Lily Notices
Lily notices it. She notices it in the small ways that he tries to tell her. She notices it, but she has chosen to ignore it, because frankly, it is easier that way. It is easier that way because James used to be the guy she loathed.
And now, they are friends… and she just doesn't want to handle more. Because honestly, in the midst of head girl duties, Order of the Phoenix meetings, school work, the war, and Voldemort, James Potter should be the least of her worries. But unfortunately, he is everywhere. He is omnipresent…and she sees it. Always.
She sees it in the way he sort of forgets what he is saying when he sees her. Like yesterday at the Order meeting when she was late. She had walked in twenty minutes late to find everyone already there and James talking about the strategy he had come up with for the latest mission.
"S-sorry!" she had stuttered, finding a seat next to Marlene McKinnon. And he had stopped talking. The room had gotten quiet for a moment or so as everyone had looked at James expectantly, waiting for him to continue.
Lily had looked up at him too, only to find his gaze fixed on her. She had licked her lips nervously, unable to take her eyes away from his. And there had been a hacking cough. Sirius Black had nudged his best friend in the ribs, and James had broken his eye contact with Lily and thrown his friend an annoyed look.
"Yes, you were saying, Sirius?" James had asked Sirius, sounding rather irritated.
Sirius had rolled his eyes and had said, "No, James, you were saying…"
And James had looked confused for a second, and then he had remembered, blushing. "Oh, yes, right… I was saying…"
Yes, she notices it. She sees it in the way he protects her from anything and every thing…
They are fighting against the foulest group of deatheaters. She is busy defending herself against one of them, when out of nowhere another deatheater yells the Cruciatus curse at her back. Lily doesn't have the time to duck or strike back, and she is so frightened in that second that she can't seem to think clearly. And then he is there, yelling a stunning curse at both of her attackers and then grabbing her a little harshly, pulling her away from the line of the Cruciatus curse. They are both hidden behind a tombstone. He leans forward, touching her cheek.
"You're bruised." He says, his voice low, and she sees it. He is her knight in shining robes.
She notices that although he has been very patient with her for the past few months, accepting her friendship and giving up on asking her out, he still gives her those longing glances. The glances that, unknown to even her, she returns…
They are at a friend's house, celebrating their victory after fighting the deatheaters. Lily is talking to Dorcas and Marlene about Dumbledore's plans for the Order, and James stands across from them, on the other side of the room with his friends. He occasionally glances over at her. And while she is talking, she can see James watching her. Even though she tells herself not to, she returns his gaze. He smiles, raising his bottle of butterbeer to her. His eyes have that look. The look that, Lily just knows, he saves only for her. The lookthat sends shivers down her spine. In that look are years and years of want and yearning.
And like James, Lily has completely forgotten that she is conversing with her friends. Marlene, concerned, asks her, "Lily, are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost…"
Lily looks at her friend blankly. "Oh, yes, I'm fine…I - " she looks over at James again. He is still there, his gaze still not wavering from her. "Um, excuse me for a moment – I'll be back." She walks away from her friends, leaving them bewildered. She walks towards him, smiling, and he towards her, grinning. They meet halfway, in the middle of the room.
She sees it more clearly now than ever before. And standing there, looking into James' brown eyes mirroring her future, she finds that she doesn't want to ignore it. Not anymore. This is James. James, however arrogant of a boy he had been before, is now the reason why she lies awake at night, he is the one she sees herself sharing an ice cream cone with…he is the one she sees herself sharing her life with.
He runs a hand through his hair, a habit she has come to love, and says nervously, "Lily."
She smiles broadly, finally feeling like nothing can hold her back, and says, "James." She takes a step closer to him and, without hesitation, falls into his arms. He is surprised, she notices. But only for a second. Then, he wraps his arms around her, wondering if this is all a dream.
"You're all I see." She whispers into his chest.