Ch.8

Faking Hatred

You were everything I wanted.

Isn't that how it's supposed to be?

Then you left me brokenhearted,


Now you don't mean a thing to me.

Thought you thought that I was worth it,


Now I think a little differently.


I don't even know what I liked about you.


you just brought me down.


Hate is a strong word,


But I really don't like you...

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As soon as she had turned the corner, Lily leaned against a wall and tried to calm her pounding heart. Her first reaction was giddiness; James finally asked her out! This was what she had been fantasizing about year since year 1. but after a second, the truth sank in. He only asked her out because her wanted to win the bet. Hell, he probably didn't even know her name if it weren't for Remus. She didn't want him to win his stupid bet. No, what she wanted was to be noticed by James. And she had just singled herself out from the female population at Hogwarts by doing the unthinkable: rejecting James Potter.

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"She did what?" Sirius asked James unbelievably. "She rejected you! Are you sure you heard her right, mate?"

James nodded, unable to speak. He was still in shock. Rejection. That wasn't something he had much experience with. Come to think of it, he had never gotten rejected in his life.

"What is wrong with her?" Sirius paced around the Common Room. "How could she reject James Potter! What is the world coming to?"

James just stared blankly back at him.

"Wait a minute," Sirius stopped suddenly as his face broke into a grin. "Blimey, this is good for me. There is no way in bloody hell now that you are going to win the bet. Hello, 100 galleons!"

Remus looked up form the textbook that he was studying. "What did you do to make Lily hate you so, Prongs?" He asked thoughtfully. "it must have been something big for her to reject you."

"I seriously don't know," James replied quietly. He just can't get the image of her out of his mind. "But there is no way I'm giving up. I am going to get Lily Evans to go out with me and I will win that bet, Padfoot."

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Marcie shrieked so loudly that everyone who was by the lake looked up in alarm.

"You did what?!" Marcie repeated, her blue eyes wide open with surprise. "After all those years of longing, you rejected him?"

"Shhh," Lily looked around anxiously. "yes, okay? Yes, I did. It was the only logical thing to do."

"Why?" Marcie sat down on the grass. "you've like him for so long, I thought the last thing you'd want to do is reject him. Why would you do a thing like that?"

Lily stared at Marcie in surprise. "Uh, because of the bet? Remember?"

"Oh, right," Marcie said glumly. "I am so sorry. I was so excited for you that well, I guess I forgot."

"Yeah, me too," Lily replied sadly. "I am supposedly over him, but inside I still like him. It's really hard to get over something you've liked for so long. Sometimes, I wonder why I even like him. It's weird, because I don't even know him but I feel that we were meant to be."

"Sorry," Marcie said apologetically. "I really don't understand what you are talking about."

"I don't either," Lily took a deep breath. "But right now, what I have to do is pretend to hate him. Because if he knows I like him, then he'll win the bet and I don't want that to happen. I want to him to understand that I am more than just a bet and all those other girls he dated. I really want to stand out."

"Lily," Marcie looked at her seriously. "You've definitely set yourself apart. Believe me, you are going to go down in history."

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"Lily! Wait up!" James ran to catch up to her on the stairs.

"Yes?" She looked at him coolly.

"Well," He gave her a smile that could have melted any girl's heart. "Perhaps you didn't understand me earlier. I was wondering-"

"No."

"but-"

"No."

"What if-"

"No."

"Okay then," James looked flustered. "I've never been rejected so many times in a row, but that's okay. I will just keep trying. So Lily,-" He looked up and found himself talking to a painting. the stairs had just moved and he saw Lily walking away in the other direction. James grabbed his book bag and raced towards her.

"Why do you hate me so much?" He asked, grabbing her arm.

Lily shook free and started to walk away.

"Any other girl would die for just a look from me," He continued, puzzled, not understanding why Lily hated him so.

Something snapped in Lily. Up till now she was pretending to hate him but now, after hearing what he just said, she felt her blood pressure rising.

"You arrogant, big-headed jerk," She said angrily, her face turning red. " you just don't get it do you? I am not like every other bloody girl!" She threw him a disgusted look before she disappeared down a hallway.

James stared after her blankly.

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" Yo Prongs!" James turned and saw Sirius racing up the stairs, looking ecstatic. "Guess what mate?"

"Sirius I am not in the mood for one of your jokes," James said flatly.

"No,no,no," Sirius replied with a huge smile. "This is better than some prank. There's a new girl."

"What?" James asked in surprise.

"yeah, you heard me," Sirius pointed to a girl in the distance. "She's a transfer student from Colombia. Check her out."

They both stared at the girl slowly walking towards them.

"Wow," James said, unable to take his eyes off of her. "What is she?"

"Yeah, see what I mean?" Sirius smirked. "Her name is Harmony McKinnon."

"Harmony McKinnon," James said slowly, his mouth forming the unfamiliar name.

"I have a feeling that things are about to get more interesting around here," Sirius predicted.

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A/N: Wow, I updated! Aren't you proud of me? ; thank you's to all my reviewers: arissa, blueholly, amose, booboobubbles, WriterArtist, JELLYBEAN, moosie4903, Super Smexy Snuffles, Holy Cross Baby, catherinelu 3, Arya Silvertongue, LandUnderWave, iloveSkaterBoys, and Cosmopolitan!

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Cynthia