Chained for life

Chapter 5

James blinked a couple of times. The sun was shinning in his face and he was almost blinded. As he looked around he found himself sleeping in the living room where they had watched movies last night. James yawned and looked out of the window. It was early morning, and he and Lily were lying down on the couch with a blanket over them. It was a small couch so Lily lay half on top of him with her one hand on his shoulder and her head on his chest.

"Um, Lily…" James tried to wake her up. He let his hand slide over her back. "Lily…"

She slowly lifted her head. "Huh?"

"'Morning," James grinned.

Lily blinked a couple of times, before slowly getting up. James sat up next to her.

"'M- Morning…" she yawned. "What are we doing down here?"

"I was kind of hoping you could answer that," James grinned while running his hand through his hair.

"It's not funny." Lily said; she seemed to have woken up at once.

"What's not funny?" James asked and looked at her.

"That we slept down here. And stop running your hand through your hair," she said irritably.

"Why?" James asked, wondering what had caused Lily's bad temper this morning.

"It's annoying!"

"But my hair looks better when I do that!"

"It looks great anyway."

James was about to say something, but stopped. He looked at Lily who looked back at him a few seconds before she blushed furiously.

"You like my hair!" James smirked.

"No I don't!" Lily said, but looked down.

"Yes you do. You just said it!"

"But I didn't mean it!"

"Yes you did. You like my hair. You like my hair," James sang triumphantly.

"James, stop being like that!" Lily exclaimed. "Gee! You're so annoying! And arrogant!"

James stopped singing. "Sorry…" he mumbled.

"You better be."

There were a couple of minutes of awkward silence.

"Should we get out in the kitchen and get something to eat?" James asked while scratching his neck.

"Yeah," Lily said and got up.

James followed. Sirius was sitting alone in the kitchen, eating a pile of toast. He grinned triumphantly when he saw them enter.

"What were you doing in there?" He asked, but seconds after added, "No, no, don't tell me. I don't wanna know!"

Lily just rolled her eyes at Sirius's remark.

"Another word Sirius and you won't be sitting at this table anymore."

Sirius just continued grinning. James then remembered something

"Hey so how did the date go?"

"Great! She tried to give me her number but ah I said I had my ways of finding her" He said grinning at James.

"Wait im confused. Does that mean you are going to ring her or not?" Lily asked

"Not" replied Sirius simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your mean" Lily said simply

"I'm not mean"

"He's just Sirius" James sighed.

Sirius and Lily just looked at James.

"What? It's his routine. Flirt. Go out. Snog. Dump." He just shrugged and continued eating his toast.

"Yeah" said Sirius.

Lily didn't respond and ate her breakfast in silence, while Sirius and James talked about the Quidditch. There was a match the next week, not long from where they were. They could go there, if Lily agreed. Lily didn't answer right away and said she would think about it.

They all sat in the kitchen, not really doing nothing when Lizzie stuck her head through the door.

"What's up?" she grinned.

"Hello, Lizzie!" James greeted and smiled.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked with a glint in her eye as she entered and sat down next to Sirius.

"Why?" Lily asked.

"You just looked so cute. Lying there, sleeping peacefully on the couch in each other's arms," she looked dreamily out the window.

"Oh, shut up!" Lily said.

James noticed that she was blushing profusely as she said this.

"Actually, that was why I didn't wake you up. It was just so abnormal to see you two like that. I didn't want to ruin the once in a lifetime moment."

"Be careful!" Lily warned. "It's your fault and you never no what could be around the corner.."

James nodded. "Yeah. You can't be sure of anything form now on. Everything can be a trick," he said very mysteriously.

Lizzie snorted.

"Anyways," James started to change the subject. "Sirius and I have talked about going and watch the Quidditch match here next week. Lizzie?"

Lizzie looked at James for a couple a seconds and then looked at Lily. "Sure… You really want to come, Lily?"

Lily shrugged. "It's only fair. James had some girly time with us yesterday; I'll go watch the Quidditch next week."

James smiled. "Thanks, Lils."

Lily just shook her head. "Don't. It's just fair that way. We have to compromise sometimes."

"YES!" Sirius exclaimed "were going to see some Quidditch! And some hot chicks!"

The girls just rolled their eyes. James grinned, he was looking forward to next week.

They all spend the rest of the day outside, not really doing anything. Nevertheless it was long past midnight when they all went to bed. They had had loads of fun, and Lily and James still grinned when they entered their room.

"But when you think about it, it was a bit funny, right?" James asked Lily.

They had just talked about how he and Sirius once had covered the whole of the left wing in silly string so no one could go down there without getting stuck or being covered in it. Sirius and James had earned two weeks detention and a trip to the principal's office. Every class in that wing had been cancelled for the rest of the day, which they were pleased with as they had double Maths.

"Perhaps…" Lily said and started to change into her nightie. "Especially when Mrs. Black came out covered in the stuff" James laughed. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah. I stood in the hall when she went down there to see if it was okay"

"Wish I had." Lily grinned slightly.

"I just don't get how you can keep coming up with tricks like that," she said and crept down under the blanket.

"Me neither," James admitted and pushed himself down under his too. "But Chris puts a stopper for the worst of our ideas. Sirius isn't too pleased with him."

Lily sighed. "Doesn't Sirius ever bother you?"

James was confused. "What? Why?"

"The way he is with the girls. Dumping them straight away… like today?"

"Hmm…" James sighed. "No, not really."

"It's disgusting," Lily said.

"That's just the way he is. It was actually some habit we both had once, he just never stopped."

"'Both'? What's that suppose to mean?"

"Don't say you never noticed, Lily," James mumbled. "Once I was just as bad as he is."

Lily was quite for a minute while James turned a bit to lie better.

"Yeah, that's actually true," she said after some time. "…it begun in the middle of our eighth year, right?"

"Yes. And I was worst through our ninth year. It kind of stopped through last year. I'm not like that anymore," James said.

He had no idea why he told Lily things like this, but she was very easy to talk to, and he was comfortable talking to.

Lily was quite for a couple of seconds. "I think you could be a really sweet guy if you wanted to, James," she said after some time.

James didn't reply, but just looked at Lily while she turned onto her side, so she lay with her back to James.

"G'night," she said.

"Night" James just lay there thinking for a while before shutting his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

Lily was sitting on the couch. She was not going to move. No matter what James said she was going to sit here and read. The arrogant jerk can't always get what he wants she thought. James and Lily had just had a rather large argument. James had fallen down the stairs, and by James that meant Lily also, and Lily was certain he did it on purpose because he was angry at her for dragging her out bed claiming she had forgotten about the chain. So now Lily was sitting on the couch with a growling James telling her he was really hungry and wanted some breakfast while she was reading a particularly large book hoping it would hold her down.

"Please Lily? Just take the book with you and I can get some breakfast?" James pleaded once more.

"no." Lily said simply

That's it James gave up. He was going to use force.

"You don't get off this couch now im going to just sling you over my shoulder and carry you there myself." That got her attention. Lily looked up alarmed

"You wouldn't dare." James raised his eyebrows, gave her a large grin and picked her off the couch and slung her over his shoulder.

"James! Put me down this instant!" she screamed kicking her legs at James and punching his back with her fists, but not avail, James did not let her down. James got out some breakfast and sat it on the table and sat down and started to eat. By now Lily had given up and was lying limply over James's shoulder.

"Can I come down now James?" Lily asked quietly.

"Im sorry but I did not hear a certain word in that sentence" James replied smugly.

"What are you five or something?" Lily hotly

"No I just want an apology and a please and thank you. Is that to much to ask?"

"Yes. Because you have no right to demand things from me and it was your fault to begin with!"

"Oh come on. Are you serious?"

"No im Lily" Lily said lightly "and you better remember that."

"That pun is used way to many times." James said rolling his eyes.

Lily laughed then stopped hastily remembering she was mad at James for not putting her down. Hoping James had forgotten she tried once more.

"So James, you going to put me down?" she ask cautiously. James just shook his head.

"Are you that against saying you were wrong and sorry?"

"Yes I am, well to you anyway." She said proudly. With that James put her down and just finished the rest of his breakfast ignoring her. Since James hadn't gotten her a bowl she just ate some bread that was sitting on the table not bothering to ask James to get up and get her a bowl. She knew he would just ignore her and so she did the same to him. Lily was on her second piece of bread when Sirius came down stairs yawning. He took one look at the pair sitting with their backs to one another, eating in silence and the tension in the room was incredible.

"well im not going to bother asks what wrong because I don't want to know. And seriously guys if you don't sort out your difference's your going to be stuck like this into school and that wont be fun." Sirius said calmly. Lily glared at him. James looked angrily at Lily and said

"You better stop hating me Lily. This is getting annoying." Lily opened her mouth as James quickly corrected "…immensely dislike me then" Lily shut her mouth and slumped into her chair. This was going to be harder than she thought.