Author's Note: I've decided to raise the rating on this story a little bit! It is now T for Teen. Enjoy!

Managing Mischief

14. Texting Tribulations

James began growing almost as soon as school let out for the summer. If he continued at his current rate, he'd reach six foot by the end of the season. He was already taller than his friends but now he was close to towering over them. In fact, his height was the first thing Sirius noticed when he came to visit for a week near the end of June.

"We're gonna have so much fun," James gushed, helping Sirius haul his things upstairs. Sirius studied the house as he held onto the railing. While he had visited James several times before, his mother had never allowed such a prolonged visit. The idea of spending a week in such a cheery house with walls painted different pastel colors instead of dark oak covered in house elf heads delighted him.

James set Sirius' trunk at the foot of the extra bed in his room.

"Go ahead and make yourself at home. We'll be having dinner shortly. Dad's just outside on the lounge chair." James didn't mention his father's OCD quirk of always being outside on the lounge chair.

Sirius sat down on the bed and glanced around the brightly-lit room. "This is really nice of you, James."

"Sure." James eyed his friend. Sirius seemed… subdued. Usually the boy was borderline embarrassing him with his melodramatic ways. He wondered if he was just tired, but a part of James understood that, no matter how much he hated it, Sirius was always a little depressed after visiting home. As if he got used to repressing his emotions and actions. Come to think of it, maybe that was why he was so wild at Hogwarts. He could say what he thought and do as he pleased, within reason, without fear of being scolded by an over-bearing mother or tattled on by a snotty little brother.

Sirius hopped off the bed and opened his trunk, pulling out his pajamas and his newest model dinosaur.

James smirked at the sight. "Who's that one?"

"Cupboard."

"Cupboard?"

Sirius nodded. "Cupboard the Stegosaurus."

Sirius set Cupboard down on the nightstand and adjusted him to look life-like.

James adjusted his glasses. "Why Cupboard?"

"Because Kreacher locked me in one for three days after I came home."

"What?"

"It was an accident," Sirius assured him. "I was trying to find a galleon Reg had thrown in there and Kreacher came down the stairs, thinking it had just been left ajar, and closed it."

James just stared at his friend. "Three days?"

Sirius shrugged. "According to Mum. She thought I'd left on a sleepover or something. Regulus used a muffling charm so they couldn't hear my knocking." Sirius narrowed his eyes. "He thought it was funny. He's turning out to be Bellatrix junior."

"Um, yeah," James said stiffly, eyeing his friend for signs of further neglect after such a confession. "Sirius, that's really bad. You didn't eat or drink for three days? That's like… dangerous."

Sirius sighed. "They felt really bad and all…" He trailed off, nibbling on his thumbnail.

James didn't like seeing his friend so vulnerable and felt his fists balling up. He had half a mind to march over to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and beat some sense into Sirius' drunken mother.

Sirius suddenly brightened. "But I figured something out in there. I was left with a lot of thinking time, you know." James furrowed his brow. Sirius closed the door then peered out the window to make sure no one could see. They couldn't, of course, for they were on the second story. "Watch this," he said with a grin. Then in an instant, he had transformed into a jet-black, grey-eyed dog with the endearingly goofy proportions of a pup.

James grinned hugely. "No way!" He fell onto his knees before the dog, who wagged his tail. "I can't believe you figured it out. This is awesome!"

The dog thumped his tail then leapt in a circle with a yip.

"Shh," James cast a look at the door. "Don't want Mum to hear."

When he looked back, Sirius had transformed into a person once more. "It's really cool, being a dog. I spent most of my time in the cupboard as one. It feels different, you know. Simpler. I know I'm me, but bad things don't bother me as much. And it's like, I can keep my thoughts but have dog thoughts, as well."

"Sirius, this is so cool. You have to teach me."

"Obviously, James."

So for the next hour before dinner, Sirius tried to articulate to James how he had achieved the clear, calm, and focused mental state necessary for an animagus' first transformation. James couldn't quite achieve it while he was hungry, and a part of him wondered how his ADD friend had managed to ever get his mind to quiet so much, locked in a cupboard or not.

When James' mother called them down to dinner, Sirius bounded down the stairs and plopped into his seat. James was relieved to see his friend's vivacity had already returned and with Sirius having mastered his animagus form and himself well on the way, all felt right in the world. In fact, all felt fabulous. Until Sirius got a text that night.

The two were lying in bed and Sirius was reiterating the transformation process to James when the smaller boy's phone vibrated. James sat up in bed, adjusting his glasses as he watched Sirius crawl to the foot of his bed and rummage through his trunk. "Since when do you have a phone?"

Sirius grinned. "Cool, isn't it?"

James was hurt. "I don't even have your number."

"Mate, I don't even know my number."

Sirius sat down on his haunches and pressed several buttons until his text message appeared. "Who is it?" James asked.

Sirius sighed and sank down against his pillows. "It's Lily Evans."

"Wha?" James jerked up onto his knees. "Why?"

Sirius merely glanced at him with his one eye. "I dunno. She took my phone at the end of the school year and did something to it so that she could call me and stuff."

James blanched. Why had Lily given Sirius her number and not him? The two weren't even close. In fact, they were all frenemies. Why would she want to stay in touch over the summer, unless… Crap. "What's she saying?"

Sirius was quiet for a moment as he wrote her back. "She's bored. Her parents are gone on a cruise and her sister's at camp."

James swallowed hard. "She has a sister?"

Sirius nodded.

"Does she… go to Hogwarts?"

"Nah." Sirius glanced at him. "She's not like us."

"Oh." James stiffly lay back down, pulling the covers up to his chest. Sirius' phone vibrated again. "What now?"

Sirius furrowed his brow. "What does she care?"

"What? Why? What'd she say?"

"She asked what I'm wearing."

James stared like a deer in the headlights. Lily Evans was asking Sirius Black what he was wearing. Which James knew meant that she was actually interested in what he wasn't wearing. Didn't it? What the hell? Sirius was still practically a little kid. He played with dinosaurs for Merlin's sake. Sure, he was okay to look at, but that sort of thing was just… wrong. Made all the more wrong given how oblivious Sirius was to it all. "Um," James cleared his throat. "Maybe you should just ignore her, Sirius." James stared at the ceiling. What he'd give to have Lily send him a text. Even if just asking what pages the homework was on.

"Ooops, I already replied." Sirius set his phone aside. "I said: my pajamas, duh."

James blinked repeatedly at the ceiling. This was bad. This was really bad. Like, really, really bad. The phone vibrated again. He slowly looked over to Sirius, who giggled. James felt a cold, cement-like sensation course through his body. He couldn't move. He couldn't even bring himself to find out what all the furious texting was about as Lily and Sirius wrote to each other again and again. His world was crumbling around him. All his attempts to find a way to talk to Lily had come to nothing, but Sirius hadn't even done anything and she'd fallen into his lap. It wasn't fair, damnit!

"How far away is Laurence Avenue?"

James slowly looked to Sirius, his covers pulled up to his chin. "Within walking distance… why?"

"That's where she lives."

"And…" He tried to keep his voice even. "She wants you to come over?"

"She said that since she's home alone she bored and…" he trailed off as he clicked through his messages then read one. "Wants to show me a good time."

"She what?" James bolted upright again.

"You reckon she's got candy?" Sirius asked excited. "Oh, we could have ice cream sundaes! I love those!" He hastily texted Lily back.

"Sirius!"

"What?"

"She's not talking about candy!"

Sirius' phone vibrated again and Sirius smirked. "Is too." He read the message. "I asked if she had chocolate sauce and she said, Oh, the things I would do with that chocolate sauce and you… See?"

James snatched Sirius' phone from him and read the message himself. It really was there. She really had said it. Complete with a flirtatious winky face at the end. "Sirius… this is… she… I can't believe… just… UGH!" He tossed the phone back onto Sirius' bed. "She is not talking about ice cream sundaes, trust me."

"I'm sure you can come over and have one, too," Sirius offered, not understanding why James was so flustered.

"No, Sirius, I'm pretty sure she just wants you," he grumbled.

"I'll ask." James blushed as he knew Sirius sent a message doing just that.

Several minutes of silence passed while James stewed in his jealousy and Sirius texted.

"She wants me to ask you something."

"What?" James snipped, refusing to look at him.

"If we were alone in the bleachers of the Quidditch field, what would you do?"

James slowly looked over at him. "She really said that?"

Sirius shrugged, looking like the conversation was boring him.

This was an unforeseen twist. Alone on the Quidditch bleachers? That was rather suggestive, wasn't it? Could it really be that she'd been talking to Sirius all this time in a roundabout way to get to him? Yeah, that was it, wasn't it? Sirius was her in. James smirked. "I'd tell her to take off my shirt," he said before he even realized that he was voicing his thoughts. Sirius was punching in letters and hitting "send" before James could mutter, "Wait, don't send that!"

"But you just said to!"

James snatched the phone from Sirius and groaned when he saw a checkmark appear by the message. "Sirius…."

"I'm tired," Sirius griped, snuggling under his covers. "Tell her to go to bed."

James blushed at the thought of Lily and a bed and felt power course through him as he realized that the small device he held in his hands directly linked him to the red-head. He nearly dropped the phone when it vibrated. He read the text. Oh really? Lily had written. Then I'd stare at your muscles for five minutes then say, "take me now!"

James let out an involuntary squeak that was somewhere between a whine and laughter. "Yeah…." He adjusted his glasses but was almost frozen in anticipation. He'd never expected something like this. How could his night have gone in such a 180 unless… unless Lily still thought she was talking to Sirius. But Sirius didn't have any muscles to speak of. He was still built like a, well, younger boy. James on the other hand, was tall and… thin. He didn't have any muscles, either. Something wasn't adding up. He slowly looked to Sirius. "Are you sure this is her number?"

Sirius shrugged. "No. She's the one who put it in."

James blanched. He hastily typed who is this? then hit send.

Meanwhile, in Lily's room, the red-head stepped out of the bathroom, her hair done up in a towel, to find Severus lounging on her bed, hastily tossing her phone away from him with a suspiciously innocent expression. She narrowed her eyes as she let her hair down. Severus had come over to watch a movie and was meant to be picking one out while Lily was in the shower. "Sev… what're you doing?"

He shrugged. "Nothing."

Lily studied him for a few more moments. Her phone vibrated again and she picked it up, seeing a text from Sirius Black that read "who is this?"

Her eyes darted to the pale boy fidgeting with his sleeves. "Sev! What're you doing texting Sirius?"

Severus shrugged. "I dunno. I was bored."

"But he thinks you're me! What did you say to him?"

Try as he might, Severus couldn't suppress his smile. "Nothing, really."

Lily hastily scrolled through the messages, her eyes widening as she skimmed the contents. "Sev! You idiot!"

Severus chuckled. "What? It was just a joke."

"This isn't funny! He thinks I said all those things. James thinks I said all those things!"

"I know, that's what makes it funny." Severus barely had time to leap off her bed before she chucked her phone at him. He made a beeline for the door. "Let's watch a movie another night, shall we?" And with that, he ducked out of the room and bolted downstairs.

Lily glared at the door after him. "Brat!" Sighing she sat down on her bed and assessed the damaged. By the time she sorted out what to say to try to explain herself, James had started sweating over the lack of response. Sirius, on the other hand, had fallen asleep.

James gasped as the phone suddenly vibrated again. OMG, the message read. So sorry, that was Severus, NOT me. I was in the shower and had NO idea. OMG.

James furrowed his brow. What was Severus doing over at Lily's house. Alone. At half-past eleven? I'll bet, James wrote back.

No, really, I didn't say that stuff! He thought he was being funny! she texted in response.

James sighed. How do I know you're not still him? He sent.

Lily stared at her phone. She'd fallen into the bad habit of staying up into the wee hours of the morning, doing nothing much but listening to music, so she wasn't tired. Certainly not at all after what had just happened. The Potter house was only a few blocks away. She could be there to defend her honor and dignity in person within a few minutes. And so, she changed into jeans and a tank top and set out to do just that.

Please review! I would love to hear your thoughts!