Chapter Text
Just walking through the main doors on his first day of his junior year of high school, Regulus knew something was going to go wrong. For one, he was bound to see his brother again after he had mysteriously ran away 2 months earlier. Secondly, he just knew his friends would want to talk to him about it. Third, his ever growing crush on his ex-brother’s best friend, and just to make matters worse, he had just gotten moved up a level in his English class, so he would now be sharing the class with said crush and ex-brother.
But despite this, Regulus still found a way to relax and take a deep breath, possibly for the first time since his brother left, at the sight of his best friend, Pandora. Pandora was everything Regulus wasn’t. She was funny, kind, social, and beyond easy to talk to. Regulus himself was cold, and dark in ways Dora could never be. But maybe that's what brought them together so easily. She brought out the best in him, and he gave her a space where she didn’t always have to be the happy person people expected her to be. Opposites attract and all that. Standing with Pandora was another of Regulus’ best friends, Evan. Evan and Pandora were twins, but besides their looks, they couldn’t be more different. Pandora was dreamy, Evan was down to earth. Evan could be harsh, Pandora was usually soft.
Dora looked over at him, and somehow managed to smile even brighter than before. “Reggie!” she shouted and ran over to meet him, “Oh! I missed you so much, you have no idea!” She pulled him into a hug and squeezed him tight.
“I missed you too, Panda.”
“Regulus!” Evan smiled and hugged Reg.
“Evan! I missed you guys so much!” Regulus exclaimed
“Have you seen Barty yet? He's usually here before us.” Barty had been Evan and Regulus’s dormmate for the last two years, and nothing was about to change now. He was the son of some rich businessman in the oil biz, so he grew up with money, but always tried to find ways to denounce it. He was someone that Reg’s mother would approve of. Only the best for Regulus Black.
“No, not yet.” Regulus spoke as he glanced around them, looking for Barty’s familiar smirking face.
Who he saw didn’t surprise him, but the fact that his brother—- ex-brother— was standing near the doors still sent a wave of guilt washing over his body.
“-g? Regulus?” Regulus snapped back into reality, realizing he’d been staring at Sirius laughing with his stupid friends.
“Yeah, sorry.”
“Are you ok?”
No. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Evan still looked concerned, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Barty. Barty and Regulus were polar opposites. Where Regulus was quiet, Barty was loud. When Barty was out having fun on a Friday night, Regulus was alone, probably studying for their next test. Above all, Barty was like Sirius. Maybe that was why Regulus was so drawn to him.
“Reg! Dora! Ev!” Barty shouted over the bustling of the main hall, “I missed you guys!” He pulled Pandora into a hug and squeezed her tight.
“I had a dream about all of us the other night! We were at a party and then James showed up and–” Pandora started.
“As if Reg would ever be caught dead at a party–especially one infected by those idiots.” Barty remarked as he pulled Regulus into a hug, “I missed you, Reg.” He whispered to Regulus, trying to make him believe it.
Regulus sighed, “I missed you too, Barty.”
“Aww, so you do love me!” Barty announced.
“Shut up before I take it back.”
“Feisty today, aren’t we, Reg.”
“Oh shut up.” Regulus said, exasperatedly. Barty reached Evan in greeting, starting to hug him, but stopping just short of it. They exchanged an awkward fist bump.
Regulus turned away from Pandora's prying eyes. What he would never admit, though, was that the person that he most wanted to see was Sirius. All Regulus wanted to do was run into his arms, hug him tight, and beg Siri to take him away with him. But of course, family duty trumps all. So he stayed where he was, staring as Siri hugged his friends tight.
Barty followed Reg’s line of sight as he saw just who he was staring at. Technically, Barty wasn’t supposed to know what had happened in the summer, but with the way social media was nowadays, it really wasn’t that hard to figure out why Regulus stopped responding to his and Pandora's texts.
“Hey, let's go to our dorm. What’s our room this year?” Barty said, softer than usual.
“C208.” Regulus brought his attention back to his friends, ignoring the brother that had left him so callously. Of course he had his reasons, but if Regulus could survive being at home, why couldn’t Siri?
“No, I’m so far away from you guys! I’m all the way in A452! I think the universe hates us.” Pandora sighed dramatically.
“Ok…” Regulus spoke, unsure how to respond to that proclamation, “Who are you rooming with this year, anyways?” Everyone knew that Pandora would have liked to stay with Reg, Barty, and Evan, but the school only allowed for same-sex rooming, so she always had to find other people to stay with. Not that it was hard for her, she could make friends at the drop of a hat.
“Lily!”
“Ugh, not Sirius’ friend, right?” Barty snarled
“Yes, Siri’s friend. She needed someone, I needed someone, it’s a win-win!”
“Is it though?”
“What happened to Dorcas?”
“She’s with Marlene.”
“Shes leaving you for another of Sirius’ friends?”
“Barty.” Regulus stopped him from continuing his interrogation, “Let’s unpack. Panda, do you want to join us?”
“I would love to, but I’ve gotta go chat with Lily. Just logistical things, don’t worry, Reg.”
“Ok, have fun. Text me?”
“Always. Bye!” She shouted as she began to walk away towards Siri’s group. Siri looked up, shocked to see Pandora approach his group. He looked around and finally– finally– noticed Regulus’s eyes on him. They stared at each other, both unsure what to do or say. Regulus finally raised his hand in greeting, a sort of half-wave. Siri scoffed and turned away. Regulus stared.
“Shall we?” Evan got Reg’s attention as he held his arm out dramatically, like a character in an old Jane Austin book.
“Sure.” Regulus tore his eyes from Pandora’s retreating figure and Siri’s smiling face, and grabbed Evan and Barty’s arms, “Let’s go.”
Regulus laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the life choices that lead up to this moment.
The day he first arrived at Exeter Academy. The classes he took. The extra-credit he did. His brother ignoring him. His brother leavi– no. That was in the past. And besides, there wasn’t anything he could do now. He was gone, and didn't want anything to do with Reg, anyways.
And now he was in his junior year of highschool. His third year at Philips Exeter Academy.
Now fully unpacked, Regulus, Evan, and Barty had nothing to do until dinner. They laid on their respective beds, Regulus and Barty on a bunk bed and Evan on a loft above the shared desk that was the root of most of their arguments. Evan and Barty both knew that Reg didn’t want to talk about his summer, but hated that kind of still silence of when something is coming, but nobody knows quite what it is. So, Barty talked. He talked and talked about his summer and friends and family. There was something oddly comforting about the unimportance of the words leaving Barty’s brain, whatever was entering and exiting his mind at any given moment.
But Regulus knew this calm was too good to be true.
“So… Reg… anything happen during your summer?” Evan asked hesitantly once Barty had run out of things to talk about.
“No.” He turned to face the wall, curling into a ball, trying to hide from the outside world. And his friends.
Barty leaned down over the railing stopping him from falling off his bunk, in an attempt to see his face, “Oh, Reg. I’m sorry.” He climbed down the ladder and slid down next to Regulus on his bed.
Regulus didn’t say anything, scared that his voice would come out all choked up and weak, so he leaned closer into his friends’ sides and ignored his life's problems, if only for a minute.
“You don’t have to tell us. It’s ok, I get it.” Evan laid down on the other side of Regulus.
“I will.” Regulus whispered after a long pause, trying not to fracture the quiet, “I promise. Just not right now, please.” Regulus didn’t take promises lightly.
When Siri left, it hurt more than anything Regulus had ever experienced, that feeling of betrayal when Siri broke the only promise that had ever mattered. And it was an important one that had kept Regulus grounded all year when Siri was at school, or when they weren’t talking. Because Reg knew that he would always come back. He had promised. We’ll always be together, Reg. I promise. What a load of bs. The second that he had the opportunity to escape, he did. Without even looking back to see if maybe- maybe- his little brother might want to come with him.
Regulus shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head. That’s not important right now.
“Whatever you want, Reg.”
Regulus checked the time on his phone, “...How about dinner?”