Unknown Beaches [Lena!]

[Remus John Lupin]

I'm a pale intruder on an unknown beach,
my back to the water, my feet in the sand.


Remus in a bookshop? Stereotypical, yes, but at least he wasn't in the library! He did go places - and today, he was on Hogsmeade weekend. After leaving his friends at Zonko's, he had gone to Scrivenshaft's for some much needed supplies (he was almost out of ink and Sirius' 'brilliant' idea to ask the Giant Squid for some didn't really appeal to him) and just because he liked browsing. He wasn't searching for any book in particular, but if he was in the right mood, just going through the shelves and thinking about 'what ifs' was good enough.
Today, however, he wasn't particularly focused. Sirius had, during a late-night particularly violent game of exploding snap, managed to say something that had shocked Remus Lupin into silence. The stupid thing was, he couldn't for the life of his remember how the subject had arisen in their fairly brainless conversation (maybe they had been ranting and complaining about Sirius' family and that had embarked them on the subject of family in general?), until Sirius, at some point, had let it slip that, apparently, Lena had no parents. Aparently Remus had looked surprised, prompting Sirius to ask a 'but you knew that, right?' and Remus had unsteadily lied 'of course', but his heart had sunk.

He hadn't been able to shake the thought, since. At first, there had been a slight feeling of hurt - that she had not trusted him enough to tell, but yet had confided in Sirius. (And look where that had gotten her..) But soon after came the guilt. Lena had spent a week at his place last summer and he wondered if that hadn't bugged her, as the Lupins were a rather close family unit - had he known she was an orphan-
Then again, she probably didn't want him to worry, maybe that was the reason. (And I suppose here we should be grateful that Remus doesn't know how Lena's parents had died!) Well, Sirius obviously shouldn't have told him, even if he suspected Remus knew, and he didn't want to get his friend in trouble, and he wasn't going to confront Lena about it - he was just going to have to continue as normal. That couldn't be difficult, right?
Pursing his lips at the book he'd opened ('Magical Irish Literature in Context'), he frowned at himself. Lena had always had a knack for noticing when he lied. In fact, he was pretty surprised she hadn't completely figured him out yet! So maybe it was better to just tell. Just to say he'd heard and that she could always bother him if she needed someone. That should get the awkwardness out of the way, that was better. Problem remained that she'd probably want to know who told him (or she'd guess it herself, as he didn't expect Lena to just go tell a lot of people), plus.. how did you start a conversation like that? 'Oh, hey, Lena, guess what I heard..?' Remus rolled his eyes at himself, shook his head, and put the book back on the shelf, moving onto the next one ('Freemason Theories Disproved').
He'd deal with it when the time came. Hopefully not too soon.

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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L

ENA walked into Hogsmeade’s bookstore and started looking around for Remus. He’d been acting a little weird around her for a few days now and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. He used to be awkward when they first met but they’d long since gotten past that point so she had no idea why he was falling back into the awkward stage. Nothing had happened between the two of them as far as she knew and nothing bad had happened to him lately either so it wasn’t because of that. There was only so much of the weird attitude of her best friend that she could take and when she saw him walking into the bookstore alone, she decided that she should go ahead and talk to him and find out what was going on.

The Honeydukes bag full of sugar quills and other treats swung from her hand as she walked in and headed through the shelves, looking back and forth for Remus. Finally she found him, somewhere near the middle, and headed his way, noticing in time for him to roll his eyes at whatever he was reading. She couldn’t help but smile and say, “Did the book say something you didn’t particularly like then?” When standing directly beside him she leaned against the shelves there, making sure not to knock any books off, and continued to smile at him. “How was Zonko’s? Anything new?” She nodded to the bag at his feet, wondering what the infamous Marauders were up to now. Small talk would be best for the moment because just suddenly asking him what was going on with him was both rude and something that shouldn’t be discussed in the middle of a store in the first place. They would go and get some Butterbeers or something and then talk about it. But right now was just for enjoying each other’s company.

[/blockquote]

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WORDS && 319
TAGS && Remus
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && nothing yet

[/font][/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

'..but when we look at the far more likely theory by Porley, it is obvious that this idea goes against almost every basic law of alchemy..' Remus hadn't heard Lena coming, to be very honest, and with his thought still half focused on the dilemma of telling or not telling she half startled him into a heart attack.
“Did the book say something you didn’t particularly like then?” He almost dropped his book and laughed nervously when Remus noticed who'd managed to sneak up on him. Just another bit of evidence that he was not paying attention - no one snuck up on Remus Lupin (hence that bet with Frank Longbottom that had been going on for years!). "Circe, Lena!" Remus laughs again, it was a little too high pitched. "You'll be the death of me, sneaking like that!" The colour had not returned to his cheeks yet, though, and he felt so incredibly stupid for mentioning death, even if Lena didn't know why it would bother him, really.

Remus put the book back on the shelf. It was badly written, too specific, and - mostly - too expensive, anyway. "Oh, it's just a silly book," he muttered in response to her question. "I don't know." And as he looked at her he couldn't help but wonder. How long had they been dead? Who'd been looking after her during that time? Was she always alone all summer? How had they died? Was it an accident? Did she think of them often? He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to miss his parents, that would be as bad as losing his friends-!
“-ko’s? Anything new?” Blinking stupidly, he followed her gaze to the bag on the floor. "Eh-" Oh, Zonko's. "Nothing much, really. Nothing I needed, anyway." Well, nothing he could afford, technically, especially as he'd also needed new ink and quills. "I left the rest there, I bet they'll cook something up. There've been a few new products we're planning to improve," he said with a bit of a smile that would've been perfectly gentle if not for the misschief glinting in his eyes. This was a good conversation, nothing too deep, and although Remus had to try his best to keep his mind from getting side tracked, at least he was more relaxed now.
"And you? Robbed Honeydukes yet?" he teased half-heartedly, knowing full well that Lena had a sweettooth.

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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S

CARING Remus definitely had not been part of the plan and she blinked in surprise as he jumped and actually dropped his book. When Remus is unable to tell someone is walking over to him then something is incredibly wrong. No one snuck up on the man in front of her. Least, she had never seen anyone able to do it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t hear me walking over here.” She tried to smile, still feeling terrible now for scaring him so bad and also worried about what could be so wrong that she actually had been able to scare him. Was this another symptom of him avoiding her and acting all weird lately? Well, time for that later. Her lips tilted up in a slight smile, trying to tease him a little bit because that was what friends do and Lena wanted them both smiling. “Considering all that you and the boys get caught up in, I’d be one of the last things that would kill you.”

His attention also seemed a bit off. That glazed look in his eyes was something she knew well from when they would be studying quietly and she suddenly asked him something. He would look up and have that same look. One of concentration in deep thought. Well whatever thoughts he had been locked in broke as he finally focused on her again to answer her question, making her smile. “I thought Zonkos was more about fun than for needing those things? And improve, huh? Which ones? And make sure you warn me before I end up taking them or landing in one of them. I hope they don’t try to buy out the store.”

She grinned, not repentant at all about the fact that she loved sweets and always had to stock up on them whenever a Hogsmeade weekend came up. She raised the slightly bulging bag up so he could see it. “Just about. There’s still a few things left. Wouldn’t want too many other people to go without. They do love me so much in that store.”

[/blockquote]

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WORDS && 350
TAGS && Remus
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && nothing yet

[/font][/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Bending over to pick up the book (glancing at the shop owner with shifty eyes for a moment, as the fall had creased one of the pages), Remus managed to smile a little. "No, no, it's fine. Just a silly book." Yeah, Remus, blame it on the book. "Ranting about alchemy in contrast to freemasonry - and badly written at that, hardly any back up material for references, I suppose half of it is pretty much plagiarism-" He was ranting, his tongue and lips moving before he could stop himself, afraid that there would be an uncomfortable silence - as if avoiding it by rambling on would be better. "-really can't believe anyone would be interested unless they had a library at their disposal to clean away all the loose ends."
Lena's smile faltered around the edges and Remus took a deep breath to calm himself. His friend also seemed to relax. Good, that was good. “Considering all that you and the boys get caught up in, I’d be one of the last things that would kill you.” That made him chuckle and folding a crease out of the damaged page in the book, he smiled down at the text before closing the book and putting it back on the shelf. "Oh, very likely. Good point." Hm, maybe this was worse. Whereas his mouth had been spilling words a moment ago, his mind was now blank. What to say, what to say? He couldn't think of anything mundane to comment on, no essay, homework, class, or anything - every time he thought he'd found a subject, he grasped into a void, and the only questions that arose were things like 'how did your parents die?' and 'why didn't you tell me you were an orphan?' - very wrong questions.

Thank Mordred for Lena coming up with questions herself. "I have no idea what they're up to, I have to admit. Last time I checked Sirius wanted to do something with zombies." He rolled his eyes a little, vaguely amused. Ever since they'd shown him Night of the Living Dead (a 1968 black and white film), Sirius had been obsessed with zombies, even though he liked to refer to it as 'pleasantly mingling muggle and wizard popular culture'. Remus, in all honesty, couldn't wait. It was a pity Halloween had already passed.
"But I'll keep an eye and ear out for you, make sure you know what they're up to. I need to find out anyway, make sure they don't make a mess of things.." Remus' voice trailed off, pensive. For a moment, he thought he sounded like a babysitter instead of a friend. Surely, he could trust his best friends to be responsible enough by now? They (or well, Sirius specifically) had made one major mistake about a year ago and since then they had been rather keen on looking for risk factor in planned pranks.

Remus smiled as Lena grinned when he mentioned her sweet tooth. He knew what it was like, he used to have one, even if his diet preferred protein. Growing up, though, had lessened his craving for sweets drastically - he had loved chocolate in the past, but by now, it was starting to turn into a stickily sweet reminder of bad moments when he'd needed it. Still, that wasn't to say that Remus didn't like sweets now and then and he could still relate!
“Just about. There’s still a few things left. Wouldn’t want too many other people to go without. They do love me so much in that store.” Chuckling, Remus picked up the ink and quills he was actually planning to buy and walked over to the cash register. "Yes, they ought to be happy with you, you're responsible for half their earnings," he gently teased, searching his wallet for the right amount of money to pay for the writing utensils, the woman behind the register waiting a little impatiently, drumming her fingers.

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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L

ENA Lena listened to him going off on the book and ranting about it and couldn’t help but just smile at him and listen. He really was adorable when he was ranting about something which, while not common, she had seen him do a few times before. It happened when he was nervous or so extremely passionate about something that he just kept going on and on about it. Staying at his house for part of the summer had taught her that. The book really must be horribly wrong if he was rambling. She wouldn’t know as she couldn’t really understand anything he was saying. Finally, when he stopped, she let out a laugh and said softly, “Breathe, Remus. You really need to learn to breathe in the middle of your rants. Otherwise you’ll pass out one of these days.”

It was definitely better when he finally seemed to calm down and even smiled at her little joke. “Of course it’s a good point. I made it after all.” She gave him a cheeky little smile and wink, trying to get him to laugh. The boy might be a wee bit insane at times but she still loved him and worried about him. When he said Sirius wants to do something with zombies Lena immediately made a horrified face and her eyebrows rose. “Ok, that so does not need to happen. Nu uh. No zombies. Nada. I’ll have to talk to him about it and make sure he does not do it. Does he want us to all have heart attacks?” Her mind was already jumping to plans on how to talk Sirius out of any potential zombie prank ideas. Bribery would probably work….lots of bribery and charm…

Her mind was still deep in thought when he said he’d keep an ear out for her and she nodded with an absent minded, “Thank you,” not noticing he was fading out of attention as well. Finally she snapped out of it and turned back to him in time to follow him toward the counter so he could pay for his items. She gave him a bright smile. “Why you flatterer. Though you are probably true. I just wish they delivered. Then I wouldn’t have to buy in such large bulks.” The huge bulging candy bag was lifted for demonstration again. And now that they were done in the book store she looped her arm around his and gave him a big grin and an innocent look. “How about we go get some butterbeers? Hang out for a while.” So she could talk to him and get it out of him why he’d been so weird lately.

[/blockquote]

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WORDS && 444
TAGS && Remus
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && nothing yet

[/font][/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

When Remus finally managed to shut himself up, he had to admit he had no idea what he'd just been saying. He'd been talking on auto pilot and he was glad Lena shut him up and told him to breathe - which he did, laughing under his breath, a little embarrassed. Breathing during rants was all well and good, but he felt it was probably best to avoid ranting altogether!
“Of course it’s a good point. I made it after all.” Remus chuckled and poked Lena's shoulder teasingly. "Don't get cocky now," he teased, grinning slightly. "Wouldn't want your ego to inflate so much that you couldn't fit through doors." Terrible metaphor - but hey, at least he was joking around.

To be honest, he was a little surprised by Lena's face when he mentioned zombies. "I didn't know you hated zombies?" he asked. "I think the original idea was something like making zombies out of candy, which means we could eat the zombies instead of them eating us - nice topsy turvy." He smiled a little - it was a harmless little idea. And hey - who didn't like the idea of walking candy?
He laughed a little at Lena's reaction. “Why you flatterer. Though you are probably true. I just wish they delivered. Then I wouldn’t have to buy in such large bulks.” Glancing at her bag as he handed the woman behind the register the required amount of money. "I'm glad you consider it a compliment - some girls would've slapped me in the face because they'd have thought I called them fat." Putting his things in his shoulder bag with care, he followed Lena out the shop. As she asked him if he'd like to go and drink something with her, he thought for a moment. Not that he had to consider whether he wanted or not - of course he wanted to go and have a butterbeer with her. He was just doing some quick calculating to see if his monthly allowance would be enough to have a butterbeer or two - and it was. He smiled. "Do you even have to ask?" he said with a grin, walking along with her to the Three Broomsticks. "First round's on me."

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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A

T his joke on her ego being too big she laughed and shook her head. “Nah, I think Sirius still has a bigger head than me so it should be ok.” It spoke volumes about how she’d finally relaxed about the charming marauder when she could talk and joke about him like this without feeling, much, of a twinge at his name. They were just friends now and that’s probably just how things would have to be.

She knew it was weird to be this opposed to zombies but she honestly just didn’t like the walking, creeping things. Her breath was puffed out as she tried to explain. “I saw a really scary zombie movie when I was a little kid. They scared me horribly. I’ve been afraid of them ever since.” So while the idea of candy zombies that you ate instead of them eating you was cute, Lena would definitely not be anywhere near those things if they got loose in the castle. “Well if that happens, I hope you guys have fun.” She didn’t want to ruin their fun and pranks just because she was afraid of something.

When he said that most girls would have hit him, she rolled her eyes and grinned. “Remus, Remus. I’m not like other girls, you know that. I’m proud of my sweet tooth and I keep in shape enough so I can keep it. So I’d never think you were calling me fat or anything. Besides, you wouldn’t ever really be mean to me.” She shrugged slightly, perfectly content with knowing that things were going good so far. They were talking like normal and were off to go get a drink. It was almost as if he had gotten over whatever it was but, considering he had been all weird just a few minutes ago, she didn’t count on it disappearing just like that. She leaned into his side, not caring if people were giving them looks of interest. The rumor mill was always saying something about them being together but she didn’t care of listen to them. Remus was happily together with Annelise and that was just how things were. If people wanted to spread rumors that was their business. “You sure? Well then I’ll buy the second round.” And she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She knew that his family wasn’t well off and she sort of wanted to help him out, just because she thought he deserved the help not because he needed it. “So how’s Annelise? I haven’t seen her for a few days now.”

[/blockquote]

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WORDS && 430
TAGS && Remus
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && nothing yet

[/font][/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

It wasn't that weird to be freaked out by zombies. After all - they were living dead out to eat your brainzz! Also, maybe it was easier for muggles to be unbothered by the idea of zombies; they clearly believed them to be part of fiction, only 'real' in films and (in about twenty-five years..) console games and board games, omg we've got the coolest zombie board game at home!. Wizards and witches, however, knew that a variety of creatures that muggles believed to be fantasy were very real and although Remus couldn't think of an example right now, he wouldn't be surprised if there was a magical equivalent of zombies out there somewhere.
That and the fact that she'd apparently seen a film that was too scary for her young age some years back, Remus could understand Lena's adversity to zombies. "I'll make sure to keep you updated," he assured her as they exited the shop.

"Remus, Remus." He laughed softly. He couldn't help it, it just sounded hylarious when Lena chided him like that. "I know you're not like other girls - consider that a compliment of its own." He couldn't imagine himself being mean to Lena in any way, either. She'd have to do something really, really terrible for Remus to fly off the handle! Especially now that he'd heard that, well, she had no one to go home to, no he couldn't imagine being mean to her.
It was true that since she'd snuck up on him (she had!), Remus had calmed down considerably. She hadn't confronted him with anything or had reminded him of the whole thing yet; it was so easy to just fall into their usual business of chatting and gentle teasing, so for the moment, he had forgotten.

Walking to the Three Broomsticks together, he didn't mind her leaning against him as they walked. Now I have to admit he wasn't quite aware of the jealousy Annelise occasionally felt for Lena - it had never arisen in his mind simply because he saw no reason for Annelise to be jealous of his house mate. He loved Annelise and, I have to be honest, found her more attractive than Lena was - Lena was 'one of the boys' in that aspect, one of his friends, and he had shared things with Annelise he would probably never be able to share with Lena, no matter how close they got.
He smiled as Lena offered to buy the second round and nodded. "Yeah, sure." They were both aware Remus' allowance didn't permit him to do this an awful lot, mainly because he insisted on buying his friends birthday presents (which meant saving up and buying wisely) no matter what. But it didn't matter that he was poor. He hated it when people didn't let him buy them things, that bothered him even more than the idiots that thought they could laugh at him for having cheap supplies and second-hand books - the way Lena and his friends were open about it was definitely best. He did usually think about things before he did them, so his friends could expect him to have done some quick math in his head before offering them a drink.

Unwillingly, he blushed a little when Lena mentioned Annelise. They had been going on and off for about a year now and he still felt exceptionally lucky to be with her - sometimes he still couldn't quite believe it. "Annelise is fine, yeah, we're fine," he said with a smile, stuffing his hands inside his pockets and then smiling a little wider. "I'm sometimes still half expecting for it all to be some sort of dream," he added with a laugh. "I can't imagine what I might've done to deserve her."
Remus wasn't someone who was falsely modest. He knew he wasn't worthless, of course, and he knew he was a nice guy who didn't look too terrible (even if he would've liked some more muscle on his bones) - but Annelise, well that was a different story! She was stunning and nice and helpful - she had been out of Sirius' league (even if Sirius had also confessed he hadn't really tried, because she was 'a nice girl').
He blushed a deeper shade and nudged Lena playfully. "And you? Why haven't you reeled in someone yet?" he asked, more playful than he felt. "I'd almost think you're not even trying."

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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T

HE zombie conversation was let go with a soft “Thank you” as they continued down the street together. At his compliment Lena snickered and paused long enough to bow at the waist, saying “why thank you. I do so pride myself on being one of a kind.” Standing back up she gave him a big grin, not paying a bit of attention to that people were looking at them again. Too bad. People were always looking at other people. It was nothing to get worked up over.

Once at a table she slid into her seat and leaned back to relax, waiting for Madame Rosemerta to come by and take their order. The huge bag of candy landed on the seat next to her as she looked at Remus across from her, waiting for him to tell her about Annelise. The two of them really were amazing together. It was amazing that they had been a couple for over a year but Lena wasn’t surprised. Remus was loyal and sweet and any girl would be lucky to have him, leaving Annelise as the lucky girl. And she wouldn’t ever break Rem’s heart if she knew what was good for her, she thought silently, being fiercely protective of her friends. “I’m glad you two are doing great. And it’s not a dream, I promise. And don’t put yourself down!” She threw a napkin at him, laughing. “You are amazing and she is lucky to have you. I mean it. Don’t argue with me.” She pointed her index finger at him while giving him a mock glare so he understood her point.

Finally the drinks arrived and she took a sip of her butterbeer but his next comment threw her off. It couldn’t be helped. When he teased her about not having anyone yet and it was like she wasn’t even trying, she blushed and turned away slightly. “Well…..I’m really not trying. I just don’t really feel like looking for a boyfriend. If one finds me, great. But, I’d rather just do my own thing for the moment.” She shrugged at him shyly. Lena really just didn’t know what to do. It would be nice to have a boyfriend, someone who cared about and loved her. But she was still wary with guys after the attack, plus she was just too shy to try for anything anymore. Sirius hadn’t worked out and that was her one time trying. She wasn’t willing to try and fail again just yet.

[/blockquote]

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WORDS && 351
TAGS && Remus
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && nothing yet

[/font][/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus liked the Three Broomsticks. It was never empty (well, it had to be, but he'd never seen it empty) and this typical 'ye olde English pub' feeling going on. He knew that latter thing was a constructed stereotype image, something that was hardly real, but Remus couldn't bring himself to care. Sitting comfortably, elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands, he smiled lazily - he did feel a little lazy, but it was the weekend, after all, and he was allowed to.
Smiling a little wider, he listened to Lena's words about him and Annelise. As much as Sirius had told him to go for it a year ago, he didn't seem as enthusiastic anymore. Remus wasn't sure why, but he doubted that Sirius Black was above jealousy and his pureblooded friend did like getting attention - his best guess was that Sirius simply didn't like that Remus didn't spend all his free time with the rest of the Marauders like he'd always done. He wasn't too bothered. Sirius was just going to have to learn how to share - and at least Lena was happy for him. Lena and Peter, that was (at least he thought so, as Peter had given him a 'thumbs up' on a few occasions when he'd invited Annelise over to their common room). James, he wasn't sure about - but then again he spent most of his time trying to win Lily's heart. Lost case if you asked Remus.

"I'm not putting myself down, I'll have you know," he said with a bit of a grin while signing over to the Rosmerta to bring them over the usual - leaving him unable to dodge the napkin. "I'm simply, well, making an observation. A very obvious observation." Folding the napkin into a triangle, he put it aside. "But if you say she's the lucky one, apparently, I'll believe you." He laughed softly. "I know better than to get into an argument with you."
As light as the conversation had been, Remus couldn't help but notice his own question seemed to have touched a nerve. Damn. He sipped his drink, but even the lightheaded feeling that butterbeer usually caused couldn't brighten up the pit that Lena's expression seemed to have smashed into their carefree mood. Rem frowned a little, listening. "Well, nothing wrong with that, right?" he asked. "I didn't say you had to find one - I just meant- you know." He shrugged, sipped his beer again. "I think you'd hardly have to try to find a nice one - I thought some company would be.." his voice trailed away. This wasn't what he'd been meaning to say. After all, why would Remus Lupin, who was not aware of Lena's family status, long for Lena to have some company, hm? "Never mind what I said. What do I know, right?"

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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"Y

OU better not be putting yourself down,” she said with a bit of a teasing pout. When the napkin actually hit him though, not much of a hit but it was the principle of the thing! , she grinned and laughed slightly, proud the little thing had actually made it across the table to land on him. It was his observation? She snorted and rolled her eyes playfully, shaking her head. “Not much of an observation. You’re better than that.” Then she winked at him with a smile. “Then again, I’m terribly biased when it comes to you. Best friends tend to be that way.” Being just one of his best friends and one of the boys was perfectly fine with her. At least she had a best friend now who was willing to talk to her about anything and everything, including when she’s so angry she could pop he was the one to go find her and make her feel better. And staying at his place over part of the summer had been great. She wasn’t alone for once and it was just nice having someone to hang out with and talk to.

When the subject of her being single came up she didn’t plan it to ruin their mood or her answer to make him upset. Maybe she should have thought more before talking because now their little good mood was down the drain and it was her fault. Well, they couldn’t turn back now and she shrugged slightly. She shrugged slightly. “Someone to have would be nice but, well, no one seems to be looking for me and I just don’t feel like doing the looking anymore for right now.” When he put himself down at trying to help her she let out a soft sigh and shook her head. “Remus, I know you’re just trying to look out for me. It’s alright. I won’t ‘nevermind’ what you said. It just means you care which makes me one lucky girl to have a best friend like you.” Her smile was soft, trying to make him feel better.

Ok this was the final straw. He was just acting too weird for her. She sighed slightly and reached across, and laid her hand on top of his, giving him a worried look. “Remus, what’s going on? Lately you’ve been acting so weird. I need to know. Did I do something? Did something happen? And just tell me, don’t try to sugarcoat or anything.” She wasn’t mad but she wanted, and needed, to know what was going on. It was probably bad form to just spit it out like that but she just couldn’t hold it in anymore. The whole thing was way too worrying.

[/blockquote]

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WORDS && 445
TAGS && Remus
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && nothing yet

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[Remus John Lupin]

Remus laughed a little. "Don't you worry about me," he said. "Even if I was putting myself down, I tend to have very wonderful friends capable of picking me back up." He was joking, laughing now, and it would be safe to say he'd grown over the past few years to be able to joke about it like he was doing at the moment - because he was being nothing but truthful. There had been times when Remus had felt hopelessly inadequate or just plain rubbish and his friends had always been quick to assure him of his worth, something he was more than grateful for.
His eyes twinkled slightly as he looked at Lena over his bottle as he sipped. Not much of an observation? "Well, excuse me I'm not Sherlock Holmes," he joked. "Though I suppose the best conclusion would be that we're both biased." Remus was very much biased in Annelise's favour. Very much indeed. Lena calling herself his best friend made him smile. It was true and it wasn't any kind of surprise, but the realisation made him happy nonetheless - not just because he felt so great having friends, best friends to count on, but also because that meant that Lena had someone to fall back on.

He hadn't meant for the mood to swing as soon as relationships came up, but it had happened. He could understand that Lena would maybe not be intested in a relationship if no one caught her eye or approached her. She was also pretty focused on school, after all, maybe even more studious than him at times. But Remus couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Lena also didn't really want someone that close. As outgoing and spontaneous as she was when in their little circle of friends, sometimes she could say so much and yet avoid saying so much. Remus couldn't put his finger on it nor could he explain it. He had never noticed it before Sirius had spilled the beans, either, but now that he had it was so obvious, somehow.
"No, really - I mean you should take advice from me, I know nothing of this sort of thing. Ask Sirius," he tried for a last time in a fruitless attempt to steer the conversation to more cheerful waters (like waters filled with Sirius' disastrous dates, for example). Lena smiled at him, trying to reassure him, but Remus' insides had twisted themselves into a very intricate knot at the way she'd responded. He wished he could just rationalise it away by telling himself Lena wanted to focus on school, but he couldn't.

Frowning in thought, he sipped his drink again. It fizzed in his stomach a little unpleasantly as he felt Lena's hand on his and damn, why was he such a bad liar when it came to friends.
"No, you didn't do anything. Nothing- happened." The words escaped him before he could stop himself and he knew it was anothing lie - and he knew Lena would know it too, because she'd see right through that. "Okay.. not nothing happened, but it's not your fault," he stressed, finding it very important to get that point across.
Apart from the fact that his mind was racing, he felt strangely calm. After all, this had made the choice pretty difficult. He couldn't lie to Lena even if he wanted to, so.. he was going to have to tell her. At least that would clear up some things considerably and he didn't have to doubt between telling or not-telling, a small comfort. The only thing he had to worry about, now, was how to say it. "I just think.." he glanced at their butterbeer. "I think it would be better if we talked about this in private - don't worry, it's not quite bad news, really," he was quick to try and reassure her. "I just think it would be better if we talked about it somewhere else, not in a pub?" After all, it was Lena's secret, and although Sirius had not managed to keep it, Remus wasn't planning to let the entire school listen in.

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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W

ONDERFUL friends huh? She smiled, please that she was put in that group along with the boys. It was always great to know you were appreciated and she was glad to be counted as one of those people he could rely on. “You better believe it.” She winked playfully at him before sipping her drink and relaxing back further into the seats. His comment made her snicker in amusement, smiling back at him brightly. “Maybe not Sherlock Holmes or even Watson but maybe a good normal side kick would work for you. And yeah I guess we are both biased but being biased about people can be fun, if it’s a good bias.” It was purely a tease on her part. She really didn’t think she had too much bias except for her friends and a few other people but only because of their actions to her themselves. “Also, you can’t be that bad at relationship advice, just so you know. You do have a girlfriend and have had one for a long time.” She shrugged, not having more proof or anything else to say about that really.

Nothing he was saying was making her feel better about whatever had seemed to have happened that made everything change between them. He tried to lie to her, though he changed his story quickly, which she appreciated. Lying was not something she liked and she could tell when Remus was lying to her so he at least knew better than to try it. The further he talked the more her stomach started to hurt, not thinking any good could come from the conversation they were about to have. And if they needed to go somewhere else to talk for it, she would rather do it now and find out what was going on than trying to pretend like she wasn’t worried and just sit there. “Alright. Then let’s go. If you don’t mind putting the butterbeer off for a little bit.” She took a big sip of hers to try and calm her nerves before standing up and stood waiting for him to follow. It wasn’t that she was trying to be rude, she just needed to know as soon as she could and she hoped Remus realized that and didn’t think she was being rude about it. To help, she gave him a slight smile, hoping it would work to make him not be so worried about it all.

[/blockquote]

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WORDS && 408
TAGS && Remus
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && nothing yet

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[Remus John Lupin]

Very wonderful friends, indeed, and Lena was right to feel flattered and pleased, because Remus did indeed appreciate her a lot! He laughed a little at the mentioning of sidekicks. "I don't need a sidekick, I've got five!" he laughed, including all his friends as sidekicks - yes. "Or, rather, I suppose I am a sidekick to you people.. hm.." His voice trailed off, thoughtfully, as he pondered with a smile who'd be the superhero. James could definitely be one - he already had Peter as a sidekick, too. Sirius could also totally be a superhero, he had the dramatics for it, at least, but Remus wasn't sure if he wanted to be Sirius' sidekick, hah! If anything, he'd rather be Lena's or Annelise's sidekick, then. Hmm, pity he could't draw - it would make a nifty comic.
Rem didn't usually like bias, but Lena was right - as long as it was a positive bias it wasn't so bad, right? Though Lena's logic that he couldn't be bad at relationship advice because he was in a relationship had him bark with laughter. "You think I'd understand all that sort of stuff because I've been with Annelise for nearly a year now?" he asked, still laughing under his breath (and making a mental note: almost a year, he ought to surprise her or something!). "It was all sheer luck, I tell you. That - and Sirius' advice, I'll have you know." True, it had been Sirius who'd told him to stop thinking and start doing and that had been the best advice he could've given.

It was a pity Lena was feeling on edge because of what Remus was saying, because he wasn't trying to make her feel bad! He just didn't want to talk about it here, where people could hear - it was her secret and he didn't want to make the same mistake as Sirius. She looked uncomfortable and Remus pulled a face. Damn, this was not what he'd been trying to do!
"No, that's fine, we can just go for a walk, he said with a bit of a tense smile. Why couldn't he smile more reassuringly? Now she was definitely going to think something was wrong! Finishing his butterbeer, he got up as well and offered her an arm, relaxing a little as Lena smiled slightly. "Don't worry," he muttered as they walked outside, the frozen snow crunching under their steps.
Remus didn't walk very far because he didn't want to keep Lena in suspense. Also, it was still pretty cold so most people were inside anyway, the few students outside either on their way inside or completely taken up by the odd snowball fight. He kept postponing the moment. 'I'll tell her when we've past that shop' he'd tell himself, but then 'no wait, when we've crossed that street', until he told himself to stop being an idiot and just tell her. "It's just-" He stopped walking for a moment. No, walking was better - Rem started walking again. "I've recently, eh, heard that you've got no parents, you know?" He glanced at Lena's face a second, trying to see what her reaction would be. "And, well - you never told me, so I assume you didn't want me to know?" It had been meant to be a statement, but ended up being a question. Remus sort of wanted her to say that she'd been meaning to tell him. After all, it was a pretty big part of her life he'd been excluded from. Then again, who was he to complain about that, Mr. I-turn-hairy-once-a-month! "But, yeah - I know now.. Nothing we can do about that, I suppose.. I just feel bad about knowing while you might not have wanted me to?"