Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling started this all, and therefore, basically nothing is my creation.

The Special Two

Chapter 13

She thought for a moment, and for the first time in several days, her brain shouted in triumph, as her heart wailed. She placed a hand on James' well-muscled chest, and pushed slightly. Lowering her eyes, she forced her mouth to speak what she knew neither of them wanted to hear. Her voice shuddered slightly as she said, "I can't, James."

"Why not?" The whine escaped from his lips before he could catch it, and his hazel eyes desperately searched the emerald orbs he knew so well for some hint of a joke. He grabbed on to her hand and gripped it tightly, as if he thought letting go would mean her leaving him forever. "Why not, Lily?"

"Because, James. We've been at the opposite ends of the love playground for years, ever since you first asked me out. And I said no. And I just need some time to accept that this is what I really want."

"But Lily - - Lily, I've waited for so long…" She looked up at him, and said aloud the phrase she'd dreaded yet practiced for weeks now.

"James, I need to know that you have a motive aside from wanting me because I said 'No'. Part of me believes that you wanted what you thought you couldn't have, on the forbidden fruit aspect. I need to know that you want me for me."

She dropped her hand from his and turned around heavy-heartedly to walk away from the place she had left a piece of her heart.

As James watched her leave, perfect red curls, perfect little Lily that fit so well into his arms, his heart ached and dropped even farther into his stomach. Possibly venturing toward his intestines now. How could this happen? After he was so sure she was going to say yes. He was convinced that he hadn't done anything wrong, and she still rejected him just like that. And now he had to prove a feeling he so obviously felt but could hardly find the words to voice? He might never be able to have Lily.

Get a hold of yourself, he thought, she's just a girl.

He began to head for the seventh year boy's dormitory, where Lily couldn't talk to him as easily as in the Head Dorm.

Just a girl. Right, James. The girl. He was devastated.

---

"Sirius, where is James?" Emily asked, after realizing he hadn't been seen all weekend.

"Same place he's been since Friday night. Laying on his bed, staring at his canopy, wondering why he continues to exist without Lily," he replied matter-of-factly.

Lily heard this and glared at Sirius from her spot on the far end of the couch, where she had been sitting, feeling guilty, since she found out about James's unemerging self.

"It's the truth," Sirius defended himself, shrugging.

"You would do the same if you had the bloody guts yourself and were turned down like that," she retorted.

Sirius opened and closed his mouth, opened it again, and then decided to keep quiet.

"Well." Emily said huffily, "Clearly I'm missing something. I'm going out by the lake where my presence will be noticed at least by the merpeople. Anyone want to come? Sirius?" she asked hopefully.

He shook his head.

"Lily?" she shook her head as well, still shooting daggers at Sirius.

"Anna?" she turned her head to the opposite side of the room where Anna sat in an armchair.

"Nah, I'm just getting to the good part of my book."

"Remus?" Emily turned back to the boy standing next to her.

"I guess so. But I'll never forget that I was your last resort."

"Oh please, like I would want Little Miss Sulky over there instead of you," she rolled her eyes in Lily's direction.

"I'll go get my cloak," Remus said, heading up to his dorm.

---

Sirius had been deeply troubled by what Lily said to him seconds ago. He chanced a glance over at Anna who sat reading and twirling her hair around her finger (a habit the others had constantly tried to break her of) across the room.

He sighed at the sight of her, face illuminated by the soft firelight, looking so beautiful, and he wondered why he was so weak when it came to her. She looked up, caught his eye, and smiled at him.

Right. That's why.

Suddenly, he made a decision. Lily was right. He needed guts. He wasn't going to hold back any longer. Today would be the day he told Anna how he really felt about her.

Gathering his courage, he stood so abruptly that he got a head rush, and groaned, rubbing his head, while attracting the attention of a few giggling younger female students. Without thinking twice, he marched over to Anna, grabbed her hands, and pulled her to her feet.

She giggled in shock as Sirius took two steps closer to her.

"What are you doing? I was at a really intense part of my book," she said, hitting him on the arm with her book.

"I…want to be with you."

She laughed and returned to face him, holding back a gasp when she saw how serious his face looked. She had a hard time keeping confusion from invading her voice as she said, "I know that."

"No, Anna, listen to me. I love you."

Oh, Shit. They both thought.

She looked into his innocent eyes and her heart began to race.

She sat in awe. The two of them had always had a little flirt-off, but…love? She didn't know about that. Or…did she?

"Anna?"

She realized how sweaty her palms were in his and her heart skipped a beat hearing his sweet, pleading voice call her name.

"Annie. Please." Her eyes were still locked on his.

"I—I'm so sorry," she whispered, squeezing his hand before letting it drop, and running up to her dormitory. Sirius, drying his hands on his pants, fell into the chair she had sat in, left only with her lingering scent and the memory of her rejection. Then, without warning, he began to laugh. He laughed, and he laughed like a maniac. He laughed at Anna running away. He laughed at Lily slumped in the corner of the couch. He laughed at the rain outside. He laughed at the rug, at the fireplace, at the owl flying by the window. He laughed at life, and how crazy it was. But mostly he laughed at himself and how crazy he was.

---

Remus and Emily returned around dinner time, still laughing and carrying on from their time outside together, to find Sirius slouched down in the chair Anna had been in, an amused expression on his face, Anna nowhere in sight, and Lily still on the end of the couch, now muttering worriedly to herself.

"What is going on?!?" Emily shouted unexpectedly, scaring most of the younger students. She figured it might startle her lumps of friends, too, but Lily merely turned her head slightly, and Sirius made no movement whatsoever. Remus, on the other hand, jumped about a foot.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he asked, regaining his composure.

She shrugged, watching in amusement as the other Gryffindors in the common room were shying away from her and Remus, while also trying not to come within a couple feet of Edgy Lily or Lunatic Sirius.

"What is wrong with everyone?" she asked rhetorically. "Maybe we should just leave again—"

She stopped when Sirius stood up, walked over to, and plopped down next to Lily.

He turned and icy blue eyes met bright green.

"Why?" he asked, fighting back a laugh, "What lesson is this supposed to teach us?"

She shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know, Sirius, I just don't know. How is James holding up?" she asked quietly, dreading the answer.

"Not too well. Go see him."

"Go see Anna."

He laughed.

"You don't need to handle this by pretending you're mad."

"I am mad, Lily. Mad for ever thinking she would go for it. And now I'm just plain mad."

---

For the next week, Emily and Remus spent a lot of time together, as they were trying desperately to avoid their four moody/insane friends who were trying desperately to avoid the others and any confrontation.

James emerged only for class, still completely avoiding any conversation. Sirius and Anna were very quiet, and when they did speak, hardly made any sense because they were so preoccupied (or crazy). Lily was slightly better than the others, but was keeping to herself much more than usual and was no fun to be around.

"This is getting really old, chums," Emily complained, as Anna refused for the eighth time to explain herself.

"I agree. I understand that you are all in a state of either complete and total emotional despair, insanity, or denial, but it's gone way too far," Remus said.

"Ermh…" Anna said, blushing and rushing off to seclusion in the girls dorms.

"It'll get better, give it time," Lily spoke up, then lowered her voice to a whisper, "yeah, Lily, give it time. He'll come around. It wasn't a completely unreasonable request. If he loves you, he'll come around."

"Uhh……Remy, you're the luckiest Marauder." Sirius groaned, watching Anna skirt out of view, sprawling himself out on the rug he had laughed at a few days prior.

Emily raised an eyebrow at Remus.

"What are we going to do? I can't handle this much longer."

"It'll sort itself out, we shouldn't get into it," Remus tried to talk sense into her.

"No, I have a brilliant idea!" She laughed maniacally, reminding Remus too much of Sirius's method of coping with his pain. "No, it's really not. But it might work…"

---

"Lily, please! You're the only one she'll open up to. Just look at them! We have no choice!" Emily cried, sounding like the world was about to come to a screeching halt if Lily didn't talk to Anna. She thrusted her hand wildly in Sirius's direction (who was spread eagle in front of the fire, just staring into it) to indicate who she was talking about.

"Fine, I'll go. But don't expect her to spill any information."

"Thanks, Lily."

"Well, if I can't fix my own problem, I might as well try to help out someone else…"

---

"Come on, Padfoot, buddy. Just go up and talk to James. He's rotting away to nothing. He needs you." Remus knew he had hit home with this one. Sirius knew James really did need him, and just needed to have it voiced before he took action.

Sirius's head perked up immediately. "Prongs is in need of help?" He jumped to his feet, punched his fist into the air, and took off toward the dormitory yelling, "Never fear, Padfoot is here!"

Oh how depressing. Poor everyone. We've got some serious stuff in the next chap. So stay tuned.

Thanks to my Beta for the prompt that started me off for this chapter. I hope you're all still enjoying the story. Please let me know what you think! Otherwise I'll think that you don't like it and I won't be motivated to write anymore (that's what's been happening)!

Thanks for reading!