(A/N: Just thought I'd mention that this chapter might have a bit of Sirius's POV as well.)
((Lily's POV))
I don't understand...I thought. HE was the one asking me yesterday...you'd think he would still want to be friends?
"Lily, I'm sorry, but you know, you said some awful things yesterday," Alex said sympathetically. "It's odd, though, you'd think he'd still want to be friends."
"I know!" I said tearfully. "I was thinking the same thing. I just don't understand."
I saw James walk out of the common room, closely followed by Sirius, motioning to Remus not to follow.
Maria stood behind me and said quietly, "I think you're too much for him to handle."
Confused, I turned to her and said, "What's THAT supposed to mean?"
"It's not supposed to mean anything. What it could mean is that...well, Lily, I think James might like you a little. Actually a lot. I think he might be in love with you...but you just broke his heart. He can't be friends until he's over you," Maria, suddenly the professional psychiatrist.
"What?" I asked, still confused. Maria was about to explain again when Alex suddenly cut her off.
"Let's just go to breakfast. We're gonna be late if we wait any longer."
I sighed, defeated, and nodded my head yes.
On our way out, we saw Sirius running as fast as he could back to the tower. When he saw us, he skidded to a stop and held up one finger as he panted. When he had caught his breath, he shot me an accusing look and asked, "Lily. What the hell did you say to him yesterday?"
"What?" I asked, confused. "Who? When?"
"James," panted Sirius. "What the hell did you say to him to make him refuse your apology???"
My eyes dropped to my scuffed-up shoes as I remember with regret all the things I had said to James. "I – Sirius, I –"
Sirius was staring at me so hard I was forced to look up. Seeing the
disappointment in his eyes, I broke into tears again, sobbing hard in
to Alex's shoulder, Maria patting my shoulder comfortingly. What have I done? I thought painfully. What have I done???
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((Sirius's POV))
It was all coming together now. James was in love with Lily. Lily was in love with James. But they fought constantly.
Love is crazy, I thought to myself, watching Lily cry her eyes out, patiently waiting for her to respond. I guess opposites really do attract.
Lily finally looked up at me, her eyes and nose red, a few final tears slowly making their way down her nose. "Sirius, I didn't mean any of that, I was just mad, and – and – I think I might have called him and egotistical jerk more than once," she explained, begging me for forgiveness. "But I was just mad, and it's not like HE hasn't ever said anything out of his temper before –"
"Lily Evans, I am NOT the person you are trying to apologize to," I said sternly, angry with both of them for being so pigheaded and stupid. They are both a pain in my neck, I thought, rolling my eyes.
A wall seemed to have been built instantaneously around Lily's face. It was suddenly emotionless, blank. "Tried," she said softly. "I already tried, I am not trying."
That shocked me. What happened to her? She looked exactly like James did, just a moment ago, in the hallway.
She continued in the same monotonous, quiet voice. "You should know it is not easy to apologize, much less apologize once you have insulted the person you're in love with. And it's even harder to accept that that person that you are in love with does not accept your apology to even try to be friends, but I suppose I understand the reasoning behind the refusal. So, if you'll excuse us, we're going to breakfast," she finished, almost completely silent.
Then she
walked away, Maria and Alex following, shocked at the sudden calm in
their friend. I shook my head in disbelief. What the hell is going on here?
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((Lily's POV))
After I calmed down and explained to Sirius how I was feeling, I walked away, surprised at how I had expressed my feelings. It was like my heart did the talking for me.
I noticed that Maria and Alex didn't follow me, but faintly heard their voices talking to Sirius urgently. I sighed deeply. Whatever, I thought, depressed.
On my way to the Great Hall, I saw James, walking slowly down the corridor. Oh, FABULOUS, I thought, my heart breaking at the very sight of him. Just what I need. No, no, it couldn't be some charming Ravenclaw guy to cheer me up, no, of COURSE NOT. It had to be James Potter. Lovely. Thank you, fate, you're so kind.
James apparently heard my footsteps behind him, turned around, and I quickly averted my eyes to the ground, trying hard not to start crying again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his surprised look and then he quickly turned around and sped up his pace, just as I was slowing down.
A second or two later, I heard Sirius's heavy footsteps jogging past me to catch up with James. He shot me a sympathetic look, but looked back so fast I had to think about whether I imagined it or not.
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((James' POV))
Don't look at her, don't look at her, don't look at her, I said over and over to myself, willing myself with all my might not to run back to her, get on my knees, and beg her to forgive me.
Suddenly, Sirius was beside me. "You," he said, panting slightly. "And Lily, are a pain in my neck," he said, soundly sort of cross.
"Why?" I asked, confused. Sure, we kept not forgiving each other, but that's not surprising, I mean, we hate each other...don't we?
Sirius rolled his eyes but didn't answer. We finished making our way to the Great Hall and quickly found seats for breakfast. A few minutes later, Lily, Maria, and Alex made their way over, as usual, to sit with us, followed by Remus and Peter. Lily hesitated, when she found the only seat left was across from me, but rather bravely, I thought, sat down after a moment.
Although I kept my eyes on my plate, I caught her glancing up at me, more than once. Her eyes seemed rather red.
Sirius, Remus, Alex, and Maria chattered away, keeping the conversation going carefully, apparently making sure every so often that Lily and I weren't going to have at each other.
When we were nearly done breakfast, Professor Dumbledor stood up and raised his hands for silence, about to make an announcement. We all looked up quickly.
"Students, teachers," he started, his deep voice rumbling to every corner of the room, his mouth friendly and his eyes twinkling. "Before all of your first classes, I have an announcement that, I'm sure, will please you all. This Friday, four days from today, we will have a school dance."
Excited whispers and giggles filled the room rapidly as soon as the words "school dance" had come out of his mouth. He raised his hands again, and the whispers subsided quickly.
"I know you must be excited. I, too, look forward to it. Couples are not required, but there is going to be a dance competition, ballroom dancing, and that IS required to have a partner. The competition is for sixth and seventh years ONLY. I'm sorry, first through fifth years, but your turn will come sooner than you think. The judges for the competition will be myself, Professor McGonagall, Professor Trelawney, and Professor Flitwick. We are also going to have muggle dress, not dress robes. I hope to see you all Friday night, seven o'clock sharp, here in the Great Hall. Please finish your breakfast and hurry to your classes. Thank you."
Great, I thought, depressed. A night of stupid girls asking me to dance because afterwards they can go over to their friends and giggle.
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((Lily's POV))
Hmmm, I thought, slightly interested. A school dance. No way am I doing that ballroom dancing competition, though. She smiled to herself. She was a really lousy dancer.
Maria, next to her, nudged her and whispered in her ear, "We've got to go to Charms before we're late." I nodded and Alex, Maria, and I rose up and walked briskly out of the Great Hall.
Once in the Entrance Hall, and the noise slightly dimmed, Alex squealed excitedly and said "A school dance!!"
Maria and I laughed at her and Maria commented, "You should sing, Lily, that would be amazing."
I shook my head at her. "I could never do that, Maria, I'd get such bad stage-fright that I'd probably puke."
She giggled and said sweetly, "I'll bring the bucket."
"And anyway," I said, ignoring her quip. "I'm not that good of a singer. You're just as good as me."
Maria looked at me exasperatedly. "Lily, are you crazy? You're an AMAZING singer. You're like an angel with wings. I'm not even near as good as you."
Alex nodded in agreement and said, "Maria, no offense, but Lily's definitely better than you. I mean, Maria and I can sing in tune, Lil, but you – you make the song sound like – like – well, I don't know, but it's amazing."
I smiled at them but still shook my head. "And anyways," Maria piped up again, "once you get onstage, you're fine. You said so yourself."
I just rolled my eyes, slightly embarrassed at their extreme compliments. "Whatever, you guys..."
We walked the rest of the way in silence, but when we were right outside of the Charm's classroom, Professor Dumbledor came by and stopped us. "Lily, I was wondering about something. We're having a few students perform at the dance. Some are going to sing. Some do dancing acts, comedy acts...you know, that sort of thing, to keep the flow going. I was wondering if you might like to sing something for us and share your lovely voice."
I just stared in shock. How does he know I can sing? I thought bewildered. I was about to refuse, but Maria and Alex, grinning wildly, answered for me.
"She'll do it," Maria said quickly.
"Absolutely," chimed in Alex.
"Splendid," said Professor Dumbledor, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I look forward to it."
And with that he walked briskly away. My eyes bulged and I turned to my two friends behind me. "Mariaaaaaaaaaa!!! ALEEEEX!!!!! I can't – I get such bad stage-fright – you – you –"
"You'll be fabulous, Lily, don't worry," said Alex, leading the way into the nearly empty Charms classroom.
"Yeah. Lily, you'll be great," Maria said, smiling ecstatically. Before I could respond, the rest of the class filed in, including the Marauders, James looking especially unhappy, and Professor Flitwick, who motioned for silence.
"I'll get you for this," I whispered to them, but they just grinned at me.
Oh, they will SO pay, I thought savagely to myself. I am going to DIE on that stage...I wonder, what song should I sing? I guess it could be fun...it's only ONE song...
(A/N: There's Chapter 6! Sorry I didn't update for a LONG TIME, I had tons of stuff to do and went on vacation for a WEEK!!! But here's a nice lengthy chapter, for your enjoyment. At least I think it's lengthy. On Microsoft Word, it's like 6 pages long. Well, I should rap this up before I start to ramble.
Please Read and Review!!!!!!!!!
Lots of Love,
Gwyn)
