Author: WhtChoc
Title: Runaway Love
Chapter Title: About the Pit and Thank Yous
Chapter Began: Sunday, March 4, 2007
Chapter Finished: Sunday, March 25, 2007
Chapter Published: Sunday, March 25, 2007
Rating: R…
Disclaimer: None of the HP characters are mine.
Summary: AU. At the prestigious private University of Percy Academy, James Potter is a rich, second year grad student who has no time and patience to deal with lowlife rejects like Lily Evans.
Warning: Very mature. You've been warned.
Author's Note: I am very, very sorry it took so long to get this one out. It's long though :/ I had a huge case of writer's block and haven't even really completely gotten out of it but I had enough of ideas to get through. Hopefully, next chapter will just be all natural. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and I again apologize for being late in updating. It was the last thing I wanted to do for you guys.
Chapter Nine: About the Pit and Thank Yous
"You ever heard of the Pit? It's a place you preppy, private universities never heard of. You see, it's a real underground cave with high drug trafficking, alcohol consumption, and high fatality rates. It's where the highest kingpins of the Underground negotiate hood territories and cutoffs. There are rules, like no bloodshed, but emotions run so high that it happens. People are killed. Bodies are found when people like me scatter the caves thin. It's not a place you want to go to, kid." - - Mad Eye Moody
Present…
James should've listened to Private Investigator Moody.
He really should've.
He gazed around in amazement at the number of people he saw falling over, their eyes glazed with something scary. These people weren't living. They were teetering on an edge too dangerous, too far away from the real world. The saddest part, though, was that no one would recognize the empty space that a body used to occupy in this world if they somehow died. These people were with them, those people on the other side of campus, James was sure of it.
Moody had been right about PAU students never hearing of a place like the Pit. Women, all ages, grinded themselves into oblivion against scary looking men. Some of the men, James could've definitely coined as people who attended these places frequently but some of them looked so normal, James could've seen them walking around PAU and not have blinked an eye. That was a freaky realization to say the least.
Damek glanced back at James who slowly met his eyes. "He's just a little further in…"
James nodded and continued to glance around. Strobe lights blinded him every which way and he struggled to keep his feet firmly in tact with the ground. The lights made him feel as though as he was spinning in some sort of crazily lit vortex and he tried to use Damek as a focal point. He reached out and accidentally knocked his hand into a grinding couple.
"What the fuck?" He heard the guy's voice shout, turning to see who had whacked him.
"Sorry," James muttered, trying his hardest to push past the moving crowd.
The place reeked.
It smelled like drugs, alcohol, sweat, dirt, puke, and urine.
James couldn't understand the appeal of this place, although he could never understand the people here either. Hard music vibrated in his chest and his ears ached with the sound of horrible music filling the air. He could barely hear the excited shouts and chants that the people around him were now participating in.
Great idea, James…
He could barely see Damek turn again and lean close into him.
"We're just going to turn into a kitty corner. Hope you're not claustrophobic."
James rolled his eyes and then realized that Damek probably couldn't see him do that. He followed Damek into the kitty corner that he'd mentioned and realized that there was a small opening just at his feet. Before he could open his mouth to complain, he saw Damek drop to the ground and crawl through the itty bitty space.
"What the hell?"
He debated on not following through but when he glanced back at the strobe lights, remembered the smell of all nasty things combined, and the people grinding their bodies into exhaustion, he decided that there was no way in hell he'd gone through all of that shit for nothing. James dropped to the ground and pushed his way through the dirt and cobwebs that no doubt was in his hair now.
…
James finally emerged out of the mini tunnel he'd had to crawl through. He slowly stood up and looked around. There was a small, dirt padded den with fancy lanterns placed strategically around the relatively large cave.
Where the hell was he now?
"James Potter," A voice hissed.
James's eyes whirled around to find the source of the familiar, cold voice. Looking to the front of the cave where there lay furniture and a large group of people off to the side of him dancing to the distant but still very near sound of that awful music, James saw Lucius Malfoy standing up from his throne like chair to greet him. Besides Lucius, Damek stood like a loyal piece of shit that would get thrown away sooner or later if he stunk much more.
"What brings you to the darker side of this world?" Lucius asked, his voice easily traveling to James's ears over the sounds of people grunting and moaning.
The darker haired man slowly made his way to the apex of Lucius' comfortable surroundings. James despised Lucius with a passion he'd never held before. The man before him gave him the shivering feeling, the bone chilling feeling of hatred that scared James. He'd never hated someone as much as he hated Lucius before and he knew he'd never hate anyone as much again.
James knew the past three deaths that happened at PAU was Lucius' doing. He couldn't pin any evidence on the man though to get him on the stands and then enjoyably, in prison. He'd tried to tell his dad to get some of the best lawyers on Lucius' ass but Nicholas Potter had respect for Lucius' father.
"Drive-by that landed my mother in the hospital for three days. I know you know about it." James said harshly.
Lucius whistled. "Going around and making accusations like that, Potter, and you could land yourself in some serious trouble."
James scoffed. "What? You're going to send your groupies after me? I'm not afraid of you, Malfoy." He glanced quickly at Damek who was smirking now. "Not like your idiotic lap dog over there."
Damek's smirk faded. "Hey, I - -"
Lucius held up his hand. "Silence."
Damek shut his mouth quickly.
Lucius slowly breathed in and then let out a slow breath. "Why are you down here, Potter? Are you looking for trouble?"
"I'm looking for you."
"That's a bold statement."
"It's the truth."
Lucius stared at James for a few long seconds before letting out a cold laugh.
James shifted on his feet, wanting nothing more than to leap at Lucius and beat the shit out of him. Many people stopped dancing and turned to look at what was causing Lucius to laugh so. They glanced between him and James.
"You're correct in stating that I know something about the drive-by - -"
"So you admit - -"
"Not so fast there, Potter. You didn't let me finish."
James clenched his jaw.
"You see, we're not in what is familiar territory to you. One snap of my fingers and you could be someone's meal down here. You're forgetting that down here, you have many enemies. People who would like nothing more than to see you suffer." Lucius grinned. "Unfortunately, that person wasn't me the day Annette Potter was shot in a drive-by."
"Then, who was it?"
"It would be stupid of me to tell you straight-forwardly."
"You're wasting my time." James said, his voice low with pent up anger. "If you don't know anything, then our business is done."
He turned but was met with a bigger built man with something sparkly in his hand. James breathed in quickly when he felt the sharp object press firmly into his throat. The thug held him firmly so that he couldn't move from his spot. James's eyes whirled to Lucius who grinned widely, evilly, and back up to the bigger man who smirked, twirling the object's tip more firmly in a dangerous area on his throat.
Fantastic idea, James…
…
Earlier that day…
Nicholas Potter watched his wife roll over on their futon couch in the living room of their multimillion dollar home. He had wanted her to sleep in their bed but she had insisted on sleeping on the couch. When they had their argument, she had attempted to use logic into her very illogical idea. Who was he to turn down such a thoughtful side of debate?
"Nick?" He heard her murmur.
He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead as her eyes fluttered open. He remained conscious of the bandage that stuck to her right shoulder. They had had to tape it up because she had said that her arm felt weak on that side. He'd cancelled all of his appointments and hers too so that they could stay in and rest, her especially. She'd been running around, trying to make herself useful at the Shelter that it'd been a long time since they'd been able to just sit and enjoy each other's company.
"I'm right here, sweetheart." He whispered.
She smiled and tried to sit up. She groaned a bit and he assisted her until she was propped up on the light brown futon pillow. "How long was I sleeping?"
He shrugged. "Just a few hours."
"I mustn't have been as tired I thought." She frowned immediately. "How are the kids?"
Nicholas sighed. He knew that was coming. "They're fine. Why don't you…?"
She gave him a stern look. "Nick, you know you've been avoiding how they're doing from me all week, right?"
He nodded.
"And you haven't been at your office in a week. I haven't asked you to do any of that but I am asking you how our children are doing. Please provide me with that answer, at least." She knew he meant well but sometimes, he just needed to do what was really necessary. Taking a whole week off of work was nice for the both of them but this was something that she needed to know, needed to hear.
"James and Bella are… coping. They're shocked but they're handling it rather well."
"Yes, well, having their mother almost die kind of might do that to them." She tried to crack a smile but her husband didn't give.
"I almost lost you, Annette." He said seriously. "I'm not going to let that happen again."
She narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"
He stared into her eyes before standing up from his spot on the floor and turning his back to her. "I've allowed the kids to hire a private investigator, a whole department as a matter of fact."
"A what?" She gaped at her husband.
"They're supposed to be negotiating look outs, bodyguards, and people active out in the field." Nicholas explained. He hadn't wanted to tell Annette this but he knew they would've gotten into an argument if he hadn't. They would still but at least it would be just a bit of a mini explosion.
"Nick, that's completely unnecessary. It was probably random--" Annette said.
"Actually, the authorities James and I spoke to believe that it was a targeted hit. They were aiming for you--" Nicholas turned back to her and ran his hand through his hair.
"Lily was with me." Annette interrupted quickly. "Is anyone watching her?"
"No one's been able to locate her. They're supposed to be looking." He said quietly. "Whoever shot those bullets at you, Annette, will not be pardoned. They'll pay. I'll make sure of it."
She looked at him, really looked at him. A surge of affection hit her in waves. She really loved this man. Her anger at him putting so much energy into protecting her transformed itself into gratitude and love. What would she do without him?
"So, you put the kids in charge of first speaking to the lead investigator?" Annette shoved that feeling down until she knew all of the details.
He nodded, coming to kneel in front of her. "They're meeting with him today. Some of the men I do business with say he's the best."
She frowned, not liking the idea. "I don't know, Nick. I really think you should be down there navigating the situation. The kids have never dealt with something like this before."
"They're fine." He began to lean in, sensing her reluctance to drop the conversation but knowing that she would soon. "Besides, I'm here spending this beautiful afternoon with my beautiful wife, taking good care of her."
Annette smiled. "How good?"
Nicholas smiled in return, leaning in to touch his lips to hers.
…
"This is ridiculous!" James shouted.
His sister and two best friends' eyes widened at James's explosion. They hadn't seen him flip out like this since freshmen year in high school when he'd lost a soccer game against their all time rival. His hair was messier than normal and his clothes were wrinkly. He looked like he hadn't bathed or showered or even shaved the fuzzies growing on his chin and jaw line in a few days.
Mad-Eye Moody, a man of about fifty years of age, limped over to stand directly in front of James who fumed. "Listen, boy, I've been investigating crimes like these since before you were born. I know a little something about what goes bump in the night. And since I do know more about it than you, I suggest you follow my lead."
James stared at Moody. "But you're suggesting that we relax and take a step back. That's not going after a criminal; that's giving them plenty of time to come up with their alibi!"
"James, maybe you should---" Remus tried but was met with an angry glare.
James looked at Sirius who uncharacteristically flinched when he looked at him. "Sirius, I know you agree with my avenue. We should go to the source of the problem and take him out. We should find Lucius!"
Sirius seemed to have a difficult time sputtering out words. "Yeah, I um, I agree with you up until that point, Prongs."
"What he's basically saying is that although we share your enthusiasm for taking out Malfoy, we should follow Investigator Moody's lead." Bella folded her arms. "He has been doing this a lot longer."
James let out a frustrated sound. "You guys are just letting Malfoy slip through the cracks again. He's going to get away with crime again."
Moody frowned. "You really think its Malfoy, kid?"
James looked at Moody evenly and nodded.
"What gives you the idea?"
"The fact that Malfoy's an ass," Sirius muttered and Bella elbowed him.
Moody laughed at that and it startled the younger people.
"What's so funny?" Bella asked, frowning.
"Young folks nowadays. Someone's evil because you got into a fight with them the other day and you're looking for a bit of payback." Moody's smile immediately dissipated into seriousness. "Listen, kids, I know you guys think you own the world because you're getting a bit of education but out here in the real world, we can't be locking someone up because you just don't like them. There has to be probable cause."
"Malfoy's gotten away with so much because of that bit of education, Investigator." James said firmly but quietly. "It's a gut feeling that Malfoy is somehow involved in this, I know it. He knows something about that night and I intend to find out what it is he knows, even without your help."
Moody looked at James seriously and then slowly leaned in.
"You ever heard of the Pit?" Moody's eyes glinted, wildly excited. He really did look mad. Madly insane. "It's a place you preppy, private universities never heard of. You see, it's a real underground cave with high drug trafficking, alcohol consumption, and high fatality rates. It's where the highest kingpins of the Underground negotiate hood territories and cutoffs. There are rules, like no bloodshed, but emotions run so high that it happens. People are killed. Bodies are found when people like me scatter the caves thin. It's not a place you want to go to, kid."
"He doesn't plan on it," Remus said, looking urgently between Moody and James. "Tell him, James, so that he can get on with his investigation."
James breathed in deeply, wanting nothing more than to prove this old man wrong. He may not have gotten his leg sliced off by some high profile criminal or gotten his eye cut out, or any of the equally nasty things above, but he knew his gut feelings were never far off. What Moody planned to do with that bit of information he offered to James was to scare James away from wanting to be more a part of the investigation but it just sparked his curiosity.
The Pit…?
His eyes gazed to Remus who looked desperate to get out of there and he sighed. "Fine, have it your way."
Moody stared at James for a little bit, scrutinizing him with his one eye. Then, finally, Moody seemed satisfied and attempted a smile but it looked ugly against all of the scars on his cheeks and the lines of age.
"Good. Very good."
…
James walked across campus quickly, his destination clear in his mind. He was on a mission to find out more information about this thing called the Pit. If it was really what Moody had said that it was, then he knew that Lucius would definitely have a hand in this place. He also knew the perfect middle man to get him there.
"James Michael Potter!" A voice pierced the air and he froze, his heart pounding. "We – need – to – talk!"
He slowly turned to see Shauna rushing toward him, her designer bag bumping violently against her shoulder. He could see the angry lines in her heavily make-up face and her eyebrows knitted together like they were not separate. Her mouth was drawn into a very thin line as she came to stand directly in front of him, causing a scene and making everyone glance their way uneasily.
"Where the hell have you been?" She poked his chest and frowned, looking at her nail before throwing her hands up in frustration. "Everything is going so wrong. You haven't talked to me in days and I just broke my nail. See?" She shoved her hand in his face.
He frowned at the sudden intrusion and backed away. He was really not in the mood to deal with her. He had things to do. "Shauna, I'm busy."
"But you're always busy. We never even have sex anymore; you're so busy all of the time. I mean, what could be more important than having this," She turned and glanced down at her behind to emphasize her point, "in your bed twenty-four seven?"
"Um," James felt a surge of anger toward her selfishness and was prepared to do or say anything to get her away from him, "I don't know, maybe my mom getting shot just outside of the Shelter in a drive-by?"
She waved it off. "Yeah, I know that but isn't she like, better now?"
James breathed in deeply and exhaled. "Shauna, you and I are through."
"What?"
"You heard me," He walked around her and began walking away from her. "We're through. Goodbye."
Shauna grabbed his arm. "No, we're not," She pleaded. "No, because we're supposed to date for an indefinite amount of years before you fall so madly in love with me and ask me to marry you. And then I'll be a very rich, very spoiled wife while you take on your father's business. I have it all worked out, you see,"
He turned back to her, feeling her hand tighten around his forearm. He was disgusted that he had dated her at that point. He just wanted to get away. "Shauna, let go of me. Find some other rich man to fulfill your fantasy."
"But I want you," She whined, planting her three inch heels firmly in the grassy soil.
"I'm sorry but you can't have me now let go." He tugged but she wouldn't budge so he worked on prying her fingers off.
"Is this about that girl you've been cheating on me with? Because I have people in high places…" Shauna threatened.
He finally got his arm released and she wobbled a bit because her heels were stuck in the soil before she toppled over into the grass on her butt. He was too focused on getting out of there that he couldn't enjoy the view of her struggling to stand up in her expensive outfit and heels. He couldn't pause to see the many people laughing under their breaths as they walked by to hear and see Shauna Williams flipping out at James Potter for dumping her.
He had places to be.
People to see.
…
"Lily!"
She turned quickly to see Remus running toward her, rushing past the crowds of people getting out of their classes. Her eyes widened at the sight of someone trying their hardest to stop her to talk to her. It was kind of ironic, to say the least. She'd really tried to avoid the crowds lately, fearing that whoever was responsible for the drive-by a week ago was targeting her and she'd be endangering people's lives if she hung around the party scene too much. She allowed Remus to catch up to her though because he was special.
"I haven't seen you in the longest time." He breathed in and out heavily.
They began to walk.
Lily nodded. "I'm trying to keep a low profile."
Remus nodded as well. "We're on top of it."
"Huh?"
"James's dad allowed for us to hire private investigators to see what happened in that drive-by. Speaking of that, you should really check into them. They want to keep a close watch on you, just in case whoever was responsible is keeping tabs on where you are to strike again." Remus said, voicing his concern in his tone.
She shrugged. "I don't really need bodyguards and--"
He shook his head. "It's really necessary. It's not just your life that was threatened."
Lily paused and accepted that, nodding. "How is Annette? I guess Mr. Potter cancelled all of her days this week for her to rest so I haven't seen her at the Shelter."
"She's okay." Remus frowned. "To tell you the truth, we're all more worried about James. He's taking it kind of hard."
She attempted humor even though she knew it was bad humor. "Guess having your mother get shot isn't really the ideal kind of situation."
"Have you seen him lately?" Remus asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
He paused and then laughed, shaking his head. "Never mind."
"No," She stopped and turned to Remus. "Why do you ask?"
Remus shrugged, stopping as well. "I don't know. You two, um, kind of left things awkwardly the last time I peaked in at you."
"What are you saying?"
Remus seemed like he was in an awkward situation. "I don't know what I'm saying. There's tension between the two of you…"
Lily rolled her eyes inwardly.
Yeah, the last time they'd had tension; it was of the heart beating, knees shaking, down low throb… who couldn't sense something as powerful as that? She remembered how close they'd been to releasing all of that "tension" into one heated kiss that would've revealed so much more than Lily cared to see.
"Lily?"
She snapped out of it and looked up at Remus. "James and I are just two different kinds of people, Remus. When you put us together, there's bound to be tension."
She was desperate to change the direction that this conversation was headed. "So, how is James handling it that makes everyone worry?"
"He's just trying to take the investigation into his own hands. We keep trying to explain to him that Moody is more experienced in this line of work but no matter what anyone says, he won't listen. We're all afraid he's going to do something rash." Remus explained, motioning helplessly as he talked.
"Like what?" Lily stared off into space, not liking the idea that something could happen to James if he ventured too far off into unknown territory.
"We're not exactly sure." Remus admitted. "Moody revealed something about a place called the Pit, or something rather. It was kind of scary, him telling us about it but James didn't look too scared."
"He should be," Lily whispered, fear immediately clutching at her stomach.
"You've been there?" Remus frowned.
She met Remus' gaze evenly.
"Lots of times."
…
Damek groaned as another blow hit his stomach.
"Ah, okay, okay," He grunted, bending over and coughing.
"You'll take me?" James asked, rubbing his fist to ease the sharp pain. He'd hit guys before but it'd been such a long time since he'd really whammed on someone, he forgot it hurt.
"Yeah, yeah… you just have to give me two hours." Damek explained, holding his stomach and trying to stand up straight. "To secure the deal."
"What deal?" James frowned.
The other man smirked. "Guess you've never dealt in the Pit before."
James didn't say anything.
"Visitors, that's you, get bys. Photo ID gets you one alcoholic beverage and one joint. A deal gets you a semi-private meeting with any kingpin of your choice. You want Lucius, I'm your middle man, and so you need the deal. Anything else goes." Damek explained.
"What do you mean?" James narrowed his eyes.
"Walking into that place, the things you see, what you hear, what goes on… you don't say anything. Word is, you've got some group of investigators working for you right now. If I risk my tokens on you walking into that place and you open your mouth to one of those investigators about what goes on there, you're liable for street lynching. That's what I mean by anything else goes."
"How much is all of this?" James asked, stepping back to give Damek some room.
The other man frowned at James. "You don't pay me in cash."
"I wasn't planning on it but I know people like you don't just help people like me. There's a catch." James knew he was stupid for going to Damek Jacobs but he was desperate to get anyone and Damek was the only one he knew that probably had been to the Pit many times. Okay, he knew Lily definitely went there even if she hadn't told him, but he had no idea where she was.
Damek just smiled, walking past James. "Just wait for my call in two hours. If it's a go, meet me in front of the Shelter at eight o'clock. No investigators allowed tailing your rich ass, you got me?"
"I got you." James clenched his jaw.
This had better be worth it.
…
Present…
It hadn't been worth it.
"You're wasting my time." James said, his voice low with pent up anger. "If you don't know anything, then our business is done."
He turned but was met with a bigger built man with something sparkly in his hand. James breathed in quickly when he felt the sharp object press firmly into his throat. The thug held him firmly so that he couldn't move from his spot. James's eyes whirled to Lucius who grinned widely, evilly, and back up to the bigger man who smirked, twirling the object's tip more firmly in a dangerous area on his throat.
Fantastic idea, James…
"Our business here isn't done." Lucius sneered, walking closer to James. "You see, I have an investigator crawling up my ass everywhere I go on campus. I know you're standing here asking me to respect your wishes and to tell you about what I know when you're disrespecting me by putting an idiotic cop on my ass. That's not the way things work down here, Potter."
"Then how about you tell me how things work down here, Malfoy…" James choked out, feeling more pressure added to the knife pressing against his throat. One slip and his throat would bleed out all of the blood in his body.
"Get your buddies off of watching me and I'll push you in a direction that may or may not lead you to the one responsible for your mother's almost demise." Lucius said, looking very comfortable.
"I'm not really okay with that kind of deal." James whispered.
Lucius laughed and many of the people in the crowd laughed as well. "Aint that something? Potter is still too arrogant to see that he's outnumbered by people who despise him. Potter, you're not really in a position to make negotiations here. It's either that or my buddy, Gary, slices your throat."
James breathed in and coughed in the process. "Fine."
"What was that?" Lucius leaned in.
"Fine!" James said louder.
Lucius smirked and just at that same moment, a gunshot went off. People screamed and others scattered, running for the hole that James and Damek had crawled through to get there. Lucius glanced around and so did James. They both noticed a fight breaking out in the middle of Lucius' den. It was then that James noticed he was freed because the bigger man had already made his way toward the hole, pushing past people so he could get through first.
James glanced at Lucius who easily slipped through another passage in the walls. Damek gave a mocking salute to James before following Lucius. James was just about to follow them when he felt someone tug on his arm hard. He whirled around, about to punch the person who dared to touch him when he noticed who it was.
"Lily?" He frowned.
She placed her finger against his lips to silence him. "They can still hear."
"What are you…?" He started to ask but her fingers fastened around his lips.
"Come on, I know a better way out than the way you came through." Lily wrapped her hand in his and pulled him along the sides of the cave. James watched in awe as the fight continued, the people completely unaware of he and Lily making their escape.
He turned his attention to what Lily was doing which was feeling up against the wall. "What are we doing?"
"It should be around here somewhere," She spoke more to herself than to him. Finally, she seemed to find what she was looking for because she whispered a soft 'aha' before tugging him along against the wall. It was then he started to notice a scenery change. The cave started to get smaller and smaller and then bigger and bigger. They continued to walk against the wall until Lily's hand fell from his and then... she wasn't there anymore. He turned his head and immediately tried to grab for something.
There was about a fifteen foot drop onto another dirt landing and den kind of area. He swore under his breath and peaked around the corner again to see Lily brushing off her dirty knees and looking up at him expectantly.
"Are you coming?" She asked, irritation clearly in her voice.
"You didn't tell me there were heights involved." James complained, swallowing hard.
"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of heights, you big baby." She groaned and leaned against the wall so that he couldn't see her. "Just count to ten and jump."
"No… that's just too – too…"
"Spit it out already." Lily rolled her eyes.
"There's more involved than just closing your eyes and jumping. There's risk and - -" James said, aware that he was rambling. He'd never enjoyed heights much before and even in a case like this one, it scared him still.
"The guy who risked his life for absolutely no reason is talking about jumping a baby's height as taking a risk…" Lily drawled, sounding irritated and bored.
James slowly counted to ten in his head before closing his eyes and stepping off of the high landing. He bent his legs and easily landed on his feet. He opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw was Lily's dirty, but very well shaped legs in that awfully short jean skirt she always wore. He blinked a few times and chided himself on openly staring at her before looking up into her angry emerald eyes.
"Now that you're down here, do you mind telling me what the fuck are you doing down in the Pit?" Lily asked, pushing herself from the wall and coming to stand in front of him. "You could've gotten yourself killed."
"Nonsense. I was handling it." James replied stubbornly.
"Yeah, because having a knife pressed into your throat is the equivalent of handling it." She let out a deep breath. "While your friends are worrying about you going out and doing something stupid… I had to save you."
James choked a bit. "Excuse me? You saved me?" He stepped closer to her. "Yeah, because I was the one who you found high out of my mind on my dorm room bed."
"Ooh, this is so not about me!" She turned her back on him. "This is about you and your unwillingness to let the authorities handle the situation. Remus told me about that jackass lead investigator. I understand having things happen, knowing exactly who did it and wanting nothing more than to shoot that person into the ground. But trust me on this, Lucius isn't your guy."
"Are you sure you're not just saying that because you're sleeping with him?" James narrowed his eyes. "Or you're trying to protect him?"
She whirled on him and slapped him in the face. "How fucking dare you!"
He rubbed his cheek. "Everyone knows that you and he have a drug/sex type of relationship, including me. I'm pretty sure most druggies wouldn't pass up free access to get whatever kind of substance they need to get by during the day just because some guy helped them out a little."
"You arrogant son of a bitch!" Lily hissed. "I haven't done drugs or fucked Lucius in weeks, for your information. And I did give up my "drugs/sex relationship" to save your idiotic ass, thank you very much."
"I'm still not too clear on how you saved my uh, 'idiotic ass.'" James cut in.
"I'm the one who shoved the guy who took out his gun and rang out a shot. I initiated the whole thing. I knew people would think shit was about to go down and they'd scatter. I also knew that the guy holding you at knife point wouldn't do shit because he never does and Lucius would have no other option except to run, including Damek." Lily explained.
"So you almost got people killed saving my idiotic ass from a guy you knew wouldn't kill me anyways?" James narrowed his gaze. Her logic was flawed somewhere in there.
"Yeah, you can say thank you at any point now." Lily started to walk past him.
He bumped into her, causing her to turn around. "Where are you going?"
"There's an opening up ahead. It lets us out at the side of the cave. The opening that Lucius and Damek took lets them out directly behind the cave. If we can hurry, we'll be able to cut them off and you can still get your deal, even without an audience."
James frowned. "How do you know?"
Lily laughed softly, shaking her head. "You suck ass at this whole Underground shit, just to let you know."
He folded his arms, defensively. "Well, I'm sorry. I don't deal with crime regularly."
"I can tell."
James didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the way her eyes darkened in the cave, the way her chest heaved up and down with stress, her angry stance, or for weeks now, his growing attraction to the reject of the campus, but he suddenly felt the urge to grab her and fuck her wildly. Maybe it was the environment they'd just been in, with people grinding against each other carelessly…
"What the fuck are you waiting for?"
The way he was looking at her made the spot in between her thighs throb. She couldn't keep doing this with him. Sooner or later, one of them was going to end up on the dirt ground getting sexed out of their fucking mind and the way he kept looking at her, she was sure it was going to be him. He had no idea what he was dealing with, coming down to the Pit and almost getting himself killed. She'd noticed him as soon as he'd emerged from the main event, dirty, tired, and damned sexy.
She hadn't anticipated the knife point but had kept it in her mind that in the Pit, almost anything went. She had panicked and in a split second, made the decision. The guy who she'd shoved, she'd noticed earlier while waiting for James and Damek to appear, had favored his left side all night. He'd leaned on it, held his hand over it, and had done his best to protect it. She just put two and two together, recognized that he held a gun and used that bit of information when she needed it most.
From there, it had been just a matter of not getting shot, punched, or stabbed and making sure she got to James after Lucius and Damek disappeared to their private exit from the cave before James got any of the above done to him. He'd helped her out and sure, she'd kind of helped his sister out, but call it pay back directly this time. Except now, he couldn't see where or how he could've ended up.
And now, they were alone in a den of a cave, mostly dark with some small lanterns lighting the rest of the way out and James Potter was looking at her like he wanted to devour her whole. There was no way in hell she would get away from this alive. There was no way in hell she would want to get away.
She felt his fingers wrap around the sides of her waist and tug for her to come nearer. She sucked in a breath and tried to resist but he was stronger than she was and so she just walked the few steps until she stood directly in front of him.
"The deal…" She murmured, mesmerized by the occasional light glinting in his eyes.
"It can wait." James answered quietly.
He brushed the hair that fell around her face out of it so that he could see the entirety of her face. It was beautiful. An oval face with full lips, a small nose, and bright eyes. He didn't know what the hell had taken him over to even consider what he was doing but all he knew was that he wanted to taste Lily Evans; once and for all… to see what everyone on campus had talked about, what the guys had been so excited about.
I'm going to taste you, he thought.
He lowered his head and watched with amazement as her eyes fluttered shut and she allowed him to touch her lips with his. It started off slow, like something mesmerizing and unreal at the same time. It had a kind of dizzying effect as their lips caressed one another gently. The fact that they were in a cave, the fact that he had just gotten himself almost murdered, him being who he was and Lily being who she was, all fell away. Everything did except the physical feeling of Lily's soft lips brushing against his.
Lily felt like she'd died and gone to Heaven. Never in her life had she experienced such a light-headed, dizzying feeling of being kissed by the right man before. She'd kissed many men in her lifetime but none felt like this. It wasn't even the fact that James was better than most of them (he was) but it was more of the fact that all of these electrical surges went off when they were around each other and when they met physically, the electrical surges finally just connected and created an explosion.
A good one.
She gasped for air when he released her, her chest heaving up and down. The loss of contact shocked her and she longed to press her lips against his again. His hands still remained on her hips and she focused on not collapsing. Her knees felt weak and she was sure that if he wasn't holding her as firmly as he was, she would sway back and forth and finally just topple over. Then she would grab him and…
"What was that?" She whispered, glancing at his lips and chiding herself not to kiss him again.
"A thank you." He whispered back, before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers briefly. Just as she closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of that pressure, he pulled back.
"Thank you."
A/N: Pretty long chapter, eh? 14 pages… I usually only do 6-9 pages, depending on how each of the individual plots fall into place. This one had a lot that needed to be established all at around the same time.
Big events… um… James almost gets himself killed.
The main characters hire Moody and other investigators to see about the drive-by. That's be our action plot.
We find out that Lucius isn't the main guy but knows something.
We get a glimpse of James's parents' relationship.
We learn about a place called the Pit (will be very important approaching our big crisis).
And… James and Lily share their first kiss. Always an excitement. And things for them after this will only get hotter.
Thank you again to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Still sorry I wasn't able to get this one out as quickly as I wanted.
I don't think I would've ever gotten this one out if it hadn't been for the reviews. I would've stayed stuck.
But, please do continue to review.