SOLACE , r.black x oc x s.black

chapter thirty-four

His anger was mostly directed at Sirius. Stupid greedy Sirius who always knew what he wanted and got it. The rest was directed at himself. For being weak and submissive and exactly what everyone was expecting. He wished that he could've surprised Jackie with something better than a horrifying stamp of evil on his arm. Maybe if he had been more like Sirius, he could've surprised her with that same hope and joy that only his brother possessed.

He allowed the emotions to course through him as he counted to ten. His limbs tensed and trembled as the numbers rose, but once he had finished his count, all outward displays of anger were gone. The signature Regulus Black mask of cold indifference was set firmly in place.

If he couldn't be hope, then he would just have to be damnation instead.

And his sudden change in demeanor came just in time for the arrival of the Hogwarts train coming back home after Easter.

He heard them before he saw them. Jackie, Sirius and Potter all huddled in a nice cozy group, looking thoroughly pleased with each other's company. At any other time, Regulus might have felt a pang of envy for the found family that Potter had created from a few isolated outcasts. But at this moment, his temper was too high strung for such frivolous thoughts.

He tailed them as they made their way up the front steps and in through the Great Hall entrance and if they noticed him, they made no attempt to greet him.

Sirius whispered something to Jackie and she let out a muffled giggle, smiling up at him like he had just offered her the moon and stars. It took all his restraint not to just hex his brother right there on the spot. But hexing a man with his back turned was bad form and Regulus was nothing if not honorable.

"Sirius." He called out before the three could enter the Great Hall.

They turned and Regulus could see Jackie's expression harden imperceptibly when she caught sight of him standing there. Sirius cocked his head to the side in question, ignoring James' nudges for him to not get involved.

Regulus nodded his head back down the direction they came and surprisingly, when he turned, he heard the footfall of Sirius' shoes behind him.

Idiot.

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"They've been gone for a really long time." Jackie remarked to James, wringing her hands nervously. She knew all too well that any conversation between the Black brothers would  inevitably end in an argument and she would rather there weren't anymore casualties than needed.

"Fistfights tend to take a while to get going." James replied sarcastically, staring longingly at the breakfast laid out on the Gryffindor table just a few meters away.

Jackie looked at him sharply, reveling in the way he wilted under her stern gaze. "That's it." She snapped. "I'm going to get them."

She took off down the hall, her school shoes clacking quickly on the marble floor. James took one last yearning sniff of the scent of bacon wafting out into the entrance and then followed behind her briskly.

She turned a corner and heard the sounds of their raised voices floating out from an empty corridor. She stopped, halting James along with her using an outstretched arm. She stood silently and listened.

"Eavesdropper!" James hissed accusingly.

"Skirt-chaser." Jackie shot back in lowered tones.

"Fair enough."

It was Sirius that she heard speak first and she definitely didn't have to press her ear to the door to hear his loud shouts.

"You can't even see straight through your own jealousy!" Sirius spat from the deserted hallway. "She wants me because she knows that I'm the better choice and you can't stand it."