Disclaimer: I wish, I wish, I wish, but wishing won't let me own Harry Potter. I also do not own the passage from my favorite book, 'Pride and Prejudice.' That work is all by the brilliant Jane Austen.
Chapter 15— Together at Last?
Previously on Dating the Enemy
Sirius scowled. "Thanks for showing support best friend."
"You're quite welcome. Now, let's go."
As the two boys turned to leave, Remus felt a tapping on his shoulder. Turning around he saw a scowling Victoria standing in front of him with the slate.
Dipstick, aren't you forgetting to take the charm off me?
--
James paced throughout his room, wondering whom to choose.
This was the hardest decision of his life.
He mentally calculated the choices in his head.
There was Lily. Sweet, honest (vicarious!) Lily. He saw the flowing long dark red hair going past her shoulders, her almond shaped emerald green eyes. He saw her fine features, her pretty smile, and her pretty laugh.
Then, he saw the wicked Lily. The yelling, scolding, screaming, insulting Lily.
"Potter! You're such a prat!" The similar voice to Lily's rang in his head.
He scowled.
He then moved onto Brigette.
A mental image zoomed into his head. A beautiful, caring Brigette with her long blonde hair in its usual braid down her back, her carefree light blue eyes and her teeny tiny ness. Brigette was so nice, vivacious, smart, and knew what to expect out of a boy.
However, she was a player. Just like Sirius was.
A mental of the conversation earlier echoed through his memory. He remembered how insistent Brigette was in saying that James asked her out and that they were supposed to be together.
He also remembered when Brigette threw a punch at Lily when Lily had just hugged James.
He shuddered.
James sat down on his bed, groaning and wallowing in self-pity. What was he to do?
The question was:
Who was he to pick? If he picked one, the other was bound to get their heart broken.
James groaned again and buried his head in his hands.
Life sucked.
--
"You are too hasty sir," she cried. "You have forgotten I have made no answer. Let me do it without further loss of time. Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am very sensible of the honor of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them."
"I am not now to learn," said Mr. Collins with a formal wave of his hand, "that it is usual for young ladies to—
Lily shut her book with a slam and threw it on the bed. How could she even read with the thoughts of James picking Brigette still looming in her mind?
What if James picked Brigette to be his? Would he just throw Lily aside like that? Forget seven years of him liking her and her hating him? Through all the slapping, yelling, screaming, hexing? Even though Lily had hated James for always bugging her, she liked the attention.
Panicking slightly, she decided to take a nice warm bath. Yes, a bath, she reasoned as she walked to her bathroom. A bath will make me feel better.
--
"NO!"
Something colorful and revealing flew onto Brigette's bed.
Brigette Cleremont was very busy at the moment. She was trying to find the perfect outfit to receive James in.
But she couldn't decide! And it was driving her CRAZY!
But what should she choose? The strapless white gown that hugged her every curves?
No, Brigette reasoned. It's too virginal and also, James would think that I want to marry him. Even though I do.
Brigette picked up a slinky purple halter-top.
Nah, too sleazy. James would want to see a modest looking girl, right?
Oh well. James would have to learn (once he chose her over that stupid Lily Evans) that modest was so NOT in Brigette's vocabulary. In her words, if you got it, flaunt it.
Therefore, it would be perfectly natural for Brigette's entire wardrobe to look like the closet of a stripper's.
After much deliberation, Brigette chose a brown off the shoulder sweater that dipped down in the front to show ample cleavage and paired it off with a triple X mini skirt. Add some brown leather hooker boots, some huge earrings, some makeup and viola; you have yourself a very pretty girl.
As Brigette slicked on more lip-gloss (she had so much on it looked like one could skate across her lips) she looked at her reflection. Her lips curled up into a truly evil smile.
Look out Lily Evans, Brigette thought, capping the Stila lip-gloss. James is so mine.
--
Lily. Brigette. Lily. Brigette. Lily. Brigette.
Lily Potter.
Brigette Potter.
"ARGH!" James roared as he crumpled the bit of parchment into a ball and threw it expertly into the trashcan.
This was hopeless. He truly cared for those two girls but he knew he'd hurt one of them.
God, love sucked.
Wait a second. James thought in amazement as a light bulb flashed in his head. It's simple. Which girl do I love the most?
The answer came quite clearly to him.
Bolting out of the room, he went in search of the girl he knew he loved.
--
"Fresh air." Lily muttered, leaving her dorm.
"That's what I need. Fresh air."
On her way out, she spotted James run out. He looked happy and was muttering, "The one I love. The one I love."
Lily's heart seized with panic. Oh no! He chose Brigette!
Well, maybe not. The nasty annoying little voice said in her head. Maybe he's searching for you.
Please,Lily thought. He would have spotted me.
You never know. That sly voice said.
"Oh do shut up."
"You know Lily. Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."
Whirling around Lily saw a smirking Victoria walk towards her.
"Vicky!" Lily gasped running over to her friend. "You got the charm off."
Victoria scowled. "Yeah, Remus almost forgot to take it off. Funny, he remembers his own best friend who talks way too much, but he doesn't remember me."
"You're sorta hard to forget Vicky." Lily teased, thoughts of James washing away.
Victoria made a face. "You suck."
"I love you too." Lily cheerfully said.
"Where are you going? I'll follow you. I'm so bored."
"I'm going outside. I can't handle being inside any longer—I need fresh air."
"You thinking of James?" All the playfulness went out of Victoria's voice. She was dead serious. "Were you?"
"I saw him rush out." Lily confided. "He didn't even see me. He was muttering, 'The one I love,' over and over again. I think he's going back to Brigette."
Victoria frowned. "That doesn't sound good."
Lily looked at her feet. "I know."
"Well, if James does choose Brigette, which boy will you go back out with?"
"I don't know. Maybe Cody Bayer—if he still wants to go out with me."
Victoria blushed deep crimson that didn't go unnoticed by Lily.
"What?" She snapped.
"Nothing," Victoria turned away, "Nothing."
"Victoria Priscilla Michaels you lie like a bed wetter. Now, tell me! Why did you blush at Cody's name? You don't like him, do you? After all, you're with Ryan."
"Actually, remember when Cody said he didn't want to go out with you?" Victoria chose her words carefully.
"Yes."
"Well, he still wanted to go out with you."
"Well, what stopped him? I liked him a lot."
Victoria braced herself for the explosion.
"James forced him out of it."
Three...Two...One...
"WHAT?"
--
"I'll bet you Seven Galleons he goes for Brigette." Sirius said confidentially.
"I'll bet you Seven Galleons James goes for Lily." Remus said, throwing his Galleons on the table.
Normally, Remus didn't gamble—but today was a definite exception.
Sirius eyed the gold and rubbed his hands gleefully. "You're just wasting your time, mate. James will so go for Brigette."
"I doubt it. Brigette's so—err—I can't think of the word right now."
"A slut?" Sirius piped up. "A whore? A female version of myself."
"That was it, a Siriusa." Remus snapped his fingers. "Brigette's a definite Siriusa."
Sirius scowled. "She's hotter than Lily. Everybody knows that. James will pick her."
"I think James looks for more than hotness when choosing girls, Sirius."
BAM.
The door burst open to reveal a harassed looking Victoria.
"Quick, hide me." Victoria muttered, shutting the door and diving into Remus' bed. "Lily's out for my blood."
"Now what did you do?"
"It's not what I did—it's what I said."
"What did you say?" Remus asked tiredly. The full moon was approaching and his nerves were not to be tested.
"I—um—told her about the whole Cody Bayer incident."
"Oh no."
"You didn't."
"I did!" Victoria buried her face in her hands. "Whoops for me! Now, she's angry."
"At who?" Sirius asked. "James?"
"Hell no. She's mad at me! She was screaming at me, telling me how I'm her best friend and I should have told her. I ran off before she got her wand out. You know how quick she is with that thing."
The two boys winced. Like it or not, they had been at the receiving end of Lily Evans' wand.
Victoria's eyes trailed over to the shiny Galleons lying so innocently on the table.
"Oooh, free money!"
"Back off Jack." Sirius slapped Victoria's hand away. "That's our bet."
"I'm not even going to ask on who it is." Victoria sat Indian style, her arms crossed over her chest. "It's a bet on Lily and Brigette."
"Correct."
"Oh and it's Seven Galleons each, Sirius is betting for Brigette because she's hot and Remus is for Lily because he thinks James will pick more than just looks."
Sirius had a look of sheer amazement on his face.
"How'd you know that?" He asked joyfully. "You're physic! Quick, tell me what I'm thinking."
Victoria batted a pillow at him. "No, you idiot! I just know the bets!"
"Too bad." Sirius made a face. "I was thinking about éclairs."
Victoria made a face. "Ech."
"Join the bet, Michaels!" Sirius said eagerly. "Seven Galleons! Brigette or Lily?"
"None." Victoria glared.
"Huh?"
"You heard me, I'm not betting."
"Why not?" Sirius demanded.
"Because, they're my best friends."
"So? James is my best friend and I'm still betting on him." Sirius insisted.
"That's cause you're Sirius. You're a complete asshole."
"I know I—HEY."
Ignoring Sirius' outburst Victoria went on. "I'm not betting."
"C'mon, Victoria." Remus wheeled. "It's just a bet. Who do you think James will pick."
"I'm not saying."
"Pretty please?"
"NO."
"It's not that hard!" Sirius exclaimed. "I know that you know that James will pick someone."
"I can't pick! Cause think about it. If I pick Lily, then it'll seem like I'm on Lily's side. If I pick Brigette, then it'll seem like I'm on Brigette's side and—damn it—you guys wouldn't understand."
"Oh yeah?" Sirius crossed his arms. "Enlighten me."
"Sirius, can you even spell that?" Remus asked tiredly.
"Not even close." Sirius admitted truthfully.
"I won't even bother in explaining to you." Victoria admitted. "Man, I just want this to be done and over with. I just keep thinking that this is all a dream and I'll eventually wake up and Lily and Brigette are still friends."
"Except, it's not a dream." Oh so clever Sirius put in. "It's reality."
Victoria glared at Sirius. "No shit Sherlock."
"Who's Sherlock?" Sirius asked in confusion.
Victoria, who was a pureblooded witch had no idea what the word meant (she heard it from Lily), turned to Remus.
"You took Muggle Studies, you tell him. I'm sick of repeating myself fifty billion times. It's like trying to get through a brick wall."
--
One...Two...Three...Four...Five...
Plop.
Lily sighed and picked up another smooth stone. Five. She couldn't even beat her own record of seven that she made when she was eleven.
Lily concentrated on the water and then looked at the stone. All of a sudden, the stone turned into the smirking face of Brigette.
"He's mine." The stone Brigette seemed to jeer. "Back away."
Gripping the stone as hard as she could in anger, Lily whipped it halfway across the lake.
"Hehe." Lily muttered, satisfied.
She stayed at the lake for another ten minutes before she heard footsteps.
"Hi Lily." A deep male voice made Lily freeze and turn around. Her stomach did somersaults when she saw who it was.
James Potter.
"Oh, uh, hi James." She stammered, trying to regain her composure. "What's up?"
"Nothing." James looked down at his trainers (Wtf are trainers?) and slightly kicked the ground.
Lily felt it go very warm and knew that it was because James was around.
God, she was crushing hard on this boy.
"Look James—" Lily started as she felt the tears pool into her eyes. She knew she had to tell James that she still liked him, even though she knew he chose Brigette.
James looked up. He looked so sincere that Lily wanted to bawl her eyes out right now.
"James," Lily started again, "I know you chose Brigette as the girl you love."
"Huh?" James looked confused.
"I know you love Brigette," Lily said, "You chose Brigette over me. I heard you as I went out of the Heads Room. You were muttering, 'The one I love, the one I love.' You didn't see me, so it had to mean you chose Brigette."
Lily felt some tears leak down her face and slightly brushed them away.
"I'm okay with the decision you made, okay?" Lily said, knowing her emerald green eyes were bright with tears. "But, I want you to know that I still have a crush on you. I think I always will."
"Lily," James' hazel eyes were full of misunderstanding. "Lils, you misinterpreted it. When I was saying, 'the one I love,' I was looking for you."
"Me?" Lily's heart was in her throat. "But, you passed right by me."
"Hey, I'm half blind. I do wear glasses you know."
Lily snorted. Trust James to make her laugh in the most serious of conversations.
"You honestly chose me over Brigette?" Lily asked in disbelief.
"It wasn't easy." James confessed. "You two girls are both amazing and I like both of you two but I then realized, I can't like the girl I choose, I have to love her. And I realized that I didn't love Brigette. I love you."
Lily's stomach was doing cartwheels, her heart was in her throat, and her eyes were bulging. Did James just say he 'loved her?'
The question was did Lily love James? Or was it only a regular teenage crush?
Lily stepped towards James. "I think I love you too." She whispered.
James closed the space between them and captivated her lips in the softest kiss.
They never knew that during the entire conversation, somebody was listening and that somebody's heart was broken in two.
--
Brigette couldn't believe it.
She honestly couldn't believe it.
James Potter didn't love her at all.
He loved that idiot Lily Evans.
How did she know? It's simple.
She eavesdropped on the entire conversation! She had seen James walking and followed him. He seemed trance-like and Brigette didn't want to disturb him for reasons she didn't know. All she knew was that James was heading somewhere.
She followed him outside where she saw him recognize someone. His eyes went wide and a smile crept onto his face.
She followed his eyes and her heart tightened. No.
He saw Lily Evans, skipping rocks in the lake.
How may you ask, she recognized Lily? It's not that hard. The girl has silky dark red hair that shone when the sun hit it!
As James crept towards Lily, Brigette hid herself behind the tree nearest the two, hoping to hear every word. Maybe James was going to tell Lily he didn't like her and he was madly in love with Brigette.
Please, please, please let it be that. Brigette prayed. Please let James say he likes me better.
However, as she listened to the conversation, her prayers were unanswered. Lily was confessing how even though James might have picked Brigette, Lily still liked him.
Damn it.
And to Brigette's horror, she heard James utter the three words she had desperately wished for him to say to her.
"I love you."
She felt her hands grip the trunk of the tree and her heart felt like someone had taken a chainsaw and cut it right down the middle.
Oh James. Brigette's mind cried. You have taken the stitching out of my heart!
"I think I love you too." Came the feminine voice of Lily.
No.
Brigette slightly turned around so she could see what the two were doing.
What she saw however, made her wish she never looked around.
Lily and James were kissing.
She gasped slightly and felt tears run down her cheeks, ruining the mascara and eyeliner that wasn't waterproof.
Who cares her face looked like shit? Her heart was even worse.
Gasping in pain, Brigette ran back into the castle where she let herself cry dry.
Life sucked.
--
The next day, the entire school knew about Lily and James.
They were finally a couple.
"I knew it would happen." Sirius said cheerfully as he drank his fifth glass of pumpkin juice. "I never doubted it. Not for one second."
A piece of toast flew at Sirius' head, courtesy of Victoria.
"Puh-lease Blackie." Victoria shouted. "Don't even start with me. We all doubted it."
"That may be so, but I was the one who doubted it the least."
"Sirius, my demented friend," Remus shook his head in exasperation, "you were the one offering James if he wanted to hook up with some of your ex-girlfriends. And if I'm right, you're exact words were, 'C'mon now James. Give up on Lily. She'll never like you anyway. Here, I got an idea. Go out with some other girls—Cindy Veski is single. And Sara McClain has had her eye on you for quite some time.'"
Sirius made a face. "Yeah but—argh. You guys take the fun out of everything."
"That's what we're here for Black." Victoria said cheerfully, "To make your life a living hell."
"No, no, that's our job." James said his arm around Lily.
"Soo," Victoria said, leaning in towards the new couple. "Have you told Brigette about this?"
James shifted uncomfortably as Lily's face tensed slightly.
"James?" Victoria asked again. "Did you?"
"Well no," James admitted. "I didn't."
"James!"
"Well, you know," he protested. "I think that she would know by now. After all, the entire school knows."
As if on cue, Ryan Armstrong came over and looked at the pair. "Lily! James! About time you two get together."
"Ryan!" Victoria said in delight, kissing her boyfriend.
Soon, it turned into a full out make out session as her friends pelted the couple with food.
"Get a room!"
"Ew, I'm gonna lose my breakfast!"
"Victoria, it's bad enough Sirius does that at meal times, do you have to take a leaf out of his book?"
"Victoria, have some decency!"
"Vicky, CONTROL YOURSELF."
Victoria finally stopped kissing her boyfriend and turned towards her friends, a glint in her eye.
"Why are you guys telling me this?" She said innocently. "After all, soon Lily and James will be doing this at meal times."
"You're right." Sirius and Remus said in unison as they glared at the two.
"What?" James held up his hands, "We won't do it in public."
"Right." Lily said, nodding her head. She wasn't a big supporter of PDA.
"Besides," James said in a sly smile. "You guys won't be around to see it."
Roars of laughter followed that comment while Lily smacked James with her fork.
"Ow, Lily! That hurt."
"Good," Lily said, "I'm glad. Maybe it'll knock some sense into you."
"Aww, mate." Sirius said sympathetically, "She's got you in, hook line and sinker."
"Yeah I know. And I love every minute of it."
More laughter followed this.
"Man," Sirius said, making a face. "This is why I never want to get married."
"Black, who would want to marry you," Victoria demanded. "You're the ugliest thing I've ever seen!"
Everybody laughed at Sirius' shocked look on his face.
However, farther away, near the door of the Great Hall, tucked away in the darkness was Brigette Cleremont.
However, it was a different Brigette Cleremont than anybody had ever seen. Her usually silky and well kempt hair was soiled, oily and knotted. Her usually made-up eyes had streaks of mascara and eyeliner from her crying and her clothes were rumpled and torn slightly.
However, as odd as her appearance was, the oddest thing of all was her eyes.
Usually, her eyes would glint with happiness and love but now, they were ice cold and on fire. There was also hatred in those eyes.
And that hatred flashed at a certain person.
She watched as Lily and James laughed with their friends and as the couple shared a quick kiss. The anger was bubbling up and up until Brigette knew, she would burst.
Did any of them care where she was? What about Victoria? Didn't she at least care where her other best friend was?
But no, nobody cared about Brigette right now. No, everybody's attention was on the new couple, Lily Evans and James Potter.
Brigette felt her dirty hands clench into fists as she glared at Lily again, hoping that the girl would get her telepathic signals of hate.
"This isn't over yet, Lily Evans." She hissed. "This is so far from over."
THE END.
TA DA! Surprised you there didn't I? Well yes, this is the end of 'Dating the Enemy.' Yes, I know tear tear.
I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I have. I have to say, this is one of my favorites so far.
I have a new 2 shot coming out called 'The Note.' Keep on checking to see when it comes out! (Most likely in a week or so)
Anyway, thank you for putting up with my long breaks and my rambles!
Yours truly,
Greekchic.
