She decided she wouldn't avoid him anymore. She didn't want that hurt look again. No, she'd continue to go about her life as usual, she supposed. She headed down to breakfast, sitting in her usual spot, with her usual bagel (toasted with just a bit of butter; no jam or cream cheese, thanks) and her usual tea. Indeed. Normal. Well. Normal didn't generally involve her thoughts drifting to a messy-haired boy, but normal besides that...
James decided to skip breakfast altogether that morning. He had no appetite. So instead, he pretended to be in a deep sleep when his friends tried to wake him, and only moved from his bed when he was sure that they had gone.
Stumbling out of bed, he changed his clothes, grabbed his books, and headed out the door.
The halls were pretty vacant, seeing as everyone else was at breakfast. James walked slowly to his first class. Once he arrived, he had no intention of going in, so he slumped down beside the door and decided to sit there until the bell rang.
He breathed slowly, listening to the sound of his own breathing, thinking that he shouldn't be having to go through this right now. This should be the time in his life where he had fun, and experimented with other people, not being tied down to one. Right? Wrong. James wanted nothing more than to be tied down to Lily forever. He couldn't think of any other girl that even came close to her, because not one did. Lily was in fact, the perfect girl in James' mind. He couldn't come up with someone better if he tried.
Said 'perfect girl' happened to be walking down the hallway, and raised a brow when she noted the boy sitting outside. She stopped momentarily to gaze at him, feeling her heat pang and flutter, before heaving a huge sigh and recomposing herself. "James," she said sharply. "Class is still conducted inside of the classrooms, you know, and it's going to be very hard for you to hear a thing out here." With that, she tossed her head and marched inside, ignoring the urge to console him or cheer him in some fashion.
James could do nothing but follow her into the classroom, and take his normal seat at the back. He sat down, and leaned back in his chair. He rested one arm over the top of the chair, and the other resting on his leg. His eyes were unfocused, and he was staring at nothing in particular. His pose was modelesque, though he wasn't even aware of it. In fact, he wasn't aware of anything anymore. Everything seemed to be in a haze, except for the figure of Lily now sitting in the front of the room, she was crystal clear.
As the rest of the room began to filter in, the usual group of girls surrounded the area where James and Sirius sat. One particularly bold young lady by the name of Aretha Miles tossed several glossy dark curls and giggled femininely. "Why James," she crooned, batting her eyes. "You're looking particularly handsome today."
It was lucky Lily's hands were in her lap where no one else could see them, because at the words she felt her hands involuntarily clench into fists. Her face, originally serene, took on a sort of angry, set look. Taking a deep, somewhat shuddering breath, the young woman quickly began to scribble things down on the parchment before her, despite class not having started yet.
James didn't pay much attention to Aretha's compliment; he simply smiled to be nice, and then returned to staring darkly at Lily, who was now taking notes despite that class had not yet begun. He ignored as Aretha giggled and swooned in response to James' simple smile, and was thankful that Lily was nothing like that. Maybe that's why he was so crazy about her; because she wasn't like any other girl Hogwarts had to offer. She marched to the beat of a different drummer, and James couldn't get the beat out of his head.
Aretha proceeded to flirt shamelessly with the uninterested boy, and Lily felt an angry bubbling sensation grow in the pit of her stomach. Jealousy. She didn't know why, but she wanted to slap the girl and tell her to lay off. Couldn't she see he didn't like her? It was nauseating. So much so that, less than a minute after class had begun, Lily rose her hand. Professor Binns looked to her. "Ms. Evans?"
"Sir. I'm not feeling well. May I be excused?"
He surveyed her, before nodding. "Very well, Ms. Evans." After saying thanks and gathering her things, Lily left the room (skipping class; James was a horrible influence.) and walked up to the tower, stretching out on the couch and trying to drown out the annoying din of Aretha's voice that continued through her head.
Wretch.
Perhaps she'd been a bit rash in simply leaving class, but it hadn't been like she could actually listen. Her eyes fell onto the chairs where she and James had sat the night before. James. What was she to do about him? She certainly couldn't keep this up much longer or else she'd go mad...
James kept his eyes on his desk at Lily practically ran by. He didn't need to make eye contact with her to know that she was livid over something. Part of him wanted to get up and run after her, and he almost did just that, but another part was reminded of the harsh things she had said recently, so he remained in his seat.
"What's wrong with her?" Aretha asked, scoffing.
James cast her a cold, hard glare, and she shut up immediately and turned around in her chair.
James spent the rest of class staring at Lily's empty chair.
Lily was, honestly, surprised when James didn't show up after her. He'd always found excuses to follow her around like some lost puppy every other time she'd left class. Feeling exceptionally hurt and angry, she marched upstairs to hide beneath her covers and huff for a while. How dare he play with her heart like this! That git! She'd kill him when she saw him next.
No, she thought. She wouldn't. Didn't have the heart to. Damn.
She glanced at the clock again, and went to the next class, making a point to utterly ignore James as best she could for the remainder of the day. Two could play at that game.
The bell rang, signaling that James must now head to his next class. Once he walked out the door, he didn't feel like going. James had no problem skiving class, so instead of turning left, the way potions, he decided to go right, to take shelter in the one place he knew that no one would look for him. The library.
James couldn't help but smile as he walked through the Library doors. He imagined the look on Sirius, or Remus' face if they knew that he had gone to the library twice in one week.
He strolled through the vast room, looking for somewhere to sit. He spotted Irma Pince haunting a nearby aisle, and decided it would be best to not get caught up in another little chat with her. So making a left into the closest aisle, he found himself in the section of books labeled "Quidditch and Flying." Perfect. He grabbed a book off the shelf that was about improving Chaser techniques, and snuggled down into a corner. He stared at the words on the page, not really taking any of them in. His mind was not on Quidditch, but instead on Lily.
Meanwhile, the redhead was positively furious about having been ignored for such a long time. She was used to him being annoyingly present everywhere she went. Always trailing behind her or staring at her or doing something stupid. Livid, she went to dinner, nibbled at her food, and went to the library to get some homework done.
Truly, Hell had no fury like an angry Lily Evans.
Storming into the spacious area, she dumped her things unceremoniously onto the table and began work, scratching down answers with vigor. It was only when she glanced up for a thought that she noted the boy in the aisle before her. No.
Getting up, she swept over to him. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" she hissed.
Meanwhile, the redhead was positively furious about having been ignored for such a long time. She was used to him being annoyingly present everywhere she went. Always trailing behind her or staring at her or doing something stupid. Livid, she went to dinner, nibbled at her food, and went to the library to get some homework done.
Truly, Hell had no fury like an angry Lily Evans.
Storming into the spacious area, she dumped her things unceremoniously onto the table and began work, scratching down answers with vigor. It was only when she glanced up for a thought that she noted the boy in the aisle before her. No.
Getting up, she swept over to him. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" she hissed.
"Reading?" James phrased this as a question, not a statement. Truth be told, he didn't exactly know what he was doing here. He just wanted to get away, and it seemed that the problem had now followed him here as well. Not that he really minded, he did enjoy being in the presence of Lily, even if she was yelling at him in a library.
He glanced up into her eyes, which were livid. She looked as if he had stumbled into her territory, where he was not allowed to go. He slowly put the book back in its place, and stood up. Despite that he was now several inches taller than her, she still looked just as angry and menacing.
Lily's lips were thin and nearly white with rage. "How can you just... just sit there like that?!" she shrilled as quietly as she could. She stood there for several moments, before letting out an angry little noise and throwing her hands up. "I don't understand you at all!" she proclaimed loudly enough that a 'SHHHH!!' came from Irma a few rows over. Lily turned around, muttering to herself.
"You know what, forget it." she said. "Just forget it." She shoved her work back into the worn messenger bag she'd had for the last few years, slipping the strap over her shoulders.
"Lily, what exactly would you rather have me do?" James asked, an irritation growing in his voice. She didn't understand him? Yeah right, try it the other way around and it made much more sense. He wasn't finished with that last sentence, he had more to say.
"Because I'm trying Lily, I'm trying but I just don't know what you want from me." His voice was increasing in volume, but he ignored the pleas coming from Irma on the other side of the room.
"Just tell me what you want me to do!" And he was done. This sentence seemed to take energy out of him, so he leaned back against the wall, staring at Lily with pleading eyes.
"Being quiet would be nice, for starters." she growled. She cast a wary glance around the library, before putting her things down and walking back towards him, stopping roughly a foot away, glaring with fire into his eyes. "What I want you to do," she said in a low voice. "Is to quit making me want pull my hair out every time I see you. I want you to quit building me up only to drop me again, like some cat playing with a mouse." she was almost whispering to avoid gaining Irma's attention.
Lily reached up, twisted her fingers into his hair to forcibly bring his face down. She kissed him hard, but only for a moment, before pushing him away, grabbing her things, and walking out of the library with her head held high and a cross expression on her face.
James stood there, completely stunned. Once he regained consciousness, he ran out the door after her.
"What was that?" James called. She was walking briskly away up the hall. How could she think that he was building her up, only to drop again, when really it was the other way around? James was the mouse, Lily was the cat. How could she think otherwise?
"Payback." she called over her shoulder, shaking her hair out of her face and smirking a bit to herself. Evil? Perhaps. It had certainly made her feel worlds better. Relishing in his confusion and upset, Lily didn't bother to turn around. She could visualize his face in her head. Eyes wide, hair messier than usual from where she'd grabbed it, perhaps his glasses even askew. And his mouth was bound to be positively gaping. Marvelous.