ME: All these characters belong to JKR, except Sara and Lucy. Alright guys, I'm sorry. My laptop when BAM and my new chapter went 'goodbye!' and let me tell you, it is a very disappointing thing when your very hard worked on chapters disappear, and you have to start all over. And me, being my lazy and stubborn self, decided that I really didn't feel like writing because of it. But, surprising and without my urging, my inner love for all you people decided to take over and here I am, working my butt off to please you guys :D. But that's okay because your reviews are the highlights of my day. So, onto the story?
IMPORTANT (this will also be at the end of the story if I remember to put it there): there is a story called 'Seventh Year' by silly sarahhh (you can find it in my favorite stories) that you must read and review, or else I will refuse to continue my own story (she's a better writer than I, and she has to be discovered). Got it? Good.
The warm steam cradled her bare skin, rising to the dripping ceiling above. She cupped her palm under the falling water, watching with half closed eyes as the hot liquid rose in her pale hand until it was slipping through and over her fingers, rushing down her arm. She sighed heavily, squeezing her toes against the hard white floor, too lost in thought to notice the time's passing.
That taunting time…. What would have happened if she had waited? Would James be with her now, sitting on a Gryffindor couch, a hand running through his hair and his sparkling hazel eyes smiling? Or would Lily be sobbing into Lucy's shoulder, her high expectations shot down by James never showing up? The two futures were so opposite. But it was in her nature to reject the things she couldn't control, and this was one of them. So she had left the Three Broomsticks, and now here she was, standing alone and forlorn in a shower.
If she had waited and he hadn't shown up… then why? Was there something about her that made him not want her anymore? What was it? Maybe it was because she had finally given in, rather than keeping him chasing her like she normally did. Maybe she wasn't good enough. Or maybe, just maybe, it had been an accident.
Lily smoothed more conditioner through her hair, pulling it up where it stuck to her neck. There were too many maybes. She needed the truth. But did she want the truth? She piled her hair on top of her head, letting the water push it back down onto her back, silky and clean. The truth could be that James had found someone else, like it seemed. Or, the truth could be that she was just assuming things. Or it was all an accident. Maybe he forgot.
But no, James wouldn't forget, Lily knew that. He had been constantly asking her out throughout that past six years, and when she finally said yes, even if it was just as friends… there was no way that he had forgotten.
Lily drew in a deep breath, bringing as much oxygen as possible, and held it there. She counted to thirty, forty, fifty, then released it in one gush of air, startling herself. What was she doing? Lily stood, frozen, containing herself. She was strong, not one of those girls that was slobbering all over a guy, eager to whatever he requests. She had to stop guessing. She had to find out.
James Potter did not regret easily. Whether it was 'accidentally' tripping a first year Hufflepuff in the halls, or simply getting girls' hopes up that they would be his one and only and then dumping them like trash, James had never felt the need to go back in time to do it over again. It just didn't happen. But this - this was not one of those situations.
"I'm going to die," James moaned, leaning against a dead tree in the Forbidden Forest.
"That's not a good attitude to go around with," Remus told his friend, plucking at a patch of grass where he sat on the earthy floor.
Peter lay on his back next to him, his plump belly sticking out a bit from his robes. "I'm sure she'll forgive you," he offered up happily, obviously wanting to please.
"I doubt that." James ran his fingers through his messier-than-usual black hair, looking up to the person who hadn't said anything yet.
Sirius stood next to him, looking dark and tired under the fading light of the late afternoon sun. "I don't know, mate," he muttered, not bothering to raise his voice. Overhead, a bird wailed it's song, startling the four of them.
"Should I talk to her?" James asked, looking desperately at Remus, the only one who'd ever had a real, valid conversation with Lily. The tree he leaned on pushed into his back, leaving scratches he knew he'd regret later.
Remus shrugged, staring at the ground. "If I were you, I'd give her time. But let her know you still like her," he suggested. "I wouldn't really know."
James studied Remus's face, the face of a werewolf. The face of someone who had gone through so much, but somehow kept going and tried to live a normal life. He hadn't given up, and he was still in the game.
"Okay. I'll do that."
there is a story called 'Seventh Year' by silly sarahhh (you can find it in my favorite stories) that you must read and review, or else I will refuse to continue my own story (she's a better writer than I, and she has to be discovered). Got it? Good.
