Lily saw James's attitude towards her, but Lily wasn't a quitter. She knew that she would just have to try harder. And that was exactly what she was doing.
It was the first week of classes, and she and James were sharing the Heads dormitory. She had the perfect opportunity for phase two of her plan that Friday. The weather was dreary, it was 11:00 at night, and lightning flashed outside of their windows as thunder echoed across the grounds and the mountains beyond.
"James," Lily whispered, shaking him. He was sleeping in his bed, glasses still on, and a book across his lap. The candles that lighted up his room had long since gone out, as well as the fireplace in the wall parallel to the foot of his bed. "James," she whispered again, a little louder, as she shook him more urgently.
Lily was in her pajamas, which consisted of a tight tank top and boxer shorts, both the same shade of green as her eyes. Her dark red hair was falling down her back in loose waves.
James finally woke up, and, upon seeing that he wasn't alone in his room, sprung up with his wand in his right hand. Unfortunately, he forgot about the fact that he was still on his four-poster bed, and banged his head with a rather loud "thump" on the ceiling, and flopped back down onto his bed.
"James, are you okay?" Lily asked, concerned.
"Lily?" he said, blinking and rubbing his head where he hit it.
"Yeah," she whispered.
"What're you doing in here?" James asked, struggling to get back under the covers. He didn't want Lily to see him; after all, he was only in boxers.
"Well," Lily whispered, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, "I woke up and heard the thunder."
"And…" James said, still trying to get under the covers.
"And I don't like the thunder," Lily whispered coyly. "It scares me. I was wondering if I could sleep in here tonight."
"In here? Well, I don't see the difference, but I'll just go grab my stuff and go into your room for tonight…" James said, jumping out of bed and grabbing his pillow.
Lily bit her lip. "No, that's not what I meant," she whispered, climbing into his bed.
"Well," James said, fidgeting slightly.
"I meant, sleep in here tonight," Lily whispered, moving over to one side of his bed, "with you."
"WHAT?" James exclaimed, jumping and dropping his pillow on the floor.
"Well," Lily said, trying to fight back a laugh, "when I was younger I used to go into my parents room and sleep with them when it was thundering outside, but I obviously can't do that!" Lily faked a jump as the thunder rang out and the lighting flashed.
"Oh, I thought you meant…"James started, and then stopped as he realized what he was about to say. "Never mind."
"So," Lily asked, propping herself up on her elbow to see him better, "can I stay here tonight?"
"Um, su-sure, Lily," he whispered gruffly. Lily could tell he was unnerved, and smiled to herself as James crawled into bed next to her.
"James?" Lily whispered tentatively. She didn't realize how small the beds seemed with two people in them. It took everything she had not to touch him.
"Yeah, Lily?" he whispered back. Oh, bugger it all! James thought to himself. I'm just going to forget about my plan. Lily obviously wants to talk to me, so why deprive the girl of my dreams from what she wants?
"Why are you avoiding me?" Lily asked. She didn't know what possessed her to ask such a question; all she knew was that at that moment he wasn't avoiding her, and she had to get the answer before it was too late.
James sighed, and she felt him tense up next to her. He propped himself onto his elbows, seemingly talking to the ceiling. "I thought that you wanted me to," he whispered quietly; so quietly, in fact, that if Lily were an inch further from him she wouldn't have heard him.
Just then lighting struck again, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Lily jumped closer to him out of instinct and wrapped her arms around him. James was in heaven.
"Sorry," Lily mumbled, embarrassed. "It just scared me for a second." She moved a little a way from him. "James," she whispered after a few seconds, "look at me, please?"
James turned to face her so that he was on his side, one elbow supporting him. Lily was in the same position, facing him. "I'm sorry, Lily," he breathed, then he sighed. His breath blew her hair back a little bit, and he laughed as she crinkled her nose in surprise.
"For what?" Lily asked, taken aback.
"For avoiding you," James whispered, his breath tickling her cheeks. "I shouldn't have, but I just thought that maybe you didn't want me to talk to you. I mean, this is such a change from yelling and screaming, and I…" he sighed, trying to find the right words, "I guess I didn't want to ruin whatever chances I had."
Lily reached out and ruffled his hair. "You dolt," she whispered, chuckling. "Usually if somebody helps you up out of the mud, it means they don't mind you that much."
"Well," James whispered, lying back down on his pillow, "I'm not the smartest guy around when it comes to you, Lily."
Lily felt herself blush, and was thankful for the darkness. "I've realized," she whispered, lying down and turning to look up at the ceiling.
"Lily," James whispered softly in her ear.
"Yeah, James?"
"Go out with me?"
Lily laughed and turned away from him, so that all he could see was a curtain of red hair next to him. "Goodnight, James."
A/N: Thanks to everybody who read this far! The first chapters were just a bunch of random junk, but this chapter was definitely one of my favorite "useless junk" chapters. I honestly don't know why my mind comes up with these random things. Anyway, the next few chapters get more into the flow of the school year. Some morbid things happen, especially around Christmas. DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU READING, because I'm really not a morbid person. I just have morbid ideas based on JK Rowling's writing. Please review!