Disclaimer: I'd love it if I owned all the Harry Potter characters, but sadly, I don't. It all belongs to J.K Rowling. Any other characters you might see belong to me. The song belongs to The Red Jumpsuit Appratus.
modrocker423: Hey everybody! Ok, so this is one of my first one shots I've ever written. I had it posted over on another website and I thought I might give it a try over here. Once again, this is a one shot so there won't be any continuing of what I've written. Sorry!
Enjoy!
Face Down
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Hey girl you know you drive me crazy
one look puts the rhythm in my hand.
Still I'll never understand why you hang around
I see what's going down.
Cover up with make up in the mirror
tell yourself it's never gonna happen again
you cry alone and then he swears he loves you.
Do you feel like a man
when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's got to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.
A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
every action in this world will bear a consequence
If you wait around forever you will surely drown
I see what's going down.
I see the way you go and say your right again,
say your right again
heed my lecture
Do you feel like a man
when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this worlds got to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.
Face down in the dirt she said, this doesn't hurt she said, I finally had enough!
One day she will tell you that she has had enough
its coming round again.
Do you feel like a man
when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this worlds got to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.
Face down in the dirt she said, this doesn't hurt she said, I finally had enough!
James sat alone on one of the squishy chairs in the dark Gryffindor common room. He moved his gaze from the closed portrait hole to the large fireplace next to him, watching as the last few glowing embers faded and died. James shivered and started to chafe his arms to warm them up; he didn't realize that the common room was so cold at nearly three in the morning.
At remembering that it was close to three in the morning, James yawned widely and felt his eyelids start to droop down. He was extremely tired and exhausted due to his long and tiring day of school and Quidditch practice. Sleep called tauntingly to James, who shook it off by shaking his head and sitting up straighter in his chair. He needed to stay awake, for he was waiting for a certain someone.
Lily.
Lily Evans was the one girl in the entire school who drove James crazy. He loved her with all of his heart as he had done since his third year at Hogwarts. He loved everything about her, from her red hair that curled around her face, to her stunning emerald green eyes, to her smart and funny personality. And yet, Lily was the one girl that James could never have. She had disliked James ever since the two first met on the Hogwarts Express their first year. Her dislike had grown to hatred as James and his group of friends, the Marauders, picked on people they didn't care for and strutted around the school as if they owned the place, making all the girls fall at their feet. And then there was Mark.
Mark Jacobs was Lily's present boyfriend. He had dirty blonde hair that he spiked up and piercing blue eyes. He was in Ravenclaw and was the Seeker for their Quidditch team. He and Lily had met and hooked up after one of their games where Gryffindor had beaten Ravenclaw gloriously. Most girls found him smart, funny, and attractive, as Lily did. However, James knew Mark's true personality. He was a player and always cheated on his girlfriends.
James had tried to tell this to Lily, but she had only pushed him away and told him to stay out of her life. So James did what Lily told him to do: he stayed out of it. He had thought that it was none of his business and made himself believe that maybe Mark wasn't as bad as he thought he was. That is, until he saw the bruises.
After spending time with Mark, James saw that Lily always had a new cut or bruise to add to her piling collection. She tried to cover them up by wearing long sleeved shirts or making excuses as to why she was hurt, but James wasn't fooled. He knew that Mark was taking a toll on Lily, causing her grades to slip and for her to become more distant with her friends. James also noticed that Lily was increasingly losing weight since she rarely ate anything anymore. This was due to the fact that she was always trying to hastily complete her homework in the library while everyone else ate so that she could spend her nights with Mark.
James knew that Lily's life was starting to spiral out of control. He needed to help her before she got hurt, which was exactly what he was planning to do tonight. He was startled slightly when the portrait hole opened and Lily clambered through. Right on time, James thought to himself as he silently got to his feet and walked over to Lily, who promptly ran into him after she closed the portrait door shut and turned to head for her room. James stifled a grin when he heard Lily swear eloquently, then caught her before her body hit the floor.
"Who are you?" Lily asked. She was peering up at the dark figure before her, trying to make out who it was as her eyes adjusted to the newfound darkness. She caught a scent of spice and felt her stomach drop. She had a feeling she knew who the person was.
"It's James," James responded, still keeping his hold on Lily.
"Eww, Potter! Let go of me!" Lily exclaimed and wriggled in James' hold. She felt James' hands release her struggling body and she took a step back from him.
"Where have you been, Lily?" James asked, ignoring Lily's comment.
"I was...umm...out patrolling the hallways," Lily responded, trying to keep her voice as calm and natural as usual. She had, in fact, been spending time with Mark, but she didn't want James to know this. She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that James would accept her feeble lie and leave her alone. To her disappointment, he didn't.
"At this time of night?" James continued to question, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I got lost on some of the floors," Lily said, growing angry as James continued to interrogate her. It was late at night and she was extremely tired. All she wanted to do now was to go to bed, not have another fight with James.
"You could've asked me to come with you, y'know. I am Head boy," James retorted accusingly.
"And why would I want you to come with me, Potter?" Lily snapped, disgust in her voice. A tension filled silence formed between the two of them and lasted a couple of painstaking minutes until Lily broke it by saying, "I'm going to bed." She moved towards the girls' staircase, but was prevented from doing so when James grabbed onto her arms and wouldn't let her go.
"I'm concerned for you, Lily," he said quietly, holding Lily's emerald gaze with his own hazel one. He had noticed that she had obtained a new bruise on her cheek this night.
"And since when do you care for anyone but yourself, Potter?" Lily hissed, glaring up at James.
"Since I've changed," James responded calmly. He heard Lily snort with disbelief.
"You couldn't change even if you wanted to, Potter," she said humorously.
James felt anger pulse through him at Lily's remark. "At least I don't take advantage of you by using you and hitting you, unlike your boyfriend Mark!" he retorted in a hate-filled voice.
"Mark loves me!" Lily objected defiantly. She felt like James had slapped her with his statement. Even though what James said was true, Lily still believed that Mark loved her. He just couldn't control his anger sometimes.
"He claims to love you!" James yelled. He didn't understand how Lily could be so blind.
"Shut up!" Lily yelled in return, angry tears flooding her eyes. She tried to wrench herself out of James' grip, but he held onto her tight and drew her closer to him.
"No, Lily! I won't let that piece of filth ruin your bloody life! You deserve better than him, and you know it!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, and you believe that you're better than him?" Lily retorted vehemently.
"Yes, Lily. I am," James replied in an exasperated voice. He paused and looked down into Lily's glistening eyes before continuing, "Lily, I'm crazy for you. Surely you've noticed it at least sometime since our third year together. I love the way your eyes sparkle when you find something amusing. I love the way your nose wrinkles slightly when you try to hide a smile. I love how smart and determined you are. I love everything about you, Lily...more than you can imagine. And I know that you would like me to stop, but the truth is I can't. The more you hate me, Lily, the more I love you. I fall in love with you more each and every day. I just can't stop loving you, Lily."
Lily felt her breath catch in her chest as so many emotions raged inside of her. First she wanted to hit James and yell at him. Then she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to scream and laugh all at the same time. Suddenly it was all too much for Lily. She felt her knees buckle and felt an overwhelming pressure pushing down on her, causing her to burst out into tears.
James felt his heart break slightly at how upset Lily was. He didn't want to see her so hurt. Then he did the only thing he could think of. He pulled Lily closer to him, allowing her to melt into his warmth as she cried into his shoulder. James comforted her as best as he could by stroking her hair and whispering nothings into her ear.
When Lily cried herself out, she pulled away from James' wet shoulder and looked up at him, her eyes still swimming with tears. "Why are you doing this, James?" she asked weakly.
"Because you deserve a guy who will treat you with the respect and love that you're worth," James responded warmly, wiping away the tears clinging to Lily's face with his thumbs. He debated with himself for a few seconds before saying, "And for this." James lowered his head to Lily's and kissed her.