AN: Oneshot! I love oneshots. They're definitely my guilty pleasure. And you know what makes a oneshot even better? Oneshots that are songifcs, like this one. It is to the song, Fall for You, by Secondhand Serenade. It's on their new CD, which is amazing, so you should check it out. Once I heard this song, I instantly thought of James and Lily, and even though this is definitely not my best and just a random piece for me, I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or this song.
Fall For You
by: tradingforeverx
The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting.
Could it be that we have been this way before?
Year after year, James Potter would return to Hogwarts with only two words in mind: Lily Evans. Not Quidditch, not grades, not even the Marauders. Just Lily Evans.
Lily Evans, similarly, would return with only James Potter in mind. But while James thought of Lily and the words perfection, beauty, and intelligence came to mind, she thought he was rude, arrogant, and pushy.
Which was why when Seventh Year came along, and James Potter found himself in the one and only Lily Evans' presence, and for the first time in all his years of schooling, there were no harsh words, he couldn't have been happier. No yelling, no screaming, not even snapping. Just speaking like two regular human beings, conversing over their shared duties as Head Girl and Head Boy.
I know you don't think that I am trying,
I know you're wearing thin down to the core.
And, alright. So maybe 'speaking like two regular human beings' was a bit of an exaggeration. But could you blame him? She was sitting across the table from him. Across the table.
"James?" she asked, much to his pleasure. Just seeing her say his name...
"Mm?" he replied, barely flickering his eyes to hers before they settled back down to her lips.
"Are you paying any attention to what I'm saying to you?" she questioned him. He saw her doing the deep breathing exercise that she'd started back in fifth year whenever she was in the same room as him. Even that seemed attractive now. It didn't even bother him that that was her signal, now, that he was grating on her nerves.
"Yes," he answered.
"Then what was I saying?" she asked patiently.
"Patrols," came his automatic reply, because years of living with his mother had taught him how to zone and pay attention at the same time.
She sighed, obviously irked by his knowledge. "Anyway, as I was saying, you need to..."
And the zoning out continued...
But hold your breath,
because tonight will be the night will be the night that I will fall for you,
over again.
Unfortunately, years of living with his mother did not teach him how to pay attention when Lily Evans' skirt happened to ride up much, much higher than it ever had, he was sure. Gulping, he attempted to focus on what she was saying now.
"So, really, prefects are annoying little buggers. They're going to try to dock points from any house except their own, so we have to watch out for that..."
Lame, he conceded, his eyes again going back to her thigh. She was looking down at her papers, so she didn't know that he was openly gawking, but he felt a blush rise to his cheeks when he even considered her catching him. Except his eyes could not stay anywhere else before going right back to her legs.
At least it wasn't her lips anymore.
"Potter, what are you doing?"
Perhaps he should have stayed with the lips, he thought, cringing.
Don't make me change my mind,
or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true.
"W–what?" he gasped, his eyes now snapping to hers.
"What were you staring at?"
"The, uh...the chair."
"You were staring at my legs, weren't you?" she accused him.
He scoffed. "What? Pft, no. That's insane. Jeez, Evans. And you say I'm cocky."
Her eyes narrowed into slits at this, and James sunk lower into his chair. He hated it when it got to this part. "You know," she stated slowly, but her voice was still snappy, "regular people don't stare at other regular people's legs when the latter mentioned regular person is trying to have a conversation with the former."
"Er, wh–what'd you say?" he asked, eyeing her calves now.
"Potter!" she scolded.
Because a girl like you is impossible to find,
you're impossible to find.
"I can't believe you."
She was standing now, her hand on her hip, blowing her hair out of her face angrily. It flew to the side before falling into her eyes again. She swiped at it.
"Really, Evans–the chair. It was fascinating."
She glanced down at the chair pointedly, before brandishing her arms at it. "I don't see anything great about it."
"Well, just the...coloring is great, really. And, just look at that leg! One of kind, I reckon."
"While we're on the topic of legs," she commented, to which he gulped. Only he would unknowingly bring up her legs again. "Could you refrain from staring at mine? It gives me goose bumps."
And only she would say something so satisfying in the midst of an argument.
"Go out with me?" he asked before he could stop himself. His hand met his forehead after realizing it but didn't bother taking it back. He had already dug his grave.
This is not what I intended.
I always swore to you I'd never fall apart.
You always thought that I was stronger.
I may have failed, but I have loved you from the start.
"Listen," she said, her face surprisingly softening. "I promised Alice I'd be nicer to you, alright? But I'm going to answer your question, and I'm only going to answer it this once. No."
Despite this being the nicest rejection he had ever received from her, it hit a chord with him more than it ever had. The fact that she was trying to be nice just for her friend bruised his ego and gave him little hope of this actually working. And the way she was actually succeeding in being nice only added to the punch. Why couldn't she just yell like every other time? At least then he wouldn't have felt as horrible.
"Potter?" she asked when he didn't answer. "Are you okay?" She took a step towards him, but he shoved his chair backwards and keeping a continuous distance between them.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, his voice a bit more hoarse than usual. He cleared it and stood, towering over her petite frame. "Are we done? I gotta meet the boys."
She nodded, still eyeing him, but he turned and left the room quickly. Once out of their shared Common Room, he leaned against the wall and placed a hand over his eyes.
Evans, one. Potter, zip.
Oh, but hold your breath,
because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you,
over again.
Or I won't live to see another day,
I swear it's true.
because a girl like you is impossible to find,
it's impossible.
"James?" a meek voice asked from in front of him, and he dropped his hand at once.
Lily was standing in front of him, shifting in her school uniform nervously and looking at him from under her lashes.
"Yes?" he inquired, eyebrow raised. Since when did Lily Evans, Queen of Composure, get nervous? And in front of the likes of him?
She didn't answer, instead leaning up to plant her lips on his.
So breathe in so deep,
breathe me in.
I'm yours to keep.
The kiss must have lasted a few seconds at the most, but James didn't realize it until it was over. Her hands, which had taken residence on his shoulders, slid back so she could shove them against each other in front of herself.
Words. He should have been using words. Saying something. Or perhaps just using his lips. I mean, if a girl kisses you, you're allowed to kiss her again, right?
But just as he was leaning in to get an actual kiss, she stopped him, saying, "This doesn't mean I'll date you, though." And then she left.
And hold onto your words,
'cause talk is cheap.
And remember me tonight, when you're asleep.
Dazed was the only word that could explain James at this one moment. For once in his entire life, he was dazed and could think of nothing to say. Nothing to do. Normally, he was an action kind of guy. He knew what he wanted, when he wanted it, and he knew exactly how to get it.
Except now.
Because really, what was there to do? He could jump the first three steps, kick the second stone up to the left of the forth step and trail his hand up the banister and enter the girls dorms, but then what?
Ravish her in front of her roommates? He thought dryly.
So for once, he followed his good friend, Moony's, advice, and did the one thing he never did: Nothing. It was probably one of the most intelligent decisions he made his entire life.
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you,
over again.
Don't make me change my mind,
or I won't live to see another day.
I swear it's true.
Because a girl like you is impossible to find.
Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you,
over again.
Don't make me change my mind,
or I won't live to see another day.
I swear it's true.
Because a girl like you is impossible to find,
you're impossible to find.