A/n: YAY!! Finally the next chapter!
Chapter 11
James knew that Lily had to know...He just knew she did. Lily wasn't stupid- that was nothing you would ever hear someone say about her. Obnoxious at times, a workaholic, maybe they would say, but never dumb. She was one of the smartest girls, not only in Gryffindor, but in their whole year. So if she was that smart she had to know...She HAD to know! It was impossible for someone to act the way James had to someone and them not to think that he liked him. They had held hands, for G-d sakes! And maybe even would have done more, but that damn friend ruined everything.
James watched Lily from across the room. She certainly didn't seem any different or anxious from yesterday. For all he knew, Lily hadn't even realized anything had happened- maybe nothing did happen! James hung his head in annoyance. This was why he didn't try to really like anyone. All the doubt and anxiety, it was torture. He watched Lily talk to some boy, her friend's, (the blonde, Lyle was it? No, it was Lila or Lynn or something.) boyfriend's friend. She smiled and her cheeks glowed as she giggled.
James felt the jealousy stem from inside him. There she was, laughing and joking, and maybe even flirting with that boy, and here he was, brooding, and in one of the gloomiest moods. Well, he wasn't going to allow this to happen. Resignedly, he picked himself off the couch, and walked towards her. He didn't even know what he was going to say or have a plan; but he did know that his goal was to steal her away from that guy.
James smiled as he watched Lily's eyes crinkle when she saw him approach. She moved to the side, giving him room to join in the conversation. James took his place next to her, putting one hand on the inside of his jacket, and with the other, he gave the guy, Terrence, a not-so-light tap, that made him sputter and take a step back.
"Yo, Terrence, my man!" James exclaimed.
"Its Terrie," the boy grumbled, staring at the grounds.
James caught Lily's eye and she giggled, realizing that he knew that all along.
"Come on Terrence, you're not going to change the name your own parents gave you, are you? Because that just aint right. You don't see people calling me...say, Jim, or Jam, or something of that sort, do you?"
"I don't see your point."
"I didn't think you would, Terrence," James said in that loud, annoying voice he had mastered over the years "Its more for the intelligent sort. You understand though, right?"
Lily snorted, trying to hold in her laughter.
"Whatever," Terrie said in the same low, disdainful voice "See you later, Lil."
"Uh, its Lily," James reminded, laughing outright at the Ravenclaw's frown.
"Ok, See you LILY," He emphasized her name.
"I'll see ya," Lily said in a light tone, picking at her nails, and giving a quick nod.
This gave James hope. Lily didn't seem to care too much about this Terrence guy. If she did she wouldn't have said bye that way. James had had many a girl like him, and they would never ever leave with such a casual tone- the last impression was always the one that stayed in the guys mind, so they tried to make their farewells as perfect as possible. And that was far from perfect.
"So, who would have thought, you and Terrence?" James joked.
"You didn't have to be cruel," Lily scolded him. "Its not nice or becoming for you."
"So it really is true then?"
"Haha," Lily answered sarcastically "Actually, that guy can be quite annoying. All of a sudden he began following me around, like the whole day, and he keeps talking to me. I can't take it- we don't even have anything in common!"
"Poor dear," James shook his head, in a mock fashion.
"I am a poor dear. I can't thank you enough for saving me from another boring conversation with him."
"I thought you didn't like me?" James raised his eyebrow, keeping the tone casual, thinking inwardly what a double meaning that phrase had.
"Hey, times change," Lily answered in a teasing voice " I think you are a very nice little gentleman," she patted his hand, and then moved it away quickly, probably, figured James, remembering last week.
"Well, I'm glad I have your approval,"
"Well, I'm glad you're glad,"
"Well, I'm glad you're glad that I'm glad,"
"Well, I'm glad everybody's glad," Sirius's voice piped in, putting an arm around each of them. "So how are my little love birds doing?"
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Lily felt herself blush as Sirius said that. Great. She totally gave herself away. It was like rule number one when you liked a guy: Don't blush when someone makes a couple comment about the two of you. It only made it more obvious!
Lily heard the rise and fall of the voices of the two friends, but she didn't pay attention to the dialogue itself. Instead she focused inward, on the plight she had in herself. She had promised herself that if nothing happened this week, she would tell him, or at least make the next move. And now a week had passed and the day had come. Lily kept making excuses but the clock wouldn't stop on her behalf and time was running by her as she stood at her standstill.
"..What do you think, Lily?" James asked suddenly, snapping her out of her reverie.
"Huh?" Lily said intelligently (not!)
James just laughed and rolled his eyes to Sirius "This one's head is always in the clouds."
"Hey, well so is yours! You guys would be perfect together!" Once again came Sirius's brilliant deduction.
Lily and James looked at each other for a moment before each grinning in their own mischievous way, and each took one of his arms, dragging him to the nearest girl.
"Sirius thinks you're hot," James said quite seriously to the girl, who had frizzy hair, and a rather long nose. She twittered nervously and broke into a huge smile.
Lily giggled softly and grabbed James's arm, leaving Sirius, mouth agape, to deal with the girl.
"That was genius," She finally said when she had calmed down.
"Yeah, well, you know what they say. Great minds think alike..." He trailed off and shrugged his shoulders modestly.
Lily snorted "Don't put on an act, Mr. Arrogance,"
James raised his eyebrows " You needn't either, Ms. Un- Practical-Joker,"
"Yeah, that was a great one," came her sarcastic reply.
"And yours was so good?"
"Ok, we're even," Lily took a breath, and decided to turn to a more serious subject, though she tried to make it sound casual "So, Sirius...he seems to be pretty obsessed with his idea."
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"What idea?" James knew perfectly what she was talking about, but decided to act like he didn't have the slightest clue.
"Oh, that whole thing, you know...?"
"Enlighten me," James smiled at her annoyance. It made her cheeks pinker and she bit her bottom lip just slightly, creating a pretty picture of herself.
"You and me...that whole thing..." she kept trailing off before looking at his face "James, you prat! You know perfectly what I'm talking about, don't you?"
James laughed before saying "Sirius thinks he is the smartest, most perfect guy on the planet and that anything he says goes. Mind you, sometimes he comes up with the craziest theories; you should hear some of them. But, sometimes-" He paused for effect "- Many times, actually, he's not that off base."
James stole a glance at her. He saw her face turn up slightly and her cheeks color. Her eyes blinked rapidly and her lips turned up a bit, as if from excitement. James took this as a good sign. Maybe they were on the same track for once.
"Oh," she said softly.
They stood there in silence for a moment, digesting each other's comments and adding their own commentaries to it. James ran his hand threw his hair and Lily stopped the silence, stepping towards him.
"Stop," she grabbed his elbow and shook her head at him "You'll only muck it up more."
"And what of that?" He asked "Maybe I like it 'mucked' up," He emphasized the word muck, making it sound like each letter was its own syllable, making her laugh.
"Anyways, Don't you have Quidditch practice soon?"
"Crap. Yeah, yeah, I do," James loved Quidditch but today, he just didn't feel like his heart was in the sport today.
"You should go," Lily said slowly. "I don't want the team coming after me with their brooms to bop me on the head with. They will kill me for keeping you,"
"Yeah. Meet me after?" James added quickly after a short pause.
"Sure," She answered, waving to him "I'll see you."
"Yeah, Bye," James replied, and stood there, watching her figure get smaller as she walked away from him before picking himself up, and walking towards the Quidditch Field.
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".................So I don't get why he would say that!" Annie finished triumphantly after an extremely long soliloquy.
"Maybe, its because he likes you?" Lynn said her 'duh' voice that she had perfected along the years.
Annie grinned a bit at the thought, then shook her head "I don't think so. I mean, if I were a guy and I saw me, I would totally walk by. And then hit on you, maybe,"
Lynn arched her neck and backed her face away making a grossed-out expression "Ok, the hitting on me thing sort of freaked me out a bit, but we'll just forget it for now. Now what is this about you walking by yourself?"
"Yeah," Lily cut in "Have you no self-confidence? You are waaay prettier then half the girls in our school."
"So, she talks?" questioned Joy.
"Huh?"
"Well, you've been pre-etty quiet tonight," Lynn supported "Whatcha been thinking about?"
"Oh....things," Lily trailed off vaguely "You know, the usual stuff."
"Well, if it were the usual stuff then you would be acting the way you do usually. But you're not, so spill!" Annie demanded, pulling a tuft of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, come on, Lily, we're your friends," Joy emphasized, "So tell all."
Lily thought for a moment, contemplating if she should confess, or just dance around everything without giving herself away. Thought the latter was her usual tactic, she took a deep breath and decided that in this case, maybe the former was the better choice. She was just so bogged down in the whole James thing, and she was beginning to feel torn apart.
"Ok, promise not to make a fuss?" Lily made a stern face as she said this to show she was serious.
"We are totally cool. I mean come on, when have I ever made a big fuss?" Lynn answered.
Lily smirked and decided to skip over the last comment Lynn made, and launched into her problem "Well..............Ok, so I sort of like this guy. I mean no big deal, but ya know, a bit of a crush. And he hasn't really said anything about what he thinks. I mean, there's been hints, I guess, but no real foundation to anything, and neither of us brought it up. And, its not a big thing, but I was wondering if I should, or if I shouldn't or whatever............."She said this all rather quickly and then trailed off once again, keeping her eyes to the floor.
"What kind of hints?"
"Oh, I don't know...I guess sort of touchy feely. And I'm not sure if we flirt or not, maybe we do. And we sort of held hands once.....and then you guys interrupted!" Lily huffed.
"You guys held hands?" Lynn intervened "Ok, hello, that is a pre-etty major sign! James totally likes you anyways. I mean I could have told you that weeks ago!"
"Uh, did the name James even come out of lips once?" Lily exclaimed. She sighed in dismay, but she knew this would have happened anyways.
"You didn't have to," Joy smiled wryly as she answered.
"Fine, so maybe, possibly, SLIGHTLY, there's an utter chance its him," Lily was not good at admitting anything that was secretive, no matter who she was talking to "But anyways, what should I do?"
"Confront him!" Lynn practically yelled "I mean for G-d's sakes, this is getting crazy already,"
"You really think I should?" Lily asked doubtfully.
All three heads nodded simultaneously, their hair bobbing up and down along with their vigorous heads. Lily sighed, and squaring her shoulders, decided to finally take life into her own hands. First thing tomorrow. After classes.
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James was already one step ahead of Lily, having decided on the confrontation too long ago. He had looked all over for her after practice, but to no avail, because she was nowhere to be found. Annoyed, he had gone back to his dorms, requesting advice from Sirius, which went along the lines of:
"Are you wearing lipstick and a padded bra? Because you're acting like it! Stop being girly and be a man...Or an aging adolescent for that matter. Go tell her already. Better yet, skip the telling, and just snog her. It makes it a hell of a lot easier."
James laughed softly as he thought of that, shaking his head and Sirius's logic. He lifted his gaze from the floor and stopped mid-laugh when they rested on Lily. Her hair was pulled into a loose pony, with loose strands every which way, and her face looked a bit droopy. She looked as if she hadn't slept all night. She was dressed in her robes, but they were wrinkled and looked as if Lily had dug them out of the bottom of a dusty box, where it had been for the past decade. She was standing apprehensively and tapping her foot, as if she waiting for someone. Her eyes kept darting around the room, until they rested on his for a moment. Then she turned away abruptly.
James squared his shoulders, and decided there was no point in standing around, and not do anything; Lily had spied him anyways. He walked up to her and poked her back with his quill.
Lily stiffened for a moment, and turned around "Ouch!" She said tonelessly, when she saw who it was, but the annoyed look in her eyes showed the sort of tone she meant to convey.
"Top of the morning to you too" James answered cheerfully.
"You needn't poke so hard," she scolded as she rubbed her back.
"Why, thank you, I'm doing great, too."
"What if I had a bad back?" Lily went on in the same toneless, sleepy voice.
"Might I say you look extremely lovely today?"
Lily stopped her tirade and glared at him, putting her arms on her hips.
"What?" James asked defensively.
"You don't have to rub it in that I looked like a peeled potato," Lily said self-consciously, pulling her hair out of the pony, and tried to pull it in a neater one.
"I didn't mean it like that!" James protested.
Lily gave him an exasperated look as she tried to smoothen out her robes "But you did,"
"Ok, so maybe I did mean it in that..er, sarcastic way, but I didn't mean to rub it. I just meant that you look really tired."
Lily seemed to drop her annoyed demeanor and smiled a bit sadly "I am. I didn't get too much sleep last night. I don't- " she stopped to stifle a large yawn.
James chuckled "What kept you up into the wee hours?"
Lily stopped for a moment, and after a pause she said slowly "Oh, not one thing, really. A whole group of things, I guess." she yawned again.
James couldn't help but his arm around her gently. She just looked so cute when she yawned. Her face scrunched up, making all her freckles come together, and she looked younger and more vulnerable. Lily looked up at him in surprise, which spurred him to quickly loosen it, so he moved his arm so that it was barely touching her waist.
Lily moaned "I'm not going to make it through classes," She leaned against him for a moment as if to gather her strength, and then flopped on to the couch in back of her.
James sat down next to her, watching her spread herself along the couch. All of a sudden, he realized that they were all alone. Everyone had gone down for breakfast, leaving them up her by themselves. Now would be the perfect time to tell her, he realized with a start.
Lily began to shiver "Its soo cold," she shivered, her teeth chattering.
James took the opportunity quickly, and moved closer to her. He put his hands on hers, and when she looked at him strangely, he explained "I'm going to warm your hands up like this," as he began to rub her hands, slowly at first, and then more vigorously.
Lily sat totally still for a moment and then said suddenly "The debates in three days,"
"So I've heard," he tried to keep the tone casual, but he was annoyed that the moment was ruined. Maybe Lily didn't like him. Maybe she just thought of him as her schoolwork friend. After all, here he was with his hands on hers, and the debate was the only topic that she thought was a topic befitting for a time like this?
"So, have you finished your part?" She sat up straight, wrenching her hands out his, and swerving to face him.
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Lily groaned inwardly at herself. She had been just so nervous with James hands on hers, so she had to bring conversation around to the debate. Of course Lily had to dominate the conversation, and be the annoying obnoxious person. She almost couldn't help it- it was like instinct.
"Well....I've done a part," he mumbled.
"We all had to do fifteen pages- five different points- how many did you do?" Lily asked, curious now.
"Two points," he almost whispered.
All of a sudden, Lily really was mad. She knew she must have been glaring horribly at him now. Only six pages! Only two points! They had to practice everything together tomorrow. And now everything was ruined- they couldn't debate without the parts James was supposed to do. He had all the con side except for two points Lily was doing.
"You..You...WHAT?" She finally blurted out "I am going to kill you! I mean it! We've had MONTHS to work on this. So, you're telling me that basically we're screwed. Right?"
"I've been really occupied lately, ok? I'll finish all today. I'll do it the whole day- I'll get excused from classes from Dumbledore. We'll finish, so calm down," James snapped, moving away from her.
"Yes, but now, we'll suck! I wish that McGonagol didn't switch me into your group. You always screw things up," She said angrily, not even thinking.
James faces contorted angrily when she said that "What is your problem, Lily? I said I'm sorry, I said I'll finish it, and I'll do a damn good job on it, ok?"
"Yeah, you SAY that. You say a lot of things!"
"You know, winning and school isn't everything. Some people value friendship, and good times, and having a life, which you obviously don't. All you do is study, and nothing else. You don't even enjoy anything!"
Lily stared at him, not moving her position. She could feel her body shaking slightly, from anger or shock, she didn't know. All she knew was that no one had ever said such mean things to her before. She felt like James had spit at her or hit or something along the line- it really hurt. She looked down at the couch, trying to gather her spirits.
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All of a sudden James felt like the worst person in the universe for what he had just said. The look on Lily's face, it had been heart wrenching to see. She had looked so hurt, and betrayed, like he had ruined her trust.
"I'm sorry," James said softly.
"Shut up,"
"I really am sorry," James said louder, stroking the bottom of her hair. She turned her head, so that her hair moved out of his grasp.
"No, you're not. You meant everything you said. You think I'm a loser or a freak or something. Well, I don't care! I never wanted to be friends with you in the first place so you'll be no loss to me. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way," Lily bored her eyes into him as she said this. "Its not a big deal."
"It is to me!" James almost yelped, grabbing her arms, so that she was facing him.
She struggled to get up "Let me go, James!"
"Wait, hear me out," James pleaded.
"I don't need to hear you out. You've already said everything you had to say," She tried to remain emotionless, but James saw tears welling up in her eyes.
But just as she was about to get up, James realized this was his only chance, so he pulled her to him and kissed her lightly on her lips, pulling away quickly to see her reaction. Just from the second of contact with her lips, James felt how soft they were, and how nervous and scared and sad she felt. Lily reared her face back, her pupils dilated. Her mouth was set in a small o, and her arms were hanging limply at her sides.
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Lily felt numb. She felt like she had just woken from a dream. It wasn't possible that James kissed her. They had just been fighting, like they would never speak again, and James had just kissed her.
When Lily still didn't respond, she felt James take her hands in his, and press against them gently. She was already familiar to the touch of his hand, but the sensation was new- she had always gotten chills, but the kiss, though small, seem to have magnified all her senses and just from the touch she felt in another world. Lily looked up into his eyes, and saw that she wasn't the only nervous one. He was clenching his jaw tightly, and his seemed to be searching hers for an answer.
Finally Lily broke the silence "I thought I saw you flirting with Mal-" she stopped abruptly when she saw the alarmed look on his face, and decided that wasn't the direction to go in " Why the hell did you just do that?"
Well, that probably wasn't much better.
However, James seemed to relax, and he looked as if he was holding in chuckle "I've always wondered what a peeled potato would be like to kiss, so I decided to take up the opportunity,"
"Huh?" Lily felt utterly confused- where did peeled potatoes come in?
"You said you looked like a peeled potato,"
"I did?" she asked.
"Yeah, like five minutes ago," James looked equally confused.
"Oh," Lily understood suddenly "Well, I tend to talk rubbish and forget it a moment after when you look at me a certain way sometimes," she admitted, deciding there was no reason to keep anything under wraps now.
All of a sudden, a huge smile spread across James face. He began laughing, and pulled Lily into his arms, her face pressed against his chest. Lily felt his chest ripple with laughter, and smelled a faint whiff of peaches coming from his sweatshirt. His arms held her securely, but gently, and she snuggled her face in the folds of his sweatshirt feeling those feelings waft over her again. Being in his arms- it felt perfect.
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James looked down at the face pressed against his chest. Her eyes were closed peacefully and her mouth was smiling serenely. He pulled her closer to him, moving her face closer to his shoulder. She giggled into his shirt, sending electricity surging through his body. James felt her hair tickle him as he laid his head on her and felt a new energy in him. All of a sudden he wanted to run and jump and do a cartwheel (though he had never known how to do one), and at the same time snuggle with Lily in his arms.
They stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying each other's presence. Finally Lily moved her face away slowly and looked up at him. James peered down at her, her green eyes moving uncertainly, tracing his features. James cupped her chin with his hand, and moved closer to her so they were eye level. Lily stared wide-eyed, in a child like way, and he noticed that she was holding her breath, waiting for his next move.
James felt the heat that radiated from her as his face moved closer to her. The second their lips touched for the second time, James knew that Lily was different from any girl he had ever met. Her kisses were more slow and uncertain, but with a soft passion that blew him away. Lily pressed her body against his, increasing the pressure. James ran his tongue against her teeth and she opened her mouth more, deepening the kiss. She moaned softly as he bit her bottom lip gently. Lily ran her hand through his hair, sending shivers all over his scalp. James hands moved from around her waist to her face, as he gently traced the outline of her cheeks, moving them down her defined cheekbones. Finally Lily pulled away, breathing heavily.
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Wow was the only thing Lily could think after the kiss she had just received. Staring at James from her lowered eyelashes, she re-livened the kiss and imagined a thousand more kisses like that, all perfect. James pressed her forehead against hers, a huge grin on her face. Lily's smile widened at his, and she realized how goofy it must have looked, but she didn't care.
"I didn't-" She started just as he said "I thought-"
They both stopped, looked at each other, and began to laugh. James regained his composure quickly and said "Me first. 'K?"
Lily nodded in response, and waited in anticipation for his words.
"Ok, Lily I like you. a lot," He started.
" I had no idea!" Lily said in mock surprise, then giggled.
"Ha, ha," James rolled his eyes and continued "Really, Lily. So like I said, I like you. I don't know how it started but it did and it wouldn't go away. And to be honest, it felt pretty great. The only bad part was not knowing if you like me. You don't know how annoying it was not being able to tell you how I really felt or kiss you or stuff like that. I mean, every time I tried anything, you started a fight or you moved away, and somehow it just didn't work out. But now, I guess my question was answered. Right?" He took her hand in his, and massaged it gently with his thumb, tickling her sensations.
"I don't know how annoying it was? Do you see these damn bags under my eyes! All your fault! I couldn't even sleep because of you, ok? I mean first you would be all sweet and cute-" she paused at James arrogant look and rolling her eyes, continued "Oh, stop it with that look. Anyways, then all of a sudden you would become obnoxious James, and then you would go flirt with someone else. What was I supposed to think?" She threw her hands up at the end of her tirade, and he caught them, and placed them around him, pulling her into a hug.
"That I was playing hard-to-get?" James whispered into her hair.
"That's my job!" Lily protested.
"And you did a pretty good job at it," James paused for a moment "So what about the debate?"
Lily buried her head in his shirt again and her muffle voiced said "I'll get an excuse from Dumbledore also,"
Lily felt shivers just from seeing the huge smile that came over his face. He just made the cutest expressions sometimes- His glasses would move up as he tilted his face upward and wrinkled his forehead, his cheeks widened from his smile. She couldn't help it and leaned over to kiss his nose.
James wrinkled the feature at her and she giggled.
"Sirius was right," James said thoughtfully "Damn, that's a first!"
He stood up and used both arms to pull Lily up from her position on the couch. She placed her hand in his as she said "I thought you said he was usually right?"
"I lied," James smirked "But he was right for once,"
"About what?" Lily asked, as he kissed her cheek.
"Oh, nothing........." James trailed off.
Hand in hand, they walked to Dumbledore's office, each thinking they were luckier than the other. Right before they entered, James stopped her suddenly, pulling her around the corridor.
Lily looked at him, confused "I thought we were going to Dumbledore's?"
"We are. I just want to tell you that I'm not using you like the other girls. This," he put his arms out to signify what he was talking about "is real. Totally real. Ok?"
"You dumbass," Lily shook her head at him "I know that,"
"For the record you are more of a dumbass then me, but forget about for a second. How?" James said, drawing her closer to him.
"We both know you are more of a dumbass then me," Lily scrutinized.
"Ok, we do know that, but I have my pride! I won't admit it. But how do you know about what I said?" James asked once again.
Sometimes you just know things," Lily said softly, thinking about the feeling in her telling at her that they would be together for a looooooong time.
Satisfied with her answer, James brought his face to hers again, and they both tasted paradise for the second of many times.
THE END!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay!! It is finito! I am not sure if I will make an epilogue yet, but there will definitely be a chapter to thank all my AMAZING reviewers who I LOVE to death! R/R!!
Chapter 11
James knew that Lily had to know...He just knew she did. Lily wasn't stupid- that was nothing you would ever hear someone say about her. Obnoxious at times, a workaholic, maybe they would say, but never dumb. She was one of the smartest girls, not only in Gryffindor, but in their whole year. So if she was that smart she had to know...She HAD to know! It was impossible for someone to act the way James had to someone and them not to think that he liked him. They had held hands, for G-d sakes! And maybe even would have done more, but that damn friend ruined everything.
James watched Lily from across the room. She certainly didn't seem any different or anxious from yesterday. For all he knew, Lily hadn't even realized anything had happened- maybe nothing did happen! James hung his head in annoyance. This was why he didn't try to really like anyone. All the doubt and anxiety, it was torture. He watched Lily talk to some boy, her friend's, (the blonde, Lyle was it? No, it was Lila or Lynn or something.) boyfriend's friend. She smiled and her cheeks glowed as she giggled.
James felt the jealousy stem from inside him. There she was, laughing and joking, and maybe even flirting with that boy, and here he was, brooding, and in one of the gloomiest moods. Well, he wasn't going to allow this to happen. Resignedly, he picked himself off the couch, and walked towards her. He didn't even know what he was going to say or have a plan; but he did know that his goal was to steal her away from that guy.
James smiled as he watched Lily's eyes crinkle when she saw him approach. She moved to the side, giving him room to join in the conversation. James took his place next to her, putting one hand on the inside of his jacket, and with the other, he gave the guy, Terrence, a not-so-light tap, that made him sputter and take a step back.
"Yo, Terrence, my man!" James exclaimed.
"Its Terrie," the boy grumbled, staring at the grounds.
James caught Lily's eye and she giggled, realizing that he knew that all along.
"Come on Terrence, you're not going to change the name your own parents gave you, are you? Because that just aint right. You don't see people calling me...say, Jim, or Jam, or something of that sort, do you?"
"I don't see your point."
"I didn't think you would, Terrence," James said in that loud, annoying voice he had mastered over the years "Its more for the intelligent sort. You understand though, right?"
Lily snorted, trying to hold in her laughter.
"Whatever," Terrie said in the same low, disdainful voice "See you later, Lil."
"Uh, its Lily," James reminded, laughing outright at the Ravenclaw's frown.
"Ok, See you LILY," He emphasized her name.
"I'll see ya," Lily said in a light tone, picking at her nails, and giving a quick nod.
This gave James hope. Lily didn't seem to care too much about this Terrence guy. If she did she wouldn't have said bye that way. James had had many a girl like him, and they would never ever leave with such a casual tone- the last impression was always the one that stayed in the guys mind, so they tried to make their farewells as perfect as possible. And that was far from perfect.
"So, who would have thought, you and Terrence?" James joked.
"You didn't have to be cruel," Lily scolded him. "Its not nice or becoming for you."
"So it really is true then?"
"Haha," Lily answered sarcastically "Actually, that guy can be quite annoying. All of a sudden he began following me around, like the whole day, and he keeps talking to me. I can't take it- we don't even have anything in common!"
"Poor dear," James shook his head, in a mock fashion.
"I am a poor dear. I can't thank you enough for saving me from another boring conversation with him."
"I thought you didn't like me?" James raised his eyebrow, keeping the tone casual, thinking inwardly what a double meaning that phrase had.
"Hey, times change," Lily answered in a teasing voice " I think you are a very nice little gentleman," she patted his hand, and then moved it away quickly, probably, figured James, remembering last week.
"Well, I'm glad I have your approval,"
"Well, I'm glad you're glad,"
"Well, I'm glad you're glad that I'm glad,"
"Well, I'm glad everybody's glad," Sirius's voice piped in, putting an arm around each of them. "So how are my little love birds doing?"
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Lily felt herself blush as Sirius said that. Great. She totally gave herself away. It was like rule number one when you liked a guy: Don't blush when someone makes a couple comment about the two of you. It only made it more obvious!
Lily heard the rise and fall of the voices of the two friends, but she didn't pay attention to the dialogue itself. Instead she focused inward, on the plight she had in herself. She had promised herself that if nothing happened this week, she would tell him, or at least make the next move. And now a week had passed and the day had come. Lily kept making excuses but the clock wouldn't stop on her behalf and time was running by her as she stood at her standstill.
"..What do you think, Lily?" James asked suddenly, snapping her out of her reverie.
"Huh?" Lily said intelligently (not!)
James just laughed and rolled his eyes to Sirius "This one's head is always in the clouds."
"Hey, well so is yours! You guys would be perfect together!" Once again came Sirius's brilliant deduction.
Lily and James looked at each other for a moment before each grinning in their own mischievous way, and each took one of his arms, dragging him to the nearest girl.
"Sirius thinks you're hot," James said quite seriously to the girl, who had frizzy hair, and a rather long nose. She twittered nervously and broke into a huge smile.
Lily giggled softly and grabbed James's arm, leaving Sirius, mouth agape, to deal with the girl.
"That was genius," She finally said when she had calmed down.
"Yeah, well, you know what they say. Great minds think alike..." He trailed off and shrugged his shoulders modestly.
Lily snorted "Don't put on an act, Mr. Arrogance,"
James raised his eyebrows " You needn't either, Ms. Un- Practical-Joker,"
"Yeah, that was a great one," came her sarcastic reply.
"And yours was so good?"
"Ok, we're even," Lily took a breath, and decided to turn to a more serious subject, though she tried to make it sound casual "So, Sirius...he seems to be pretty obsessed with his idea."
************************************************************** *
"What idea?" James knew perfectly what she was talking about, but decided to act like he didn't have the slightest clue.
"Oh, that whole thing, you know...?"
"Enlighten me," James smiled at her annoyance. It made her cheeks pinker and she bit her bottom lip just slightly, creating a pretty picture of herself.
"You and me...that whole thing..." she kept trailing off before looking at his face "James, you prat! You know perfectly what I'm talking about, don't you?"
James laughed before saying "Sirius thinks he is the smartest, most perfect guy on the planet and that anything he says goes. Mind you, sometimes he comes up with the craziest theories; you should hear some of them. But, sometimes-" He paused for effect "- Many times, actually, he's not that off base."
James stole a glance at her. He saw her face turn up slightly and her cheeks color. Her eyes blinked rapidly and her lips turned up a bit, as if from excitement. James took this as a good sign. Maybe they were on the same track for once.
"Oh," she said softly.
They stood there in silence for a moment, digesting each other's comments and adding their own commentaries to it. James ran his hand threw his hair and Lily stopped the silence, stepping towards him.
"Stop," she grabbed his elbow and shook her head at him "You'll only muck it up more."
"And what of that?" He asked "Maybe I like it 'mucked' up," He emphasized the word muck, making it sound like each letter was its own syllable, making her laugh.
"Anyways, Don't you have Quidditch practice soon?"
"Crap. Yeah, yeah, I do," James loved Quidditch but today, he just didn't feel like his heart was in the sport today.
"You should go," Lily said slowly. "I don't want the team coming after me with their brooms to bop me on the head with. They will kill me for keeping you,"
"Yeah. Meet me after?" James added quickly after a short pause.
"Sure," She answered, waving to him "I'll see you."
"Yeah, Bye," James replied, and stood there, watching her figure get smaller as she walked away from him before picking himself up, and walking towards the Quidditch Field.
************************************************************** ********
".................So I don't get why he would say that!" Annie finished triumphantly after an extremely long soliloquy.
"Maybe, its because he likes you?" Lynn said her 'duh' voice that she had perfected along the years.
Annie grinned a bit at the thought, then shook her head "I don't think so. I mean, if I were a guy and I saw me, I would totally walk by. And then hit on you, maybe,"
Lynn arched her neck and backed her face away making a grossed-out expression "Ok, the hitting on me thing sort of freaked me out a bit, but we'll just forget it for now. Now what is this about you walking by yourself?"
"Yeah," Lily cut in "Have you no self-confidence? You are waaay prettier then half the girls in our school."
"So, she talks?" questioned Joy.
"Huh?"
"Well, you've been pre-etty quiet tonight," Lynn supported "Whatcha been thinking about?"
"Oh....things," Lily trailed off vaguely "You know, the usual stuff."
"Well, if it were the usual stuff then you would be acting the way you do usually. But you're not, so spill!" Annie demanded, pulling a tuft of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, come on, Lily, we're your friends," Joy emphasized, "So tell all."
Lily thought for a moment, contemplating if she should confess, or just dance around everything without giving herself away. Thought the latter was her usual tactic, she took a deep breath and decided that in this case, maybe the former was the better choice. She was just so bogged down in the whole James thing, and she was beginning to feel torn apart.
"Ok, promise not to make a fuss?" Lily made a stern face as she said this to show she was serious.
"We are totally cool. I mean come on, when have I ever made a big fuss?" Lynn answered.
Lily smirked and decided to skip over the last comment Lynn made, and launched into her problem "Well..............Ok, so I sort of like this guy. I mean no big deal, but ya know, a bit of a crush. And he hasn't really said anything about what he thinks. I mean, there's been hints, I guess, but no real foundation to anything, and neither of us brought it up. And, its not a big thing, but I was wondering if I should, or if I shouldn't or whatever............."She said this all rather quickly and then trailed off once again, keeping her eyes to the floor.
"What kind of hints?"
"Oh, I don't know...I guess sort of touchy feely. And I'm not sure if we flirt or not, maybe we do. And we sort of held hands once.....and then you guys interrupted!" Lily huffed.
"You guys held hands?" Lynn intervened "Ok, hello, that is a pre-etty major sign! James totally likes you anyways. I mean I could have told you that weeks ago!"
"Uh, did the name James even come out of lips once?" Lily exclaimed. She sighed in dismay, but she knew this would have happened anyways.
"You didn't have to," Joy smiled wryly as she answered.
"Fine, so maybe, possibly, SLIGHTLY, there's an utter chance its him," Lily was not good at admitting anything that was secretive, no matter who she was talking to "But anyways, what should I do?"
"Confront him!" Lynn practically yelled "I mean for G-d's sakes, this is getting crazy already,"
"You really think I should?" Lily asked doubtfully.
All three heads nodded simultaneously, their hair bobbing up and down along with their vigorous heads. Lily sighed, and squaring her shoulders, decided to finally take life into her own hands. First thing tomorrow. After classes.
***************************************************
James was already one step ahead of Lily, having decided on the confrontation too long ago. He had looked all over for her after practice, but to no avail, because she was nowhere to be found. Annoyed, he had gone back to his dorms, requesting advice from Sirius, which went along the lines of:
"Are you wearing lipstick and a padded bra? Because you're acting like it! Stop being girly and be a man...Or an aging adolescent for that matter. Go tell her already. Better yet, skip the telling, and just snog her. It makes it a hell of a lot easier."
James laughed softly as he thought of that, shaking his head and Sirius's logic. He lifted his gaze from the floor and stopped mid-laugh when they rested on Lily. Her hair was pulled into a loose pony, with loose strands every which way, and her face looked a bit droopy. She looked as if she hadn't slept all night. She was dressed in her robes, but they were wrinkled and looked as if Lily had dug them out of the bottom of a dusty box, where it had been for the past decade. She was standing apprehensively and tapping her foot, as if she waiting for someone. Her eyes kept darting around the room, until they rested on his for a moment. Then she turned away abruptly.
James squared his shoulders, and decided there was no point in standing around, and not do anything; Lily had spied him anyways. He walked up to her and poked her back with his quill.
Lily stiffened for a moment, and turned around "Ouch!" She said tonelessly, when she saw who it was, but the annoyed look in her eyes showed the sort of tone she meant to convey.
"Top of the morning to you too" James answered cheerfully.
"You needn't poke so hard," she scolded as she rubbed her back.
"Why, thank you, I'm doing great, too."
"What if I had a bad back?" Lily went on in the same toneless, sleepy voice.
"Might I say you look extremely lovely today?"
Lily stopped her tirade and glared at him, putting her arms on her hips.
"What?" James asked defensively.
"You don't have to rub it in that I looked like a peeled potato," Lily said self-consciously, pulling her hair out of the pony, and tried to pull it in a neater one.
"I didn't mean it like that!" James protested.
Lily gave him an exasperated look as she tried to smoothen out her robes "But you did,"
"Ok, so maybe I did mean it in that..er, sarcastic way, but I didn't mean to rub it. I just meant that you look really tired."
Lily seemed to drop her annoyed demeanor and smiled a bit sadly "I am. I didn't get too much sleep last night. I don't- " she stopped to stifle a large yawn.
James chuckled "What kept you up into the wee hours?"
Lily stopped for a moment, and after a pause she said slowly "Oh, not one thing, really. A whole group of things, I guess." she yawned again.
James couldn't help but his arm around her gently. She just looked so cute when she yawned. Her face scrunched up, making all her freckles come together, and she looked younger and more vulnerable. Lily looked up at him in surprise, which spurred him to quickly loosen it, so he moved his arm so that it was barely touching her waist.
Lily moaned "I'm not going to make it through classes," She leaned against him for a moment as if to gather her strength, and then flopped on to the couch in back of her.
James sat down next to her, watching her spread herself along the couch. All of a sudden, he realized that they were all alone. Everyone had gone down for breakfast, leaving them up her by themselves. Now would be the perfect time to tell her, he realized with a start.
Lily began to shiver "Its soo cold," she shivered, her teeth chattering.
James took the opportunity quickly, and moved closer to her. He put his hands on hers, and when she looked at him strangely, he explained "I'm going to warm your hands up like this," as he began to rub her hands, slowly at first, and then more vigorously.
Lily sat totally still for a moment and then said suddenly "The debates in three days,"
"So I've heard," he tried to keep the tone casual, but he was annoyed that the moment was ruined. Maybe Lily didn't like him. Maybe she just thought of him as her schoolwork friend. After all, here he was with his hands on hers, and the debate was the only topic that she thought was a topic befitting for a time like this?
"So, have you finished your part?" She sat up straight, wrenching her hands out his, and swerving to face him.
************************************************************** ********
Lily groaned inwardly at herself. She had been just so nervous with James hands on hers, so she had to bring conversation around to the debate. Of course Lily had to dominate the conversation, and be the annoying obnoxious person. She almost couldn't help it- it was like instinct.
"Well....I've done a part," he mumbled.
"We all had to do fifteen pages- five different points- how many did you do?" Lily asked, curious now.
"Two points," he almost whispered.
All of a sudden, Lily really was mad. She knew she must have been glaring horribly at him now. Only six pages! Only two points! They had to practice everything together tomorrow. And now everything was ruined- they couldn't debate without the parts James was supposed to do. He had all the con side except for two points Lily was doing.
"You..You...WHAT?" She finally blurted out "I am going to kill you! I mean it! We've had MONTHS to work on this. So, you're telling me that basically we're screwed. Right?"
"I've been really occupied lately, ok? I'll finish all today. I'll do it the whole day- I'll get excused from classes from Dumbledore. We'll finish, so calm down," James snapped, moving away from her.
"Yes, but now, we'll suck! I wish that McGonagol didn't switch me into your group. You always screw things up," She said angrily, not even thinking.
James faces contorted angrily when she said that "What is your problem, Lily? I said I'm sorry, I said I'll finish it, and I'll do a damn good job on it, ok?"
"Yeah, you SAY that. You say a lot of things!"
"You know, winning and school isn't everything. Some people value friendship, and good times, and having a life, which you obviously don't. All you do is study, and nothing else. You don't even enjoy anything!"
Lily stared at him, not moving her position. She could feel her body shaking slightly, from anger or shock, she didn't know. All she knew was that no one had ever said such mean things to her before. She felt like James had spit at her or hit or something along the line- it really hurt. She looked down at the couch, trying to gather her spirits.
************************************************************** *********
All of a sudden James felt like the worst person in the universe for what he had just said. The look on Lily's face, it had been heart wrenching to see. She had looked so hurt, and betrayed, like he had ruined her trust.
"I'm sorry," James said softly.
"Shut up,"
"I really am sorry," James said louder, stroking the bottom of her hair. She turned her head, so that her hair moved out of his grasp.
"No, you're not. You meant everything you said. You think I'm a loser or a freak or something. Well, I don't care! I never wanted to be friends with you in the first place so you'll be no loss to me. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way," Lily bored her eyes into him as she said this. "Its not a big deal."
"It is to me!" James almost yelped, grabbing her arms, so that she was facing him.
She struggled to get up "Let me go, James!"
"Wait, hear me out," James pleaded.
"I don't need to hear you out. You've already said everything you had to say," She tried to remain emotionless, but James saw tears welling up in her eyes.
But just as she was about to get up, James realized this was his only chance, so he pulled her to him and kissed her lightly on her lips, pulling away quickly to see her reaction. Just from the second of contact with her lips, James felt how soft they were, and how nervous and scared and sad she felt. Lily reared her face back, her pupils dilated. Her mouth was set in a small o, and her arms were hanging limply at her sides.
************************************************************** *****
Lily felt numb. She felt like she had just woken from a dream. It wasn't possible that James kissed her. They had just been fighting, like they would never speak again, and James had just kissed her.
When Lily still didn't respond, she felt James take her hands in his, and press against them gently. She was already familiar to the touch of his hand, but the sensation was new- she had always gotten chills, but the kiss, though small, seem to have magnified all her senses and just from the touch she felt in another world. Lily looked up into his eyes, and saw that she wasn't the only nervous one. He was clenching his jaw tightly, and his seemed to be searching hers for an answer.
Finally Lily broke the silence "I thought I saw you flirting with Mal-" she stopped abruptly when she saw the alarmed look on his face, and decided that wasn't the direction to go in " Why the hell did you just do that?"
Well, that probably wasn't much better.
However, James seemed to relax, and he looked as if he was holding in chuckle "I've always wondered what a peeled potato would be like to kiss, so I decided to take up the opportunity,"
"Huh?" Lily felt utterly confused- where did peeled potatoes come in?
"You said you looked like a peeled potato,"
"I did?" she asked.
"Yeah, like five minutes ago," James looked equally confused.
"Oh," Lily understood suddenly "Well, I tend to talk rubbish and forget it a moment after when you look at me a certain way sometimes," she admitted, deciding there was no reason to keep anything under wraps now.
All of a sudden, a huge smile spread across James face. He began laughing, and pulled Lily into his arms, her face pressed against his chest. Lily felt his chest ripple with laughter, and smelled a faint whiff of peaches coming from his sweatshirt. His arms held her securely, but gently, and she snuggled her face in the folds of his sweatshirt feeling those feelings waft over her again. Being in his arms- it felt perfect.
************************************************************** *********
James looked down at the face pressed against his chest. Her eyes were closed peacefully and her mouth was smiling serenely. He pulled her closer to him, moving her face closer to his shoulder. She giggled into his shirt, sending electricity surging through his body. James felt her hair tickle him as he laid his head on her and felt a new energy in him. All of a sudden he wanted to run and jump and do a cartwheel (though he had never known how to do one), and at the same time snuggle with Lily in his arms.
They stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying each other's presence. Finally Lily moved her face away slowly and looked up at him. James peered down at her, her green eyes moving uncertainly, tracing his features. James cupped her chin with his hand, and moved closer to her so they were eye level. Lily stared wide-eyed, in a child like way, and he noticed that she was holding her breath, waiting for his next move.
James felt the heat that radiated from her as his face moved closer to her. The second their lips touched for the second time, James knew that Lily was different from any girl he had ever met. Her kisses were more slow and uncertain, but with a soft passion that blew him away. Lily pressed her body against his, increasing the pressure. James ran his tongue against her teeth and she opened her mouth more, deepening the kiss. She moaned softly as he bit her bottom lip gently. Lily ran her hand through his hair, sending shivers all over his scalp. James hands moved from around her waist to her face, as he gently traced the outline of her cheeks, moving them down her defined cheekbones. Finally Lily pulled away, breathing heavily.
**************************************************************
Wow was the only thing Lily could think after the kiss she had just received. Staring at James from her lowered eyelashes, she re-livened the kiss and imagined a thousand more kisses like that, all perfect. James pressed her forehead against hers, a huge grin on her face. Lily's smile widened at his, and she realized how goofy it must have looked, but she didn't care.
"I didn't-" She started just as he said "I thought-"
They both stopped, looked at each other, and began to laugh. James regained his composure quickly and said "Me first. 'K?"
Lily nodded in response, and waited in anticipation for his words.
"Ok, Lily I like you. a lot," He started.
" I had no idea!" Lily said in mock surprise, then giggled.
"Ha, ha," James rolled his eyes and continued "Really, Lily. So like I said, I like you. I don't know how it started but it did and it wouldn't go away. And to be honest, it felt pretty great. The only bad part was not knowing if you like me. You don't know how annoying it was not being able to tell you how I really felt or kiss you or stuff like that. I mean, every time I tried anything, you started a fight or you moved away, and somehow it just didn't work out. But now, I guess my question was answered. Right?" He took her hand in his, and massaged it gently with his thumb, tickling her sensations.
"I don't know how annoying it was? Do you see these damn bags under my eyes! All your fault! I couldn't even sleep because of you, ok? I mean first you would be all sweet and cute-" she paused at James arrogant look and rolling her eyes, continued "Oh, stop it with that look. Anyways, then all of a sudden you would become obnoxious James, and then you would go flirt with someone else. What was I supposed to think?" She threw her hands up at the end of her tirade, and he caught them, and placed them around him, pulling her into a hug.
"That I was playing hard-to-get?" James whispered into her hair.
"That's my job!" Lily protested.
"And you did a pretty good job at it," James paused for a moment "So what about the debate?"
Lily buried her head in his shirt again and her muffle voiced said "I'll get an excuse from Dumbledore also,"
Lily felt shivers just from seeing the huge smile that came over his face. He just made the cutest expressions sometimes- His glasses would move up as he tilted his face upward and wrinkled his forehead, his cheeks widened from his smile. She couldn't help it and leaned over to kiss his nose.
James wrinkled the feature at her and she giggled.
"Sirius was right," James said thoughtfully "Damn, that's a first!"
He stood up and used both arms to pull Lily up from her position on the couch. She placed her hand in his as she said "I thought you said he was usually right?"
"I lied," James smirked "But he was right for once,"
"About what?" Lily asked, as he kissed her cheek.
"Oh, nothing........." James trailed off.
Hand in hand, they walked to Dumbledore's office, each thinking they were luckier than the other. Right before they entered, James stopped her suddenly, pulling her around the corridor.
Lily looked at him, confused "I thought we were going to Dumbledore's?"
"We are. I just want to tell you that I'm not using you like the other girls. This," he put his arms out to signify what he was talking about "is real. Totally real. Ok?"
"You dumbass," Lily shook her head at him "I know that,"
"For the record you are more of a dumbass then me, but forget about for a second. How?" James said, drawing her closer to him.
"We both know you are more of a dumbass then me," Lily scrutinized.
"Ok, we do know that, but I have my pride! I won't admit it. But how do you know about what I said?" James asked once again.
Sometimes you just know things," Lily said softly, thinking about the feeling in her telling at her that they would be together for a looooooong time.
Satisfied with her answer, James brought his face to hers again, and they both tasted paradise for the second of many times.
THE END!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay!! It is finito! I am not sure if I will make an epilogue yet, but there will definitely be a chapter to thank all my AMAZING reviewers who I LOVE to death! R/R!!