A/N: Hiyaaaa, this is my first time writing anything jily after reading it for several years. I wrote this one for the April Jily Challenge on tumblr. Title is corny as hell, and most of this one shot is but I happen to think corny is one of the best genres. Come find me on tumblr wotcherpotter!
Lily joined her family at the table for breakfast on the first Sunday of her summer break. She had always been the last to rise, a trait that had only become more prominent the older she grew. The sun shone through the window and danced on the fiery red of her hair, warming her shoulders. Two slices of toast were placed on the table in front of her mother, and Lily eagerly thanked her whilst she spread several layers of jam on each. Her sister, Petunia, looked at her across the table with disdain. Lily poked her tongue in retaliation. She caught her eye with her father over the top of the paper, and could just make out the hint of a smile from the crinkles by his eyes.
Lily picked up the entertainment section of the paper that her father had left for her on the table. She was flicking through the pages aimlessly, when a small advert in the corner of one of the pages caught her eye. Queen were scheduled to perform at a venue closeby towards the end of the summer. Lily nearly fell out of her seat in excitement. She ran to the kitchen where the phone was on the hook, and dialled the number of her best friend. Lily tapped her foot impatiently, and curled the cord around her finger whilst she waited. After a few rings, someone at the other end finally picked up.
"McKinnon residence, this is Michael," a deep voice answered.
"Hi Mike, it's Lily. Is Marlene awake yet? Actually, I doubt she is but this is extremely important, can you go get her, pleeeeeeease?" Lily tried her sweetest, most persuasive voice.
She needn't have bothered, as Mike would take any opportunity to annoy his older sister. He didn't say a word to Lily, but she could here the yelling as he jumped on her in bed. There was a kerfuffle when someone picked up the receiver, and then Marlene's voice was finally at the other end of the line.
"This better be good."
"My dearest friend, I would never wish such ill fortune on you if it wasn't of paramount importance," Lily teased.
"Oh, spit it out. I'm hungry now that I've risen from my beauty sleep, and I can smell bacon in the kitchen."
"Queen is coming to Cokeworth!" Lily squealed.
"Are you pulling my leg?" Marlene said grumpily.
"I wouldn't dream of it when it comes to Queen, Marls. What do you take me for? Some kind of ignoramus?" Lily giggled down the end of the receiver.
"You are far too chirpy for this ungodly hour."
"It's past ten," Lily deadpanned.
"Ha ha. So how are we going to get tickets?" Marlene questioned.
"Well, I got offered that job at the pool over the summer. Have you heard anything from the library yet?" Lily bit into her second piece of toast as she asked, and crumbs littered the top of er pyjama shirt.
"Nothing yet. Though I think that has something to do with the fact that Mrs Pince just has it our for me. I swear the old bat detests anything that's not a book," Marlene complained.
Lily could practically hear the sound of Marlene's eyes rolling through the receiver. Before she could respond, her sister appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, signalling to Lily that she wanted to use the phone as well. Lily put her hand over the receiver and looked at Petunia with irritance.
"What is it, Tuney?" Lily moaned.
"I'm expecting a call from Vernon any minute, I need you to get off the phone. Now," she said with finality.
"Why should I? Your phone calls aren't any more important than mine."
"Grow up Lily, just give me the-"
"No, I'm not finished talking to-'
"Girls!" A new voice shouted.
It was their mother, and an unnaturally stern look painted her features. Silence reigned throughout the kitchen, as their bickering had ceased. Lily instantly felt guilty for being ridiculous. She knew money was tight at the moment for her parents, and she usually did everything she could to keep that stress as low as possibly. There was just something about her sister that got under her skin.
"I've got to go Marls. Meet me at the pool later for my first shift." Lily said, hanging the phone back on the hook on the wall.
She avoided making eye contact with her sister as she walked out of the kitchen, as she didn't think she could bear the smugness that had inevitably crossed her bony face. She trudged back upstairs to her bedroom to get ready for the day. She reminded herself that she was getting out of the house and away from her sister, and she was being paid for it, and didn't feel so bad at all.
When Lily arrived at the pool later that day, there were people everywhere. She couldn't say she too surprised - this summer was expected to be the hottest on record - but it was slightly overwhelming when your first day working as a lifeguard was for a pool with hundreds of people. She tried to put her nerves away with the rest of the things in her locker. She had managed to bring her heart rate back down to a normal pace, and started to walk out the building to the pool.
"Alright, Evans?" A familiar voice called out to her.
She froze. She knew exactly who that voice belonged to, and up until very recently the owner had been the bane of her existence. Some higher being must really hate her, because now the sound of that voice was enough to turn her legs to jelly. She could picture him now; his golden skin contrasting with the jet black mess of his hair, a gleeful grin ever-present on his face. No doubt the rest of the Marauders as they called themselves were in tow, and Lily was all alone with no one to keep her upright should she faint. She of course, couldn't admit defeat and let him know that she had a soft spot for him, she didn't want to look like a fool after all these years of loathing him. She realised too late that several minutes had passed without her saying anything, standing frozen in the middle of the entryway to the pool like a deer in the headlights.
"Er - Are you actually alright, Lily? You seem a bit pale," James said, concerned lacing his tone.
"Haven't you noticed that before? Maybe you need some new glasses, Potter," she snipped, walking off to the patrol tower.
"What did you say this time, Prongs?" She heard someone say, Remus, if she had to guess.
She blocked the rest of the conversation out, as she was trying to calm her nerves again. So, not only was she now dealing with an overfilled pool on her first day, she now had to overcome the distraction that was James Potter. And what a distraction he had recently proven to be.
Lily perched herself atop the lifeguard tower, doing her best to oversee the visitors to the pool. Hers had a mind of their own, and kept drifting back to the area where James and co. had positioned themselves. She watched as he took his shirt off, and nearly fell the couple of metres off the tower. She had never really noticed before, but apparently being captain of their school's football team had a couple of perks (other than everyone in the school wanting to be your best mate). Unfortunately, she was caught in the act by the only other person she loathed more than Potter: Severus Snape.
She couldn't even understand what he was doing there at the pool; he hated the sun, people and swimming. Surely the local pool during summer was his own personal hell. She could see his snarl from across the pool, as he followed the path of her eyes to where she'd just been staring. She watched as he made his way over to her, and rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what was coming. Where was her best friend to save her from all these dastardly men?
"Whatever happened to 'Potter is an arrogant toerag I want nothing to do with?" She heard him yell from the bottom of the tower.
"Leave me alone, Sev," she sighed.
"You're practically salivating watching him take his shirt off, just like every other girl in our year," he snarled.
She had had enough. She climbed down, fuming as she went. He was slightly taller than her, and when she was on the ground she had to look up at his waxy skin to catch his eye.
"I told you to leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you anymore, Sev. You made your choice; I can't be friends with someone like you anymore." She was stern, not showing a trace of weakness.
"What's going on over here then, Snivelly?" a new voice sounded from behind her.
Lily felt her heart jump into her throat. James had walked up beside her whilst she was preoccupied. Any coherent thought and had flown the window, and all she was worried about was whether or not she had remembered to brush her hair. That was until she remembered the scenario in which he had entered, and her temper flared.
"I don't need you fighting my battles, Potter," she said, nostrils flaring.
She saw Severus roll his eyes.
"You know me, Evans, I'll take any excuse to to knock Snivelly down a few pegs," James said.
He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes in the way that made her melt. It was more of a snarl, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She turned back to Snape, her arms folded.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to work. Both of you, leave me alone now."
She climbed back up the tower, thus ending the conversation. She was suddenly hyper-aware of the close proximity between her butt on the ladder and James's head. A blush fanned across her cheeks, and she was thankful neither of them could see her face.
Back up in the safety of her tower of solitude, she watched over the pool. Sev eventually left the pool, relieving her of at least some of the stress of the day. For a brief period, there were no incidents; that was until, James decided to make use of the pools facilities. She watched from the tower, as he walked around to the diving board. He climbed, surpassing the 3ft board; he kept climbing, past the 6t board; until he eventually reached the board 9ft above the pool. She followed his eyes to where his friends were sitting; they were all egging him on, thumbs up and cheering. Lily rolled her eyes. All four of them were idiots.
Her head snapped back when she heard the creak of the board bounce. It didn't sound very sturdy at all, and all the muscles in Lily's body tensed as she watched him. He lost his footing slightly on the last bounce, and fell into the water with a loud splash. Lily dove into the water in an instant. She kicked as fast as she could, her heart racing. How could be be so STUPID, she thought angrily. A stream of bubbles followed her to where James was still sinking to the bottom. She lugged him up to the top, and they both spluttered and gasped for air.
"Alright, Evans?" James asked.
His ever-present grin was plastered across his face, though Lily thought she saw a pinkish tinge to his cheeks. It was probably the only time in her life she had seen his hair flat, though he wasted no time in messing it up again.
"What were you trying to do, you giant idiot!" Lily shrieked in reply.
"It's not my fault the diving board is a hundred years old!" He remarked, incredulously.
"It doesn't take a genius to think twice before using it then, does it James?" She rebutted.
"Lucky I have you here to save me from being a bellend then," he said, softly this time.
"How am I supposed to always save you from being a bellend, James? That's a 24 hour job and when would I get time to sleep?"
"You and Remus can take it in turns, I expect."
"You drive me mental, you know that right?" She said, exasperated.
"I'd have to be a bellend not to," he said, smirking.
She splashed water in his face, taking him by surprise. His mouth gaped in shock, and she laughed with her whole body. He tackled her, wrapping his arms around her body so that she couldn't get away. A shiver ran through her body, and her cheeks began to heat up again. He loosened his grip just enough so that she could turn to face him. A similar tinge of pink coloured his own cheeks, and it made her feel like jelly. He leant in, and her breath hitched in her throat. His lips touched hers ever so softly, and she could feel the warmth of his breath.
"Oi James, quit snogging and get back here we've got hot chips!" She heard Sirius's voice yell.
She smiled against his mouth, and noticed a definite red spreading across James's cheeks. He unfurled one of his arms around her, presumably to toss Sirius the finger as she heard him whoop with laughter and walk away. He kissed her again and she wrapped her arms around his neck, twirling her fingers in the curls at the nape of his neck.
"Think I can persuade you to watch over me?" James asked.
Lily pulled back, pursing her lips in feigned deliberation.
"You know my eyesight is shocking, so I can't actually see whatever face you're pulling. Your ethereal beauty is lost on me without my glasses," he sighed.
"Shut up, Potter, or I'll change my mind."