Ch 7
The Questionable Question and Shopping Shocks
She snatched up her robe and hastily put it on. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" She wasn't necessarily mad at Sirius since she was already acquainted with his "morning surprises" as he called them, but she was mad at the intrusion of her shower. He had never done that before…
"Averi! I'm ashamed of you! You know you don't curse!"
"Okay, then what the heck are you doing here?"
"Well, Jamie and I just thought we'd come and stay with you guys for the rest of the month starting right then so we hopped on our brooms and zoomed on over."
"That doesn't answer my question. I asked you what you were doing here?
"What? Can't I say hi to my best friend?" he asked, feigning a look of innocence.
"Not while they're taking their shower! Listen Sirius," Averi walked over to him, out her arm around his shoulder, and began directing him to the door, "how bout you go and wait for me in my room, kay? I'll be in in a minute." She closed the door behind him and locked it. Now I gotta lock the door EVERYTIME I use the bathroom, she thought. She combed her still wet hair and marveled at how beautiful it looked when the sun struck it just the right way. She sighed and put her palms on the counter backwards, so that her fingers curled over the sides, and closed her eyes. She picked up her sweet pea scented shower gel and left the room. Upon opening the door, she saw a frightening sight; Sirius was sitting on her bed reading Auriel Rising (A/N: That's one of my FAVORITE books, but not too many people know about it. Be sure to check it out!).
"So ya like?" Averi said, breaking the silence. Sirius, who hadn't noticed when she walked in, looked up.
"Yeah," he said smiling.
"Not me, stupid. The book."
"Oh, yeah. I was just reading some of it. It looks like it's good. Mind if I borrow?"
"Yeah…go ahead." He thanked her, flashed his heart-melting smile, and buried himself once again in the book. His smile made Averi's heart flutter momentarily, but other than that, it had no effect whatsoever on her. The two fell into silence as she walked over to her closet and began piecing together an outfit. After picking out a black tank top and pair of white daisy doops, she decided it was best to say something.
"Hey Sirius," she began quietly, "Can I tell you something? It's kinda personal, but it involves you so you should probably know."
Wrong something to say. Apparently, her mouth chose to take control. Sirius's head jerked up and she mentally kicked herself. He quickly but softly complied. She walked to her bed, put down the outfit, and sat next to him. Before talking, she gently rested her cheek on his shoulder. Sirius could sense a change in her but couldn't decipher it's meaning or purpose.
"Have you ever wondered why I never gave even the slightest indication of wanting to go out with you?"
"Yeah," he slowly said, interest instantly spiking.
"Well, it's because for one, you were my best friend and sometimes friendships are ruined after dating, and two, we were seriously fraternal twins. We both have a lot in common. Like we both hate our parents, laugh at the same jokes and even think the same way. In some cases, at least. I always thought dating you would be like dating a male me or something.
"Lily, being devilishly persuasive, has helped me get past all that so I can ask the question I know you have been longing to hear, but with a slight twist. She sat up and looked into Sirius' steel-gray eyes. Sirius, will you, for the rest of the month, go out with me?"
Averi is kinda close to Sirius. Isn't that closer than how they usually are? Is his arm around her waist? WHY THE BLOODY HELL IS EVERYONE SMILING! Even Lily's in on the joke! What's goin on, James thought. The four friends were riding in Lily's black Ferrari to London. Lily was driving, James was in the passenger seat, and Sirius and Averi were in the back.
Three of the four people in the car were smiling-- Averi and Sirius because they started going out 45 minutes ago and Lily was smiling because she was pleased with her work as "match helper". James, on the other hand, was utterly confused and a little mad at being left out of a joke. He was totally clueless to Averi and Sirius's going out. Of course, he was picking up on a few of their hints, but was doing a poor job in decoding them.
"You guys wanna do some shopping in London before goin to the alley?" Lily asked, looking for a place to park. They all consented. "Where to?"
How bout we walk down the strip in pairs, then later on switch partners. First you and James and Me and Sirius, then vise-verse?" suggested Averi.
Lily shrugged. "How's 10:40 sound to y'all?" With that, she and James left the car and went to explore the right half of the strip mall. Sirius turned to Averi.
"Ready Ave?" he asked.
"Are you flirting with me, Sirius Black?" she said in mock-surprise, placing a hand to her chest.
"Why should I flirt when I already have you?" He offered his arm.
Averi gave him a smile, one that he had never received. Heck, he didn't think anyone else had ever been given that smile from her. It had compassion, happiness, eagerness, and beauty, yet only lasted a few seconds. She took his arm and the two walked, talked, and laughed all up and down the strip mall until Sirius stopped at a jewelry store and bought her a gorgeous diamond dragonfly necklace.
While they were walking, they had gotten (and were still getting) quite a few stares. Some were stares of confusion, others of jealousy and longing. The latter of the two were to be expected since you had two extremely good looking people walking around together and kissing each other in public.
They arrived in front of the car a few minutes early. Averi looked down the sidewalk but didn't see her friends.
"They're gonna be late," she said as she returned to Sirius at the car.
"Then let them." He began kissing her neck.
"Sirius..."
"What? You have no idea of how long I've been wanting to do this." He continued kissing her neck.
Meanwhile, James and Lily had lost track of time and were sitting in a deli enjoying their Cokes. While they were talking, Lily brought up something that you readers may have forgotten about.
"James, in the letter Sirius sent me, he said you had something important. What?"
James froze. He knew exactly what Sirius meant. Note to self – kill Sirius, he thought. He came up with an excuse to get himself out of this dilemma.
"Uh, it's nothing really. Just, uh, John owled me last night and said, um, he might be coming through Monday. Just thought you might've wanted to see him again. Seeing as how it's been three years since you've seen him." Another note – beg John to come on Monday.
"Oh, okay. It would be nice to see him again. Where'd he go again?"
"The Bahamas. He says they get nice weather, but when it storms, it's nasty."
"Cool." She took a drink of her Coke.
"Hey, do you know what's with Sirius and Averi? They were acting a little odd today."
Lily choked on her Coke. Of course she knew. It was practically her fault. She persuaded Averi to tell Sirius about why she wouldn't go out with him. She convinced (more like TRICKED!) James and Sirius to come early and stay the rest of the month. It was basically her ingenious plan to get Sirius and Averi together! So what did faultless flower do?
"No. In act, I didn't notice anything odd about them."
She lied. Nice move Evans."
Lily casually glanced at her watch and immediately jumped out of her chair, almost knocking it over.
"We gotta go," she said.
"What? Why"
"Cuz it's 10:52."
"'Nuff said."
The two raced to the car to find Averi and Sirius discussing a book on the front hood. James got a little worried as the words 'Sirius", 'discussing', and 'book' were correctly computed into his mind. Since when does Sirius read?
"Hey guys," Averi said, looking up from her conversation. "What took you so long?"
"Talkin. Ready to go?" Lily asked Sirius.
Sirius's smile drooped a little as he said this. James thought he heard a very slight trace of disappointment in Sirius's voice, but dismissed the idea as Averi approached him.
"There's a jazz cafe down here. Wanna go there?" He pointed in the direction the cafe was in.
"Yeah. Isn't it called The Underground? I haven't been to that place in years. They used to always ask me to sing whenever I went. I wonder if anyone will remember me..."
"Let's go find out. C'mon." James and Averi walked through the steadily growing crowd, occasionally bumping into someone they had known in their years at Hogwarts.
In a matter of minutes, the two were walking into the cafe. Looking around, James noticed it was dim and everyone was wearing dark colors. There was a small stage with long, black satin curtains, a full size bass, and a microphone on the far wall of the room and many small tables in front of it. Suddenly, a woman sprinted to them from a corner of the room. She grabbed Averi in a big hug, laughing.
"Thanks Lil."
"Why"
"Averi told me you persuaded her to try going out with me."
"Oh, don't worry about it. That's what I do." Sirius and Lily were sitting on a bench outside a Ross: Dress For Less eating Icies. They were tired of window shopping and now short on muggle cash so sitting and eating Icies was the next best thing.
"So, you enjoying your day so far?" Lily asked taking a bite of her strawberry Icee.
"Hmmm, let's see, I walked in on Averi's shower, got to walk around kissing her, made just about everyone on this side of the street jealous...hmm, yeah, I'd say today was just terrible," he replied, sarcasm dripping from his last word.
"Yeah, I know I'm good." She sat back and smiled to herself, pleased.
"Hey, what happened to Mrs. Modest?"
"What? Can't I be a little vain once in a while? I mean, you are! Why can't I?"
"Because you're Lily Evans, that's why. Lily Evans doesn't do vain. She does modest, smart, justifying and all that other crap. Vain just isn't her thing."
"Well then excuse me," Lily said with attitude. She paused before saying, "I still know I'm good."
"Whatever."
Sirius, once again, scanned the crowd as though anticipating something. Or someone. A person passing by in the midst of the crowd caught in his eye. So familiar..., he thought. The person suddenly stopped, causing the people behind to swerve in order to avoid her. She began walking towards Sirius with a huge grin on her face.
Stephanie?
"Averi! I haven't seen you here in four years! Where on earth have you been!"
"Aunt Janice! I've been really busy with school. But I graduated – one of the top in my grade – and am at this very moment an off-duty police officer in training." She winked at Aunt Janice and James. Understanding the gesture, James knew she meant graduating Hogwarts and she was an Auror (A/N: u kno!). Apparently Aunt Janice understood too for she nodded and smiled.
"Just like your aunt. And who is this handsome young man?" She winked at James. She already knew who he was because she worked with his father. She had to sound rather clueless for the audience behind her. "Is this your boyfriend?"
"No, Auntie. He's just a friend...who happens to be a boy. I believe you met him a little while back. His name is James."
"Nice to meet you, James," she said leaning forward and shaking his hand. In her eyes was a sparkle not unlike Dumbledore's. It made her brown eyes seem mysterious and wise. She straightened up again and motioned for Averi and James to follow her. "C'mon. I'll get you guys a table up front."
She turned and led them past the crowded tables. When they reached an empty table, Aunt Janice took Averi's hand and led her to the side. Minutes later, she returned only to say she'd be back shortly. Meanwhile, Aunt Janice walked onto the stage and introduced the next performer.
"Now we have a singer whom some of you may remember. She has an honorable place here in The Underground as well as my heart. Singing her trademark song, Summertime, is my niece, Avery Moore!
"Hi, Sirius! Really long time, absolutely no see! So, how ya been?" she said, sitting on the bench next to him. She looked almost the same as the last time Sirius had seen her. Her jet-back hair still came down to her mid-back, her icy blue eyes still shone with a fiery brightness to them, but one thing was different about her. Sirius just couldn't tell what it was so he tossed the matter to the side.
"Sup, Steph. I heard you're working over at Gringotts. How is it?"
"Ah, it's fine. A little boring at times, but hey. I heard you and James are over at the Ministry. Aurors, eh?"
"Yeah. Still in training. We're on our month break right now. It pays well, too," Sirius said in a somewhat confused tone since he was still trying to find the changed thing about his friend Stephanie.
"Oh, and who is this?" she genially asked, noticing Lily sitting on the other end of the bench. "Does the infamous Black have yet another girlfriend?"
"Naw. This is my friend Lily Evans. Lily, Stephainie. Stephanie, Lily. Get it, got it, doubt it." He lifted his elbows to the edge of the bench and sank into his seat. Got to tell James...he's gonna love this...
"Shutup!" Stephanie said laughing and lightly pushing his shoulder (towards an acutely confused Lily). "Hey, listen, I'll catch you and James later, kay? I gotta meet somebody in a few. Owl me!" Lily watched her as she disappeared into the crowd while Sirius reached deep into his pocket to pull out his two-way.
"Who ya writin' to?" she asked.
"Just Averi. It's almost time to go. I can't wait to see her." He tried to make it as convincing as possible (which apparently was good enough since she bought it). He was indeed writing to Averi, but for other reasons.
Hey. It's Sirius. You won't believe what just happened...
A chorus of snaps filled the cafe as Averi took the stage. She looked as if she had completely transformed. She was wearing a long, strapless, snow-white dress with scarlet and black roses scattered on it connected by a single dark green vine. Her hair was in long, onyx ringlets that played around her face. The bass player walked onstage. She was about to begin. Averi, who had been looking down, lifted her head and took a breath.
"Summertime
and the livin is easy.
Fish are jumpin
and the cotton is high.
Oh your daddy's rich
and your ma is good lookin'.
So hush little baby
don't you cry"
Her voice filled the cafe and carried the customer's off to a blissfully beautiful place caught in eternal summer sunshine and relaxation.
"One of these mornin's
you're goin' to rise up again.
Yes, you'll spread your wings
and you'll take to the sky.
But til' that mornin'
There's nothin' can harm you
with daddy and mommy
standin' by
"Summertime
and the livin is easy.
Fish are jumpin
and the cotton is high.
Oh your daddy's rich
and your ma is good lookin'.
So hush little baby
don't you cry"
She closed her eyes and gave a quiet sigh as the now quiet cafe filled with snaps. Averi answered the applause with a small curtsy, exited the stage, and waved James over before walking into a side room. He entered to find Averi looking at the screen of her two-way. She had already magiced her clothing back to normal. He couldn't make out anything from her facial expression so he decided to wait until she spoke up. He didn't have to wait very long.
"Sirius says one of your old friends just ran into them. Does 'Stephanie' ring a bell?"
At the mention of 'Stephanie', James felt a surge of emotion race through him. Stephanie had been James's girlfriend before he met Lily. In fact, the day he was going to break up with her was exactly eight years ago, on that very day. He would have, too, if Stephanie hadn't broken up with him first. Since James was only used to breaking up with girls, it was a little new for him when she told him the four words no one in a serious relationship wants to hear – "We need to talk." It was because of this that James had never really recovered from their relationship and had mixed up feelings of love and hate towards her. He gave a slight shudder, remembering the day.
"Yeah. I remember her. Hey, you ready to head back?" he said trying to change the subject.
Although Averi noticed this, she agreed and they made their way back to the entrance. Once again, they wove their way through the crowd, each thinking their own thoughts. James was attempting to understand his conglomeration of emotions while Averi was vehemently battling hers.
James remembered how Stephanie would make him feel. She'd give him that light-headed, heart-warming feeling that usually accompanied her smile. Although they were only 11 when they went out, they had felt quite strongly about each other. Everyone was sure he and Stephanie would have a future together, but alas, not everything is meant to last.
Averi on the other ha. She was in a mild state of denial. She was afraid that her temporarily relationship with Sirius would strengthen her feelings towards him. From the first time she had seen Sirius, that day at the park, she had had a crush on him. He gave an aura of ambience that was quite soothing to her. But, unfortunately, their friendship became too strong too fast. Although the line can be crossed sometimes, it's generally best to separate friends from boyfriends.
"Uh...James? Averi? Y'all okay? You been lookin lost like that for five minutes already. It's startin to rain so we're headin back to the house. Hop in," said Lily from the car. She and Sirius were sitting in the car looking quite worriedly at their friends who still had blank expressions and were unaware of the raindrops steadily falling onto their heads. James and Averi looked at each other, then the sky, and finally hopped into the car as Lily was pulling out. As the door closed, an almost harshly cold wind rocked the windows of the car. The weather had unexpectedly turned frigid. At the next red light, James transferred from the front passenger seat to the empty seat in back, pressing closely against Averi (in search of heat) and earning glares from Sirius the entire ride back.
A/N: No, James + Averi aren't and don't want to hook up. You see, when James got into the passenger seat, he didn't warm up any, despite the heater warming his feet. Since Sirius was sitting to the far left and Averi next to him (the middle seat), the only empty seat was next to her. James, in search of heat and pressed for time (the red light) hopped in back and pressed against the nearest person, who just so happened to be Averi. Believe me, he would've done the same thing regardless of who it was – he was just that cold.
Oh James didn't notice the glares and didn't even know that he would've gotten any cuz he is still rather clueless about Averi + Sirius. Besides, he got Lily. Or does he...?