A/N: Hey! This was designed as a companion piece for my other story, told from Lily's POV, Unfortunately. That said, you don't actually have to read that to understand completely what's going on in this. It's just a James/Lily story, simple as that... Told in James' POV. Welcome to the bus. This ride shouldn't take too long...
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Her lips were soft, and smooth, and incredibly, deliciously Lily. It took me a minute, but then it hit me. (Like a ton of bricks.) Lily Evans was kissing me, James Potter. And it was February, and I was cold. But more importantly: I WAS KISSING LILY EVANS.
Fortunately
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They say that all good things begin in seventh year. I guess they're right. For me, it all started somewhere in those indecipherable weeks in the middle of September.
It was a normal day. An ordinary day.
However, in retrospect, it was, in fact, a very extraordinary day.
It started off ordinarily enough.
I was walking to class, flanked by Moony and Padfoot (Peter had forgotten his textbooks.) Lily Evans was rushing in front of us—late, as usual—to Charms—as always. Her hair was messy, her clothes ruffled and ill-fitting, her bag a hectic jumble of parchment and quills and random textbooks. Somehow, though, I knew that somewhere in there was still every single perfectly done assignment, to be handed in miraculously wrinkle-free, and gaining a mark to rival my own.
Okay, so, maybe beat my own. But not in Transfiguration.
Well, maybe sometimes in Transfiguration.
Point being, Lily Evans was a mess. Lily Evans was always a mess. She was a complete basketcase. Padfoot pretty much summed it up, once, in sixth year. She had just snapped at him for leaving something—I have no idea what, exactly—in the common room, and after reading him the riot act, he just turns to me (right in front of her) and utters this single—completely bloody brilliant—sentence.
"She's completely nutters," he said mournfully, shaking his head and eyeing her disparagingly. I couldn't help but agree. We watched her bustle around for a minute, a human tornado, only making a worse mess of the things she attempted to clean up, and then headed up to the dorm.
It's pretty common knowledge that in fifth year I had a little thing for Lily Evans. Natural, right, as she was the only girl in the school practically who didn't try and jump my bones whenever I turned the corner in a hallway.
Well, that's an exaggeration, but you understand.
I asked her out a few awkward times, she publicly humiliated me a few more, and things cooled down. We had a couple fights more and then we were back to enemies. Obviously I don't like her anymore, but it's weird. I'm not really capable of being neutral, either. It's like things are kind of charged where Lily Evans is concerned.
So yeah, I was walking along the hall with my mates, watching her struggle along. I mean, we were late too, but we were so much more chill about it. Lily Evans was just so, incredibly, utterly un-cool. She was the least chill person I knew. Somehow she just utterly, miserably failed at that aspect of life.
I see her around quite a bit (Lily Evans, that is, not Padfoot,) so it wasn't anything special, or even really interesting. I was too busy teasing Padfoot about his crazy stalker fifth year.
"Shut up," he muttered, but I could tell he was blushing.
"She's gonna jump your bones in the library, mate," I joked. "Better make sure you have a bodyguard at all times."
"There will be no bone jumping in the library," Moony chuckled, and I grinned.
"Good," Padfoot muttered. "I'll just bring you, then, Prongs, and thrust you at her when she comes near. A human shield."
"Well, if you weren't so pretty," I teased, knowing that his good looks (inexplicably) embarrassed him. For one of the most arrogant people I know, Padfoot was surprisingly modest. He hated attention being brought to his looks or money, and would much rather be praised on tangible things like grades and accomplishments.
Not that he had any of those.
Okay, so he did, but I have more.
The staircase diverted our conversation, however, requiring all of our (small) attention spans. This particular one contained a large amount of trick steps, and so required cautious maneuvering. Ahead of us, Lily Evans was barreling down—not even bothering to hold the banister—one hand clutching her bag and the other holding her hat down over her wild hair.
And then, suddenly, it happened.
I had looked up for a moment, attention diverted from stairs to crazy girl, just in time to see it.
One of the stones, dusty grey like all the others, must not have been exactly smooth. The thousands of students endlessly trudging over the stairs must not have stepped there often enough. The small lip in the old stone must not have included this small, sidelong lump. Obviously, no one would have spotted it.
Running down the stairs as fast as she could go—practically falling already—Lily Evans tripped. Padfoot and Moony didn't even see, but I did. I watched, feeling a little detached, as she fell down a couple stairs with a breathy gasp, landing awkwardly on her ankle and hurriedly righting herself with only a small wince of pain.
And this wasn't even the abnormal part. Lily Evans tripped all the time—she was one of the clumsiest people I knew. I bet she had even tripped over that same stair a bajillion times before. It was what I felt, when I saw her trip.
I felt this squeeze, around my heart, like a band suddenly constricted. Suddenly it seemed like Lily Evans was the only person in the room—in the world, even. I watched her fall, feeling as if it lasted forever, watching her as though miles of empty space stretched endlessly under her, threatening to engulf her flaming life if she should step in to its clutches. My entire body felt frozen, my nervous system unresponsive. In that moment, I felt pure, unadulterated terror run rampant through my veins, adrenaline surging like white water through my stomach.
"Prongs." Someone was talking to me "Prongs, snap out of it. We're late to Charms."
"Oh, right, yeah…" I mumbled, having no idea what I was agreeing to, mechanically taking a step down.
Lily Evans disappeared around a bend in the corridor, taking a little piece of my heart with her. And that was that.
I was in love with Lily Evans.
It's funny how things work out like that.
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hmm?