How to Lose a Wizard in 10 Days
Chapter Seven – Personalities Revealed (…Slowly)
By the end of the night, James was getting more and more aggravated. He bit his tongue, clenched his fists together, and even grinded his teeth together to cope with the fact that this beautiful, gorgeous woman he was dating was being the biggest pain in his arse. He knew he should've been more understanding with the whole fry ordeal, but he absolutely loathed it when women would just order a glass of water and a salad and then eat his food, for crying out loud!
By the end of the meal, Lily's salad was untouched while most of James's food was devoured by Lily.
"God, James," Lily said, looking quite pleased and happy. "That was so delicious. Thank you for taking me here tonight!"
Bloody fucking wench taking my bloody food… "Your welcome, Lily," James managed to muster up a smile. "It was definitely my pleasure." He got up and held out his hand to help Lily get up.
"Very gentleman-like," Lily commented while taking his hand. "Another point for Mister Potter."
James grinned. "Thanks m'lady." He escorted her outside.
"So…this was fun," Lily said, twirling with a strand of her fiery-red hair.
"Indeed it was," James replied. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pair of tickets. "Tickets."
"Tickets?" Lily asked. She was praying they were Quidditch tickets.
"Tickets to tomorrow night's Quidditch game," James explained and shot her a grin. "The Wimbourne Wasps vs. the Appleby Arrows – it's at 7 o' clock."
"Oh my gosh!" Lily squealed in her highest voice. "I've been wanting those tickets FOREVER! Thank you James!" She gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Wow, tickets to a Quidditch game and I get a peck on the cheek? How lovely," James replied. "I wonder how I shall top myself next time…"
"Well, worry about that later," Lily said. "I'm so excited! This is absolutely bloody brilliant. Thank you, James… thank you!"
"No problem," James said looking quite chuffed. She was so falling for him! Maybe he should get her tickets to the World Cup. He chuckled. She'd probably marry him for that.
"What's so funny?" Lily asked, hearing James's low chuckle.
"Oh, nothing," James said quickly. Too quickly.
"Who is she?" Lily narrowed her eyes. It was too perfect timing for Lily to test out her new theory.
"She? Who's she?" James said, looking confused.
"Whatever, James!" Lily said, looking as if she was about to cry. "You can't just give me these great Quidditch tickets to make up for you cheating on me already! What is it about me, James? Have I gotten fat? What? WHAT IS IT ABOUT ME THAT YOU DON'T LIKE? IS IT THE FACT I HAVE GREEN EYES AND RED HAIR? IS IT?" Lily was quite actress.
"Whoa," James said. "Calm down, Lily. Calm down. For starters, I'm not cheating on you. Who would cheat on you? You're like the perfect woman. The only thing I don't like about you is that you're way too perfect. I don't like the fact you have green eyes and red hair, I love the fact that you do. You're so different from the other girls. I would never change a thing about you."
Lily was shocked. She didn't know that James could handle her outburst that well. Great, now she had to retaliate. "Thanks honey," She replied sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Now I'm definitely reassured."
"You're welcome," James grinned back. "Now don't go getting those silly ideas in your head."
"I won't, I promise," Lily replied solemnly. "Owl me!" She apparated back her flat with a Pop!
- - - - -
"Ew, God, what did I just say?" Lily questioned herself in a disgusted tone. She shook off that feeling. "At least I'm getting paid for this." She groaned. Doing this was harder than she had expected. Plus now she had to top herself. Lily dug out her keys from within her bag and opened the apartment door.
"Hey lovely," Arabella greeted her. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you for like…days. I guess things are going well with James, huh?" Arabella winked.
"Yeah, things are going pretty well. Pretty soon I'm going to have this guy running for his life." Lily grinned and faked a sigh. "I almost feel bad."
Arabella laughed. "So evil," She commented.
"Yeah, but it's getting harder and harder to outdo myself," Lily sighed, kicking off her shoes and dumping her stuff on the couch. She sat down next to Arabella.
"Ooh, you should make him a mix tape," Arabella suggested. "With all of your songs." She grinned with that evil look shining through her eyes.
"Our songs? We've only known each other for like- oh… I see what you mean." Lily grinned. "I like it. No, wait – I love it."
"I'll conjure it up for you," Arabella offered. "So you have extra time to choose what to wear to the Quidditch game – not like you'd have any trouble."
"Yeah, I love Quidditch Games!" Lily exclaimed excitedly. "Thanks for making the mix tape, Bell."
"You're welcome," Arabella shrugged. "It's not like I have anything better to do."
Lily laughed. "So true."
"Shut up," Arabella glared, furrowing her brows together. "Lana gave me the day off to… 'recuperate' or whatever."
"She's still pissed about that article you wrote, huh?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. "Totally unfair."
"Tell me about it," Arabella sighed, rubbing her temples. "How the hell would I know that witch would sue? She let me interview her! Wench! Anyways, it's all right. Hopefully, Lana will forget and actually tolerate the fact that I work under her again."
"Mm, hopefully," Lily agreed, nodding her head. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."
Arabella smiled. "Go off, choose something to wear! I'm getting to work on that mix tape." Arabella shooed Lily away.
Lily laughed heartily. "Alright, alright!"
- - - - -
The mix tape was a success. So was the outfit Lily picked. Muggle clothes were really nice. Lily decided that she'd wear them more often. She tied up her long, red hair into a high ponytail. She let tendrils of her bangs hang in her face. Lily wore a red tank top (the same shade as her hair) with jeans and some sneakers to match. The result turned out nicely. When she had apparated in front of the stadium at exactly 7 o' clock, James wasn't there and Lily felt a bit uneasy. What if he'd stood her up? It'd be a nice twist on her article, but she really wanted to watch the game. Which she couldn't, since James had her ticket.
"Lily!" A voice yelled through the crowds.
Lily turned around and smiled. It was James… with a bouquet of red roses! Aww, what a charmer!
"I suppose these are for me?" Lily grinned, taking the roses.
"You suppose right," James replied, smiling. "Do you like them?"
Lily inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet smell of her red roses. "I love them," she breathed. "They're beautiful… simply beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you," James murmured as he leaned in and gave Lily a peck on the cheek. 'My God, I'm as smooth as butter,' James thought to himself smugly. 'I. Am. So. Good.'
The kiss seemed to have some electricity…at least, that's how Lily felt. She felt shy, embarrassed, giddy, and happy at all the same time. Let's just say she was a sucker for romance.
"I knew you'd like it." James grinned. "C'mon, let's go in and enjoy the game." He held his hand out for Lily to hold.
Lily smiled. "Oh, before we go in… I just want to give you something… I made it myself," she added shyly. She pulled the mix tape out of her pocket. She had taped a piece of paper on it that read 'James and Lily Forever!'
"What is it?" James asked, examining it. Was this some sort of Muggle thing? If so, he'd have to ask Sirius about it.
"It's a mix tape," Lily replied flatly. All that trouble gone to waste! He didn't even know what it was!
"Mix tape?" James asked curiously. "What in Merlin's beard is that?"
"It's a tape…of all our songs," Lily replied dreamily. "If you put it in something called a "stereo", you can listen to it."
"Oh," James said. "…Thanks."
"You don't like it?" Lily asked, making her eyes big and blinking. She tried to look as if she was on the verge of tears. "But I worked so hard on it, James!" Inside, she was laughing so hard she could almost pee.
"N-no, I love it!" James replied nervously. "I really, really do! Trust me." He shot her a grin, hoping it'd send her out of spastic mood.
"Really?" Lily said, her eyes brimming with tears. God, she was a wonderful actress. She could cry on cue.
"Yes, I truly do," James said, grabbing Lily's shoulder and giving them a reassuring squeeze. He leaned forward and kissed Lily's cheek quickly and grinned.
Lily smiled. "Aww… I love you, Jamesy Wamesy."
"You w-wh-?" James asked. He was shocked… did I mention horrified as well?
"Shh," Lily interrupted, putting her finger onto his lips. "Don't say a word; I know you feel the same way." She embraced him tightly, breathed in his scent and sighed happily.
James felt awkward and patted Lily's back. What else could the poor fellow do? He just had to play along…he returned her warm embrace and smiled.
"I can't wait for you to meet my father," Lily continued, trying to squeeze the living hell out of James. "You two are so alike… I just can't wait."
Okay, now James was seriously freaked out. But, hey – he had to win that bet… he just had to play along the best he could. "O-oh…really, now?" He asked nervously. "We're alike?"
"Yup," Lily replied, pulling away from the embrace and giving James a big smile. "He loves French food, Quidditch, and…yeah. You both just act the same – you always remind me of him. His name is Harry, by the way. He's got glasses like you, too!"
"How weird," James mused. "My middle name is Harry."
"Hmm, what a cool coincidence," Lily gushed. "Gosh, that makes you two have even more in common!"
"Game starts in 5 minutes!" A loud voice boomed throughout the stadium. "Get into your seats now!"
"Oh, damn, we better hurry," James muttered, grabbing Lily's hand and running to the ticket collector.
'Damn, this feels nice,' Lily thought to herself. But instantly, she shrugged the feeling off. She couldn't like this guy!
- - - - -
"God, that was a great game!" Lily exclaimed as she walked out of the stadium and onto the sidewalk. Her heart was beating fast from all the action she had just endured. The Wimbourne Wasps were losing a great deal, 50 – 140 with the Appleby Arrows in the lead. Then, during the last minute, when the Arrows scored 150, the Seeker from the Wasps caught the snitch.
James laughed. "For once, I'd have to agree. But I still think the Appleby Arrows should've won."
"No way," Lily argued, putting her hands up in protest. "The Wimbourne Wasps all the way."
"But they suck," James argued. "They won out of pure luck."
"Or perhaps pure skill," Lily suggested.
He rolled his eyes. "Sure, keep dreaming, Evans," He replied dryly.
"Evans?" Lily mocked him. "All right, Potter." She laughed at him.
He smiled at her. His opinion of her kept changing. One minute, she was this vivacious, sexy, beautiful woman… then all of a sudden, she becomes clingy, needy, and desperate – it was getting really annoying.
"I'm so glad I spent tonight watching this game with you," Lily gazed lovingly at James. "It was wonderful."
"I know," James replied. "So, this is what…our 3rd date now?"
"Yup," Lily replied perkily, tapping James lightly on the nose. "So glad you remembered. Call me tomorrow?"
"Using one of those muggle fellytones?" James asked, laughing. "No thanks, I've spent about a billion years trying to work those things – they don't work for me, damn things."
"Actually, it's telephone," Lily corrected, putting her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. "And, it's not hard to set up. It's actually quite easy and it's a lovely muggle machine."
"At Hogwarts, I practically failed Muggle Studies," James laughed, putting his hands into his pockets and kicking a few rocks on the sidewalk.
"Seriously? Damn, you suck," Lily teased. "Hey, I went to Hogwarts too."
"Oh, really? How cool," James replied. "You're two years younger than me, though."
"Don't tease me about it," Lily warned.
"Hey, I wasn't going to," James said, putting his hands up as if Lily were a cop.
"Good," Lily replied firmly. "I hate it when people tease me – no matter if it's about my age, my eyes, my hair…"
"I don't see anything wrong with your eyes, hair, or age," James smiled. "They're all beautiful; just like you."
"Aww," Lily cooed. "You're so cute. But I have to run."
"All right," James said. "I'll owl you!"
"Good," Lily smiled. "I look forward to seeing how you're going to top this date with the next one."
"Oh God," James replied, burying his face into his hands. "Do you really expect me to top this date? How can you top a Quidditch game?"
"Use your imagination!" Lily smiled, waved, and apparated back to her flat.
