He moved stealthily through the deserted halls of the castle, his footsteps resonating around him. Damn it, he thought, frustrated at his lack of considering appropriate footwear. Though, to his credit, he didn't think he'd make it this far.
Ducking into a shadowed alcove, he leaned against the stone wall and slid down to sit on the cold floor. He needed to catch his breath, to review his strategy, to establish a plan of action. Peeking around the corner, he surveyed the hall for his opponent, and upon seeing hide nor hair of her, he let out the breath he'd been holding. He slipped back into the alcove, but didn't relax. He couldn't. This was Paranoia.
When Headmaster Dumbledore announced that the entire school would be participating in a game called Paranoia, he was skeptical. The last game played on such a large scale resulted in the death of a student, and to be quite honest, that scared him. He'd exchanged looks with his friends as the Headmaster explained the game before the Halloween feast. "We are playing Paranoia in order to get to know our fellow witches and wizards at Hogwarts, since when you all go out into the world, the best resource you have will be each other. Every student is assigned the name of another student whom they must tag. When one student tags another, he or she takes the name that the tagged had and goes after whomever that may be. More specific rules will be posted in the common rooms. So, I say we tuck in to this splendid meal before us! But first, some final words: pip, flicker, and sap!"
Before he knew it, the game had begun. He assumed that some timid first year had been assigned his name, since no one had come after him. Somehow, he'd made it to the final two. All he had to do was tag this one person, and he was the winner. In his hand he held the slip of paper that had his opponent's name written upon it. A name that made all the difference.
He was drawn out of his reverie by the distinct click of resounding footfalls. He shrunk farther into the shadows of the alcove, but to no avail. The footsteps stopped at the mouth of the recess and he let out a sigh of defeat. She'd found him.
"James?"
He rose to his feet, stepping into view. "Lily."
"It's down to us, then."
"I suppose so, yes."
She paused, biting her lip. Taking a deep breath, she said, "What are you waiting for? Tag me already."
"What?" he asked, bewildered.
"Tag me! You deserve to win."
"No, I know how much you want the extra credit. You'll finally be the undisputed top of every class. So, tag me."
"No, James! You've played the game, you get to win. Just tag me!"
"You've played the game, too, Lily. Don't be daft, tag me."
"No, I haven't! You know what I've been doing this entire time? Sitting in my dormitory, thinking about how I would go about tagging you! Scheming about how to tag you, and holding onto the ridiculous hope that maybe I wouldn't have to, and you'd just kiss me instead, and it'd be all romantic like in the movies!" She paused, realizing what she'd just said, and clapped her hands over her mouth with her eyes wide.
"You... wanted me to kiss you?"
Appearing to not trust her mouth, she hesitated, then nodded slightly.
"Why?"
Removing her hand, she spoke slowly, "Because I've seen how much you've changed. And it's made me realize how great a person you are, how great a person you've always been. And I like it. A lot."
He stepped towards her. "So, just to clarify, you've had my name this entire time?" She nodded. "And you've held off from tagging me because you wanted me to kiss you?" Again, she nodded, albeit more timidly. "That makes no sense, Miss Evans."
"I know it doesn't, I'm just talking nonse-"
He cut off her ramblings by pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was slow, cautious, and perfect. He pulled away all too soon, resting his forehead on hers. "You win."
A/N: Not my best and incomplete, but hey, it's something. I've been busy like you wouldn't believe, so I'm not making any promises for 30 Days, but I had to put something out so that people know I didn't die or anything. I'm really excited to play Paranoia at my school, seeing as we haven't for the past few years because some people in last year's graduating class went on the roof and it was banned. It's gonna be crazy intense. Anywho, let me know what you think!
Much love, Sadie