Disclaimer: Lemme alone.
Author's Notes: So... um... hey an' all. This started out as a lovely ickle drabble, but after thinking (amazing, I know) I bought a Simple Plan CD and expanded on this. Fun fun! Plus, I think I missed volleyball practice. My lovely coach was out of town and the fill-in (the JV coach) told us we wouldn't have practice tonight, but when I checked on-line, it said we did. -is confused-
So.. review and stuff and make me happy. 'Cos volleyball doesn't. 'Cos I missed practice. And I like practice.
Aliss
The Little Girl
She often felt like the little girl in the back of the classroom, the one who would spend all of her time scribbling his name on her homework assignments.
"Whatcha got there, Evans?" said Sirius Black, peering over her shoulder innocently.
She covered her Charms homework with one arm while attempting to shoo him away with the other.
In one swift motion he managed to whisk the parchment from under her arms and straighten it in front of him, his eyes traveling rapidly over her assignment. A wicked grin enveloped his features.
"Mrs. Lily Potter, huh?"
She felt like the little girl unnoticed by others, the one who would give him shy looks when she thought he wasn't looking.
She brushed a strand of vibrant hair from her face as she stole a glance at him from over the edge of her Advanced Potion-Making: Year Seven book.
He was leaning dutifully over his Arithmancy assignment, an excess of dusty volumes spread in front of him, with his quill hanging purposefully over a long stretch of parchment. She couldn't help but think of how adorable he looked with his brow furrowed slightly in concentration and his lip in between his teeth.
"Whatcha lookin' at, Evans?" whispered Sirius Black in her ear from behind her, whence she nearly upset her inkbottle. Ignoring this, he added slyly, "Or should I say, who?"
She responded by burying her head back in her book and muttering, "No one."
She felt like the little girl picked out and picked on, the one who said cruel things and sneered in his face to mask her feelings.
"—and then you wanna know what it said? Mrs. Lily Potter!" Sirius Black said loudly, roaring with laughter.
He turned to where she was attempting to choke herself on mashed potatoes, which wasn't exactly working for her as they slid smoothly down her throat.
"Isn't that right, Mrs. Potter?" he added, smirking.
"Don't you dare call me that, Black!" she whispered dangerously. "I wouldn't come within five feet of him unless we were the last two humans on earth and it would only be so he could strangle me!"
With that she ran from the Great Hall, missing the blush that was quickly creeping up James Potter's neck.
She felt like the little girl lost in a swirl of thought and emotion, unsure of how to feel or how to act around him.
She crumpled up yet another scrap of parchment and fed it to the eager fire, which hissed and quickly engulfed it in glowing red flames. She brought her quill to a fresh piece of parchment and ignored it as someone seated themselves next to her on the couch.
"Hey."
She lifted her head in surprise at the sound of his voice. His eyes were locked on the dancing flames, but he lifted his own gaze as she replied quietly, "Hey."
They held each other's gaze for a moment before she smiled. His eyes lit up and he quickly returned the gesture.
She felt like the little girl who was shy and afraid, the one who was hesitant to tell him and unsure of how to go about doing it.
"Look, P—James… James, I'm trying to tell you something! Are you even listening?"
She watched curiously as he blinked once and blushed regrettably. "Go on," he muttered embarrassedly, drawing his eyes away from her lips.
"James, I — er… look… you see — well," she stuttered, doing a wonderful job of avoiding his eyes.
"What is it, Lily?" he asked concernedly, trying to catch her eye. Seeing that she wouldn't allow it, he quickly glanced down at his wristwatch.
"Look, Lil, how about we continue this some other time? I'd love to stay and talk, but I've got Quidditch practice in ten minutes," he said quickly, looking at her for approval.
She nodded mutely as he flashed her a quick smile of gratitude before taking off down the corridor, leaving her to hit herself for her foolishness.
She felt like the little girl who would sit alone, but never refuse his presence.
"Please, just go away. I wanna be alone so I can finish this," she said, watching as her friends shuffled away toward the common room fire where two of the four Marauders were sitting.
"Hey, Lily, what're you doing?" questioned Remus Lupin lightly, glancing over her shoulder.
"Oh, nothing, just attempting to finish my homework— alone," she snapped, feeling no guilt whatsoever as he wandered over to the fire as well, hands deep in pockets and glancing back at her in surprise.
She let out a sigh of irritation as someone slid into the seat next to her and was about to tell them off, but then she took notice of who it was.
James Potter flipped open a Marvin the Muggle comic book and propped his legs up on the chair across from him as she stared at him curiously. She shook her head and grinned to herself.
After copying question number eight onto her parchment and reading over two pages, he slid a scrap of parchment toward her. On it was a single word: hey.
She dipped her quill in her inkbottle and responded with the same before pushing the scrap back to him. He looked up from his comic before grinning. She couldn't help but smile back.
She felt like the little girl who was resentful, the one who couldn't stand to live without him.
She held back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she saw his blurry outline, his skin as white as the hospital sheets lying smoothly around him. She collapsed into the chair next to his bed in the hospital wing, staring at him with mortified eyes.
Taking his freezing hand inside of hers, the tears finally spilt over in a wave. She felt the sobs racking her body, but not a sound escaped her lips.
She felt guilt and regret flowing through her veins at the sight of his pale, drained body. She still hadn't worked up the courage to tell him, and now he was gone… now he would never know. She would never be able to live without telling him… without him….
She fought to blink back her tears quickly as she felt his fingers tighten around hers. She felt her chest constrict tightly as she studied his face frantically for any sign of stirring.
She nearly jumped for joy as he groggily opened his eyes, blinking several times before taking notice of her— the first thing he would notice.
"Morning, sunshine," he mumbled hoarsely, attempting a smile in her direction.
She didn't get a chance to see his look of surprise as she threw herself at him before dissolving into tears of relief.
She felt like the little girl who wished she could hate him, the one who could no longer deny her love.
She followed Peter Pettigrew from the Transfiguration classroom, trying to fight her way through the wave of students to find him.
"James— hey James! Wait up!"
As if on cue, he appeared at her side and slowed to her pace. "Carry your books for you, ma'am?" he asked, grinning.
She smiled and handed her books over, trying to keep up with his longer stride. After walking for a minute, she announced boldly, "There's something I need to tell you."
He cocked an eyebrow as he looked down at her, again slowing his hurried walk.
"And what would that be?" he asked, branching off of the main corridor to a more secluded and much quieter one.
She opened her mouth, intending to recite her rehearsed speech, but something else came out instead.
"I like that tie. It's very nice."
"Oh, er… thank you, I suppose," he responded, flipping the tie over with a finger. "But… it looks like all my other ties, you know."
She blushed, mentally slapping herself.
"I know, I just happen to like this one better."
He nodded and shifted the books from one arm to the other before stating bluntly, "What'd you really want to tell me?"
"I— er… I was just going to say that… that we should give it a try— us, I mean. We should give us a try."
She blushed furiously at the thought of what she had just said before turning her gaze toward him, only to find he wasn't there at all. Turning around, she found James several paces back, looking exceptionally perplexed.
Cocking his head, he opened his mouth and said slowly, "Did you just ask me out?"
"I — er… kinda yeah," she replied, staring intently at the Head Boy badge pinned to his shirt.
"Oh… okay," he said, readjusting the books in his arms. "Just checking."
He grinned. She grinned back.
She felt like that little girl, because she was that little girl.
FIN.