James tapped his fingers in frustration on the hard wood of the mahogany desk in front of him creating a rhythmical sound. He was fed up of this, the rejection, the hatred and most of all the humiliation; he wasn't used to being publically embarrassed, after all, he and Sirius were the most popular students in the school. As big headed as it was, James knew that there was no point in denying the truth. However, as many girls swooned over him and as many Valentine's cards as he received, James couldn't care less. There was only one person whom he wanted to be their Romeo; one person whom his eyes followed as she passed him in the corridor yet she was the one person he couldn't have.
Pig headed idiot. Thinks too much of himself. Prat. Struts around. Curses people way too often. Show off. All of the insults that she had recently hurled at him rose to the surface of his brain. They swirled around in his head, repeating themselves over and over again and consequently sounding a hundred times worse. James' face turned red, his heart beat picked up pace. His hands involuntary clenched into fists as he almost succumbed to tears. He had to do something, James thought to himself. After all, Lily and Snape weren't even friends anymore, hadn't been for a couple of years now. It was time to act.
James was now settled on the fact that he would manage to get Lily to say yes to his constant pleas. But how to do it? He thought back to the insults. She thought his opinion of himself was too big, that he cursed people too often in the corridors and that he was an attention seeker. Well, at least he had a start. But most importantly, James knew that he should stop asking her out. That way, things would become much more interesting.
"James," Sirius' voice floated around the corner, muffled slightly by the thick volumes of herbs and potions that separated them. He hunched up over the essay that he had long since abandoned as his friend sauntered around the corner. "You're working?" his voice was lined with shock.
"Might as well," James told him, "best to cut back on the detentions for a while don't you think?" Sirius simply shrugged and placed his hand on James' forehead, mocking that he was ill. "Haha," James wryly joked, causing Sirius to step back in shock. He knew that something was up if James was acting like this so he waved cheerily, leaving his friend to his own devices.
As soon as Sirius left, James rolled up the half full parchment, picked up his bone dry quill and pot of ink and stood up. He walked out of the library and ran straight into Snape. "Watch it Snivel—" he began, but remembered his new resolution as he reached for his wand. "I mean, the librarian's in a bad mood today. You might want to avoid her," Snape's shock was almost comical as his mouth dropped at the rare chance that James was being civil with him, but James had already sprinted off down the corridor in a mood that he couldn't quite place until he realised that he was actually feeling happy. And proud. Over that little dirt bag. What on earth was he becoming? Oddly though, he didn't even regret his actions. As he walked the rest of the way to Gryffindor tower, James smiled to himself smugly. Lily may yet be his.