Chapter 1—James and Janine
"Come on, Lily, just consider it!" James pleaded with her, walking rapidly to keep up with her brisk pace.
Damn, it's so hard to shake him. He's like a dog, she thought disgustedly.
"Absolutely not, Potter," she answered harshly, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "When will 'no' mean something to you?"
"When it means 'yes'," he answered smartly. "Evans, don't fight this uncontrollable desire you have for me. It's unhealthy," he added.
"What's unhealthy, James, is you stalking me," Lily scoffed, and clutched her books closer to her chest. "Furthermore, don't flatter yourself, James. I reserve only the feelings of revulsion and hate for you."
"Ah," he said, running a hand through his already disheveled hair, "but haven't you ever heard of that thin line between love and hate?"
"Oh, I've heard of it. You never fail to remind me," she replied sharply, picking up the pace.
James sprinted forward to cover the distance, and grasped her elbow gently. "Stop walking away from me!" he demanded.
Furious, Lily spun around, her dark scarlet hair whirling around her back like a fan. Pushing a chunk back, she finally addressed the lovesick boy with flashing emerald eyes. "James Potter. Stop chasing me around! I don't want anything to do with you! No, I will never go out with you! No, we're not meant for each other! And NO, I DON'T LOVE YOU!"
James leaned against the pillar, unfazed. "Are you quite done?"
Lily growled, and made the movement to start leaving again. Yet again, the ever-infuriating James grabbed her elbow.
"What will you know until you give this—us—a chance?"
"Oh, I'll know plenty," Lily assured him grouchily. "Now kindly let me go to the library."
"I'll only follow you there. Just give me a chance, huh?"
"Then I'll go to my room," she persisted. "Now let go of my elbow, or so help me God—"
"Fine," James conceded moodily, releasing her. "Have it your way then."
"Thank you," Lily said, turning on her heel.
She felt his eyes follow her movements, even down to the gentle sway of her hips, and felt uncomfortable. She didn't even want to think about the dirty thoughts running through his mind.
---
"Seems you can't get everything you want," Sirius gloated loftily, rested in the one-person chair.
James smacked the two legs hanging over the arm of the chair, watching Sirius' head jerk up from the other arm at the smack.
"Don't go taking your anger out on me because some bitchy redhead won't give into you," Sirius said grumpily, fixing himself so that he sat properly.
"The only reason I'm letting you get away with that one is because you're my best mate," James shot back, watching the door.
As though reading his mind, Sirius said, "She's not going to walk through that door. Lily's in Ravenclaw, remember?"
James sighed, and rose restlessly from the sofa. "I need to get out; have some fun. I only wish Remus would come back from that meeting with Dumbledore. Peter's sick, the devil."
Sirius groaned, rising as well. "Moony may be on business, and Wormtail may be indisposed, but damn it to hell if the two of us can't find some fun."
James eyed his dark-haired best friend with a grin. "Maybe we could run into Snivellus along the way, eh mate?"
"Better yet, some girls," Sirius answered mischievously. "I think it's near about time you get your mind off Miss Priss. It's a bit pathetic, I daresay," he taunted.
"Padfoot, I'm warning you…" James growled. "Can I help it if I know what I like? I don't lose."
"Here's a different approach, Prongs. Try making Evans a bit…jealous. Finding a girl for you isn't the problem. It's which girl will make your fair-skinned beauty as green as her fiery eyes," Sirius grinned, lifting an eyebrow. "What do you say to that?"
James' hazel eyes wandered the room briefly before nodding. "I can deal with that."
Sirius smirked. "Excellent," he hissed, slinging an arm around James' shoulder. "Now besides Little Miss Prefect, which girl has caught your fancy?"
James could tell Sirius was less than thrilled when after ten minutes of pondering, not a single name had been issued.
Nevertheless, his face brightened and he cheerily pointed out, "Well, at least we won't be very picky. It's any girl and go."
James was a bit put off at the enthusiasm Sirius showed for trying to find him a girl to use. In fact, he even felt a sliver of guilt that he may wind up breaking the girl's heart.
"Don't worry about it, we can find you a tramp. I never said it had to be a traditional girl, did I?" Sirius asked, chuckling. "This is really the least I could do with the way you and your family put up with me. By the way—how's your sister?"
He felt appalled at the question, and looked at his friend with a disturbed expression. "Did you bag my sister?" James demanded angrily. "Sirius, I swear I'll kill you if—"
"Calm down, Prongs. I didn't do anything of the sort with your sister," Sirius soothed, flipping his hair. "You're a very protective brother."
Damn right, James thought.
"Oh," he responded.
Sirius stopped, and flung an arm out to block James' path. "Prongs, I am hurt that you would even begin to think—"
"You did it to Wormtail," James interrupted flatly.
His friend fought a grin, and opted to put his index fingers in front of him. "Yes, but the circumstances were different there," Sirius insisted innocently. "See…Wormtail…he…why, he practically begged me—"
"—to leave her alone," James finished again, folding his arms crisply across his chest. He cocked his head, issuing the challenge for Sirius to B.S. his way out.
His mouth opened, then closed as he searched for a new one, chuckling at James' serious expression.
"Oh, alright, I have nothing, you win. I maintain that Wormtail was being a git, and that was merely to spite him."
James didn't fight his smile, and continued walking. "Where are we going, anyway?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius grin. "To the Ravenclaw dormitory."
---
Lily adjusted her robe and Ravenclaw tie before descending the stairs. Her hand trailed lightly along the rail, and she took the opportunity to glance at who was in the common room.
A few friends, a few other years, and a boy she knew from the Quidditch team.
"Lily!" he exclaimed with a grin, getting out of his chair. "Um, did you want to sit?"
She smiled and shook her head. "It's ok, Michael," she assured him, tossing her long red hair. "Thank you."
She noticed her best friend Carol rushing over, and gently pushing her by the small of her back to the other end of the room.
"He fancies you, you know. Don't send him mixed signals, Lily," Carol whispered into her ear, shooting glances over at the beater. "He's a nut job, that one. Totally psycho."
Lily sighed in frustration. "You mean like James?"
Carol's tan skin flushed at the name and shook her head in protest. "Oh no, James is a handsome wizard. He's so charming, sweet, and…totally enamored with you," she finished dejectedly.
"Like I want the attention from him," Lily hissed, nodding towards Michael who occasionally looked back.
The door to the common room flung open, and Sirius and James sauntered in.
"Speak of the devil."
Sirius walked with an obvious cocky swagger, and James wasn't much different. He just failed to flaunt it as well as Sirius.
"Oi! Is Janine here?" Sirius hollered, smirking at James. "Potter here has some business with her."
Lily narrowed her eyes as James elbowed his friend, and gave a mocking smile to them. "Sorry, but she's in the library."
Sirius' head turned to face her, pleasantly surprised. "Evans," he nodded, grinning widely. "How kind of you to inform us. Thanks," he said, bowing his head in mock gratefulness.
He and James left the room just as suddenly. And James had failed to acknowledge Lily.
"But then, there's that Sirius," Carol whispered excitedly, smiling widely. "He's equally adorable. And twice the charm…" she trailed off dreamily.
"And twice the asshole," Lily muttered bitterly. "Carol, don't even bother. To him, you're just a piece of meat."
"I can live with that," Carol insisted seriously. "But I could be the girl that changes him forever."
"Yes, I'm sure he could label you as 'The One Who Got Away'," Lily murmured dryly, scoffing.
"Do you really think?" Carol asked excitedly again. "Oh…I really could be…"
She groaned, and turned away from her friend. "I'm heading off to the library," she said.
---
Lily ran a finger along the titles of the dusty tomes, looking impatiently for the book on dangerous potions. She was one shelf away from the tables lined up in the library.
She stopped cold upon hearing James' voice from the tables.
Oh God, she had forgotten she had pointed them here. Ew, and he was sure to see her, and begin harassing her again.
"Janine," James said in a friendly voice, lowering himself into the chair.
Lily peered through the gaps in the shelf to see what he was doing. He had taken the chair next to the petite blonde who was grinning deliriously up at him.
"Why James," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "If I had known I was going to run into you, I would have dressed a little better—"
"You look perfect," James assured her with a smile, placing a hand on her arm. "See, Janine, there's a reason I'm here…"
She looked up at him anxiously, hanging onto his every last word. "Yes?"
Lily was disgusted with the girl.
He sighed, and rubbed the back of his head as though he were nervous. "Well, to be honest, I don't really know how to say this…" he said, gazing at the wall.
"Oh, you can do it."
"I'm a bit nervous," he said with a weak chuckle. "God, I-I've never been this nervous before…"
Janine's mouth hung open, and Lily was under the impression that James was talking to a fish with lipstick that was too dark.
"It's ok, James," she said eagerly, brushing back wisps of blonde hair; a bit nervous herself.
"Ok," he replied, dropping his hands to his lap, then bring one back up to muss his raven-black hair. "Janine, I want…can we…no, that's not right…"
Lily saw Janine place a hand on top of his as an act of reassurance.
"I'll just come right out and say it," James told her in a drawling kind of voice. "Will you go with me? To Hogsmeade?"
Lily felt sick, and it felt as though her stomach had plummeted to her toes. What was happening?
There was no way she was jealous. It must have been something she ate, or…
---
James walked out of the library, feeling physically ill.
He figured that in the long run, Sirius was probably right. If he played his cards right, Lily would see him and Janine all the time. And any normal person would probably start to get jealous…
James ran a hand through his rumpled hair absent-mindedly as he strode through the hallways. He knew that it would be a matter of hours before the entire school knew that he was taking Janine out.
As usual, most of the female population would be incredibly bitter, but then they'd figure he would toss her aside in a matter of weeks—again.
He had the tendency to not hold onto any girls for a long period of time. His record so far was three weeks. At least, that's what Lily shrieked at him when he had promised to be loyal…
---
Lily bumped casually into Janine on her way out of the Library, as though she needed conformation about what she had overheard.
"Oh, Lily, I can't believe it!" Janine squealed, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "James asked me out on a date. A date with James Potter. Can you believe it?" she sighed dreamily.
Lily shifted her two books from one hand to the other uncomfortably. "You don't say? That's so wonderful, Janine. I'm so happy for you."
"Yeah…I'm just glad he's stopped chasing you, and seen who really has feelings for him. I mean, you don't even like him. I can't really see how, though. He's so sensitive and perfect. Not to mention how attractive he is. Oh, but I'm sure you don't really see him in that way. He must be awfully annoying to you…again, I can't see how," she grinned.
"Yeah," Lily responded flatly. "He is pretty obnoxious, chasing me around no matter how I shoot him down. Anyway, I have other plans that don't include him. I already know what I want to do after we graduate, and he's not involved in any of them, except the occasional reunion."
Janine raised an eyebrow. "Ok, well, anyway, I need to catch up with some friends. Spread the good news, you know?"
"Yeah, ok, you go do that," Lily insisted brightly. "I'll see you later, then?"
"Bye, Lily!" Janine shouted from across the way.
Well. Mystery solved.
---
A/N: Alright, so that was the first chapter! I'm glad some of you got interested by the prologue. Can anyone tell me why when I upload stars don't work? That's very annoying. Lol, sorry if I sound like I'm on crack, and all my stars show up… Eh.
So I hope you read, review, and enjoy. I quite like this story and I hope you do, too! It's my first time veering away from a D/Hr romance, so tell me how I'm doing! :D
[Submitted: June 21, 2004]