turn left turn right

by krcube

LJ. He turns left, she turns right. Through a strange twist of fate, they never meet, yet are supposed to be together. The two are completely unaware of each other, until they chance an encounter and realise the missing pieces of their lives. PURE FLUFF!

9. An Irritating Alex

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Turn Left Turn Right.

Chapter 9: An Irritating Alex.

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Disclaimer: Am not J.K. Rowling. Don't sue.

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Summary: Two people who are destined to be together, (Lily and James) never meet but are always only a few feet away from each other. They live in bliss, ignorant of others, until one day they chance upon an encounter with each other and realise that their lives have missing pieces in it. They part, but then, are unable to contact each other again, leaving two love- torn teenagers desperately trying to find their other half.

17 December 2003

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Squiggles1: Yea, I do live in Singapore. Anyway, who could you guess? You've been here before? Actually, 28oC is like what we consider, a rather cool temperature. Sad, huh? But anyway, the temperatures are relatively cooler now since it's the rainy season. Well, sad to say, my house is now leaking from the heavy rain. If it shorts out my com, the update will come a bit late. (hehehe)
And, taking heed from your Joy's un-joyfulness, I am going to add in an evil plot concerning her. But it won't be in this chapter though.
No!! It's not a cliffie! Was it? Hmm I didn't know I left I cliff til I started getting reviews of having my head for the cliff there. Ahahaha! Anyway, read on, read on. What comes after the cliff is, umm, hilarious in a funny and sick way!
Ahaha! I thought I would have this chapter out later. You know how I update, two chapters then a long pause until I get the next chapter done. Anyway, it's done earlier than I expected! So cheerio.. I feel accomplishment.
Oh, yes, I'm working on the passage-way! Watch out for it, though not in this chapter.
And, McGonagall was rather angry at James, cause it wasn't the first time in recent days that he cut class!

ShorTi: Oh you know me too well! You know me too well! You will find out why in later chapters!

Indiangurl: Oh, man! Why are there so many Alex-like people running around the face of the earth??? Nooo!!! They can't do this to us! Hmm, well, I suppose guys are probably lamenting the existence of Joy-like people too! Haha! We can't complain!

LJstagflower4e: Oops? They just missed again? Ahahaha!

LimeJuiceTub: Hmm, I assume you like my other story better yea? Eh, I mean, Lily was sick at that time, so she just took hold of the port-key, and James was well, resting on his own!

Juxtaposed: Okok! I will put in more of them. Hmm, maybe I'll have some stuff of them in the next few chapters? And, never mind being a new reviewer. Hmm, just don't forget to read the later chapters.

Jac: Ok! Glad you liked my story so much that you'd request it as a birthday present! Well, here it is, I only just read your review today, which is Tuesday, so I'm now up in the middle of the night slogging to get this done for you. Hopefully you read it on your birthday, (HAPPY BIRTHDAY) if not, well, Happy Belated Birthday! Oh I suppose it will be Thursday by the time you read this. Darn! I was hoping to get it up on Wednesday, but I can't use the com now!!

Penny_P: No!!! It wasn't a big cliffie! Hmm, anyway, the next chapters here already. Don't kill me for what comes after the cliff! And I didn't really leave one this chapter.

MerlinHalliwell: Great that you like it.

Hinkypunk2: Yea! You obviously don't like Joy. Hey! Who does when she tries to steal OUR James?? Anyway, there is some major Joy-bashing in this chapter! And, don't kill me!!!

Bec: Wow! How did you manage to find my story? I mean, it's not exactly very recently updated. Not that I'm complaining though, and thanks!

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Lily stared in horrified fascination around the room, the state of which was not what it had been when she had left. In fact... it was much, much worse. Clothes were strewn all around the place, and posters of her favourite soccer team Manchester United had been taken down and piled messily into a corner. Now gracing the walls were posters of another team that she absolutely couldn't stand as well as... pictures of herself smiling into the camera. Some were muggle photos that were taken ages ago, and some were moving wizard shots that shown her lying on the Hospital Wing bed, looking pale and a little green. As she walked into the room, her right foot caught the edge of an object, and she glanced down to look at it. Her eyes, if possible, widened even further. There, lying oh-so-innocently at her feet were a pair of dark brown heavy hiking boots, something that she knew for certain did not belong to her, but instead to a certain...

"There you are!" A voice cried out from the second floor.

Lily tore her eyes slowly away from the pair of shoes, and as though in a trance, let her eyes drift upwards to land on the person's protruding head.

"YOU?!" Although she had already expected this, the shock of seeing him there caused Lily's mouth to drop open in surprise.

"Me!" The person said happily.

"Aah!" Lily yelped in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Me?" He looked down at himself. "I'm at home of course! You're finally back!"

And there, was Alex's head poking out of the second floor room.

"Home?" Lily blanched. "Yes, me! But, you? Here?"

"Yep!" He replied happily. "Aren't you glad?"

And, Lily, with sarcasm dripping in abundance replied. "Yep! –nod- Boy, am I glad. –nod- Absolutely... umm... glad."

He smiled widely, evidently not picking up the sarcasm or choosing not to pick it up. "Absolutely fantastic! Look what I did to - "

Lily tuned him out for a while as she thought inwardly, 'oh, he's dense! What am I going to do?' And she groaned to herself. She looked up to realise that Alex was still not done talking.

"-and I figured that it was normal that I moved here to stay with you!"

"Umm... Normal? How so?"

Alex looked at her, confusion etched onto his features. "Why? Lily, you don't know?"

Lily shook her head slowly.

His mouth opened in surprise, as he stared down at her. "Us getting married, of course! What else could I be talking about? I mean, so we can get to know each other better before the wedding! I mean, we've been apart for so long, and it is absolutely necessary to catch up on the things we missed out on before! You don't mind, do you? Oh, I mean it isn't too soon right?"

Lily's mouth dropped lower and lower at each word, and by the time he finished, her mind was in a state of shock, nearly amounting to panic.

"Mind?" She asked shrilly.

Alex nodded with an air of pomposity around him.

"Mind?" She exclaimed, her voice slightly higher than before. "Mind?... Mind? You ask me if I mind? You staying here? Mind! I've never heard the like before!" 

He nodded again. "Of course, it's a totally original plan! You love it don't you? Oh, and Lily dear, kindly lower your voice. It's hurting my delicate ear-drums and well, raising your voice isn't good for your health! You have to be in excellent condition if you want to give birth to perfect babies!" He said happily.

"Babies?... Babies?! You have got to be kidding me! You're joking, aren't you?" Lily asked, her voice shrill due to slight anger and panic.

"Nope, I'm absolutely serious!" He said lightly.

"Yes I absolutely love it," Lily said dryly and extremely sarcastically, that even a sponge would have ballooned with all the sarcasm it absorbed.

"I knew you would love it!" Alex replied happily. "Great, we can start planning the wedding tonight!"

Lily felt her face heat up in anger and her fists balled up and held stiffly to her sides.

'Ok, calm down Lily! Calm down! It isn't like you to get angry... Calm down and we'll sort this out nice and proper!' Lily thought inwardly to herself. 'Am I calm? Yes, I'm calm! Ok, breathe! 1...2...1...2... Ok!'

"Alex?" She looked up but saw nothing except the slightly ajar door. The scum had gone into the bedroom. (Ok! I know Lily won't say that, but that was from my point of view. He is irritating isn't he? Anyway, not to fear, there will be more things to come when the Marauders get hold of him... I think...)

Muttering under her breath, the anger evidently still present despite her tries to keep it down, she looked around the room, and set about restoring the room to its original state, thinking with relief that she would not have to confront him until sometime later.

She waved her wand and the posters of Chelsea FC flew down to heap in a corner and be replaced by the original Manchester United player posters. Another wave of her wand cleared up any mess that had been present on the floor and sent them flying into the magical bin, and the last wave of her wand carefully stored Alex's filthy boots in an obscure little corner hidden from view behind the door- stand and coat room.

Then, steeling herself for worse to come, Lily stepped onto the moving staircase. At the top, she curled a finger around the doorframe and pulled it back slightly. The smell of moldy cheese and smelly socks wafted out of the crack to greet her, and she pinched her nose shut to block out the stench. Opening the door further, Lily stepped gingerly into the room, and looked around furtively.

'Great...' She mused to herself. 'I have to sneak around my own room like some thief!'

But the parts of the room that were in view was clear. She stepped further into the room, and looked quickly around, and heaved a relieved sigh when the check of the room revealed it empty.

With that, Lily quickly set about putting the room right. One wave of her wand returned the room to its original flowery smell, eliminated the need of nose-pinching, and removed any rubbish lying around. (which was a lot) Next went the stash of guys clothes and the numerous Chelsea posters. Finally, with much disgust, the wedding planners and baby-care pamphlets went into the bin.

The sound of the bathroom door opening caused Lily to turn around.

"AAAHHHHH!!!!!"

*

James walked down the Hogsmeade street, staring in extreme fascination at the old cobblestones.

'Hmmm... that makes ten round ones and twenty reddish-brown ones... Oh, what's that...? Oh, change that to twenty-one reddish-brown ones... Enlightening, isn't it?' He wondered dryly to himself.

Walking beside him was a girl with mousy brown hair and dark brown eyes, who was chattering away incessantly.

"-and then I told him to fuck off – "

James winced as he heard the words out of the girls' mouth. It was one thing when a guy said it, but an entirely different thing when a girl used it so freely. "Mind your language Redknapp," he said aloud, then under his breath muttered, "I'm sure Lily wouldn't have done that..."

If she heard his first sentence, she certainly didn't seem to take heed, but the second sentence made her stop short in her tracks and turned to him.

"Lily... Lily... LILY!" She ranted. "Is that all you care about? Lily? I tell you! Forget her already! Who the hell is this stupid Lily anyway! I can be better than her!"

James rolled his eyes. She reached only until his chest and her shouting was having as much effect as an ant was having biting a shoe.

"Are you done?" He asked suddenly, looking around in evident boredom. Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and stalked down the Hogsmeade oath.

"Wait!" Joy yelled, stopping her tirade. "Wait for me!"

"No!" James yelled over his shoulder. "I've had just about enough from you! And, if you want to know, Lily is someone, much... much better than you!"

"Fine!" Joy yelled after his back. "If you think so, why did you come to Hogsmeade with me anyway?"

He stopped and turned to face her, his face a mass of thunderclouds. Then, narrowing his eyes, he spoke with a voice so icy that it made the South Pole sound cold. "To set things straight, Redknapp, -he spat the name out like some poisonous snake- you were the one following me, and not the other way around. Oh, and one more thing?" He said frostily. "What the hell is up with you anyway? Who gave you permission to change the voice box message in my C-Globe? Even with your looks, or even when you lose that horrible language, or just get an entirely new personality, you will still be second-best. Guess who's first? That's right, it's Lily. You'll never be as good as her, as pretty, as intelligent... I could just stand here naming a thousand things she is that you're not, but I won't want to be seen wasting my time with the likes of you." And having said that, he turned and stormed back to the castle.

'Phew! That was good to get off my chest!' James thought to himself.

(ok, that might have sounded harsh, but seriously, I felt fantastic writing that! It was as though it was meant to be in the story. Well, it might sound harsh to you, but picturing Joy in my head, I feel that she deserved every single word. Hmm, as for those Joy-haters who found this was not enough to satisfy your killing instincts, there will be another Joy bashing in later chapters. Cheers!)

*

Joy stood there, her mind in a state of shock that she had just been shouted at. This had been one of the few times that she had been treated this way, and every time, no one had escaped yelling at her unscathed. Then, the numbness wore off and the words he had used settled in on her. 

... second-best. Guess who's first? That's right, it's Lily. You'll never be as good as her... wasting my time with the likes of you...

They echoed horribly in her mind, cruel and cutting, coming back and lashing her over and over again.

She slumped onto the ground, sobbing quietly at the emotional pain, but in a small part of her mind, one thought thumped determinedly on the walls of her skull...

'Just you wait... Joy Redknapp never settles for second-best. I'll have you James... I'll have you wrapped around my little finger before you even know what hit you. And Lily better rue the day she messed with me...'

*

Lily's scream faded out.

"What?" Alex asked in concern. "What happened?"

She forcefully flicked her wand, the haphazard emotions running through her causing the spell to be amplified, with the result being dozens of fluffy white towels zooming towards him and knocking him with such a force that he staggered backwards into the bathroom door.

"Owww… Lily, what did you do that for?" He asked, affronted.

"Cover up!" She shrieked.

"Oh! So that was about my lack of clothes..." Alex announced. "What a trivial thing to get pissed about Lily. I mean, we are getting married, so there's nothing wrong with a bit of intimacy. But, anything to please you dear..." His voice trailed off as he concentrated on wrapping a towel around his waist and draping one over his shoulders.

"Ok!" He exclaimed after finishing his wrapping. "Let's start the preparations!" And he rubbed his palms together in glee.

"What?" Lily asked, looking dumbly at him.

"You know... Preparations for our wedding? –He laughed- Lily, you've got to stop spacing out. Hmm... hopefully you're not sick again... I'll give you a check up later..."

Lily mumbled something that sounded like "This can't be happening to me..." and dashed downstairs.

As she was about halfway out of the door, a slow whirring sound started up. And she turned around to see her C-globe answering machine come on.

"Hello! Who is this? You've just reached Alex Whipple! If you are looking for Lily Evans, soon to be Mrs Lily Whipple, she is not free at the moment, but please feel free to leave a message with her fiancée, ME! Yes, we are getting married soon, and if you ask nicely, we may just allow you to come to the wedding! Oh, and don't forget to leave your message, but don't forget that all messages go through my careful scrutiny, and any message I deem unsuitable will not be delivered to my soon-to-be wife and I will come hunting for you!"

Lily threw up her hands as she finished hearing the message, frustration plain on her face.

'Oh man... This is too much!' And she stalked out of the room, and jumped down to the first floor.

"Wait! Where're you going?" Alex cried.

"Out!" She exclaimed, and before he could protest or offer to come along, the main door had slammed behind her.

"Ok!" Alex called at the slammed door. "But don't forget to take care, and if the temperature drops below 15oC be sure to come right back, you hear me? Oh, and be back for dinner!" He looked at the door, and continued, "is she angry with me?" And after a moment of silent contemplation, answered himself, "nahh, how can that be? She loves me!" And he shrugged and returned back to whatever he was doing before.

*

Lily walked out onto the school grounds, and after a moment of looking around, decided to head towards Hogsmeade to clear her head.

As she walked down the beaten path, she banged into something solid.

"Oh sor-" The apology died on her lips as she looked up and her eyes widened, for she was staring at...

(should I be evil? How many will kill me? Should I be very evil? HMM…)

"You! Filthy Mudblood! Get off me. This is a branded Gust robe I tell you, and I am a Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy! Don't dirty me with your filth!"

'First Alex, now this...'

And, Lily, while usually calm and collected, had too much clouding her mind to top it off with the fact that filthy mudblood was not exactly the best of names to call her...

"Come on Malfoy, I can take you on, I'm not exactly scared of you. Hmm... what did you get for spell-casting during the OWLs? Hmm... Was the O for Outstanding? Or... was it for... Outrageously ineffective? You tell me Malfoy..."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You won't get away with insulting a Malfoy, mudblood. You seek a fight? You shall get your fight! Prepare to die Mudblood!"

(he doesn't know her name, he just knows her as a muggle-born. Don't ask me how he knows. they have… means...)

Lily smirked and her fingers delved into her pocket to seek out her wand, knowing full well that her quick reflexes would allow her to curse Malfoy even before he drew his wand. 

Her smile froze as her hand searched deeper into the pockets. Frantically she changed pockets and continued to search.

'Oh no! I didn't bring it! Argghh!! Alex just made me so angry I totally forgot about the wand! Just great... picking as fight with Malfoy without a wand... You're a genius Evans...' And while her thoughts were concentrating mainly on dodging any incoming curses, another thought floated within the depths of her mind... 'I am going to decapitate Alex if I live to get back!'

She quickly threw herself to one side and a bright blue light screeched past, cutting through the air where her head had originally been. Without further thought, she set off down the beaten track, jumping from side to side to avoid the multi-coloured hexes that was being thrown at her back.

She heard pounding feet behind her as she entered Hogsmeade, and knew that Malfoy was still hot on her trail.

*

Bella and Jill stepped out of Quality Quidditch Supplies and into the slightly cool street.

"Hmm... The new broom was, I quote from a certain Sirius, 'fantastic'!" Bella exclaimed to her best friend.

Jill nodded slowly, then spoke up, "it was good, but I think the Silver Arrows are in a league of their own. Did you know they're going to stop production soon? If you want to replace your broom, get one of those before they become displays in a museum."

Bella was about to open her mouth to reply but something barreled hard into her back and she stumbled forward. Jill caught hold of her arm to steady her, and they both turned to look at the offending person.

"Lily?!" Both exclaimed, jaws dropping simultaneously open from surprise.

She nodded. "Oh, hey! It's you! Bella, Jill!" She answered hurriedly, and obviously panting for breath.

"Are you tired? You seem in a rush, why don't you come to the Three Broomsticks with us for a mug of Butterbeer... You know, we've been looking all over for you especially-"

"Can't talk now! Have – got – to – go – back – to – castle – no – wand – I – Malfoy – Run!" With that she ran off in the opposite direction, and Bella finished her sentence.

"- James."

"Hey!" A new voice exclaimed, and the bell to Quality Quidditch Supplies chimed, signaling someone had exited the store.

The two girls looked up to see Sirius frowning into the distance. "Wasn't that Lily?" He asked.

Bella nodded in reply, and his frown deepened.

"Hmm, why didn't you ask her to join us? James would be thrilled, and he could get rid of his bad mood once and for all!"

"You think we didn't?" Jill replied. "She ran off without answering, saying something incoherent about Malfoy and running. I think Malfoy was up to something."

"No! Ooh, that son of a bitch, I'm gonna pound him into the ground!" Sirius exclaimed.

The bell chimed again and three people exited the shop, and caught the tail end of Sirius' profanities.

"Whoa, what's with the language Padfoot?" The tallest of the three asked. He ruffled his unruly black hair and looked at Sirius.

"Yea," the other one with the dirty blond hair said. "Who's the SOB?"

"Malfoy," Sirius replied with narrowed eyes.

"Yea, Malfoy. We already know that he's a SOB padfoot, tell us something we don't already know," James drawled. "And why the renewed anger in him anyway?"

"Prongs, buddy," Sirius answered with a tight face and an even tighter voice, "Lily just came by..."

James face brightened at this and opened his mouth.

Sirius held up a hand to stop the question. "Before you ask if she's joining us, she's not. The reason being Malfoy, who was chasing her around Hogsmeade."

After he said this, all three faces darkened visibly, and a cracking fist could be heard.

"He is so gonna pay," Peter exclaimed.

Remus and James nodded viscously.

"Here he comes now," Bella muttered.

And, coming into view was a disheveled Lucius Malfoy, his normally immaculate blond hair sticking out in strands.

He straightened up and saw the group watching him, and put on his customary sneer.

"Well, look who we have here?" He sneered.

"What are you doing Malfoy?" James asked furiously.

"Well, what I do is none of your business Potter! But, if you must know, I was hunting down and ridding the world of some muggle-born filth. You saw her come by didn't you? I command you to tell me where she went! Sad though... She was a pretty thing..."

James laughed mirthlessly. "You were searching for a girl? Lucius Malfoy can't even find a girl. Oh well –James shrugged- I suppose I expected too much from you."

Malfoy snarled at them.

And before Malfoy could do anything more, six wands were pointed directly at him.

"What are you doing Potter?" Malfoy asked as he saw the wands come up.

"Did she, by chance, happened to be, let's say... unarmed? You disgust me Malfoy," James said, his eyes now hard and flashing furiously, and straightened was wand arm.

Malfoy drew his wand. "Come on Potter, I dare you to."

"You should know by now that daring us in an extremely dumb thing to do. But, if you must..." He trailed off, and a multitude of different coloured bursts of light fired from all those six wands. Not a single shot missed... How could they? At that point-blank distance?

By the time the smoke cleared, Malfoy was lying dazed and goo-like on the cobblestone path, and the group were already disappearing into the distance. And, above the scene hung a violently purple message...

Malfoy,

A dare's a dare.
Never dare us...
Smart move genius boy...

                                    The Marauders.
                                    Bella, Jill.

And, in the distance, someone said, "Hmm, I do think the confusion curse and boneless hex does work well together, eh?"

*

Unknown to them all, someone was standing in the middle of an extremely drab room, staring at another person behind an old wooden desk.

The person standing smirked. "Yes, follow him. Price is not a problem."

(Author's note!!! Read it!! There are some things I address below.)

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As I've said before, this chapter contained the Bella-Jill-Lily part, but poor James, he has missed her yet again. Oh, and I know that Lily seems like a damsel in distress in this chapter, when she runs from Malfoy. And why did she leave her wand behind? I'm sure we've all come across the irritating and highly inconveniencing period where we forget something that we really need because we have other things cluttering up our mind? Yes, unfortunately, Lily hit one of those periods.

Don't worry all you females out there! (I'm one too!) Lily will get her justice! Look out for the part where she gets Alex and Malfoy back. That will be in later chapters because it will be after she meets the Marauders and learns to open up! 

Oh, yes, something else I have to address, I have planned this story so that it ends on the night of their graduation, but even right now, where the ending is still rather far away, I don't think I'll be able to let this story go so easily, cause I love writing it, so I want to know if anyone wants me to put in a few more chapters right until they die?

Oh, yes, I feel that you guys (ok, girls) should read the author's note. Somehow I feel that it is important, and sometimes I need to get your views on stuff! pls pls pls promise me you'll read it!!!

~cube