Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to JK Rowling.
Done on a whim, even though it took me three days to write it. Title from Cherry in a Tree.
The room was spinning and the letters in my book were dancing. The throbbing in my lower stomach has worsened, going from a minor nuisance into something that was on the verge of unbearable. My whole body was covered in a cold, slick sweat and while I couldn't see it, I was betting that I was close to vampire pale. The teacher, long ago just a buzz in my ears, was suddenly no longer in my hearing range. My head went down on my desk, hitting it so hard that I couldn't bite my lip fast enough to contain my little shriek. Heads from all over the room whipped to stare at me and the girl next to me, Theresa, got up from her desk.
"Lily!" She cried, shaking me. I swatted at her, hitting her on the arm, and staring up at her. I tried for an angry look but the pain in my lower stomach made it next to impossible.
"What? What's wrong with her?" asked the teacher, Professor Bellos, sharply. She gave him a frantic look and shrugged her shoulders, confused. Professor sighed, irritated that his lesson had been interrupted. "Take her to Ma'am Promfrey." He waved his hand, gesturing us off. Theresa grabbed my arm, and I shook my head no. I did let her help me up, though. I wobbled just a little, cringing as the pain became worse from un-curling. Theresa made to walk with me but I moved away from her, holding my hand up, the way Muggle police did to say 'Stop'. She frowned at me but I didn't care. I was feeling bad, yeah, really bad, but it'd be a sad day before Lily Evans couldn't walk on her own.
It took me, and Professor Bellos, a few minutes to realize that the class was paying more attention to Theresa and I then to Professor Bellos. He tapped his foot against the cold, stone floor, his brown eyes shooting darts at me. He was a good teacher but he didn't like to be interrupted one bit.
"Miss Evans, I thought you needed to see Ma'am Promfrey. But if you are well enough to stand up and squabble with Theresa, please take a seat," he told me. His lips curled back into a cold smile, revealing his yellowing teeth. I wrinkled my nose and got my books. Bending made me wince and the familiar stinging sensation of tears were behind my eyes, but I wasn't going to cry. Only my best friend, a brunette Ravenclaw by the name of Daisy, had seen me cry.
With my books in my hands, I took careful steps to the door, my breathing becoming faster as I walked more. Exercise is supposed to help but curling into a little ball felt better. Yeah, a lot better. I purposefully slammed the door shut as I walked out, my pain and the snotty-ness of my teacher making me even more temperamental.
I had been walking for a few minutes, allowing myself to cry now that nobody was out here, when I slumped against a wall. I sat under a giant window, my back against the wall, my knees brought up to my chest. The coolness of the wall and ground was a double effect, melting my fevered skin but causing goose bumps from my cold sweat. I buried my face into my knees, rocking back and forth, trying not to let myself sob. These were only cramps, I told myself. Yeah, but these are the worse I've ever had, too, my mind said. Great. First the shocking painfulness of my period, now I was debating with myself.
"Evans? Hey, Evans!" A male's voice said. I jerked my head up, looking at the man who belonged to the voice. He was jogging at me, his unruly brown hair flying behind him. His lips were stretched into a frown and his eyebrows had a distinctive frown line between them. I buried my face back into my knees. James Potter was the last person who needn't see me crying.
"Go away James!" I yelled, my voice muffled from being pressed into my knees. The clank of his shoes against the floor meant that he was still coming to me, jogging at the same pace as when I had looked at him. No, no, go away.
I felt, rather then heard, him kneel in front of me. I pulled my knees closer to me, lifting my head so that my hair fell around me, framing my face. James took a deep intake of breath, shaking his head. I guess that I was vampire pale and the red of my hair framed it nicely.
"Crap, Evans, what's wrong with you?" James asked me. He looked truly concerned as his hand reached out to touch me. I gave him a long look and he withdrew his hand, but not without his frown deepening.
"Nothing, James. Now, undoubtedly you're skipping, so go back to playing with your precious snitch," I snapped at him. He wasn't being a jerk as he usually was, but I didn't like having James see me like this. He'd take it as my moment of weakness.
I went to stand up, keeping my back firmly against the wall, sliding against it. A loud gasp came from me at the sudden movement and I doubled over, hands reaching around to grab my stomach. The next moment I felt James arms around me, kneeling us down, easing me against his chest. I made to pull away, to push him away, but his arms stayed firmly around me, giving me no leverage.
"James, let me go!" I said. It meant to come out angry and demanding but it came out tired and shaky. He shook his head, leaning in a bit closer. I laid my cheek on his chest, my hair tucked under his chin. Sitting like this, with his arms around me, whispering reassurances into my ear, felt strangely comfortable. And right. My head fit just perfectly under his chin, the curve of his body allowed me the perfect amount of space. James Potter, it seems, was the perfect person, for me, to cuddle with. That thought sent me into a cold sweat with a renewed energy.
I moved away from him, breaking his intertwined fingers apart, scooting back as far as I could. He shot me a quizzical look.
"Evans?" he asked. He sounded confused as his looked. I shook my head. My pain, which had seemed to calm in his arms, came back full force. It brought tears to my eyes and James came rushing to my side. He helped lift me up off my feet and I let him. I leaned on him, wrapping an arm around his waist, the other cradling my own. His arm went across my shoulder, pulling me to him.
"Come on, Evans. You look ready to faint, we gotta get you to the Ma'am Promfrey." He made to walk but I stood in place, cranking my neck around to look at my books.
"Evans," he said, his voice sounding a bit rushed.
"My books, James, I need my books."
Without a word James bent down, an awkward position since he still had his arm around my shoulder, but did with a certain grace. He came back up with all my books, tucked neatly under my arm. He looked at me, his lips twitching into a smile.
"Is that all, Evans?" I nodded, leaning on him.
James led me down to the nurses office, idly talking to me about this and that. He joked too, trying to make me smile and laugh. He seceded a few times. Every time he babbled to me, it took my mind off of the pain. When silence finally fell, the pain came rushing back, like a great roar of wind. James must of seen it in my face and felt in my body because he'd start talking about anything and everything. I learned quite a few things about James Potter, and about his best friends. He told me that they had been doing something--he wouldn't tell me what--in the bathroom and the toilet expanded, almost dragging Sirius in to it. I couldn't help but giggle.
We stopped walking right in front of the door leading to the school hospital. I slinked away from him, hands going back around my stomach. My head dropped and when I looked back up at him, I had a smile on my face. A tight smile, but a smile none the less. He grinned back at me half heartedly.
"Thank you James," I told him. I moved to take my books but he held them against his chest, looking at me.
"I'll take you in."
"You don't have to."
"Are you feeling better?"
I shook my head no. He nodded.
"I'll walk you in then."
"James Potter, I am right by this door and I can take a few steps by myself!" I said to him. Normally I would of rested my hands on my hips but the pain kept me doubled over. He looked at me, long and hard, and then sighed.
"Fine, you win. But I'm taking your books up to the dorm for you," he warned. I lifted an eyebrow at him and he hugged the books tighter to his chest. I let it go, I really needed to lay down and they were just books....
"You win. Thank you, James." I turned to go into the door and then stopped. He came into the front of me, bending down a bit to see my face.
"Evans?"
I smiled at him and laid a gentle kiss on his lips. He blinked, blush coming to his cheeks, and I shoved him away. I left him with his hand to his cheek, a girlish gesture, staring at me. What he didn't see either was that I too was red in the face. And it wasn't my cramps, oh no, not that. It was because, as I was walking with him, a sudden realization slammed into me. I liked James Potter. And it had taken that time, with his arms around me, giving me a sense of comfort that I had never felt, to learn it. I was glad that it was a sad day for Lily Evans.
Done on a whim, even though it took me three days to write it. Title from Cherry in a Tree.
The room was spinning and the letters in my book were dancing. The throbbing in my lower stomach has worsened, going from a minor nuisance into something that was on the verge of unbearable. My whole body was covered in a cold, slick sweat and while I couldn't see it, I was betting that I was close to vampire pale. The teacher, long ago just a buzz in my ears, was suddenly no longer in my hearing range. My head went down on my desk, hitting it so hard that I couldn't bite my lip fast enough to contain my little shriek. Heads from all over the room whipped to stare at me and the girl next to me, Theresa, got up from her desk.
"Lily!" She cried, shaking me. I swatted at her, hitting her on the arm, and staring up at her. I tried for an angry look but the pain in my lower stomach made it next to impossible.
"What? What's wrong with her?" asked the teacher, Professor Bellos, sharply. She gave him a frantic look and shrugged her shoulders, confused. Professor sighed, irritated that his lesson had been interrupted. "Take her to Ma'am Promfrey." He waved his hand, gesturing us off. Theresa grabbed my arm, and I shook my head no. I did let her help me up, though. I wobbled just a little, cringing as the pain became worse from un-curling. Theresa made to walk with me but I moved away from her, holding my hand up, the way Muggle police did to say 'Stop'. She frowned at me but I didn't care. I was feeling bad, yeah, really bad, but it'd be a sad day before Lily Evans couldn't walk on her own.
It took me, and Professor Bellos, a few minutes to realize that the class was paying more attention to Theresa and I then to Professor Bellos. He tapped his foot against the cold, stone floor, his brown eyes shooting darts at me. He was a good teacher but he didn't like to be interrupted one bit.
"Miss Evans, I thought you needed to see Ma'am Promfrey. But if you are well enough to stand up and squabble with Theresa, please take a seat," he told me. His lips curled back into a cold smile, revealing his yellowing teeth. I wrinkled my nose and got my books. Bending made me wince and the familiar stinging sensation of tears were behind my eyes, but I wasn't going to cry. Only my best friend, a brunette Ravenclaw by the name of Daisy, had seen me cry.
With my books in my hands, I took careful steps to the door, my breathing becoming faster as I walked more. Exercise is supposed to help but curling into a little ball felt better. Yeah, a lot better. I purposefully slammed the door shut as I walked out, my pain and the snotty-ness of my teacher making me even more temperamental.
I had been walking for a few minutes, allowing myself to cry now that nobody was out here, when I slumped against a wall. I sat under a giant window, my back against the wall, my knees brought up to my chest. The coolness of the wall and ground was a double effect, melting my fevered skin but causing goose bumps from my cold sweat. I buried my face into my knees, rocking back and forth, trying not to let myself sob. These were only cramps, I told myself. Yeah, but these are the worse I've ever had, too, my mind said. Great. First the shocking painfulness of my period, now I was debating with myself.
"Evans? Hey, Evans!" A male's voice said. I jerked my head up, looking at the man who belonged to the voice. He was jogging at me, his unruly brown hair flying behind him. His lips were stretched into a frown and his eyebrows had a distinctive frown line between them. I buried my face back into my knees. James Potter was the last person who needn't see me crying.
"Go away James!" I yelled, my voice muffled from being pressed into my knees. The clank of his shoes against the floor meant that he was still coming to me, jogging at the same pace as when I had looked at him. No, no, go away.
I felt, rather then heard, him kneel in front of me. I pulled my knees closer to me, lifting my head so that my hair fell around me, framing my face. James took a deep intake of breath, shaking his head. I guess that I was vampire pale and the red of my hair framed it nicely.
"Crap, Evans, what's wrong with you?" James asked me. He looked truly concerned as his hand reached out to touch me. I gave him a long look and he withdrew his hand, but not without his frown deepening.
"Nothing, James. Now, undoubtedly you're skipping, so go back to playing with your precious snitch," I snapped at him. He wasn't being a jerk as he usually was, but I didn't like having James see me like this. He'd take it as my moment of weakness.
I went to stand up, keeping my back firmly against the wall, sliding against it. A loud gasp came from me at the sudden movement and I doubled over, hands reaching around to grab my stomach. The next moment I felt James arms around me, kneeling us down, easing me against his chest. I made to pull away, to push him away, but his arms stayed firmly around me, giving me no leverage.
"James, let me go!" I said. It meant to come out angry and demanding but it came out tired and shaky. He shook his head, leaning in a bit closer. I laid my cheek on his chest, my hair tucked under his chin. Sitting like this, with his arms around me, whispering reassurances into my ear, felt strangely comfortable. And right. My head fit just perfectly under his chin, the curve of his body allowed me the perfect amount of space. James Potter, it seems, was the perfect person, for me, to cuddle with. That thought sent me into a cold sweat with a renewed energy.
I moved away from him, breaking his intertwined fingers apart, scooting back as far as I could. He shot me a quizzical look.
"Evans?" he asked. He sounded confused as his looked. I shook my head. My pain, which had seemed to calm in his arms, came back full force. It brought tears to my eyes and James came rushing to my side. He helped lift me up off my feet and I let him. I leaned on him, wrapping an arm around his waist, the other cradling my own. His arm went across my shoulder, pulling me to him.
"Come on, Evans. You look ready to faint, we gotta get you to the Ma'am Promfrey." He made to walk but I stood in place, cranking my neck around to look at my books.
"Evans," he said, his voice sounding a bit rushed.
"My books, James, I need my books."
Without a word James bent down, an awkward position since he still had his arm around my shoulder, but did with a certain grace. He came back up with all my books, tucked neatly under my arm. He looked at me, his lips twitching into a smile.
"Is that all, Evans?" I nodded, leaning on him.
James led me down to the nurses office, idly talking to me about this and that. He joked too, trying to make me smile and laugh. He seceded a few times. Every time he babbled to me, it took my mind off of the pain. When silence finally fell, the pain came rushing back, like a great roar of wind. James must of seen it in my face and felt in my body because he'd start talking about anything and everything. I learned quite a few things about James Potter, and about his best friends. He told me that they had been doing something--he wouldn't tell me what--in the bathroom and the toilet expanded, almost dragging Sirius in to it. I couldn't help but giggle.
We stopped walking right in front of the door leading to the school hospital. I slinked away from him, hands going back around my stomach. My head dropped and when I looked back up at him, I had a smile on my face. A tight smile, but a smile none the less. He grinned back at me half heartedly.
"Thank you James," I told him. I moved to take my books but he held them against his chest, looking at me.
"I'll take you in."
"You don't have to."
"Are you feeling better?"
I shook my head no. He nodded.
"I'll walk you in then."
"James Potter, I am right by this door and I can take a few steps by myself!" I said to him. Normally I would of rested my hands on my hips but the pain kept me doubled over. He looked at me, long and hard, and then sighed.
"Fine, you win. But I'm taking your books up to the dorm for you," he warned. I lifted an eyebrow at him and he hugged the books tighter to his chest. I let it go, I really needed to lay down and they were just books....
"You win. Thank you, James." I turned to go into the door and then stopped. He came into the front of me, bending down a bit to see my face.
"Evans?"
I smiled at him and laid a gentle kiss on his lips. He blinked, blush coming to his cheeks, and I shoved him away. I left him with his hand to his cheek, a girlish gesture, staring at me. What he didn't see either was that I too was red in the face. And it wasn't my cramps, oh no, not that. It was because, as I was walking with him, a sudden realization slammed into me. I liked James Potter. And it had taken that time, with his arms around me, giving me a sense of comfort that I had never felt, to learn it. I was glad that it was a sad day for Lily Evans.