Summer Surprise

The Shopping Spree

"Wait…hold on!" I shout, running to keep up pace with James while he pushes the trolley and waits for a second or two before running up to it and starting the process again. Merlin, he's so childish!

"You need to learn how to walk faster, you know!" he says, looking at me over his shoulder.

I finally catch up with him and fix him with a glare before saying, "One, I walk at a completely normal speed; it's you who's practically jogging. Two, you need to stop that trolley game of yours…people are staring. And three, we are here to buy stuff so we need to stop and pick things up," I explain slowly.

"Hmmm…okay! You're right! What do we need to buy?"

"Let's see…wow! That's a really long list."

"Maybe we should split up so you can get one half of the items and I'll get the other half." James suggests.

I eye him suspiciously before saying, "Even though I'll admit that doing that will make things go much faster, I am not off my rocker to let you wander off alone."

"Merlin Lily, I'm not a little kid. At least have some trust in me," James says, smiling. But I also catch something else in his eyes; something that I can't exactly place; something serious; something odd…

I clear my throat, realizing that I have been staring at him openly. "Right! Well, fine. You can find these items while I look for the others," I tell him, carefully tearing the list into half and handing him one half of it.

"Broccoli? Eww…why does mum need broccoli?" I wonder out loud.

After moving through rows and rows of items and collecting everything needed on the list, I finally reach the vegetable section and stare at the word 'broccoli', innocently written down on the paper.

Very reluctantly, I pick up a few broccolis and stuff them into a packet, silently cursing Mum's horrible choice of vegetables. Needless to say, broccolis are not my favorite. Why in Merlin's name would she even want those hideous things?

Suddenly, I am greeted with an answer as I remember that Petunia has gone on an only-salad diet, saying that she has put on 'so many calories' over the summer. Rolling my eyes at my sister, even though she is not here – 'cause I'm just cool like that – I continue scanning down my list.

After fishing out everything on the list five minutes later, I decide to buy a few stuff of my choice. Merlin knows such offers from mum come only once in a blue moon. At least having James Potter in my house has some perks.

Okay, scratch out that few stuff…

Eyeing my overflowing trolley filled with chocolate chip-cookies, three bags of wafers, dark chocolate ice-cream with mint, licorice candies, and strawberry flavored gum, a few minutes later, I come to the realization that I may have overdone it a bit. Oh who cares! I love food and I am proud to admit it, unlike some people - *cough* Petunia *cough*.

Extremely contented with my shopping, I make my way back to the spot where I parted ways with James. But upon reaching there, I am surprised to find that he is not done with his shopping yet. What could be taking him so long? Is he buying even more stuff than me? Merlin, I don't have so much money…

Snapping my head around in all directions anxiously, I finally push my trolley in the direction opposite from where I had been, hoping to spot a head of black, messy hair…

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BOY?" a voice behind me bellows, successfully attracting my attention. And by the looks of it, everyone else's as well, I realize, making my way through the throng of people gathered around the spot of the commotion.

"I keep telling you, I didn't do anything, for Merlin's sake!"

My eyes widen as I recognize the second voice and realize two major points – one, James got himself into trouble when I specifically told him not to, and two, he just said 'Merlin' in the presence of at least 10 muggles who were watching him.

"What hocus-pocus are you mumbling, boy? What on earth is this 'Merlin'?" a rather buff looking man with blonde hair and grey eyes asks James as I finally manage push my way to the front of the crowd and take in the scene…

Even though there is not much to take in, I realize that something's wrong by observing at the red faced, buff man in front of me who looks ready to be spitting fire at any moment now. James on the other hand, has a very determined and composed look on his face, despite his blunder of a) saying 'Merlin' in front of muggles and being caught at it and b) doing God-knows what he's done.

For a split second, something similar to admiration for James bubbles inside of me as I realize that I would've probably fainted from anxiousness by now if I was in his place. But as soon as it came, the admiration quickly disappears to be replaced by anger; anger at myself for even thinking such a horrendous thought. I would've never gotten myself in his position in the first place.

"I meant to say 'God'. But that's not even the point here! The point is, you are accusing me of something I didn't even do!" James replies throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

Parking my trolley on the spot, I quickly march over to James's side and ask, "What's going on?"

James turns to look at me and I become overwhelmed as numerous emotions flash through his eyes; exasperation, surprise, relief, happiness and regret before they finally set on determination again. Confused, I open my mouth to repeat my question when the blonde man cuts me off –

"This young ruffian over here was trying to flirt with my fiancée!" he says, pointing towards a brunette – I hadn't even noticed her before – who was at least ten years older than us and was currently standing in the corner and inspecting her nails like she could care less about what was happening.

For a few seconds, I just blink, taking in the situation. I turn my head towards James's now anxious face that seems to be waiting for my reaction, to the beefy man's flaring nostrils and glaring eyes narrowed towards James, and finally stop at the bored looking woman in the corner, before my control-meter bursts and I crack up, laughing my head off…

If there is one thing that I can be certain of in life, it is – and as conceited as it sounds – James' infatuation with me. Trying to run away from him for the past six years of my life has taught me at least one thing – no matter how annoying, egotistical, arrogant and persistent James Potter is, he respects women. And the brunette currently standing in front of me was one of the last people James would consider flirting with, not that she is ugly or anything, but because she's just not his type. Apart from that, I could come up with a dozen more reasons as to why that idea itself was maddeningly ridiculous.

The way she stares at her fingernails and behaves so ignorantly is enough to make me double over in laughter and clutch at a stitch on my side. As I lean into James for support and glance up at him, he gives me a surprise and amusement mixed smile that makes my heart flutter. Stupid heart.

Ignoring the foreign feeling in my heart and controlling my giggles, I face the blonde guy again. "I'm sorry, but I assure you Mister, that my boyfriend would never do such a thing." I say, surprising even myself. The heck Lily? You know you didn't have to lie and tell him that James Potter is your boyfriend.

Feeling James's eyes burning holes in the back of my head, I defiantly force myself to not turn around. Because there is only one possible reaction to be expected from James Potter after my declaration – a smirk. So instead, I force my attention back to the man in front of me and pretend like I hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

"Oh! Your boyfriend, is he? Well, miss, I'd suggest you to keep an eye on him. People such as him never last long in relationships. Unless, you're just one of those people and don't really care either…" the pig in a wig – Yes, I've just decided to call him that, thank you very much – replies, eyeing me with disgust.

Just as the words are out of his mouth, my right hand instinctively moves out and predictably, James runs into it. I glance at him to see him narrow his eyes dangerously at the blonde pig. Knowing that when James Potter gets seriously angry, death seems better than facing him, I quickly say, "Listen, I have no interest in talking with you. So, we'll be leaving now, please."

Grabbing James's arm and leading him away from the scene, I take my trolley and instruct him to do the same. Five minutes later, as we leave the supermarket with shopping bags in our hands, I ask "So, you gonna tell me where that accusation came from or not?"

James turns his head and looks at me with a smile on his lips and a gleam in his eye. I return his smile and offer him a licorice candy from my shopping bag before gesturing him to start his tale.

Ten minutes later, the stitch on my side returns as I somehow manage to ask James to stop walking and let me die, laughing in peace. He obliges and joins me in on the laughter, doing nothing to help my aching sides but only contributing to increasing my insanity.

Needless to say, Potter had just finished telling his story and the summary of it was something like this –

After James had bought the items on the list, the only thing left to buy was honey. So, while he was scanning through the rows, the pig's brunette fiancée came up to him and started flirting with him; saying stuff like 'oh, what is such a handsome face like yours doing here, shopping?' and 'Not from around here, are you? Wouldn't miss such a pleasant sight if you were.' After James got disgusted by – and I quote – 'aunt icky' and showed no interest in her, she got desperate and started running her fingers all over him. And the blonde pig, being the dimwitted prat that he was, walked in on them at that moment. Obviously, Aunt Icky launched into a fantasy tale of her own where James was playing her role from two seconds ago and was trying to 'flirt' with her. That was the point where I heard him bellow and saw the rest of the scene unfold before my eyes.

After a few more moments of painful laughter, we get a grip on ourselves and continue on our way home, occasionally launching into silent giggles and chuckles.

As we reach the front door, James grabs my arm and turns me around to face him. I notice that odd look from before in his eyes as he says, "Thanks for trusting me, Lily."

I blush faintly and awkwardly reply, "Um…that's ok. I mean, I knew that you wouldn't do something like that, disrespect women, I mean. And the fact that you would actually try to flirt with someone ten years older than you seems a bit unrealistic to me. Other than that, you als–"

At that moment, James presses his lips to mine and cuts me off in mid-sentence. At first, I become so surprised that I stand there like a moron, frozen on the spot. But as his warmth and crushed pines and sandalwood scent engulf me, I find myself unable to form any rational thoughts, let alone fight the impossible urge of kissing him back. I can't help it, I reason with myself as I respond to the kiss, he's a hell of a snogger.

As his lips move against mine, more passionately than our previous two kisses, I barely register the fact that the shopping bags fall out of our hands as his arms wrap around my waist and my hands jump to tangle themselves in his hair.

I blame whatever happens afterwards on raging teenage hormones, incapable brain functions and boody-amazing snoggers. Somewhere in the middle of our kiss, James runs his tongue along my bottom lip and very surprisingly, my stupid brain doesn't even take a split second to make the decision; I promptly open my mouth and allow him entrance.

After a good few minutes of our heated kiss, the both of us break apart, gasping for much needed oxygen. Flushed and red in the face, I look up at James to see his expression adorned with the biggest grin humanly possible. I immediately look down again and clear my throat, hoping he would come back to his senses.

Luckily, he does. "Um, well, Petunia was looking out her window, you see." he explains lamely.

I glance at him and raise an eyebrow. James simply shrugs his shoulder and picks up his bags before walking inside the house. Standing outside in the sun, I close my eyes and sigh, utterly confident about one fact –

James was lying; Petunia wasn't watching from her window. Why? Because her window faces the backyard and not the front of the house.

But the fact that scares me the most is that I didn't care that he lied! In fact, I was quite glad…

To be continued…

AN – Hey guys, sorry for posting this later than usual. But you'll have to get used to it, I'm sorry to say. My teachers are mercilessly drowning us in schoolwork and it's difficult to keep up with everything. So instead of two days, I'll try to post chapters every week. I know it's sad but please understand. And I love you guys for the reviews and everything. Please continue to send them and I promise that I read every single one of them.

Claudia