Hey everyone! I thought I would be updating more but I've been SOOO busy so
I'm sorry! I'm going to try to finish this before I go away for march
break! Sorry I haven't updated in like a week! ( this goes to my 6
reviewers!*snort*) And I've been tired and lazy but that's besides the
point! But I'm going somewhere so I won't update for like almost two weeks.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I wasn't a particular fan of that last
chapter. I messed a few things up and the plot didn't make sense. But I
have plans for my Lily bean! And her Prongsie! Thanks to everyone who
reviewed even if they were flames! I appreciate that you gave a review
instead of just leaving the story and deciding you hated it.
Lady of Masbolle- I wake up at 6 too! Agony I tell you! But thanks for reviewing! The first one!!*throws flowers in the audience*
Elspeth Renee – Thanks! I never really thought that people would think I was funny so that's a huge compliment!*blushes*
Milady DeWinter – Thanks for taking the time to review even if it was a flame. I appreciate and I hope this chapter is better than the first. Thanks for the suggestions on the plot but in the fifth book it never said Sirius had to be a player and I don't want to be cliché but thanks anyhow. I will try to stay away from in-text author's notes unless I feel they're absolutely necessary.
On to the third,
The Seventh Year
"It's too late." As soon as Lily heard those words, she removed her eyes from the floor where she had been silently crying and looked up at James, but he wasn't there. He hadn't even said anything. Lily looked behind her and saw Sirius, a fire in his eyes that she hadn't seen ever before. "What?" she asked timidly. "You heard me. I said it's too late," he looked a bit fearful but then continued, "James has tried so hard to impress you and be your friend but your so, so bitchy. Sorry but you are. You're not giving him a chance. He barely bullies Snape anymore, he made head boy and he doesn't hex anyone in the hallways anymore. He is a total opposite now. Black to white. Pink to Puke. And yet you don't even look at him twice. Give him a chance." "He doesn't want to talk to me anymore." "You should've thought about that before you messed up." Lily got up and ran up the girl's staircase leaving Sirius standing there, staring at the fire, casting shadows upon the common room floor. He hadn't meant to get mad at Lily, but James was his best friend. His brother. And Lily was being so unreasonable and she wouldn't let go of her pride. He hated when she was like that. It was stupid. James hadn't done anything wrong! And she treated him like a lesser being. He then looked at the muggle watch that Lily had given him for his birthday in fifth year. It was 9 o'clock. Sirius made his way up the boy's staircase and to the seventh year dormitory. He walked in to find Remus asleep with an enlarged picture of Cali the size of his bed, James looking out the window and Peter was in the bathroom, studying his reflection. "James?" he asked. James turned around and looked at Sirius. "Hmmm?" he replied. "Don't pay attention to her, she doesn't know what she's talking about." James looked doubtful. Ever since he was eleven years old he had loved Lily. He knew she didn't like him and for the matter even love him. But he'd always dream that someday Lily would suddenly realize she loved him and kiss him and they would live happily ever after. Even though Lily never liked him and always liked someone else, he'd kept on dreaming. He thought if he gave up on her, then the feelings would go away. And then, right when he would decide he didn't love her anymore, she would start loving him and he wouldn't be there to return those feelings. James didn't want to give up. He'd never even look at another girl even if she was the hottest, nicest and smartest girl. She wasn't Lily. But today, he'd given up on her. "Sirius, I can't do it anymore. I loved her. I'm going to give up," he suddenly spoke, startling Sirius. "Give up? Like totally ignore what you've done for almost seven years? That's it! You've gone crazy! You've lost your marbles! A quack!" vented Sirius. "No! You don't understand. That's what I'll tell her. I'll tell her that I don't love her or like her and she'll believe me and then I can just push all these feelings away in some little box and leave it there. Forever. It's not that I don't love her, it's just that I can't love her," explained James dejectedly. Sirius nodded, "I understand." Things only got harder for James that month. He tried to talk to Lily but she kept on bursting into tears and running away and then Rylee would go after her rolling her eyes and mumbling things about proud bitches. Finally one day after an extremely awkward head meeting to plan the dance that was coming up in two weeks, James caught up with Lily and cornered her. "Lily, what's wrong with you? I've been trying to talk to you for like a month and a half! Why are you ignoring me?" James demanded. Lily looked up from her feet which she had been admiring, and stared at James. "Um...no?" she replied. "Yeah, you are!" exclaimed James. "I'm sorry! I've been so rude! Now I realize I was wrong the whole time! You really are a great guy so to answer your question that you've been asking I say yes," she said. James almost tripped, which was weird because he was standing still. "What?" "I said yes! You know to being friends?" Lily said. Now James looked like he was going to choke, faint, puke and die. All at the same time. Poor guy. "Uh...yeah," he replied half-heartedly. "Crap! I got to go meet Matt Finnigan for our date! I'm late!" she rushed out of the room leaving James there, looking extremely sick. Friends, James inwardly shrieked. (A/N: Sorry for the in text thingy but I HAD to tell you that I got 14 A's on my report card! Out of 15! And boys are funny when the shriek! Sorry!) I can't believe it! Ah well, it could be worse, thought James. She could like totally hate me still. Man, this blows.
He then turtle-walked to Gryffindor Tower, said the password ("Sugar Plum") and walked into the Common Room to find himself facing the unpleasant sight of Lily and Matt, snogging. Sirius was opposite them saying, "Ewww," and his eyes turned the size of dinner plates when he saw James enter.
"Lily!" hissed Sirius. Sirius roughly dragged Lily away from Matt and gave matt a f*** you look. Lily was about to scream bloody murder in Sirius's face but then stopped when she saw James standing there.
"James? Hi! What's up? Sirius, calm down. I said yes to James!" said Lily bewildered at Sirius's expression.
"Huh? Then why were you snogging Finnigan on the couch?" replied Sirius, mystified.
"'Cause he's my boyfriend," continued Lily, clearly not understanding what the heck James and Sirius were talking about.
"She agreed to be my friend like I've been asking all these years," spoke James, as he gritted his teeth. Sirius raised his eyebrows.
"Oh. Is that SO?"
"Yep," replied James half-heartedly. He walked up the boy's staircase and plopped himself on his bed. Well, he tried to,but missed by about a metre. (A/N: That's about three and a half feet) Downstairs in the common- room, Lily and Sirius's conversation was exactly like Lily had hoped for it not to be.
"Lily, you IDIOT!" screamed Sirius.
"What?" replied Lily, not understanding what the problem was. Maybe Sirius had some gender secrets and was suffering from PMS mood swings, thought Lily.
"The question James has been asking is if you would be his girlfriend not his friend!" yelled Sirius. Just then, he noticed he was attracting the attention of the people in the common-room who had stayed up past 11 o'clock.
"What are ya looking at?" shrieked Sirius, obviously annoyed with everyone. They all returned to their previous activities as rapidly as possible. An angry Sirius Black was not amusing. He turned back to Lily and continued their banter.
"James has loved you for seven years!"
"I can't do anything about it, okay? Everyone tells me I'm insensitive. Oh Lily, give him a chance. Oh Lily, why are you being so mean to him? Well it's because I'm afraid! I don't love him! Why doesn't anyone understand I can't love anyone that I truly in my heart have no space for! Why is it that I'm mean but when a man rejects a girl that's loved him for a long time, she's stupid and he's the man?" exploded Lily.
Sirius looked speechless for a moment but swiftly regained his composure. He then continued, "Well, I dunno 'bout the last part, alright? But I do know that you could at least be friends with him!"
"I did! What did you think I was doing? Drop kicking him to China?" replied Lily, outraged.
"Okay, let's completely contradict what you just said. First, you ignored him for a month, but that's normal for girls. Why they do it is beyond me," added Sirius as an afterthought. He continued, "Well, anyhow, you ignored him then say you're going to be friends. By the way, while this is happening, James STILL loves you. Alright, so James comes back to the sight of you, snogging Finnigan. How do you think this makes him feel?"
"You sound like a psychiatrist," replied Lily dully.
"Well who knows, maybe I could be a psy – what?" came the answer.
"Never mind. Fine. I'll be real friends with him and be sensitive," spoke Lily, her voice dripping with honey.
"That's a girl!" declared Sirius.
"Meh Beh. I'm goin' to sleep," replied Lily dully. Then she smiled a bit and said, "Sirius?"
"Hmmm?" he replied distractedly.
"Thanks for telling me how great James is. I realize you wouldn't be friends with him if he was a daft cow. And I think James would want to thank you, even though we're just friends. You're really a true friend." She then walked up the girl's staircase silently and left Sirius standing there.
"Well, it's a talent," he smirked to himself. He looked at his watch and saw that it was midnight. He made his way to the boy's staircase and ran up to the seventh year dormitory. He walked in to find James, still awake and looking like the world was on his shoulders. Remus and Peter were talking to him solemnly.
"Hey," Sirius spoke as he entered the room. All three boys looked at him and Remus and Peter were trying to comfort James as he was at the point of a nervous breakdown. He sat down beside Remus and stared at James.
"Guy, I think you should give it up," said Peter finally. He continued," I know you love her, but it's never gonna work. I don't mean to be blunt, but it's been seven years. She doesn't like you! You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and clinging to a love that will never happen. You need to let go, and be friends because that's the safest way to go."
Then Remus spoke up, "I agree with Peter. It's never going to work. If you give up, it doesn't mean that she will start loving you. Why don't you just be friends? It'll be so much easier for the two of you and for everyone else. We endured fighting but that was normal. We can't stand it when you're depressed. And I don't think that Cali, Rylee and Keltie get pleasure from having a depressed Lily that much. So get over it." Then Sirius intervened.
"You told me the circumstances and I listened. I can't make this decision for you man. You have to think, is she really the one? The one you could do anything and everything for? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her?"
"YES! That's what I've been trying to tell every single person! She's the only one I have eyes for! I wouldn't care if some girl that was really pretty like Holly McFarland except nicer, smarter, sweeter and friendlier liked me! Because I want Lily! That's It! LILY!" responded James.
Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he said, "Okay, just don't get riled up. Do what you want. Just don't forget to ask her to the Halloween dance in two weeks. Or I swear I'll hurt you." James smirked.
"You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would."
"Wouldn't."
"Would."
"Give it a rest, you too!" exclaimed Peter, obviously annoyed.
They looked at him sheepishly then replied in unison, "Sorry Wormy." All four Marauders headed off to bed, as they had done so many nights before. And for the first time since "The Incident", James was in high spirits.
Over the next two weeks, Lily and James were heading toward an awkward friendship. They talked, but when they were alone, both their minds went blank. They didn't know what to say next because they both had something they wanted to say but couldn't get out. Head meetings were less uncomfortable because their professional sides took over. Before the boys knew it, it was time for the Halloween Dance and James had no date. Sirius and Rylee were going as friends, Remus had asked Cali if they just wanted to go as friends as well, Keltie was going stag and so was Peter and Lily hadn't been asked yet, to James' relief. The night before the dance, the girls were sitting on the common room floor in front of the fireplace. The boys were on the other side of the room, by the arm chairs.
"Holy crap, guys! I don't have a date for the dance!" exclaimed Lily franticly. Rylee looked at her with a jaded expression.
"My God, Lily! Ask James! He'll say yes!"
"James? JAMES? We're just friends! Nothing more, nothing less!" replied Lily tensely.
Keltie stared. She then said, "So? Go as friends! Like Sirius and Rylee and Cali and Remus! If I didn't know better, I'd say you fancied him a tad."
Lily blanched, "I don't fancy him!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart," was the reply. Lily glared then marched up to where to boys were sitting. Making sure Lily didn't see, Keltie, Rylee and Cali winked at Sirius, who winked back. Lily looked at James apprehensively, and then asked, "James, do you wanna go to the ball with me? You know, as friends?"
"Sure, why not?" replied James with a huge smile. Lily smiled back and walked back to where the other girls were sitting not knowing there was an enormous grin on her face at the moment.
"Yo, guy, remember it's just friends," spoke Peter, voicing what the other guys were thinking.
"Yeah," said James, a little angry at his friends. He said goodnight and went upstairs and sat on his bed and took out a quill and a piece of parchment and began writing. Whenever James felt stressed or angry, he would write a poem expressing how he felt. Ten minutes later, he had written a short poem and he smiled to himself saying, "Perfect." He turned off the lights and went to sleep, with a smile on his face. He was going to the Halloween dance with Lily Evans. Things just didn't get better than this.
The next day in the girl's dorm, Lily was woken up by the disagreeable feeling of water on her and her bed. She opened her eyes to see Rylee smirking at her and Cali and Keltie giggling silently.
"Matthews, I'm giving you ten seconds," said Lily calmly. Rylee did what any sane person would do in her situation. Run. Run as fast as her bloody legs could carry her. When she was out of breath she turned around to find Lily, unsurprisingly right behind her and smiled sweetly.
"Lily dahling, I was just playing a joke! And plus! It's a beautiful Saturday and it's the dance! In precisely four hours," she spoke as kindly as she could which was peculiar because Rylee was definitely not a kind person. As she saw Lily's face screw up in confusion as she mentioned four hours, she added, "Yes, you woke up at three in the afternoon."
"B – But ...BREAKFAST!!" exclaimed Lily, distraught. Cali looked at her exasperated and said, "Screw breakfast, we must make you all pretty for your Jamesie." And before she could do anything, she was frog-marched back up the girl's staircase. Oh shit, thought Lily.
Things were going pretty much the same in the seventh year boy's dormitory except the boys weren't worrying about clothes and makeup. They were concerned that James was going to mess up everything which would probably end up being the case. There were four hours until the dance and the boys were planning on lecturing James for about three of them.
"Alright. So we might as well get this shindig started. So Sirius, would you like to start," spoke Remus.
"Yes I would as a matter of fact, Moon man. Ok first of all, don't be thick. Peter?"
"Ah. Yes, Prongsie? Don't hit on her. You're going as friends. And don't talk to any whores like McFarland or that new girl Jessica Lau. Remus?"
"Talk to her, don't ignore her and have an intelligent conversation with her. Oh and don't be conceited, and say thank you. Oh I almost forgot, complement her a lot. Girls like that. When she blushes, it's a good sign."
"Whatever," said James finally. He looked cross and continued, "You done yet? I'll do fine. I've got it all planned out." The other boys looked doubtful.
"Oh bugger off!"
Over on the girl's side, Keltie was lecturing Lily about what to do what not to do and what to say and not to say.
"Ok, be sensitive. I still think the dude likes you but whatever. And don't be daft," she said in a calm voice.
"It's seven. We're ready, so let's go!" exclaimed Lily irritably.
Rylee peeked over the railing of the staircase and saw the boys waiting impatiently. She smirked then said, "Let's go one at a time."
Keltie went down first and looked at Peter as she walked down. He looks kind of hot, she thought. But she still resented him a bit for not asking her to the ball. Down in the common room , Peter was gaping at her. She wore a simple light blue dress with silver swirls. (A/N:I'm sorry for the note but I couldn't describe for beans so bear with me.) Her gray eyes sparkled and her hair was down in curls. Damn, she looks fine, thought Peter. Too bad I didn't ask her to this thing.
"Peter, close your mouth," hissed Sirius. He blushed and told Keltie that she looked great and she blushed. James rolled his eyes and looked back at the staircase to see who was next. It was Cali. She stepped down gracefully and went over to Remus who looked like he thought he was the luckiest guy ever. Cali was wearing a light pink dress with pink pearls all over, and her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun with pink pearls. He was blushing madly.
Sirius and James looked at each other with identical expressions. Oh lord, this is going to be a long night, they thought in unison. Next came Rylee and James was the only sane one out of the boys left. Sirius looked like he had died and gone to heaven. Rylee was wearing a one strapped black dress, with a slit up to her mid-thigh.
"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear. She didn't blush, but she looked at him and went, "I know. Wish I could say the same for you."
"Ha!" said Sirius pathetically.
And finally, Lily came down and James's jaw dropped to the ground, technically speaking of course. She was wearing a dark green strapless tress that was shiny and pulled up on one side.
"Um, you guys go ahead, I'll meet up with you in the Entrance Hall," mumbled James hastily. He watched them leave then took his broom and flew up the girl's staircase and stopped at the seventh year dormitory. He found Lily's bed, which was accosted with books and placed the poem on her bed. He attempted to walk down, but instead slipped and muttered, "Oh bugger!"
He found the rest in the Entrance Hall and found Lily. They waited until everyone else had gone into the Great Hall, which was now decorated skilfully. The two walked and were instantaneously under a bright spotlight, with everyone looking at them. A slow dance came on and Lily and James began to dance.
"So... What's up?" began James stupidly.
"Nothing," replied Lily stiffly.
"Well this is interesting," muttered James under his breath. Lily snorted.
"Isn't? So...Tell me about your family?"
"Well, I used to have a sister, Jenna. But she died on April 12th, the year before she was coming to Hogwarts, which means the beginning of our fifth year. My parents were really distressed and like got so totally over-protective. Everything was miserable in our home. I love pranks but after fifth year, I started to play more because I needed a smile. I know it was selfish using other people's pain for my pleasure. But I was so sad and..." he trailed off gloomily but swiftly regained his composure.
"What about you?"
"Well, I have one sister. But she hates me. Like REALLY hates me. We were close friends and sisters, but when I got my letter she like hated me. Maybe 'cause I always got the attention after."
"Well, we don't need her," said James. He looked at Sirius and Rylee swing dancing to a slow song.
"Quack," muttered James under his breath.
"Tell me about it," replied Lily. She had evidently heard him.
"I'm staring to think Ryles has gotten a soft spot for him. She likes him, but doesn't want to get her heart broken. Oh and she also wants her reputation as "Ice Queen"," she added.
"Sirius really likes her. He has ever since 2nd year. Like I said before, he's a quack."
"Yep."
The rest of the evening went on like this, Lily and James talking like they were best friends. Before they knew it, Dumbledore stood up to bid them goodnight and people began spilling out. Lily and James walked together to the Common Room and reached the girl's staircase where Lily turned to look at James.
"Thanks James. I had a fantastic time tonight." She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled goofily. He walked back to his dormitory a maniacal grin on his face, threatening to split his face in two.
Lily smiled to herself and walked in her dormitory. None of the girls were there yet. Probably off somewhere, snogging. Too bad I dumped Matt, she thought sadly. She got changed into her pyjamas and walked toward her bed. She saw a note laying on top of her pillow and she opened it and read it.
I hate...
I hate the way we can't say how we feel about each other,
Everyone's acting like they're my mother
I hate the way everyone thinks I shouldn't love you,
I just want to scream, fuck you.
I hate the way they try to get me over you,
Like they always think the worst of you.
I hate the way I love you,
Because I'm afraid you'll treat me like dirt,
And I'll just end up getting hurt.
I love you,
James.
A/N: OMG! That took me ages to write! Alright well hope yall like it! I made the poem ALL by myself so I have copyright laws and if I see it anywhere else I'll be out for blood! Seriously...Anyway! Hope you review and you'll get a cookie! And thanks to those who did review! Flames are welcome!!!!!! Thanks!
Lady of Masbolle- I wake up at 6 too! Agony I tell you! But thanks for reviewing! The first one!!*throws flowers in the audience*
Elspeth Renee – Thanks! I never really thought that people would think I was funny so that's a huge compliment!*blushes*
Milady DeWinter – Thanks for taking the time to review even if it was a flame. I appreciate and I hope this chapter is better than the first. Thanks for the suggestions on the plot but in the fifth book it never said Sirius had to be a player and I don't want to be cliché but thanks anyhow. I will try to stay away from in-text author's notes unless I feel they're absolutely necessary.
On to the third,
The Seventh Year
"It's too late." As soon as Lily heard those words, she removed her eyes from the floor where she had been silently crying and looked up at James, but he wasn't there. He hadn't even said anything. Lily looked behind her and saw Sirius, a fire in his eyes that she hadn't seen ever before. "What?" she asked timidly. "You heard me. I said it's too late," he looked a bit fearful but then continued, "James has tried so hard to impress you and be your friend but your so, so bitchy. Sorry but you are. You're not giving him a chance. He barely bullies Snape anymore, he made head boy and he doesn't hex anyone in the hallways anymore. He is a total opposite now. Black to white. Pink to Puke. And yet you don't even look at him twice. Give him a chance." "He doesn't want to talk to me anymore." "You should've thought about that before you messed up." Lily got up and ran up the girl's staircase leaving Sirius standing there, staring at the fire, casting shadows upon the common room floor. He hadn't meant to get mad at Lily, but James was his best friend. His brother. And Lily was being so unreasonable and she wouldn't let go of her pride. He hated when she was like that. It was stupid. James hadn't done anything wrong! And she treated him like a lesser being. He then looked at the muggle watch that Lily had given him for his birthday in fifth year. It was 9 o'clock. Sirius made his way up the boy's staircase and to the seventh year dormitory. He walked in to find Remus asleep with an enlarged picture of Cali the size of his bed, James looking out the window and Peter was in the bathroom, studying his reflection. "James?" he asked. James turned around and looked at Sirius. "Hmmm?" he replied. "Don't pay attention to her, she doesn't know what she's talking about." James looked doubtful. Ever since he was eleven years old he had loved Lily. He knew she didn't like him and for the matter even love him. But he'd always dream that someday Lily would suddenly realize she loved him and kiss him and they would live happily ever after. Even though Lily never liked him and always liked someone else, he'd kept on dreaming. He thought if he gave up on her, then the feelings would go away. And then, right when he would decide he didn't love her anymore, she would start loving him and he wouldn't be there to return those feelings. James didn't want to give up. He'd never even look at another girl even if she was the hottest, nicest and smartest girl. She wasn't Lily. But today, he'd given up on her. "Sirius, I can't do it anymore. I loved her. I'm going to give up," he suddenly spoke, startling Sirius. "Give up? Like totally ignore what you've done for almost seven years? That's it! You've gone crazy! You've lost your marbles! A quack!" vented Sirius. "No! You don't understand. That's what I'll tell her. I'll tell her that I don't love her or like her and she'll believe me and then I can just push all these feelings away in some little box and leave it there. Forever. It's not that I don't love her, it's just that I can't love her," explained James dejectedly. Sirius nodded, "I understand." Things only got harder for James that month. He tried to talk to Lily but she kept on bursting into tears and running away and then Rylee would go after her rolling her eyes and mumbling things about proud bitches. Finally one day after an extremely awkward head meeting to plan the dance that was coming up in two weeks, James caught up with Lily and cornered her. "Lily, what's wrong with you? I've been trying to talk to you for like a month and a half! Why are you ignoring me?" James demanded. Lily looked up from her feet which she had been admiring, and stared at James. "Um...no?" she replied. "Yeah, you are!" exclaimed James. "I'm sorry! I've been so rude! Now I realize I was wrong the whole time! You really are a great guy so to answer your question that you've been asking I say yes," she said. James almost tripped, which was weird because he was standing still. "What?" "I said yes! You know to being friends?" Lily said. Now James looked like he was going to choke, faint, puke and die. All at the same time. Poor guy. "Uh...yeah," he replied half-heartedly. "Crap! I got to go meet Matt Finnigan for our date! I'm late!" she rushed out of the room leaving James there, looking extremely sick. Friends, James inwardly shrieked. (A/N: Sorry for the in text thingy but I HAD to tell you that I got 14 A's on my report card! Out of 15! And boys are funny when the shriek! Sorry!) I can't believe it! Ah well, it could be worse, thought James. She could like totally hate me still. Man, this blows.
He then turtle-walked to Gryffindor Tower, said the password ("Sugar Plum") and walked into the Common Room to find himself facing the unpleasant sight of Lily and Matt, snogging. Sirius was opposite them saying, "Ewww," and his eyes turned the size of dinner plates when he saw James enter.
"Lily!" hissed Sirius. Sirius roughly dragged Lily away from Matt and gave matt a f*** you look. Lily was about to scream bloody murder in Sirius's face but then stopped when she saw James standing there.
"James? Hi! What's up? Sirius, calm down. I said yes to James!" said Lily bewildered at Sirius's expression.
"Huh? Then why were you snogging Finnigan on the couch?" replied Sirius, mystified.
"'Cause he's my boyfriend," continued Lily, clearly not understanding what the heck James and Sirius were talking about.
"She agreed to be my friend like I've been asking all these years," spoke James, as he gritted his teeth. Sirius raised his eyebrows.
"Oh. Is that SO?"
"Yep," replied James half-heartedly. He walked up the boy's staircase and plopped himself on his bed. Well, he tried to,but missed by about a metre. (A/N: That's about three and a half feet) Downstairs in the common- room, Lily and Sirius's conversation was exactly like Lily had hoped for it not to be.
"Lily, you IDIOT!" screamed Sirius.
"What?" replied Lily, not understanding what the problem was. Maybe Sirius had some gender secrets and was suffering from PMS mood swings, thought Lily.
"The question James has been asking is if you would be his girlfriend not his friend!" yelled Sirius. Just then, he noticed he was attracting the attention of the people in the common-room who had stayed up past 11 o'clock.
"What are ya looking at?" shrieked Sirius, obviously annoyed with everyone. They all returned to their previous activities as rapidly as possible. An angry Sirius Black was not amusing. He turned back to Lily and continued their banter.
"James has loved you for seven years!"
"I can't do anything about it, okay? Everyone tells me I'm insensitive. Oh Lily, give him a chance. Oh Lily, why are you being so mean to him? Well it's because I'm afraid! I don't love him! Why doesn't anyone understand I can't love anyone that I truly in my heart have no space for! Why is it that I'm mean but when a man rejects a girl that's loved him for a long time, she's stupid and he's the man?" exploded Lily.
Sirius looked speechless for a moment but swiftly regained his composure. He then continued, "Well, I dunno 'bout the last part, alright? But I do know that you could at least be friends with him!"
"I did! What did you think I was doing? Drop kicking him to China?" replied Lily, outraged.
"Okay, let's completely contradict what you just said. First, you ignored him for a month, but that's normal for girls. Why they do it is beyond me," added Sirius as an afterthought. He continued, "Well, anyhow, you ignored him then say you're going to be friends. By the way, while this is happening, James STILL loves you. Alright, so James comes back to the sight of you, snogging Finnigan. How do you think this makes him feel?"
"You sound like a psychiatrist," replied Lily dully.
"Well who knows, maybe I could be a psy – what?" came the answer.
"Never mind. Fine. I'll be real friends with him and be sensitive," spoke Lily, her voice dripping with honey.
"That's a girl!" declared Sirius.
"Meh Beh. I'm goin' to sleep," replied Lily dully. Then she smiled a bit and said, "Sirius?"
"Hmmm?" he replied distractedly.
"Thanks for telling me how great James is. I realize you wouldn't be friends with him if he was a daft cow. And I think James would want to thank you, even though we're just friends. You're really a true friend." She then walked up the girl's staircase silently and left Sirius standing there.
"Well, it's a talent," he smirked to himself. He looked at his watch and saw that it was midnight. He made his way to the boy's staircase and ran up to the seventh year dormitory. He walked in to find James, still awake and looking like the world was on his shoulders. Remus and Peter were talking to him solemnly.
"Hey," Sirius spoke as he entered the room. All three boys looked at him and Remus and Peter were trying to comfort James as he was at the point of a nervous breakdown. He sat down beside Remus and stared at James.
"Guy, I think you should give it up," said Peter finally. He continued," I know you love her, but it's never gonna work. I don't mean to be blunt, but it's been seven years. She doesn't like you! You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and clinging to a love that will never happen. You need to let go, and be friends because that's the safest way to go."
Then Remus spoke up, "I agree with Peter. It's never going to work. If you give up, it doesn't mean that she will start loving you. Why don't you just be friends? It'll be so much easier for the two of you and for everyone else. We endured fighting but that was normal. We can't stand it when you're depressed. And I don't think that Cali, Rylee and Keltie get pleasure from having a depressed Lily that much. So get over it." Then Sirius intervened.
"You told me the circumstances and I listened. I can't make this decision for you man. You have to think, is she really the one? The one you could do anything and everything for? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her?"
"YES! That's what I've been trying to tell every single person! She's the only one I have eyes for! I wouldn't care if some girl that was really pretty like Holly McFarland except nicer, smarter, sweeter and friendlier liked me! Because I want Lily! That's It! LILY!" responded James.
Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he said, "Okay, just don't get riled up. Do what you want. Just don't forget to ask her to the Halloween dance in two weeks. Or I swear I'll hurt you." James smirked.
"You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would."
"Wouldn't."
"Would."
"Give it a rest, you too!" exclaimed Peter, obviously annoyed.
They looked at him sheepishly then replied in unison, "Sorry Wormy." All four Marauders headed off to bed, as they had done so many nights before. And for the first time since "The Incident", James was in high spirits.
Over the next two weeks, Lily and James were heading toward an awkward friendship. They talked, but when they were alone, both their minds went blank. They didn't know what to say next because they both had something they wanted to say but couldn't get out. Head meetings were less uncomfortable because their professional sides took over. Before the boys knew it, it was time for the Halloween Dance and James had no date. Sirius and Rylee were going as friends, Remus had asked Cali if they just wanted to go as friends as well, Keltie was going stag and so was Peter and Lily hadn't been asked yet, to James' relief. The night before the dance, the girls were sitting on the common room floor in front of the fireplace. The boys were on the other side of the room, by the arm chairs.
"Holy crap, guys! I don't have a date for the dance!" exclaimed Lily franticly. Rylee looked at her with a jaded expression.
"My God, Lily! Ask James! He'll say yes!"
"James? JAMES? We're just friends! Nothing more, nothing less!" replied Lily tensely.
Keltie stared. She then said, "So? Go as friends! Like Sirius and Rylee and Cali and Remus! If I didn't know better, I'd say you fancied him a tad."
Lily blanched, "I don't fancy him!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart," was the reply. Lily glared then marched up to where to boys were sitting. Making sure Lily didn't see, Keltie, Rylee and Cali winked at Sirius, who winked back. Lily looked at James apprehensively, and then asked, "James, do you wanna go to the ball with me? You know, as friends?"
"Sure, why not?" replied James with a huge smile. Lily smiled back and walked back to where the other girls were sitting not knowing there was an enormous grin on her face at the moment.
"Yo, guy, remember it's just friends," spoke Peter, voicing what the other guys were thinking.
"Yeah," said James, a little angry at his friends. He said goodnight and went upstairs and sat on his bed and took out a quill and a piece of parchment and began writing. Whenever James felt stressed or angry, he would write a poem expressing how he felt. Ten minutes later, he had written a short poem and he smiled to himself saying, "Perfect." He turned off the lights and went to sleep, with a smile on his face. He was going to the Halloween dance with Lily Evans. Things just didn't get better than this.
The next day in the girl's dorm, Lily was woken up by the disagreeable feeling of water on her and her bed. She opened her eyes to see Rylee smirking at her and Cali and Keltie giggling silently.
"Matthews, I'm giving you ten seconds," said Lily calmly. Rylee did what any sane person would do in her situation. Run. Run as fast as her bloody legs could carry her. When she was out of breath she turned around to find Lily, unsurprisingly right behind her and smiled sweetly.
"Lily dahling, I was just playing a joke! And plus! It's a beautiful Saturday and it's the dance! In precisely four hours," she spoke as kindly as she could which was peculiar because Rylee was definitely not a kind person. As she saw Lily's face screw up in confusion as she mentioned four hours, she added, "Yes, you woke up at three in the afternoon."
"B – But ...BREAKFAST!!" exclaimed Lily, distraught. Cali looked at her exasperated and said, "Screw breakfast, we must make you all pretty for your Jamesie." And before she could do anything, she was frog-marched back up the girl's staircase. Oh shit, thought Lily.
Things were going pretty much the same in the seventh year boy's dormitory except the boys weren't worrying about clothes and makeup. They were concerned that James was going to mess up everything which would probably end up being the case. There were four hours until the dance and the boys were planning on lecturing James for about three of them.
"Alright. So we might as well get this shindig started. So Sirius, would you like to start," spoke Remus.
"Yes I would as a matter of fact, Moon man. Ok first of all, don't be thick. Peter?"
"Ah. Yes, Prongsie? Don't hit on her. You're going as friends. And don't talk to any whores like McFarland or that new girl Jessica Lau. Remus?"
"Talk to her, don't ignore her and have an intelligent conversation with her. Oh and don't be conceited, and say thank you. Oh I almost forgot, complement her a lot. Girls like that. When she blushes, it's a good sign."
"Whatever," said James finally. He looked cross and continued, "You done yet? I'll do fine. I've got it all planned out." The other boys looked doubtful.
"Oh bugger off!"
Over on the girl's side, Keltie was lecturing Lily about what to do what not to do and what to say and not to say.
"Ok, be sensitive. I still think the dude likes you but whatever. And don't be daft," she said in a calm voice.
"It's seven. We're ready, so let's go!" exclaimed Lily irritably.
Rylee peeked over the railing of the staircase and saw the boys waiting impatiently. She smirked then said, "Let's go one at a time."
Keltie went down first and looked at Peter as she walked down. He looks kind of hot, she thought. But she still resented him a bit for not asking her to the ball. Down in the common room , Peter was gaping at her. She wore a simple light blue dress with silver swirls. (A/N:I'm sorry for the note but I couldn't describe for beans so bear with me.) Her gray eyes sparkled and her hair was down in curls. Damn, she looks fine, thought Peter. Too bad I didn't ask her to this thing.
"Peter, close your mouth," hissed Sirius. He blushed and told Keltie that she looked great and she blushed. James rolled his eyes and looked back at the staircase to see who was next. It was Cali. She stepped down gracefully and went over to Remus who looked like he thought he was the luckiest guy ever. Cali was wearing a light pink dress with pink pearls all over, and her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun with pink pearls. He was blushing madly.
Sirius and James looked at each other with identical expressions. Oh lord, this is going to be a long night, they thought in unison. Next came Rylee and James was the only sane one out of the boys left. Sirius looked like he had died and gone to heaven. Rylee was wearing a one strapped black dress, with a slit up to her mid-thigh.
"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear. She didn't blush, but she looked at him and went, "I know. Wish I could say the same for you."
"Ha!" said Sirius pathetically.
And finally, Lily came down and James's jaw dropped to the ground, technically speaking of course. She was wearing a dark green strapless tress that was shiny and pulled up on one side.
"Um, you guys go ahead, I'll meet up with you in the Entrance Hall," mumbled James hastily. He watched them leave then took his broom and flew up the girl's staircase and stopped at the seventh year dormitory. He found Lily's bed, which was accosted with books and placed the poem on her bed. He attempted to walk down, but instead slipped and muttered, "Oh bugger!"
He found the rest in the Entrance Hall and found Lily. They waited until everyone else had gone into the Great Hall, which was now decorated skilfully. The two walked and were instantaneously under a bright spotlight, with everyone looking at them. A slow dance came on and Lily and James began to dance.
"So... What's up?" began James stupidly.
"Nothing," replied Lily stiffly.
"Well this is interesting," muttered James under his breath. Lily snorted.
"Isn't? So...Tell me about your family?"
"Well, I used to have a sister, Jenna. But she died on April 12th, the year before she was coming to Hogwarts, which means the beginning of our fifth year. My parents were really distressed and like got so totally over-protective. Everything was miserable in our home. I love pranks but after fifth year, I started to play more because I needed a smile. I know it was selfish using other people's pain for my pleasure. But I was so sad and..." he trailed off gloomily but swiftly regained his composure.
"What about you?"
"Well, I have one sister. But she hates me. Like REALLY hates me. We were close friends and sisters, but when I got my letter she like hated me. Maybe 'cause I always got the attention after."
"Well, we don't need her," said James. He looked at Sirius and Rylee swing dancing to a slow song.
"Quack," muttered James under his breath.
"Tell me about it," replied Lily. She had evidently heard him.
"I'm staring to think Ryles has gotten a soft spot for him. She likes him, but doesn't want to get her heart broken. Oh and she also wants her reputation as "Ice Queen"," she added.
"Sirius really likes her. He has ever since 2nd year. Like I said before, he's a quack."
"Yep."
The rest of the evening went on like this, Lily and James talking like they were best friends. Before they knew it, Dumbledore stood up to bid them goodnight and people began spilling out. Lily and James walked together to the Common Room and reached the girl's staircase where Lily turned to look at James.
"Thanks James. I had a fantastic time tonight." She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled goofily. He walked back to his dormitory a maniacal grin on his face, threatening to split his face in two.
Lily smiled to herself and walked in her dormitory. None of the girls were there yet. Probably off somewhere, snogging. Too bad I dumped Matt, she thought sadly. She got changed into her pyjamas and walked toward her bed. She saw a note laying on top of her pillow and she opened it and read it.
I hate...
I hate the way we can't say how we feel about each other,
Everyone's acting like they're my mother
I hate the way everyone thinks I shouldn't love you,
I just want to scream, fuck you.
I hate the way they try to get me over you,
Like they always think the worst of you.
I hate the way I love you,
Because I'm afraid you'll treat me like dirt,
And I'll just end up getting hurt.
I love you,
James.
A/N: OMG! That took me ages to write! Alright well hope yall like it! I made the poem ALL by myself so I have copyright laws and if I see it anywhere else I'll be out for blood! Seriously...Anyway! Hope you review and you'll get a cookie! And thanks to those who did review! Flames are welcome!!!!!! Thanks!