Disclaimer: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Thanks to milkywaypnay37, justdreem, ilovecaptainjacks, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, RawBean, Chrissy8887779999, KC's Diamond, Prongsie-Jamesie, lOvEiNhEaVeN, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, siriuszsecretlover, miss-mags-ak, Mrs-Anita -Radcliffe, and Smay for reviewing! I really appreciate it!
"Okay, I'm going to do it," Lily announced to her four best friends during lunch that day.
"Do what?" Gracie asked.
"I'm going to go up to James today and tell him that I still like him," she replied with a smile on her face.
"Well it's about time," Marissa said while buttering a roll.
"Yeah, it's been almost a week and half since you found out that you still liked him," Zoë added. "And I for one have gotten quite bored of hearing you complain about how much you like him, so just do it already."
"I don't complain," Lily sharply answered.
"Yes you do…You mumble and groan about how you think he'll never like you again," Zoë countered.
"Shut up," Lily joked.
"When are you going to tell him anyways?" Scarlett asked.
"I don't know, sometime tonight…You know, I'll ask him if I could talk to him, and then he'll say yes. And after that we'll go outside or somewhere like that to talk, and I'll explain everything," Lily answered.
"Wow, you've had a lot of time to plan that one," Zoë joked.
As the five girls talked and laughed during lunch, none realized that their conversation was heard by none other than Zaynah. Needless to say, she wasn't pleased with the fact that Lily and James would soon be getting back together. She didn't like Lily, never had and never would. She thought James deserved much better than her. That's when her little mind went into a planning stage…
…
James grabbed his broom from the Gryffindor quidditch team locker room and headed out toward the pitch. He hadn't called a practice, but wanted to fly by himself. He wanted to feel the sharp wind across his face, the thrill of diving to catch a ball, and most of all the freedom away form Hogwarts.
Flying was the one thing he could do to clear his mind from everything in the world. When he was up high on the broom he forgot about Lily, forgot about how much he missed her and loved her. He forgot the pain that she put him through when calling their relationship off, and he disregarded how much he longed to be with her, holding her tight in his arms, as if to never let her go again.
His mind was cleared from the information he found out in Dumbledore's office, about the Order. The thoughts of Voldermort attacking the pure-bloods was erased form his mind. The fact that his parents and others could easily be murdered was gone while he was flying.
Nothing important mattered to him while up in the air. Only his broom at his fingertips and the fierce wind blowing his hair out of his face were in his thoughts. It was the way he wanted things; he wanted to escape form the world at times. He wanted to get away from the pain, broken hearts, and stress of being a seventeen year old boy.
What he loved the most about escaping from the world was that there was no one but himself. There were no girls fawning over him when he wasn't in the mood. There were no professors nagging him about an essay. And there was no one to remind him of responsibilities.
While up in the air, he made his own rules. He could scream as loud as he wanted without being yelled at. He could fly in circles without anyone caring at all. And most of all he could be himself, not having to live up the expectations that so many people set for him.
After warming up a bit in the air, James flew down to the ground to release the golden snitch. True, he wasn't a seeker for the team, but he still loved the joy of chasing the tiny ball around the pitch.
Once the ball was out in the open, James gave it a five second head start, and then set off after the golden ball. He flew up high above all the tree tops, giving him an amazing view of the scenery. His eyes searched the ground below him, looking for the snitch. It took some time, but his eyes finally locked onto the ball. It was hovering closely to the goal post on his right, and he dove after it as fast as his broom would allow him.
He came closer and closer to golden snitch, only feet away from it. It moved then, forcing James to follow after. The ball wound its way all the way across the field, ending up at the opposite goal post before James finally got a grip on the ball. He felt the familiar feeling of the tiny ball in his hand, struggling to get away from his strong grasp.
Just then he heard a clapping noise and looked up to see a girl in the stands. She was wearing a deep blue cloak around her thin, tall, body. Her dark hair was blowing behind her from the wind.
James flew over to her side, figuring out quickly that it was Zaynah who had come to watch.
"What are you doing here?" he asked while shoving the snitch back into the box it had come out of.
"I came to see you," she said with a cheery smile on her face.
"Oh…how'd you know I was here?"
"Lucky guess. Plus you weren't in the Great Hall, and Sirius said that you weren't in your common room either," she replied.
"So, what's new with you?" he asked. He could tell that there was sweat on his face, and he probably looked like a wreck, but he honestly didn't care at all.
"Not too much…That was some dive you just did."
"Nah, it wasn't that great. Our seeker does a hell lot better, she's fucking amazing," James commented.
"Yeah…Okay, James, there is a reason I came to see you. I just really don't know how to say it," Zaynah began.
"You can tell me anything," he told her.
Zaynah took a deep sigh, and said, 'It's about Lily Evans."
James's eyes lit up instantly at the words of his ex-girlfriend.
"I, I heard her talking with her fiends during lunch today, and, oh God, I really don't know how to say this."
"Just say it," he demanded. He was getting quite nervous about what Zaynah was about to say to him.
"She, she was saying why she even started dating you in the first place…It was because she wanted to become more popular, and since you're a Marauder, she knew that you could make her become the most popular girl in school," Zaynah lied.
"What? That doesn't make any sense," he commented.
"I know, but it's true…And, well, she said that now that you and her are over, her popularity is gone too. So, she wants to get back together with you, but only for that reason," Zaynah lied.
"What?" was all James could say. He was overwhelmed with the information that Zaynah was telling him. It just didn't seem possible. Lily could care less about being popular, besides she already was before he came into the picture.
And why would she do this to him? It didn't seem like her at all. Lily was always sweet and innocent, never even harming a Slytherin. How could she use him like that? James just didn't understand how something like that could happen to him. Did that mean that she never loved him in the first place? Had their relationship meant nothing to her?
"James, I'm really sorry," Zaynah said with sympathetic eyes.
He didn't say anything, only turned away form the girl in front of him. He hopped on his broom again and headed straight for the sky, once again trying to escape the news that had just come to him.
Once Zaynah knew her face was out of his vision, she let out a gigantic smile. Her plan had worked. James bought every lie she had told him. And now, Lily would come crying to him, and he would shun her away, never to speak to the girl again.
…
"Okay, Lily, there he is, go talk to him," Marissa said while pointing to James. He was sitting at the opposite end of the table, talking with the Marauders and Zaynah. His face looked somewhat sad, yet anger was clearly seen. In fact even the way he ate his food contributed to the look of anger. It looked as if he stabbed it sharply with his fork, not caring what others around him thought.
"Not yet, I need to wait until he's been in here for more than a couple minutes," Lily reasoned.
"Fine, but no chickening out this time," Scarlett sternly told her.
"I know; I'm not going to. Last time was completely different," Lily replied. However, last time was not completely different at all. In fact, it was a fairly similar situation-
James was sitting by himself near the lake one cold morning. Lily wasn't sure what he was doing out there, and only saw him form afar, but knew instantly that it was him. From her dormitory window she could see his dark, messy hair being blown slightly by the wind. The snow around him was turning his skin an even paler white, and his body looked so small from where she was. But she knew instantly that it was indeed him, how she wasn't sure, but it was.
She found herself gazing out the window, admiring him from afar, when Gracie popped up next to her.
"What're you doing?" she asked.
"Nothing," Lily replied a little too quickly.
Gracie pushed her out of the way, getting a glimpse of the outdoors, "Who's out there?"
"James," Lily admitted.
"Why don't you go out there and talk to him, I mean, it'd be the perfect time. His friends aren't around, and it would be so romantic to make up outside on such a gorgeous morning," Gracie suggested.
Lily looked at her friend, and nodded, yes she would go talk with him. "Let me just grab my cloak."
As Lily headed out the front entrance of the school, she began to get a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if butterflies were inside her. She hadn't been this nervous in a long time, not since her first day of Hogwarts.
She took a deep breath and walked down the steps that led to the ground. She was really going to do it, she was going to tell James that was wrong to have broken up with him before, and that she was terrible sorry.
With each step she took, her nerves began to take even more control. Her heart was beating fast, and she had a deep look of worry on her delicate face. Her palms became sweaty in her white gloves, and she could feel her face turn a bit green with queasiness. She tried to take another deep breath to force the nerves away, but it didn't help. She only became even more nervous.
When James was only across the yard form her, she realized she couldn't do it, not then anyways. So she quickly turned on her heel and walked back toward the castle, careful not to be seen by James.
Lily shoved that memory out of her mind; she truly didn't want to experience all those nerves again. She took another deep breath and got up form the table. Her strides were short and slow, buying her more time to think of what exactly she would say.
In a matter of seconds she was half way there, going past a group of first year boys. They were laughing hard at a joke a boy with bright blonde hair had said. Lily glanced in their direction, feeling even more nervous at the sound of their laughter.
There was no going back though, not this time. She was determined to tell James what was on her mind. She was determined to find herself wrapped in his strong arms once again.
She was just about there, only a few more steps and she would be face to face with him. Her stomach had that nervous feeling once more, as if she would lose her dinner if she spoke at all. Her palms were getting slightly sweaty once again.
'Oh God, I can't do this,' Lily silently thought.
She turned her head back to glance at her friends, all had smiling faces on. They were watching her, watching her every move. She could sense that they were encouraging her to complete her goal, which made the nerves die down a tad bit.
'Oh God, this is it,' she whispered to herself before taking another deep breath.
"Um, James, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked. She hoped that her voice didn't sound too anxious, for she didn't want to give herself away just yet.
He looked up at her with devilish eyes, fiercer than Lily had ever seen before. "Fine," he mumbled before getting up form his seat.
They walked in silence out of the Great Hall; Lily with a smile on her face, and James with a sour look.
James stopped once they were just outside the Great Hall, far enough to escape the noise. Of course Lily had wished to talk with him outside in complete privacy, but this would do just fine.
"James," she began after a couple moments, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" he asked bluntly.
"For, for breaking up with you, because if I could do it again, I wouldn't have," she replied, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.
"What's you point?" he bitterly questioned.
"James, I, I want to be with you," she answered.
"And why's that?"
Lily was quite taken back by his question, but responded, "I, I love you."
"That's too bad," he softly told her, unable to look her in the eye. When those words left his mouth, James felt a slight pang in his heart. True, he was mad at her for using him, yet those were the words he wanted to hear for weeks now.
Lily felt her face go white, and she could sense that tears were building up in her eyes. "You don't mean that."
"Don't tell me what I do and do not mean to say."
"James," she said. Her brow was slightly knitted together with confusion. She couldn't believe what he was saying; did he truly not love her?
"I'll see you around," he mumbled before turning back toward the Great Hall.
Lily just stood there, dumbstruck at what just happened. She had been so sure that he still loved her, as she still loved him. Yet, he left her brokenhearted, tears streaking her cheeks.
Author's Note 2: Hey all! Sorry it's been a while, but I just didn't know what I wanted to do for this chapter until the other day! So I wrote it, and here it is! I hope you guys all liked it and please review! Oh, and seriously, I can just imagine the reviews now: that Zaynah girl is such a bitch!