A One Time Thing

Chapter 4: Angel

I apologize for the delay. I'm really sorry and I hope it never happens again.

Disclaimer: don't own a thing.

oOo

The boy's bathroom was full of males running around looking for their razors and towels. Some came out of the showers only to be shoved back in by a rampaging student looking for his missing clothes. Many cussed while cleaning themselves and walked out with huge frowns.

For some reason, this morning every boy had woken at 7:30 o'clock sharp and stormed the bathroom to make it for breakfast at 7:45. The place was pretty much cleared after 15 minutes of wild action. The Marauders peeked in through the door. Bal was in the shower; they could see his silhouette behind the thin shower curtains. DK was shaving at a strategic corner where there didn't seem to have been a lot of struggle.

"WELL, GOOD MORNING!" Chris yelled from behind the four, which caused them to jump up a few feet.

"Jesus Christ!" Sirius rubbed his ear. Chris looked amusedly at him.

"Nope, not me. Just Chris here." James punched him as he walked past and Chris winced. Remus avoided them both and slipped right into the large bathroom.

DK talked nonstop about his girlfriend while shaving, spitting foam too because it seemed that he had stopped midway brushing his teeth.

"Shut up, will you? You'll slit your throat," Peter muttered, beside him. DK abruptly shut his mouth.

"It's no where near Christmas. Save it for the holidays," Sirius added. He washed off his face and the foam. He brushed his teeth many time over until he was satisfied. James tossed him the bottle of mouthwash and they simultaneously spat the liquid into their sinks.

"Give it here, Chris!" Remus was arguing with Chris about something and chased him around the room until he pushed him into the shower cubicle where Bal was. Chris fell right through the curtain. The others stared. There was no sound.

Bal stalked out butt-naked to the rack with dry towels wearing the ugliest scowl anyone's ever seen. That wasn't the only thing he was sporting, however. A deep bruise was forming at the side of his neck. They watched him grab a thick band-aid from the cabinet and disappeared out the door. Chris immerged, rubbing the back of his head.

"He's still a bit mad," he said sheepishly.

"No shit," Sirius replied cheerily.

oOo

Lily hummed as she combed out her fiery locks in front of the bathroom mirror. There was a bunch of girls gossiping in the corner as usual. She paid them no mind until somewhere along the conversation her name was mentioned. She stopped her movements and listened.

"Have you heard, have you heard?! Sirius got himself a new girlfriend!"

"Oh nooo! No way no way! Who is it?" The brunette pouted dramatically and looked like she was about to cry.

"I hear it's that Lily Evans girl." Lily turned bright red and worked on tying up her hair.

"Oh, it is. I know so."

"How would you know, Kana?"

"I was out on a little escapade with Siri-baby last night – " There was a huge squeal from one of the girls. " – and after some dolt dropped ink on us, he scampered off. I followed him and guess where he went!"

"Oh no! He didn't! He met up with that girl, didn't he?"

"Of course! I was so mad! I couldn't believe it! Who does she think she is? She has no right! Her of all people – Sirius must be trippin'. That bitch..." Lily didn't listen anymore. She gathered her things and quietly left the bathroom.

oOo

Sirius sat beside Lily during class and idly played with her long hair. He had taken it out of its ponytail and it kept getting into her eyes. She put the quill down all together and glared at him. He grinned and shrugged back. Lily was a bit stunned when he took her hair and began braiding it.

"Sirius, you're such a girl," she whispered fiercely. He pulled down on her hair a bit too hard and she nearly cried out.

"Yea, yea, shut up," he breathed in her ear. She shivered and resumed taking notes. At the corner of her eye, she could see the same bunch of gossiping girls whispering and pointing at her. Lowering herself more into her seat, she felt her face grow hot.

Chris caught Sirius's eye and gave him the thumbs up. Sirius gave a lift of his head since his hands were full and smiled wickedly. Then something hard smacked right across his head.

"Mister Black! I have tolerated you and your friends interrupting class with your unnecessary pranks, but this I cannot let go. Please leave Miss Evans to her studies and stop ruining her line of concentration!"

Sirius was still holding the top of his head while he eyed the pointer stick he had been whacked with. Half the class was laughing and Sirius simply laughed along, much to the professor's frustration.

As the class filed out, Sirius helped Lily pack her things and waved off the other Marauders. Taking out his wand, he cast a spell at the professor's blackboard.

"What did you do?" Lily asked.

"Something. It'll teach the old bat not to hit me ever again."

"You could always get expelled," Lily argued.

"No, I wouldn't."

"Yes, you could." Sirius looked at her. After a while, he sighed and removed the charm.

"Happy now?" Lily smiled brightly. Sirius kissed her cheek and she wrinkled her nose at him.

oOo

The art room was full of canvases and had a heavy smell of paints and acrylic. Paint brushes were scattered everywhere and bottles of colour were surprisingly neatly displayed in rows on a table. Several unfinished sculptures were placed around the room on top of old copies of the Daily Prophet. Art books laid open and pages flipped over as Sirius and Lily walked past.

"I've never been in this room before."

"I hope you don't mind it in here," Lily said shyly. Sirius sat on a chair and his eyes traveled over the large room. Lily placed a sketchbook into his hands and blushed. "Don't criticize too much."

Sirius went through the sketches with great care. His fingers traced the outlines on some pictures he found extremely beautiful. When he reached the blank pages, he took a pencil from a nearby table.

"They're really good. I love them." He paused. Then, quietly, he said, "Don't move."

"Thanks. Hey, what're you...B-but..."

"Shh, just don't move." Lily sat in front of the large windowpanes and through them Sirius could see the falling snow swirling in the whipping wind. The sky was darkening as Sirius continued to move his hand quickly across the page. Lily forgot about everything else and just watched him. His face was creased with heavy concentration with his hair fell with grace around it. It wasn't just Sirius Black anymore. It was something completely different and incredible.

"I'm done." His voice broke through the soft silence and Lily was startled out of her reverie.

"What?"

"I said I finished the sketch." He turned the sketchbook so that it faced her and she gasped.

"But she's so pretty..." Lily whispered. "That can't be me."

"It is. Do you mind if I take this with me?"

"Not at all." Lily tore out the picture and handed it to him. "What're you going to do with it?"

"Se-cret." Sirius smiled as he scribbled down his full name and his dorm room on the sketch. He held it in the air and snapped his fingers. A puff of smoke appeared then the sketch was gone. "I call it Angel."

"I'm no angel," Lily disagreed, shaking her head embarrassedly.

"Just keep telling yourself that," he laughed. Then his face grew serious. "Hey, Hogsmeade weekend is coming up. Do you...do you want to go with me?"

Lily stared at him and thought.

"I'll go," she said slowly, "but only if you model for me next time." Sirius laughed again and tweaked her nose.

"Okay."

oOo

Thanks to:

Armadrieclya: (Somehow your name didn't get bolded last time. I'm sorry!) Haha, Remus is just the Jealous Friend. Not much of him in this chapter, though. As for James...you'll have to wait and see. Thanks for the review!

Bacon: What in the world are you talking about, Ba-kun...?

Christy Corr: Any ramble is a good ramble! I hope JKR doesn't take away Remus. I'd die. Sirius is a prick and he'll fall soon. Hopefully everything will turn out all right. Thanks!

dawn1: Yay! That's the way I wanted to portray Lily. I'm glad her personality I had in mind it came across. Thank you!

Jupiter-jazz: Thank you! Love you! You're awesome! =)

K: I'm glad you like my stuff! You're cool – always reviewing for me. Love you!!! (Who wouldn't? Nakano? Hmmm…) You guys eloped, didn't you? Haha!

kat-firefly: No! You're not wasting my time at all! I love long reviews. Sometimes a Lily/Sirius fic is a good way to relieve you from all the L/J ones out there. Please continue to enjoy my fic. And remember, no fic is ever a bad fic. Thank you!

mintchoc: Wow, English and Math all in one go? No thanks! I changed the rating. I appreciate all your comments so keep them coming!

Nicky Black: The guilt part will kick in later. He's still trying to get her to like him. Thank you for reviewing!

shuichi: You know what? You never read anything completely. Give me a proper review already!!!

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I love you guys! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, but my summer's been packed with many things to do. I'm starting to get ready for school now. I'm not looking forward to it since there are problems with my schedule already. I hope all of you are still enjoying your summer.

Thanks for all your patience, time, and reviews. I feel very happy that people are reading and commenting on my stuff. I'd love to hear from all of you! Let me know that you're still there!

I got 10 reviews like I asked! Yay! Can I get another 10 this time, please? Thank you!

August 24, 2004