Secret Love Song

Chapter Twelve

A black cropped shirt with white star designs and black high waist jeans would have to do for Regulus' date. As James hadn't told him what the date was (as he seemed to just be planning it off the top of his head) he would just have to dress casual, but a nice casual.

James would have to stick with the clothes he wore to dinner last night, as he hadn't exactly planned on staying at Regulus' overnight and didn't bring any spare clothes.

Regulus heard James in the bathroom and decided to quickly email Mary the new song lyrics. Regulus was excited to hear this song as he thought it matched the girl's vibes perfectly. He stashed his notebook in a bedside drawer and left his bedroom, waiting in the kitchen for James.

When the elder was finished in the bathroom he met Regulus in the kitchen, slowing down his walk a little to stare at Regulus, a grin forming on his mouth.

"What?" Regulus said, not used to being stared at, at least not the way James was staring at him.

"Nothing. You just look really nice." James said, fixing the cuff on his shirt, and he looked real fucking attractive while doing so.

"So what are we doing?" Regulus asked. James opened the flat door for him, forgetting that Regulus had to lock it behind him.

"Umm, how about a trip to a bookstore?" Oh for fucks sake. Regulus thought. Books. His favourite things in the world, other than music. "I know a really nice place that has a cafe as well?" James suggested.

"Sure." Regulus replied. The two left the building and James directed them to a bus stop.

"The only thing about this bookstore, is that it's in a little village further out of town. And I don't own a car." James said, looking at the bus times. "Luckily, we just have a 5 minute wait but we do have to switch buses a couple times."

"I don't mind." Regulus answered. They were silent for a moment, it was just the two of them at the bus stop. "How do you know I like books again?" Regulus asked.

"Uhhh, I think last year, me and Sirius were Christmas shopping for people and he walked into a bookshop. I knew it wasn't for Remus because I refused to shop with him for Remus." James started to explain.

"Why's that?" Regulus asked, a bit confused.

"Those two are disgusting." James answered. "In that way."

"Ew." Regulus replied, wishing he hadn't asked now.

"Yeah. So I asked Sirius why we were in the bookstore, because he never reads, and he told me about your love for books and that there was a certain book you wanted." James continued explaining. "We couldn't find that one anywhere so he got you a different one."

"He got me Little Women." Regulus said, nodding at the memory. "I thought he was joking but it was actually a good book."

The bus arrived then and they both climbed on. Surprisingly, the bus was quite busy, and all the seats were full. James and Regulus made their way to the back of the bus to hold onto the handles above them.

The bus started to move before Regulus could grab the handle, causing him to fall back into James. James' free arm quickly wrapped around Regulus' waist, catching him from falling any further. Regulus looked up at James, who was noticeably taller, a blush covering his face.

"You alright?" James asked, trying to stop a grin from forming on his face. Regulus nodded and turned away, deciding to hold onto the pole next to one of the seats instead. James didn't remove his arm. They stayed like that for the rest of the bus journey, it was too busy to find a seat.

When they got off, they had to catch another bus, this time they were able to get a seat. James told Regulus that this bus was only 10 minutes compared to the 20 minute one they took beforehand. The two didn't talk much and Regulus took to staring out the window.

He hasn't been to this part of town before. He actually rarely left his street unless he was meeting Sirius. James seemed to have sensed this and stayed quiet will Regulus observed.

"This is our stop." James said, beginning to stand up as the bus slowed. Regulus followed him off the bus and down the street, keeping an eye out for a sign for the bookstore.

Suddenly, James redirected them down a little alleyway. It wasn't a dark alleyway like the one outside the bar, it was more of a corridor to another street. Regulus was walking slightly behind James, a little cautious about where they were.

James took a left almost straight into a wall, or so it appeared to Regulus. The younger walked round a little bit to see a door and James standing waiting for him.

"Come on." He said, jerking his head slightly towards the inside. Regulus frowned in confusion, but nonetheless went inside.

It was beautiful.