Title: Prankster – always planning
Character(s): James P, Lily E/P.
Summary: But no – it was because he was James potter, Gryffindor, Quiditch Player, Marauder. He wasn't allowed to be anything short of happy. One-shot
Challenge: Okay, this is written for the song-fic boot camp, using the song 'Skin and Bones' by 'Marianas Trench', it's a pretty good song, so you should go check it out if you've never heard it!
Notes: Okay... I know that before this, some of my writing was pretty terrible, and I've also been kind of vacant but I was on holiday... so I'm hoping that this is back up to my usual standard – if not better ;) I hope you like it; reviews are appreciated and take care!
"For the last time Potter, I will never go out with you, so give it up!" Lily Evans shouted at the top of her voice by the oak tree – the very place where James had caused her best friend to call her a mud blood at the end of term the year previously,
"I would rather go out with the giant squid and slice myself into a million tiny pieces after torturing myself for seventeen hours before I will go out with you!" She added, sending James Potter one final glare before storming off, her face as red as her hair.
James tried not to show how much Lily's words had affected him – even when the laughs from the students around him made their way to his ears.
He smiled weakly, as his fellow Marauders made their way up to him, patting his back in attempts to comfort him.
It didn't work like it had all the other times when he had tried to get Lily to go on a date with him. And he couldn't help but feel confused when his chest seemed to constrict slightly, making it slightly harder to breath.
Why was it hard for him to breathe? He was a chaser after all, and so it didn't come down to the fact that he wasn't fit. He didn't have any illnesses either, that would affect his breathing.
Looking over at his friends through his glasses, he smiled back at them, making it look as realistic as his usual kind of smiles, plastering it on his face as if he was really feeling happy. That being turned down by Lily Evans once again hadn't broken him down or anything...
When they reached their dormitory, Sirius and Remus sat down on their beds, Sirius fishing some exploding snap cards from his hands and Remus picking up the book that had been lying on the beige bedside table.
Peter went and joined Sirius as the latter dealt out the cards, looking up at James as if to ask whether he was going to join in.
James however shook his head,
"I'm going to have a shower," He muttered, grabbing some new clothes from his trunk, before retiring to the bathroom.
As he locked the door behind him, he turned on the shower immediately, not bothering to take off any of his clothes as he stepped under the water – he hadn't turned the heat up yet, not that he had really been planning on it.
Slowly, the Potter heir placed his back on the wall, sliding down it as he finally allowed the tears that had been building up roll down his tears.
He was a marauder, a Potter and a Gryffindor – he wouldn't cry over a girl, the girl who had rejected him ever since they had met,
But he was.
And for a moment it felt as if he had some sort of escape from the heart break that was in his chest – it was confusing really, because wasn't it only girls who suffered from broken hearts?
Surprisingly not, but maybe that was because guys always tried to hide from their feelings? Wasn't that what defined the emotional differences between the two genders – girls wore their hearts on their sleeves, and talked to people about their feelings, whereas boys just... didn't.
It was the same with how girls would tell their friends if they were in love with a guy, and how a guy wouldn't.
Were girls braver than boys? Obviously not, James thought, as he shook with his tears, he would fight against dragons and Vampires and Death eaters, not feeling the slight bit scared. If at the most he would just be feeling a mix of worry and adrenaline.
He wouldn't be scared; he would be there in order to keep those around him, especially his friends, and Lily...
He would die for her, just as he would for his marauders, but he never seemed able to put that into proper words, always messing up the chances he had of talking to her – making her hate him even more.
In fact, James was sure she didn't just hate him – Lily Evans loathed him. It was common knowledge after all, something that was required to be known when a student joined Hogwarts.
Who loathes James Potter so badly that they wished he would just disappear?
The answer – Lily Evans,
It was like a question put in Trivial Pursuit, something that everyone knew, because it was one of the easy questions.
Just need the green in the wheel and maybe James would be complete.
He had the other pieces held together, but there was just this hole where the green had once been – and Lily Evans had gone and thieved it away from him... the green of the wheel as green as her eyes...
James wanted to hate Lily, he wanted to be able to shout back at her – but he couldn't. Sometimes he wanted to feel angry at her for all of her snippy and mean insults that she yelled at him, but he couldn't.
No, James Potter just had to go and fall in love with the fiery princess who didn't want to be saved from her castle.
Just when James had rid himself of the pain in the chest he usually felt when he looked at Lily, yet another rejection brought it straight back to him – and this time it started off slowly before hitting him full pelt in the chest.
Showing up late to class, because his heart felt as if it was beating too fast to actually be pumping blood around his body didn't even give James a good reputation to win Lily over.
All he received was another detention to add to his list. And as he made his way to his chair, shuffling to it as if he had no energy anymore to do anything – the class all watched him.
No one worried about him however, except his Marauders who tried not to bring attention to it – after all, he was James Potter, prankster – always planning something...
No one ever expected that for one moment, James Potter might not be as happy as he let off to be.
No one ever expected that maybe he didn't have a perfect life – after all his parents weren't perfect, neither were his friends and his love-life definitely wasn't exactly going as smooth as he wanted it to be...
But no – it was because he was James potter, Gryffindor, Quiditch Player, Marauder. He wasn't allowed to be anything short of happy.