Emerald Eyes
Disclaimer: I only own the plot and Leah. Oh yeah! And I don't own Starbucks, although that'd be just as cool as owning JK Rowlings stuff.
Previously
Their footsteps finally dissolved from the empty hallways lined with flickering torches hung on the all. Only the old castle walls saw everything, heard every whisper. For everyone else, truth was going to be hard to find, hard to dig out from the rummage of lies that were soon about to be thrown. Lies, lies, lies, tainting everyone's souls. Of course, with the mess that was unraveling itself, what else was there to do but lie?
Chapter Twenty-one: Going Back
This was the start to a very complicated loath cycle, with a poor boy stuck in the very middle of it. On one side, there was Mary, who constantly threw glares at Lily across the hallways when James was looking the other way, or gave her un-flattering comments when James was on the other side of the room. They were small things, but there were plenty of them. Then there was Lily, who was rather aggravated with her dear friend James for making it seem like she was trying to break them up. Not that she cared what Mary thought about her, but honestly, its like having an annoying four year old constantly poking you with a stick when their parents aren't looking. Obviously, Mary was aware that Lily would be spending Christmas at his house. Mary even threw subtle hints trying to make James change his mind, but he just pretended not to notice. If he leaned towards his girlfriend's side and say something like "Yes, you're right, Lily's a bitch, I wont talk to her ever again.", not only would he be lying but Lily would certainly be pissed. And, if he stuck up for Lily, then Mary would dump him, and he wasn't all to keen on that idea.
The first snow of the season had arrived a week before holiday break, a little later than most years, but welcome none the less. They got two days off of Herbology, since the grounds were too snowy to walk across, and to everyone's disappointment, a Quiditch game had been postponed until after the holiday break ended.
James was simply overjoyed when the winter holidays came around; it was a well-timed excuse to get out of school and all the drama that seemed to be picking on him. The whole train ride home Lily was fidgety, nervous about going over James' house. As she sat there, not quite listening to the Marauder rants about Snivellus' underpants, something else was missing on the train ride home: Leah. Although through the constant exchange of owls, they had decided she would stay a few days for Christmas, it hardly seemed like enough time. At the same time, Lily was dreading the day Leah would come. She hoped James knew how awkward it would be; Leah would be almost frightened to go near him, Sirius, Peter, or Remus. Remus. How would Leah react to him? The possibilities made her shiver.
Finally, they were outside, blissfully ignoring the cold weather or falling snow that was blocked out by all the warm hugs.
"Bye Lily, I'll see you at Prongs'," Remus said, bidding farewell with a tight hug.
"By Remi. Take care, write me and visit often!" Lily grinned, giving him a tight squeeze.
It was snowing, accumulating rapidly on the ground. James, Peter, Remus, Sirius, and Lily stood at the top of the hill, the Hogwarts Express ringing its loud horn in the background .All around them students were scurrying, tightly embracing family members they had been missing over the school year. Owls squeaking, trunks flying, people laughing. It was quite a busy scene.
Lily turned to bid her farewell to Sirius, giving him a tight hug as well, "Have fun in your new flat!" Lily exclaimed. Sirius had been abnormally happy (when I mean abnormally happy, I mean, really, really, really, really, really happy) the past week. It had just been after dinner last night when he announced he was buying himself an apartment in wizarding London.
"Thanks Lils, I promise to keep it clean. You and Jamsie are coming to see it as soon as you two can possibly get your lazy asses over there." He said playfully, and Lily laughed.
Lily turned to Peter, "Bye Peter." She said, and gave him an awkward hug which he somewhat returned.
"Good Bye Lily." He smiled his beady-eyed smile.
"Alright James, have you bided farewell to everyone?" Lily asked the boy who's raven hair was now dotted with white.
"Yep, lets go." James declared, swinging his trunk up.
"Bye!" The two called back to the remaining three, who waved enthusiastically.
Lily followed behind James. Just as they were about to reach the wall, a girl flung herself at him, who staggered backwards slightly before holding the girl.
"I almost missed you!" Mary cried, clinging close to him. Lily cringed.
"I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to you, hun." He said, kissing her forehead. Lily almost laughed, she knew James had almost forgotten about saying goodbye to Mary.
"Is that all I get?" She asked sweetly, looking up at him with big eyes.
"Of course not," he bent down again and gave her a lingering kiss. "Bye Mary, love you."
"You too Jamsie." She said before pulling away. "Bye!" Mary called breathlessly before walking the other way to her group of Ravenclaw friends, who were all watching them intently.
"Uh, shall we go?" James said awkwardly, once turning to Lily. She just nodded and they both walked through the wall and into the cluttered, noisier railroad station. The two out-of-place wizards were hardly noticed by the rushing Muggles, even though both their owls were yelling dangerously.
"Where do we go?" Lily asked James, who was taller, and who's gaze easily surfed over the heads of the crowd.
"Ah, over there." James said, spotting a large sign that read 'Potter'. It was held up by a man in a fancy suit, very professional and suave looking.
Cutting through the crowd, Lily followed close behind him until they reached the opening of the building, where the man was standing.
"Master Potter," the man greeted, bowing down. Lily looked at James, who seemed undaunted. If somebody ever bowed to her she'd be in total shock! Obviously this is something that was normal to him.
"Mr. Creed," James gave a small bow himself, and the chauffer smiled.
"Who's this lovely lady you have with you?" He asked, giving a flushed Lily an interested look.
"This is my friend, Lily Evans, she'll be staying with us over the holidays." James introduced her, making an obvious emphasis on the word 'friend'.
"Hi Mr. Creed." Lily greeted, extending her right hand, which instead of shaking, Mr. Creed kissed swiftly on the knuckles. She felt her mouth drop unwillingly.
"Pleasure to meet you Miss Evans." He said, then giving a small bow. Lily was confused, was she supposed to curtsy? No, she might fall over…
James grinned and put an arm around her shoulder, "We've got a long drive Lily. Anything you need back at your home?" He asked.
Lily shook her head, "No. Nothing there." She felt a pang of pain when he referred to her 'home'.
However, before she could say anything else, she as whisked away by James, who quickly dragged her out into the snow. A rather small, sleek black limo was parked out in the front of the parking lot, and Lily's jaw dropped for the second time in one minute
"Is that what you guys drive around in?" She gasped.
James nodded, "Yeah. Well, they wont let me drive it, but yeah."
"Damn." Lily said under her breath as Mr. Creed opened the doors for her and James. She climbed in first, her jaw dragging along the black leather interiors.
The inside, like many cars wizards got their hands on, was much more roomier on the inside than it appeared on the outside. There was about four or five rows of what looked like small sofas in the middle of the isle. The row Lily was sitting on was at the very front, right behind the driver's seat. The space between the driver's seat and the first row was divided by a thick black screen. On it, Lily saw what seemed to be a fireplace, but not quite. It looked much more like a TV screen, with swirls of waving colors.
James sat next to the awed girl, as Mr. Creed shut the door to the limo. James laughed at her startled expression.
"What's that?" She asked, pointing at the swirling screen.
"Floo Screen. " James said. "Works instead of a fireplace."
"And I thought you said you've never been in a car before!"
"Well, I've never been in the front seat where I can pull down the windows or listen to the radio, or anything like that. Saftey issues." He groaned.
"I see," Lily nodded and looked around at the rest of the limo, "What are all those cabinets?" She asked, pointing to the ones outlining the room.
"It's sort of like the room of requirement, except in cabinet form. Anything you want you can find in the cabinets. Want a drink?" He offered.
Lily shook her head, "No thanks, maybe later."
"Okay, tell me if you want anything though. Like I said, it's a long ride."
The limo pulled out of the parking lot, and off they went.
"So Lily, I have a question for you." James announced, and she looked up.
"And what would that be?" Lily asked curiously. Deciding the row was big enough, she moved herself into a laying down position, her head resting near where James was sitting.
He looked down at her and said bluntly, "You still haven't told me why you don't like going home."
Lily looked up at his staring face, and felt instantly ashamed. "Wow, you're right." She fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to find a place to start. "Well, my dad's an alcoholic and my mom is dead, as you know. Lets just say things aren't to great back at my house. My mom had auburn hair, so I guess I remind him of her."
"How'd your mum die?" He asked.
"I can't remember exactly how, but I remember it was the loudest fight I ever heard." She said in a small voice, her eyes focused on the swirling colors of the Floo Screen.
"I bet it means nothing, but I'm sorry." He said, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
This time it was undeniable, the immense flutter Lily felt tumbling in her stomach. The feeling was there, now Lily didn't know what to make of it. James seemed not to notice, and Lily wasn't sure whether that was good or bad. The feeling still lingering the pits of her stomach, but she answered calmly.
"It's okay, It was a long time ago. Funny thing is she's one of the most vivid memories I have." Lily put on a melancholy smile, "You should see the pictures we have of her, you could almost mistaken us now."
"Do you have any?" James asked eagerly.
She shook her head, "No, only at the house." James noticed how she called it 'the house' not 'my home' or 'my house'.
"You wanna stop by there? You can give me a tour of your neighborhood. Remus and Leah have told me lots of stories about it." James suggested.
Lily let out a small laugh, "If you really want."
James hit a button on the screen that Lily hadn't seen earlier, and the screen lowered itself, the barrier between the driver and the seats gone.
"Yes Young Master?" Mr. Creed asked, not taking his eyes off the road.
"Can you drop Lily and me off at…at Little Whining? That's a funny name!" James laughed, and Lily couldn't help but laugh with him. She loved his laugh, it was contagious, made everyone around him light up in laughter as well.
Mr. Creed nodded, "I'll pick you up in an hour thirty." And then the screen rose up again.
"We're about ten minutes away, I remember this place," Lily said, looking at the passing houses out of the window. Before she ever went to Hogwarts, Little Whining was the most amazing place on earth to her. She knew every detail, every bump in the road or path in the woods. Now, it was more like the wisp of a memory she couldn't quite catch.
"Will your dad be home?" James asked nervously.
Lily shook her head, "No, he works. His job changes every few months or so, and I haven't bothered to keep track of what he's on now. Quite frankly, I don't care. And Petunia, she's never home. Always with one boyfriend or another." She said it with pure disgust, and James couldn't imagine hating a sibling like that! Lily was lucky she had a sibling period.
"Did you ever get along with your sister?" James asked.
"Once upon a time yes, but at age eight, which was when my dad began to…pick on me, she was, I guess, scared of me. Going into Hogwarts just confirmed the idea." Lily said indifferently.
"That's horrible." James said in a weak voice, he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say to her. She didn't look like she needed much comforting, but you never know do you?
Five minutes later they were both standing on a snow-covered street, James' smooth black limo riding away into the mist of snow. Shivering at the cold weather that nipped angrily at her exposed hands, Lily directed James to her house rapidly. James lived in a mansion, lavish and expensive. Lily lived in a smaller house, three stories, pretty normal looking. The houses were spaced tightly together, each with the same design. He could hardly make it out through the falling snow, but James could just barley make out a small building further down the street.
Lily walked up the steps to the house, James following behind.
"Petunia's car isn't here, so I highly doubt she's in there." Lily told James.
Turning the knob, she pushed hard before the door sprung open with a jerk. Lily let out a long sigh and gave James a weak smile as she let him in.
"It's a lot warmer in here." James smiled, taking off his coat.
"Take off your shoes too, that way we don't leave tracks through the house."
James deposited his shoes to the side before looking around. To his right was a small kitchen, quite disorganized. There were old newspapers and fliers tossed carelessly here and there, on the counters and stacked on the tables. Other than that it was generally clean, except for the bulging garbage bag that was mostly made up from empty beer bottles. The refrigerator had a one job offer paper on it, but other than that it's surface was clean, except for the many spots where the paint had chipped from its long wear. It was the same deal with the table; the white paint was dulling and missing in places.
To his left was a small turquoise carpeted room. There was a rather old looking sofa pushed against the wall, with a coffee table right in front of it. The ground beside the sofa was littered with empty cans, and the coffee table had round dark brown coffee stains. Down the hall, there was a sleek mahogany wood door with a dusty window looking into the room inside, and just across from that a short staircase covered with a dirty carpet.
It wasn't horrible, James admitted, but there was a lonely misplacement in the house, as if it was all just wallpaper covering writings on the wall and could be torn off at any second.
James tried to find some words to describe the house, "Um, the house is-"
"This has got to be one of the worst places in the universe!" Lily groaned as she walked into the kitchen, surveying it with distaste before yanking open the refrigerator door.
Not exactly what James had been going for but hey, she said it, not him.
"I'm paranoid that your dad or sister will come home any second." James admitted, accepting some muggle drink Lily handed to him. He looked at it with confusion. What in the name of Merlin was Coca Cola?
"Muggle drink, it's good." Lily said, taking a sip of her own can. "And don't worry, if my dad or sister come home, which they wont, you can just climb out the window. It's easy, I've done it before."
"I don't doubt that." James chuckled. "Care to show me upstairs?"
"It's nothing great, but whatever." Lily hoisted herself up off her chair and sulked to the stairs. James followed her up into the second floor, which was mostly a hallway. There were four doors, James noticed. Lily quickly opened the first door and introduced it at her dad's room. It was a complete mess, and James guessed if it wasn't for his other daughter living in the house, the place would be a pig pen. The second door was a light purple painted room, with a nice mattress and girly yet not babyish bedspread.
"Petunia's room." Lily said in a monotone voice before closing that door with a slam.
The next room was a bathroom, which looked like it hadn't been cleaned properly in months. Finally, the door on the very left led to old dusty stairs. Lily flicked on the light, which was hardly enough to light up the room correctly, and walked up the stairs. As James reached her side she gestured dramatically, "And this is where I sleep." She then took a swig of her soda.
James looked around in shock. There was nothing that suggested that anyone slept here except for a mattress that was leaning against the walls. Was she being sarcastic?
"Very funny, now seriously, show me your room." He pressed, rolling his eyes.
Lily didn't seem hurt or even faltered, just took a casual sip from her cola, "Seriously, this is where I sleep. I wouldn't call it a room, I hardly spend any time in it."
James looked around again. There were some old dusty boxes pressed in the corners of the room, but other than that it was bare. A window stood in front of him, exposing the gray clouds and snowy houses. He looked away and at Lily, who had an unreadable expression on her face.
"Oh. I don't know what to say."
She shrugged, "You don't have to say anything. There's nothing to say, just as long as I don't stay here ever again. Then I will have something to say!"
"Has your dad always treated you like this?" James asked with curiosity as Lily made her way back down the stairs.
James shut the door behind him and followed Lily, who paused a moment before saying honestly, "No, it was when I was around eight, when he really began to notice the similarities between my mom and I. Then he would just yell and say horrible stuff, but it was when I got my letter that he confirmed that in his eyes, I'll always be a useless piece of dirt."
They were back on the first floor, Lily leaning on the foot of the stairs. She was staring at him, trying to see what he thought about it all, biting her lip.
"You're not!" James said angrily. He was outraged, he had threatened any slime ball that had ever said anything mean to Lily (excluding all the years before when it had been him). He would have done more, but Lily wouldn't let him. Too bad…
She gave him a sad smile, "I know, but he doesn't. Now, shall we get those albums you wanted to see?" She asked.
"Right."
Lily turned to the wooden door, which looked even more misplaced than any of the other things in the house. Lily tugged at the door, and it finally came open, and she stumbled backwards.
"Dear God, nobody has opened this thing in ages!" Lily exclaimed as she stepped into the room. The back wall was covered, top to bottom, with rows of dusty and forgotten books. There was a clean dark wooden desk placed in the center, with an hollow vase placed to the side, a chair tucked into it tightly. James stepped in, standing next to Lily, and did not know what to make of it. Yes, he did like the room, but not only did it look different from the rest of the house, it felt different. A melancholy dampness hung over the room, as if it was the only evidence that there had been something else here in the house, that here was a story to be heard. It was the evidence that was overlooked by the reader in a tale of hounding mystery and suspense. James could almost picture a woman, resembling Lily but older, stepping into the room, pulling out a book, and sitting down at her desk to read it. It was almost eerie, how the whole room seemed to be holding its breath.
James looked at Lily, and she was looking at it in a longing manner. He followed her gaze, and it fell upon a small side table he had not seen earlier. There were three picture frames; all turned downwards, the glass lying flat against the table. Beneath the table was one large box that was heavily sealed with duct tape. It was the forgotten corner.
Without any words, Lily walked over to the table and lifted up the three frames. The first up-turned frame displayed the picture of a couple, quite young, both kissing and dressed in wedding attire. The red-head was standing on her tiptoes to kiss a well-built, rough looking black haired man. It was the kind of man that you expected would have a huge temper, and the body of a boxer or weightlifter. The next picture was a close up of very pretty one of a woman with auburn hair, her pale face resting on her hand. She as smiling a very delicate smile, and her blue eyes were flashing.
There were four very noticeable differences between the Lily in front of him and the woman in the picture. First, Lily's mother had more wavy hair, and Lily's was a straight as a pin. Second, her mother had more defined ears, which he could see clearly as her hair was tucked behind one of them. Third, their nose was different, as well as the cheekbone structure. But fourth, the most noticeable difference was the sparkling blue eyes the woman had. Lily's were just as magnificent, but in a radiating shade of green.
The third picture was of a small girl with short black shoulder-length hair. She had a long neck and a toothy grin, hands placed on her red dress in front of her. The smaller girl next to her was wearing the same over-exaggerated smile, her auburn hair in pigtails, wearing a matching dress. Lily let out a small laugh when she saw it, and turned over to James.
"Me and Petunia." She explained. "A year before my mum died."
"You guys were cute." James grinned.
"Were? I'm hurt." Lily pouted.
James pinched her cheeks, "You're just okay now."
"You're jealous because I'm hotter than you'll ever be!" She retorted playfully, placing her hands on her hips.
"You wish," James mockingly put his hands on his waist as well.
Lily grinned, "Shut up. Now, do you have a bag I can take this stuff in?" She asked more seriously, gesturing to the picture of her mother and the one of Petunia and her as kids.
"You're taking it?" James asked, shocked.
"Of course I am. This is a very nice room and all, but some of these things are coming with me. I'm the only one who ever comes in here, and you don't know how many times my dad has almost thought about burning every single book in here. And plus, I will never, ever, return to this house."
James fished out a pencil from top of the desk and quickly Transfigured it into a large bag. He tossed to her, and she caught it gratefully.
"Thanks." With that, she tossed in the two frames, leaving the one of her parents on their wedding day face down. She then skimmed along the bookshelf until the bag was stuffed with books. After placing a quick reducing charm on it and placing it carefully in her pocket, she reduced the size of the box under the side table and placed that in her pocket as well. Finally, Lily turned to James, who had been watching silently the whole time.
"Lets go." Lily ordered in a stiff voice. James followed obediently, stepping out of the room. With one last look at the lopsided books, half empty bookshelves, she closed the door softly.
Once they were outside the room, James put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, "You okay?"
"Y-yeah." Lily said, her voice cracking. She gave a quick sniff, willing her tears away.
James wiped away one stray tear from her eye before putting on his shoes and tossing on his coat, Lily doing the same. He pulled open the door for her, and she stepped out, the sudden change of weather shocking her. Once they were both outside, she shut the door; grateful nobody had come home while they had been in there.
"Want to go get a drink?" Lily asked calmly as they made their way across the road, their hands stuffed in the pockets of their coats.
"I would kill for a Butterbeer right about now." James agreed enthusiastically.
She laughed, "Muggles will look at you like you're crazy if you ask for a Butterbeer. We don't have that!"
James looked shocked, "Are you serious? What the hell do you guys drink other than that Coca Cola stuff?"
"More sodas, tea, coffee, beer, water, lemonade, wine, vodka, whisky-"
"Ok, I get it. Where is this place?" He asked.
"Down the street, its really nice in there. Come on, the sooner we get there, the better." Lily grabbed at his arm, and led him towards the building he had seen earlier in the distance. "Starbucks", it read. Where the hell did they get their names?
"They have got the most amazing coffee!" Lily gushed as she pushed open the glass doors, taking off her coat as she stepped into the heated room. James looked around, it was a cool looking place. The air was thick with the smell of coffee, which was rather dazing. Of course, this place would never be as good as The Three Broomsticks, but it was okay for a Muggle attempt.
"This place is even better than The Three Broomsticks!" She added as she sat herself down on a two-person table. James sat down on the other end and froze.
"No its not! Three Broomsticks is better." James objected.
"No way, you should taste their frapuchinos! It's like the nectar of the Gods!"
"It can't ever beat Butterbeer."
"Oh come on, just admit that the Muggles beat your wizarding world at something."
"You're also part of the wizarding world!"
"Yes, but I'm also part of the Muggle world. But Starbucks is just so much better." She insisted.
"Favoritism!"
"Is not!"
"Clearly, it is-"
"Ahem." A waitress stood behind Lily, waiting with an amused smile to take their order.
Lily turned to face the waitress and was met with a shock of delight, "Oh my God! Lily Evans, is that you?"
"Jessie?" Lily sprung to her feet. "I haven't talked to you in forever!"
Jessie gave her a quick hug, "I know! How have you been? How's your boarding school?"
Ah, so it must be a Muggle friend of Lily's.
"Great, how's Paintbranch?"
"It's so great, I'm currently dating Timmy Richter!" The girl said with a squeal.
"Paste eating Timmy Richter?" Lily gasped.
"That was in first grade! Now he's football playing hottie Timmy Richter!"
Lily laughed, "How things change."
Jessie gave a small laugh, "That's right. I'm glad you stopped by, I haven't seen you since last year! Billy still hasn't lost hope. What a pathetic kid, my brother. Ah, speak of the devil. Hey Billy!" Jessie waved over a blonde haired boy with wide blue eyes. He too wore a Starbucks apron. Billy looked up at his twin sister dully and then caught sight of the girl standing next to her. He was there in a flash.
"Lily!" He greeted eagerly, wrapping her up in a one-way hug. Jessie stood watching, rolling her eyes. James was glaring at Billy and Lily wasn't quite sure what to do. "I haven't seen you in a long time…"
When he let her go, Lily said in an awkward voice, "Hi Billy."
Billy…the name wrung a bell in James' mind.
"How've you been?" He asked sweetly, grabbing both her hands. "I've really missed you."
Lily whisker her hands back from his, "I've been good. You?" She asked politely.
"I knew you'd come back." Billy whispered, half to himself, ignoring the question she asked. It was rather scary, the boy had a dazed, love-sick expression glued to his face.
"Erm…" Lily sent a pleading glance at James, who immediately got the hint and remembered Billy as the ex-boyfriend she had filed in the 'clingy' drawer.
James sent him a death glare, he didn't have the right to just…walk up there and…and do what he was doing! Who was he to think he could all…touch Lily's hands and what not…
"So, who's this?" Jessie asked finally, noticing James. She said it with fond tone, as if she was considering whether or not he looked good with his shirt off.
"This is-"
"James Potter, I'm Lily's boyfriend." He lied, standing up and shaking hands with a shocked Billy and a slightly disappointed Jessie. Lily was stunned for a moment before she caught on. God bless James, he was such a great friend!
"Are you really going out with him?" Billy pressed suspiciously.
James slipped an arm around her waist, and Lily added reassuringly, "Of course, we've been going out for two months."
"We went out longer!" Billy snapped.
Jessie kicked Billy conspicuously, who winced but said nothing.
"Will you be around this winter?" Jessie asked, changing the subject.
"No, we're just stopping here before I go over to his house." She said, gesturing towards James, who she was pressed tightly against.
The twins' mouth dropped. "Two months and you're going to his house for Christmas?!"
James shrugged and pulled Lily closer, "What can I say? I love my Lily."
He swooped down and planted a kiss on her slightly parted mouth, which she had not been expecting in the slightest.
A jumble of thoughts came rushing in and out of her brain moments after he had already left her lips. The first thing Lily realized was how warm and soft his lips were. Then, she was shocked, Lily hadn't expected for James to go this far in the acting! That was a little much, wasn't it? Lily then reminded herself that it was just to help her out, and he was being a good friend. It meant nothing. It had been a completely fake, insignificant, meaningless kiss.
And then Lily realized she had liked it.
"Lils, what do you want?" James asked, nudging her slightly, bringing her back to reality.
"What? Oh, a chocolate chip frappucino would be good." She said coolly to Jessie. She nodded professionally and told them she'd have them in a moment. Minutes later James was sipping at some tea and Lily was gulping down her frappucino.
"Sorry if that shocked you," James whispered to her from across the table. "Part of the whole act, you know."
Lily nodded, "Of course. Thank you so much for pretending to be my boyfriend, Billy would have never gone away!"
"My pleasure." James grinned, and she rolled her eyes.
"I don't think Billy likes you."
"I don't like that bastard either!" James scowled, causing Lily to laugh some more.
"You're so mean! But I don't blame you." She added in a hushed tone
"Is that his sister?" Lily nodded. "She's hot."
Lily smacked him, "James! You have a girlfriend!" she said, referring to Mary.
"Actually, at the moment I have two." He corrected cheekily, and Lily smacked him again.
Looking over her shoulder, she quickly spun her head back. "Billy is looking!" She hissed.
It was Lily who stunned James this time by giving him a quick peck on the lips and then flashing him a fake wide smile. To anybody looking in, like Billy, it would have seemed realistic, you wouldn't have guessed they were whispering apologies to each other.
"Sorry, I didn't know what else to do." Lily whispered, seeing James's surprised expression.
He recovered quickly, "That's okay. It's not like it meant anything, right?" He said, chuckling as if the thought was absurd.
She gave a chuckle of her own, "Exactly."
Truth was, there were about a thousand other options Lily could have chosen to get Billy to stop looking at her like that. But the realization that she had liked it when he gave her that innocent kiss was still with her, and she couldn't help herself. Leah better brace herself for a very large, confusing letter…
Across the room, Billy and Jessie were busy wiping the dirty counter, Billy still staring intently at Lily and her "boyfriend". He paused, and watched as they whispered eagerly to each other, cracking smiles and small secretive laughs. He scowled and wiped the counter even more ferociously.
Billy had been in love Lily since they were fourteen. His heart had broken when she went off to that boarding school of hers, and had tried to spend every waking moment he possibly could with her during the summer. They had even gone out that summer, but Lily had dumped him at the end of the most amazing summer of his life. If only she didn't have to leave to that wretched school of hers, then things would be different, he was sure.
Lily's head whisked around and caught him staring. Almost as if provoking him she leaned down and kissed James, who looked like he had just received a pleasant surprise. Billy growled and looked down at the spotless counter, practically rubbing the counter so hard the paint was bound to chip off.
"Billy Willy, you've been scrubbing the same spot forever." Jessie said, coming up behind him and throwing her cleaning rag onto his head.
He groaned and tore the rag off his head and threw it back at her, "Shut up Jess."
"You know she's off limits, so don't try anything." Jessie warned suddenly, walking up next to him. "He really likes her."
"How do you know?" Billy asked accusingly.
Jessie shrugged, "I'm a girl, I can notice these kind of things."
Lily and James laughed from the nearby table, and Jessie nodded her head in confirmation.
"Yep, he's crazy for her." Jessie said finally, picking up her rag and turning around to walk away.
Billy caught his sister by the tie of the apron, "Are you sure she likes him?" He asked hopefully.
Jessie gave her brother a sad smile and looked back at Lily and James sitting at their table, "There's no doubt about it. Sorry, bro."
Billy let his hand drop down to his sides in dismay, letting out a long sigh. Choosing not to torture himself any longer by observing the wretched sight, he followed his twin sister through the double doors and into the kitchen.
God, these butterflies would just not go down!
James smiled that stupid lopsided grin of his, and Lily smiled, pretending to be listening to what he said.
Since when had she felt this…weird around him? It was making her nervous; the back of her mind was screaming at her, 'You dimwit, maybe you like him!'. However, she refused to listen to that part of her conscience, and instead brought back her confusion. She didn't think she could deal with the truth just yet.
"Lily, are you listening?" James asked her accusingly.
Her head shot up and gave him a sheepish smile.
"No-"
She stopped abruptly mid sentence. The figure walking into the café snagged her attention.
"Li-ly!" James whined in annoyance. "W-"
"Shut up!" Lily hissed at him, eyes darting around the room to find a hiding spot.
"What?" He asked.
"My sister."
James' eyes widened before they both sprung up in unison.
They scrambled aimlessly around at first, before James grabbed Lily fiercely by the shoulders and helped her into her coat.
With Lily placed further away from her sister, they walked out of the door casually, James' arm only just skimming the tall black haired woman's as Lily and James tried to escape through the only exit un-detected.
Sadly, the woman found his arm brushing against hers incredibly rude, and opened her mouth to shout something about manners at James, when she caught sight of his companion.
Right outside of the door, Petunia stopped in her tracks. The man walking beside her stopped as well, however, with a confused look on his face. Lily froze in fear, not looking at Petunia but knowing well she was being looked at.
"L-Lily?" The girl stuttered with dislike, a look of pure disgust on her face.
James had an immediate loathing for this woman.
"Petunia," Lily acknowledged with a sigh.
There was silence, where the siblings shared a moment to pass death-glares.
"What are you doing here?" Petunia snapped angrily.
"What do you think?" Her younger sister retorted icily.
"You're not supposed to be here, I thought dad got rid of you!"
"You thought that bastard killed me? Ha!" Lily said with furious amusement in her voice. Gladly their conversation was not over a whisper, so no outsiders could catch a single word.
"No, though I wish he had." Petunia smirked, "I just thought you'd be too scared to come back home."
"Too scared? No, I just have better of things to do than go back to that pig pen."
"I see, then where will you be staying this winter?" Petunia challenged, "Surely not that freak school of yours!"
"Petunia! I'm surprised you even mention my school in front of your boyfriend!" Lily said in a sarcastic voice.
"Actually, Vernon's my fiancé, he already knows about you and your disease. Who's this?" She then asked, taking notice of James.
"James Potter, I'm Lily's boyfriend." James spoke up bitterly. Petunia seemed shocked for a moment.
"How much did the little whore pay you?" The dark haired girl let out a cackle.
James grabbed at Lily's arms, restraining her from jumping on her older sister. She put up quite a struggle, but finally gave up under James' tight grip and resorted to just sending her evil glares.
"Come on Lily, let's go now." James suggested, still holding onto her arms. He then added, in a hushed voice that was meant to be heard, "You just wait 'till they get in their car. I know a pretty good jinx that'll send their body parts flying."
Petunia and her boyfriend paled considerably and stood in numb shock as Lily and James stepped smoothly out of the glass doors, triumphant smirks painted across their faces. Once outside, they shared a quick high five before walking to the end of the street, wild smiles on their faces.
Mr. Creed came by minutes later, and the teenagers were both grateful to be in the heated car once again.
"I don't like Petunia, she looks like horse." James said, making a disgusted face.
Lily laughed, "I do agree with you, but keep in mind she's my sister, so we do share some physical traits."
"Nah, you guys look nothing alike. Who'd you get your eyes from?" He asked curiously.
"I don't know, it's always been a mystery. My mom nor any of her family had green eyes, same deal with my dad's." Lily shrugged.
"Do you even have the same father?" James asked uncertainly.
Again she shrugged, "I hope not. I'm leaning towards the thought my mom had an affair with some other guy, but I have nothing to confirm that."
"Well I like your eyes." James said with a grin.
"Thanks." Lily said in a polite manner.
"They're pretty." He added.
"They're also green." Lily pointed out.
"Yes, that too."
Silence followed before Lily spoke up, "Are we there yet?"
"No, brace yourself, we have an hour left."
"Oh." Lily groaned.
"Butterbeer?"
"Yes!" Lily exclaimed, taking the mug of Butterbeer eagerly.
James gulped his down, "You cant deny that this is the best drink on earth."
"It comes close," She admitted with a smirk.
Well, an hour passed, and it seemed like seconds later they were riding up a long lonely paved road.
"Where does this go?" Lily asked curiously, turning away from the window.
"It's our driveway." He said simply.
"This is your DRIVEWAY?" Lily exclaimed. The thing was as big as a freakin highway!
"Yeah, see, we go through that tunnel and my house is on the other side of that mountain." James said, pointing out the white roof of a very large house.
"Damn." She said under her breath.
Everything around them suddenly went dark as they entered the tunnel. It was silent and dim for a few seconds, where Lily held her breath. Judging by James' excited grin, she was preparing herself for something extravagant. As they drove out of the tunnel and once again into the light, Lily had an extremely tough time keeping her jaw from falling into the floor.
There ya go, eleven pages for you to read! So, how'd you like the whole James posing as her boyfriend to save her butt? Honestly, tell me what you thought about it. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers, you all make my day :) Sorry I didn't update over the weekend, I was away at another camping trip.
Happy October! Ok, now to answer my reviews:
Faceless One- Thanks, I tried to make that chapter a little funny :)
Six83- Yep, well, this chapter didn't have too much action, but maybe you can tell its starting to get there. Glad you like how I made James' and Lily's friendship. It's incredibly fun to write! Thanks for reviewing!
J.E.A.R.K.Potter- Thanks :)
Katkit- Yeah, sorry if the last paragraph was confusing, I did it in like two seconds because I needed to sort of close the chapter but I couldn't find a proper place to do it. Thank ya for reviewing.
BlueShadow616889- Thank ya!
reagan-felton- Alien skittles from plupiter! NICE! Hehe. Thanks for reviewing, I feel special when reviewers threaten me :) I hope I've update soon and haven't evoked any attacks!
Mia- Aw, thanks! I'm glad you liked my story, and how long did it take you to read the whole thing!? I'm flattered, thanks!
Princesstygerlilly- Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you like it, and I'm flattered that you read it all in one morning!
Crimson Girl- Yay! I'm still loved. I hope this was a bit sooner. Thank ya for reviewing the chapter!
And yes I do drink tea- I love your username penname thing, just thought I'd add. Anyway, thanks for reviewin'! I 3 your reviews, they're so fun to read! I'm glad you liked that chapter, I think it was one of my favorites. And I'm glad you see how I've sort of set out the story for things to happen!
its a spoon- I Hope this was soon enough! Thanks for reviewing