SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Reading Between The Lines: Chapter 3
An Excessive Use of Periods
James's POV
I had made a complete and utter fool of myself. The whole time, she was practically laughing at me! Then, she slapped me! I kissed her, and she slapped me. Didn't she know how many girls would pay to get kissed by me?
Ugh. I tell you, she's a tease.
What was she thinking, sticking that irresistible face of hers in mine? Flashing those beautiful limpid emeralds at me, and parting her perfect little pink lips in front of me? So close? What fool wouldn't want to kiss her?
This made no sense to me as I pondered it on my way to our Head's Tower. This was a wonderful thing.
Me. And. Lily. Evans. Sharing. A. Tower. Together. Alone. Sharing. A. Bathroom. All. The. Way. Up. The. Other. End. Of. The. School.
Heaven. On. Earth.
I had already begun to think up lots of wonderful things we could be doing in that Tower, if only she would consent.
When I got into said Tower ("Candidus", to the portrait of a witch at the entrance) I almost forgot these wonderful things that had been flashing through my mind involving myself and the ever enigmatic Lily Evans. Almost.
So those... stimulating... thoughts were sitting in the back of my head while I investigated the Tower.
It was pretty amazing. The walls were white, the carpet red. The furniture had red coverings. The were hints of gold everywhere. But the red. I loved the red. It reminded me of Lilt Evans's hair, the hair that I'd so love to run my hands through...
Stop thinking about her, Potter.
After examining my bedroom - which was not, sadly, in any way joined to Lily's - I decided to move into the bathroom.
Oh. My. God. I. Was. So. Lying. Before. That. Was. Not. Heaven.
This. Was. Heaven.
Lily. Evans. In. The. Bath. Naked.
I felt a painful pinch in my trousers and bit my lip.
I couldn't see her, of course. The tub was filled with bubbles, hiding everything from view. Damn bubbles. I suddenly felt a complete and utter jealousy towards those bubbles and how they just got to sit there, laying on her wondrously bare body...
Ok, James, I thought. It's not doing your trousers any good thinking like that.
Right. How about I take them off, then?
Lily would flip, I decided.
Lily was going to flip anyway, I realised. She was going to flip because I had not alerted her to the fact that I was in the bathroom. Actually, screw that, she was going to flip for the mere fact that I was in the bathroom.
Maybe, she'd be so surprised that she'd stand up, in shock! Yes, I liked that idea. Surely all the yelling would be worth a look at that. But then again, there was always the possibility that it wouldn't happen and then it would all have been for nothing.
'So how do you like the bathroom, then?' Lily asked, turning her head and looking straight at me.
Uh. Oh. I. Am. So. Dead.
'Bathroom?' I asked, swallowing.
'Mm-hmm. How do you like it?'
'Oh... it's, uh... it's very, uh, nice...' I managed.
'Potter?'
'Yeah?'
'Could you come down here a minute?' she asked sweetly.
'Uh-huh,' I said, watching her as she put her arms on the edge of the tub and leaned her head on them. I lowered myself down to her level.
'Yeah?'
'What the hell are you doing in here?'
I gulped.
'Ah, well, you see... I came in here, to have a look, and then you were in here, and I... I er, I didn't know, but...'
Dammit!
I was blushing! I could feel the heat creeping up in my cheeks!
But then... she was blushing too! She looked so yummy while she was blushing. I wanted to snog her senseless. Hell, I wanted to do a lot more than snog her, but I doubted that if anything, the most I would get would be a snog.
'Could you get out then, please?' she asked coolly, the coldness in her voice countered by the fact that she was still blushing quite prettily.
'Maybe,' I said, my eyes on her lips.
'James, please don't,' she whispered as I moved closer.
The was word foreign to my ears when formed by those pale pink lips. Lips I had many times mused of kissing... And now... not Potter, James...
'But...' I said, my eyes pleading with hers. But then, something told me not to. I drew back, my breathing strangely accelerated. What was this, my breathing heavy? That was meant to come after a kiss, and while my lips had been beautifully close, none of that had quite yet happened.
'I'm not going to yell at you for being here,' she said, turning away. I gleefully noticed that her breathing, too, was a little hitched. 'You wouldn't have known I was in here. But don't do it, don't give me something to yell about...'
She moved away from the edge, taking care to stay in the cover of the bubbles.
My trousers were really being a bother. If only I could take them off...
'Right. Sorry,' I said, demonstrating a lot of self control to get back on my feet and back away. What was this? I wasn't giving in to my hormones for once?
Good job, Potter. Because we all know if you'd had your way you'd have stripped yourself off and jumped right in there with her about ten minutes ago.
'Potter?' she said, more aloof now.
'Yeah,' I sighed. 'Going.'
'Good.'
Good. Good for you, I suppose. You're not the one with a thing in between your legs that has a bloody mind of its own...
I edged out of the bathroom and went and sat myself down on the nice, plush, red sofa that was bang smack in the middle of our lounge. Red. Lily's hair. Lily...
No! No! No! Stop it, Potter! This is NOT good!
No, it wasn't. Frowning in frustration, I grabbed a cushion and sat it in my lap.
Focus on something else, Potter. Something innocent.
Ah. A book. I noticed a bookcase over the other side of the room, near the door to Lily's room. I got up and walked over, the ache in my groin subsiding.
'Charmingly Charming Charms,' I read aloud, raising an eyebrow. 'Nice name.'
Charms, I thought. Innocent enough. Come to think of it, Lily liked Charms. She always sat up the front in Charms, which was excellent, since I got to stare at her without her noticing...
I felt the presence of someone behind me. I nearly died on the spot.
Dear God, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Lily. Evans. Standing. There. In. Just. A. Towel.
She was blushing again! Man, she looked beautiful when she blushed. She looked beautiful all the time. But hell, her in a towel was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I swallowed and closing my eyes, telling myself how dirty it was to be mentally undressing her.
I did it anyway.
When I opened my eyes again, she had stepped a little closer, turned a little redder, and looked down at the floor.
'I forgot my clothes,' she mumbled.
'Right,' I said, my throat constricting.
'I um, need to get to my room.'
'Right!' I said, feeling stupid.
I moved away from her door. Well away. Back to the couch. Where I had a great view of her bare shoulders from the back. She stepped inside and shut the door.
I flopped back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, eyes wide.
'Sweet Merlin,' I murmured. 'Now. That. Was. Heaven.'
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Lily's POV
Eek! Boy, was my face red! I don't think I'd ever been more embarrassed in my life!
Though I do suppose Potter was rather good about it. He could have said worse... he could have done worse... hell, he'd almost kissed me in there. But he didn't. That's what mattered.
How could I have been so stupid as to forget my clothes? I shouldn't even have taken a bath, really. I should have known James would be coming soon, and that he would be bound to walk in.
What. An. Idiot.
I could have died on the spot, honestly, this is not something I'll forget in a hurry. Not something he'll forget in a hurry, no doubt, either.
'No talk of James Potter, period!' I declared, after endless giggling from my year mates. I was up in my old dorm, and had just told them my tale.
'James has his period?' Carmen asked cluelessly, as she walked in. Sheridan erupted into fits of giggles. Chrissy soon joined in.
'So that's what someone was doing going through your bedside table yesterday, Lily. But he was looking in the wrong place!'
Sheridan and Chrissy snorted, but I stopped dead, turning very pale.
My. Bedside. Table. My. Diary. My. Secrets.
I stared at Sheridan.
'Someone was going through my dresser?'
Sheridan nodded slowly, confused.
'I don't know if it was James. But someone came in here last night. I couldn't see them very clearly. I thought it was you, so I never said anything. But you said you never came in last night.'
'No, I didn't,' I frowned.
I dashed over to the drawers and quickly opened the cabinet, searching through the trays.
I was considerably relieved when everything appeared to be in order. My diary, which I kept in my old dorm to be away from Potter, hadn't been touched. But there was something new in there, something that I didn't remember seeing before.
A small, silver, gift-wrapped box. She read the note.
Happy Belated Birthday. TC \l2 "
My birthday had been on the holidays. All my friends had already given me presents, and they were the only ones who knew.
'Did one of you guys put this here?' I asked softly, picking up the silver box.
'Uh-uh,' Carmen said.
'Not me, either,' Sheridan added.
'Or me,' said Chrissy.
'Just open it,' Carmen insisted, throwing her long raven hair over her shoulder with a giggle.
I envied Carmen. A lot. She was the prettiest person I knew. Absolutely stunning. She looked like a gypsy. Her hair was so dark and long and silky, and she had the most gorgeous blue-green eyes. Half the male population of Hogwarts was in love with her.
'Hello! Lily! Open it, hun,' she said, waving her hand in front of my face.
I took the lid off the box. Inside was a pretty silver bracelet, with my name carved on it with cursive script.
'Wow,' I murmured, slipping it on. 'It's beautiful.'
'Yeah, it is,' Carmen said, leaning closer.
'No note?' Sheridan frowned. 'Nothing?'
'Nope,' Chrissy confirmed, tipping the box upside down. 'Not a thing.'
'Oooh, Lily... you have a mysterious benefactor!' Carmen giggled.
'Yeah,' I said with a sigh. 'And I think I know who it is.
*
'Potter,' I said shortly, standing in the doorway to his room. My heart suddenly sped up.
James. Potter. Laying. On. His. Bed. Shirtless. Reading. A. Book. Shirtless.
Shirtless.
Get over it, Lily, it's only Potter. Wow. You were around him in just a towel the other day.
I blushed at the memory.
'What naughty things are you thinking about to blush so prettily?' he smirked, lowering the book.
'Shut it,' I said, crossing the threshold and standing at the foot of his bed.
'I see,' he murmured, getting up to stand behind me. I turned to face him.
'You've finally decided to admit how much you really want me,' he said with a wink.
'In your dreams, Potter,' I snapped.
'How did you find out about those?' he breathed on my neck.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them.
'Did you go through my drawer the other night?'
He shot me an odd look.
'No. I think you've finally cracked it, Lily. Though insanity is quite becoming on you.'
'Will you stop hitting on me?' I demanded, annoyed.
'You're the one that came into my room in the middle of the night,' he pointed out, though his face turned a little more serious.
I must have blushed crimson.
Oh. My. God. What. The. Hell. Was. I. Thinking?
'You just can't get your mind out of the gutter, can you, Potter? Maybe if you stopped being such a pig, someone would go out with you!'
He looked taken aback, perhaps hurt. No. What was I thinking? James Potter was above being hurt by the comments of lesser mortals.
'I already have plenty of someones that would go out with me, Lily. But the one I want is you,' he said, turning away. 'I think you should leave.'
I left obediently, quietly, feeling somewhat guilty. He said that he liked me a lot. Surely if he was lying he would have given up years ago. But he was so annoying. And he was also a player. I didn't want to be his conquest. Another notch on the bedpost. I was saving myself for someone special.
I went and sat on the sofa, turning the bracelet absently on my wrist. James said he hadn't gone through my drawer, and, strangely enough, I believed him. But somebody had, and I wanted to know who.
'Prat,' I shot at James's door before standing and heading to my own bedroom.
Being mad at him was so much easier.
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How was that for length-ness and soon-ness? :)
Well, gotta fly, sorry.
Thanks for the reviews, my friends... I'll be back soon.
SezZie