1. The Beginning
If I could take you into paradise up above, if you could tell me I'm the only one that you love, life could be a dream, sweetheart.
There she lay, surrounded by daisies in a meadow not far from where her family resided. The salty scent of low tide wafted over the trees, tickling her nose. Her old red bicycle sat a ways away, discarded in her haste to immerse herself in the scent of the flowers. With her rich auburn hair splayed out beneath her, she twirled a daisy between her forefinger and thumb absentmindedly.
A low humming brought her from her pleasant daze. She raised her head, shifting her weight to her forearms as she glanced at the intruder. A robust adolescent made his way into the meadow, with a mess of ebony hair upon his head and round wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. She groaned and laid back down, vexed.
"Get out of here, Potter."
"Not your field, Evans. I don't see your name anywhere," he replied smoothly.
"Still, I was here first. So by the Royal Queen's Decree of 'Get the Hell Out of Here', I must ask you to leave."
He chuckled. "Who knew you were capable of making a joke? A1 as well. Good job, Miss Lily."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," she quipped, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, but I'm so used to its merits!" He began making his way over to where Lily lay engulfed in the white-petaled blossoms. James lowered himself down next to her and continued, "Can't you make an exception?"
Lily turned her head, beholding his puppy-dog expression upon his face. His strong facial features did him well. The common belief of his status as second hottest guy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry proved true in Lily's eyes, though she'd never admit it. She smiled at him and averted her gaze once more.
"Fine. Just this once."
"Really?" James asked in disbelief.
"Nope!" Lily laughed. James smiled at her ploy.
"Two jokes in one day. Are you getting tired yet?"
"You know, James, I actually do joke around people I actually like. So, to answer your question, no. I'm not tired yet," Lily teased.
"I'd like to be one of those people. Sounds like good fun, hearing you joke around."
"We'll have to see about that, Mr. Potter." She heard James shift his weight beside her as he got up.
"Why not see to it right now?" he asked, extending his hand. She raised an eyebrow in question, then shook her head and grasped the offered palm. He looked surprised at her course of action, but quickly regained his prior composure.
"May I ask where you are taking me?" she inquired. James led her blindly through the trees, taking sharp turns and avoiding the trunks skillfully, considering the speed at which they were going. He'd left the path almost immediately, in favor of trying his luck at navigating the forest on instinct. The pungent scent of the tide grew stronger the further they went, to the point that Lily felt like the ocean was mere meters away.
"No, you may not," he replied. "Its a surprise, and if I told you where we were going, it'd be ruined."
"Then I must inform you that I hate surprises."
"You'll like this one. You'd have to be bloody batty to not like this surprise."
This sort of exchange, foreign to both, went on until they reached their destination. James had covered Lily's eyes with his hands and cautiously led her down a narrow path. He removed his callused hands and Lily saw where they were.
They'd reached the sea. Cool sand massaged the soles of her feet and the soothing sound of waves lapping against the shore relaxed her nerves. He'd taken her to a small cove secluded from the rest of the congested beach. She turned to face James and smiled.
"This is amazing."
"Told you you'd be mad not to like it."
*insertpagebreakhere*
James and Lily laid next to each other on the sand of the cove. Night had fallen, and stars twinkled above them. Lily was captivated by the clarity of the night while James was entranced by her sparkling emerald eyes, her soft waterfall of auburn hair, her slender figure. How had he not seen it before? She was beautiful.
"The stars really are gorgeous," Lily said, breaking the silence. She turned her head to face James and saw that his hazel eyes were already on her. He smiled.
"Not nearly as gorgeous as you," James said under his breath. Lily's quizzical expression led him to believe that he had said it aloud.
"Shut up," Lily teased, turning her attention back to the map of stars above them. James slowly slid his hand into hers and squeezed it gently. Her eyelids grew heavy and began to flutter. The last thing she saw before falling asleep were soft hazel eyes, belonging to James Potter.
A/N: This was written for comebacksirius' Summer Love challenge, using the song Sh-Boom from the musical Crybaby. Another multipart story, so the next part shall be uploaded soon! (hopefully... I do have an interesting life to lead, you know!) As always, leave me a little note saying what you think, what your favorite part was, how your life is going, what your world cup picks are, yadda yadda. It makes my day hearing from you all! Until next time.
Much love, Sadie