Summer of Love
Lily Evans and her best friend Athena Asimokopoulos head for a vacation in Athena's homeland—Greece. Lily expects a great summer, filled with lazy days on the beach, checking out hot Greek men and eating bizarre Greek food. However, the best part of the entire trip would be NO JAMES POTTER!
James Potter, however, is stunned when he is told he has to go to Greece for his cousins' engagement party. He doesn't want to go at all, but with some persuasion from his mother and Sirius Black, they're off.
Lily is outraged when she sees her worst enemy, James Potter in Greece! She thought she could get rid of him! James, meanwhile, is thanking himself repeatedly for deciding to come to Greece after all.
James is desperate to make Lily fall in love with him before the summer is over, but the question is—can he?
Chapter 17—You Know You Like Me.
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, do you think I'd be writing this? (Didn't think so). I only own Athena Asimokopoulos, her grandparents, Eileen, Stella and other characters you may not recognize.
No flaming please! I really do think that flaming just makes the author of the story feel miserable and that they stink at writing—so no flaming please!
This story is dedicated to THE BIG DANCE, for being my first reviewer. Thanks so much TBD!
Okay, okay, I get it—most of you want half Sirius/Athena and then half of Lily/James. I PROMISE it will happen.
Now, I will cut short my ramblings and give you Chapter 17!
--
"Ha ha!" Athena laughed in glee. "I knew it! I KNEW it!"
Lily gave a sly grin. "Oh come on, Thena. You did not."
Athena cackled and rolled backwards. "Oh yes I did! You and James kissed! That means I won the bet! Oh, man! Wait till I tell Sirius!"
Lily raised her eyebrows. "Okay, Athena. Spill."
"What? What are you talking about?" Athena gave a nervous laugh that didn't fool Lily.
"Admit it. Admit you like Sirius Black."
"I do not!" Athena exclaimed, lying between her teeth. Once seeing Lily's look of disbelief, she switched her motive. "Oh come on, Lils! You honestly expect ME to LIKE Sirius Black after hating him for the last six years of my life?"
Lily nodded. "Yup. Look what happened to me and James."
"True—but technically, you two aren't a couple. You ran off."
Lily blushed. "I did NOT! I just decided to leave."
"You keep on dreaming." Athena snorted. "You were afraid."
"No I wasn't! I was jus—hey! Stop switching the subject!"
Damn. Athena thought bitterly.
"Why can't you just admit it?" Lily asked.
"Because—I don't like him!"
"Do so."
"Do not."
"So."
"Not."
"So."
"Not."
"Not."
"So."
"Ha! You admitted it!"
"Hey!" Athena shouted, furious. "You tricked me!"
Lily grinned. "You admitted it."
Athena knew she was cornered. "Alright! FINE! I do like Sirius Black!"
Lily punched the air with her fist. "I KNEW it!"
"Yeah—you keep on dreaming." Athena muttered.
Ignoring her, Lily looked at her best friend. "For how long?" She asked.
"How long—what?"
"How long have you liked him?"
"Lily," Athena whined. "Do I seriously have to answer this question? I admitted I liked him."
"I don't care." Lily crossed her arms and stared into Athena's pupils. "How long?"
Athena bounced slightly on the bed as she thought. "Hmm," she mused. "I think it was the Mount Olympus trip or to the Parthenon."
Lily gaped. "That long? What took you so long?"
Athena glared. "Oh—don't you even start. Look at you!"
"Hey, at least I told James how I felt about him."
"That's different—" Athena started to say but Lily cut her off.
"I'm not about to listen to your excuses, Athena Asimokopoulos. If I'm mistaken—weren't you the one who told me in sixth year to take chances?"
"Yes, but—"
"Exactly! You're such a bloody hypocrite, Athena! You say one thing and then you don't do it. You're such a chicken!"
Athena glared. "Hey! I give good advice and I'm NOT chicken."
Lily shrugged. "If you're not—then you tell Sirius how you really feel."
"There's one more teensy little problem." Athena said.
"What is it?" Lily asked exasperatedly.
"Well, I'm Greek—"
"No duh Athena. I'm not stupid you know. You wear the Greek costume every March 25th!" (A/N: Greek Independence Day)
Athena threw up her hands. "NO! I mean—I'm Greek and well—he's not."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Lily was remotely confused.
"Oh come on, Lils! Remember what I told you before the engagement party? Greeks only date and marry Greeks!"
"For heaven sakes!" Lily cried. "This is the twentieth century! Do you have to listen to your grandparents? They have on say so in whom you have to marry! It's not like you're going to marry the boy! You're only sixteen years old."
"Seventeen in three months." Athena corrected.
"Who cares about statistics?" Lily argued. "Just tell him how you really feel!"
Athena scowled and slid from the bed. "Fine, Miss Match Maker." She said, standing up. "I'll tell him!"
Lily smiled. "That's a good girl."
Hunching her shoulders, Athena walked to the door and opened it. Yet, before she stepped out, she turned to Lily and said, "If he laughs or refuses me—it'll be your head!"
--
Sirius was in hysterics.
Yes, hysterics.
"Are you serious?" He said, in between laughs. "Did she actually kiss you?"
James smiled smugly. "Yup. It was the best moment of my life."
Sirius continued to laugh.
James glared. "Are you going to keep on laughing?"
"Hold on." Sirius gasped. He continued to laugh for a few more moments until he finally stopped and was able to act like a normal human being.
"Okay," he said, breathing deeply. "I'm done."
James threw a cushion at Sirius and grinned. "I seriously still can't believe it." He said happily. "Lily Evans kissed me!"
"About bloody time too." Sirius grinned. "How long have you been stalking her? Since first year?"
James glared at Sirius. "Hey! And no—it was at the Sorting when they announced her name."
Sirius shook his head. "Idiot," he muttered.
"I heard that."
Sirius shrugged. "Anyway, are you and Lily going out?"
James shook his head. "I'm not sure."
"What the heck?" Sirius yelped. "She kissed you and you two aren't going out?"
"Well," James said, "She was quite nervous and I bet she hadn't kissed anybody for a long time."
"Nah—the last guy was Tyler Jorgensen and that was two months again?"
James looked livid. "She kissed that Hufflepuff bloke?"
"Oh calm down, Prongs."
"She KISSED him?"
"It was two bloody months ago!" Sirius exclaimed, wishing he had never brought it up.
James stood up, his face red with anger. "I'm going to kill him when we get back to school!" He yelled.
Aimee rushed into the sitting room where James and Sirius were.
"James!" She said in a loud whisper, "Please—indoor voices! I'm making a soufflé!"
"A what?"
"It's a Muggle sort of food." Aimee whispered urgently. "And extremely delicate. One loud noise makes it go ka-put!"
Sirius's eyes widened. Food going to waste? He wasn't going to have it.
"Yeah James," Sirius said, shoving James down. "Indoor voices. Your mother is making a soufflé!"
James glared. "Oh—shut up, Sirius! You're just saying that because my mother is making food!"
"She's the best cook ever." Sirius said.
Aimee smiled. "At least someone appreciates my cooking."
With that, Aimee turned on the spot and Apparated back to the kitchen.
Once James was certain his mother was gone, he turned to Sirius and said, "You know my mother can't cook."
Sirius shrugged. "Hey—I don't want to miss out on any food."
James groaned in exasperation and leaned back on the cushions, his arms folded across his chest, not saying a word.
Sirius, on the other hand, was glad that James wasn't ranting about the boy that Lily had kissed two months previously.
Ten minutes later, there was a tapping on the window near the couches.
Looking up, the two boys noticed a handsome owl sitting there.
"Hey!" James scrambled from his seat. "It's Athens! Maybe it's from Lily!"
Or Athena. Sirius thought wistfully.
As James opened the window, the bird flew to Sirius instead of holding out its leg for James.
"It's for you!" James said in shock.
Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "Who would send me a letter?"
"Who knows?" James said, edging Sirius on. "Maybe Athena?"
Sirius's eyes went wide. James had a point there. . .
Taking the letter from the owl's leg, Sirius opened it and quickly read the short message:
Sirius,
Meet me in front of the beach in five minutes—or else.
—Athena
Sirius's eyes went wide. "Is this some kind of joke?" He asked aloud.
"What?" James asked. "Who's it from?"
Sirius glared. "The boogeyman." He said sarcastically.
James knit his eyebrows together. "Who?"
Sirius shook his head. "A Muggle thing parents use to scare their kids." He explained. "I heard Evans talk about them."
"Okay," James looked uncertain but then said, "Well—whose it from?"
"It's from Athena stupid!" Sirius barked.
"What does she want?"
Sirius held out the letter. "Read to believe."
James took the letter and read it quickly. Once he was done, he had a strange look on his face and looked at Sirius. "I'll be back in a minute."
Handing the letter back to Sirius, James left the sitting room and went into the hall.
Five minutes passed and James still did not return. Sirius was becoming annoyed. What was taking James so long?
Following James, Sirius peeked into the hall to find a hysterical
James laughing in the hallway.
"May I ask what is so funny?" Sirius demanded.
James took one look at Sirius and the letter clutched in his hand and erupted in a new wave of laughter.
Sirius looked at James. "Did you overindulge in Cheering Charms?"
James continued to laugh.
Sirius rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "Well—I'm going to meet Athena now—find out what she wants."
"Wait!" James said his laughing fit over, "I'm coming with you!"
"Why?"
"Because," James said, scrambling up, "If Athena's going to kill you—then I don't want to miss it."
--
Lily lurked in the shadows as she spied on a nervous Athena waiting at the beach.
Truth be told, Athena had no idea that Lily had followed her but Lily hated being left in the dark so she decided to follow her.
Now Lily was hiding behind a building in perfect range and hearing.
The building was perfect too. It let Lily see out but it didn't let Athena spot her.
Lily kept a close eye on Athena. For once, Athena lost her look of composure and looked quite scared.
"I see you came along too." Came a deep male voice that Lily knew oh so well.
Whirling around, Lily was shocked to see a smirking James Potter standing in front of her.
"James!" She cried her heart racing. "W—what are you doing here?"
"Spying on Sirius," James replied, scanning his eyes. "And I believe you are spying on Athena?"
"Yup." Lily lowered her black sunglasses over her eyes. "I couldn't resist seeing what was going to happen. It was either a) she was going to hit him for no reason or b) she was going to confess her love to him."
"I'll go with b." James said, looking over Lily's shoulder.
Lily felt like she was going to melt with James leaning over her. God, he was incredible.
Funnily enough, James was thinking the exact same thing about Lily.
He was quite amused at what she was wearing. A black tank top, black sweat pants, black sandals and a black scarf that covered her bright hair. To top it off she had huge black sunglasses that overpowered her delicate face. (A/N: Think of the glasses Nicole Richie wears)
"Uh, Lily?" James asked.
"What?" Lily replied.
"Why are you wearing so much black? Aren't you boiling?"
Lily nodded. "Yeah—I sort of am. But black blends in."
"At night maybe," James chuckled. "But in broad daylight, you stick out like a sore thumb."
Lily glared, taking off her sunglasses. "Nobody asked you!"
James shrugged. "I like putting in my two cents."
"No duh Sherlock." Lily muttered, putting her sunglasses back on her eyes.
--
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Athena mentally told herself this as she impatiently waited for Sirius Black to show up.
For once in her life, Athena Asimokopoulos was afraid. Afraid of what Sirius would say to her.
She knew she wasn't as pretty as Lily was. Lily looked like a goddess of Mount Olympus (if goddesses had dark red hair, shockingly emerald eyes and pale skin). Compared to Lily, Athena was an unattractive girl.
Stop being so vain. Athena chided herself. You have to go through with this. You're Athena Asimokopoulos. You always go through with everything.
"Athena?" A deep voice broke through Athena's thoughts as her heart plummeted.
Turning around she saw the good-looking Sirius stare straight at her.
"Oh—uh—hi Sirius." Athena said weakly. "Did you get my letter?"
Smart move, Asimokopoulos. Obviously, he got it or else he would not be here!
Sirius nodded, not noticing the internal battle between Athena and her conscience. "Yeah. You said I had to meet you at the beach, or else. And I didn't want to know what the 'or else' meant."
Athena cracked a grin. God, Sirius could be so funny sometimes.
"So," Sirius said, keeping his eyes on Athena. "What did you want to tell me?"
Stay cool Athena. If Lily went through with it, then so can you.
--
Something was bugging James.
And that was the kiss that Lily gave him yesterday night.
He still couldn't believe it happened. Him—Lily—kisses.
Life just kept getting better and better.
However, he needed to know if that kiss meant something. If it was a friendly kiss, (James sincerely doubted it) then he knew his chances with Lily were over.
His feelings were etched in stone for Lily, but the question was; were her feelings etched in stone for him?
"Um, Lily?" James asked. "About yesterday night, I—"
Lily, however, cut him off. "Shh! Athena's saying something!"
--
"Well?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows at a scared Athena. "What did you drag me here for?"
Athena struggled to say something.
Be brave Thena.
"Well," she said, not meeting Sirius' dark blue eyes. "I sort of, kind of like you!"
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What did you say?"
"I like you." Athena muttered.
Sirius cupped his ear and leaned in towards her. "What?"
"I SAID I LIKE YOU!" Athena screamed in his ear. "HAPPY?"
"Ouch!" Sirius clutched his ear. "That hurt woman!"
Suddenly it hit him what Athena had just said.
I said I like you.
"You like me?" Sirius said, hardly believing it. "You, Athena Something, actually like ME?"
"No," Athena said sarcastically. "I like James Potter. Of COURSE I like you."
"I don't believe it!" Sirius cried, "I knew you couldn't resist the Black charm!"
Athena rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap Black. Since I revealed my feelings—do you like me?"
Sirius stopped his maniac glee and turned serious.
"Yes," he said, moving in closer. "I do."
Athena's heart pounded in her chest as she too stepped forward.
Just when she was sure, he was going to kiss her there was a strangled cry of, "I KNEW IT!"
The two whirled around to see who it was and to their shock (and anger), they saw a laughing James Potter and a covered in black Lily Evans hiding out behind a building.
"LILY!" Athena shouted, just as Sirius yelled, "JAMES!"
James stopped his laughing and looked at the two angry people. "Uh oh."
Lily smacked him hard. "Nice going you idiot."
--
Yay! Chapter 17 is done!
I hope that there was enough Lily and James action for you guys! I tried my hardest.
I don't know when I'll be able to write and post Chapter 18. I'm grounded from my computer for the next week or so (or when my parents forget I'm grounded) and I won't be able to get any chapters up.
So, if you see no Chapter 18 (Title is 'Spin of Events') up—you'll know why.
Until next time!
--Greekchic. O-o