A/N: Yes, yes, I know, I haven't posted in a REALLY long time, but I'm back. OK, I'm sorry if my chapter aren't exciting as they used to be...I'm soo tired, I've been getting home at like 11:30 every night and then waking up at like 5:30 to go to school, so I'm kinda drained of my energy. So if those chapter doesn't seem as good as usual, don't fret! I'm still gonna try and stick to the overall plan of nine total chapters. I don't know if I'm gonna do a sequel or a prequel or anything, I'll see how many reviews I get! So, onto the story!
Love in the Third Degree
Chapter 8
Secret Revealed
James was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He was pondering the events of the past hour. He knew he shouldn't have been so icy to Lily after she gave him a kiss, but he couldn't help it. He was so confused, his life seemed so different. Apart from Lily being nice to him, there were more important matters.
Like his parents. His parents who he loved, who were no longer alive. It had been one month since they had been killed by Death Eaters and he still hadn't told anyone. Only Dumbledore and a few select professors knew of what happened. James couldn't even bear to tell Sirius, his best friend.
That reminded him of something. Lily had confessed to him that her parents were dead too. That was one of the few things they had in common. Not that he wanted to bond over their dead parents or anything.
'I can't think about that now,' he told himself as he turned over to look at the clock next to his bed. James decided to sleep off his worries, he could contemplate his problems in the morning.
*****
Lily went to bed that night in a rotten mood. 'What's wrong with James? I try to be nice to him and that just pushes him further away.' She wasn't really tired (even though it was quite late now), but she had hurried off to her room to avoid Sirius. She wasn't much in the mood for talking to him and answering the questions he would undoubtedly have.
Instead Lily considered her options. She could give up now, and stop pursuing James, but that had its down points. She would have to nonverbally admit to Megan that she wasn't as great as she thought she was, and plus there was the fact that she was indeed starting to fancy James. It was getting harder to suppress those feelings.
Or she could continue her pursuit. There seemed to be more advantages with that plan. She might actually get James to like her back and show Megan just what she was capable of. 'Yes,' she thought to herself, 'this seems to be the best thing to do.'
And with those thoughts she drifted off to sleep...
*****
The next day was a very revealing one for James, Lily, and Sirius. It all started innocently enough when she went down to breakfast and sat next down to Sirius. James, Therese, Megan, Peter, and Remus were already there, eating their breakfast. Peter, Remus, and Megan were having a debate about illegal potions, and James and Sirius were chatting happily about the next Quidditch match.
When Megan spotted Lily sitting down, she quickly excused herself, but as she was getting up she turned towards Lily.
"Oh yeah Lily, I just wanted to remind you that the bet is up tomorrow, you've only got one more day to get Jamesy here to fall in love with you, so you better ante up your nice act to him." Unfortunately, she did not say this in any sort of a quiet way and the whole table heard. This was known by the shocked faces of James and Sirius.
"What?" the boys asked in unison.
"Oops, did I say that too loud?" Megan asked innocently, but a grin was on her face. "Oh well!" With that she turned around and exited the Great Hall. All eyes at the Gryffindor table were now on Lily. Sirius did not look happy.
"Lily, could you please explain what she was talking about? Because I'm sure she just said that you had a bet with her to get James to like you. And now everything is starting to make sense...," he trailed off as realization dawned on him.
James, on the other hand, had a blank look on his face. Lily saw him and cleared her throat.
"I think we need to talk. All three of us." The boys nodded in agreement and followed her out of the Great Hall.
*****
James silently led them to a passageway behind a huge painting of the countryside. He murmured a password and they entered into a small room. When they were all inside they looked at each other. Sirius finally spoke up.
"So Lily, do you want to explain why you've been lying to us?"
Lily took a deep breath. 'It's time to tell the truth,' she told herself. Then she spilled the whole story, from the making of the bet, to her plan to make James jealous (leaving out the part about liking James of course).
At first while she was telling it, Sirius had an angry expression on his face, but it soon turned to a sad one.
"I can't believe you did this to me Lily," was what he said simply after she had finished.
"I'm sorry...," she started, but had to stop, tears were brimming in her eyes. "I didn't mean to get you involved. It just sort of happened, I didn't know it would turn out this way at all."
Lily turned to face James. "And James, I didn't mean-"
"I don't want to hear it," he interjected coldly. "I already know you're a self centered bitch who only thinks of herself. I mean who cares who you hurt, as long as you win your bet." Lily couldn't stand it anymore and started to really cry. James left her with Sirius.
After a few moments of watching her cry, Sirius said something.
"Why Lily? Why? I mean, I actually thought you liked me. It's not everyday that the prettiest girl at Hogwarts goes out with you. I thought we had something special."
She looked up at him. "Sirius, I *do* like you, but only as a friend. And now I feel terrible for what I did to you. I didn't really think about how *you* would feel after I 'won' James over for the bet." Sirius was about to interrupt but she put a hand up to stop him and continued.
"But do you really want to know the truth? I actually do like James now. Hell, I might even more than like him now. I think I'm actually starting to fall for him. Don't ask me how or why, I just am. Now I know it can never happen though, he truly hates me now, worse than ever. I can't believe I screwed things up so much."
Tears started to fall again, making her eyes puffy and red. Sirius couldn't take it anymore, and he hugged her, rubbing her back soothingly to comfort her.
"I'm so sorry Sirius, will you ever forgive me?" Lily sobbed. Sirius pulled back from her and looked at her face.
"Truthfully? I'm not ready to forgive you yet, but I think someday I will be. I know you mean well overall, but you easily get sidetracked by more exciting things. You need to remember to think before you act sometimes," he laughed slightly while saying the last part.
Nodding, Lily hugged him again. "Thanks so much Sirius. I don't know what I'd do without you. I just wish I hadn't ruined things with James."
"You just need to talk to him. Tell him what you told me. But not now," he said looking at his watch, "we're gonna be late for class. We better get going."
*****
James had avoided Lily all day, not even looking at her. Megan on the other hand kept grinning at Lily in an arrogant way. She seemed to be very please with ruining these peoples lives.
'I can't believe I was ever friends with her,' Lily thought as she made her way up to her dorm after dinner that night. Megan seemed ecstatic that James hadn't spoken all during the meal, but she seemed most upset that Sirius wasn't talking to her. Lily had explained to Sirius how Megan had been treating her and he wasn't being to friendly with Megan now.
'It's time to fix things now,' she reassured herself as she shut the door behind her and sat down in front of her mirror. 'I'm going to ask James for forgiveness and tell him how I really feel about him. It's all or nothing."
A/N: Ok, that chapter wasn't so great, in fact it was depressing. But it's 2:30 in the morning and I didn't get home till 1 but I wanted to finish this. I know this was short, but next chapter should be much longer.
Preview of the 9th and Final Chapter: Two separate pairs of ppl snogging, the conclusion to the story, fluff, my attempt at romance, and general funness.
I don't know whether to do a sequel (or prequel for that matter). I might do an epilogue if enough people want one. But my goal for now is just to get chapter 9 done in a reasonable amount of time. And in ch.9 I will do all my thank yous and answers to reviews.
I wish I had a better way to communicate w/readers while writing this series, but I don't know a good way that would work. I thought about making one of those Yahoo Groups, but I don't have enough readers. (Unless I get more! Maybe if I get LOTS of reviews and/or some requests to start a YahooGroup or some other kind of suggestion I'll start one!)
So please, please review!!! Thanks so much for the like 77 I've gotten so far! You're soo nice! I'm gonna try and get chapter 9 out by this weekend while I'm still in a good mood! But first I need some reviews, ideas, suggestions, or things you want to happen in the final chapter!
Ok, enough notes! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!
Love in the Third Degree
Chapter 8
Secret Revealed
James was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He was pondering the events of the past hour. He knew he shouldn't have been so icy to Lily after she gave him a kiss, but he couldn't help it. He was so confused, his life seemed so different. Apart from Lily being nice to him, there were more important matters.
Like his parents. His parents who he loved, who were no longer alive. It had been one month since they had been killed by Death Eaters and he still hadn't told anyone. Only Dumbledore and a few select professors knew of what happened. James couldn't even bear to tell Sirius, his best friend.
That reminded him of something. Lily had confessed to him that her parents were dead too. That was one of the few things they had in common. Not that he wanted to bond over their dead parents or anything.
'I can't think about that now,' he told himself as he turned over to look at the clock next to his bed. James decided to sleep off his worries, he could contemplate his problems in the morning.
*****
Lily went to bed that night in a rotten mood. 'What's wrong with James? I try to be nice to him and that just pushes him further away.' She wasn't really tired (even though it was quite late now), but she had hurried off to her room to avoid Sirius. She wasn't much in the mood for talking to him and answering the questions he would undoubtedly have.
Instead Lily considered her options. She could give up now, and stop pursuing James, but that had its down points. She would have to nonverbally admit to Megan that she wasn't as great as she thought she was, and plus there was the fact that she was indeed starting to fancy James. It was getting harder to suppress those feelings.
Or she could continue her pursuit. There seemed to be more advantages with that plan. She might actually get James to like her back and show Megan just what she was capable of. 'Yes,' she thought to herself, 'this seems to be the best thing to do.'
And with those thoughts she drifted off to sleep...
*****
The next day was a very revealing one for James, Lily, and Sirius. It all started innocently enough when she went down to breakfast and sat next down to Sirius. James, Therese, Megan, Peter, and Remus were already there, eating their breakfast. Peter, Remus, and Megan were having a debate about illegal potions, and James and Sirius were chatting happily about the next Quidditch match.
When Megan spotted Lily sitting down, she quickly excused herself, but as she was getting up she turned towards Lily.
"Oh yeah Lily, I just wanted to remind you that the bet is up tomorrow, you've only got one more day to get Jamesy here to fall in love with you, so you better ante up your nice act to him." Unfortunately, she did not say this in any sort of a quiet way and the whole table heard. This was known by the shocked faces of James and Sirius.
"What?" the boys asked in unison.
"Oops, did I say that too loud?" Megan asked innocently, but a grin was on her face. "Oh well!" With that she turned around and exited the Great Hall. All eyes at the Gryffindor table were now on Lily. Sirius did not look happy.
"Lily, could you please explain what she was talking about? Because I'm sure she just said that you had a bet with her to get James to like you. And now everything is starting to make sense...," he trailed off as realization dawned on him.
James, on the other hand, had a blank look on his face. Lily saw him and cleared her throat.
"I think we need to talk. All three of us." The boys nodded in agreement and followed her out of the Great Hall.
*****
James silently led them to a passageway behind a huge painting of the countryside. He murmured a password and they entered into a small room. When they were all inside they looked at each other. Sirius finally spoke up.
"So Lily, do you want to explain why you've been lying to us?"
Lily took a deep breath. 'It's time to tell the truth,' she told herself. Then she spilled the whole story, from the making of the bet, to her plan to make James jealous (leaving out the part about liking James of course).
At first while she was telling it, Sirius had an angry expression on his face, but it soon turned to a sad one.
"I can't believe you did this to me Lily," was what he said simply after she had finished.
"I'm sorry...," she started, but had to stop, tears were brimming in her eyes. "I didn't mean to get you involved. It just sort of happened, I didn't know it would turn out this way at all."
Lily turned to face James. "And James, I didn't mean-"
"I don't want to hear it," he interjected coldly. "I already know you're a self centered bitch who only thinks of herself. I mean who cares who you hurt, as long as you win your bet." Lily couldn't stand it anymore and started to really cry. James left her with Sirius.
After a few moments of watching her cry, Sirius said something.
"Why Lily? Why? I mean, I actually thought you liked me. It's not everyday that the prettiest girl at Hogwarts goes out with you. I thought we had something special."
She looked up at him. "Sirius, I *do* like you, but only as a friend. And now I feel terrible for what I did to you. I didn't really think about how *you* would feel after I 'won' James over for the bet." Sirius was about to interrupt but she put a hand up to stop him and continued.
"But do you really want to know the truth? I actually do like James now. Hell, I might even more than like him now. I think I'm actually starting to fall for him. Don't ask me how or why, I just am. Now I know it can never happen though, he truly hates me now, worse than ever. I can't believe I screwed things up so much."
Tears started to fall again, making her eyes puffy and red. Sirius couldn't take it anymore, and he hugged her, rubbing her back soothingly to comfort her.
"I'm so sorry Sirius, will you ever forgive me?" Lily sobbed. Sirius pulled back from her and looked at her face.
"Truthfully? I'm not ready to forgive you yet, but I think someday I will be. I know you mean well overall, but you easily get sidetracked by more exciting things. You need to remember to think before you act sometimes," he laughed slightly while saying the last part.
Nodding, Lily hugged him again. "Thanks so much Sirius. I don't know what I'd do without you. I just wish I hadn't ruined things with James."
"You just need to talk to him. Tell him what you told me. But not now," he said looking at his watch, "we're gonna be late for class. We better get going."
*****
James had avoided Lily all day, not even looking at her. Megan on the other hand kept grinning at Lily in an arrogant way. She seemed to be very please with ruining these peoples lives.
'I can't believe I was ever friends with her,' Lily thought as she made her way up to her dorm after dinner that night. Megan seemed ecstatic that James hadn't spoken all during the meal, but she seemed most upset that Sirius wasn't talking to her. Lily had explained to Sirius how Megan had been treating her and he wasn't being to friendly with Megan now.
'It's time to fix things now,' she reassured herself as she shut the door behind her and sat down in front of her mirror. 'I'm going to ask James for forgiveness and tell him how I really feel about him. It's all or nothing."
A/N: Ok, that chapter wasn't so great, in fact it was depressing. But it's 2:30 in the morning and I didn't get home till 1 but I wanted to finish this. I know this was short, but next chapter should be much longer.
Preview of the 9th and Final Chapter: Two separate pairs of ppl snogging, the conclusion to the story, fluff, my attempt at romance, and general funness.
I don't know whether to do a sequel (or prequel for that matter). I might do an epilogue if enough people want one. But my goal for now is just to get chapter 9 done in a reasonable amount of time. And in ch.9 I will do all my thank yous and answers to reviews.
I wish I had a better way to communicate w/readers while writing this series, but I don't know a good way that would work. I thought about making one of those Yahoo Groups, but I don't have enough readers. (Unless I get more! Maybe if I get LOTS of reviews and/or some requests to start a YahooGroup or some other kind of suggestion I'll start one!)
So please, please review!!! Thanks so much for the like 77 I've gotten so far! You're soo nice! I'm gonna try and get chapter 9 out by this weekend while I'm still in a good mood! But first I need some reviews, ideas, suggestions, or things you want to happen in the final chapter!
Ok, enough notes! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!