May Monthly: Round the World in 31 Days

Bora Bora: (object) bicycle

House: Ravenclaw

Word count: 1473

Warning: Mild cursing

Haha this is a fun little story that I can imagine very well. I'm sure at some point something like that might have actually happened...

Enjoy!

Your Turn

"It's really not that hard, Sirius. Trust me, if I could learn it when I was four, then you can when you're seventeen."

Sirius' look of pure distrust concerning the two-wheeled… thing in front of him was probably the funniest thing they had seen all summer. James did his best to not laugh aloud or call out some useless advice as he wouldn't set a foot on that device either, but an amused snort made its way out of his nose anyway, causing Sirius to shoot him his best glare.

"Come on, Pads," James called out against all better judgement, a wide grin on his face. "You'll do wonderfully!"

Sirius raised his right hand and flipped him off, which only caused James to grin wider.

"You're literally flying a broom dozens, if not hundreds of metres in the air at least once a week," Lily said from her spot next to the thing, hands resting on her waist. A very mean posture to uptake, in James' humble opinion, as it only accentuated her thin waist and the spring of her hips, and all of that made him feel things that could cause a very awkward situation.

He blinked, shook his head, and focused on anything but her hands and her waist, and—

"You can't compare those things, Evans!" Sirius exclaimed and threw his hands into the air, a look of pure shock on his face. "They're entirely different!"

"On so many levels, including the level of danger," Lily deadpanned and raised one eyebrow. "And yet, here we are."

Sirius grumbled and muttered something neither of them heard except for Lily, who, in turn, smirked prettily. "I doubt the wheels will cause you any harm, Sirius. Especially if four-year-olds can conquer them."

"You're one to speak, Evans. You won't go near a broom!"

"Yes," she said slowly, as if she was talking to a toddler, which made James and Remus laugh even harder, "because riding a broom is way more dangerous than riding a bike. Floating dozens of metres above the ground with nothing keeping you from falling down except your leg muscles clutching onto the broom stick is less safe than a bicycle where you're only a few centimetres off the ground, can stop at any moment by using one of the three breaks, and are even wearing protective gear like this helmet." She picked up a bright red plastic half-dome with straps and waved it through the air.

"So, yes. You are correct. You can't really compare the two."

Sirius' eyes narrowed. "Cheeky," he said before grabbing the red dome out of her hands and staring at it. "Protective gear, you said?"

Lily nodded, an easy smile on her face. "Yup."

"Ah."

James looked to his right where Remus was leaning on the fence that surrounded the entire Evans' property, arms crossed across his chest and a very amused sparkle in his eyes.

"Five Sickles that he'll fall off within five seconds," James muttered softly as Lily explained to Sirius how to strap on the plastic helmet.

"Make that three seconds and I'm in."

"Good man."

Both of them turned back to watch the spectacle unfold as Sirius clumsily swung one leg over the bike, looked at Lily one last time in sheer desperation and fear, and pushed off. An unmanly scream escaped the pure-blood as the bike picked up speed and Sirius tried his best to keep it going relately straight.

"EVANS!" he yelled over James and Remus laughing off to the side.

"The breaks, Sirius! Use the breaks!"

But Lily's advice was either not being heard or given too late as the front wheel started wiggling as Sirius, in his clear panic, could not steady the handle. The bike swerved to the right, barely missing two girls sitting on the pavement drawing flowers on it with chalk and careening back onto the road towards the Evans' house. It hit the kerb, Sirius screamed, and the wheel swung to the left, catapulting both the bike and the boy who was holding onto the handle with dear life, onto the pavement, where he came to a stop directly in front of the hysterically laughing James Potter and Remus Lupin.

"Surprising," Remus said once he had regained the ability to talk. "You'd think you'd know how to keep your balance. Considering you just bought a literal Muggle motorbike."

"Oh, fuck off," Sirius grumbled from his spot on the floor, which he had not made an effort to get up from.

"Oh Merlin, Sirius! Are you alright?" Lily came running towards the boys and quickly pulled the bike off the pure-blood. "Does anything hurt?"

"Ah, I'm alright, Evans. I'm alright."

"He sure seems like it."

Lily looked up to James, who gulped and instantly regretted making his presence known. The smile that slowly crept onto her face instilled an instinctual panic inside him, a fear so vast that he actually contemplated of just Apparating back home, locking himself into his room and refusing to come out for the unforeseeable future.

Lily patted the bike's leather seat that had just sent Sirius flying through the air. "Come on, James," she said sweetly and tilted her head, which made her ponytail swing from side to side. It was oddly mesmerising as he followed its movement. "Your turn."

The cackle that broke out of Sirius that exact moment made his stomach turn. "Ah, I'm good," he said and quickly waved her off, hoping against all odds that he looked and sounded casual. "I'm quite happy where I am right now. You know. Standing. In one spot. Without bruises. Like him." He pointed at Sirius, who was still lying on the ground, now looking way more chipper than just seconds before.

"Well," Lily said before somehow making the bike stand on its own and slowly coming towards him, "I bet that you won't last half a minute on that saddle."

James baulked; his eyes focused on the minx herself. "Excuse me?" he asked, almost breathlessly as Sirius and Remus could be heard howling from laughter in the background.

"You heard me." The smile on her face was too innocent for the look in her eyes. He gulped as something sparked in his chest and travelled south. "So? Want to bet?"

"Do it, Prongs!"

"Don't do it, James."

James raised his eyebrows, smiling cheekily. "Is that a challenge, Evans?"

Lily came closer still until she was standing mere inches away from him. He could feel her body heat on his skin. It could also be that his overly active nerves just sent wrong information to his overwhelmed brain. At this point, nothing would surprise him anymore.

"It very much is."

"Well, well, well." His gaze travelled over her face, taking in the soft freckles on her cheeks and the sparkle in her beautiful eyes. "You're on, then."

"Twenty Sickles!" Sirius called before Lily gently took James' hand and pulled him towards the bicycle. "Because you will never last that long on that monstrosity, Potter!"

"Wait and see!" There was more confidence in his voice than he was actually feeling as Lily plonked the helmet onto his head not so gently. "I will blow you guys off your horses!"

"What horses?"

James snickered at Sirius' question and did what his friend had done earlier – he took a deep breath and swung his right leg over the bike. He could feel the metal bar against his inner thighs and the saddle poke against his bum as his hands cramped up around the handle.

"On the count of three," Lily announced cheerfully and took a step back. "One."

"Wait, what do I have to do?"

"Two."

"Just kick off the ground as if you're on a broom and that thing will go without any mercy."

"I won't listen to you! You nearly killed two innocent girls when you did that!"

"Three!"

And with a last desperate look towards the now grinning Lily, he did what he knew would turn out to be a fatal mistake. He listened to Sirius' advice and pushed off the ground. He catapulted himself into the air, automatically landing on the saddle as the bike, at first slowly, then gaining speed consistently, started rolling down the street.

The last thing his friends could hear was a panicked yell from James before he hit a nearby tree head-on, falling off the bike and landing in a heap on the ground.

Well, he thought disgruntledly whilst looking at the leaves swaying above him, at least Lily didn't say she wanted to bet for money as he agreed to something he had known he'd lose. Laughter reached his ears from further up the street and he groaned loudly. He would never hear the end of this.

Also – everything hurt. Why did four-year-olds decide that this was a good idea?

winces

See ya next time xD