A.N. -- This is just a new writing style I'm trying out. Hope you like it. This is AU, and magic won't be mentioned (that I know of so far). Lily and James are just regular teenagers, going to high school. It will take place in America - sorry to disappoint all you British folks, but I'm American and I really don't know how to write daily life in Britain. So, yeah, this should be interesting. If you have any other questions/comments, please leave them in a review! Don't know when my next update will be - hopefully soon!

Disclaimer – Oops, forgot to add this. Well, um, the idea is mine, but all the characters you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling, the amazing writing genius that she is. ;)

Chapter One

I stared hard at my bedroom ceiling. My eyes burned painfully and I was still boiling over with rage at the nerve of my sister, but being alone with the music blaring loud from the speakers was slowly doing its job in cooling my temper. Great. I'd only been home a week, and already I couldn't wait to get back to school.

It was all her fault. My sister, Petunia. Two years older than me, she graduated from high school last year. Petunia resolved not to go to college (the whole 'I'll just find a good husband and he can support me' deal), and she's been spending the past few months sharing an apartment with her friend, Yvonne. I've only met Yvonne once, and she reminded me all too much of Petuny. Same disdainful sneers, same thirst for gossip, same beady eyes. I did not like her, and she did not like me. Probably no thanks to Petunia's influence.

Petuny only comes home during my vacations, and I know she does it just to spite me. That's just the way she is. Absolutely incorrigible.

The phone on my bedside table rang. It was really a miracle that I heard it over the radio, which I quickly shut off before answering.

"Hello?"

The cool voice of my best friend responded lightly, "My mom's being a pain. Want to hit the mall?"

I smirked. Val and her mother did not get along. Mrs. Bush thought her daughter was too wild, and Valerie thought her mother was a snob with a horrible fashion sense. I suppose the rift was natural.

"Sure," I said. "I need to get out. Petuny jumped on my case as soon as I walked through the door. Twit. Anyway, is Maddie coming?"

"Yeah. She's going to meet us there. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Hang on a minute." I swung my legs over the side of the mattress and scooted closer to the window, pulling back the thin white curtain so I could peer out onto the street. Petuny, her face coated with a heavy layer of makeup, strode down the sidewalk. Her red stilettos clicked on the pavement, her too-short miniskirt revealing more skin than I really wanted to see. Ew. Nightmares.

Petunia unlocked the door to our parents' SUV and jumped into the driver's seat. I resisted the tempting urge to fling something out the window at her, but it probably would have wound up sailing through the very EXPENSIVE window rather than her empty head anyway.

I sighed, returning to the phone conversation. "Yeah, I'm going to need a ride. Petuny just took the car." Even though my sister and I were both old enough to drive, our parents had refused to buy vehicles for us, insisting that earning the money ourselves would cultivate a deep sense of responsibility. Yeah, whatever with that parent psychology crap. It hadn't done me any favors, since it now had me working a part-time job at a pizzeria a town away. The job took up most of my free time, which I didn't have much of in the first place.

"Okay," answered Val easily. "Be ready in about five minutes, 'kay?"

"Fine. See you."

"Yep." She hung up.

I placed the phone back on the receiver and headed for my closet. Among the colorful array of skirts and dresses (which I didn't know why I even bothered to buy, as I never wore them), I found a pair of jeans and a blue hoodie that would work. They were the same pants I had worn last summer while helping my parents repaint the house, so a few blue and white paint stains marred the otherwise clean jeans. Oh well. Val would have a fit, but she'd get over it.

No one could ever say that Val didn't know how to dress. Her impeccable fashion made her the center of attention wherever she went - besides the fact that not just a few of her clothes flashed a tad more skin than was probably necessary. Val hated my whole idea of dressing for comfort rather than attention, but it worked for me. I didn't need brainless guys drooling after me.

I slung my purse over my shoulder and hurried down the stairs. I opened the door in time to see Val's red convertible pulling up in our driveway. The top was down and her brown hair was a tangled mess. It never would have worked for me, but she managed to make even that style look wonderful. She smiled at me, revealing perfect teeth, as I walked around her car and hopped into the passenger seat.

Val looked wonderful. She had on a light green and white skirt that came just above her knees and a shirt that showed a tantalizing bit of flesh. She would have the guys on the prowl today.

Her bright blue eyes traveled over my apparel and she heaved an all-suffering sigh. "That's it, Lily Evans. We're buying you some new clothes today. An entirely different wardrobe."

I plucked at my sweater. "Actually, I'm fine with this. And thanks to my parents, I've got no extra money for clothes."

Val waved her hand dismissively and started the ignition. "Don't worry about that, Lils," she said. "I'll buy them for you."

I felt my face heat up. As the daughter of two prominent lawyers, Val had her fair share of money. Definitely more than my family did.

"No, I'm okay. I - uh, I don't want you spending money on me."

Val shot me a look. "Why? It's not like I don't have too much of it already. Now come on. It'll be my treat."

I sighed, realizing a lost cause when I saw one. "Fine," I consented, "but we're going to have to make it to the mall sometime today." She hadn't yet moved the car.

Val grinned. "I know." With that, she pulled away from the curb and gunned the engine. I felt my shoulder-length red hair whipping around my face, stinging when the ends made contact with my skin. I clutched my small pocketbook to ensure it wouldn't fly out the back.

Val laughed. "Come on, Lils," she shouted over the wind. "Isn't this the most awesome feeling ever?"

It was, in a way. The rush of the wind through my hair, the force of the adrenaline... Yeah, it felt good. Still, I doubted whether I would ever get used to it.

It came as a great relief when the mall finally entered my line of vision. The parking lot was unsurprisingly crowded, as it always was on Saturday afternoons, but Val found a spot near the back and shut off the convertible.

"We have to walk a while," she said, her eyes calculating the distance to the nearest store, "but it's better than driving around for an hour to find a spot near the front." She reached in the dash and pulled out a hairbrush, combing through her hair. Once it had resumed a tolerable style, she handed the brush to me. "Use it quick. Your hair's a mess."

"Thanks," I said dryly, but I began brushing the knots that had accumulated during the drive. For short hair, mine certainly tangled easily. Mentally cursing myself for not having the good sense to tie it back, I finished and stashed the brush away.

A petite girl with curly blond hair pulled back into a messy ponytail was waiting for us at the entrance. A few ringlets had fallen into her face, and she pushed them impatiently behind her ear. Her elegant face broke into a smile when she saw us.

"Hey!" exclaimed the girl, my other best friend Madeline Gallagher. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

Val shrugged. "Traffic." Her eyes slipped sideways toward me, and she smirked evilly. "Maddie, we have a job ahead of us today."

"Ooh, really? Tell me!"

"We're going to force some fashion into this one." Val inclined her head in my direction as Maddie giggled softly, nodding.

Maddie wasn't as showy a dresser as Val. She was wearing a sundress at the moment - light fabric that I thought would do little to keep her warm in the uncommon chill of this summer day.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you cold in that?"

Maddie shrugged. "Nah, the mall's heated. C'mon."

We passed through the revolving doors and a welcomed blast of warm air hit me. It felt good in comparison to the cold I'd that I'd endured during the drive here.

I didn't go to malls to shop for clothes. In fact, I had more fun avoiding them and heading straight for the department stores - good clothes for half the price. With a friend like Val, however, I had more chance of hell freezing over than shopping at a regular store. So we hit the mall. The only good aspect in this was that, no matter which mall you happened to go in, there was always a bookstore. Ah, my favorite!

As Val and Maddie were contemplating which stores to stop at first, I tried to sneak away. "Guys," I said tentatively, "I'm... uh... See you in the bookstore!" I took off, my five dollar sneakers pounding the tile. I could hear them coming after me and I let out a very uncharacteristic shriek. And, being the stupid idiot that I sometimes am, I neglected to watch where I was headed.

So...

BAM! I ran directly into something hard and solid, sending me careening backward until I landed rather ungracefully on my bum. Ouch, did that hurt! As I massaged the offending area, I heard a loud explosion of laughter above me. My own green eyes cut upward, locking with a pair of dark hazel eyes as they did so. I'd collided with a guy!

He was rather handsome, if I had to admit it. With dark, disheveled hair, sharp features, and high cheekbones, he wasn't all-too-horrible on the eyes. I could tell from his smoothly muscled arms that he regularly hung out at the gym - or, at least, that he took care of himself. Still, the thing that really got me was his smirk. It was the kind that said 'yes, I'm hot, and I know it.' Arrogant jerk.

It's funny how you can tell so much about a person by their smiles. And I didn't like what I was seeing in this one.

I pushed myself up, ignoring his proffered hand, and swept the nonexistent dust from my jeans. I knew I would have to apologize because, as usual, it was my fault. But he beat me to it.

"Hey, sorry about that," he said, smiling easily. His teeth were perfect! "Wasn't watching where I was going."

"Yeah, well, you probably didn't expect to have a midget redhead come barreling at you without warning, either." I flashed him a smile of my own. "And I wouldn't have, but my friends are crazy and seem to have some unnatural affinity toward bookstores."

Val sauntered up, forcing back her laughter. "You're such a liar, Lils." She turned to the group of guys. "She's the crazy one." Val stopped suddenly. Her eyes, intense, studied his face. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

He squirmed. "Yeah, probably. I'm James Potter. Do you, uh, go to school around here?"

"Yeah ---"

"I know you!" interrupted Maddie, pointing a finger at James Potter. "He's the captain of the football team, girls. Remember? Sarah dated him for a while?"

I instantly got a bad feeling in my stomach. Sarah, one of the girls we ate lunch with, had wasted two weeks of her life crying over this... this thing after he had dumped her for a busty blond girl on the cheerleading squad. Oh, yes, I'd heard of him.

"Right," I said as I stepped around Potter and the group of guys behind him, some of whom did look vaguely familiar now that I considered it. "See you in the bookstore, girls."

Val and Maddie sighed, but they let me go. As I stepped into the Barnes and Noble and took in with familiarity the layout of the store, I took a deep breath and tried to force James Potter out of my mind. He'd hurt one of my friends, purposely. What kind of an idiot did that?

Certainly not one I was interested in.

+ - + - +

I paid for my purchases and started toward the entrance, where Maddie and Val were standing cautiously as they eyed the bookshelves with obvious distaste. I'd never understand why they hated reading as much as they did. It seemed stupid to me.

Weighed down by three bags of books - and I'm willing to bet each of them weighed more than I did - I dragged myself over to my friends. Val raised her eyebrows.

"Did you buy enough?" she asked. "I thought you said you didn't have any money!"

"Hey," I defended, "this was my paycheck for about three weeks right here. Besides, I'd rather have a good book than fashionable clothes."

Val snorted delicately (if that's even possible). "We can see that."

Ignoring her, I turned to Maddie, noticing the shopping bags in her hands. "What'd you get?"

"Well, we stopped at Claire's," she said, "and I got a new pair of the cutest earings ever! Val insisted we stop into Spencers" - I wrinkled my nose; I hated that store - "and I got a t-shirt there. That's about it. Oh, and I got Jeremy a keychain." She smiled as a dreamy expression passed over her face.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure Germy will appreciate it," I commented dryly, using the nickname Val and I had come up with for Maddie's boyfriend. Hey, you can call me mean, inconsiderate, whatever -- he's a jerk! An absolute jerk! He and Maddie actually broke up for a while, and not two seconds after he dumped her, he came over to me and asked if I'd like to go see a movie with him! Idiot.

"Look," started Maddie, "I know you don't like him, but really... He's not all that bad."

This time, I snorted. And it wasn't delicate. "Not all that bad? Mad, you know he's insufferable. He smokes, he drinks, he ---" Oh. I stopped myself right before the word 'cheats' left my lips. Maddie hated it when I brought up his 'flings.' Apparently, it wasn't his fault. Those girls just flung themselves at him, leaving Germy completely innocent. Or maybe they slipped and just accidently landed on top of him. Who knows?

"I know he has some... problems," said Maddie uneasily. "But really, he isn't that horrible once you get to know him."

"Well, I have no intentions of getting to know him," I said. "I. Do. Not. Like. Him. At all. And you know I rarely chance my mind once I've formed an opinion about something."

Maddie sniffed, and evidently Val decided to chance the topic before we had a sobbing best friend on our hands.

"Food," said Val abruptly, rubbing her hands together. "Where do you think we should eat?"

I scanned the options in the food court, my eyes lingering for a second longer than normal on a Chinese restaurant. Val must have caught my interest, because a second later she was dragging us over. She snapped open her purse. "Here, I'll pay."

I only agreed after promising to pay her back. Once I had my order of sweet and sour chicken - with rice, mind you - I struggled behind Val and Maddie, trying to carry both my tray and my books. Val looked behind at me and laughed; Maddie held back and took one of my bags. We exchanged glances, and when she smiled, I knew I was forgiven for my outburst against Germ - sorry, Jeremy.

Well, let me tell you, sweet and sour chicken with rice had never tasted so good. I shoved it all in my mouth in quite an unladylike way, and had it all downed within three minutes. Yay! New record.

Val watched me, sneering slightly. Maddie was giggling, as usual. I smiled sheepishly and lightly patted my mouth with my napkin, mocking those proper elderly ladies at the next table. Maddie's giggles grew louder.

Val suddenly leaned forward and whispered to me, eyes sparkling, "Don't look now, but I think a certain football captain may be checking you out."

I turned around, subtlety completely lost on me. Sure enough, there he was, the infamous James Potter. His eyes were traveling up from my feet in a very slow, deliberate manner. The jerk! He was checking me out! When his search brought those eyes up to my face, I recognized that smirk immediately.

Much to the shock of those older ladies next to us, I flipped him the finger.

Arrogant prick.

A.N. — Well, there you have it. Chapter one. Um, in case you didn't know: Barnes+Noble is a major bookstore around where I live. Claire's is a store where you go to buy necklaces and earings and stuff like that. Spencers is just about the most awkward store I've ever been in. Kind of like a step down from an "adult" store. That kind of thing. They do sell good clothes, though.

P.S. - Whoever is reading "Broken", I promise I will update soon! I just needed a break from that story, it was starting to annoy me. ;)