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Remus Lupin hated being stared at. He supposed it stemmed from his parents' consistant gaze at the floor or the ceiling whenever they were around him. He wasn't used to being looked at: not by his parents and certainly not Y/N Evans. The other magical triplet that made up the trip of Petunia, Lily and Y/N. Ironic, it seemed, that Y/N was the one whose name didn't match and yet she seemed to fit in everywhere. She could've been friends with anyone she wanted, yet she chose him, Remus Lupin - the weird kid who was constantly ill.
He felt ill right now, with those wild green eyes studying him. Scrutinising him.
"What are you doing?" He asked eventually, mentally thanking gods he didn't believe in that his voice didn't crack.
"Nothing. I just think you're pretty."
He fell silent at that. He'd expected a lot of things: Y/N figuring out his 'wolfy secret', as James and Sirius called it; her realising that he was bisexual; of even that she'd discover his blazing crush on her. But he hadn't expected that. Remus Lupin, boy of scars, was pretty.
He felt his cheeks flushing red and willed them to stop. One look at the adoring smile on Y/N's face did the opposite. He couldn't stop himself from grinning madly at that. Y/N Evans, the girl carved from gold, thought he was pretty.
Remus brought a shaky hand to his hair in a poor attempt to hide his blush. That only made Y/N smile even harder.
"Well, um, thanks?" For someone who spent all of his time around the two most frequently-complimented boys of their year, Remus was shit at accepting them himself.
"You don't get this often, do you?" Y/N teased.
No. Not since Sirius.
Remus felt his heart pang at that. He'd tried things with Sirius, they'd both tried so hard to make things work, but something had been missing. In another universe..
Y/N frowned, noticing his drop in expression and sudden silence. "Remus?"
"Right. Sorry. Got lost in thought." Remus recovered quickly, finding himself sitting up straighter.
"It's okay, you don't have to apologise." Y/N nodded, voice smooth like honey and soothing like a lullaby.
Remus smiled weakly, the only sign that he'd understood a word she'd said. His insides felt like jelly sinking to his feet and leaving him struggling to balance.
"I'm going to the dorms now. Come with?" Y/N asked, grabbing her books and placing them meticulously in her 'The Beatles' totebag.
"Sure." Remus felt like he was floating on a cloud of cotton as he followed her through the corridors and up the twisting staircase to the girls' dormitory.
It was completely different to the boys', which was consistently littered with his own books, Peter's snacks and Sirius's shirts. The girls were messy, but only in their own spaces. Lily and Y/N's areas seemed more tidy, whereas Mary and Marlene's areas looked like a bomb had exploded there.
Y/N was a few paces ahead, clearing some of her sketchbooks and her muggle novels off of her bed before resting against the headboard. "Sorry it's messy." She forced out a laugh that sounded more nervous than anything.
"It's fine- oh my god is that 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray'?" Remus cut himself off before he fanboyed over a book.
"Yeah." Y/N grinned, "Nobody else knows it."
"How? It's a classic!"
"I know! It's so good."
"It really is." Remus took a seat beside Y/N. He had to stifle a cry when she rested her head on his shoulder. He wasn't overly used to being touched, especially when it came to Y/N Evans. Still, it didn't stop him from smiling widely.
"I meant what I said earlier." Y/N said, nestling into his side. Remus's heart skipped fifteen beats as he rested his head on top of hers. "About you being pretty."
"Y/N/N.." Remus had no idea what to say. All he knew was that he never wanted to move from where they were right now. "I think you're pretty too." He felt Y/N smile and rest her hand on his arm. With a thundering heart, he pressed a kiss into her hair.
"Coward." Y/N shifted so she sat in his lap, pressing a finger under his chin and lifting his lips to hers.