It was just the two of them around. The silence was deafening.
Weren't they supposed to be making an effort this year? Weren't they going to do their homework at the same table, occasionally looking up at each other to burst into laughter. Weren't they supposed to talk about stuff and get all cosy-cosy together?
OK, so maybe the last things was discussable.
But the rest of them weren't! The whole clean slate-thing had been her idea too. She had been asking him to put all of his opinions about her aside so that everything that had passed between them could be locked away in some dark recess of their minds. Where had the conviction she had spoken with earlier that week disappeared of to? And why did she insist on torturing him so much?!
He had begun thinking about bed when Lily suddenly turned in her seat to look straight at him. Shocked by the sudden movement and afraid he had done something wrong, he reacted reflexively. His back snapped straight, his muscles tensed and his eyes widened.
"Do you wanna know a secret?"
Her voice was almost soft, her eyes pulling him in like a moth to a flame. He nodded dumbly, wondering what kind of gossip he was about to be allowed to sink his teeth into. She stood from her chair and walked over to his fire-facing sofa, her hips dancing the seductive little dance he was used to but never could get used to. She stopped a few parchment-lengths away from him, and rolled the shirt tails up, lifting the shirt until he could see several glorious inches of creamy skin.
For a second he was too transfixed by the expanse of previously forbidden skin to react to what she was alerting his attention to, but his brain (screaming at his eyes to get a grip) diverted his attention to where it was needed.
"You have a...piercing?" he asked incredulously, taking in the bended stud and the silver stars which dangled from thin chins beneath the indention in her stomach.
He heard her grin in her voice.
"Yeah", she moved her hands to her hips.
The move made her seem even sexier, coupled with the grin on her face it was hard for James not to jump her there and then to take her on the couch. He leaned back in the couch to cross his arms behind his head (mostly to stop himself from grabbing those hips), fastening his most confident grin onto his face.
"So, little miss Height-of-cool, when did this happen?" he smiled, doing his best impression of the cool attitude Sirius seemed to be born with.
"Well, I guess you heard about me and Jordan breaking up before school ended last year? Yeah, well, when I came home I was just so tired of Lily Evans that I wanted to drown her in a suers. And then, walking along a muggle shopping street I found a guy who pierced people in his tattoo parlour, so I just decided to do it."
She was still grinning, the smile almost swallowing her whole face.
"You're the first one I've told. Not even people back at home know", she added, putting her finger to her mouth, making him understand he was supposed to keep it under wraps.
He imitated the gesture, closing the deal wordlessly. He would keep her dirty little secret all to himself; the thought of ratting hadn't even taken place. Leaning forward again he brought a hand forward to touch the silver adornment.
Screw abstinence, he would allow himself one treat!
He froze, his hand just over half a foot away, his eyes jumping up to hers.
"Can I...?" he asked, indicating his halfway travelled hand.
She nodded, one side of her mouth curved upward.
His hand closed the distance like in a trance for James. His forefinger slid under one of the stars and lifted it just a fraction of and inch away from her skin. The back of his finger rested against her warm skin, making his hand tingle slightly. His thumb traced over the tiny star and his finger to come to rest with the pad in the bellybutton, blackened nail standing out against the white skin surrounding it.
"So, Evans, are you sufficiently reborn? Or is this just the beginning of a rebellious Lily Evans, with tattoos next?"
He grinned again and she smiled, eyes crinkling slightly around the edges.
"I'm sufficiently reborn and decked out, thanks. I'm perfectly content with just ears and navel pierced, I think", her voice bordered on laughter. "Maybe not done with breaking the rules though."
The thought excited him. Lily Evans as a rulebreaker; ah, the possibilities were endless, and enticing... Deciding he needed to distance himself in order to not do something totally brainless he pulled his hand back, leaning into the sofa again.
"Damn Evans, there's loads more to you than even I thought."
She grinned again, but took a tiny step away from him and he knew she was going to bed.
"I guess there is, Potter, just proves you never really know someone", she walked back to her table and rolled up her finished essay, gathered her books and supplies and gave him a slightly lopsided wave. "Goodnight then Potter, I'll see you in Transfiguration tomorrow morning, sir" and she half-skipped to the girl's staircase.
"Hey Lily", James called out, stopping her just as she was about to disappear up the passageway.
She turned to face him again, her shirt still hiked up her stomach. She raised an eyebrow to indicate she was listening.
"I dare you to wear your shirt like that tomorrow at breakfast or lunch."
Rolling her eyes she left the room, the door closing quietly after her a few levels up. Feeling utterly content with himself and the world, he decided to stay up for just a little bit longer, just to enjoy the stillness of the night (and how warm his forefinger felt). Damn! She was gonna be the death of him, he was certain of it. And he found he really didn't care.