Chapter Two
"Hey, where's Filch?" Lily checked her wristwatch. "His two hours had passed."
James smirked. "Probably snogging Madam Pince."
He stood up and turned the door knob.
"Lily?"
"What?"
"We may have a problem."
"What do you mean?" She stood up too.
"Filch locked the door."
"What?" she exclaimed. "Y-you mean… you mean we've been locked in?"
"Yeah."
Lily started to panic, which James found amusing.
"Do you have your wand? I left mine in my bag. And it's in the common room."
"Yes, of course." James scanned his pockets for his wand.
"Uh-oh," he muttered.
"What do you mean 'Uh-oh'?" demanded Lily. "Don't you dare tell me you don't have your wand with you because I'll strangle you to death."
"Whoa, relax, Lily," James consoled her. "We'll be fine. Filch will come back, believe me."
Lily sighed heavily and sat back down on her former position. James sat back down on his.
"What now?" Lily grumbled.
"Why don't you babble about anything and I'll listen?" James suggested.
"I'm not a babble-mouth. I'm not that kind of girl."
"What kind of girl are you then?"
Lily became thoughtful for a moment.
"I guess I'm the kind of girl who doesn't want to draw attention to myself over some new dress, new haircut and new lip gloss nonsense," she said finally. "One whose happiness doesn't only depend on fame and popularity."
"One who gets every boy's attention just by being different from other girls," James added.
"That isn't true," Lily disagreed, blushing.
"Wanna bet?"
"How about you, huh?" What kind of guy are you?"
James smiled at her.
"I'm the kind of guy who wants to draw the attention of the girl I like. One whose happiness depends on how happy that girl is."
"One who's a jerk."
James shrugged. "If that's what you think."
Silence followed and Lily found herself yawning. She glanced at her wristwatch and gasped.
"Eleven forty!" she exclaimed. "Ugh! I'm feeling sleepy."
She rested her forehead on her hands and closed her eyes. Drat that Filch, she thought.
A minute later, she felt a warm arm encircling her shoulders, urging her to lean her head on his chest. She would have pulled away but she was seriously tired and sleepy that she just let herself be embraced – or was it the right word? She didn't care. All she knew was that the arm around her was surprisingly warm and comfortable, much better than her pillow.
"You know what?" she murmured, already unaware of what she was saying. "You're not really as bad as I thought you were. I actually enjoy being with you. I think I'm going to miss your company once you start distancing yourself away from me."
James smiled, and kissed the top of her head.
"I'm guessing you're unconscious now," he said.
"Lily," James whispered, trying not to shake her. "Lily, wake up!"
Lily slowly opened her eyes.
"What?"
"Wake up. I hear footsteps."
Lily straightened up and rubbed her eyes. James stood up and sat on the floor opposite from her.
They saw the doorknob turn and Filch was looking at the two of them. He surveyed the whole room, looking for an excuse to give them more detentions, no doubt.
"Enjoyed?" he asked the two.
"Definitely," James answered coldly.
He helped Lily to her feet and they both walked towards the Gryffindor Tower in silence.
"James!" Remus said in relief. He and the other Marauders were waiting for him by the fireplace, fully awake, except for Peter who was dozing on the couch.
"Where have you been?" Sirius asked, and then he spotted Lily. "Oh."
"Detention," Lily explained briefly, thinking that they might suspect that the two were dating.
Sirius laughed.
"You? Detention? I'm sorry but it doesn't belong to the same sentence."
"Can it, Sirius," James spoke up.
Remus tapped Sirius's shoulder.
"Let's go," he said, and turned to Peter. "Peter?"
Peter didn't wake up.
"Blimey," Sirius said. "He snores."
"Not as bad as you do," James told him.
"Look who's talking."
"I don't snore."
"Yes, you do."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Sirius," Remus chided him, gesturing at their dormitory.
"Fine," Sirius grunted.
Lily bent down to gather the other books she left in the common room. She stuffed it all in her bag and checked for her wand. When she was about to head to her dormitory, she saw James still waiting for her.
"Hey, um – " she started to say. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For – " She racked her brain for the right words to use. " – for letting me lean on you a while back …?" Her answer turned out as a question.
Oops, that didn't come out right, she thought.
James smiled. "No problem."
Lily noticed dark circles under James's eyes. She checked her watch. Wow, it was already two twenty in the morning. James stayed awake all night to watch out for Filch.
"You've got eye bags," she stated.
"It's okay."
"I owe you."
James merely shrugged.
"I think you're in serious need of sleep," Lily said.
"You too."
"Goodnight then."
James walked towards her and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"Goodnight."
Lily turned around and walked towards their dormitory, feeling a pair of eyes behind her all the way.
Chapter 3's coming up. Review please… Thanks.