It seems that Sirius is quite popular. Yeah - HE'S HOT. But so is my James. Poor thing isn't really in the story yet, though. Aww. -Hugs poor, forlorn James-
"Broken Expectations"
Sirius ended up spending the entire day with Lily and her friends, to their pleasant surprise. It was now 9 pm and the five of them were sitting in a circle of chairs in the common room. Lily and Sirius were sitting on the couch together, although at opposite ends.
"So that's how I got three months worth of detention," Sirius finished proudly.
"It was worth it though, huh? I wish I could be as wild as you. It sounds so fun!" Scarlett giggled.
"It's not so hard. All you have to do is not think," Sirius replied casually. All four girls laughed.
"You make it sound easier than it is. I'd love to be as carefree as you, Sirius. It's like I was born to do what I'm told," Lily pouted.
"I'm sure you have a wild side in you, Lil. Something just has to bring it out. I'm sure I could help," he winked.
Lily giggled. Her friends gave each other knowing looks.
"Um, we've got to go up to bed now. Beauty rest - you know. Sorry to leave you Sirius, but I'm sure Lil here would love to stay with you a little longer," Cherise said with Marilyn and Scarlett nodding behind her.
"Great! Night then," Sirius encouraged.
Lily shot desperate eyes at her friends. She really did not want to be alone with Sirius just yet. She needed back up, support from her friends. How was she supposed to handle such a delicate situation on her own?
Her friends didn't pick up on her discomfort, though, because Marilyn simply winked at Lily, then all three of them walked up the staircase to their dorm. Lily looked back to Sirius and saw him smiling at her. She smiled weakly back.
"Alone at last," he said.
"Y-you wanted to be alone with me?" she asked nervously.
"Well, yeah," he said, moving closer to her.
"...Oh," was all she could get out.
"You know, I'm really disappointed that we can't do that tutoring thing together. It would've been fun," Sirius said. He was only a foot away from her now.
"Yeah, I was really looking forward to it. Too bad the stupid professor had to ruin it, huh?"
"Yeah.." Sirius was inching closer and closer to her face. Lily began to feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Um, so...uh..." she stuttered, backing slowly away from him. "So...why did you hang out with us today anyway? You never really said. I mean, we've never really talked before today, and all of a sudden you become a part of our group," she said, finally voicing the question that had been burning in her mind all day.
"Because I wanted to meet you. You really caught my eye this past month, and I knew that I needed to get to know you better." He was staring straight into her eyes now. "Did I ever tell you that your eyes are so incredibly...green?"
"Um...thanks," Lily said uncertainly. "I guess."
"I also want you to know that...I really like you Lily..." he said softly.
"Really?" she whispered.
"Really," he whispered back. He slid closer to her again and began leaning his face closer and closer to hers. Lily's breath caught in her throat. He was going to kiss her, she just knew it. The boy she had dreamed of for so long was going to kiss her. So she should've been leaning in too. She should've been ecstatically happy...but she wasn't. For some reason she had the strange sensation that someone was dropping bricks into her stomach one by one.
Sirius's face was two inches from Lily's when a shrill voice broke the silence.
"SIRIUS!" Samantha cried out. "What thehell are you doing?"
Sirius stopped where he was and rolled his eyes. He then turned around to face Samantha.
"What does it matter to you?" he yelled.
"It matters to me because you're over here trying to get with some girl behind my back!" Samantha cried. "And not just any girl, but that wannabe chick you were hanging with all day!"
Lily felt like she was going to be sick. She was already shaken up enough from the pospected kiss, but having Samantha catch them just made everything ten times worse.
"Once again - what does it matter to you? I told you before - I'm not your boyfriend. You have no right to tell me who I can and cannot kiss. Besides, I've seen you getting a little cozy with Remus lately," Sirius countered.
Samantha brought out her evil eyes and put her hands on her hips.
"At least I know a guy really well before I get cozy with them. Unlike you who pounces on any pretty girl you see. Do you even know her name? Even if you do, it won't matter tomorrow because she'll be out of the picture and you'll have found a new girl and a new toy to play with."
"That is not true!" he shouted at her. "Lil, that's not true," he said turning to face Lily.
Several other people in the common room were beginning to notice this little scene. This caused Lily even more discomfort. She had Samantha glaring at her with evil eyes, Sirius looking pleadingly at her, and now the eyes of everyone else in the room staring at her. It was too much for her to handle.
"I-I..." she stuttered. "I...have to go to bed, goodnight," she said breathlessly before jumping up off the couch and running up the stairs to her dorm.
"Lily, wait!" Sirius hollered after her retreating back.
Samantha smirked triumphantly and strutted back to her friends.
Once Lily reached her door, she stopped to catch her breath and possibly regain control of herself so her friends wouldn't be worried.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door and walked into the room in what she hoped was a casual manner.
Her friends were in their pjs chatting on Scarlett's bed. When they saw Lily come in, they immediately hopped off and ran over to her, bombarding her with questions from every angle.
"What happened?"
"Did he say anything to you?"
"Did you say anything to him?"
"Did you make eye contact?"
"Did you make any other contact!"
All three girls were jumping around and squealing and nearly bubbling over with excitement. They stared at Lily expectantly, waiting for an answer, a story, a noise, anything. Lily, however, simply stood there with her mouth hanging open, as if trying to say something, but the only words that would come were that of silence.
Her friends' utter excitement slowly began to wear down and shift into worry.
"Lil? ...Lil, what happened?" Marilyn inquired suspiciously.
Lily forced a very unconvicing smile. "Nothing! Nothing happened..." she said lightly. "We just.. uh, talked."
Her friends looked highly skeptical.
"He, uh, he told me my eyes are very...er, green," Lily revealed awkwardly.
"Seriously?" Scarlett raised her eyebrows. "He said that?"
"Someone needs to get him a thesaurus..." Cherise commented.
"Better yet, someone should get him a clue," Marilyn chuckled. "So what else did you talk about?"
"Oh you know... just stuff..." Lily replied. "Eesh, I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed now," she said quickly while trying to walk past the wall her friends had created in front of her. Cherise grabbed Lily's arm.
"Come on Lil. We know you're not telling us everything. Something happened down there, and you're not going to bed until we know what it is," Cherise said firmly, looking Lily straight in the eye.
Lily looked down at the ground and swallowed hard.
"He...he tried to kiss me," she said quietly.
All three girls' eyes widened and Marilyn's jaw dropped.
"He tried to kiss you? Oh my God, how wicked!" Marilyn squealed.
"Did you let him? I mean, did you actually kiss?" Scarlett pressed.
"No..." Lily said airily.
"What stopped you?" Cherise asked.
"Samantha," Lily answered grimly.
"Oh no! That cow came back again?" Cherise said with disgust. "What did she say?"
Lily recounted the entire horrible scene between Sirius and Samantha, conveniently leaving out the part where she runs out of the room frantically.
Cherise and Scarlett held sympathy for Lily, but Marilyn looked ready to kill.
"How dare she call you a wannabe! And then all those things she said about Sirius using you. What a complete witch!" Marilyn raged. "She's just jealous that he wants you now, Lil, and not her."
"So is that why you were so shaken up when you got up here? Because of all the stuff Samantha said?" Cherise asked concernedly.
"Yeah I guess so," Lily said. She left out, however, her displeasure with the kiss.
"Don't you believe a word Sam says, Lil," Scarlett said reassuringly. "Sirius would never use you like that, I know it. Didn't you hear all that girlfriend talk at breakfast? He seemed totally serious."
Cherise nodded in agreement while Marilyn paced back and forth behind them, smoke practically billowing from her ears.
"I know. I didn't really believe anything she said, anyway. Afterall, Sirius did say it wasn't true and he seemed pretty genuine," Lily said. "I guess I was just kind of flustered because this is all happening so fast. I mean, he told me that he really likes me and-"
"What! He did? Aww!" Scarlett gushed. Marilyn stopped pacing and joined in with Scarlett's cooing.
"Oh that is so sweet! You are so lucky Lil."
After hearing all of her friends' positive words, her worry about the entire situation started diminishing. Why should she have been so unsettled about it? Afterall, the boy of her dreams was hers for the taking. Wouldn't it be the normal reaction to be thrilled if that such person tried to kiss you? Of course. But Lily couldn't deny the fact that she seriously did not want him to kiss her. It just didn't feel right. What was wrong with her?
Nevertheless, she tried her best to shove those insecurities to the back of her mind and focus more on the fact that Sirius - come on now, Sirius Black - fancied her.
"Yeah... I guess I am pretty lucky," Lily smiled. It was a genuine smile. But then that little something in the back of her head didn't agree. Although her face showed happiness, her eyes were uncertain. Scarlett and Marilyn didn't seem to notice though. They continued giggling and gushing without a second thought. Cherise, however, caught a glimpse of Lily's worry. She saw past Lily's happy facade and looked deeper. Something else was wrong.
Lily twisted in the last overnight-curler in her hair and walked out of the bathroom. The lights were out and Scarlett and Marilyn were already asleep. Cherise was lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling. She looked at Lily when she walked out.
Lily smiled at Cherise and made her way over to her own bed, sleep being the only thought in her head. Cherise had other plans, though. Just as Lily was climbing into the warm blankets, Cherise plopped down on the end of her bed.
"You didn't tell us everything, Lil," she said accusingly.
Lily was taken aback. She certainly wasn't expecting this.
"What are you talking about?"
"After you said that Sirius told you he likes you... something was wrong. I could see it in your eyes. You can't hide anything from me, Lily. You should know that by now."
Lily sighed. It was true. Cherise always knew when something was bothering Lily, and the other way around.
"You're right. There is something else..." Lily said quietly. Cherise moved closer and put her hand on Lily's arm.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked sweetly. Lily nodded.
"It's about the kiss."
"Did you actually kiss?" Cherise asked.
"No, and that's the whole point."
Cherise furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"I...I really didn't want him to kiss me. You'd think I would've been pleased about it, but instead I felt...sick..." Lily said in barely a whisper.
"Do you think you were just nervous about your first kiss?"
"No. It was more than that. If it had been that, then I still would've wanted him to kiss me, right? But I didn't want him to. I didn't want to be there, to be so close to him. What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing's wrong with you Lil! Don't you ever think that."
"Then why wouldn't I want him to kiss me?"
"I think it may be because... well, maybe you don't really fancy him as much as you thought," Cherise suggested meekly.
This was not what Lily had expected to hear. Of course she liked Sirius! She had been hopelessly in love with him for years, why would it change so quickly?
"Of course I fancy him!" Lily said indigantly.
"Maybe from afar," Cherise countered. "Just because you think - okay,everyone thinks - Sirius is the most gorgeous guy alive doesn't necessarily mean there's chemistry."
"I don't know Lil... your heart seemed to be telling you something, and that is one thing that doesn't lie."
Lily considered Cherise's words for a moment. Maybe she was right. Maybe her feelings for Siriushad changed. But...no, it couldn't be. She pushed the outrageous thought to the back of her mind. It was absurd to think about.
"No Cherise, I do like him. I really do," Lily said as if trying to convince herself as well.
"If you say so," Cherise sighed. "Just follow your heart, okay?"
Cherise slid off the bed and wandered back to her own, leaving Lily in the dark with nothing but her mixed up thoughts.
"Lily! Liiii-ly wake up!" Marilyn shouted while shaking Lily a little harder than necessary.
"What?" Lily answered groggily, reluctantly removing her head from the warm pillow.
"Lil you have to get up! You will never guess who's waiting for you outside our door," Marilyn squeaked excitedly.
"Who? Mickey Mouse?" she retorted sardonically. She was obviously not as bubbly as Marilyn at this time in the morning. Marilyn's bouncy manner was not hiltered in the least by Lily's lack of enthusiasm.
"Nope!" she said brightly. "Try again."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Just tell me then!" she snapped, now feeling very exasperated.
"Sirius!" Marilyn squealed. "He knocked on our door and asked to see you. When I told him that you were still sleeping, he said he'd wait for you! I think he wants to walk with you to breakfast again. Isn't that the sweetest thing?" she finished dreamily.
Lily sprang out of her bed and immediately began rummaging through drawers looking for her clothes.
"He's waiting for me right now? Oh my God, I need to hurry!" she said looking very flustered.
"Slow down! You don't want to look sloppy for him, do you?" Scarlett said from where she was sitting on her bed.
"You're right. I need to collect myself. Breathe, Lily, breathe," Lily said to herself.
As calmly and casually as possible, she finished preparing herself for Sirius. Before walking to the door, she spritzed an extra squirt of perfume on her wrist and neck - just for a little zing.
She walked to the door, placed her hand on the handle, then paused and turned around.
"Aren't you guys coming?" she asked her friends.
"Nah. We want you to have some time alone with Sirius," Scarlett answered.
"Uh...okay then," Lily said uncertainly. She turned back around to face the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.
Sirius was leaning against the wall opposite of her, looking very impatient - though handsomely so.
"Er...hey Sirius."
Sirius smiled his classic smile and came over to her.
"Hey yourself. What took you so long?"
"Sorry about that," she said meekly. "But, well, I am a girl you know."
"Oh I know that alright," he said, winking at her. "So let's go to breakfast already," he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
His very touch made Lily feel dizzy.
"Yes - let's."
Upon entering the Great Hall, Lily and Sirius bumped into Samantha. Lily braced herself for another tirade, but to her surprise Samantha stayed silent. Instead, she simply looked both Lily and Sirius up and down, then rolled her eyes and walked away.
Lily breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was to have Samantha make a scene out of her and Sirius in front of the entire school...again.
The couple sat down at the Gryffindor table and piled their plates with food. Sirius sat so close to Lily that a snitch couldn't be placed between them. In addition, he kept brushing his leg against hers. Lily smiled to herself.
"Sorry that Sam had to interrupt us last night," he said. "Maybe we should try it again sometime..." he whispered in her ear.
Lily's eyes widened, but Sirius didn't notice. He began rubbing the back of her neck softly with his hand.
"I wasreally disappointed when you left..." he continued whispering in her ear.
Lily was beginning to feel the same as she had the night before. She scrunched up her shoulders so Sirius removed hand.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"Oh, um...I'm ticklish," she lied.
"Oh, sorry," he laughed.
The atmosphere lightened up as Lily began explaining movies to the hopelessly-wizard Sirius.
"...And there's an endless variety of them. They go from musicals, romance, comedy, horror, and then the action ones where 90 of the movie is just exploding cars and people getting shot by machine guns," Lily explained with a roll of her eyes.
"Woow...that sounds wicked!" Sirius said energetically.
"Oh you are such a boy! All excited about shooting and exploding. That is so typical," she rolled her eyes teasingly.
"How can you not love it? I mean, what's the point of owning a wand if you can't blow up things with it? Anyway, what's your favorite type of...er...moo-vy?"
"Well, I'm quite partial to the romantic ones," she answered matter- of-factly.
"But wouldn't that be all...mushy-gushy stuff?" Sirius asked with disgust.
"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's all kisses and boxes of chocolate and...yeah!"
"...and your point?"
"You are such a girl," Sirius said in a girly voice, mocking Lily. "All excited about love and romance. That is so typical."
Lily laughed and hit him on the arm.
"Hey! There is nothing wrong with love and romance. It's all so...well, romantic," she said.
"Very well put," he replied sarcastically.
Lily rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. What about you? Don't you like romance at all?"
"Nah. I'm a guy, remember?"
"So? That doesn't mean you can't still like it. Tell me, what's the most romantic thing you've ever done for a girl?"
Sirius configured his face into a thinking expression (which wasn't seen very often), then sighed defeatedly.
"I can't think of anything," he said.
"Oh come on! You must've done something romantic for a girl sometime in your long history of womanizing. Like given her a bouquet of roses, planned a surprise picnic, danced with her under the stars...?" Lily drifted off dreamily.
Sirius again looked puzzled. "No, actually I can't think of anything."
Lily looked, and felt, surprised. Either he had a really bad memory or was just a dud when it came to romance.
"Hey Lil, Sirius," Cherise greeted. Her, Scarlett, and Marilyn joined the couple at the table.
"What are you two up to?" Marilyn asked suggestively.
"Eating breakfast. Isn't it obvious?" Lily answered.
"Okay. Just checking," Marilyn winked as the other girls giggled. Lily cleared her throat rather loudly.
"So," she said over her friends' giggles. "Have any of you finished that huge potions essay that's due tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'm just about finished. I'm going to add the final touches tonight," Cherise said.
"Same here," Scarlett said.
"Finished?" Sirius asked with astonishment. "I haven't even started!"
"But it's due tomorrow!" Lily gasped.
"What do you think lunch is for?"
"Eating?" Marilyn chimed in.
"For doing homework for last class of course," Sirius explained as if it were obvious.
"Oh I see," Lily laughed. "I guess I need to brush up on my Slackers Code of Conduct."
"I'll get you a copy of the book," Sirius assured her with a wink.
Good grief, could I BE any more subtle with that whole Cherise/Lily scene? -rolls eyes- I considered editing that part out, but...didn't. Obviously. It really takes any mystery out of everything though, huh? LoL. Not like y'all didn't already know where this was going. -coughlily&jamespottercough-
Anywho - I know the ending of this chappie was a little...abrupt. Heh. But I couldn't find a good place to stop. So there you have it. I hope it was to your liking!
-Ciao.