Compromising Situation

"This is tricky, which color is Lily Evans to wear to the Quiditich match?" Selene said, acting like news anchor, darting around the girls dormitory in her underwear. "Gold for the man she's putting out for? Or red for the man she's pining for? Red, or gold? Gold, or red?"

"Selene? Isn't there a dark hole somewhere calling your name?" Lily grumbled as she tried to decide the same thing.

Selene shook her head, her brown waves shining. "They kicked me out because I brought in too much sunlight."

Lily sighed and grabbed a blue sweater, slipping it over her head.

"Crafty move from Evans! Blue, a color that doesn't give away any ties to a man what so ever…"

Selene whined in protest as Lily slammed the door behind her.

James slipped out of his shirt and tossed it on the bench behind him. The Quiditich game would be starting soon, but his mind was lingering in other places.

He grabbed his scarlet Quiditich robes, trying to force her from his mind. He needed to concentrate. He couldn't let his team lose to Hufflepuff. Rather, he couldn't let himself lose something else that was important to him to McCormick.

He finished tying his robes and grabbed his broomstick, heading out to meet his teammates underneath the stands. Preston and Gregoire Tuttle, the other beater, were talking in low voices while Katherine and Antigone were stretching on the ground. Sirius was leaning against the wall, doing his best at looking casual. Kendall, the worrier of the team, was already pacing up and down near the wall.

"All right, huddle up," James said, getting the team in a circle. "I'm not going to go on and on, we need to win this one if we want to secure our spot as the top Quiditich team. To make things short we…"

But James was cut off by the sound of Ryder Lee, the announcer, calling out.

"And Hufflepuff's opposing team, under a new captain, GRYFFINDOR!"

James hurried onto his broom and kicked off, flying into the sunlight and into the game he loved to play.

Lily leaned casually against the wall in front of the Hufflepuff locker room. She could hear Stephen and his teammates talking in low voices, none of which sounded the least bit cheery. She understood how competitive they were and how losing wore their down, but she didn't like having to put up with it.

This was one of the many reasons why Lily Evans knew she shouldn't date a Quiditich player. She agreed with many that the sport was entertaining, but the fact that the players, especially the ones that weren't professional, took the game so seriously was something she never understood. It wasn't like school, which could effect your entire life, it was a game. A game that was supposed to be fun. Lily had never been one to allow failure to be a possibility and with sports, it always was.

She looked into the window to see Stephen slump against a locker. She shook her head and stuck her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She had a Potions paper due in the morning and didn't have to time to deal with the moody, depressed boy that she call her significant other.

She pushed her way into the common room, ignoring the celebration that was going on. She was going to head up to her dormitory when she felt a hand pull her back.

"Merlin, Lily, where are you going?" Selene said, pushing Preston Kefir off of her.

Lily pursed her lips, trying not to show the irritation she felt. "I'm tired," she said through clenched teeth. "I don't feel like celebrating."

Selene laughed as Preston whispered something into her ear. "Why, because you're mourning the loss for Hufflepuff? Come on Lily, just stay for a little while," she pleaded, tugging on Lily's sleeve.

"Fine," Lily sighed, following Selene down the stairs to the bustling party.

Music was playing so loud she could feel the bass pumping through her head. She recognized the band, something called Abracadabra, but the fact that the music was so incredibly loud she could feel her ears ringing instantly made her never want to hear the band's music again.

She wondered over to a chair where Remus Lupin was sitting. He was talking to Amelia Worthington, one of the smartest girls in the grade. Everyone knew and talked about how Amelia was head over heels for Lupin, but he was either clueless or didn't care.

He saw Lily and smiled, standing from his chair and walking over to her, leaving Amelia confused and disappointed.

"Hey," he yelled over the music. "Nice team colors."

"Thanks, I thought it looked supportive."

He laughed, his normally tired eyes happy and bright. "Extremely, lucky for you we weren't playing Ravenclaw."

"Yeah, for that game I've got an orange one ready," she teased. "You're looking well, better than normal."

"Thanks, I know there's a compliment in there somewhere."

She snickered, suddenly remembering why Remus was her favorite out of James's group. "Well you normally look so tired, you actually look alive for once."

"You've got to learn how to accolade people, Evans. Because you're officially horrible."

"Okay, I'll try. Nice vocabulary?"

They laughed together, inching their way towards the steps of the boys dormitory. He sat down on the last step while Lily leaned against the wall. She was so enthralled by his play by play of the game she didn't even notice James sneak up behind her.

"You're an awful Gryffindor. Despicable," he slurred, the contents of his cup of Firewhiskey sloshing over the edge onto the gold carpet where it sizzled and steamed.

"You're drunk, imagine if McGonagall saw you," she said, cringing her nose at the smell of his breath.

He grinned, his eyes lingering a little too long for comfort on her chest. "I hate you, you know that."

"Yes, I do know that," she said simply, as if speaking to a four-year-old. "But I also know that you're the one who's drinking, which could be assisting you along this hateful road."

James frowned, processing the word that Lily had just thrown at him. He grinned and chuckled, looking back at her face this time. "Blue makes you look fat."

Lily rolled her eyes, grabbing the cup of whiskey from him. "James, I have no idea what our relationship is like at this point, but you need to get to bed. Remus, I'll take this one, you owe me five galleons."

Remus nodded, heading back to the party and his awaiting Amelia. Lily grabbed James's arm, dragging him up the stairs. He staggered and stumbled, the alcohol impairing his ability to walk. She tried not to laugh, but couldn't help but wonder how he'd react when he found out she'd done this.

She pushed open the boy dormitory door, leading him to his bed. James, clearly unaware of Lily's presence, pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside. She blushed, trying not to look at his defined stomach and strong arms. Those arms had held her close and made her feel safe, but she chased the thoughts away as she pulled his blanket over him.

"Evans, I really do hate you," he mumbled into his pillow.

Lily sighed, grabbing his shirt and folding it, placing it on the top of his trunk. "Thanks, that makes me want to help your drunken self even more."

He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. "I don't want you to help me, I want you to leave me alone, kay? Get out of my brain."

She rolled her green eyes, sitting on the trunk next to his shirt. "Is that what this is about? You and me?"

He sat up and grimaced. "It's always about us. It's the only thing that matters."

Lily threw her head back and laughed. "You are drunk. You only get sappy and overly-romantic when you're drunk."

"You don't think we matter?"

She jumped up, hurrying towards the door. "We aren't a we, James."

He got out of his bed, walking slowly over to her. He placed his hands on her waist, his fingers brushing the thin sliver of skin below the bottom of her shirt. She held her breath, a shiver going down her spine.

"You're not drunk," she whispered.

He shook his head. "Nah. I hate Firewhiskey."

She backed against the wall, trying to keep her distance, but he closed the gap between them, his fingers not leaving their spot.

"I didn't break up with Stephen…"

"There's time."

She closed her eyes, sucking in her breath as his lips brushed hers.

"Why do you do this?"

"Sorry."