First of all can I just apologise profusely for the inordinately long wait between updates. I've been incredibly busy and managed to type this up in the small amount of free time I managed to find over the weekend. I know how infuriating it is waiting for authors to update but hopefully you guys haven't abandoned this story due to lack of updates. Thanks so much to Sarah L Padfoot, brokenblackangel, messyblackhair66, Rachel, fudge-butter, Charlotte Donahue, Alaskan Chick, Heaven's Flying Fish, xxlilyandjamesxx, sorrybut, Rika and IWantToMarryJames for you amazing reviews. Especially to Heavens Flying Fish who gave me a few funny ideas which I included in the story. Sorry, this chapter isn't the best but hopefully it is sufficient until the next one which won't be anywhere near as long a wait as this one was. Now… on to exam revision. One step at a time. :D
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Ch 7: Incriminating Evidence
"I can't believe you, you little hussy!" Penelope cried with tears streaming down her cheeks as her peals of laughter began to subside.
Lily grinned sheepishly and looked down at her chocolate muffin which she was picking away at delicately.
"When I said go for it I didn't mean go at it out the back during work! Talk about kinky." She continued with uncontained giggles.
Lily let out an agitated huff. "Come on. We wouldn't have screwed or anything. It was just a bit of heated snogging."
She sent a glare Penelope's way as she let out a disbelieving snort and rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "More like raunchy sex with your clothes on."
Deciding to ignore that comment Lily settled for taking an extra large bite of muffin of which she managed to inhale some of. Water filled her eyes as she made raucous dying noises. Penelope whacked her forcefully on the back in a painful effort to cease her coughing and spluttering.
"So, how's Sam?" Lily asked once her face had returned to its normal colour and turning the conversation away from herself. A loud sigh from the other side of the table drew Lily's attention as she observed Penelope's expression.
"He's alright." She said eventually, all traces of the earlier light-hearted atmosphere instantly vanished. "But you know what he's like. He works too much and he never gets home until late." Her dark eyes seemed to be full of something Lily couldn't put a name to but it filled her with sympathy at the sight.
"Pen, you know he loves you right? Because he does and you can't ever doubt that." Lily said strongly, giving Penelope's hand a small reassuring squeeze.
"I know."
"Seriously Penny. You two are made for each other. I swear, he's the last decent man on earth so you'd better hang on to him."
"Why don't you marry him then?" Penelope muttered softly into her steaming coffee.
Lily just about gave herself whiplash with the speed her head jerked up to stare wide eyed at her best friend.
"What…? Are you…? When…? You didn't… How could…?" Speech didn't seem to be coming easily and an overwhelming excitement was brewing, ready to burst at any minute until Penelope's swift head-shake stopped any confusion.
"No. We're not engaged but he keeps bringing up marriage and kids and stuff. It's all 'us' and 'we' now and I don't quite know what to make of it all." She looked so helplessly confused that Lily got up from her seat to wrap her arms comforting around her, squeezing her gently.
Tears swum in her dark chocolate eyes and when she spoke her voice quivered faintly. "I don't know Lil. I love him I really really do but I just, I don't know what to do anymore. I thought getting married was supposed to be the most exciting thing in the world, what every girl dreams of, hopes for with each new relationship. But I don't know if I'm ready for that. It's such a huge commitment you know?"
Lily didn't know what to say. No words of wisdom or advice that best friends were supposed to give came and she sat there gaping unattractively. Penelope had always been the little girl caught up in a romance novel. The girl that had Barbie weddings until she was twelve, sketched wedding gowns til she was 16 and sized up every boyfriend thereafter as a potential husband. Lily on the other hand had been the wild party girl with an expensive addiction to shoes and who couldn't hold on to a relationship for love nor money, though not for lack of trying. So why was she the one trying to give the advice?
"I know, how about we all go out together? Sam can take the night off and it gives James a chance to meet you guys properly." Excitement was shining in Lily's bright eyes. Penelope met her gaze with a dubious expression.
"Like a double date?" She asked sceptically. "Lils, double dates are so high school."
Lily frowned at the lack of appreciation coming from her friend and backtracked a bit. "Not like a double date, more like… like I don't know, a casual dinner with friends? You know, the sort of thing normal people do?"
The anticipatory expression glowing from Lily's face made Penelope relent. Who knew, maybe it would be a blast. And God knew that Sam needed a break.
"Sure." Penelope accepted finally. "How about Friday?"
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"Barklon, nice to meet you." Sam greeted jovially as the four of them met, as organised, outside the restaurant Lily and Penelope had spent a good half hour arguing over.
A blank expression obscured James' face for a second as he shot a half glance behind him as if to check who he was talking too. Then, blushing slightly and feeling like a prize idiot he accepted the proffered hand with a firm, manly shake.
"I hope we're not going to stand around here all night." Penelope butted in as her shoulders shook with cold. While pretty, dresses didn't make great attire for the chilly evening wind.
"I told you this was a good idea." Lily sidled up to Penelope with a triumphant grin as the waiter led them to their table. Sam and James were already engaged in a lively conversation about, well, she wasn't quite sure but it sounded interesting enough.
Lily glowed the entire evening, her bright smile illuminating her face beatifically. Nothing could have been more perfect from the lovely food (Hah, Lily thought triumphantly) to the engaging conversation that swept easily over the four of them. She really couldn't have been more pleased that James was getting on so brilliantly with her friends. Not that she was one for fate and destiny and so forth but she couldn't help seeing it as a good omen. After all, her last few boyfriends had been complete disaster zones what with the freaky foot fetish, the weird waxing obsession that made her feel like a gorilla with a mono brow, not to mention the guy who was convinced he had been a rooster in a past life and insisted on squawking 'seductively' during, well I don't think it needs to be spelled out.
A swelling happiness overtook Penelope's worries as she pondered how long it had been since she'd seen her best friend so truly happy. Honestly, she thought it had been when Jimmy Choo had had that 50 off sale. That day she'd been positively giddy but that didn't seem to be one ounce of her current euphoria.
Nobody seemed in a hurry to leave as Lily contemplated whether she could still fit in a dessert without her stomach pooching out excessively and still be able to move afterwards. A gigantic smile overtook her face as James leant over and whispered something in her ear causing little giggles to tumble out in amusement. His arm was draped comfortably around her chair, the warmth sending tiny anticipatory shivers down her spine every so often.
With such un-Lily-like ease, Penelope watched as she lent over and took a spoonful of James' sundae. She threw her head back with uncontained laughter as he raised an eyebrow amusedly in return, a smile playing at his lips as she stuck her tongue out at him, completely unaware that she had whipped cream on her nose and chocolate sauce smeared across her cheek.
"I think we'd better call it a night." Penelope said eventually as the restaurant slowly emptied and they were the only table that remained. Not even Penelope could complain about the evening. Initially the idea had seemed ludicrous and silly but it seemed it had been a far better idea than she'd given it credit for. Sam had been more relaxed than she'd seen him in weeks and everything she'd been fretting about the other day seemed so unimportant now. And she could at least say she approved whole-heartedly of Lily's most recent suitor.
"I'll see you soon." Lily promised as she hugged Penelope goodbye outside the restaurant, the two men shaking hands amicably and chuckling loudly.
"Seya!" Waving behind them, Penelope and Sam strolled off briskly. She watched them until they were out of sight, Penelope shivering in the brisk evening air as Sam draped his jacket across her shoulders despite her loud objections that it didn't suit her outfit.
A pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around Lily's torso, her head fitting perfectly under a familiar chin as she rested against James' chest. The scent of cologne filled her nostrils as she discreetly inhaled the delicious aroma of him.
"Can I walk you home?"
Eyes half closed contentedly, Lily nodded, her face brushing against the soft wool of his jumper. Pulling back, warm fingers wove through hers, enveloping them as they strode the short stretch back to Lily's apartment.
"Cold?" James asked sounding amused. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see her failing attempts to control her shivers. As a fresh gust of bitter wind brushed her skin, tiny goose bumps sprouted over her arms.
"Not at all." She answered back, her teeth chattering furiously.
Before the freezing air hit her now empty hand and she could register that James' had left her own, something soft was pushed into her arms.
"Uh uh." Lily muttered stubbornly, shoving the jumper back at James. "Then you'll get cold."
James chuckled and without waiting for further protests he took the jumper and slipped it over her head. A glare met his amused gaze as her face emerged from the overlarge woollen canopy. He noted with satisfaction as they continued down the street, that despite her consistent flow of objections, she didn't take it off and her shivering ceased.
"Thanks." She mumbled grudgingly, trying to hide her immense gratitude. Although, judging from the smirk playing across James' face, he hadn't missed it.
Comfortable silence descended upon them. Warmth, other than that of James' sweater, settled itself over Lily. It felt strangely… coupley yet far too comfortable wearing James' clothes. It fell past the hem of her dress, stopping just above her knees, the sleeves hanging a good five centimetres past her fingertips. Trying to seem as if she was burying into it for warmth, Lily inhaled the musky smell of cologne and something uniquely James.
Heart-pounding and throat slightly sticky, Lily led James up the stairs to her apartment in silence. Butterflies were sent into a tizzy somewhere in the depths of her stomach and strange thoughts danced through her mind. Did this mean… well, what she thought it meant? Was 'can I walk you home?' a more polite way of saying 'let's make wild passionate love right now.'?
The door was barely closed when gentle lips grazed hers and Lily's mind was suddenly blissfully blank. In that instant nothing else except James' strong body pressed so deliciously against hers seemed to matter. His strong frame guided her towards the couch, their contact breaking for just a fraction of a moment as they tumbled onto the pile of cushions, drawing a small giggle from Lily.
Lily's eyes fluttered closed, hot kisses and the smell of cologne sending her mind foggy with pleasure. Soft hands roamed wildly, sliding up and down the length of her leg and under the floaty material of her dress. A breathy sigh escaped her, the rustle of paper buried deep under the layer of cushions just crossing into the conscious part of her mind.
Paper. The thought struck recognition and, as if tiny arrows were linking the separated parts of her brain, something clicked. The note. The note that had barely left her mind in recent days as her overworked mind fruitlessly tried to decipher its meaning. The mysterious Potter, whoever or whatever that was. For all she knew it could be a letter from the Russian mafia. Who knew, maybe her instincts had been right at the beginning and he really was a serial killer? Or a loony with an imaginary friend?
Or maybe, said another tiny part of her that wasn't completely paranoid, there really was an explanation. Who was she to say that it wasn't just a friend's? Or a secret lover's? No, no, enough unfounded suspicions. It was most likely something completely harmless that she had simply taken the wrong way. Although, how else could you interpret 'keep a low profile, your mouth closed and your nose clean'? That most definitely didn't sound completely innocent.
"Are you okay Lily?" Pulling back, James watched her curiously. Lily felt her cheeks grow warm.
Is Potter your secret boyfriend or are you surreptitiously with the Mafia? There really was no way of putting it. And the last thing Lily wanted to do was falsely accuse him of something and blow another perfectly good relationship. No, she was better off just leaving it well alone. To just banish it from her mind until, no if, anything else turned up. Yes, that was what she'd do.
"Fine." Lily said back with a slightly forced smile and a distracted air. He kissed her gently and quickly, tucking her loose tendrils of hair neatly behind her ears with a sweep of his hand.
"You sure? You seem a little distracted that's all."
A smile softened Lily's faintly tensed expression. How had she managed to find such a wonderful, thoughtful and perceptive guy? (Minus the possible Mafia allegiance). Seriously, she was beginning to think he was a robot or had some sort of thus far hidden mutation, like the stump of a third arm or something. Men just simply didn't come that way. And how, in all honesty could she believe he was hiding something from her? Something incriminating. Last time she'd accused him of being gay and just look at how accurately her instincts had turned out to be that time.
"Oh, I've just got a bit on my mind at the moment," She paused as a genuine yawn took over.
"And you look exhausted." James finished for her.
Curling and arm around her shoulders, her head resting gently on his chest, James let his body sink back into the couch. He watched in amusement as Lily's head rose and fell slightly with each breath he took, a single piece of hair fluttering by her face as she exhaled. Minutes ticked by, James' arm growing increasingly tingly from lack of movement.
"Lily?" She didn't answer nor stir in the slightest.
"Listen, I think I might –" The ghost of a smile flitted over James' face, "go." Slowly he pulled his arm from beneath her head, waiting for her to grumble at him for moving. Instead, her eyes still tightly shut, her head lolled onto the arm of the couch, fast asleep.
As cautiously as he could manage, James detangled himself from Lily's sleeping form, slipping a pillow beneath her head and staring hopelessly around for a blanket of some sort. When nothing appeared he drew out his wand and conjured a fluffy quilt from thin arm, wrapping it over her and tucking in the edges to keep her warm.
Pausing at the door, James turned back with a last look. The soft light of a lamp cast an angelic glow across her face. A light smile curved her lips as if she was dreaming of something pleasant.
An almost regretful expression obscured James' face as he gazed at her. Why, why now when his life was an increasingly tangled web of lies did he have to meet the most perfect girl that he thought he'd never find? Why, when everything had been so simple did he have to fall harder than he'd ever fallen before for a girl who didn't even know who he really was? When had things become so complicated?
He was fighting a losing battle with no positive outcome to imagine. This was the depressing time when the only light at the end of the tunnel was just a speeding train. On one hand he could tell her the truth and risk never seeing her again. Or he could wait it out, hoping to God she would fall for him as hard as he was for her, with the smallest chance she'd forgive him and a far more likely outcome that she'd hate him and he'd never see her again. Either way, he was pretty much stuffed.
Love is a dangerous game.
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The delicious musky aroma of cologne was the first thing Lily woke up to hours later. Prising her eyes open and squinting against the light, she sat up. The night before came flooding back but no recollection of when James had left, nor why she was still on her couch covered in a blanket she'd never seen before, arose.
So what else is a girl to do but make a strong pot of coffee and head to the shops. An hour later Lily was wandering out of a small Diagon Alley boutique clutching a box of the most gorgeous boots she'd ever seen as Penelope argued with a shop assistant.
"No, I didn't break it!" She cried in frustration to the snooty sales assistant. "I was wearing it when somehow the back fell off and it fell into my soup. I hardly noticed until I nearly cracked my tooth on it."
The assistant shook her head superciliously and Lily could tell she was far more interesting in watching that way her hair swished around her shoulders with each movement than anything Penelope had to say.
"Sorry. There are no returns on earrings."
Penelope let out an aggravated wail. "Look, you're lucky I'm not trying to sue you for dental damage. All I want is for out to give me my money back or replace it."
Progressively more bickering, many stamped feet and a near quill stabbing later and Penelope was stomping out of the shop leaving a cowering shop assistant and a chortling Lily trotting behind her.
"Remind me to never get on your bad side." She said amusedly as they wove through the busy crowd which conveniently parted for them, probably due to the murderous expression on Penelope's face.
"What a twat." Penelope muttered back mutinously. "She was carrying on like I was about to stab her with a quill."
"Ah, weren't you?" Lily asked with a snort of laughter. Penelope cast her a highly unamused look.
"I was using it for emphasis. But whatever, I got my earring replaced anyway."
Lily rolled her eyes. "You know Pen. I'd forgotten about that temper of yours. It really isn't a very attractive trait."
Shrugging, Penelope's eyes darted from shop to shop, barely listening to what Lily was saying. "Who cares? I don't remember you complaining the time I got your diary back for you from that troll-faced, dung for brains gorilla with the mono-brow back in third year."
Lily hid a grimace. "Do I need to remind you that you only got it back because you threatened to castrate him with your bare hands and then bit his hand when he waved it tauntingly at you?"
They both looked away with a wince at that one. Some memories were best left unmentioned. Ever.
"So, how's Mr Snog-in-the-Storeroom anyway?"
A short pause followed and Lily stared resolutely at the path ahead. "The guy's too perfect to be true." It was supposed to come off as an offhand comment but something on her face indicated otherwise.
"What do you mean?" Penelope asked carefully.
Lily let out a soft sigh. "I dunno Pen. Everything about him so far is just too perfect. He's a man. They were stuffed up on creation. It's impossible for him to be that flawless. It's stupid I know but…" She broke off with a confused look showing on her pretty face. After everything shed promised herself, there was something about a second opinion that helped solve a problem.
A small snort of laughter escaped from Penelope. Immediately she clapped a hand over her mouth but the spark of humour was still shining from her eyes. "Well, let me know if I'm wrong but I think his initial 'potential gayness' and the disasters that followed indicate that he's only mortal."
Even Lily let out the beginnings of a small smile. "Yeah, but that was just my paranoid overactive mind malfunctioning again. This… well maybe I am just being paranoid…"
"What happened?"
Feeling stupid and inwardly scolding herself for making something so insignificant into a drama she pulled out the scrunched little piece of parchment she'd found the day in the storeroom. Meekly she handed it to Penelope.
Lily watched anxiously as Penelope's eyes whizzed over the words. Her eyes clouded for the smallest fraction of a second that Lily was sure she had imagined it.
"So?" She was nervous. It sounded stupid but she really was. It could just be her paranoia back or… or it could be something more. A something more she didn't even want to consider.
The small shake of her dark head sent a small tremor of relief through Lily. "Are you sure it was even his? I mean, Potter has nothing to do with him so unless it's a code name or something which sounds highly unlikely, it might not have anything to do with him."
Lily gave a relieved smile. "You're right. It fluttered down from his shirt but with all the mayhem," here she ignored Penelope's smirk, "it could have been on that floor for ages."
She let out a soft sigh and leant her head against the wall behind her. Confrontation wasn't exactly Lily's forte and the past weeks had been so perfect so far she didn't think she could stand another messy break up or something else equally hideous.
"So until your paranoid mind finds something else possibly incriminating…?" Penelope asked mildly.
A charming smile spread across Lily's face, her brow relaxing and the happy spark was back in her eyes. "He's utterly perfect."
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Okay, a few more problems to weave into the mix. James is battle over whether he can find the courage to tell Lily the truth while she puts aside her paranoid mind for the first time ever, but maybe not for the right time. The mystery letter will resolve soon but there are a few more surprises to throw in before it all rights itself.
One last thing before I return to my rather unappealing essay which I'm trying to put off as long as possible; someone mentioned something about betas and I was sort of wondering (a) what exactly are they and (b) and do I need one?
Please keep reading and review, even if it's just a couple of words. I could most definitely do with something to take my mind off my looming exams. ;-) xx
