Uh, no, I'll finish it in the morning," Sirius brushed off. "Felt pretty tired, I'm just gonna go to sleep now."

"Amazing!" James exclaimed.

Peter and Remus looked at James in confusion, and Sirius internally face-palmed.

James quickly realised his mistake. "Just, er... sleep, it's amazing, right?" he covered awkwardly.

"Yeah," Sirius snorted, shooting James a grin to show he wasn't really mad, and James smiled at him gratefully.

"Well, I won't argue with that," Remus said, apparently chalking it up just to James being weird. "Night, Sirius."

"Yeah, night guys." He got his pyjamas on and brushed his teeth quickly, getting into bed and shutting the curtains. Well, whatever he was supposed to feel, he hadn't felt it with Lauren either. But she had, or at least she'd acted like she had. What did that mean?