Chapter Three: Girl Talk
(James' POV)
A few minutes later, the two were alone, Dumbledore having excused himself for the night.
James went up to his room on the spiral staircase. It was perfect, made seemingly for him. Quidditch posters adorned dark red walls and he had a large window on the north side of his room. On the east was his bed with sheets the same red as his walls, along with a bedside table. On the west side of his room was a dresser and the southern wall held a door that led to his bathroom.
"Wow!" He heard Lily gasp below him. She didn't have any stairs leading to her room—a sign that meant she liked living closer to the ground than he did. James always liked being near the clouds.
He went downstairs quietly and crept up behind her. So this was Lily's dream room, eh? Well, it did seem to suit her awfully well.
It was a little larger than James' room, but that's because it had a little balcony to it on the north side. Next to the balcony doors was a window seat, perfect for reading. On the western wall was a bed with mauve sheets that went with the lavender walls well, and beside that a bed stand and then a closet. A large bookcase the south and on the east was a bureau with a mirror. Beside that was a door that he supposed led to her bathroom.
"This is gorgeous!" She shrieked and then surprised him by running and jumping on the bed, laying on her back, content.
James laughed and that caused her to snap her head up and glare at him. "Who knew that Lily Evans was a kid at heart?"
She rolled her eyes and resumed her glare. "What are you doing in here?!"
James held his hands up as if surrendering. "Relax," he said, "I just wanted to see what your room looks like."
To his surprise, Lily frowned and pouted. "But I haven't seen yours!"
James smirked. "Do you wanna go see it now?" He winked and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Lily rolled her eyes.
Better than a glare, James thought cheerfully.
"No thanks," she said dryly. "Now that I think about it."
He was still in the doorway as she got up and straightened out her sheets. "So," Lily said companionably as she walked up to him, "What do you wanna do?"
"Well…" James grinned again and made a gesture to his bedroom.
Lily sighed, exasperated. "Why do I even bother?"
James saw she was trying to make an effort to be friendly and he was being a hormonal prick again… but didn't she see he was just teasing?
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"Of course she knows you're teasing," Remus said as the two walked around the halls one day after classes. "But do you honestly think she likes your comments?"
He had never thought about that. "Well…"
"No, she doesn't," Remus finished for him. "I think she feels a little uncomfortable. Think about it: if a girl started making sexual suggestions to you every time you were around her, how would that make you feel?"
James blinked. "It would depend on the girl," he answered.
Remus rolled his eyes. "Say it's someone who you just don't like that way. How would you feel?"
He finally understood. "Annoyed… exasperated… a little freaked out."
Remus nodded. "Exactly. Look mate, I know you have this huge thing for her, but you've got to back off. You're going to be working together a lot this year, and if you can't get along, things are going to be awkward. I'm not saying that you have to ignore her completely, just try and respect her. Be her friend. Not friends with benefits—because I know she'd never go for that, but just friends. Maybe if she starts seeing all of your good qualities, she'll think twice about rejecting you the next time you ask her out."
"But don't I have to refrain from asking her out?"
"Yes. But I mean, if you see signs from her that indicate she wants to be more than friends, by all means go for it."
"What will the signs be?"
"You know, staring at you constantly, flirting with you, talking with you more…"
"Oh," James said. "Well, thanks Remus. Dunno what I'd do without you… Sirirus and Peter wouldn't understand."
"No problem," Remus replied.
"You're good at these things," James continued as they neared the Gryffindor portrait. "I have to wonder though mate, how come you don't have a girlfriend?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Remus sighed and ran a hand through his light brown hair. "My… secret."
James looked at him. "You know, this is super cheesy, but if she really likes you, don't you think she'll be supportive?"
"Yeah," Remus said, "but I don't think I'm ready to handle what will happen if she is isn't."
They continued their trip in silence: the boy who laid his heart out on the line almost too many times, and the boy who didn't have the courage to at all…
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Author's Note: You'd think it would end right here, right? It was about to, but I decided to be nice and give you guys a longer chapter….
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(Lily's POV)
"So what's it like?" Selene asked.
"What?" Lily asked, confused. The four girls strolled down the halls after dinner, with no apparent care in the world.
"What it's like to be living with James of course!" Alice exclaimed.
"Oh," Lily said. "Well, it's better than I thought it would be. We don't actually see each other that much."
"You don't?" Estella raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Besides classes and such, he has quidditch and is off with the other three planning out pranks and such," she shrugged.
"You don't mind he plays pranks?" Estella raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd despise that forever."
Lily shrugged again. "I've decided that I don't really give a damn about what James does. If he's just pranking Snivellus again, so be it. He's ('he's' meaning Snape) made it perfectly clear he doesn't want a simple 'mudblood' sticking up for him."
All the girls gasped. Estella laughed.
"What?" Lily asked irritably.
"There were so many things wrong with that sentence!" Alice gasped.
"One, she swore," Estella said.
"I swear!" Lily defended.
"Yes, but not in such a casual manner," Estella countered.
"Two," Selena said, "since when do you call Snape 'Snivellus'?"
"I've called him that before!" Lily said.
"Once, and that was back in fifth year," Selene shot back.
"And three," Alice counted off her fingers, "you called him 'James'."
"So?" Lily glared. "That's his name, isn't it?"
"For the last six years, his name has been 'Potter'," Alice said. "Are you sure nothing's been going on between you two?"
Lily threw her hands up, exasperated. "Since when has there been anything romantic between us? How did this conversation begin from living arrangements to boyfriend arrangements? Let me make myself perfectly clear: I do not like James Potter like that!"
"So you do like him though," Selene said, "in some way."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Look, I mean, I don't dislike him. We called a truce. We're going to be working together loads and if we can't get along then it's going to be difficult."
"Little Lily the peacemaker wins every time," Estella grinned.
"Actually," Lily said, surprising them all, "it was his idea."
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Author's Note: It's not supposed to be a cliff-hanger, but the next chapter will elaborate on how this truce came to be, and why Lily seems to be on such comfortable terms with James (I.E.: calling him James, not Potter, not judging him based on his pranks and hexes, etc.)
Also, I normally don't put notes in the middle of the chapter—most of the time when author's do that I find it annoying, but that time I had to make an exception.
Anyway, I really want your guys' feedback… once I get a few more reviews about suggestions or other comments like that, I'll post the next chapter! So until then, toodles!
HoAR (Hall of Awesome Reviewers):
MoNiKa BaTcH: I would turn off the thingy so people who aren't members can submit reviews but my computer won't let me (damn thing.) I press the "save changes" button and it does absolutely nothing. That's exactly why when you click on my pen name I have nothing on my profile thingy. I need something called QuickEdit dammit. Otherwise, I would.
Lille katt: I didn't mean for most of it to be humorous but I don't find it offensive that you find it funny. I'm glad that my stories bring smiles to people's faces.
Mercedes B: You'll find out soon enough what it means.
And thanks to Sailor Miaka, schnabeldame, Autumn Rhea, soccerchic1989, and barnesisnoble for reviewing!