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This Chapter's Song:
Ribs by Lorde
"Laughing 'til our ribs get tough
But that will never be enough"
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Remus and Lily scrambled off of the counter and he ran to the jukebox, turning it down significantly. He looked back to Lily who was cleaning the counter that they ha just been standing on, and he panted slightly. He turned to the tree men and smiled sheepishly before clearing his throat.
"S-Short day," he stuttered out as he walked towards them. As he did so, it became apparent that he was taller than all three of them, with the man with brown hair being a few inches shorter than him and the other two being at least four or five inches shorter.
He looked around a bit before his eyes settled back on the men. He tried to look at all three of them, but it was difficult to do so when the man with grey eyes was looking at him like he was dessert.
Why is it so hot in here? He thought.
"I-Um, welcome to Savannah's Diner! Uh, go ahead! Choose a place to sit! A-As I said, slow day."
The men chuckled as they took a seat at a nearby booth. Remus felt those same grey eyes trailed on him as he went to get menus for them, and he blushed. He got them quickly and placed them on their table with a small nod before going back to Lily.
He exhaled when he leaned against the wall next to her, and she laughed slightly while looking over at the men. "That guy in the leather jacket has literally been staring at you the second he walked in here!"
Remus groaned quietly as he opened his eyes and looked at the man, who was indeed staring, and blushed. He caught his eye and the man smiled slightly at him before looking back to his menu. Remus closed his eyes again with a short exhale.
Lily nudged Remus. "And he's hot!"
Remus glared at her. "Okay? What the fuck am I supposed to do? I don't know how to flirt," he whispered as he pushed himself off the wall.
Lily smiled. "Just stare at him a lot and smile," she said with a wink.
Remus rolled his eyes as he pulled out his notepad and walked around the counter and over to their booth. He smiled cheerfully as he walked up to them.
"Hello! I'm Remus and I'll be your server for today. Has everyone made up their minds on what they would like?" Remus asked with a smile.
Remus noticed his heart speed up as he felt the stranger's eyes on him again. He bit his lip as he did everything in his power not to look at him.
"Yeah," the guy with brown hair said. "We'll have uh, a slice of every pie you have, please! And for me, I'll have a chocolate milkshake and an order of fries."
Remus wrote it down quickly, not commenting on the whole every slice of pie situation, and turned to the blond haired boy and smiled. "I'll have a vanilla milkshake please, that's all."
Remus scribbles his order down and then turned to the grey-eyed stranger with a blush on his face. "And for you, sir?"
The man smiled lightly and sat up slightly. "A strawberry milkshake, please. With extra whipped cream, that is. Oh, and your number."
Remus' breath hitched as he stopped writing and looked up at the man, blushing as red as a tomato. "W-What?"
The man only smiled brighter. "Your number. That is, unless, you don't like men, and in that case, forget I ever said anything."
Remus inhaled deeply as he finished the order, ripped off the page, and tucked his pencil and pad in his pocket. "N-No, I, uh, I like men," he said lightly with a small laugh.
Sirius bit his lip and smiled. "Alright. Then just the milkshake and your number."
Remus smiled weakly as he blushed. "I'll get that right out for you."
He turned around and walked over to the counter. He handed Lily the paper with wide eyes and walked behind it, grabbing his cigarettes and lighter from his coat pocket. "I-I'll be back. And no, that's not a mistake. Every type of pie!"
Remus walked out the back door and quickly lit his cigarette, taking a long drag as he closed his eyes. He didn't really like smoking that often, but in high-stress situations, he liked to use them to calm down a bit.
And this?
This was a fucking high-stress situation.
He took a few more drags before dropping it on the ground and putting it out with his foot. He walked inside and back over to Lily who was by the milkshake machine, but noticed that the men now had their pie. Remus groaned slightly as he waited for Lily to finish the shakes, and when she did, he grabbed his tray and put them on it, carefully walking over to the men.
"Here are your shakes," he said with a small smile as he put their milkshakes in front of the men. The blond-haired man's face lit up at this, but the grey-eyed man' eyes never looked away from Remus.
"Please let me know if I can help you with anything else," Remus added as he watched the blond and brown-haired man begin to fight over the order of fries.
He walked away and rejoined Lily who was sitting at a booth in the far corner of the diner, counting her tips on the table. Remus plopped down across from her and sighed.
"How's it going with Mr. Stare," she questioned with a smile.
Remus flopped his head down into his arms and groaned. "Why can't I flirt for shit? He's literally fucking staring at me and I don't know what to say!"
"How about, 'Hello, there, my name is Remus Lupin, and I would really fancy blowing you in the back alleyway—'"
She was stopped short with Remus slapping her arm and glaring at her, face beet-red. She laughed and shrugged, staring to re-count her money.
The men stayed for about half an hour, talking and laughing and being overall loud. Remus didn't mind, though. He found himself looking over at the man every so often, only to see that he was looking right back at him.
He blushed every time they locked eyes.
As it neared five-thirty, Lily went into the back room to clean the grill, which didn't need to be cleaned that thoroughly, as barely anyone had been in there that day, nevertheless ordered hot foot.
Remus counted his own tips as he felt a figure sit at the stool in front of him. He looked up, only to be met with a pair of grey-eyes.
He started fumbling with his money as he blushed yet again, tucking the bills in his jean pocket and looking back at the man with a small smile. "H-Hi."
"Hello," the man said back as he stared at Remus. "I have to say, that was the best strawberry milkshake I've ever had, and let me tell you, I've had a lot of strawberry milkshakes."
Remus arched an eyebrow with a small laugh. "I'm guessing that's your go-to diner order?"
The man shrugged and put out a hand. "Sirius Black."
Remus took it and was surprised to see how big his hands were compared to the man's. "Remus Lupin."
The man chuckled. "What can I say, I love a good strawberry milkshake," he said with a smirk.
Remus laughed and began to relax a bit more, crossing his arms slightly as he stared at Sirius.
"I'm more of a vanilla milkshake man myself," he said with a small smirk.
Sirius bit his lip. "That's only because you haven't been introduced to the wonders of strawberry milkshakes yet."
Remus cocked an eyebrow. "Is that an invitation?"
Sirius chuckled. "Only if you want it to be."
Remus laughed and pressed his lips together lightly.
"Did you come over here just to tell me that I'm missing out on strawberry milkshakes?"
Sirius smiled. "I came over here because I didn't the other half of my order."
Remus' heart dropped. Did he forget an order?
"W-What?"
Sirius laughed. "Your number, silly!"
Remus' felt himself exhale in relief as he began to laugh as well. "O-Oh, right."
He grabbed his pencil and paper and quickly scribbled his number on the notepaper before ripping it off the pad and giving it to Sirius.
Sirius folded the paper and tucked it in his pocket before standing up and running a hand though his hair. He smiled at Remus before turning to leave and meet the two men who were waiting outside for him, only to stop halfway to the door and turned back around.
"What hours do you work?"
Remus gulped. "U-Uh, noon to nine, weekdays only."
Sirius nodded and gave him a small smile before leaving the diner and walking away with his friends.
Remus sighed in relief as he walked into the kitchen and saw Lily scrubbing the grill still. She looked up and smiled at Remus as he sat down at a little table in the corner of the room, raking his fingers through his hair.
"What's got you all riled up?"
Remus laughed slightly. "I just sort of flirted with that guy somehow and gave him my number."
Lily began to clap her hands together and cheer as he laughed. "Yay! My baby Remmy is finally getting the hang of dating!"
Remus rolled his eyes. "I'm honestly confused as to how I didn't fuck that up."
Lily merely scoffed. "How? You're charming, you're handsome, and you're fucking six-foot-three, which is a huge bonus! Any guy would be lucky to have you."
Remus watched as Lily continued scrubbing the grill, her smile faltering a bit.
"Are you alright, Lils?"
She looked up and smiled slightly. "Yeah, why?"
Remus looked back at her. "Have you been taking your meds?"
Lily stopped scrubbing and smiled sadly. She shook her head and bit her lip.
"For how long?"
She sighed as she tossed her rag in the sink and walked over to sit with Remus, running her fingers through her red hair and biting her lip gently.
"A week."
Remus frowned slightly.
She sat up slightly as she messed with her apron hem. "I-I just thought that maybe I was getting better, you know? Maybe I wouldn't need them."
Remus sighed. "I know Lils. But until Lou says you're alright to stop—"
"I have to keep taking them."
Remus nodded as he gave Lily a sad smile, who returned it immediately. Remus inhaled and sat up slightly.
"Come on, let's go see who can make the craziest milkshake. Bet you five bucks I can. Test it on the next customer?"
Lily's eyes lit up and she stood up. "You're on, Lupin!"
Long story short, a bag of marshmallows went missing, a load of sugar was spilled onto the counter, and a whole can of whipped cream was used up.
Lily won.
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