On the Wheels
Disclaimer – Not mine. Never was, sadly. All credits go to the one and only J.K Rowling. James and Lily Potter are her creations, but for me, they are my babies.
A/N – So the basic gist of it is that I watched a movie, felt like writing something to do with a train ride, and my hand slipped. I haven't really spent much time on this one, so I don't know how you guys will like it, but I really hope it won't be so awful that you won't leave me any reviews. Please do. They mean the world to me. That's all—read ahead.
"19 B. Excuse me, that's my seat."
Lily Evans looked up from her book at the sound of the voice. It was a tall man—probably in his early twenties, not unlike Lily herself. He carried a travelling bag and an additional duffle that was slung on his shoulder. Nerdy rectangular glasses, haphazard hair, and big, mischievous hazel eyes. He was scrummy—there was no denying it. But she was no idiot either. He spelled trouble.
"Um, excuse me?" he waved his hand in front of her eyes. Lily flushed; he was amused.
"Yes, of course." She scooted over onto the other side of the compartment. "I'm sorry. I just didn't—I found it completely empty when I came in, so…" she trailed off lamely. Truth was, she'd almost missed the train in the morning because of the disastrous traffic. And she had somehow—God only knew how—managed to climb in when The Express had started moving. After that, she'd simply found her compartment and collapsed onto the seat, trying to bury herself in her book as the scenery flew past.
"No problem." The guy said, storing his luggage overhead just as the train started pulling away from the station again. Lily allowed herself a little eye candy as she watched his black t-shirt rise with his motion, uncovering just a bit of tanned skin. Her eyes expertly skirted away as soon as he turned around, however. He was smiling charmingly. "Hi. I'm James Potter."
"Lily Evans." She took his extended hand. James's smile stretched into a smirk at the contact, and Lily promptly took her hand back, unnecessarily tucking strands of auburn hair behind her ear. He was definitely trouble. She shook her head, finding her worn out, coffee-stained bookmark, and opening the page where she'd let off. A glance towards her fellow passenger let Lily know that he had busied himself by plugging in his earphones. Music.
She smiled, returning to her novel.
James Potter was incapable of sitting still.
Lily could confidently confirm this after having spent an hour and a half with the man in the compartment of a train. He simply could not. He was always doing something. Nodding his head to the tune, or tapping his feet to the beats. Besides, James had gotten bored with his music within merely twenty minutes anyway. He'd decided to entertain himself by staring out the window for the next ten. He would look outside, twiddle his thumbs, sigh, and then check his wristwatch. They still had quite some time to go.
Not only that, he would often stare at Lily, too. He wasn't very subtle at it. He shifted too much, his glasses caught the glare of the afternoon sun, and he ran his hand through his hair excessively. It made his messy hair look messier. Obnoxious. But sexy. He knew it. He was dying to strike up conversation—to rid himself of his boredom, or just for the sake of it, she could not be sure. But he wanted to talk. She could tell by the way his mouth opened and closed several times before he returned to not doing nothing. She kept reading.
No, James Potter could not sit still.
Not like Lily had surreptitiously stolen glances of him over her book. Not that she had observed him for too long to be able to catch every single one of his quirks. No, that was not the reason she'd managed to read only ten pages of her novel in the past one and a half hours at all—feeling his gaze on her, and making her incredibly conscious. No, it was not like that. Any mildly observant person could have caught his restlessness and his oddities. Anyone at all.
"Um…Lily?" He finally seemed to have found his voice. Biting her lip, Lily saved her page with the bookmark before looking up at him with an innocent expression.
"Yes?" she asked. Polite.
"Could we…um, talk?" James asked, smiling sheepishly. He may have been a sack full of trouble, but he was annoyingly adorable. Lily would give him that. "I mean, I don't know about you, but…I'm just finding this a bit awkward. Aren't you?" He chuckled.
Lily swallowed her smile and shrugged. "Sure, I guess." She neatly placed her book beside her on the seat, and crossed her legs. "What do you want to talk about?"
James laughed loudly. Carefree. Lily's lips twitched—she had no idea why. Or maybe she pretended not to have one anyway. "Christ, it's not a counselling session!" he said, his eyes filled with amusement. "We could talk about anything. Whatever pops into our heads." He grinned crookedly. "So, where are you going?"
"Visiting the sister." Lily shifted on her seat. She'd tried not to think much about that, actually. It was not a very pleasant line of thought. Petunia was not something she liked to think often about anyway. She had almost—almost—turned around and returned home when she saw the train speeding away from the platform. It was probably a sign. But then she'd remembered her mother's pleading voice, and how much it would mean to her for Lily to go visit her big sister. But, dear God, Petunia had a son! With that god-awful man named Vernon Dursley.
Not that Lily wasn't happy for her sister. But she didn't have an ounce of doubt on the fact that the welcome she would receive from Petunia would be anything less than hostile. So, all in all, Lily Evans was not looking forward to this supposed 'visit'.
She shook her head to clear these thoughts and looked at James. "What about you? Where are you heading?"
Apparently, Lily decided, this was the right question to ask, for the man's eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh, I'm off to visit my friend Sirius. We're about to take an apartment together." He said happily. Lily grinned; his enthusiasm was contagious. She nodded, resting her chin on her hand as she listened to James describe his plans; he wanted to play football professionally, but not before finishing university. He was an only child, but had friends who were nothing short of brothers to him. And she was right—he was way too mischievous, not to mention a shameless flirt.
But she didn't mind. She didn't mind at all.
"Would you like anything, dears?" A voice interrupted them.
Lily looked up to find a cheerful old woman with a food trolley standing at the threshold of the compartment. She raised her eyebrows questioningly. Lily sighed in relief—she was starving. "Yes, please. I'll take a sandwich and two cupcakes." She reached into her pocket for the money as the woman nodded and got the food ready.
"I've got it." Lily felt a hand on her arm, and her eyes shot up to find James smiling down at her politely. "Could I have a burger and some macaroons, please?" He grinned charmingly at the old woman, and she giggled amusedly.
"Listen, James, you can't—" Lily started hesitantly.
"Oh, hush. It's completely fine." He said dismissively. And before Lily could make any further protests, he had already paid the woman, and was carrying the food items inside. She got up to help him, feeling completely useless as she took her sandwich and cupcakes to her seat. She'd just let a complete stranger pay for her food! For no apparent reason! The fact did not bode well with Lily.
"James?" She called, unwrapping her sandwich as she looked at him.
"Mhm?" He answered, already chewing on his burger.
"Listen, I—I can't let you pay for me like this." Lily sighed, her eyes confused and troubled, and…something. "It's just…I don't even know you properly, and I wouldn't want you to spend your money on me."
James stared at her, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Then, slowly, he chortled. "It's just a little money, Lily. Honestly little." He said, but when her expression still remained uneasy, he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Alright, alright. If it really bothers you that much, you can pay me back when the time comes, okay?"
Lily considered this for a moment, before finally accepting. She nodded, smiling. "Okay." She said, going back to her sandwich.
"So…what is that book about?" James asked about half an hour later. The train was rumbling pleasantly under them, gently rocking their bodies from side to side. They'd both finished with their snacks, and food wrappers scattered the seats. Lily had her eyes closed and was humming in her head when James asked the question. She opened her eyelids to reveal forest-green orbs and looked down at the book in question. Angel of the Dark by Sidney Sheldon.
"Crime investigation." She answered.
"Oh." James sounded surprised. "Hmm."
"What?" Lily asked defensively.
"Nothing…"
"No, something." She argued, now too curious to let it slide. "Come on, what is it?"
James shook his head, smiling to himself. "Nothing, it's…it's just that I thought it would be something else. Like a romance novel or something." He shrugged, giving her a crooked grin. Lily eyes narrowed playfully.
"Because I'm a girl?" She teased. "That's pretty sexist, Potter. Besides, what's wrong with romance novels? I like my fair share of them from time to time." She folded her arms across her chest.
"Nothing's wrong with them." James raised his hands in front of himself, laughing. "You just surprised me, I guess. You're so…different." His grin simmered down into an enigmatic smile, which made Lily's stomach flop uncomfortably. The atmosphere had changed, but she pretended it hadn't. It was safer to.
"I'm different because I read mystery novels?" She asked skeptically.
"Sort of," He grinned. "I mean, when I saw you, I totally thought that you were reading a Mills and Boons—something that would include a beautiful girl meeting a handsome bloke on a train, and the spark of an immediately love story." He wiggled his dark eyebrows.
"That," Lily said, "Has to be one of the worst pick-up lines ever." But worst pick-up line or not, she could not control the smile that pulled at her lips, nor the blush that took over her cheeks.
James's hazel eyes widened in amused surprise. His glasses weren't catching the rays of the sun anymore, and Lily realized that it was almost evening. They would arrive at the station soon. "Maybe it wasn't one." He offered. When the redhead simply gave him a look of utter disbelief, he laughed again. "Okay, so perhaps it was. But you can't blame me."
"I can't?" She smirked.
James shook his head. "No. Come on, Lily, how do you expect me to not at least try my luck? It's not like I encounter pretty, quick-witted, mystery novel-reading, single girls every day." Then, after a beat, he hastily added, "Wait, you are single, right?"
Lily laughed.
It was when they felt the train slowing down, and saw the approaching platform that James spoke next. "Hey, Lily?" His voice was quick, desperate.
"Yeah?" Her heart hammered against her chest.
James ran a hand through his dark locks. "I've got another question for you."
Of course he did.
"And…?"
"Do you—do you really not like me…y'know, like that?" His voice was sober, sincere. Lily blinked. "Because, let's be honest, I totally do. Ever since I saw you look up from that Sidney Sheldon book of yours. And…and I just need you to tell me the truth, because—" he took a deep breath. Then let it out slowly. "Because we probably won't even see each other after this—not if we don't do anything about it." He let his eyes scan hers, waiting for a response.
But Lily didn't reply. She averted her eyes and got up from her seat. Wordlessly, she reached overhead and pulled down her suitcase, looking outside the window as she did so. The train had come to a stop at the station. People were filing out, and there were families and friends greeting each other. She didn't even look for her sister. It would be of no use.
Instead, Lily paused for a fraction of a second, and from the periphery of her vision, she could just make out the seated figure that was James. He was still looking at her, his shoulders slouched. That was probably the least he'd moved since Lily saw him. She swallowed. Took a deep breath. And turned around.
"You know what?" She asked him, keeping her expression carefully blank. "I think I like trouble."
When James simply continued to stare at her confusedly, Lily squared her shoulders and took purposeful strides until she was standing right in front of him, her legs touching his. Then, without a word, she wound her fingers into his hair, leaned down, and pressed her lips against his.
The kiss was gentle and desperate at the same time, and it took James barely half a second to respond. His arm hooked itself around Lily's waist and he pulled her into his lap, further deepening the kiss. Lily's other hand travelled up from his chest to rest on his neck, and she sighed into his mouth. After a fashion, they both pulled away, breathless and flushed in the face. James was beaming, and Lily had a healthy, happy glow on her face.
"Wow." James breathed, tucking a strand of red hair behind Lily's ear. "What was that?"
"That was me paying you back when the time was right." Lily explained shyly. As she noticed a frown forming between James's brows, she kissed the spot. "Don't worry; I plan to stay in your debt for a long time, James. And keep repaying you again and again." She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his.
James hummed, satisfied. "Good." He pecked her lips one more time.
They could have very likely been the last ones to exit the train, but for James and Lily, it was too soon. Too early. As the green eyes lifted up to find the hazel ones, she reflected on the fact that she had met this man nothing but a few hours ago. "Bye, James." She told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
James wrapped her into a tight hug, burying his face into her hair. "Bye, Lily."
He did not notice when a hand reached into his pocket and dropped a small piece of paper inside.
When they pulled away, Lily waved goodbye with a tight smile before turning around and promptly walking away, suitcase in tow. She did not look back—she couldn't. Her eyes scanned the platform on their own accord—even though she'd promised herself she wouldn't. She had yet again allowed herself to hope. Lily sighed. Petunia wasn't here.
Of course she wasn't.
Shaking her head at herself, Lily Evans exited the train station, but not before she caught a glimpse of James with someone. This person was equally tall with smooth dark hair that fell over his grey eyes. He seemed like one of those people who were surreally good-looking. She smiled. It must've been the 'Sirius' James had told her about.
The two men were involved in an entirely enthused conversation—probably something that was hilariously trivial. James had probably not even given her a thought after their goodbyes, Lily found herself thinking. With a wistful sigh, she willed herself to look away and walk out into the inky night.
"Taxi!" she called.
About ten minutes later, Lily watched the city fly past her in a blur of colors, the wind whipping her hair around. Then suddenly, it buzzed. Her phone. She bit her lip, closed her eyes, uttered a quick prayer, and checked the screen.
Unknown number.
"H-hello? Lily Evans here."
"Hello, Lily Evans." She heard an amused voice from the other end of the line. "This is James Potter."
Her smile could not have possibly been any wider. "Hi, James."
"I must say, it was incredibly sneaky of you to drop your number in my pocket like that." His voice was teasing and fond. "I must personally thank you for doing that." He said.
"Tomorrow? Lunch?"
"I'll pick you up." She could hear his grin.
"I'll send you the address."
"Cool."
Lily looked out into the night, and thought that now, no matter what, even Petunia could not ruin her day. "Cool." She whispered back.
A/N – Ta da! Phew, finally done with that. It actually wasn't supposed to be like this, but then I was typing without even realizing what I was actually doing. But this is how it turned out, and I was too lazy to do anything about it. So, there you go. Hope it's not too shabby. It's probably one of the most simple love stories out there, because my babies are anything but simple, but I like them anyway. Please do leave me reviews guys, I never get enough of them. The number of you out there, reading this, is so so much more compared to the number of reviews I get. So please please please review! I promise it doesn't take too long. Truckloads of love.
Claudia.