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“What are you doing?”
The long-haired bloke raised the question as he waited inside his car. A few minutes ago, he just parked it in front of the Pettigrew family’s home, somewhere in a quiet residential area in London. From what we can see from the opened window, he seemed to be wearing this well-worn (but expensive) leather jacket.
Peter, who was scrubbing his bicycle off this disgusting brown stain (thank you, irresponsible dog owner), straightened himself up. The seventeen-year-old lifted up his chin, feigning self-confidence while hiding his shaking hands in the pockets.
He could not let the driver know that he had made him nervous.
“Nothing. Just … some chores,” he answered with a shrug because that is how the cool kids do it.
The bloke scoffed. “On a Saturday night?”
Peter was just going to open his mouth again when he heard the sound of a gate being opened. Turning his head, he caught a bespectacled teenager with messy, jet black hair walking out of the house next door.
He only realised Peter's presence when he was about to enter the car.
“Oi, Peter," the neighbour acknowledged him.
“Hello, James," Peter nodded.
Despite living next to each other for most of their lives, Peter and the teenager barely ever talked. Sometimes Peter would see James walking back from school with his friends; sometimes he could even see the boy in his bedroom, doing his homework while pretending to play the drums. Or having tea on the terrace with his elderly parents. But that was pretty much all.
On the rare occasions when they bumped into each other, James was always being nice to him. But something about his pleasantries always made Peter feel nervous.
Before he knew it, he was drying his hands on his jeans.
“Why don’t you join us?” The long-haired teen spoke again.
“S-Sorry?”
This time, Peter failed to mask the nervousness in his voice.
“Yeah. Come with us! We’re going out,” James added, rolling down the window.
“Oh …”
“Come on. That bike is not going to die if you leave it for one night.”
"Oh … Okay. Alright then."
Peter dashed off to turn off the faucet and close the gate behind him. Because when the coolest kids around asked you to join them, you did not say no.
--
Inside the car, the only other passenger was a boy with soft brown hair who was leaning on the window as he sat next to the driver. Compared to the other two, he came off as a more studious and well-behaved teenager, with his knitted jumper and all. But he was muttering profanities to himself when Peter first laid eyes on him.
Before he could say anything, the boy felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Can’t believe we’ve never done this before! Sheesh, such a shame, isn't it?"
James looked genuinely excited to have Peter on board. As a response, the latter could only grin nervously. "Yeah, haha."
"Anyway, I gotta introduce you to everybody. That’s Sirius …”
The long-haired bloke made a peace sign without taking his eyes off the road.
“And that’s Remus. He’s in a bad mood, but he’s actually quite nice,” James continued.
“Hey. Sorry,” Remus said, extending his hand to shake Peter’s. “Had a shit day, that’s all.”
“But we’re going to change that soon!” Sirius reached out to mess up the teen’s hair.
“Shut up.”
Ignoring his friend’s protests, Sirius tried to maintain eye contact with the newcomer through the rearview mirror. "So, tell us about yourself. What’s your vice?"
Peter was sure that, whatever his vice was, it could not possibly be as interesting as the three boys’.
He was not the captain of the football team who had graced the sports page with his achievements. Let alone the breathtakingly handsome teenage heartthrob whose parents were rich enough to give him a sports car to go to school with. Hell, he was not even the vice president of the student body who also happened to be the most brilliant student of his age.
He was just another face in the crowd. The student who sat at the middle row of the classroom, unnoticed by both teachers and fellow students. The one who did not get the best table in the canteen, whose haircut never changed with the trend --staying true to the style that his mother picked for him in primary school.
“Ah … Just the regular sort, I guess,” Peter gave his answer.
At this point, Sirius already had a cigarette on his lips. The teen struggled to light it up as he continued on driving; somehow this irritated Remus even more. He ended up snatching the lighter away from Sirius’s hand and helped him with it.
“Thank you, wifey,” Sirius muttered before getting back to Peter. “Regular? What are you, a pack of french fries? Come on, there’s gotta be something.”
Peter gave no immediate answer, but his eyes glinted instead. “Well … If you’d like something stronger, stronger than a fag …,” he approached carefully. “I can help you with that.”
James whistled in excitement while Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius only nodded silently, but Peter could tell that his eyes shone with approval.
He decided to push the envelope even further. “In fact, I think I got one with me. Not much, but … you can have it."
James just could not hide his excitement when Peter handed him a small, hand-rolled joint from his pocket. A moment later, he leaned back in his seat, stretching his legs as he blew smoke into the air, grinning in ecstasy. “Mate. Good stuff!”
“Thanks.”
He took another long drag before perching himself between the two front seats, waving the joint in front of Sirius.
"Look, I'm driving. Give that to Remus. He needs it more."
" Sirius ."
"Hey. It's not polite to reject a gift, you know. Our new friend had been so kind."
" James ."
"Come on, mate. Try everything once?"
Sighing, Remus picked up the joint from James's hand and took a long drag with the movement of someone who was used to smoking --to Peter's surprise.
When the joint returned to James's hand, Peter noticed that Remus's shoulders became more relaxed, and he no longer leaned onto the car’s window.
The newcomer smiled. Seemed like he had found an entryway into the circle.
--
“So … where are we going tonight?” Peter asked.
To be brutally honest --and this is rather embarrassing-- he had no idea where the cool kids hang out on a Saturday night. He imagined a party or something; if that was the case, he wondered if he should have taken time to change into something nicer than T-shirts.
But before anyone can give him an answer, the car stopped.
Peter stared out of the window, trying to understand why. He noticed that Sirius had randomly stopped near the pavement, but the problem was that he failed to see anything worth visiting in that corner of the street. The stores are mostly closed and the only thing open was this dingy, suspicious old bar with a flickering neon sign.
Until he noticed a woman with an extremely short skirt and sky-high heels walking towards them.
Before he realised it, the window on his side of the car rolled down.
“Eh?”
“Alright, Peter. Your prey is coming,” Sirius announced before taking a long drag of his cigarette.
“What!?”
"Oh, this is ridiculous," Remus protested.
Once again, Sirius chose to ignore him. "Say something sweet to the lady.”
“But …”
“Come on, should be easy for a stud like you.”
Peter turned his head around, frantically searching for help or at least a confirmation that this was all a joke. But Sirius did not look like he was playing around. Watching from the rearview mirror, he waited for Peter to make a move as the woman got closer to their car.
“We’re behind you, Peter!” James added, his hands balled into encouraging fists.
Remus turned to face Peter. "You don't have to do this. It’s stupid."
"Ah … uh … "
Peter's gaze went from James to Remus and back, unsure which opinion to follow. As he was drowned in confusion, Remus shook his head, silently mouthing "No" to him.
But on the other hand, James just would not stop arching his eyebrows, eyes twinkling while waiting for Peter to make a move. Then there was still Sirius with his calm yet imposing demeanour.
So Peter took a deep breath and hung his elbow out of the window. "Uh … Hello. You're very tall."
Laughter roared from inside the car.
Peter felt something sharp stabbing his chest.
The woman stopped short in her tracks. She cocked her head to get a better look at the inside of the car; her thick, long dark hair hung beautifully over her shoulder. When she was done, her smile faded. "Scratch that. You're all kids. You have no money."
Peter heard a loud "The fuck!?" coming from behind him, but he was not going to give up. "No, no … Wait! We're not kids! Look at him! He's got a driver's license!"
More laughter came as the woman turned, walking away from the group without even a second look. There was absolutely no need to tell Peter what this meant.
"Well. That's helpful." Sirius scratched his own eyes exhaustedly.
"But … but ..."
"You tried."
With that, the car moved again, forcing Peter to bow his head and go quiet. Whatever thing that was stabbing his heart earlier had dug its claws deeper into his heart, leaving a trace of poison infiltrating his system.
Meanwhile, it did not take a while for Remus to start lecturing his friends. "That's absolutely not funny."
"When talking to a whore, funny isn't exactly the quality that we're after," Sirius replied.
"Look, for you, she might be nothing more than just a prostitute. But still, it's a job. Just like working in the office is a job," Remus blasted. "We shouldn't waste her time like that. Let alone make fun of her."
"Woohoo. Remus John Lupin, champion of the underdogs. Protector of the whores." James sandwiched himself between the two front seats again.
"James, I'm serious."
"No, he's Sirius," James replied.
Sirius burst out laughing for the first time that night. "That's a great one!"
The two teenagers bumped their fists while Remus looked like he wanted to bump their heads into a wall. "You two are hopeless."
"Hey, just because you're not into women …" James began again.
"I'm not not into women!"
"Hm! So, what is this thing that I heard happened between you and Sirius over the summer …"
"I have no comment," Sirius jumped in.
Peter leaned himself forward, making an effort to get involved in the conversation. "Oh, are you two together?"
"No comment."
"It was one time!"
Silence gripped the inside of the car.
Sirius turned his head towards Remus. "Honey, I thought you're not the type to kiss and tell."
"Oh, that's really nice. Congratulations." Peter's eyes shone with genuine admiration; it was the first time he actually met a gay couple. But then again, his social circle was about as big as a tablespoon.
"No, we're not dating. It's … one time."
"And don't you think Sirius deserves a second? A fine young man of his quality?" James moved his hands as if he was presenting Sirius to an audience.
"He's not into men."
Peter noticed that Remus's face turned red --and that there was a pang of sadness in his voice. But nothing could have prepared him for what was coming.
"True, but I won't mind having a second with you."
James was shouting and clapping so loudly that Peter almost got a heart attack.
Remus himself was blushing even deeper than before, looking as if he would like to jump out of the car. "What …"
Sirius smirked, pointing at James with his thumb. "Besides, this idiot behind you had never seen two lads kissing. Let's educate him."
Peter was just about to open his mouth when he saw Remus's smile grew. The next thing he saw was the boy leaning towards Sirius --who was juggling between his driving and what they were about to do.
Beside him James just could not stop shouting, struggling to believe what he was about to see. But Remus completely ignored him as he and Sirius were locked in a simple, sweet kiss.
Peter had funny sensation bubbling in his chest and stomach --it felt like the first time he opened an adult magazine, but more confusing.
"You actually did it! Stop it! My eyes!"
James continued on rambling, but his two friends remained nonchalant. Once they were done, they returned to their original position.
The redness on Remus's face seemed to have decided to stay as he muttered his thanks to Sirius.
“No prob …”
Crash.
Peter felt himself being propelled forward as the car bumped into an object. The boy’s eyes were half-closed but he got to see James being in a similar condition --but he was quick to get a hold for himself.
The car stopped moving with a deafening sound. When Peter lifted up his head, he could see Sirius gripping the steering wheel tightly while the colour had completely left Remus’s face.
“You alright?”
Peter noted that Sirius addressed the question to Remus first.
“Yeah … What's …”
“Everybody okay!?”
All the boys in the car were soon busy yelling at each other, trying to make sure that they were all fine. That was the first time Sirius showed any signs of emotions other than boredom on his face, and Peter was interested to see how panicky he had become.
The next question that came into their midst was what had happened.
“But what's that? Sirius, I think you hit someone …”
“But I didn’t see anything!”
“I think I heard something moving …”
Meanwhile, back in his seat, James dropped the bomb that would soon keep them all quiet. “Mate. What if we killed someone?”
Sirius slammed the steering wheel. “Stop talking nonsense! I didn’t see anyone!”
“That’s the point! W-What if because you didn’t see …” James let his words hang.
Sirius closed his eyes. “There’s no one …”
“I think the only way to be sure is by checking?” Peter finally chipped in.
“Well, he’s right,” James muttered.
“Let me check,” Remus affirmed. The boy immediately unfastened his seat belt, getting ready to get off the car.
“Moony, no …”
“Someone has to, no?”
Sirius sighed angrily, but he also unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car.
Peter felt a cold growing inside his stomach as he witnessed the two making their moves. Oh God, why did it have to happen? Things had been going on really smoothly that night. Just as he managed to make friends, and a rather cool group of friends as well …
What if they actually killed someone? Would the police take into account that it was an accident? Certainly, they never meant to murder anyone …
Also, what would the adults say if they found out what Remus and Sirius were doing when it happened? And the joint! Shit! Where did James drop it?
Peter was just going to imagine what would happen if he had to spend the next twelve years in jail when he saw Remus kicking the car angrily.
“Wait …”
“What are they doing?”
Both James and Peter leaned themselves forward, and Peter gasped as he saw Sirius scratching his own face angrily.
Oh no. He went mad. The dead body must be in terrible condition …
“W-What should we …”
As if things could not get any worse, Peter felt like fainting when James opened the door of the car --instead of answering his question or staying inside with him.
Sweet baby Jesus. That’s it. That’s the end of his youth. They were all going to jail now …
But why was James laughing?
Unable to hold himself anymore, Peter decided to follow his new friends. Getting off the car, he could feel his feet shaking as he walked towards the front side of the car, where they were laughing madly at something on the ground.
Peter felt like kicking himself when he noticed a massive dustbin lying on the ground, dirtying up the pavement with banana peel, leftover food, and more disgusting things that were better left unsaid.
"That's … that's it. That's the dead body."
James was running out of breath when he made that point.
--
Once the dustbin issue was sorted, the boys continued their journey to a 24-hour supermarket, where they filled the trolley with all the sandwiches, crisps, and chocolate bars they could buy. Or more accurately, Peter and Remus did most of the shopping while James and Sirius used a trolley as a race car.
Apparently, the incident (and the joint) had made them so hungry that even James was able to finish four sandwiches and family-sized crisps by himself. But generally, now that the worst part of the night had passed, the boys found themselves in a more joyful mood.
Peter was able to make them listen to his jokes and that one prank he once did to the science teacher in school. This time, the other teenagers were laughing with him --instead of at him.
Sirius was no longer looking like he was too cool to be impressed by anything. Being more engaged with his surroundings, he chose the music that they listened to throughout the night.
This was the topic that got Remus to talk nonstop. With a chocolate bar in hand and eyes that would not stop shining, he talked of this new album that his favourite band just released and debated with James about the best tracks in it.
During this moment, Peter finally got to ask that one question that had been buzzing in his mind.
“Are you all in a band together?”
The three boys became so excited that they looked like they could explode together.
“I mean, I always hear music from the house. That's not the radio, is it,” Peter added.
He intentionally hid the part about him climbing the wall to peek into the Potters’ backyard.
Because the truth was that Peter knew that James’s father had turned gardening shed into a mini studio, and that was where the boys always hung out. He also knew that those sounds were not the radio; he had seen Sirius walking into that shed with an electric guitar in hand. But he could not afford to sound creepy, of course. Not when they had just shown signs of liking his presence.
Meanwhile, James just could not stop rambling about the roles that each of them plays in the band --him at the drumset, Remus at the bass, and Sirius at the guitar. About how Sirius did most of the vocal works, and how they have been trying to persuade Remus to try singing lead for once.
Peter was absolutely clueless about how things were being run in the band world, so he just threw around random questions. "So … Uh, where do you usually play?”
"Anywhere, really! School events, house parties … Last time they threw spaghetti at him after the second song, though." James nodded towards Sirius.
"Well, in our defence, they let us finished two songs. Keep that in mind." Sirius lifted a finger.
"Anyway. I'd like to ask your opinion, Peter." Remus dug into his rucksack. "So, we made these stickers …"
Remus handed a small pile of stickers to Peter; the sleeve of his jumper was accidentally pulled back to reveal elongated, slanted scars on his wrist.
The stickers themselves were of a large M letter with footsteps going around them.
"Nice! Where do you plan to sell it?"
"Sell? Haha. No. There's this band competition in two weeks. We want to hand them out during the show," Remus answered.
"Maybe it'll fiddle the votes a bit," he added with a shrug.
Peter had never heard of a more infuriating idea. "What? No! You took the time and energy to make them! You shouldn't give it away for free!"
"Besides, you can use the proceeds to … I don't know, petrol? Equipment? You will need them, right?" He continued, shuffling the stickers like a card deck.
"You know. He's right," Sirius muttered.
"But will people buy from an unknown band like us?" Remus looked kind of scared.
"Hey! Don't say that!" Peter leaned forward. "Today, you might be an unknown band. But think about it … What if you win the competition? They will rush to have these things on their cars!"
"Y-You think so?"
"Absolutely! People like being the first to get something." Peter nodded, but soon his eyes lit up with excitement. "Tell you what … just tell me where it is. I'll be there. I'll cheer you on. I'll bring friends!"
He was not sure about the last bit, but Peter was determined to keep this momentum going.
"Seriously?"
"Yes! And if there are people who wouldn't clap for you, I'll make sure they do!"
The boy was just about to say another encouraging thing about the band, but he felt a pressure on the left side of his chest. When he looked down, James had peeled off one sticker and was putting it on Peter's chest.
"Oh?"
"Peter Pettigrew. Friendly neighbour. Purveyor of magic grass. We hereby declare you … the number one fan of The Marauders."
"Huh?"
With that, the boys in the car clapped their hands. Touching the sticker, Peter moved his gaze around, trying to understand what was going on. They all seemed happy, so he would just assume it was a good thing.
He was just not clear about one thing.
"What's The Marauders?"
--
“T-Thanks for this. I had a great time.”
Within the next hour, the boys were already back in front of the Pettigrews’ home. Both James and Peter had already gotten off the car; the latter just could not stop muttering his thanks while the other was patting his back.
“Nice to hang out with you, Peter!” Remus waved at the boy from his seat, looking bright as morning.
“See? Good thing you decided to join us,” Sirius muttered. “Anyway, we gotta go. Remus and I … got some business to attend.”
“ Sirius .”
“What? I’m driving you home. Oh my God, such a dirty mind, Remus.” Sirius changed the gear. “Alright. See ya.”
“Bye!”
With that, the car drove away into the night, leaving James and Peter behind.
Once it has gone out of sight, the two boys turned around, getting ready to enter their respective homes. That was the moment they both noticed Mrs Pettigrew standing in front of the door; with a violet bathrobe and a head full of hair rollers, she looked like she was ready to take on even a raging bull.
Peter sighed. This is bound to happen. He totally forgot to inform his mother about going out.
“Did we get you in trouble?”
He was supposed to be worried, but from his look, Peter got the impression that James had gone through similar situations many times before.
“It’s okay. I’ll deal with this.”
“Alright. Let me know if I have to explain to her.” James patted his back for the last time. “Bye!”
With a final wave, Peter opened the gate of his home to welcome whatever fate awaits him there.
Mrs Pettigrew did not wait until the boy arrived at the front door to yell at him. But Peter did not mind. In fact, he barely listened to anything that his mother had just said.
Because that night, he had been one of the boys in the car. He was more than alright.
END