Written for QLFC Season 9 Round 12
Team- Tutshill Tornados
Position- Captain
Prompt-you don't know who your soulmate is until you touch them.
Word count- 1298
Growing up, James doesn't understand how the concept of soulmates works. They live in a world where a soul mark appears on a person's wrist when they first touch their soulmate. It doesn't make sense to James that he has to touch someone to find out with whom he is supposed to spend his life. He could walk past his soulmate and he won't know because he didn't touch her. It's not like he can go touch girls to find his soulmate. That will be uncomfortable for both parties.
James used to lament that he would lose time with his soulmate until he met Lily Evans. He never thinks about his soulmate after meeting her. He spent all his time trying to gain her attention.
He does everything he can think of to get her to even look at him once, but Lily never looks at him at all. Five years of chasing to no avail. His friends can't understand why he is wasting so much time on Lily. If only he can explain to his friend just how special Lily feels to him.
He is pretty sure that Lily is his soulmate. He believes it with everything in his heart. The only problem is that James can't prove it without touching her. He respects her way too much to touch her without her consent. Yet, at the same time, James is too much of a coward to ask her for permission. In short, he is at his wit's end.
The thing that makes the situation worse is that his best friend Sirius is dating Lily's best friend, Marlene. He is jealous of Sirius because he gets to spend time with Lily sometimes. While here, he can't even get her to talk to him. Sirius and Marlene are of no help either. Honestly, he is kind of jealous of their relationship. They have what he wants for his life.
"Come on, Marlene. Just give me a small hint," James pleads with Marlene for the nth time since he has known her.
"James, I can't just tell you anything without Lily's consent," Marlene sighs.
"I am not asking you to tell me everything about her. I only need to know how I can get her to talk to me. I tried everything but, she never responds to any advances," James is nearly frustrated with the situation.
Marlene gives him a pitying look. James hates it. He does not need her pity. He needs her to help him. "Alright, fine. I will just come up with something else," James says, defeated.
"I am sure you will," Marlene consoles him with pity.
Only James doesn't come up with any solution at all. He has to remain content with just staring at Lily from afar. That is until Remus has enough with his endless pining. "Why can't you tell her what you suspect? I am sure Lily will understand where you are coming from and let you find out the truth."
"I can not. I am scared," James admits to Remus. It is a relieving feeling that comes with finally letting out his deepest fears. It is the first time that James realizes the reason why he has been so scared of approaching Lily in a direct way.
"It's okay to be afraid, James. Anyone would be if they were in your shoes," Remus sympathises with him.
"What if she says no?" James asks in a small voice. He is not used to being so unsure of himself.
"Then you will know that you at least tried. Your job is to try. Rest is up to Lily anyways," Remus gives James shoulder a squeeze.
James takes a deep breath. "Alright. I will give it a try," James agrees.
"That is more like you, James," Remus smiles at him.
Finally, the time has arrived for James to approach Lily about the situation. He is not going to lie about not being nervous. He is nearly on the verge of throwing up his guts out. He takes comfort with the fact that Sirius is right there beside him, encouraging him.
"You can do this, James. It will be alright," Sirius rubs his back in a comforting way.
"Right, I can do this," James tries to comfort himself. Who is he kidding? He can not do this. There is no way he can approach Lily about them being soulmates. Now the question is, is he ready to give it up without a fighting chance? No. He will never forget himself if he does not at least try to find out. He is never going to be in peace without knowing for sure.
So despite his nerves telling him to back off and flee from there, James still approaches Lily's table to talk about them. "Lily? Can I talk to you for a moment?" he nervously asks her.
"Alright, but be quick. I am busy right now," Lily agrees to talk to him.
"It will only take a minute," James says as he takes a seat opposite Lily.
"What is it?" Lily asks after James fails to utter even a single word since he sat down.
"I think we are soulmates," James blurts out. He turns red when he says it out loud. "Can I touch you to find out if it is true? It is alright if you are not comfortable with it. I can just leave from here." he asks gently. He does not want to scare her away from him.
He is not expecting her to laugh at him. He is not going to admit but he finds that laugh enduring yet hurtful. What is so funny about their situation that Lily is laughing at him?
"It took you long enough," Lily manages to let out after calming down from her laughter.
James stares at her in shock. What is she talking about? Has Lily been waiting for him to approach directly all this while?
"You are not the only one who felt the pull, you know," Lily gives him a slight smile.
"You mean -" James hesitates. He does not know what to say right now.
Lily nods her head, "I have been feeling the same pull towards you that you have been feeling towards me. I have been waiting for you to approach the topic directly instead of making silly excuses to talk to me."
"If you knew then, why did not you just say so?" James is so confused right now. He can not believe the turn of events taking place.
"Where is the fun in that? Anyways it is always more proper for the guy to approach first," Lily shrugs her shoulders.
Despite his confusion, James finds himself grinning. "So does that mean I am allowed to touch you now? I would really like to know the answer right now," James says.
Lily offers her hand as an answer which James gently grabs with his hand. He feels a shock wave go through his body the moment their hands connect. He has his answer now. They are soulmates.
"So it appears we are indeed soulmates," Lily says while examining the mark of a deer that appeared on her wrists.
"We indeed are. What are we going to do about it?" James asks, looking at his soul mark of a doe.
"Take me out on a date. We will see where we go from there," Lily tells him, smilingly.
"Let us go out on a date tonight. I will pick you up at 8?" James asks eagerly. He can not wait to start dating Lily.
"It is a date then," Lily agrees to the proposal.
Remus was right. Approaching Lily directly about being soulmates was worth it. He is eager to find out what their future has in store for them.