*hehe, I love reviews... anyway I'm gonna try and make this chapter longer than the last one. (note the use of the word try...aka no promises!).*
~Disclaimer~ I don't own any of it...and all that jazz! (sorry, Chicago moment...great musical btw...i highly recommend seeing it or at least dling the sndtrk)
Chapter 7
Lily couldn't believe what she had seen. Absolutely couldn't believe it. She was so stupid, thinking she had actually had a chance with James. Of course he wouldn't want her. He was the most popular guy in the entire school, tying with Sirius. He had plenty of girls to choose from and it looked like he had made his choice. She put her hand on the doorknob to go into her Muggle Studies class, while wiping stray tears from her face, when she heard him calling her name.
"Lily? Lily! Wait! I'm so sorry! I can explain!" James yelled mid-run.
She turned her head to look at him, looked away, and went into the classroom. "Sorry, Professor." she said quietly, slipping to her seat.
*
Out in the hall, James had stopped cold in his tracks. He had been close enough to Lily to see the sorrow in her eyes. He couldn't believe he had done that to her, that he had been stupid enough to go with Renee from Potions. He would easily give up his popularity in a second to turn back the clock and have a do-over. He ran a hand through his dark hair absently. He had made such a mess of things, just as everything was going so well. He had a sudden thought, slightly cheerier than the rest. He'd pass her a note in Muggle Studies explaining everything. They sat next to each other so the chances of Professor Zuleika noticing would be next to none, that is, if she bothered paying attention at all.
With this hope holding him up, he entered the classroom, apologized for being late to Professor Zuleika, and slid into his seat next to Lily, who ignored him.
He quickly whipped a sheet of parchment, scribbled a quick note to Lily, and flicked it so it landed in front of her.
*
Lily jumped as a piece of paper landed in front of her nose. She had been so occupied in ignoring James that she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings. Where had the note come from? She opened it and read:
Lily,
I am so sorry for any pain I may have caused you. This is all just an innocent misunderstanding. Will you please let me explain?
As ever,
JamesShe could feel herself softening at his words of regret. He seemed so sincere! No! She couldn't let herself be swept away by him again. She had to harden herself against him and his puppy eyes. She wrote three words under his note and flipped it over her shoulder at him.
*
James felt himself swell up with hope again as she returned his note. Quickly, he opened it and read:
No, not now.
He deflated. Why? he wrote back. Too soon, her response came.
Because I don't want to have anything to do with you at the moment.
He deflated even more. He had really made a huge, gargantuan, jumbo, enormous mess of things. The worst part was, he didn't have the slightest idea of what he could do to make things better.
*
"Kiara, Jordan, you have GOT to help me!" James exclaimed that night after the common room had finally emptied. He had borne Lily's ignoring of him all night and was desperate to end it, so he had persuaded her friends to stay down there with him, after everyone had gone to bed, to help him figure out a way to win Lily back.
"Why?" asked Jordan scornfully. "You broke our friend's heart. We should really be ripping you to shreds and throwing you out the window, rather than standing here listening to you."
"Please listen to me." he begged. "I have to fix this. It's not what it seems!"
Kiara looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, Jord," she said. "maybe we should listen to him first. Then we can rip him to shreds."
Jordan sighed. "Alright. Talk."
James began to explain the whole fiasco, starting with Renee's pulling him out of Potions early, to his being rejected by Lily in Muggle Studies.
Kiara exhaled, blowing her brown bangs up in the air. "We won't rip you to shreds this time." she promised. "But you do have an utterly tangled mess on your hands."
Jordan nodded in agreement. "We'll help you because I don't think I can stand to see you and Lily moping around and trying to avoid each other for another minute."
"Well, really, it's more her avoiding me than the other way arou—" started James.
"Whatever." Jordan said with a wave of her hand. "The only thing that really matters is what are we going to do about this?"
The question stumped the three of them and there was silence for a couple minutes. "Err...we could—no, we couldn't." Kiara started.
"I could corner her and make her listen to me..." said James tentatively.
"Let's use that as a last resort." said Jordan wisely. "Chances are, it'll only piss her off more."
"Good point." nodded James.
"What about a nice romantic dinner?" volunteered Jordan.
"Ah, two problems." Kiara said. "One, where? It's not like there are too many restaurants around here. And two, it would be wayy to easy for her to get away."
James sighed. It was going to be a long night.
*
The sunshine streaming through her crimson velvet bed curtains woke Lily the next morning. She lay still for a minute trying to remember why she was feeling so depressed. And angry. She was feeling rather angry too. Then she remembered. James. James and Renee. James and Renee kissing. And then he had had the nerve to believe he could explain this away?! Oh no, she wasn't having any of his bull. Not anymore. She didn't care if she was going to die an old unmarried spinster, she was giving up guys for good. They're all worthless louts, she thought angrily, yanking her robe down over her head.
It wasn't til she had left the dormitory that she realized Kiara and Jordan's beds hadn't been slept it. Wondering where exactly they had been last night, she marched down the stairs to the common room, with the intent of going straight to the Great Hall for breakfast.
However, upon reaching the common room, she saw three bodies sprawled across the couch and the two plush armchairs facing the fireplace. Upon closer examination, she recognized the bodies as those of James, Kiara, and Jordan and they were sleeping. What the hell...? wondered Lily.
James stirred and his eyes flickered open. Realizing she was standing over him, Lily backtracked quickly and started moving towards the portrait hole.
"Lily?" muttered James sleepily. Then, waking up, "LILY!" He sat up straight just in time to see Lily disappear through the portrait hole. "Wait!" he called desperately, throwing himself over the couch, falling on the floor, picking himself up, and dashing out after her.
"Go 'way, Mom." mumbled Jordan, swatting at something invisible in her sleep while Kiara merely twitched, oblivious to the anxiety James was feeling.
*
"Lily! Lily! Lily, come on! Will you at least listen to me?" James yelled as he sprinted down the hallway after Lily.
"No!" she called back over her shoulder. "Leave me alone!"
"Not until you listen to me!" he said, finally catching up with her, causing her to pick up the pace. He grabbed her by the arm, pulled her to him, and looked into her eyes. "Lily." he said in a low voice. "Please. Listen to me. Just once, then I swear I'll never bother you again, if that's what you want."
Lily put her head down, blinking furiously to hide the tears threatening to spill over. "Al-alright." she choked out.
*Yay! More cliffhangers! ::cheers somewhat sarcastically on the behalf of the readers:: Will Lily accept James' explanation or will Genna's plan have succeeded? Will Sirius ever find out Kiara's name? Is there a romance in the future for Remus and Jordan (though not necessarily together..)? What will happen next? All thoughts and comments and theories are accepted ::grins:: Your reviews will make whatever happens next happen faster (and possibly longer), so review! Ten reviews and I'll update...does that seem fair? Oh and if you want to be updated when I update the chapter, leave your email in your review and I'll email you when chapter eight gets here! What a bargain! Also, if you're interested in reading my other story, what there is of it, click on my name up at the top of this page and that should take you to my stories. Anyway, spread the word, the more {reviews} the merrier! Love yas!*
