Summary: Lily can't stand James' presence. James can't stand the fact that not all the girls worship the ground he walks on; mainly Lily Evans. Wanting to prove the opposite, he made a bet with Lily. In order for her to win, she has to not fall in love with him. What if the total opposite happens?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything which as to do with Harry Potter. Anything that you can't recognize is mine. Mine, you hear me. MINE!

Author's Note: Alrighty, then! This short chapter is all about Marauders, and especially Sirius. (swoons from girls) I know, I know. I want a piece of them too. Settle down, girls. Settle down. And now, I present CHAPTER TWO of Resisting James.

Resisting James

Chapter 2: The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

"So keep the blood in your head and keep your feet on the ground,

Today's the day it gets tired; today's the day we drop down..."

- The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows, Brand New

Peter Pettigrew munched noisily on a pumpkin pasty, deep in thought as he turned to face one fourth of his best friends. 'You really fink so?' He asked the shaggy-haired bloke, specks of food flying all over Sirius's face.

Sirius narrowed his eyes in disgust, wiping the bits of candy his cheeks. 'Say it, don't spray it, Wormy.'

Peter stopped munching, and suddenly looked up taken aback, as if the motors in his brain weren't greased and was as a result, rusty and immobile.

Sirius rolled his eyes at his reaction, and muttered under his breath, 'Some people never change.'

Peter broke off his reverie and said, 'Did you say something, Siri?'

'No, I didn't, Petey. But, you're a pig, you know that,' Sirius noted, clearly revolted by the way Peter was wolfing down his seventh Chocolate Frog.

He stopped midway, grinned, and said, 'I know. And so are you.'

Sirius' frown melted into a goofy grin and said, 'Likewise.'

Remus, who had been listening intently to their intelligent conversation, commented, 'Don't any of you have anything better to do than to throw obvious remarks at each other? It's quite surprising how you two even managed to become Animagi. James must have been the brains behind it.'

Sirius grinned, and waved his index finger. Nudging to the far left, he quipped, 'Think again, Remmy. Jimmy boy is surely quite the Einstein isn't he?'

Remus turned around and was treated to a visual of James sleeping on an open copy of "Quidditch Through the Ages", pools of drool seeping into the pages. Grunts and loud snores escaped his lips at every ten second interval.

'Maybe not, then.' Remus said slowly. He shook his head in disbelief, and turned his head to continue reading.

Sirius bellowed and turned back to face Peter. 'As I was saying, Petey, my boy, there is no, I repeat, no chance of Lily falling for James. You've seen the way she acts around him ever since first year. She wasn't too happy with our chum ever since James poured red goop all over her hair in the train in First Year.' Sirius snorted. 'What makes you think James will be able to charm her? I mean, speaking as James's mentor, he sure gives me a run for my galleons when it comes to the ladies, but Lily? I mean, this is Lily Evans we're talking about, Lily – LILY!'

'Yes, yes, Sirius. We know her name. You don't have to repeat it like a broken record player,' Remus complained, quite annoyed.

'No, I mean Lily's here.' Sirius grinned, nudging towards a pretty fair-skinned girl with carrot-red hair twisted in a bun. Her deep jade eyes sparkled in amusement.

'It's glad to know I'm adored, Black. Thanks for your support. At least a few of you have some sense knocked inside.' Lily smirked. 'As I was saying –'

'I never knew you wanted me this bad.' A deep voice interrupted Lily. 'Can't get enough of me already?' She turned to scowl at the insufferable boy but instead turned a light shade of pink. There he was, James Potter in all of his glory, clad in nothing but his Snitch-printed boxers.

Apparently, Sirius' outburst had woken James from his slumber, and he was now fully aware that Lily Evans was in the 7th Year Boys' Dormitory before she could see him in his embarrassing state.

Lily shot him a glare. 'Oh, puh-lease, Potter. Has it ever occurred to your microscopic brain that the reason I'm here is not to see you? You can kiss that bet goodbye because I'm clearly going to win.' She looked away, and turned to Remus. 'The reason I came over is to see Remus, anyway. McGonagall wants to see me in her office, so I'm afraid I'll only be in the library tomorrow evening.'

Remus gave a small nod, as if to understand what she meant by her cryptic message.

Before leaving the dormitory, she gave James a once over and snickered, as if to have rated him a 3 out of 10. She turned to leave and called out, 'Put some clothes on, Potter. You're hurting my eyes.' As soon as Lily was out of earshot, everyone burst into laughter. James did not take lightly to this, quite obviously, and was now fuming that Lily had not shown the slightest interest in him or his rippling muscles.

----

Next Morning, Breakfast

The sun shone brightly into the windows of the Great Hall on that Wednesday morning. Nothing seemed to be out of place, save for the black handsome owl which suddenly soared into the hall, with a letter clutched in its beak. A sea of murmurs travelled the room as it was considered odd for an owl to be late – as owls were, as you may know, very punctual creaturesail – as Mail Hour had ended less than thirty minutes ago. Everyone's eyes followed the handsome owl, before it finally dropped the letter into the cereal bowl of none other than Sirius Black. He shot a glare at nearly everyone who was watching, not long before everyone resumed their breakfast.

He ripped open the envelope, not too happy with the attention he was garnering due to the late post.

His black eyes read it once, then twice and it wasn't a minute later when Sirius tore it into pieces and fumed.

'What is it, Padfoot?' James asked, helping himself to waffles.

'It's from mummy dearest,' Sirius said sarcastically. 'Hasn't it ever occurred to her that maybe I have made up my mind, and am not coming back? She still thinks I'm her ickie baby, and that I was brainwashed by you three to leave her. It's all full of dung, really.'

Sirius got up, thrust the shreds of paper on the table, and left abruptly. James, the one who knew Sirius the longest, got up in attempt to chase after him, before Remus pulled him down and whispered, 'Maybe it's best if he's on his own.'

James heaved a sigh and sat down. With a tap of his wand and "Reparo", the torn pieces of paper began to mend itself.

Sirius,

It has been over a year since you moved out of the Black Manor. You know how hard it is for an old woman like myself to cope with her eldest son leaving his true legacy. Your younger brother, on the other hand, took heed and look where he is now. He has followed your father's orders and had chosen (by his own will, of course) to attend Durmstrang instead. I did not stand in the way of your decision to attend Hogwarts, but we are both fully aware of the rubbish you are being taught. As you know, both your father and I think it is embarrassing how people of the likes of Dumbledore are running the school.

Father had refused to pay at first, but he thought that maybe you would have seen where we coming from when you have reached the ripe age of seventeen, and would complete your last year of studies in Durmstrang. He had even hoped you were to be sorted into Slytherin. I had heard that your good for nothing Uncle is now paying your fees, I presume? I'm afraid you are still the stubborn mule you were when eleven. You have chosen to be with the likes of a wimp, a pureblood whose father adores muggles, and a werewolf. I hate to say it, but you are a disgrace to the Blacks.

Even though your cousin Narcissa attended Hogwarts, she managed to find herself a suitable husband like Lucius Malfoy, a charming pureblood Slytherin. Only her other sister (whose name I refuse to mention) had turned out to be the bad apple. I only hope for the best of you. Where have we gone wrong? We brought you up in the noble house of Black, provided you with food on your table, and what did you give us in return? Your insolence! I am fully aware that you are staying with the Potters', but I am giving you another chance to come home.

Since I assume you have already matured into a seventeen year old, father has asked if you'd finally agree to becoming a Death Eater. Arrangements have already been made for your brother, as he is very ambitious to be a loyal servant for the Dark Lord. You are more than welcome to return home and I assure you, the His Grace will award you greatly.

Mother.

Once James finished scanning the letter, he didn't need to look up at Remus to understand what had upset Sirius so. He leaped from his seat despite protests from Remus and Peter to chase after Sirius.

It did not take the Marauder's Map for James to figure out where Sirius was at a time like this. There he was, by the lake, skipping rocks like how they used to in First Year. It wasn't long before the Giant Squid rose from the surface of the lake and engulfed Sirius in a bone-crushing battle. Although Sirius emerged victorious with the aid of a wand, Sirius returned to shore, soaked to the very core.

James jogged towards him and sat down. 'You alright, chum?'

'I guess. I mean, it's not everyday I fight Big Bertha, ey?' Sirius joked weakly.

James chuckled inwardly. 'I think we're the only ones in Hogwarts who actually bother to name the Giant Squid, Padfoot...' James cleared his throat and punched Sirius' arm lightly. 'But you know what I mean, Sirius!'

'You mean the old hag?' Sirius snorted, muttering the Drying Charm. At the mere mention of Mrs. Black, anger flickered in his eyes. 'What does the wretch know about my life anyway? The only reason I bother to acknowledge her letters is because she had to go through labour with m for nine months,' He said nastily. 'She can't just suddenly have the urge to talk to her eldest son after one whole year of his absence!' Sirius roared. He threw another rock at the lake.

'It's disgusting, really,' Sirius muttered.

'You wanna skive, or do you wanna talk about it?' asked James.

'History? Pah! Binns wouldn't even know if I was gone. You run along, Prongs. I'm fine.'

'It's alright, Padfoot. That's why we're the Marauders. We cause trouble, together. We get caught, together. So naturally, we skive, together.' James grinned triumphantly.

'Thanks, mate.' Sirius said quietly.

'We'll just go up to McGonagall and tell her about the letter. Dumbledore's definitely told her about your mum. She'll understand. Just hope she'll cover for you, but I doubt she'll cover for my Marauder oath,' James trailed off, scratching his head.

A few silent minutes passed, and James finally spoke. 'Padfoot, can I ask you a question? Er, about the – letter?'

Sirius looked away. 'Yeah, sure.'

'You don't think your brother's actually –' James paused. 'A Death Eater?'

'Won't be surprised if he was, honestly... That's all the Mr and Mrs have been talking about our whole lives... How it'd be such an honour to serve the Dark Lord!' Sirius said sarcastically. 'Honour to serve my arse, really...

'He's been killing muggles off like nobody's business... Not to mention the fact that he hates anyone who's unpure. Sounds like a bloody git, if you ask me. There's nothing more I want to do than bring him and his cronies down once I leave Hogwarts,' Sirius said quietly, balling his fists.

'Oh,' James said quietly. 'Dad has been going on and on about him and his lot. Says he's been giving the Ministry quite a hard time... As bad as Grindelwald, he is!'

Sirius shrugged. 'I'm not surprised she even wrote me the letter. They assume it's our destiny. We Blacks are superior. It's not a surprise how my brother's going to work for that man. Coward,' he muttered. 'The only reason she sent me that letter was probably to make me a Death Eater,' he said bitterly. 'That old hag never had feelings.'

James remained silent. The amount of respect that James had for Sirius was tantamount to the deal of hardships he had to go through as a child. He knew the turbulent childhood Sirius had to endure, and how Sirius suffered being one of the "bad apples" in the family. No matter how much he suffered, he managed to pull a happy face in front of everyone. Sirius hid cleverly beneath his façade and never made it a point to reveal what was slowly eating him inside.

He bore a mask of happiness in front of everyone, including the Marauders. But Moony, Wormtail and Prongs knew perfectly well the bottled emotions underneath.

'I – Padfoot. Er, Sirius. Um, do you think we should go now?' He quickly added, 'I mean it's alright if you want to stay.'

'No, no, it's alright. I guess we'd better go now.' Sirius managed a weak smile, and James tagged along, keeping a sharp eye on his best friend, partner in crime, and brother he never had.

Author's Note: Well? Review please. :)

Amirah.