A/N: Okay, so I was working on ADBU when this song came on and I was hit with this plot bunny. Deal with it.
James and Sirius had been together for years, happily in love. They had started as pureblood acquaintances, as the Potters and Blacks were social elites. After finding common interest in pranks, they became best friends. They became closer and closer until they were sharing secret kisses at the pureblood parties and holding hands as they ran around pranking people.
Everything was perfect.
Until the day James and Sirius entered Hogwarts and met Lily Evans.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can
"Did you see her, Siri?" James babbled, his brown eyes sparkling in excitement. "Isn't she pretty?"
Glaring at the new Gryffindor, Lily Evans, Sirius replied stiffly, "Of course she is, James."
And all through the feast, Sirius had to listen to his love prattle on about a girl. He could only hope it would pass.
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene
A year later, and James was still infatuated with Evans. He constantly talked about how pretty she was and how nice she was and gods, if he didn't stop Sirius just might kill the girl.
"Didja see her today, Siri?" James asked in the common room that evening. "Didja see Lily today?"
"Unfortunately," Sirius muttered under his breath, clutching his Transfiguration textbook in a death grip.
Remus, the quiet boy James and Sirius had met the second week of their first year at Hogwarts, stared at Sirius curiously. He didn't know how close James and Sirius really were.
Or, Sirius thought bitterly, how close they used to be. Ever since Evans came along, it seemed as if his Jaime was slipping away from him.
Sirius came out of his thoughts just in time to hear James ask, for the hundredth time that day, "Didn't Lily have the prettiest green eyes?"
Eyes blazing, Sirius thought really might just kill her.
He talks about you in his sleep
There's nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name, Jolene
They were in their third year at Hogwarts. Puberty had just started setting in and Sirius was starting to hate Evans that much more since James was now even further away from him. Since Evans started looking like a real girl, James was hooked.
Sirius, on the other hand, was getting more and more depressed.
James and Sirius didn't kiss anymore. Their last kiss had been right before the summer- a quick peck on the cheek from James before he ran towards his parents.
They barely held hands.
Sirius could only thank Merlin that the hugs were still in abundance. They at least added a little comfort to the situation since Sirius didn't think Evans had ever been hugged by his Jaime.
However, as Sirius lay in his bed at night, clutching the blankets, he hoped fervently that the dorm would stay silent.
It never was.
Sirius sobbed into his pillow as he heard James's deepening voice call out into the night in a longing, sighing whisper.
"Lily..."
And I can easily understand
How you could easily take my man
But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene
Fourth year brought a tenseness between James and Sirius.
Evans hated James- sure, that was true –but every time Sirius teased him about it in the slightest, James would blow up at him in anger.
Sirius could only stare with sad, cloudy gray eyes as James traced Evans's every movement with his hazel gaze.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can
"Remus," Sirius whispered into the werewolf's ear as they cuddled on his bed. Tears slipped out from under tightly closed eyelids. "Remus..."
"I know, Padfoot," Remus whispered back, his own gaze watery. "I know about you and James, so you can let it out."
Sobs racked through Sirius's lean body, shaking the ever weakening bones.
"She's not going to take him away, Padfoot," the werewolf promised, his voice tight.
"She already has," Sirius replied, his voice trembling.
You could have your choice of men
But I could never love again
Hes the only one for me, Jolene
"Hey, Sirius!" James called, jogging up to his friend.
Sirius smiled sadly, noticing the extra syllable tacked onto his name. He wasn't Siri anymore.
"Hey, Prongs," he replied in a fake cheerful voice. His smile was dim and cracking as the minutes went by.
James said, "I'm going to ask Lily to be my girlfriend!"
Again? Sirius wanted to ask, but didn't. Instead, he nodded and said, "Good luck, mate."
"Thanks!" James shouted over his shoulder as he ran towards Evans.
A tear slipped down Sirius's cheek. James had left him without a hug. Again.
Funny how that worked, wasn't it?
I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do, Jolene
Sirius gagged as he walked into the Seventh Year boys' dormitory. It smelled like Evans's muggle perfume. It was disgusting.
Then, Sirius saw why.
James and Lily were staring at him, flushed and surprised, from under the sheets on James's bed. There wasn't a doubt in Sirius's mind as to what they had been doing.
"S-sorry!" Sirius was mortified to hear his voice break. "I just...just needed my Transfiguration textbook."
Quickly, he grabbed the book off his bed and ran out of the dorm, slamming the door behind him.
While James and Lily might not have saw, Remus definitely noticed the tear tracks down Sirius's face as he went running by out of the common room.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him even though you can
Jolene, Jolene
"I now pronounce you, man and wife!" The priest called.
The crowd cheered as James and Lily kissed, a sweet innocence surrounding them that Sirius knew to be a lie.
He stood from the back row, locking eyes with James as the newlyweds looked at him in surprise. He stood there just long enough for them to see that he wasn't going to break down. Not in front of them.
"She's really taken him away from me," Sirius said to Remus as they were leaving the wedding.
Smiling sadly, Remus leaned over and grabbed Sirius's hand.
"That might be true," said Remus, raising Sirius's hand and kissing it. "But she can never take me away."
Surprised, Sirius stared at him for a long moment before breaking out into a huge grin.
"Good."
A/N: Okaaay...was not expecting this plot bunny to hit me while I was working on ADBU of all things but *shrugs* oh well. And I'm not sorry about the Sirius/Remus at the end. I wanted it to end with Sirius being happy. So nyeh. Please Review.
~S.