Ch. 13- The Vicious Game of Dating

A/N: okey, dokey here's chappie 13!

There's something about you

That tears me inside out whenever you're around

And there's something about you that makes me fly

You're a heart attack, just the kind I like

And there's something about your kiss haunting and strange

That makes me feel so good I get a feeling,

You get a feeling, we got a feeling like we're alive

Mother We Just Can't Get Enough- by New Radicals

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James and Remus were pretty forgiving of the prank, but Sirius kind of held a grudge against me. At least, that's what he said. Whether or not he was actually going to go through with it was another story. But by the next morning he seemed over it.

"So, did you finish potions?" James asked me at breakfast.

"Nope, I was just about to ask you the same thing." I replied, shaking my head.

"Well, look's like we're in a bloody bind. Slughorn is going to kill us. I mean, this is the third time this month." James groaned, hitting his head against the table.

"We'll figure something out." I said, unconvincingly.

"You guys could copy mine quick." Lily said, and James and I looked at her surprised. She seemed surprised herself that she was suggesting it. "I mean, just this one time. You'd have to promise to have it done next time."

"Oh, scout's honor, we swear!" James said, quickly, looking like he was about to kiss her. Good thing he didn't because that would've ruined our chances at getting the stupid paper done.

I finished copying Lily's paper and looked around. I saw Jon laughing with his friends, some girl hanging off his arm. I saw Sirius' brother, Regulus, sitting at the Slytherin table, looking haughty, next Lucius Malfoy. I'd only spoken to Regulus once, but the one time I did it was to trade insults. He was an unpleasant little bugger. I got up with Lily and we made our way to Arithmacy.

"So, what do you think we're going to have to do today?" She asked.

"I dunno, hopefully nothing hard." I replied, shrugging.

We turned a corner and saw a couple snogging. The least they could do is find a classroom. I shook my head, then suddenly realized that it was Henry. I stood there dumbfounded for a minute, until Lily pulled me away.

"Joie, what's wrong?" She asked, pushing me into the classroom. "Haven't you've ever seen two people snogging before?"

"That was Henry!" I said, in disbelief.

"What?"

"Henry, that was Henry snogging back there!" I said, shaking my head. "Honestly, yesterday he wanted me to be his girlfriend! Should've known that was a load of dung."

"Oh well, at least you didn't say yes." She said, and I nodded.

Arithmacy was relatively boring- all we did was problems from the board. Potions was better than expected, mainly because Lily save James and mine asses. The rest of the day went by without any major upsets and by the time dinner came it felt like the day had dragged by.

"Hey, Sunshine, can you make a copy of your History of Magic notes for me tonight- I fell asleep and I have detention from McGonagall tonight." Sirius asked, dropping into the empty seat next to me.

"Yeah, sure." I replied. "What did you do this time?"

"Ah, just a little innocent flirting and she took bloody personal." He said, nonchalantly.

"Hate to break it to you mate, but your flirting is anything but innocent." I said, laughing.

"Yeah, you're right." He agreed nodding. "Anyways, thanks a ton. I owe you."

He got up and left. I'd tried over the last month or so to push my feelings for Sirius out of the way. I told myself that it was just infatuation and that I needed to get over it. The kiss had meant nothing and I was just being stupid. But the thing was the harder I tried to forget about him the more I thought about Sirius. If he was with another girl I had to remind myself that he wasn't mine and so I couldn't be jealous. But I was. I was insanely jealous because those girls had the very thing I wanted most in the world. Ironic, that I would fall in love with my best friend, isn't it?

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"Okay, so I need to go get some food. I'm starving." I said, my stomach growling loudly. "You guys want anything?"

"Yeah, some fire whiskey." James said, not looking up from his Charms homework.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to pick that up." I said, sarcastically as I walked out of the portrait hole.

I was coming back from the kitchens, munching on some pastries, when I heard sounds coming from a broom closet. But it was one sound that caught my interest- Sirius' voice. I didn't slam the door open, however, I went back up to the common room. I just wanted to be sure.

"Hey, did Sirius have detention tonight?" I asked, sitting back down.

"No, he had a date." James replied, shaking his head. "Don't expect him back anytime soon."

"Oh, I won't." I said, keeping my voice calm. I took the carefully copied notes I'd made and ripped them into pieces, which I dropped onto Sirius' bed.

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"Hey, Sunshine, do you have my notes?" Sirius asked, the next morning in the Great Hall.

"You didn't get them?" I asked back sweetly.

'No…" He said, slowly.

"Really? Well, I left them on your bed." I said, in the sweet voice.

"That's not possible, the only paper on my bed was shredded and I have no idea how it got there." He said, shaking his head.

"Well, I never said that I left the notes in one piece, now did I?" I said, my tone getting a little bit of a bite to it.

"Yeah, that's real funny, Sunshine." He said, forcing a laugh. "You seriously wouldn't shred them, would you?"

"Did I stutter?"

"What the hell! Why would you do that? I needed those notes!" He all but yelled at me. People were starting to look at us.

"Obviously you didn't need them too badly if you could go out and snog for a better part of the night instead of copying them yourself. Honestly, you expected me to give them to you after I found out you lied to me?" I said, laughing a mirthless laugh. "I don't think so."

"How-" He started, but I cut him off.

"Sirius, you really should find a better place than a broom closet to snog." I said, icily. "I just don't understand why you couldn't tell me what you were really doing."

"You wouldn't have copied them otherwise." He said, looking uncomfortable. "And I didn't want to have to cancel on my date."

"Well, that's your problem, now isn't it?" I snapped, picking my bag up and walking out of the Great Hall.

I didn't talk to Sirius for three days. He tried apologizing, glaring at me, yelling at me, begging, and the silent treatment. I broke eventually and forgave him. I guess I couldn't really stay mad at him.

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"So, Lily, do really hate James as much as you say you do?" I asked, one night. Lily and I were up in the dorm having what she called "girl time".

"I dunno." She said, shrugging. "He's just so damn persistent! I mean, you would think the poor sap would've given up three years ago after I rejected him the first fifty times, But, no, I just have to get stuck with a borderline stalker."

"He's not a stalker." I said, laughing. "He just knows your favorite color, favorite flower, favorite season…"

"Stop, stop!" She yelled, covering her ears, laughing too. "Okay, he's not as bad I think he is. I mean, his ego is starting to deflate a fraction of a bit."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm just used the way he is and that's why I don't think he's so bad." I said. "Your turn."

"Okay, what's the deal with you and Sirius?" She asked, after a minute.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"I mean, that you guys are always messing with each other, hanging out…I'd even go as far as to say flirting." Lily said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"He's my best friend, that's it." I said, denying it.

"Oh, please! Don't give me that!" She scoffed. "Why were you so upset when he lied to you about that date?"

"Because he bloody used me as a scribe to copy the notes he should've copied himself!" I said, indignantly.

"Yeah, and you were jealous." Lily said, laughing. "Face it, Joie, you got it bad."

"Am I that obvious?" I moaned, putting my head in my hands.

"Nah, I just noticed it over the past few days. You were miserable not talking to him." She said.

"Well, it doesn't really matter anyways, now does it?" I said, looking at her. "I can't do anything about it."

"And why the bloody hell not?" She asked, looking at me confused.

"Firstly because he's my best friend and that is the number one rule- never date your best friend." I replied. "And secondly because he more than likely doesn't feel the same way about me."

"Are you crazy! Of course he does!" Lily exclaimed. "He only wishes he could have you!"

"Yeah, uh huh, and I'm Merlin reincarnate." I said, sarcastically.

"I'm serious!" She said, defiantly. "Look, I'll prove it." She added, hopping off her bed and running down to the Common Room.

"Lily! What are you doing?" I yelled, running after her. I wasn't far behind and I caught up to her just as she reached Sirius.

"Hey, Sirius, can I ask you something?" Lily said, and he looked at her strangely, but nodded all the same. "Don't you think any guy- including yourself- would damn lucky to have Joie here?"

"Of course." He said, with a nod. "Sunshine here is a guy's dream."

"See, I told you." She said, turning to me, hands on her hips.

"This proves nothing." I replied, shaking my head. But deep down I knew it proved everything.

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By the time March arrived I was starting to trust myself around guys more and more. Granted, I still talked mainly only to the Marauders, but I talked to a few other guys pretty regularly. Lily said this was an improvement. She said that in order to get Sirius I had to make myself something to be desired. I said that she read to many of those stupid muggle romance novels.

"Look, the only way you're going to get him to see you as anything other than his best friend is to make yourself something other than his best friend." She said to me one day at lunch. "And by that, I mean date other guys. Or at least go out on dates with guys. You don't have to make it long term or anything, just go out with them."

"Lily, that is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard." I said, laughing. "Date other guys so that he'll notice me?"

"It makes you unattainable, and guys like that." She explained. "Besides, didn't you ever think that maybe the reason that Sirius dates all those girls is just to get your attention?"

"Or some other girl's." I added and she shook her head.

"You're hopeless."

Throughout the rest of the day I thought about what Lily said. It made sense and besides, I could have some fun. So, that next Saturday being a Hogsmeade weekend, I asked one of the guys I studied with in the library out. His name was Jake and he said yes.

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"So, what do you want to do?" He asked, as we walked down the sloping grounds of Hogwarts to Hogsmeade.

"Oh, I dunno." I said, shrugging. I had put on a pair of fitted jeans and a shirt that hit just above my belly button- showing just enough skin to make him want more. Or at least that's what Lily said.

"Well, we could start at Honeydukes and then maybe take a walk up to the Shrieking Shack."

"Okay, sounds good to me." I said, and took the arm he offered me.

We walked through the village munching on the candy we'd bought from Honeydukes, chatting. He was nice enough, but he'd never keep me interested long enough to make it long term. He just wasn't really my type. But, that was okay, because that's what this whole experiment was about. Trying different guys and making Sirius jealous. Hopefully.

"You know they say that the place is haunted." Jake said, as we stood looking at the Shack I knew so well. "Villagers hear howls of pain and ghostly sounds."

"Yeah, and I've heard that a couple of villagers have disappeared." I said, playing along. The git bought it, too.

"Wouldn't surprise me." He said, nodding.

"Well, what do we have here?" A new voice joined our conversation. I turned and saw Sirius with a girl-I couldn't be bothered to remember her name at that moment.

"Why hello, Sirius, I believe you know Jake?" I said, smiling at him.

"Yes, I do." He replied, not smiling back. I didn't know if it was because I was with a guy or because I didn't tell him I was coming with a guy. "Can I talkto you for a second, Sunshine?"

"Excuse me," I said, to Jake, and Sirius led me out of earshot.

"What's the deal with him?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Why is it any of our concern?" I shot back. "I don't remember needing your permission to go out with someone."

"Joie, what are you doing? This isn't your scene." He said, crossing him arms.

"Oh, and I suppose next you're going to tell me that I'm going to hurt?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sirius, I can take of myself, honestly."

"Really? 'Cause a few months ago that didn't seem to be the case." He said, icily. I looked at him in shock and he looked surprised himself that he'd said that.

"Yeah, well, Sirius, why don't you go have a nice snog with your date while some poor girl does your homework for you because she was stupid enough to fall for your charm." I said, glaring at him. I turned on my heel and walked back to Jake.

"Sorry about that." I said, smiling at him. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." He said, throwing a smug look at Sirius.

Jake and I had taken a walk around the lake after we returned from Hogsmeade. I told him that he was a nice guy, but we just better off friends. I thought he took it rather well, considering I think he really liked me. I stayed out by the lake for hours, just gazing into its inky depths, thinking about nothing in particular.

I was sneaking across the Entrance Hall to the marble staircase, when I heard footsteps. I quickly step into the shadows, hiding from whoever it was. But, whoever it was had heard me and was walking towards me. As soon as the person was about ten feet from me, I saw that it was Sirius.

"Sunshine? Is that you?" He asked in a loud whisper.

"Yeah. What the bloody hell are you doing out so late?" I replied, coming out of the shadows.

"I could ask you the same thing!" He said, indignantly.

"I asked you first."

"I was hungry, so I went to go get something to eat." He said as we made our way up the marble staircase, talking as quietly as possible. "What about you?"

"I was out by the lake, just thinking." I said, with a shrug.

"I see."

We walked in silence for a few minutes. I couldn't really say it was awkward, because it wasn't, but there was a certain air of tension between the two of us.

"So, what was the deal with that Jake guy today?" Sirius asked, cautiously.

"Nothing, really, it was just a date." I said. "He wasn't really my type."

"I could've told you that." He said, with a scoff.

"Oh, and how would you know what my type is?" I asked, skeptically.

"I just do." He said, and I rolled my eyes. "Besides, you can do much better than that Jake bloke anyways."

"Why do you care so much about my dating life?" I asked, curiously.

"What? I can't take a healthy interest in you life?" He asked, sounding offended.

"No, as a matter of fact, you-" I stopped suddenly, listening intently. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" He asked, and I shushed him. I heard footsteps.

"Someone's coming!" I hissed, thinking fast. It was way past curfew and we didn't really have a good excuse for being out.

"What should we do?"

"Um," I said, still thinking. The footsteps were getting closer. "Kiss me." I said, suddenly, an idea hitting me.

"WHAT?" He said, incredulously.

"Look, just do it, okay?" I said, but he just looked at me. I sighed in frustration and took matters into my own hands. I pulled Sirius towards me and our lips connected, just as a person rounded the corner. He didn't object, he just kissed me right back. I was getting lost in the taste of him and was losing the reality of everything around me.

"Mr. Black! Miss Emerson!" A shrill voice rang out. It was McGonagall. Sirius and I broke apart, panting slightly. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"

"Well, if you couldn't tell form that angle, Minerva, then I think you need to get your eyes checked." Sirius blurted out without missing a beat. I didn't know whether to laugh or to groan.

"Mr. Black! Detention, both of you!" She said, turning a nice crimson color. "I would have expected better from students of my own house! Out after hours, snogging wherever you please! Honestly!"

She went on, but Sirius and I made our escape. We cut through a shortcut and only when we were sure we were safe did we burst out laughing.

"Sweet Merlin, did you see her face?" Sirius gasped, hands on his knees, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

"I though she was going to explode after you made that comment!" I said, tears rolling down my face. I'd given up on trying to stand up straight and I was on the floor.

"What made you think of that?" He asked, when we could finally breathe again.

"I dunno, I just thought it would be better to get caught doing something actually worth a detention than just something like walking around." I replied, shrugging. "I hope you didn't mind."

"What? Oh no, I mean, I was a little surprised at first, but hey, it was worth it just to see Minerva's face." He said, quickly. "But it was just a kiss, right? Didn't mean a thing?" He added, giving me a somewhat tense look.

"Yeah, right." I said, nodding. "Just a kiss. I mean, come on, you and me?"

"Yeah, really, ridiculous." He said, with a laugh that sounded forced.

I just nodded and we walked back to the Common Room. I came close to telling Sirius how I really felt- up until he said that it was just a kiss and it didn't mean anything. The truth was I'd felt a whole lot of something. But, obviously, he didn't. So, I kept it to myself and I put on a smile and a happy face. I went on being the best friend who would never be more than that. The bad thing was- I was getting used to it.

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whew! drama! I promise, they get together in just a couple of chapters, really I do promise...so stay with me! and reviews are appreciated so much, you have no idea:p