Two days later, Lily entered the Gryffindor common room with Remus after a particularly boring Potions class.
"Ugh!" Lily sighed, relaxing on the couch, "I'm exhausted."
"Lily?" Remus asked, joining her.
"Hmm?"
"What's going on with you and James?"
"Nothing, we're friends," she replied, remembering their conversation from the other day.
"I thought you hated him," Remus wondered.
"I did," she answered, after a long pause, "he just turned out to be..."
"Different?" he finished.
Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now, you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now
"Yes. I don't... I don't know," Lily sighed.
"Just don't hurt him, okay?" He warned.
Lily stared at him, confused.
"You're worried about me hurting him ?"
Remus nodded in reply.
"How could I possibly?"
"He's liked you for so long, Lily. I can't imagine him just… stopping all of a sudden, just because you're friends."
"He never liked me, Remus," she argued.
"What are you talking about?" Remus asked, confused, "You know he's crazy about you."
"James is not crazy about me," she rolled her eyes, "you know how he is – how they both are, James and Sirius – I was just one of the few girls he couldn't get."
"No, Lily," Remus replied, defending his friend, "I understand that with James' reputation it may seem that way, but you should hear him, Lily. You should hear the way he talks about you. Don't hurt him."
"I'm not going to hurt him," she sighed, unconvinced.
Lily picked up her potions book, "We should get started."
Remus nodded in agreement.
As they started their homework, Lily tried to keep her focus on her Potions essay, but, for some reason, her mind kept wandering to James and what Remus had said.
Backbeat the word is on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now
James and Sirius were sitting in the Boy's Dormitory. They had decided to be lazy and skip their last class.
"What's the deal with you and Evas?" he asked.
James shrugged, resting his head on his pillow, "we're friends."
"You're just going to leave it like that, after three years? Are you mad?!" Sirius exclaimed, chucking one of his rather large pillows at James, causing him to emit a sound similar to "Umph!"
"That was uncalled for," James complained, tossing the pillow back at his friend, who ducked it, causing it to nearly knock over a lamp. They both chuckled.
"I don't know," James replied, finally acknowledging Sirius' question, "Being friends is better than having her hate me, isn't it?"
"You're losing it, Prongs." Sirius stated, slapping his forehead in frustration.
"I just don't want her to start hating me again."
"So go about it differently," Sirius suggested, matter-of-factly.
"I don't know," James thought, "How?"
"You're James Potter! You're a marauder! Figure it out!" Sirius exclaimed, disappointed in his friend's lack of creativity.
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I
Would like to say to you
But I don't know how
James groaned and pulled his comforter over his head, unsure of what to do. In his mind, he knew that there were only two options; either leave things as they are and hope something develops between them over time, or continue asking her out, and risk losing her forever.
He realized he didn't quite have the patience for the first option, and groaned under his comforter once more.
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
An hour later, James made his way up to the Owlry, still thinking about Lily. He realized that he would just have to be as patient as he could be, and be grateful to have her in his life someway. In the meantime, he would have to move on. Perhaps he could even move on completely, and fall for someone else.
'Doubtful,' he thought to himself.
His thoughts were immediately interrupted when he bumped into Caitlin Abbott on the staircase.
"Umph!" James exclaimed, as Caitlin's books feel to the floor. They landed with a loud 'thump'.
"I'm sorry, " she apologized, as the both reached for the fallen items.
"No, it was my fault," he replied as he handed two of her books back.
Caitlin was a fairly small 6th year Hufflepuff, the same age as James. She had black hair, brown eyes, and was definitely what James would consider attractive.
"Thank you."
She took the books from him, and began to walk away. Suddenly, an idea popped into James' head, causing a smile to form across his face.
"Caitlin?"
Today was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now
Lily sat at the base of the same large tree she had been sitting at three weeks ago, the day her friendship with James had started. She had always loved that tree, ever since a particularly difficult day in first year. It was large enough to comfortably support her back as she leaned against it, and its leaves were arranged in a way that gave her shadow from the sun, but let enough light in for her to read.
It was her sanctuary from everything going on around her, and she loved it.
Her thoughts were still on James, and she wondered if she should finally give him the chance that he had already proven he had deserved. He had acted more than civilized during the past three weeks, comforting her when she needed it. He had been a true friend, with the exception of the few pranks he had pulled with the help of Sirius. Even so, he had ended up being different than what she had expected. It was then that she decided to give him a chance. She figured that they could always go back to being friends if it didn't work.
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
She sighed, content with her decision, and open the book that was rested in her lap. Ten minutes, four pages, and twelve lines later, James walked up to her, stuffing the Marauders' Map into his back pocket. He looked genuinely excited.
"James," she smiled, closing her book as she sat down beside her, "just the person I wanted to see."
"I wanted to see you, too. I need to tell you something."
"Oh, okay, then. You go first." She offered, adjusting her back against the tree in a way that allowed her to face him.
"Well, I spoke to Remus earlier, and he told me what you guys were talking about. I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to worry about me asking you out anymore. I've decided that it's time for me to move on, which is why I've asked Caitlin Abbott out. You and I can just focus on being friends," he smiled.
She stared at him for a moment, in shock.
"You okay?" he asked, concerned.
"I.. yeah," she replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just.. wasn't expecting that."
James laughed, "Okay, it's your turn."
"Oh!" Lily exclaimed, "I'm sorry, I completely forgot what I was going to say."
"Okay," he replied, chuckling, "I've got to go. Quidditch practice. I'll see you at dinner?"
She nodded as he leaned over to give her a hug. As he pulled away, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then got up and headed towards the Quidditch pitch.
Lily sighed as a feeling washed over her, which she quickly recognized. It was a feeling that James had never made her feel before.
It was jealousy.
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
A/N: I appreciate all the replies. I had some awesome suggestions, which I'll try to use later on in the story, depending on if and when they fit in.