"How did you feel about Janus?" Logan asked the second he stepped through the door.

"What?" Remus asked, releasing a startled laugh. "Janus?"

"Yes," Logan nodded, looking Remus dead in the eyes.

Virgil had quickly shooed him out after the movie was over, so he didn't return as late as Logan thought he would.

"He was my best friend, I told you that." Remus rose a brow.

"Yes, but what did you feel about him?" Logan pressed. "What did you think of him?"

"Well..." Remus hummed in thought, "he was...dependable, quick-witted, a good man."

"And...?" Logan pushed foward, searching for something specific in Remus' eyes.

"And I was very lucky to have him." Remus shot him a quizzical look, before putting on a slightly confused smirk. "What are you trying to get me to confess, sugarcube?"

"Did you love Janus?" Logan asked, really looking deep into Remus' expression. "Romantically, I mean."

"I didn't, no." Remus rose a confused eyebrow. "Why? You jealous, sugarcube? Don't worry, I'd never abandon you." He made kissy faces at Logan, who rolled his eyes.

"I wanted to know if that was the reason you're still here." Logan sighed. "Back to stage one, I suppose."

"Wow, you're determined to get rid of me, huh?" Remus snorted. "I'm wounded, Logan. Honestly, I--"

"How did you die, Remus?"

Remus flinched like Logan had just spit on him, eyes widening. "Uh." He muttered, dumbstruck.

"Sorry! That was insensitive, wasn't it?" Logan frowned, suddenly ashamed of himself. "I haven't been thinking clearly, lately."

Remus blinked, regaining his senses. "Yeah, it's almost like suddenly having a ghost roommate fucked with your head." He sighed, standing up and walking towards the window.

He scanned the area for a bit, before his eyes landed on one specific spot. "There." Remus mumbled, tapping the window.

Logan looked over to where he was pointing.

It was a single spot on the pavement, just in front of the apartment building. Logan stared at the spot for a moment, trying to pick up on what Remus was trying to communicate.

It struck him, and he felt like an idiot.

"That's..." Logan swallowed, "that's where you died."

"Yeah, it is." Remus shrugged like it was no big deal. His finger pointed upward. "I was up there, and then I went," He slowly pointed his finger toward the ground, "splat."

Logan went pale. "...you jumped off...?"

"That I did." Remus smirked at him. He plopped back down on the couch, stretching his limbs out on it. "Didn't hurt, actually. It was just scary."

"Remus, you jumped off?" Logan repeated, horror in his eyes. "You...killed yourself?"

"Well, yeah, but it's a little more complicated than that." Remus huffed, running a hand through his hair. "I had no choice, okay?"

"Of course you had a choice!" Logan snapped, feeling hurt by that. "That's--I understand that you felt like you had no other option, but--"

"I did have no other option." Remus told him. "Probably. It made sense at the time, anyways. I guess I could've...but then...no, I chose the better option."

"Remus, there's no way this was the better option."

"You don't understand the situation, sugarcube." Remus snorted.

"I don't understand? What is there to understand?" Logan frowned.

"That's a long story." Remus mumbled, crossing his arms. "But fine, since you're so curious."

Remus made himself a bit more comfortable. "It started when I was around...fifteen years old."

---

So, Remus needed a job.

He had been kicked onto the streets by his mom. He really didn't know how he had ticked them off this time, but he knew that he probably wouldn't be coming back there.

Roman had come with him, and they were currently staying with Remy, their cousin. Of course, they couldn't leech off of him forever. They needed their own place, and fast. Only three years of highschool remained, they needed to sort their own shit out by then.

The problem was, Remus was terrible at job interviews. He had failed every single one.

Remus was currently sat on a bench, wallowing in a pit of self-pity.

"It's not like I wasn't qualified. How can you not be qualified for a manual labor job?" Remus mumbled to himself, shaking his head.

He stood up, beginning to walk home to tell Roman that he had failed to get a job. Again.

He was about to go, when a briefcase caught his attention. Now, usually this wouldn't have seemed odd, except for the fact that it was wide open in the middle of an alley.

He looked around, seeing if anyone else had noticed. Alas, he seemed to be the only one.

He casually stalked over to the briefcase, curious as to what the contents of the briefcase were.

His eyes promptly bulged out of his sockets when he saw thousands, maybe even millions, of dollars inside.

"That's...a lot of money." Remus laughed breathlessly to himself.

There was so much.

Surely, they wouldn't mind if he just took a few for himself?

He knelt down, looking around. No one was looking his way, and there was no sign from the owner.

He quickly grabbed a stack of $100 bills, greed in his eyes.

Maybe this was a miracle from God?

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Remus turned, finding a large man looking there. He was probably in his early twenties, hazel eyes glaring harshly at Remus. His caramel hair was messy, as if he had just woken up.

"Uh, is this yours?" Remus asked nervously. "Look, man. I saw free money, I went to take it."

"You greedy little shit!" The man growled, pulling out a knife. Remus' eyes widened, and in his attempt to back away, he fell onto his ass.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Remus stammered, going pale. "I-I'm just a kid, man! A stupid kid! I didn't know this was yours! I didn't even take any!"

"I can see a stack in your hands, dumbass." The man scoffed, pointing to it with his knife.

Remus paled, slowly putting the money behind his back. "Whaaaaaat?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"Listen, kid. I'll make you a deal." The man told him. "You put the money back, and I won't hurt you too bad."

"Too bad?" Remus echoed, beginning to sweat. "How about 'not at all?'"

The man growled. "Get over here!" He roared, pouncing at Remus.

Remus quickly stood up, grabbed the entire briefcase, and took off running.

He wasn't sure why he had suddenly decided he needed all of the money, taking it just suddenly seemed like a good decision.

He could here the man behind him, yelling profanities at him.

Remus expertly dodged the people on the sidewalk, going full speed. He wasn't sure what would happen if the man caught him, and he wasn't eager to find out.

He turned down an alleyway, and quickly climbed the fence.

He spun arond, seeing the man turn into the alleyway.

Before the man could even touch the fence, Remus blew a raspberry at him, and turned to run the opposite direction.

He rammed straight into another person.

The briefcase was harshly yanked out of his hands, and his arms were held behind him. "Wha--Hey--"

The words died in his throat when he made eye contact with the woman in front of him

She was tall and slender, with a sharp jawline that Remus thought could cut steel. A large scar was on her face, running horizontally across the bridge of her nose. Dyed, red hair that went down to her shoulders was styled perfectly around her face, the roots exposing their brown origins.

What startled Remus the most, however, were the icy blue eyes that bore holes into him.

There were two men holding his arms. This lady's goons, Remus imagined.

"Well, well, well..." The woman in front of him drawled, "who's this, Jasper?"

The guy who had been chasing him, Jasper, climbed the fence. When he landed on the ground, he scowled at Remus.

"This little shit ran off with the cash." Jasper told the woman, an almost smug look in his eyes.

"Yeah, we saw." One of the guys holding Remus' arms snorted. "Little shit was fast, too."

"Impressively fast, even." The scarred woman hummed in thought. "Tell me, boy, you want money?"

Remus stared dumbly for a moment, before realizing she was talking to him. "Uh, yeah."

"How about we make a deal, then, huh?" She smiled kindly. "You can work for me, and you'll get some of that cash."

Remus' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "That sounds sketchy."

"And a briefcase full of money in the middle of an alleyway isn't sketchy?" The woman rose a perfectly plucked brow. "You're fast. Faster than most of my men. I could make good use of you."

"...what did you say your name was?" Remus asked.

"My name is Anne-Marie Ågren," The woman smiled again, "but I'll let you in on a secret. Around here, folks call me 'The Dragon Witch."

A/N:

I was gonna stop it at my usual length for chapters, but I really wanted to finish that story before the chapter was over.