Lily Evans hated boys. Every one of them. They were rude, insensitive, and she didn't know why she bothered with them in the first place. Lily repeated these words to herself as she ran through the streets of Hogsmeade, pushing through crowds of people, ignoring the dirty looks she received. But even as she tried to convince herself that she didn't care, she knew she did. And that was the worst part about boys. They acted so sweet and they bought you flowers and even did things like brushing your hair out of your eyes before they kissed you and saying that they loved you and telling you that you were the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. Well if she was the most beautiful thing that Adrian had ever seen then why the fuck did she just see him swapping spit with Evelyn Peterson in the alley behind the Three Broomsticks when he told her he wanted to spend some time with his friends? Evelyn Peterson of all people? Everyone knew she was a complete slag. Even if she did have gorgeous blue eyes and raven colored hair. Lily shook her head, did it really matter who it was? The point was that Lily wasn't good enough for him.
Finally out of Hogsmeade, she started sprinting towards her favorite spot on the lake. As she passed a tree her foot caught on one of the roots and she fell to the ground. Once she was there Lily couldn't bring herself to get up. The pain from her ankle finally prompted the tears that had been itching to fall since she witnessed her asshole of a boyfriend cheating on her after two years. She just lay face down on the grass and dirt sobbing, hoping that no one would hear her. Merlin knows how many other girls he had cheated on her with. After a few minutes, Lily felt a drop of water hit her arm, then another on her leg, and another on her back. Before she knew what was happening rain was pouring down all over her, drenching her hair and clothes. Lily, scooted over a few inches and leaned her back against the treacherous tree that had tripped her, attempting to get some shelter from the torrent of rain, and continued her bawling. She knew how pathetic she was being but, honestly, at the moment Lily just couldn't bring herself to care. The scene kept replaying in her head:
Lily walked out of The Three Broomsticks, smiling. She had just spent an hour drinking butterbeer and laughing with her friends. Now, she was going to find Adrian and spend some time with him. Just the thought of her boyfriend made her smile impossibly wider. She really wondered how she could have gotten so lucky. He was absolutely perfect and made her feel like she was the only girl in the world when she was with him. Then, she rounded the corner and her happy bubble popped and the hurt came crashing down on her like a boulder. There was her boyfriend snogging the biggest tart in the school against a brick wall. Evelyn was moaning and his hand was stuck up her shirt. Lily's breathing came out in sharp pants and her eyes filled with tears that she forced back. Neither one noticed her. Her eyes remained glued to the horrid scene as she stepped back and eventually forced herself to turn around and run.
Lily knew that she wasn't helping anything by reliving the moment over and over again but she couldn't help herself. The rain finally let up and Lily caught sight of her reflection in the, now, still water of the lake. Her curly red hair was matted to her head, stringy and hideous as ever. Her green eyes were too bright and much too large for her wide forehead, blunt nose, and prominent cheekbones and the mascara and eyeliner that she had applied just for him was dripping down around her red-rimmed and bloodshot eyes. She leaned forward more and caught sight of her too small breasts and her not-flat-enough stomach. Lily felt self loathing bubble up inside of her. No wonder he had cheated up on her. Why would he want to be with someone who was so ugly that her own reflection made her feel nauseous.
"YOU ARE SO FUCKING UGLY!" Lily yelled at her reflection as a fresh sob tore through her body. Lily blindly felt around her for a rock and threw it at the lake, shattering the image.
"Evans, is that you?" She heard a voice call as a body stepped into view. Lily held back a groan. She knew that voice well from years of teasing.
"Who are you yelling at? I don't see anyone. Finally cracked have y-" He stopped short when he caught sight of her.
"Leave the me the fuck alone, Black! Just go!" She was not prepared to deal with him today.
Lily closed her eyes and prayed that he would leave before he saw her crying. He would never let her live that down. Despite her efforts to keep them at bay, more traitorous tears seeped through her closed eyes. Suddenly, she felt strong arms wrap around her. Although she wanted nothing more than to surrender to their warmth and let herself be comforted she reminded herself that this was Sirius Black. He went through girls like most people went through gum, so their had to be some ulterior motive.
"What the hell are you doing, Black?"
She heard him sigh, "Figures you'd want an explanation, Evans. First, Prongs would slit my throat if I left you here crying, second, I have never in my seven years of going to school with you seen you cry, not even when you fell of your broom and broke your arm, so I figure that maybe you've earned some sympathy, even from me."
"I don't need anyone's sympathy, Black, especially yours."
"That's where you wrong, Evans. If you don't tell someone what the hell happened to you, then you'll never get over it. And let's face it, at the moment you don't have too many options."
Lily wracked her brain trying to come up with something to refute what, at the moment, seemed like perfect logic. When she thought of nothing she gave in, which she was sure she would regret later.
Lily took a deep shuddering breath and opened her mouth, "Adrian. I saw him snogging Evelyn Peterson today."
"THAT FUCKING BASTARD! THAT SORRY EXCUSE FOR A MALE! WHAT THE H-"
"BLACK!" Lily yelled at him. He had jumped up and was now pacing back and forth in front of the lake. He stopped at the sound of her voice and reluctantly dropped back down beside her, now breathing heavily.
"Why do you even care?" Lily asked him.
"Because, Evans, that's fucking low, even for someone like him,"
"It's not his fault, though," She explained to Black, ashamedly.
"What the hell do you mean it isn't his fault?"
"It's me. I spent so much time in the library. I was never any fun. He always tried to get me to go places but I was busy studying. And I'm not even pretty. I'm lucky that he was even with me in the first place. And I wouldn't... you know, with him," Lily admitted, turning red at the last part.
"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, Lily. How dare that bastard even try to make you-" He abruptly cut off, leaving Lily shocked at the use of her first name. He took a deep breath and continued, "You were with him every time I saw you and if you only knew how many blokes James has hexed because they were talking about how pretty you are. Don't think that it's your fault. He's a idiot and he doesn't deserve you."
Even though he was probably lying, Lily took comfort in his words. "Thanks, Black, that means a lot." By now Lily had gathered herself together and managed to stop her tears and insecure thoughts. Now, she was just angry. And a little curious about some of Sirius's speech. "Why would Potter hex people?" She asked thoughtfully, while using her shirt to wipe the black lines under her eyes.
"Because he was jealous, of course!" Sirius said, giving her an odd look.
"Why would be jealous?" Lily asked, baffled.
"Because he's in love with you." Sirius said matter-of-factly, still looking at her funny.
"What are you talking about? James Potter be in love with me? That's absolutely ridiculous!"
"Of course he's love with you! Why d'you think he asks you out just about every day?"
"Merlin, I just thought that he wanted to sleep with me or something, I'm probably the only girl in seventh year who hasn't had sex with him," Lily replied, her eyes wide. At this Sirius burst into laughter so severe that he was rolling on the ground holding his sides.
"Just wait until James hears this! He hasn't slept with anybody. He's waiting for "the one" or something stupid like that," Sirius informed her once his peals of laughter had subsided.
"Oh!" Lily exclaimed, thoroughly shocked. Wait until her friend heard this! With a start, Lily realized that James Potter was in love with her. She would wait until tomorrow to process this information. She'd dealt with quite enough for one day.
"Don't tell James that I told you, though! He'd kill me," Sirius said.
He surveyed her wet clothes and hair and stood up, pulling her with him.
"Go take a hot shower before you freeze to death."
Lily turned white at this. "I can't go to my dormitory. Evelyn could be there," She told him.
Sirius pondered this for a few moments then continued walking. "Just take a shower in my dormitory," he said as if that solved everything.
"I can't do that!" Lily replied, shocked.
"Why?" he said. "No one will mind."
"You're boys, though!"
"Yes, Lily, glad you noticed," he said, rolling his eyes. "The bathroom does have a door. And if you don't you'll catch pneumonia."
After a little more convincing and a few threats, Lily finally agreed. Lily received more than a few strange looks walking to the Gryffindor dormitory, but Sirius just gave them a menacing glare and they quickly averted their gaze. The Gryffindor Common Room was thankfully empty except for a few scattered people, since everyone else was at dinner.
"I'm gonna grab some food, but you know where our dormitory is," Sirius told her and turned, heading back to the Great Hall.
Lily, who never actually intended to go to the boy's dormitory and just said she would to appease Black, turned to find refuge in the library, when she ran into none other than Adrian.