A/N: Hehe. I like this chapter, even though it took me ages to write! I found it really difficult to get the picture in my head down on paper, which normally isn't such a problem for me.
Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, it's kinda longish. Actually, it isn't really. Wow, sometimes I really just talk for the sake of it.
OMG! I started rereading this story yesterday, because I've forgotten a lot of what's happened (wow that's really bad, the author forgot what happened in their own story :S) and I noticed how terrible the first like, 15 chapters were, and OMG! My grammar and spellchecking is so embarrassing! I apologise, and I am trying extra hard to make sure I take out all my mistakes before I post.
Anywho, I hope you... enjoy! :D
Chapter 29 ~ Stupid Lily
Mary's hand flew to her chest. 'Oh Lily, don't be so stupid. Of course James likes you. He's been crazy about you ever since you stabbed him with your quill when you had to sit beside him in DADA back in third year.' Mary chuckled lightly at her friends antics, before returning to her seriousness.
'Yes, he is a complete and utter idiot sometimes, but I can't believe that the thought that he doesn't like you even entered your mind for one second.' Mary scolded me, her normally smooth forehead wrinkling in utter frustration.
'I know that you think that, but seriously guys,' I pleaded, willing them to understand 'he doesn't. He likes someone else.'
'Lily. Will you get a grip?' Marlene grumbled into her pillow. Sitting up she continued 'what I want to know is what the hell he's done to you this time to get you so upset.' Marlene said, staring at me patiently, waiting for an answer.
'He didn't do anything.' I murmured, looking down at my intertwining fingers. Marlene flung her pillow at my head, which I narrowly avoided by ducking at the last second before glaring at her. She showed no remorse as she jumped up and began pacing around the floor.
'Look. Lily.' She started, splaying her fingers out in front of her, before squeezing the air in front of her until her knuckles turned so white I was sure the bone was about to break through her skin. I cringed backwards, pretty sure that she was thinking about one of my body parts being squeezed between those two hands, one I would rather keep intact. 'We all know that you are the nerdiest, smartest person in this school. Well, apart from Remus' Marlene allowed, nodding her head toward Mary, which made me narrow my eyes angrily. I'm smarter than Remus. 'But' Marlene raged on 'sometimes you aren't half stupid.' Marlene slammed one of her clenched fists into the wall, leaving her hand completely fine and a small hall in the crumbling brick wall. My eyes widened at her out of control anger. I couldn't help but compare the humming black aura that was buzzing like static around her, to Sirius's back down near the dungeons. I was shocked to remember that that whole scenario had only taken place this morning.
I returned to reality with a bump when Marlene started raving again. 'In what insane dimension would James Potter not like Lily Evans? He's been pining after you for four years!'
I shook my head; they don't get it. 'However arrogant it sounds, I used to think that too, but it's not like that anymore.' I turned to Mary for backup, but she gave me a small smile and shrug of the shoulder. She agrees with Marlene. I opened my mouth to reply but a large thump notified us that another huge lump of rock had just fallen out of the wall Marlene had just KO'd
Distracted, I asked Mary, 'what's got her wand in such a knot anyway?'
'She's just a little angry' Mary said placidly, running a small hand threw her shiny black hair.
'A little?' I scoffed, not buying it.
Mary sighed, and looked pointedly at Marlene. 'Go on, whatever, tell her. I suppose she should know.' Marlene said, letting out a huge breath, her shoulders sagging down and she dropped down onto her bed.
'Marlene likes Sirius.' Mary said. I nodded waiting for the rest, but after an awkward moment I realised that was all I was going to get.
'Riiiight' I said, drawing out the word, expecting someone to elaborate on that.
'Wait. You already knew?' Marlene asked, shooting up from where she had been lying with a newly acquired pillow thrown over her face.
I stared at her in a look similar to the one she had given me when I had told her that James no longer liked me. 'Of course I knew. It is kind of obvious.' Her look told me she was waiting for details. 'Oh come off it, you two are always flirting.' I said brushing off her surprise with my hand.
'Sirius flirts with everyone' Marlene mumbled, going a little pink around the cheeks. I rolled my eyes at my friend's obliviousness.
'What I'm confused about is why that makes you so...' I saw Mary's almost imperceptible shake of the head and quickly rethought the ending to my sentence '...emotional'.' I tried, looking at Mary who dropped her head into her hands. I shrugged an apology; I'm terrible at improvising at such short notice.
Marlene's head snapped up to glare at me, and I shuffled further back into my four poster, sending a prayer up to Merlin that the bedposts would suffice as some sort of protection if Marlene decided to throw the vanity table at me. 'I love you?' I tried, grinning at her with wide eyes, in an attempt to make amends.
Apparently she hadn't noticed my attempt at a peace treaty.
'Merlin Lily! This is what I was talking about before: you're so stupid. I'm 'emotional'' she glared at me 'because Sirius and I may 'flirt all the time' but he doesn't actually want me. He wants a fuck buddy. And that's exactly what I gave him. Gosh I'm so stupid.'
'Marlene... I don't know what to say. Sirius is a dick.'
Marlene raised her eyebrows at me. 'Well put. That really sums him up.' She chuckled slightly at my description, but she stopped as quickly as she started. 'I can't believe I fell for it. All this time I've watched him do exactly the same to every other girl in this school, but he told me I was different and wham! I fell for it hook, line and sinker. He really is a charmer.' Marlene said, her voice quavering, and tears leaking through her scrunched up eyes that were trying desperately to hold them in.
I got up slowly and put my arms around her. Marlene was not one who liked to be comforted; she had too much pride to let others see her upset, even her best friends. But this time she needed me, and she turned her head in towards my shoulder and let out all her tears. We sat like that for a long time; Mary was trying to shove the lumps of rock that were scattered across the floor back into the wall so that the house elves wouldn't notice. I wanted to tell her to use her wand, but Mary was someone who needed something to do when things became emotional, and I knew that something that was never going to be fixed would be just what she needed to keep herself occupied. She was as stubborn as me; she would fix the wall.
After a while, Marlene emerged from somewhere under my hair that she had nestled under. Her eyes were puffy, cheeks red and tear stained. She gave me a watery smile, and pulled herself away from me.
'That is why I got so 'emotional' when you said that James doesn't like you.' Marlene explained in her usual business like tone even if she had just been crying into my shoulder for the last half hour.
I heard Mary mutter 'repairo' to the wall, obviously pleased that the emotional part of the conversation was over.
'You've got a boy that really loves you, would do anything for you, yet you delusion yourself into thinking that he doesn't care for you. I've got someone who I really like, but who uses me. Lily, I want to see at least a little bit of happiness in this castle, especially between you and James. If I can't have someone to date, I want you to.' Marlene said earnestly, looking me dead in the eye.
'I dunno...' I said, not convinced about James still liking me.
'Lily!' Mary snapped, whirling around and pointing an accusing finger at me. 'The boy likes you for Merlin's sake! Now I don't know what he said to you to make you believe otherwise but if I'm being honest here, I'm pretty sure it's you that misunderstood what happened or what was said. Because in no other dimension does James Potter and any other girl apart from Lily Evans go together.' She said super fast, while wagging her finger at me. I kept my eyes trained on that finger, somewhat afraid of what she was going to do with it, so much so that I ended up going cross eyed as she came ever closer to my nose.
I must have still looked sceptical because Mary threw her hand in the air in pure frustration, and Marlene conjured water to splash in my face. 'Will you snap the hell out of it?' Marlene shouted. 'Go and tell him that what happened earlier was all a misunderstanding, and then ask him out. There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up, and Merlin knows he's too terrified to ask you.'
Mary smiled evilly at me, nodding her head in agreement with Marlene.
'But' Marlene warned, 'tell him my little threat from earlier is still in place: if I see you crying over something he's done, he may have to look into adopting little James juniors.' I chose to ignore that last comment.
I had no intention of asking James out, I may now believe that there is no other girl, but I wasn't going to ask him to Hogsmeade; I was way too much of a coward. 'So, now we've sorted me out' I said coyly, 'what are you going to do about Sirius?'
Marlene laughed cruelly; making me extremely happy that that evil look was not directed at me. 'Oh, I have some ideas about how to handle him.' Marlene grinned. Boy did I feel sorry for Sirius. These two were matched in their anger levels, and if she was willing to stop James from having children over me, what the hell would she do to Sirius?
'Now go!' Marlene snapped at me.
'I-I-I-'I tried to stall.
'Go!'
'But'
'Go!'
'Hang on'
'Leave Lily.' Marlene laughed, pointing her finger at the door.
I lifted my hands in surrender and muttered 'leaving' and snuck threw the door before anything else could be thrown at me.
I sighed as I left the common room. Now where the hell would James Potter be?
A/N: Review?
Pretty please?
Love, Anna-Cate xxx
