"Shannon?" Shannon forced her eyes open. Everything around her was blurry. She could see a mass of fiery red curls above her. Lily! She blinked and waited until everything came into focus.
"Lily?" Shannon struggled out her cousin's name. Lily nodded. Shannon looked around. "Oh my God," she said. "Why am I here? How long have I been here?"
"Shan, you're here because you passed out from exhaustion and starvation. Look at yourself. You're skin and bone. Shannon you HAVE to start eating again. If you don't you'll get anorexia. Shan. I'm begging you!" Shannon nodded slowly.
"How long have I been here?" she asked again, urgently.
"About a week or so…" Lily begun to answer before Shannon cut in.
"A WEEK!" she shrieked, hysterically. "A whole week. I've missed so much school. I'm going to flunk everything." And with that she began to sob. "Lily I lied!" she burst out. "I lied and lied and look where it got me!"
"Lied about what?" Lily asked, gently, stroking Shannon's blond hair as a means of comfort.
"You and James," Shannon said, not noticing how Lily's face drooped at the mention of her and James. "I'm so sorry, Lil, but I can't handle seeing you two together. It hurts too bad!"
"Don't worry about it, Shannon," Lily said. "Um we broke up." Shannon stopped crying, momentarily.
"You didn't do it because of me, Lily, did you? Please say you didn't," she begged. "I don't want to be the cause of that!" She looked at Lily, pleadingly.
"No, Shan, nothing like that," lied Lily. "We just…weren't meant to be," Lily said sadly. "Now all YOU have to concentrate on is getting better," Lily told her with fake perkiness.
And so Shannon concentrated on getting better and Lily concentrated on everything except James. She threw herself into her work and friends but he still seemed to be everywhere, looking right through her as if she were invisible. It hurt more than anything else, Lily realized. But she knew it was the right thing to do, no matter ho much it hurt her.
"Lily are you ok?" Phoebe twirled into the room, just back after a date with Sirius, to find her friend just lying on her bed, staring into space. She wasn't crying she was just…lying there. She flopped onto the floor net to her friend's bed.
"I'm fine." Lily sighed. "Just fine."
"Come on, let's go to Hogsmeade," suggested Phoebe, trying to cheer her friend up. It had been just over two months since Lily and James had split up and Lily wasn't faring very well. Oh she wasn't falling to pieces as Shannon had done, nor was she on top of the world. She was resting, peacefully, in between. "We'll find Tars and Aly and we'll have a girly night out, ok?" Lily nodded and jumped off the bed.
"Sounds good to me," she said, pulling open the doors of her wardrobe. The four friends hadn't been out together in quite a while, what with Tara spending all her time with Remus and Phoebe spending the majority of her time with Sirius. It was usually just Lily and Alyson who hung out together now. They had become a hell of a lot closer in the past couple of months and Lily had found her to be a great source of comfort to her. Of course there were those days when Alyson had something that jut DESPRETELY needed doing and the ones where Lily snapped at everyone and just wanted to be alone. And who could blame them?
So that was how the foursome found themselves staggering down the street of Hogsmeade about two hours later, gasping with laughter.
"I haven't laughed that much since the time we blew Peter up!" commented Tara. The four exchanged glances and burst into laughter again, remembering the sight of a bright purple Peter floating around somewhere near the ceiling!
"C'mon let's get a butterbeer or something," Alyson said, once they were on their way to recovery. And so they strolled towards the three broomsticks, not knowing exactly what was waiting for them there. They walked inside the homely little pub, letting out little giggles every so often. It was Alyson who noticed them first. She nudged Tara ever so slightly in the ribs and nodded towards the far corner of the pub. Tara glanced in the direction Alyson was frantically nodding towards and let out a little gasp. Lily and Phoebe made their way up to the bar to get the butterbeers and swung around to search for a table once they were ordered. It was just about then that they too spotted the two dark-haired boys in the corner. It was without a doubt Sirius and James. That was fairly normal. After all James and Sirius came to Hogsmeade at least every second night. What was different about it was the fact that they were sitting with two girls. Lily recognized them immediately as two seventh years, one from Ravenclaw and the other from Hufflepuff. The skinny, tanned brunette, perched in James' lap, was from Ravenclaw and the other one with frothy blonde curls, who was so obviously Sirius' date, was the Hufflepuff.
"I will not be jealous. I will not be jealous. I will not be jealous," Phoebe chanted, closing her eyes as she remembered her and Sirius' agreement to have an open relationship. Lily gulped. The bottle of butterbeer in her hand slipped and crashed to the ground. Shards of broken glass flew everywhere. It was then that James and Sirius first noticed the girls and it was then that Lily decided that she couldn't handle it anymore. She ran out the door, determined not to let the pain she was feeling show. Now she knew how Shannon felt and, boy, it didn't feel good! Tara and Alyson followed her out and Phoebe made her way over to James and Sirius. She ignored Sirius, completely.
"Not cool, James," was all she said to the other boy before following her friends out the door and calling a hurried "I'm sorry for the disturbance" over her shoulder to the shocked customers.
Author's note: I really should be getting used to these little surprises, shouldn't I? Ah well. Keep reading and reviewing. And remember the more reviews I get the faster these chapters will be coming up. You know I thought this would be finished in this chapter or the next one but the way things are happening right now I don't think that's going to happen.
Disclaimer: Right, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. I repeat NOT me. Anything else (e.g. Phoebe, Tara and Alyson) is mine. Miney miney miney!!!
"Lily?" Shannon struggled out her cousin's name. Lily nodded. Shannon looked around. "Oh my God," she said. "Why am I here? How long have I been here?"
"Shan, you're here because you passed out from exhaustion and starvation. Look at yourself. You're skin and bone. Shannon you HAVE to start eating again. If you don't you'll get anorexia. Shan. I'm begging you!" Shannon nodded slowly.
"How long have I been here?" she asked again, urgently.
"About a week or so…" Lily begun to answer before Shannon cut in.
"A WEEK!" she shrieked, hysterically. "A whole week. I've missed so much school. I'm going to flunk everything." And with that she began to sob. "Lily I lied!" she burst out. "I lied and lied and look where it got me!"
"Lied about what?" Lily asked, gently, stroking Shannon's blond hair as a means of comfort.
"You and James," Shannon said, not noticing how Lily's face drooped at the mention of her and James. "I'm so sorry, Lil, but I can't handle seeing you two together. It hurts too bad!"
"Don't worry about it, Shannon," Lily said. "Um we broke up." Shannon stopped crying, momentarily.
"You didn't do it because of me, Lily, did you? Please say you didn't," she begged. "I don't want to be the cause of that!" She looked at Lily, pleadingly.
"No, Shan, nothing like that," lied Lily. "We just…weren't meant to be," Lily said sadly. "Now all YOU have to concentrate on is getting better," Lily told her with fake perkiness.
And so Shannon concentrated on getting better and Lily concentrated on everything except James. She threw herself into her work and friends but he still seemed to be everywhere, looking right through her as if she were invisible. It hurt more than anything else, Lily realized. But she knew it was the right thing to do, no matter ho much it hurt her.
"Lily are you ok?" Phoebe twirled into the room, just back after a date with Sirius, to find her friend just lying on her bed, staring into space. She wasn't crying she was just…lying there. She flopped onto the floor net to her friend's bed.
"I'm fine." Lily sighed. "Just fine."
"Come on, let's go to Hogsmeade," suggested Phoebe, trying to cheer her friend up. It had been just over two months since Lily and James had split up and Lily wasn't faring very well. Oh she wasn't falling to pieces as Shannon had done, nor was she on top of the world. She was resting, peacefully, in between. "We'll find Tars and Aly and we'll have a girly night out, ok?" Lily nodded and jumped off the bed.
"Sounds good to me," she said, pulling open the doors of her wardrobe. The four friends hadn't been out together in quite a while, what with Tara spending all her time with Remus and Phoebe spending the majority of her time with Sirius. It was usually just Lily and Alyson who hung out together now. They had become a hell of a lot closer in the past couple of months and Lily had found her to be a great source of comfort to her. Of course there were those days when Alyson had something that jut DESPRETELY needed doing and the ones where Lily snapped at everyone and just wanted to be alone. And who could blame them?
So that was how the foursome found themselves staggering down the street of Hogsmeade about two hours later, gasping with laughter.
"I haven't laughed that much since the time we blew Peter up!" commented Tara. The four exchanged glances and burst into laughter again, remembering the sight of a bright purple Peter floating around somewhere near the ceiling!
"C'mon let's get a butterbeer or something," Alyson said, once they were on their way to recovery. And so they strolled towards the three broomsticks, not knowing exactly what was waiting for them there. They walked inside the homely little pub, letting out little giggles every so often. It was Alyson who noticed them first. She nudged Tara ever so slightly in the ribs and nodded towards the far corner of the pub. Tara glanced in the direction Alyson was frantically nodding towards and let out a little gasp. Lily and Phoebe made their way up to the bar to get the butterbeers and swung around to search for a table once they were ordered. It was just about then that they too spotted the two dark-haired boys in the corner. It was without a doubt Sirius and James. That was fairly normal. After all James and Sirius came to Hogsmeade at least every second night. What was different about it was the fact that they were sitting with two girls. Lily recognized them immediately as two seventh years, one from Ravenclaw and the other from Hufflepuff. The skinny, tanned brunette, perched in James' lap, was from Ravenclaw and the other one with frothy blonde curls, who was so obviously Sirius' date, was the Hufflepuff.
"I will not be jealous. I will not be jealous. I will not be jealous," Phoebe chanted, closing her eyes as she remembered her and Sirius' agreement to have an open relationship. Lily gulped. The bottle of butterbeer in her hand slipped and crashed to the ground. Shards of broken glass flew everywhere. It was then that James and Sirius first noticed the girls and it was then that Lily decided that she couldn't handle it anymore. She ran out the door, determined not to let the pain she was feeling show. Now she knew how Shannon felt and, boy, it didn't feel good! Tara and Alyson followed her out and Phoebe made her way over to James and Sirius. She ignored Sirius, completely.
"Not cool, James," was all she said to the other boy before following her friends out the door and calling a hurried "I'm sorry for the disturbance" over her shoulder to the shocked customers.
Author's note: I really should be getting used to these little surprises, shouldn't I? Ah well. Keep reading and reviewing. And remember the more reviews I get the faster these chapters will be coming up. You know I thought this would be finished in this chapter or the next one but the way things are happening right now I don't think that's going to happen.
Disclaimer: Right, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. I repeat NOT me. Anything else (e.g. Phoebe, Tara and Alyson) is mine. Miney miney miney!!!