Chained for life
Chapter 3

* * *

James awoke to something tickling his face. He pulled his hand up and brushed away some hair. He was confused, how did that get there. Then the memories of yesterday came flooding back. He looked down and there was Lily, head of his chest snuggled up next to him. He couldn't help but smile. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He just lay back down ready to go back to sleep. He stroked Lily's hair and fell asleep there.

* * *

Lily awoke feeling quite well rested and then confused as she didn't know where she was. Then it clicked. She was in James's room and sleeping in James bed and oh my goodness she was sleeping practically on top of James's bare chest and James hand was in her hair. She felt like screaming. James must have felt her wake because just before she contemplated screaming for help she heard James's voice as he started to stroke her hair,

"Good morning honey. Have a good sleep?" Lily didn't want to know what that meant in 17 year old boy language so she quickly withdrew from her sleeping position and pushed to the far end of the bed and screamed.

"Get away from me! You said you wouldn't do anything!"

"I didn't Lily. I swear I just woke up to you sleeping like that!" James pleaded. She didn't want to believe it. She got up and out of bed so quickly she didn't realise the chain was still on her arm and was pulled suddenly on top of James. He laughed. Lily blushed.

"Can we get up now please?" she asked irritably knowing that she couldn't go anywhere without him agreeing because he was a lot stronger than me. Lily had given up. She was stuck like this and was going to let James drag her anywhere.

"Okay but I need a shower first" he said grinning widely. Okay maybe not anywhere.

James actually wasn't in the mood for a shower, but did it only to annoy Lily. He knew he was stronger then her and was not as shy as she was. He didn't care if she was there or not, he was ready to take advantage of that.

"Yes well I would like one as well but how are we going to do that because im not taking a shower in front of you" when she saw him opening his mouth she quickly added "and I don't want to see you either" Lily looked away because her stupid brain was forming mental images that she didn't want to see.

"You do realise we could just wear swimmers?" why didn't she think of that?

"Ah, right, well, how are we supposed to get into them?"

"The same way we got into our pajamas maybe?" he said raising his eyebrows crinkling his handsome face. Wait hold on, freeze and rewind. Did she just call Potter handsome? Ahh delete, delete, delete, erase from memory. That gross, arrogant, big headed prick had meddled with her brain ahh.

"Ah earth to Lily? Anyone home? Are you okay you look annoyed?" the annoyance must have showed on her face but she quickly hid that.

"I'm fine I was just thinking now shall we do this? I still have my swimmer bottoms on, I forgot to take them off so I just need to do the top up so turn around" he just raised his eyebrows and looked away. Lily got out her swimming top. The top was tied but the bottom wasn't so she slipped the top loop over her head and tried to tie the bottom, no avail.

"Ah James, could you help me please?" Lily asked quietly. Ah this is so embarrassing. James looked around surprised saw what she meant and smirked.

"Sure thing" he tied it for her and now it was his turn. Great.

How on earth are we going to do this?

"So how are we going to do this?" James asked as if he had read her mind.

"Well you…ah I see well I'll just look the other way…its not like I want to look so you have no problem. I say from now on we just wear our swimmers all the time." James nodded and told her to turn around. She didn't need telling twice. It was quite awkward as James took off his boxers and put on a pair of Speedo's and a put a pair of board shorts on. Lily didn't bother wait for him to tell her to turn around, she knew he was done.

"So shower time?" she asked annoyingly

* * *

Lily started to dry her hair while brushing it and James was staring at her again. She finished and the two of them made the way down to the kitchen. On the way either of them kept pulling at the chain so the other one tripped or just got pulled forward.

James entered the kitchen first and pulled in the chain so Lily bumped into the wall with her right shoulder.

"You're so going to die for this!" she said while glaring and rubbing her shoulder.

"Whatever you say," James just said. His parents were just carrying the last suitcases out from another room as the entered.

"You're going now?" James asked.

"Yeah," his father answered; his gaze fell on the chain around James and Lily's hands. "What's happened to you two?"

"Sirius" James just said and rolled his eyes.

His mother started to laugh and his father just shook his head and smiled

"This is not funny!" James said, getting annoyed at his parents.

"Yes it is," Susan laughed. "It's one of the best ways to make people get together."

James and Lily both blushed and looked down. James was cursing his parents in his mind; they really knew how to make people embarrassed.

"You two have fun," Evan said as they started to carry their suitcases out of the kitchen.

"We'll be home in twoish weeks," Susan added.

They both walked out the door, leaving James and Lily with a very awkward silence. "Wanna get something to eat?" James asked after some time.

"Sure…" Lily said slowly.

"We'll kill Sirius and Lizzie later for this," he said, referring to the chain around the wrists.

"Sure…"

James dragged Lily over to the fridge looking for something to eat. He picked up the milk and put it on the kitchen table and then went and got a box of cereal and two bowls and spoons on the table, all while just pulling Lily to wherever he needed to go without asking her. After getting two glasses and orange juice and straws and umbrellas Lily was getting fed up. She knew he was doing this just to annoy her.

"I hope you realise that you didn't need all this" Lily said annoyed

"Nah. Then I couldn't pull you around."

"You know you could be nice for once. Is it that hard?"

James looked at her for some seconds.

"You know what?" he asked. "I have tried to be nice to you the last two or three years, but what have I gotten in response? Hateful glances and mean words. I don't think you can be meaner to me so I can act the way I want as long as you're stuck to me because we won't get away from each other before we talk and act nicely towards each other."

Lily had opened her mouth, ready to say something to James, but no words came past her lips.

"Finally, come on" he pulled you abruptly towards the table. Lily almost fell but quickly recovered.

"You're an asre, did you know that?"

"Like I haven't heard that one before"

"That's because I really mean it!"

"Oh im touched."

"You're not welcome."

James didn't reply, but sat down and ate in silence. When they were finished James heard steps at the stairs. He turned around and saw Sirius come down. He grinned as he saw James and Lily sitting across each other with their hands on the table, still with the chain. They hadn't figured it out yet.

"You two have to solve your problems sooner or later," he said and sat down next to James.

"Be careful or I'll kill you," Lily said between her teeth.

"Sure… Well, Lizzie and I talked about going to the beach today. Wanna come?"

"If you haven't noticed, Black" Lily said in a deathly "I have a parasite hanging by my wrist and am not in the mood to go to the beach today."

"I want to go." James said. Really he wasn't in the mood either, but he just wanted to irritate Lily.

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do."

"Oh, no you don't."

"Oh, yes I do."

Lily leaned back in her chain and crossed her arms. James wasn't ready for this and was pulled into the table with his ribs and his head hit the table.

"OUCH!" he exclaimed and straightened up again. "Please try and control your movements, girl!"

"I do what I want to do!"

"Fine!" James said and got up.

Now it was Lily's turn to fly over the table. She quickly pushed herself up as James began to go out of the kitchen. James walked very quickly and Lily almost had to run after him. Sirius sat back and looked after them, grinning widely, their plan was working splendidly. James pushed a door open and walked out in the garden.

"Will you please slow down?!" Lily called desperately

"No," James said simply.

He made the ending of the garden out a gate into the park and sat down in the grass. Lily had nothing to do but sit down beside him. As James leaned back with closed eyes Lily found no other thing than do the same. Both of them were silence for a couple of minutes.

"I hate you," Lily suddenly said.

"You've said that before too."

"I thought so too. I just can't say anything that make you realise just how much."

"Nope, because deep down inside you don't."

"Yes, I do"

"No, you don't"

"Yes."

"I'll wait for you," James said

"Oh, just shut up."

He did not reply. He just sighed and thought for how long this would go on. After a couple of minutes he could feel Lily get up next to her.

"James?" she asked. James was puzzled by why Lily's voice wasn't harsh anymore. He mumbled a yes. "Do you realise that we'll be stuck until we learn to get along?"

"Yeah, I kind of found out last night when Sirius and Lizzie said so."

"Yes. But do realise how long time that can be. We could be stuck for the rest of our lives!"

James sat up next to Lily. "Look. Not to be mean or anything. But it kind of depends on you. It's not me who hates the person I'm stuck with. It's you."

"We're two people stuck together," Lily raged. "…two people with this problem! How can you say it's only me who needs to accept you?"

"Because, you hate me, I don't hate you."

"We could pretend you know?" Lily thought.

"Look Lily, Sirius and Lizzie are not stupid it wouldn't work. So don't bother with those stupid thoughts okay. If you want to make this thing go away we are going to have to try."

James sighed, knowing what Lily didn't want to do this; she didn't care anyway. They both leant back onto the grass and looked into the sky, thinking. James closed his eyes and sighed, breathing in the warm summer air. Lily seemed to have gone quite next to him. He sat up a bit and watched as Lily picked a blade of grass and cut it into small pieces. She seemed to know he was watching. He closed his eyes and lay back on the grass once again.

Several minutes passed before Lily said something which surprised James.

"I don't hate you."

James opened his eyes slowly and turned his head to look at Lily.

"You don't what?"

"Hate you. I-I don't hate you."

"It seems like you do," James said. He had nothing else to say because he was very surprised by Lily's words.

"Yeah… I mean… sometimes you can be a little too…what shall we call it? ... Insensitive and stuff like that. But I don't hate you. Those sides of you just annoy me a bit. Well, maybe a bit more than a bit"

James nodded slowly. "I understand."

"You do?" Lily asked surprised.

"Yeah, and if we ever want to have this chain removed, I can see that I have to turn those sides a bit down."

Lily smiled at him. "And I'll try to be a bit more acceptable about you."

"So we're trying to get along?" James asked and smiled.

"I guess we are," Lily said and nodded.