Fame: A Story About Lily Evans and James Potter

Chapter 9

I almost kissed James Potter. I almost kissed James Potter. I almost kissed James Potter. I almost kissed James Potter. I almost kissed James Potter…

Usually, James Potter would have made me wrinkle my nose in disgust. But this time, the word almost got me down. Almost, almost, almost. We were so close, but then stupid Black had to barge in and… what am I thinking! I hate James Potter! I shouldn't want to kiss him, no matter how hot he was. Don't get me wrong, no matter how much I hated Potter, I never denied that he was drop dead gorgeous. But never had I wanted to kiss him.

"Lily, are you alright?"

I forgot that I was in the girl's washroom.

"Hurry up!" Someone yelled.

I opened the door. Jordyn Price looked concerned – it was written all over her face. But behind her was Gemma Harper, Tanya's best friend. She looked at me with disgust.

"Sorry." I said, but I was only apologizing to Jordyn.

She was a nice girl, if a tad promiscuous. Price shook her head, which I thought meant she didn't mind. Good. I was slightly embarrassed. What if she told Black that I had been hiding in the bathroom after almost kissing James? Of course, he would tell Potter. And Potter? I couldn't even imagine what he would say. My ears turned red from just thinking about it.

Five minutes later, when my head was buried in my pillow, a hand reached out to touch my shoulder. I immediately jumped back in surprise, but it was only Jordyn. All the other girls had left.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Sirius about you hiding in the bathroom." She reassured me.

"Did you read my mind?" I asked, amused.

She laughed and shook her head.

"I'm just… watching out for you. Sirius told me about what happened with Tanya." She explained.

My mouth hung open in horror. Feeling very self-conscious I closed it.

"Look, I know she can be a real bitch - ."

"She's always a bitch."

"But, don't mind her. She's just jealous because Potter fancies you."

I stared at her in shock.

"No, Potter doesn't fancy me. I'm probably just another one of his conquests." I shook my head at her foolishness.

"You're wrong there." Jordyn said, looking at me like I was the foolish one. "He's never had a girlfriend for more than a month, you know that?"

"Because he just doesn't feel it."

"Because he likes you. He's been besotted with you ever since first year. I should know, or have you forgotten that I used to date the poor fellow." She countered.

I looked down at my nails. They shone healthily. People always complimented me about my nails. And my hair and eyes and so and so… But that was only on television interviews. Otherwise, without the make up I was pretty average. Which was what I liked.

But Potter liking me? No way. I know he's been out for me ever since first year, but that's just because I'm the only girl who doesn't swoon over him. I frowned. The idea was preposterous. But if Jordyn said so, then maybe it was true. No, it couldn't' be. I wouldn't let myself think that it was true. Potter… Potter was just a stupid boy who thought that he could get anyone into his bed.

There was a rapping at the window. We both turned to look at Sirius.

"I've got to go now." Jordyn remarked. "But if you want anything, just tell me, alright?"

She seemed genuinely concerned. As did Potter, but I shouldn't think like that. No, me and Potter were just friends if we were anything at all.

"Have a good time." I called after her as she and Sirius sped away on his broomstick.

I shook off the sweater Potter gave to me and folded it neatly. Not knowing what else to do with it, I buried it under the pile of things in my chest at the foot of the bed. Something in the sleeve gleamed gold, but they used magical threads for wizard clothing so it would stretch to always fit the wizard. It was probably nothing. I closed the chest and made my way downstairs, hoping to find a good book to read in the library.

The halls were all empty. Everyone was at Hogsmeade except me. Light footsteps pattered behind me, but when I looked no one was there. Probably just a mouse. The thought made me shudder. I hated mice. They were so… ugghh…Since no one was around, I started humming to myself. Someone cursed behind me as I went into the library, but like last time, no one was there.

I was pretty freaked out, but it was probably just one of the ghosts. Peeves probably. Maybe I should threaten to call the Bloody Baron. No, he hadn't done anything yet and anyway… the Bloody Baron freaked me out. It's better not to react at all. Maybe he'd leave me alone. I strolled over to a random shelf and started to look for an interesting book. But there were only romance novels and I wanted something scary. I perused the shelf, but nothing stood out. Walking to the next aisle, I thought I heard something behind me, a faint rustling.

I bit my lip, almost drawing blood. It was probably nothing. A book caught my eye. It had silver binding. A girl, resembling Bloody Mary was on the cover, but she was transparent like a ghost. There was no title, but it was a heavy book with a chilling summary. Something called my name.

"Who's there?" I called out, whipping my wand out.

Nothing was there but empty space. Convincing myself that it was nothing but the wind, I hurried back to the common room. When I got there, the fat lady was asleep. I knocked on the portrait, hoping she would wake up but she stayed like that. Groaning, I beat my head against the wall. But she just kept snoring.

"Lily?"

I turned around so fast that I almost hit Potter. Being the seeker that he was, graceful and quick in all his movements, he stepped away just in time. Amusement twinkled in his eyes, but I was too annoyed to notice.

"What do you want?" I asked vehemently.

He flinched and I immediately felt sorry, but my pride wouldn't let me say so.

"Well, I want to get into the common room, but then I noticed you hitting your head against the wall." Potter explained.

My mouth formed an O.

"The fat lady's asleep." I muttered.

"Yeah, I heard her snoring from all the way down the hall."

I managed a little smile, but that was all. Potter looked down at my book.

"Looks scary." He said.

"Yeah…" I answered, staring off into space.

There was an awkward pause, where he stared at me and I tried to stare at anything but him. A part of me wanted to kiss him, a part of me wanted to walk away, but the curious part of me wanted to know what he saw during Homecoming. Obviously, the curious side won over.

"About Homecoming." I said, finally meeting his eyes. "What exactly did you see?"

"I saw a very attractive girl singing on stage and asking her to dance. Then, her hair turned red." He twirled a strand of my hair around his index finger.

I backed away from him. Right now, his touch was the last thing I needed. He stepped forward. I stepped back, but I had unwittingly trapped myself between him and the wall. His hazel eyes studied my face, but I stared back at him with defiance.

"Care to explain what I saw?" His hand came to my cheek and slowly caressed it.

"It's a hobby." I explained. "The band cancelled and Dumbledore asked me for a favor."

Apparently this explanation wasn't enough.

"He knew that I liked singing and McGonagall practically begged me to help them." At least I got him to chuckle at the thought of McGonagall begging. "People were just drunk and thought I was actually good at singing."

"Hmmm…"

He didn't believe me, but he didn't press me for details either. Smart Potter, he knew that I would probably jinx him. The hand on my cheeks began to move down to my neck and before I knew it, he was pulling me in for a kiss. My heart started beating erratically, my breath hitched in my throat. For a split second, I paused, but then his lips met mine. At first it was gentle, but before long he was using slightly more force. I found myself responding eagerly.

It felt so good, feeling his lips on mine. His tongue asked for entrance and I let him in. I wanted it. Our tongues fought each other for dominance, but then I pulled back. The realization of what we were doing hit me. Luckily, the fat lady woke up. Mumbling the password, I ran up to the dormitory and buried my head in a pillow for the second time this day.

"Lily!" He called from the common room.

He was hurt. I could hear it in his voice, but I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to go down there and face the horrible truth. That I may be falling for James Potter.