the band

vodka cran & whiskey sour

She was standing to the side of their table, her and Sirius trying to order a drink. Pandora, Evan, Barty, James, and Peter had gone to dance, Remus was outside having a smoke, and Regulus sat at the table behind him where she stood. The bar was too crowded and too loud, but that was partially their fault so they couldn't complain. A group of frat boys came barreling down the very limited space and pushed Celeste back, she reached for Sirius' arm to steady herself but ended up in Regulus' lap. He looked at her confused and a bit flustered.

"Uh, hi?" He said, she tried to stand back up but the wall of people made it impossible. Regulus' hand rested lightly on her hips. It wasn't a feeling she was capable of ignoring in that moment. He smelled faintly of liquor and cigarettes, she tried not to lean back into him.

"Hi." She blushed. She gestured in the direction the boys went. "Sorry those assholes pushed me."

"S'alright. You okay?"

"Yeah." They both nodded, it had officially surpassed the time frame of awkwardly bumping into each other and holding on to steady yourself and become plain awkward. She looked around again for a chance to stand up. She looked down at his hand on her hip, he'd laced his finger through her belt loop. She wondered if he'd done it intentionally. "What're you drinking?"

"Whiskey sour." He told her, he had to lean closer to her ear as the music picked up. The feeling of his breath on her neck was almost too much for her. She stuck her hand out. He placed the drink in her hand. She took a quick swig. He laughed at the face she made.

"That's so bad." She shuddered. He smiled.

"Yeah, you seem more like a vodka cran kinda girl." She smiled.

"Guilty."

"What the fuck is this?" Sirius asked as he stood before them with drinks. Celeste gulped.

"She got pushed." Regulus tried to explain.

"I got pushed and I fell in his lap, I've been trying to stand up but there's so many people I can't." She rambled, her face deep red. Regulus nodded along.

"Right," Sirius stuck out his hand to help her up. She moved to the chair across the table. She grabbed her drink Sirius had brought her and took a long gulp. "You two alright?"

"Embarrassed mostly." Regulus replied. He didn't look up from his lap.

"It's not like I caught you shagging." Sirius said as he walked away upon spotting Remus. Celeste looked over the table to Regulus, his jaw dropped. She covered her mouth and laughed.

"Ladies and Gentleman, my big brother." Regulus laughed. Celeste shook her head.

"I can't believe him." Regulus just shrugged.

"Making me vastly uncomfortable in front of girls is what he's done his whole life." Celeste laughed.

"If it's any consolation, I've been doing that to him for the last few years." Regulus almost choked on his drink laughing. She couldn't explain why she was talking to him after their spat, but in that moment it didn't feel like she was talking to Regulus Black, lead singer of The Royal Court. It felt like she was talking to just Regulus Black. She leaned across the table. He followed suit. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"You want to tell me a secret?" He asked, she rolled her eyes.

"Forget it." She leaned back on her chair. He caught her hand and pulled her back.

"No, no I was joking. Come on, tell me." He pleaded. She smiled.

"I planned that whole stunt on stage earlier." She said, Regulus laughed.