Lyra hadn't seen James since he'd given her his watch. They both had family things to do, then it was Christmas, then other family things and before she knew it, it was New Years. This year, James was hosting which was handy for Lyra as it meant she literally only had to walk down the road. That and the girls could stay over which she had been looking forward to and she enjoyed spending her time getting ready with them. It was the first time that Polly and Alice had been over, and she had been nervous as she knew her house wasn't the biggest, but they had seemed happy enough and her parents seemed pleased that she was making more friends.
The girls had all commented on the watch which Lyra felt she kept on constantly now, simply telling them James understood how nervous she had been about seeing her family and so had given her something to reassure her. That, coupled with the necklace and the photos on her desk, made them all look at her sceptically, but she brushed them off, insisting they had to get ready.
"Wanna talk about it?" Rosie had asked as she helped Lyra with her hair, her voice a whisper so as to not attract attention. Lyra knew what she was talking about but shook her head, smiling.
"Nothing to talk about. So, tell me about your Christmas" Rosie had waited a few seconds, eyeing Lyra who kept the smile on her face and eventually Rosie caved, giving Lyra breathing space to sort her head out. Since her conversation with the twins, she found herself getting more and more hopeful that James might, by some absolute miracle, like her. As in, saw her as more than just a friend. But then her rational mind would kick in and she would doubt herself all over again.
Tonight though…she was sure she would have to deal with seeing James flirt with other girls, possibly kiss somebody and she would have to be normal, enthused for him, even if she knew that inside she would be broken. If she had to see him with someone else after what had been happening, whether in her head or not, she knew she wouldn't be able to be friends with him because it would just hurt too much.
"Come on Ly! Party time!" she was pulled from her morbid musings by Polly pulling her to her feet and so she forced a smile onto her face, telling herself not to dwell on something which hadn't happened. Yet.
The house was already heaving as Rosie took her hand and guided her through, snagging a couple of bottles of beers and passing one over her shoulder to Lyra.
"Ooo I found James. Come on" Lyra found herself jerked in another direction, steadying herself for seeing him. She saw him a few moments later, stood with Remus and laughing. The relief that he wasn't with a girl was almost overwhelming and it made her smile bigger than it probably should have been.
"Hi guys!" Rosie drew their attention, the pair turning to them, Lyra catching James's eye. She was sure she imagined the slight widening of his eyes but there was no denying the way his eyes ran over her, Lyra doing her best to withhold the blush. Rosie moved over to Remus as James came towards her.
"Wow Ly you look…stunning" he blinked, Lyra not able to stop the blush this time. She had, admittedly, put in more effort than maybe she usually would for these things, choosing a short black dress, her necklace on proud display and heels which elevated her to nearly James's eye level.
"Oh, thanks" she told him, smoothing down her dress as she glanced at him. Merlin, he looked hot, his shirt sleeves rolled in a way which highlighted his arms, top few buttons undone, hair tousled in a way which made her heart race.
"Hey, you're still wearing my watch" he took her hand, sounding genuinely thrilled that she had it on as she nodded.
"Sure, I assumed you would want it back" she went to take it off, but he covered it with his hand, shaking his head.
"No, I want you to wear it tonight" she felt surprised at this as he tugged her closer to him, making her breathing hitch. "I like seeing you wear it" he murmured, his arm creeping around her waist in a move which felt distinctly not best friend like.
"Really?" she asked him, James giving her a cheeky smile as he nodded, as though he knew what she was thinking.
"Very much so" he murmured, Lyra almost flush against him now.
"Please, don't mind the rest of us" Lyra blushed, stepping away from James and feeling horribly embarrassed as she found Rosie and Remus watching them, both wearing matching grins. "Merlin, honestly" it was Sirius, striding towards them, arm slung around Polly who was also grinning. "And they think we're bad" Lyra honestly felt like the ground opening and swallowing her whole would be better than this current situation.
"I'm just going to…" she trailed off before turning and hot footing it out of there, heading upstairs and locking herself in one of the bathrooms. Merlin, she had just made an absolute scene of that, and she couldn't be doing that. Not when her and James were meant to be best friends. God, she had probably embarrassed him acting like any other simpering girl he found himself surrounded by. And she couldn't do that, couldn't open herself in that way because the risk was just too great. Was too much. She took a few deep breaths and told herself that she would avoid James for the rest of the night, sure that they had simply probably spent too much time together. That was it. They were just both single and had spent a lot of time in each other's company. Space was all they needed.
Space was the opposite of what Lyra got. It was like her and James were drawn together like magnets, seeming to gravitate towards each other regardless of her best intentions. James didn't try touching her, or holding her hand, or anything which just cemented her thoughts that he didn't like her like that and had probably, embarrassingly, realised he was maybe giving her the wrong idea. It was mortifying and yet…and yet they still spent the evening together, laughing and joking, James relaxing her in a way only he could. As it got closer to midnight, however, the others all started talking about who they were going to kiss, Lyra drifting away at this point, thinking she would excuse herself to go to the bathroom and take a very long time about it. This, to her, seemed the most logical plan and so she avoided her friends in the run up, managing to give them all the slip. As it got closer and closer, she started edging out of the room, so close to escape when a hand closed around hers, making her jump, as she realised she'd been discovered and, by the smell of it, it was the one person she was avoiding.
"Not a chance" of course it was James, stopping her from leaving. She didn't want to turn around, but he gently pulled her, forcing her hand. "You and me at midnight Ly" he told her, Lyra feeling her heart race, felt her eyes widen at the implication.
"But you, you should go find…" but her voice died as he pulled her into him, put an arm around her waist. James said nothing, just smiled at her, gently pushing some of her hair back as huge fireworks appeared, a booming voice counting down from ten, Lyra sure this wasn't going to happen, that this couldn't be going the way she had dreamed, not with James.
"Happy New Year Ly" the room exploded in fireworks, but her attention was on James, the way his eyes looked to her mouth before he leant down and before she knew it, he pressed his lips softly to hers. Her eyes fluttered shut, the happiness soaring in her, but he kept it short, pulling away after just a few seconds. "I've got a good feeling about this year you know Ly" he told her with a smile which almost made her melt into him but before they could speak, they were inundated with people…well, James was and then they were forced apart, Lyra pushed to the side in a way she was used to. She shook herself, telling her that he only kissed her like that because he knew she had no one else and it was pity, nothing more which had made him do that. She took a deep breath, trying not to think about how her lips still tingled from where he had kissed her as she figured drink would help her through it and so made her way through the crowds, doing her best to push the pity kiss from her mind.
Lyra was actually quite drunk but then, they all were. He'd had to get Remus to help him out, neither of them able to separate Polly and Sirius who looked like they were headed only one way…the last they saw of them they were sneaking upstairs. Lyra had shaken her head but asked James to help her cover for Polly which he was happy to do because Lyra had asked him. And all he'd been able to think about was that kiss, that kiss which was too short for his liking. He hadn't wanted to make a scene, had wanted to gauge her reaction but it hadn't been long enough for him to figure it out. And then he had a feeling she'd been avoiding him, well, she had smiled at him when he caught her eye, but he felt like it was more than that. Leaving him wondering if maybe he'd imagined the blushes, the way she smiled at him. He had been gearing himself up to make a move and now, as he guided a drunk Lyra home, he wondered whether he should give it another go. Or would that be taking advantage because she was drunk? He'd seen her significantly more drunk than this, but he could tell she'd had a few, not that he could blame her as it was New Years after all.
"Have you had a good evening Ly?" he asked her as they neared her house, James realising he would need to make a decision very quickly. Remus had taken her key and gone ahead with Alice and Rosie, the pair of them almost draped over him showing just how drunk they were which meant James had a very small opening.
"It's been great" she told him, making him smile as he saw her smile, giving him some hope back. He steered her up the path, James putting his arm around her, feeling incredibly pleased when she leant into him, that hope getting bigger. At the front door he felt her pause, turning to him.
"Thanks for walking us back James" she told him, stepping out of his embrace but she lingered, not heading in just yet. As such he stepped closer, sure he heard her breath catch, her eyes widen, could have sworn she darted a look to his mouth.
"Anything for you Ly" he murmured to her as he put his arm around her, pulling her flush to him and without overthinking, analysing it, he kissed her. Lyra felt momentarily surprised, James wondering if he'd done the right thing but then she was kissing him back and it was fucking glorious, the best thing to ever happen to him. She wrapped her arms around him, James chancing deepening the kiss and was ecstatic when she responded with equal enthusiasm, James holding her tightly. This beautiful girl, his best friend, and he was dam well going to ask her to be his girlfriend. Because holy hell this was the best kiss he'd ever had. She felt incredible, James only wanting to be as close to her as possible, this kiss like nothing else. He pushed her back gently, Lyra never stopping kissing him as his hand tangled in her hair, his other hand settling on her waist, pulling her against him. She arched into him, moulding against him in the most perfect way, in a way he hadn't thought possible to be.
A sudden door shutting made them both jump, made them break apart, the pair of them breathless. James thought it was Remus, prepared to tell him to go back to the party and take over as host because he wasn't prepared to let Lyra go but when he turned to her, she looked…fuck she looked shocked.
"Shit James I…shit I'm so sorry. You're drunk and I shouldn't have…shit I just…Oh God. Please can we just forget about this? I'm so sorry" and before he could register her words, before he could say anything she had pushed past him and disappeared, leaving him saddened and confused on the doorstep, wondering what the hell had just gone wrong.