Chapter Twenty-Forsaken
A.N.: Hey everyone, I just wanted to quickly apologize for a couple of things. The first is the mix-up with Animal I Have Become from the previous chapter. 30 Seconds to Mars is not the band that sings it, and I'm sorry that I put that. I just get the two confused sometimes, but as soon as gets their login system working again, I'll change it to 3 Days Grace the first chance I get. Thanks so much to those of you who saw the mistake and pointed it out to me. I also wanted to apologize for the wait, but I was pretty busy for awhile with band camp, then getting ready school to start tomorrow. Speaking of school, I just wanted to let you know that I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I will try my hardest to get the chapters up fairly quickly :) .Thanks, hope you enjoy the chapter!
My, my baby blue
Yeah I've been thinkin' 'bout you
My, my baby blue
Yeah you're so Jaded
And I'm the one that Jaded you
-Jaded, Aerosmith
I told myself I won't miss you
But I remember
What it feels like beside you
-Better Than Me, Hinder
A couple of weeks had passed, and James was in pain. No matter how hard he attempted to get Lily to talk to him, she never looked his way. In the halls, she walked by with her head held high, her face void of any emotion, refusing to betray her feelings. She never showed any pain, but she rarely showed joy either. This was a double-edged agony for James. She had shown no emotion towards him since the night it had happened. Had she really cared so little about him that she was able to grieve for a night, and then move on? At the same time though, he wanted her to move on. He wanted her to live normally. He wanted her back, but even if that wasn't going to happen, he wanted her happy. More than anything, he craved to see her smile again, even if she wouldn't smile at him.
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Lily crossed her arms across her stomach, holding in the pain. The past couple of week had been hell for her. She had fought to remain indifferent, uncaring, but it was always now, in the void of time between when the unfeeling coma that had become her sleep took over, numbing her painful conscious. This was when the agony overruled her scrupulous mask. This was when the tears sneaked through, and began to mark their fiery path down her frozen face. Eventually, she would give up holding it in, and would let herself drown in the bitter wave of emotions. Curling up, Lily slowly unfurled her arms, and stared blankly at the canopy of her bed as the silent tears began to fall.
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Anna watched the fire quietly. She was the last person to leave the common room. She never went to bed with Alex, Lily, and Tammy. If she could, she would go before them and pretend to be asleep. Most nights though, she stayed until she was sure they would be sleeping to go up to the room. She almost enjoyed watching the fire. Her friends had forsaken her, and its warmth was a welcome relief from the cold stares of Tammy and Alex. Theirs weren't the ones that cut into her, however. It was Lily's. Her eyes had become so…empty. The only time anyone could detect a flicker of life in them was when she looked at James or Anna. Drawing her knees up to her chest, Anna put her head on them and closed her eyes. She hated to see the way Lily looked at her. The pain and betrayal in her eyes washed over in a rolling tsunami whenever she looked at Anna. Shuddering, Anna squeezed her legs tighter to her body. She had heard the rumors that were sweeping the school. She had received many glares from people she had used to count among her friends, accusing looks from James. What hurt the most was that she didn't deserve them. She had no idea where people had gotten the idea that she had kissed James. She had been in the library studying that night; McGonagall had been warning them about a test that was to have taken place the next day. Now Anna was confused, hurt, and alone. No one would so much as pass her the pumpkin juice at dinner. She wasn't mad at them though. She knew something must have happened to make everyone think she had kissed James. She knew they wouldn't have made up that rumor to pass the time; who would want to hurt sweet Lily that way? But she didn't know what had really happened; she had no way to prove it wasn't her. At first she had though perhaps James had been behind it; why was he playing along if he wasn't? But then she had seen the pain on his face every day. He wasn't much better of than she was. His friends had become cold and distant. He kept to himself most days.
Sighing, Anna lay down, still facing the fire, on the couch. Maybe tonight she would just stay down here. A tear slid down her face, falling softly onto the cushions.
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Naki sat reading in one of the armchairs of the Ravenclaw common room. Everything had gone exactly as she had hoped. Lily was broken, no matter how hard she tried not to show it. James was free again, and soon, he would notice her. She only had to wait. Smirking, Naki brought herself back to her book, smirking contently.
A/N: Ok guys, I'm sorry this was kinda short, and if it seemed like a repeat of the last chapter. I just wanted to show how what happened was affecting everyone. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible, and I'll get the plot-line moving again. Let me know what you guys think so far :)
-ibelieveinsnorkacks