Chapter 14 ~ Pumpkin Juice

"Laura? Gryffindor Laura? My room mate Laura?" Lily spoke in fragments, shock cutting off all appropriate brainwaves. James just laughed.

"Do you know any other Lauras?"

"No."

"Well, there you have it. I'm going with Laura." Frantically, incomplete thoughts rushed through her head. She's got to his brain…poisoned his drink…brainwashed him…subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment and bribed him with a broom—hmm, sounds likely. More likely than James actually asking her.

"Did you ask her, or did she just pounce on you the first chance she got?" She could literally picture it, Laura tackling James from behind. Lily imagined Laura could pack the punch of a football player if she so desired, a rather fat football player at that.

"What do you have against Laura?" And now he was defending her, the horror. And maybe the fact that James was actually defending Laura irked Lily just the tiniest bit, as if she would admit it though.

"Nothing, just she always said how much she just knew how much you liked her, if you actually asked her I will have to prepare for some major gloating."

"You are jealous." With a trademark smirk and a mischievous grin James reclined in his chair. In apparent satisfaction he repeated, "You are jealous." James saw Lily falter for one moment, one hopeful moment before she regained composure.

"I am in no way jealous," Lily replied huffily, he was taking this far too humorously.

"Oh?"

"Yes, I just fear for your life."

"Good to know you care."

"Laura will suffocate you before the night is over." This actually produced a laugh from James.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I appreciate personal space, she doesn't."

"Jealousy again." Again, the smirk.

"Pity."

"Jealousy."

"Pity."

"You are just upset because you don't have a date."

"And you are upset because you have to go with Laura."

"I asked her to go with me." Never in a million years would she have guessed James had actually asked her of his own free will, never.

"Ha! You brought this upon yourself?" Something about Lily's attitude made James want to explain.

"We are just going as friends."

"James, Laura is practically in love with you, she doesn't care if you are going as friends or not, you asked her out on a date."

"Just to the Spring Dance."

"It won't make a difference to her."

"I did say it was just platonic."

"Well, there's your problem, platonic probably isn't in her vocabulary." It was a little harsh, but James just didn't seem to be getting the point, neither apparently, did Laura.

"I thought you guys were friends."

"Of course Laura and I are friends, we are good friends.  So we fight sometimes, we are still friends.  And that is exactly why I am telling you this, you are going to hurt her." It seemed as though Lily had finally struck a chord in James, he didn't grin so much anymore.

"Aw, come on Lil," she normally hated nicknames, but it seemed rather, well, affectionate. She let it go. "You don't think she'd really take it so seriously, do you?" Lily just sighed.

"James, exactly what did you say to her?"

"Well, I said, 'Laura, do you want to go to the ball with me?'"

"James! What is platonic about that?"

"Well, I didn't think she would take it any other way!"

"Couldn't you tell she liked you?" James actually faltered a bit at this, and redirected his gaze from the floor to Lily.

"Actually, I thought that," he stopped, stumbled, then tried to pick up again. "You know, people have said some things about," he stopped again. Lily was confused, but James obviously had something important to say. "I thought that, that maybe you—"

"James! There you are, I was looking all over for you!" Laura came over and wasted no time in seating herself in James' lap. James shot a pleading glance at Lily, trying to make eye contact. Lily wasn't paying attention, had James Potter been about to tell her that…no…he must not…

"Lily, come on," Laura had removed herself from James and was standing in front of Lily. "Come with me up to our room," she whispered, "I have to tell you something!" She was so happy, too happy.

"No, I had better go to dinner." She had snacked before, but she didn't want to talk to Laura, knowing that she would be ecstatic, Lily couldn't put herself through that.

"Oh, well, I'll tell you later then, okay?" She was grinning wide, Laura was always bubbly, but now her happiness was about tripled, all because of a misunderstanding, one that would hurt when she found out the truth.

"Yeah," Lily answered almost sorrowfully. "Later."

She walked out of the Common Room, head hanging, the foreboding feeling of the Dance heavy upon her shoulders. Laura bounded up to her room, leaving James alone on the couch, thinking. He ran his hands through his messy dark hair, wondering how he could ever have made such a mistake, and how in the world he was ever going to get out of it.

* * *

Lily sat at dinner thinking about what had just happened, playing with her food and creating designs in it with her fork. She just needed to spend an adequate amount of time at Dinner for Laura to think Lily had actually eaten. How does everything seem to be going wrong? My date to the dance, the nonexistent one, and James' supposed 'date'? Where did it all get so confusing?

Laura was going to be desolate when she found out the truth. All hopes of telling her before she got too excited were gone, Laura thought James liked her. For awhile Lily had thought James had liked Laura too, but then, then he had almost said something that probably would have made Lily's head reel. It already was, in fact, and James hadn't even said it.

He as good as said it, she reminded herself. He thinks—

"Lily, why are you sitting all alone?" A familiar voice had just asked from behind her, it was Brett. She hadn't seen him in awhile, her trips to the Ravenclaw common room weren't as frequent as before.

And why do things keep getting interrupted? She was a little grumpy, she just needed some time to herself.

"Oh, I don't know." Brett just stood there awkwardly for a moment, not knowing how to respond to Lily's rather rude answer. He was saved when Lily realized how rude she had been. "Care to join me?"

"Actually, I have already eaten."

"Oh," Lily said, dejected. First she was upset because he had interrupted her, but now she was upset because he had to go; she had no idea what was going on.

"I was wondering, though, would you care to go to the Spring Dance with me?" Lily looked up at him in appraisal. What had he ever done to make her say no? He was sweet, smart, kind, not to mention very good-looking. And she wasn't about to go to the dance alone.

"I'd love to go with you." And she smiled, and it wasn't fake, some things do turn out right after all.

However, that really depends on your point of view. To the person standing unnoticed in the corner of the room, this was very, very bad indeed.

* * *

The days until the dance passed quickly, Lily spent time with all of her friends, finally managing to have it all be equal. Brett was helpful, courteous, and attentive to Lily; he was a wonderful friend.  That was just the problem.  She wanted to like him, she wished she had that attraction to him, but she just didn't.  He was gorgeous, and she wanted to be able to just throw herself at him and not feel slutty about it, but she just really didn't think that was an option, not unless someone spiked the pumpkin juice. 

She sat in her room, flanked by Cecil and Evelyn and looked at herself in the mirror. Lily had spent most of the afternoon getting ready at her own leisurely pace, her simple style was classic but nothing special. She felt just a bit outdone by Evelyn on her left.

Evelyn, who never really needed to do anything to make herself look good, was gorgeous with the extra preparation. Her long black hair was loose and straight, light reflecting off every strand. Her blue dress robes looked great on her, they were a new contemporary style that was really flattering.

Lily had ended up wearing some green robes, it was really the only color that matched very well. It was a dark green, true, anything lighter would have made her look like she had sallow skin, but it was a floaty material, much more proper for the spring.

All Cecil needed was a smile to make her pretty, but she had gotten some light pink robes that suited her perfectly. They all three looked good, but Laura surpassed them all.

She had been ready for about half an hour because she had been so excited to get ready. Her robes, Laura had confided in Lily that they had cost a fortune, were a sort of deep lavender, very suited for spring. They were sleeveless making them resemble a formal Muggle dress that would be worn to a prom. Laura had taken the time to have her hair be straightened then curled at the ends and had meticulously applied her makeup. She looked gorgeous, accompanied by her smile and her straight white teeth Laura would blow everyone else away.

Lily could barely stand to look at her.

Knowing that James really had no romantic interest in her, and that James was the only reason why Laura had expended so much extra time and money on preparing for this dance made her feel terrible. And if James dropped her Laura would feel worthless, and if he didn't he would be leading her on. As they descended the stairs Lily couldn't manage to smile along with her friends.

Lily and Evelyn joined Remus, they were all meeting their dates at the entrance. James and Sirius, however, were waiting right at the bottom of the staircase for Laura and Cecil. Cecil went right over and gave Sirius a small kiss while Evelyn suppressed a small wince.

Laura however, was still at the bottom of the stairs, looking shyly at James. And for once Lily realized that maybe all the 'acts' Laura played with boys really weren't acts at all. Laura was probably scared out of her mind at what James would say about her. Lily watched apprehensively. Unfortunately, there was no need.

James walked over to her, staring intently at her all the while. "You look amazing."

That was not platonic, she thought critically.

"Thanks. You look good too." Laura looked at him and smiled, James grinned back.

What are you doing you idiot!

"Shall we go?" He inquired, grinning some more.

Platonic, Platonic, PLATONIC!!!

He offered her his arm, she took it. They walked out the portrait hole gazing at each other, Lily gaping after them.

Platonic…

* * *

Lily found Brett at the entrance, he greeted her with a polite hello and told her that she looked nice. Lily had sort of wished that Brett was as enraptured with her as James was with Laura. Conversation between them was rather strained, Lily had been prepared to be upset because of Laura's fate but was now upset that Laura was probably going to be having a wonderful night.

"Do you want me to get you something to drink?" Brett already seemed like he wanted to ditch her, could the night get any worse?

"Oh, yes please." At least she could get some time to herself. She looked around the dance floor, a slow song was playing. She saw James and Laura, looking as though they were the only people in the world. Maybe time to herself wasn't such a great idea after all.

"Here you go, one pumpkin juice." Brett smiled widely, Maybe he isn't completely disinterested after all. Lily drank the juice quickly, finishing as a new song came on.

"Want to dance, Brett?" He seemed surprised by her sudden interest.

"Of course." They made their way onto the floor and kept dancing until another slow song came on. Brett, who was actually a very good dancer, looked as though he didn't know what to do. Maybe he's just shy. So Lily walked over and put her arms loosely around his neck and Brett cautiously put his hands on her waist.

"You know Lily, I was really worried that you weren't having a good time at all." So he had noticed she was in a bad mood, it wasn't surprising, she had barely talked to him.

"Oh, I was thinking about something, I was a little upset." Ha, little didn't describe it, it wouldn't describe how Laura would feel when she found out the truth either.

"Anything I can do to help?" He was so sincere, it made her feel good to have friends like him.

"No, just caring is enough. Thanks." Brett closed the distance between them a little, putting Lily on edge for a bit. No need to worry, Lily. Its just Brett. But, his hands weren't exactly around her waist anymore, and they were close, very close. In the moment before his lips pressed to hers she realized that in all the fuss of worrying over whether James told his date their relationship was only friendly, she had never even considered making sure that her date knew the same thing.

Lily tried to pull away, but Brett just held her to him. She tried to push him without making a scene but that didn't work either. She was wondering what the hell she was going to do when someone cut in.

"Excuse me, Brett, but I think Lily wants you to go away." She knew that voice, thank God someone noticed.

"What business is it of yours, Remus." He stalked up to Brett, who was a good three inches taller than Remus, and much stronger as well.

"Lily is my friend, and I watch out for my friends." She felt guilty, she had avoided Remus ever since that night…

"We were having a fine time until you came along. Leave us alone." Lily tried to pull away again, but he still held her.

"Brett, what is the matter with you?"

"What is the matter with you, Lily? Don't you want this?" Did she? Brett was an awesome guy, and he was interested in her when there were girls like Laura around. Did she really want to turn him away?  She wished she had felt something in that kiss besides shock and disturbance, but she hadn't.

"No, not like this, and not with you. Sorry Brett." His arms fell limp and he stalked away. In about three seconds Lily found herself crying into Remus' shoulder.

"Remus, I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, it's his fault."

"No, for treating you unfairly, for not being there like you have been there for me. I feel horrible." Her weighted conscious was enough to make her stop crying. In a steady stream all her friends came over, reassuring her about what a slimeball Brett really was.

Lily could hardly believe that he would do something like that. Her mother had always said don't give people stereotypes, don't put them in a box that was supposed to determine their personality, they will just struggle to get out. Lily had done that with Brett, she had thought that because he was her friend he wouldn't have any romantic interest in her. Guess she was wrong…

Robyn even came over. "Lily, I'm so sorry I ever introduced you to that creep."

"Don't feel bad, it's not your fault," it's mine, her mind finished for her. All those little things she had said and done, meaningless from her perspective, would have been taken as hints from someone who was searching for them. She could hardly look her friends in their eyes.

She stared up at the ceiling, the stars glimmering brightly, thinking about how romantic an evening this would have been for two people to enjoy. With a thud in her heart she realized two absent faces in her crowd of friends—James and Laura. They were probably having the time of their life. She found them on the dance floor, Laura's head nestled under James' chin as he looked straight at Lily. For a moment they both stared at each other, but then James broke away. He's too absorbed with her to break away for just one second, one second to see if I'm alright.

Clearly, the dance floor was too painful to observe. As her friends returned to the dance Lily searched the room some more. She looked at all the teachers up at the Head Table. Most of the teachers were having a great time, especially Professor Dumbledore. Hagrid was there, looking rather bored and a bit red in the face next to an empty seat, probably reserved for the loopy Divination teacher Professor Trelawney. McGonagall looked happy and Professor Malchite was grinning and having a good time as well. There was another man up there too, however, a man that looked strangely familiar.

"Robyn," Lily asked to the only one who was still there. "Who is that man at the Head Table?" Robyn couldn't really see that well.

"Where?"

"The one talking with Dumbledore, he looks familiar." She had seen his picture before somewhere, she couldn't remember when though.

Robyn's jaw dropped. "Oh my goodness, Lily, that's my Dad!" That's where she had seen it, probably in one of the newspapers, but Robyn had shown her lots of pictures of her house and stuff, she might have seen Mr. Delann in one of those too.

Robyn rushed off, Lily losing sight of her in the crowd. I might as well go back up to my room, she thought. There's no use staying down here.

She got back to her room, changed and removed her make-up sullenly. Her night had been a bust. She crawled into her bed, recounting every moment from the dance. She remembered how she had thought Brett was so nice, how Remus had saved her, and how James and Laura had been completely inseparable.

What had happened? Was being pretty all that mattered? One moment James had been assuring Lily that he thought of Laura as nothing more than a friend, but as soon as Laura got all dolled up he couldn't stay away. At that moment, Lily sort of wished she was pretty, at least prettier than she was now. Maybe, if she didn't have such red hair, or her eyes weren't such a deep green…

Maybe James is right, maybe I am jealous that Laura got to go with him. James had looked at Laura like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on, Lily wanted someone to look at her that way. But, what if Brett had done that to some other girl?  I don't think I would have cared one bit, even if he was my date.

Then it hit her.

She wanted James to look at her that way, to think that she was wonderful. And hadn't James been about to tell her he thought she liked him? How had he known before she had even figured it out?

I like James. I can't believe it, I like James.

She had gone so far off into the subject, never once stopping to think about the full effects of what she was actually saying. It took her a second for that realization to sink in. There was only one explanation.

"Ugh, someone did spike the pumpkin juice."