Ch. 16- Unmasked
A/N: okay, I am sooooooo sorry that it's taken me soooo long to update. I've been going through a whole bunch of drama and stuff with my best friend and it was pretty bad for a while. anyways, I'm back now and hopefully I'll be updating more regularly. Don't worry, I shall finish this story, even if it takes me years:p
Wondering the streets, in a world underneath it all
Nothing seems to be, nothing tastes as sweet
As what I can't have
Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair
round your finger
Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you
What I feel about you.
Oh, I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
and cannon ball into the water
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
For you I will
Forgive if I stutter
From all of the clutter in my head
Cause I could fall asleep in those eyes
Like a water bed
Do I seem familiar, I've crossed you in hallways
a thousand times, no more camouflage
I want to be exposed, and not be afraid to fall.
For You I Will (Confidence) -Teddy Geiger
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"Sirius?" I said, incredulously.
"Yeah," He said, with a nod. "Look, there's something I need to tell you."
"Are you sure you've got the right girl?" I asked, wondering what was going on. Surely I wasn't supposed to be here. "You do know who I am, right?"
"Of course I know who you are." He said, laughing. "You're my bright little ray of sunshine." He added, a half smile playing on his lips. I didn't say anything else, so he continued.
"I've trying to work up the courage to tell you this for six years now." He said, and I stared at him dumbfounded. "So, forgive me if still isn't perfect."
"Six years?" I said, and he nodded. "But what about that other girl you were telling me about?"
"Can't you see, it's been you all along." He replied, shaking his head.
"But how come it's taken you so long to tell me?"
"I was afraid and, well, you were the first girl to resist me and you told me I had no chance. And I know we had just met and you didn't mean to say it and everything, but I guess that I just took it as you weren't interested." He replied, with a shrug. "And I was okay with that at first, I was just happy that we were friends. But once I realized that I had fallen for you I didn't know what to do."
"When was this?"
"Well, I fell for you the night I met you, but I didn't realize it until third year. And then I started dating all the girls in school because I thought I would find one that would make me forget about my feelings for you. I figured that if I had no chance that I just might as well move on." He continued, looking at the ground. "But there was just one thing wrong with my plan- I could never find someone who even came close to you. I tried so hard, but I always found something wrong with the girls I would date or I would do something to drive them away. Lisa was probably the closet I'd come to comparing to you, but that was only because I told myself she was you every time we were together.
"And then when you met Jon and started dating him, I was insanely jealous. I would stay awake at night, thinking of ways I could break you guys up, but I knew I would never follow through on any of them. He made you happy and that was all that mattered. And after when you were telling us about how he…you know…hurt you, I couldn't stand it. Hearing you relive it, knowing how much pain you had gone through, it tore my heart out. I came so close, so many times, to just telling you, and believe me I did want to, but I couldn't deal with it if you didn't feel the same way. And then that would make things really awkward between us and our friendship would be ruined.
"So, why tell me now?" I asked, and he looked up at me.
"Simply because I'm not afraid anymore. I should've told you how I felt long ago, but I couldn't. Now I can." He said. "Joie, I love you, with all of my heart, all of my being and I want nothing more than to be the lucky man that's blessed enough to have you."
I sat there dumbfounded by the speech he had just made. He loved me? He seriously loved me? I mean, how could this be happening? Here was the boy of my dreams confessing his love for me and not being able tell me for six years. It sounded like something off of one of those muggle romance shows or books. But this was truly happening to me- I even pinched myself to be sure. I came to my senses and saw Sirius standing there.
"Now would be a good time to say something, Sunshine." He said, his tone now anxious. I stood up and walked over to him.
"Are you absolutely one-hundred percent sure?" I asked, looking into his eyes.
"I have never been more sure of anything in my life." He replied, dead serious.
"Good." I said, smiling. "Neither have I." I added and I kissed him softly on the lips- sweet and swift lasting only a few seconds.
He looked at me, a mixture of relief, surprise, and utter happiness in his eyes. He pulled me closer to him and kissed me again. Only this time the kiss was deepened and became passionate- I felt it in every part of my body. Time seemed to stop for us and the world fell away. It was perfect.
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"So, where did you go to? I mean, I saw dancing with some guy one minute and then the next you had disappeared." Lily said, later that night. It was well past two in the morning, but we were still up. "And you're suspiciously giddy. What's going on?"
"Well, the guy I was dancing with turned out to be…" I paused for dramatic effect, "Sirius!"
"Really?" She said, excitement coming into her voice. "So their plan worked." She added to herself.
"Plan? What plan?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Oh bloody hell! Nothing, absolutely nothing!" She said quickly.
"No, out with it." I said. "C'mon, what plan?"
"Alright, well, James and Remus and I were talking a couple of weeks ago, just after you told them about how you liked Sirius." She said, with a sigh. "And, well, we were trying to think of ways to get you guys together. I mentioned something about the other girl that Sirius liked and they told me that there was no other girl. Sirius had been talking about you. So, then we talking about how the ball would be the perfect place for you guys to hook up and that's when they came up with a plan. They would tell Sirius what you would be wearing and he would change his appearance enough so that with a mask on you wouldn't be able to tell who he was. Then he would dance with you and profess his undying love for you."
"Well, it worked." I replied, with a grin. "But enough about me, who was the guy you were dancing with? I don't think I saw you with anyone else."
"Well, I'm not entirely sure who he is." Lily said, a goofy sort of smile spreading across her face. "But he was completely perfect! I mean, he was polite, charming, funny, sweet, and I dunno. There was just something about him. He wasn't at all like James."
"But you and Prongs have been getting along this year." I said, feeling sorry for poor James. I didn't know how he was going to compete with this new masked stranger.
"True, but this guy was much more mature than James could ever be and he wasn't arrogant or cocky at all." She said. "The funny thing was that he knew so much about me and I had no clue at all as to who he was."
"Well, is he in Gryffindor house?" I asked, frowning thoughtfully.
"No, I don't think so. He walked me to the portrait hole, kissed my hand, and left." She replied, shaking her head. "I just wish I knew who he was. He was perfect and has fate would have it I have no idea who he is!"
"Well, I'm sure you'll find out, Lils. I mean, he's going to have to tell you eventually, isn't he?" I said.
The break went by and Christmas was alright. It wasn't quite as merry as it should have been. I was worried about dad and what might be happening to him. He'd sent a present, but other than that I hadn't heard from him.
It was also quite strange to get used to going out with Sirius. Nothing had really changed between us, but with the rest of the school it was a different story. It wasn't too bad until the first week back from break. Everywhere I went girls were shooting me daggers more than usual. Although now they had a somewhat plausible reason than before, it was still annoying. But no one was as bad as the Sirius Black Fan Club girls. They tried to sabotage me whenever they could. Which never worked out because Sirius hadn't been kidding when he told me that they were as bright as a pinhead.Lisa was particularly bitter about us hooking up. She hadn't quite ever gotten over Sirius.
"Well, at leastthat one was somewhat close to stealthy." Lily said, one day after the latest girl had tried to hex me.
"Yeah, if you can count air-headed giggling as stealthy." I replied, sourly. "Why don't they just give up? Can't they see that I can't be beat. This is getting old."
"Well, that's what you get for dating Hogwarts' most sought after guy." Lily said, laughing. "Besides, you can't tell me that you don't think it's worth it, 'cause I know you think it is."
"Well, it is!" I said, indignantly. "I just wish they would give it a rest for a while. Anyways, let's stop talking about it. We can pretend like it's not happening and I can live in lala land at least through lunch."
"Alright, then, what do you want to talk about?" She asked, and I thought for a second.
"The Masked Prince." I said, grinning at her as she started blushing madly.
Since the Masquerade Ball the masked stranger had sent countless notes and a few gifts, but we still didn't know who it was. He never signed his name, it was always "Your Masked Prince Charming". It was pretty sappy and corny, but Lily was totally falling for it. She always wrote back to him and left it at the Room of Requirements, which was their little exchange point. And James, who I pitied because of this stranger, was taking it surprisingly well. He hadn't gone on a jealous rage yet, demanding the guy to step forward. He actually seemed perfectly content.
"Well, I got another note from him today in Ancient Runes. It was sitting on my desk when I walked in." She said, fishing it out of her bag. "There, read it!"
My dearest Lily,
I have found myself watching you more and more lately. I want to tell you so badly who I am, but I fear that once I do, you will not be so fond of me. You tell me that I am perfect and that nothing will change, yet I can't believe that. For I do have flaws and if you knew who I was I am not so certain that you would be so quick to forgive them. You tell me that as long as I am not a certain messy haired Marauder you will not care- but are you certain? What if I turn out to be more like him than you believe? Would you still feel the same way about me? What if I am simply some poor boy who knows how to woo a beautiful girl? Have you thought of the reason I have stayed masked for this long? I merely wanted to have a chance for you to get to know me before you knew who I was. Think about it long and hard before giving a response.
Always-
Your Masked Prince Charming
"So, what are you going to do?" I asked, once I'd finished reading.
"I'm not sure." She said, frowning. "I mean, based on the dance and the letters I've totally fallen for him, but if heturned out to be like James I dunno what I would do."
"Well, Lils, you got two choices, I think," I said, after a second. "You can tell him that if he's going to turn out James then to forget it because you don't want that. Or you can screw what you think of James and everyone like him and go by the letters he's been sending you. I personally think the latter is the better choice, because like he said in the letter- he wanted a chance for you to know him before you knew who he was."
"But what if I'm disappointed?" She asked, biting her lip.
"How in the world do you think you could be disappointed?" I said, incredulously. "Lily, here is a boy who has gone to great lengths just to be able to talk to you. I mean, sure he might not be perfect, but why would you want that? Nobody's perfect and it's our flaws that make us interesting. And if the fact about James is true, then you have to make a decision: is James really so bad that you don't want anyone that comes even remotely close to being like him around?"
"No that's not it. I'm just worried that he won't meet my expectations." She replied, and I looked at her confused.
"I'm sure he will, Lils." I said, shaking my head. "Why don't you just meet him and see?"
"Yes, I suppose that would work." She said, and she got up left to go write him. Not even a minute later her seat was occupied by Sirius.
"Hey there, love." He said, pecking me on the cheek. "How's it going?"
"Eh, just trying to figure out who Lily's masked prince is." I replied, with a shrug.
"Really? Any ideas yet?" He said, with a slight smirk.
"Nah, she's going to find out who he is and then decide I think." I said. "Besides, if the guy turned out to be exactly like James, I think he'd still have a shot. Lily's not that cold hearted."
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Lily got a response from the Masked Prince saying that he'd meet her by the lake that Saturday night at seven thirty. She spent the rest of the week worrying about it. I didn't know what to tell her.
When Saturday finally came, Lily was driving me up the wall the entire day. If she wasn't worrying about who the guy was, she was worrying about what she was going to wear or what she was going to say. About half way through the day I threatened to put a silencing charm on her if she didn't shut up. I cared, I really did, but I'd spent the last week listening the same exact thing.
"Okay, you may now start worrying again." I told her at six thirty.
"You gave me an hour?" She asked, incredulously. "How am I supposed to get ready in an hour?"
"You need an hour to get ready?" I said, laughing and she glared at me. "Alright, alright, look, I'll help you. Here, put on these jeans and this shirt. It's not fancy, but simple is better. Trust me on this. And then just let your hair down- it looks best natural. Light make-up, if any at all."
"Are you crazy? No make-up?" She asked, as though I were crazy.
"Lily, are you crazy? Look in the mirror- you don't need it. You positively gorgeous the way you are." I said, turning her around, making her look at herself.
"I'm trusting you." She said, darkly, before going into the bathroom to get ready.
When she came out she looked freshened, more relaxed than I'd seen her in days, and absolutely perfect. The shirt I'd given her was a simple black tee; she had on a pair of trainers, and no make-up. She inspected herself in the mirror and then turned to face me.
"Wow, I can't believe I doubted you. I look pretty good." She said, smiling.
"Pretty good? Lily, this guy's going to be drooling when he sees you." I said, and we both laughed. "You'd better get going if you want to be there on time. I'll walk you down."
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, she off on her own. I stood just inside the great oak doors, watching her go. I could see someone in the distance, standing at the edge of the lake. I didn't know who it was, but I was sure Lily would tell me.
Just as I was about to turn around and go back up to the Common Room, I saw two figures moving down the grounds and finally hiding behind some rocks by the lake. I turned into my animagus form and made my way towards them. I saw that it was Sirius and Remus when I was close enough.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, changing back. They both jumped a mile and turned around.
"Sunshine! Don't do that!" Sirius said, letting out a deep breath.
"We're watching the show, care to join us?" Remus said, gesturing towards Lily and the stranger, who was masked.
"Well, I see that you're watching, but why?" I asked, kneeling down behind the rock by them.
"For James' sake, of course." Sirius said, simply. From where we were we could here what they were saying and Lily had reached him by now, so we all fell silent.
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man, I am just horrible with these cliffhangers...any guesses as to who it could be? i'm sure you guys know! anyways, please review:p