Don't Let Your Guard Down
chapter 24
I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY THAT THIS IS SO LATE! MY INTERNET BROKE FOR AWHILE AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO UPDATE...don't hate me too much. Alright, because I know you've been waiting a long time for this...let's just get on with it.
disclaimer: yup, i'm JK Rowling. and i'm also married to the Pope.
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"Guys! I'm fine!" Lily cried out. "Stop asking."
"If you're fine, then why are you reading your book upside down?" Gigi asked.
Lily looked at her book and sighed. She closed it and placed it on the table and lay back on the couch while letting out another sigh. "I'm fine-ish."
"That's not fine," Kacie said.
"Well, it's fine with an ish," Lily snapped. The girls gave her a look. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine. But I'll be fine. It's only been a week. Give me time."
"You've gone through three boxes of tissues," Kacie said. "You're gonna run out of money before you're fine."
Lily cracked a smile. "I just wish he changed, ya know?"
"We understand," Kacie said, draping her arm around Lily's shoulders.
"He insisted that he changed," Lily said. "Told me that, told you guys that, even told Sirius, Remus, and Peter that. But it was all a big lie."
"Lily," Gigi said. "Did you ever think that maybe he wasn't lying?"
Lily jerked her head to look at Gigi. "Are you calling me a liar?"
"No!" Gigi exclaimed. "But maybe there's a logical explanation for this."
"Yeah, James had sex with another girl on our common room couch. It's the only thing that makes sense!" Lily cried out.
"Maybe not," Gigi said. "Maybe-"
"Did the bra belong to you? Did you decide it was really hot in here one day and take your bra off?" Lily asked.
"No…"
"And it's not Kacie's bra," Lily said.
"How do you know?" Gigi asked.
"It was too sexy to be Kacie's," Lily said.
"I'm going to pretend that was a compliment," Kacie said.
"No other girls hang out in here!" Lily exclaimed.
"When's the last time you checked that couch? Maybe it belongs to a girl James was with before you guys got together," Gigi said with a shrug.
"Not possible," Lily said. "When I was pissed at James over winter break, I went on a whole cleaning spree and took apart that couch."
"Okay, but maybe-"
"I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I don't want to talk about him."
"Fine," Gigi said. "Let's talk about how fat you're gonna get if you keep eating ice cream and brownies."
Lily grinned and threw a brownie at Gigi.
"Or we can talk about finding you a new man," Gigi grinned.
Lily whimpered. "I don't want a new man. I want to sit here with my ice cream and brownies and—ooooh, chocolate cake! Do either of you have chocolate cake?"
"Okay, now you're sounding like Black and that just means you've truly gone to the dark side," Gigi gasped.
Lily forced out a smile.
"Okay, you don't want to talk about you-know-who, you don't want to find a new man, and you've already gone through three boxes of tissues—one of which was mine and I'd like to be paid back for it at some point-" Kacie explained.
Lily glared at her.
"Then again, I have sleeves. I'm good," Kacie snickered. "I'm just saying Lily, that you can't just hole yourself up in your room all week and hope James falls off a cliff so you can go on with your life without him."
"I can't hole myself up in my room all week; I've got class," Lily muttered. She paused."Though, your idea is sounding better and better."
"Okay, I'll find the nearest cliff and Kacie, you somehow lure James to that spot," Gigi teased.
"Y'know, you joke, but that's my Plan B," Lily stated sincerely.
"Do I dare ask what Plan A is?" Kacie asked cautiously.
"I haven't quite got all the details down yet, but I'm thinking it's gonna involve James getting eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex," Lily grinned.
Kacie and Gigi exchanged looks. "Um, Lily," Gigi started slowly, "You do know that in order for Plan A to take place, you'd have to have Tyrannosaurus Rex."
"I know that."
Again, Kacie and Gigi exchanged looks. "Um…and you do know that we don't live in the Jurassic Era, right?"
Lily paused. "Okay, back to Plan B."
Gigi sighed. "I'll go find a cliff," she muttered.
"I'll go find James," Kacie added.
Lily sighed. "No. Just find me some chocolate cake."
"Now that I can do," Gigi grinned.
Lily, Gigi, and Kacie sat in front of Defense Against the Dark Arts, pretending not to hear the Marauders walk in several minutes after them. "You guys don't have to hate them because I do," Lily whispered.
"Don't worry, I already do," Gigi said with a grin.
"And you don't hate all of them, Lily," Kacie noted.
"No…I just don't want to be around any of them," Lily said. "Come on, we knew this was gonna happen."
"What?"
"If James and I broke up, we wouldn't associate with the Marauders anymore. They're too busy supporting James, you're too busy comforting me, I can't be around James and in association, I can't be around them. In the end, we're gonna have to find new guy friends."
"Find someone else to hang out with besides Black?" Gigi asked. "This is like the best day of my life!"
Lily laughed and doodled on her parchment, trying as hard as she could not to glance over at James.
Across the way, James was trying hard not to look over at Lily. "And apparently she likes chocolate cake too!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Sirius…everyone likes chocolate cake," Remus said. "And enough about Lucie." He glanced over at James, hoping he wasn't too bummed out of the talk of Sirius's girlfriend.
"Sorry, sorry," Sirius sulked.
"Hey boys," Tami Hilton, a seventh year Hufflepuff, said, batting her eyes and blowing them a kiss. She stopped in front of the Marauders to talk to them. "So how are you doing?"
"Great," Peter said.
"Good," Remus said.
"Wonderful," Sirius said.
They all turned to James who said nothing and was staring attentively at the desk. Sirius turned back to Tami and said,"That's sign language for magnificent."
"Not moving and spending your time staring at a wood desk means magnificent?" Tami asked.
"Okay, so maybe he didn't get very far in his sign language class," Sirius said with a shrug.
"Why isn't he sitting with Lily?" Tami asked.
All three boys bit their lips and looked at James who seemed to flinch a little. "Because he loves us guys," Sirius said, putting his arm around James. "He's big on guy bonding."
"Hang out with you guys over his girlfriend?" Tami asked, raising her eyebrows.
Remus shrugged. "We're great guys. If he had the option, he'd hang out with us all the time."
"Oh stop it. Just stop making things up! Stop censoring what you say around me! Stop treating me like a wounded puppy!" James exclaimed. "Just give it a rest!"
Tami backed up, very surprised by his outburst. "Magnificent huh?" Tami asked Sirius.
James grabbed his things and stomped out of the room. "Class starts in two minutes!" Remus cried out and then sighed when he realized James wasn't coming back.
"Where's he going?" Peter asked.
"Maybe he's going to sign language class," Tami said with a snort.
Sirius locked eyes with Lily who obviously noticed James's outburst and him stomping out. Sirius just shrugged as Lily looked back down at her parchment and started drawing on it again. "Slut," she muttered.
"No I'm not…anymore," Gigi said.
Lily sighed. "I was talking about Tami."
"Tami Hilton?" Gigi questioned.
Lily nodded. "She finds out we broke up and tries dating James a week and a half after we ended it."
"I don't think she knows," Gigi said. "In fact, I'm pretty sure no one in this school knows."
Lily looked at Gigi. "How's that possible? Marauder gossip is every girl's favorite topic of conversation."
"Well James certainly didn't tell anyone and you didn't tell anyone and the guys didn't tell anyone and Gigi and I didn't tell anyone-"
"Are you going anywhere with this or do I need to slap you?" Lily asked.
"I'm just saying that the secret hasn't gotten out yet," Kacie said with a shrug.
Lily looked over at Tami whispering with a bunch of seventh year girls and sighed. "Well…secret's out."
"You do realize that as Head Boy, missing class isn't a good idea, right?" Remus asked, entering the common room to see James lying down on a couch facing the ceiling.
"And you do realize that as my best friend, you should leave me the hell alone, right?" James snapped.
"Good point," Remus said, walking past him and up to his room.
"Can I give you a word of advice?" Peter asked.
"No," James said.
"Got it," Peter said, following Remus.
James noticed Sirius sit down in a chair beside him. "You know what I like about you Padfoot?"
"My wit? My charm? My hot looks?" Sirius suggested.
"I'm not one of your fawning girls," James said.
"Oh yeah," Sirius said. "So what do you like about me?"
"How no matter how much you want to, you're not the kind of person to give me advice, tell me how to get over a girl, or make me do something supposedly fun to forget about Lily," James said.
Sirius paused. "That's me?"
James glanced over at Sirius. "I hope so."
Sirius sighed and patted his best friend on the back. "Don't get over Lily. Sulk and skip every class you have for the rest of the year. Oh, and forget strippers, Quidditch, and alcohol. Don't do anything fun to get over the girl."
"That would be considered advice," James said and then paused. "But I like it."
Sirius looked over at his friend and grew serious. He took a seat at the end of the couch and looked up at James. "You okay man?"
James attempted a smile and looked at Sirius. He took a few seconds and then said, "No."
"Wanna go down to the kitchens?" Sirius asked.
"No," James moped.
"Wanna play exploding snaps?" Remus asked.
"No," James said with a sigh.
"How 'bout chess?" Peter suggested.
"No."
"Twister?" Sirius asked.
"Are you kidding?" Remus asked and then turned back to James. "How 'bout we do homework?"
"No," James sulked.
"Wanna get drunk and find a bunch of strippers?" Sirius asked.
"Sirius!" Remus warned.
"Yes," James said immediately.
"Quick, let's go before he changes his mind!" Peter said, grabbing his robes.
James sighed. "I was kidding. What I really want is to just stay here."
"You just want to sit here on the windowsill and stare out the window?" Peter asked.
"No," James said. "I'm also eating chocolate ice cream."
"And cookies," Remus muttered, glancing over at the plate of cookies beside James.
"Look Prongs…" Sirius said slowly.
"Don't say anything okay?" James asked. "Don't say it's for the best. Don't say this is meant to be. Don't say Lily is a bitch. Just don't say it."
"We don't have to…you said it for us," Sirius said.
"I don't wanna talk about it," James insisted.
"We understand," Peter said soothingly.
James sighed and then looked away from the window and at his friends. He didn't want to admit how hurt he was. He didn't want to admit that Lily broke his heart. He certainly didn't want his friends to believe that a girl could affect him so much. He turned back to look out the window right when it started to rain. "I just don't get her…how could she not trust me?"
"Is this what you call 'not talking about it?'" Remus questioned.
"You guys believe me, don't you?" James asked.
The boys exchanged glances and bit their lips shamefully. "Um…sure!" they muttered, looking anywhere but at James.
James looked at the looks on their faces. "Oh my god! You guys don't believe me?" James shouted in disbelief.
"Uh…well, Prongs," Sirius said cautiously. "This has happened before and-"
"Not recently!" James shrieked. "I'm a changed man! I don't cheat on my girlfriends anymore and especially not Lily! How can you guys not believe me? You are my best friends!"
"James, it's just that-" Remus started to protest.
"Forget it, Remus," James interrupted with an angry tone. He sighed. "You guys are my best friends. Why would you take Lily's side over mine?"
"Well, Lily said-" Peter started to argue but again, was interrupted.
"Forget it!" James shouted, glaring heatedly at them all. "If I can't depend on you guys, who can I depend on?"
With one last disappointed glance, he stormed out of the room.
Remus, Sirius, and Peter exchanged guilty looks. "Do you think he's telling the truth?" Remus asked.
Sirius sighed. "I wish I could say I believe him, but this is Lily we're talking about. When was the last time she ever lied about anything?"
Remus nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking."
"But why would James lie to us?" Peter contemplated.
Sirius shrugged. "I think we need to get to the bottom of this."
"But how?" Remus questioned further. "James clearly doesn't want to talk about her and I'm sure if we even go near the girls, James will castrate us."
Sirius paused and then turned to Peter. "Oh you'll never have sex anyway. I vote you to go talk to the girls."
"Hey!" Peter cried out.
"Psst!" a voice came from behind the couch where Kacie and Gigi were sitting the next afternoon.
Kacie and Gigi exchanged confused glances.
"Psst!" the voice cried louder.
Kacie looked behind the couch and rolled her eyes. "It's just Rem-"
"Don't say my name!" Remus hissed.
"If you're worried about James seeing you, he's in a meeting with Dumbledore and Lily," Gigi explained, rolling her eyes in irritation.
"Oh," Remus stated. "Well, in that case." He jumped over the couch and landed in between the girls. "I need to talk to you."
"Oh really, and I thought you were playing hide-and-seek with the rest of your cult," Gigi snickered.
"First of all, we are not a cult…no matter what those Slytherins say," Remus argued. "Second of all, if anyone asks why I was hiding behind that couch, playing hide-and-seek is exactly what you must tell them."
"I'm not going to lie for you," Kacie protested.
Gigi shrugged. "I will."
"Good, I'm glad you don't have morals," Remus said, "But now I need to talk to you," Remus reiterated.
"Okay, talk quickly because I'm betting Lily is attempting to speed through the meeting in order to get away from your no good, cheating, leaving evidence behind in the couch asshole of a friend," Gigi muttered.
"Hm," Remus murmured. "Are you sure James cheated?"
"When was the last time Lily lied?" Kacie responded stubbornly.
"Yes, we thought of that as well," Remus murmured. "But why would James lie?"
"Uh, because that's what he's done best for the past seven years," Gigi snickered.
"But he claims he's a changed man," Remus argued.
"Another lie! Man, that guy is good," Kacie muttered.
Remus sighed. "I just don't get why he would cheat on Lily. She's been the girl of his dreams for years and he finally gets her just to cheat on her with another girl? Something seems odd about that, don't you think?"
"Maybe he just wasn't satisfied with Lily," Gigi sighed.
"Yeah, this is Lily Evans we're talking about," Kacie added.
"That's your best friend you're talking about," Gigi said.
"Oh yeah."
Remus sighed again. "Lately James hasn't really seemed to care about…er…sexual activity. He was happier with Lily than he's ever been before. Why would he dare screw that up?"
"Maybe you should stop asking why and start asking who," Gigi pointed out. "I mean, until we find out who James cheated with, all we really have is Lily's word."
"But again, when was the last time Lily lied?" Kacie muttered.
"Well…technically, she just accused," Remus stated.
"She has proof!" Gigi shouted.
"What? What kind of proof?" Remus cried out in disbelief.
"A pink lacy bra stuffed behind the couch cushions in their common room," Kacie explained in a haughty manner.
"WHAT? Why was I not told of this before?" Remus shrieked.
"Wait…you didn't know about that?"
Remus stared at Gigi. "Do I look like someone who's in the know?"
"Good point."
"And you're sure the bra's not Lily's?" Remus questioned.
"It's pink and has lace," Gigi stated matter-of-factly.
"Good point," Remus muttered. "Okay, so now all we need to do is match up that bra with another girl."
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Kacie snickered. "Go up to every girl flashing that bra and ask her if she's somehow misplaced it?"
Remus paused. "Do you think that would work?"
"Oh yeah," Kacie replied. "If what you want to do is get slapped in your face multiple times."
"Oh and you'll probably get kicked in your balls a few times, too," Gigi added.
Remus paused. "Okay, so new plan."
"I thought so," Gigi laughed.
"Hmmm…so how exactly do we go up to each girl and ask if they left their bra in Lily and James's couch without sounding like a pervert?" Kacie asked.
They all thought about it and then Remus said, "Have Sirius do it!"
The girls laughed and Remus said, "Well, I've gotta go find Sirius and Peter and tell them of this newfound information."
"See if you can hit up some Gryffindor girls on your way," Kacie said.
Remus sighed. "My girlfriend is so gonna break up with me."
"Actually, if I were you, I'd go back to hiding behind the couch," Gigi whispered.
"Why? It's so cramped behind there," Remus whined.
"Because James just walked into the common room!" Gigi murmured, pointing in his direction.
"I like cramped. Cramped is good," Remus hissed, jumping over behind the couch again.
James walked over to the girls and sighed. "I know Lily would murder you in your sleep if she knew I was talking to you, but have you seen the guys? I need Remus' Herbology notes since I skipped this morning."
Kacie and Gigi exchanged looks. "I think they're playing hide-and-seek.," Kacie squeaked.
James gave them an irritated look. "The last time I checked, they weren't five."
"You do know you're friends with Black, right?" Gigi argued.
James gave her another look. "Fine, give me bullshit excuses. Not like I'm dying to speak to them anyway. I'm not exactly in the mood for them to completely go against all manhood and choose sides with…well, whatever. It doesn't matter."
"Wait…" Gigi uttered. "You…you're mad at them?"
"Why?" Kacie blurted out.
"I said it doesn't matter," James sighed. "If you see them, just tell them I'm looking for them."
"Uh…sure," Gigi said uncertainly.
"Thanks," James mumbled miserably.
Once he left, Kacie and Gigi turned to each other with confused, yet shocked, looks. "Did you know the Marauders were fighting?" Gigi asked wearily.
"I-I didn't think it possible!" Kacie replied.
"I know!" Gigi exclaimed. "He looked miserable, didn't he?"
"Well sure. First he lost his girlfriend-"
"His fault," Gigi murmured.
"Now he lost his best friends," Kacie sighed.
"Not sure whose fault," Gigi continued. "…I bet it's Black's."
Kacie laughed. "You don't bet it's Black. You hope it's Black."
Gigi grinned. "Okay, that too."
Kacie rolled her eyes and was about to protest when Remus' whispers were heard behind the couch, Kacie and Gigi feeling guilty forgetting about him.
"Psst, is it safe to come out yet?"
"Er…yeah," Gigi muttered, glancing at Kacie.
Remus hopped over the couch. "So who were you talking to before?"
"The person whose mad at you," Kacie replied with a curious look.
"What?" Remus cried out. "Which Slytherin was in our common room?"
"Remus," Gigi warned.
Remus gave tem a sheepish look. "Yeah okay, so James is pissed. He just lost his girlfriend and-"
"Why is he mad at you guys?" Kacie asked.
"You expect me to tell you two that?" Remus snickered.
"Of course," Gigi replied.
"That is, unless you want to be rat food," Kacie grinned.
"You two are mean," he pouted.
"No, we just like getting what we want," Gigi explained with a grin.
Remus snickered. "It's a wonder why you and Sirius aren't closer. You're exactly the same person."
"Except I have class….oh, and a life," Gigi sniped.
"Ahh, yes, I knew you had your differences," Remus replied, rolling his eyes.
"You do realize, we have changed the subject," Kacie pointed out.
"Yes I was aware and I'd like to keep it that way," Remus scowled.
"Talking about Sirius?" Kacie snorted. "Yeah right."
"So why's James pissed at you?" Gigi repeated.
"Gigi, I'm not-"
"Remember rat food?"
"We didn't exactly take his side on something," Remus replied immediately.
"What? He's your best friend! How can you not take his side!" Gigi shouted. "You always back up your friends. How are you-"
"We chose Lily's side."
"You made the right choice," Gigi said immediately.
Kacie laughed, ignoring the annoyed look on Remus' face. "Why did you take Lily's side?"
Remus shrugged. "Because it makes more sense. I mean, like we pointed out before, Lily doesn't lie and James…well he's cheated before."
"Yeah," Kacie murmured. "I just wish they could work things out."
"Well, once we figure out whose bra that is, we'll be closer t-" Gigi started.
"Once 'we' figure out? What's this we you're talking about? There's no we!" Remus complained.
"You don't want to help Lily and James?" Gigi pouted sadly.
"We'll start with the Ravenclaws," he replied immediately.
"How exactly are we going to do that?" Kacie argued. "Do you know how many girls are in this school?"
"Of course. At one point or another, they have all been in my room," Remus snickered.
"Oh please, you have not dated them all," Kacie snickered.
Remus gave her a look. "Yes but Sirius and James live in my room and have dated them all."
"That's a good point," Kacie laughed.
"Pigs," Gigi murmured.
"You realize you were the same way before this year, right?" Remus snickered.
Gigi paused. "They're still pigs."
Remus laughed. "I'll make sure they know it."
"Oh they already know," Gigi pointed out. "They are James and Black."
Remus rolled his eyes.
"Shit, get behind the couch!" Kacie hissed.
"Wha-"
"Lily just walked in!" she whispered in a frenzied tone.
Gigi shoved Remus over the couch without getting a response from him. "Oof!" he replied, landing on his back.
"Hey Lil!" Gigi greeted. "Let's go to your room."
"No way, I don't want to risk running into you-know-who."
"Okay, let's…uh…let's go to the kitchens!" Kacie stepped in.
"Yeah the kitchens!" Gigi chimed in.
"We just had lunch like an hour ago."
"Well you know me, always hungry," Kacie replied with a nervous chuckle.
"Well you go ahead. I'll stay here," Lily said with a sigh.
"No!" they both shouted.
"Er…what we mean is…er…how about the Quidditch pitch?"
"Why would I want to go there?"
" Uh…because Quidditch is fun?" Gigi suggested.
"You don't know me at all," Lily laughed.
"Okay, not the kitchens or the Quidditch pitch. Uh…ooh! Astronomy Tower!" Gigi cried out.
"Okay, just because Potter and I are broken up does not mean I want to make out with you, Gigi," Lily laughed.
"Let's just…er…let's just go for a walk," Kacie suggested.
"A walk?" Gigi repeated in disbelief, giving Kacie a look. "Why would Lily-"
"A walk sounds good," Lily sighed.
"I knew you'd love it!" Gigi cried.
Kacie gave her a look.
"I mean…let's go."
"James wasn't lying," Remus exclaimed, bursting into his room where Sirius and Peter were. "And there are four Gryffindor girls after me."
"Oh Remus, you're not that hot," Sirius said.
"No, they're angry at me," Remus explained.
"Why?" Peter dared to ask.
"Because I asked them if they owned a pink lacy bra," Remus said. He stared at the quizzical stares of his friends. "What? That's a perfectly reasonable question!"
"Yeah…if you're Sirius," Peter noted.
"And there's a process," Sirius explained. "You can't just go up to a girl and ask her if she owns a certain bra. You have to make up a reason why you're asking. Like you're doing a survey for Muggle Studies or-"
Sirius was cut off by the blank stares on his friends faces.
"Oh like you thought I hadn't tried it before," Sirius said.
"And how many times did you get slapped?" Peter asked.
"Oh I don't get slapped, I get dates," Sirius said.
"Some guys have it all," Peter muttered, shaking his head annoyingly.
"The bra belongs to James," Remus explained.
"Whoa…that should go on the list of things you don't need to know about your best friend," Sirius said.
"No! The bra belongs to the girl James had sex with. Lily found it," Remus explained. "Do I have to explain everything around here?"
"Yes," Peter and Sirius said immediately.
"So what are we gonna do about this?" Peter questioned.
"We? What's with the we? I am tired of all the we's!" Remus cried out.
Sirius paused. "So what are we gonna do about it?"
"I need to be with my girlfriend! I've already stalked four girls and I'm done," Remus noted.
"Oh c'mon she's not really into you," Sirius said.
"Why?"
"Because she's met me," Sirius said obviously. Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius and Sirius continued talking. "Plus, if you spend too much time with you, she'll find out you're a werewolf."
Remus paused to think about that. "Well, the girls and I came up with this plan to ask every girl in the school if they own a pink lacy bra," Remus said.
"That is the stupidest plan I've ever heard," Peter said.
"I'll get right on it," Sirius said, getting up from the bed.
"By the way, where did Lily find that bra?" Peter asked.
"In Lily and James's common room couch," Remus said with a shrug.
Sirius froze. "Uh oh."
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REVIEW! my internet is still being kinda funny but hopefully i can get on soon enough to update!