Turning
Saints Into the Sea Chapter
Eight:
Unable to stand James and Juliana's sappy affection for each other, Lily stood up suddenly and started walking away from the table.
"Where you going, Lil?" Melanie called out.
"To the bathroom," she muttered, heading for the exit instead.
Halfway there, someone called, "Hey Lily, wait!"
Turning around, Lily found herself face-to-face with Brandon Allard.
Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile and said pleasantly, "Yes?"
Brandon Allard was a tall boy with wavy blond hair and the bluest eyes imaginable. He was often fawned over by the female population, meaning he got around-a lot.
"What's up?" he asked, gesturing to the table beside him.
With the briefest glance towards her old table, Lily saw that James, Juliana, and Melanie were all staring at her pointedly.
"I'm just here with some friends," she said, sitting down. "They're over there." She pointed and waved a hand in their direction. Brandon, who had also sat down, looked at the table.
He raised his eyebrows. "Juliana Hernandez is dating James Potter?"
Lily nodded, waving over Madam Rosmerta. "One firewhisky, please," she asked.
Brandon gaped at her. "Firewhiskey?! That's really strong alcohol."
Lily looked incredulous. "So?"
Brandon looked taken aback. "'So?' Three of those could get you drunk."
Lily glared at him. "I'm so sure you of all people have never gotten drunk."
He sputtered. "Well, of course I've gotten drunk, but I've experimented enough to know my limits. You on the other hand . . ."
Lily snorted. "What makes you so sodding sure I've never been drunk before?"
"You're Head Girl."
Good point, she thought bitterly.
She shrugged. "Well, we've all gotta grow up sometime. Ah, thank you," she said to Madam Rosmerta, before picking the whiskey, sloshing it around, and downing it in one gulp.
Brandon's eyes widened as Lily coughed and choked. "You're supposed to take sips," he said weakly.
With an odd gleam in her eyes, Lily ordered another firewhiskey. "Sips are for wimps," she hissed.
After her fifth, Brandon refused to let her have another one. "I don't think six firewhiskeys in less than an hour is healthy," he said carefully.
"Nonsense," Lily slurred, raising a wobbly hand to call over Madam Rosmerta.
"No," Brandon said, pulling her hand down.
Lily looked up at him, unfocused. "Wanna dance?" she said, standing up but quickly losing her balance. Brandon caught her before she hit the ground.
"Oops," Lily muttered, clinging to him.
"Are you okay?" Brandon asked cautiously.
"I'd be better if they'd stop tipping the damn room on me," she replied angrily, regaining composure. "Now c'mon."
Lily led Brandon out to the dance floor with confident but wobbly steps. When they reached the center of the floor, Lily turned to him and placed her arms around his shoulders. The world seemed to slow down as they moved to the music. Or was that the alcohol?
James Potter was staring at the two dancers with enough intensity to burn a hole through them. He had watched as Lily had downed around half a dozen drinks, growing more animated by the cup, before standing up and having Brandon Allard catch her.
Bastard, he thought, watching Allard touch Lily in places no one was supposed to be.
Juliana was playing with his hair. He wished she would just go away.
Lily closed her eyes and leaned against Brandon's chest. He smelled like laundry detergent and cologne.
As the song changed, she shyly looked up at him. He really was incredibly handsome.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you have the bluest eyes in the whole world?" she said softly.
Brandon smiled tenderly. "I'll pretend they didn't for you. Has anyone ever told you that you have the greenest eyes in the whole world?"
"Would you be disappointed if they had?" Lily questioned. Her mind was getting foggier and foggier by the second.
"No," Brandon whispered, his face just inches away from hers.
Sirius Black stared at Remus and Sam dancing. They had been for the past forty five minutes.
Suddenly, without thinking, he turned to Melanie Owen, who was sitting next to him.
"Do you want to dance?" he asked her, looking her straight in the eye.
Melanie looked at Remus and Sam. Then she looked back at Sirius. "Yes."
With that, he took her hand and quickly led her to the floor. When they were a couple yards away from Remus and Sam, he placed his hands on Melanie's waist and started dancing with her.
He glanced over at Sam and Remus. They were still talking. Then, as his heart dropped out of his chest, Remus started leaning in to Sam.
"No," Melanie whispered as she saw Remus gently kiss Sam.
Sirius felt as if someone had filled his insides with cotton balls. He looked at Melanie, before stepping away from her.
Without thinking, he pulled Melanie into a fierce embrace and kissed her.
Lily leaned up and kissed Brandon.
James watched in horror as Brandon cupped her face in his hands and as she snaked her arms around his torso.
This wasn't happening . . . Everything had gone wrong, so wrong . . .
As Lily kissed Brandon, she felt the world turning dark. Her mind was slowly slipping out of consciousness.
Ha! she thought tiredly, though who she was laughing at she didn't know.
Seven hours later . . .
Lily woke up and promptly regretted the action. Her brain felt as though it was being beat with a hammer very, very hard.
"Melanie?" she croaked, trying to sit up but failing miserably in the attempt.
Melanie walked into the room. "Oh, my God, you're alive!"
Lily winced. "Stop shouting."
"I'm not shouting."
"Oh." Lily fell back onto the bed, nausea overtaking her. "What time is it?
"Around five A.M. You passed out while kissing Brandon Allard," Melanie said, sitting down on the bed.
"What?!" Lily cried, cringing from the loudness of her own voice.
Melanie sighed. "I don't know exactly what happened, I was too busy . . . dancing," she faltered, not wanting to shock Lily even more in her hung over condition. "But James told me that you had like, half a dozen fire whiskeys in a short period of time, snogged Allard, and passed out."
Lily moaned and rubbed her arms, shivering. "Oh my God. Half a dozen firewhiskeys? But I'm Head Girl! A Head Girl can't get smashed! Why didn't you do anything to stop me?!"
Melanie looked uncomfortable. "I didn't realize you were drinking firewhiskey. I didn't think you were capable of doing something like that. I thought when you and Allard started dancing, it was because of feelings, not alcohol."
Dazed, Lily started to stand up. "Can you help me to the bathroom?" she asked Mel while trying to balance. "I need something to drink."
"Oh, right. Here you go," Melanie said, handing Lily a goblet that was apparently filled with a red liquid.
Lily took the goblet and peered inside warily. "Is that blood?" she asked suspiciously as Mel eased her down on the bed.
"Of course it's not blood," Mel snorted, covering Lily up. "It's tomato juice. Drink."
Lily wrinkled her nose. "I hate tomato juice."
Melanie rolled her eyes. "It's this or a cold shower. Take your pick."
Lily immediately chugged the juice, spilling it all over her sheets. "Scourgify," Melanie said, cleaning them.
She stood up. "Me and Sam will be out in the Head's Common Room. Yell if you need anything." She turned and started to leave, before pivoting. "And here's a dust bin; just in case." Melanie placed the bag next to Lily's bed. "Now go to sleep."
As Melanie closed the door, Lily felt her insides heave. Leaning over, she retched noisily into the bin.
Lily groaned. This was by far one of the worst days of her life.
James looked up as Melanie sat down on the couch next to him. On another chair, Sam was curled up, dozing. As Melanie sat down, Sam jerked to consciousness, looking around wildly before focusing on Mel.
"So? How is she?" Sam pestered, sitting up. "Did she overdose?"
Melanie sank into the soft seat, sighing. "She's fine, just really, really hung over. I told her to sleep for a while and gave her the tomato juice. The rest will just take time."
Sam sunk back into the chair. Her long hair was tangled and falling everywhere. She looked worn out, the dark circles under her eyes more pronounced than usual.
Mel checked her watch. "I'll check on her in a few hours. James, Sam, you guys should get some sleep."
James seemed hesitant. "What if you need anything? Shouldn't I-"
Melanie put up her hand to silence him. "What good could you do? You can't walk up the stairs to help her."
He gave an exhausted sigh before giving in and going upstairs.
Melanie watched him, before pulling over a pillow and magicking a blanket for herself. She fidgeted around before finding a comfortable position and allowed the warmth to sooth her. All she needed were a couple hours of sleep. Mel closed her eyes and drifted off.
Lily awoke, her head pounding. "Mel," she called weakly. "Can you come here?"
Silence.
Groaning, Lily hoisted herself out of bed on wobbly legs, clutching the bedpost for support. I'll never drink again, she swore, stumbling over to the bathroom.
After brushing her teeth and using the toilet, Lily pulled off her pajamas and looked in the mirror. Fatty, she thought miserably.
She turned on the shower and was starting to rinse the conditioner from her hair when she heard her door open. "Lily? You in there?" Melanie asked.
"Yeah," she answered.
"Are you okay?" her friend inquired, closing the door behind her.
"Brilliant," Lily grumbled. "Can you hand me a towel?"
A hand holding a white towel shoved through the shower curtain and Lily dried herself off. "Bathrobe?"
Lily stepped out of the shower while tying the belt around her waist. She sat down on the stool in front of her vanity and burst into tears. Melanie put her arm around Lily's shoulders as she sobbed.
"Oh, Mel, the whole plan was a fiasco! I was in the library and Madam Pince came and told me to get out so I did and came to the Head's Dorm to tell James that I liked him just like you told me but he was here snogging Hernandez and I was so embarrassed and hurt and then later we were doing rounds and he came so close I thought he was going to kiss me but then he stopped and told me I was imagining it (but I'm sure I wasn't!) and then the dance came and he and Hernandez were snogging all over the place and I was so jealous that I got drunk and apparently kissed Brandon Allard and now I'm hung over and miserable and oh God, I don't know what to do!" Lily choked all at once, before taking a shuddering breath and sighing deeply.
"Oh, Lily," Melanie muttered, trying to comfort her friend. She stood, picked up a comb, and slowly started brushing the tangles out of Lily's hair. "I was so sure he liked you. So sure." She giggled a little. "You have to admit, it's pretty funny that just when you started liking him, he got over . . ." she trailed of as Lily sent her a sad glare. Melanie continued combing her friend's hair in silence.
Melanie had always been envious of Lily's hair. It was a bright auburn with little streaks of red, gold, and brown woven in that fell into perfect ringlets down her back. Lily, of course, hated it, but to Melanie it was fascinating. In her opinion, Lily was one of the prettiest girls she knew. Lily had creamy skin with a few freckles on her nose and beautiful gold green eyes that sparkled when she was happy and grew stormy when she was angry. Lily was colorful and full of life.
Melanie glanced up at herself in the mirror. Her own skin was pale; so pale you could see the delicate blue veins under it. Her hair was black and as straight as a pin, refusing to alter its natural texture unless put under the harshest treatment. Looking higher, Melanie looked herself in the eyes evilly. They were huge and black. Period. Sam always joked that she had doe eyes, but to Melanie, Juliana Hernandez had doe eyes; big, brown, and soft.
"Thanks, Mel," Lily said quietly, smiling at her friend. "Thanks for being here. For me."
"No problem. Hey, we had better get going; breakfast is soon," Melanie said, looking at the clock.
Lily stood up and ran a hand threw her now dry hair. She sniffed and gave Melanie a hug. "I'll get dressed that then we can go to breakfast."
Melanie looked at her own outfit. "Well, since me and Sam dragged you here right after you passed out, we haven't had a chance to change either. So we'll meet you there," she offered.
"Sure. Hey, did you dye the bottom of your hair?" she asked.
Mel laughed. "Yeah, I guess you can't remember that. See you in a few."
Lily buttoned up her shirt and snapped her hair into a sloppy ponytail. She took one last look in the mirror before leaving for breakfast. Though she was still pale, she was beginning to look better; her face didn't look as pallid and the bags under her eyes were lessened by cover-up.
Lily began her descent on the stairs when she heard a door close. She turned and saw Potter at the entrance hole.
"Evans?" he called, halting.
Lily's breath caught in her throat as she continued down. Potter looked to handsome . . . so assured . . . so caring. He was thin but muscled and over a head taller than Lily. I remember when I was taller than him, Lily thought fondly.
James watched her walk down the stairs. Lily had always seemed strong and sure of herself. Today, she looked fragile, like a gust of wind could knock her over. Her skin was pale and her eyes tired looking. She blew a stray lock of hair that was falling from her clip out of her face as she ended beside him.
She had never looked so beautiful.
"You okay?" he asked thickly, clenching his fists to stop touching her.
Lily shivered slightly and looked up at him. "I'm okay. Just a little shaken. I've never done that before."
James laughed, his voice cracking. "Hangover's a bitch. But you're supposed to slowly ease into it. Six firewhiskey shots in one sitting is suicide."
Lily stared at him, a grin slowly spreading over her face. "You seem to know quite a lot on the subject."
He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "I'm a Marauder; do you honestly think I've never been drunk before?"
Lily sighed. "No. But I'm such an alcohol virgin. I feel like I should know more about it at seventeen."
"Yeah, but don't be getting drunk just because you feel obligated to. It's good that you've never drank before. It's kind of cute, actually," James said, grinning.
She scoffed. "I'm glad you find me adorable."
Did she really just say that? James thought, his palms starting to sweat.
Lily slowly looked up at him, her green eyes innocent and huge. James swallowed, his robes seeming two hundred degrees.
"W-we should go to breakfast," he stammered, breaking the silence. Without waiting for her, James hurried out the portrait, practically running to the Great Hall.
That was too close, he thought. Stay away from her. She'll be the end of you.
