A/N: Here is your long awaited final installment of A Parisian Romance! Enjoy!
Chapter 16:Cliché
Snow flakes were falling all around the castle whilst the students watched them from windows. The storm hadn't left much damage on the castle, but areas around the castle were disastrous.
Trees from the Forbidden Forest had been uprooted, one of them being the cause of the broken window in the Divination Tower. The Hog's Head in Hogsmeade had suffered the worst of the storm as the barman had been out in London that night, unable to cast protective spells like the rest of the villages.
After James and Lily and found they're way out of the storm, once entering the Entrance Hall they were swallowed by students and teachers alike. Word had obviously spread that there were students out in the storm and everyone had come to wait anxiously to see if they would make it out alive.
As more and more friends surrounded each of them, ecstatic they were alive and more and more teachers around them, demanding what they were thinking and telling them they were lucky to be alive, they were separated, each being led in two different directions.
It was later that night, or in the early hours in the morning, the teachers had allowed them to return to they're dormitories to get some sleep that Lily got her chance. It didn't take long for Isabel and Melody to fall asleep or the other girls, but Lily waited until soft, shallow breathing filled the room before she silently unlocked the door and climbed down the stair case to the common room.
She pushed the big, pushy, crimson armchair over towards the window near the nearly burnt out fire. She sat down in the chair, and lent on her crossed arms that lay on the cold, stone, window silt, staring out at the falling snow flakes.
Whilst she stared out of the window onto the destructed grounds she thought. She knew her brain would be sore in the morning but she continued, determined to get to the bottom of the games her mind and heart were playing on each other.
Sure, she loved James. That wasn't the hard thing to figure out like romance movies made it seem. However the hard part was, how much? And how much was enough? She knew she loved him as much as she could in Nice, her heart filled to capacity the night of the party but after what happened since term started, would she or could she still love him that much?
She had seen a side of James that she neither liked nor wanted and when she was back in France, it was a sign she could never imagine him having. After seeing him like that, she was doubtful. Yet, what was last night all about? The rush of love and adrenaline, making her find James and the same rush James had for her. Had he ran out of the storm out of compassion, or was it guilt?
She sighed, leaning back and sinking into the armchair, thinking. She remembered Isabel once saying 'All's fair in love and war'. Did that have something to do with her and James?
'It's really going to hurt in the morning' Lily grumbled and pulled her knees up under her chin and hugged them with her arms. She rested her head on the top of her knees, closing her eyes to think. How could James's feelings instantly change during the storm? And what was with the 'I will always love you?'. Twenty four hours earlier he was sneering at her from across the corridors and was hanging out with some 4th year.
And SHE was going out with the most wonderful person. Lily groaned her memory returning to the dungeons with Jesse. Jesse had always treated her right, he cared for her and was always sweet. But, Lily thought, he did hurt her physically...but only because they're lives were in danger she argued back.
'James wouldn't have. He would have picked you up' her conscious remarked. 'Would he have though?' Lily thought, after all, she didn't know where she stood with him at the moment. He hated her all year, then a storm hits and suddenly he LOVED her?
"He's pathetic" Lily spat, standing up, continuing to stare at the ever falling snow.
"If miss says so. Dinky wills try to dos better nexts time" Lily spun around and saw an old house elf scrubbing the ashes out of the fire place.
"Oh!" Lily said, startled, "No, I didn't mean you. You're doing a great job"
The house elf brightened immediately, and quickly returned to cleaning, this time faster. He finished in a matter of seconds before disappearing back to where they came from. Lily sat back down in the arm chair, curling herself up into a ball and staying there, looking out of the window.
A little while later, she nearly jumped a foot in the air as she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She stopped herself from shrieking out and spun around to see the culprit.
"James" she breathed.
-:-
"Ahh James, always tries to be the hero" Sirius teased as they climbed the stairs to their dormitory "Can't leave a damsel behind"
"You know me to well Sirius old pal" James replied, patting him on the back as Remus followed them up the stairs.
"Help's that she was your girlfriend" Remus smirked, running threw the door before the others.
"It doesn't matter that she was his girlfriend. He would have done it anyway, right Prongsie?" Sirius countered.
"Hmm yeah I s'pose," James flopped on his back onto the red covered bed as he listened to his best friends arguing over what he would and wouldn't have done.
"Well... he wouldn't have if she wasn't Lily," James could hear Remus say from behind closed eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean, 'if she wasn't Lily'?" Sirius asked in confusion.
"Well, if she wasn't who she was I don't think he would have done it. For example say it was Jessica Benzies. Do you think he would have risked his life for hers?"
"Ummm."
"My point exactly."
"So your saying he would have only done it if it was Lily? But not if it was anyone else?"
"Well, yeah."
"What if it was one of us? You would risk your life for us, wouldn't you Prongs?"
James' reply was delayed as he thought of what Remus had just said. Would he have done it if it wasn't Lily?
"Prongsie?"
"Hmmm? Yeah Padfoot."
"See, it's not just Lily!"
"Yeah but we're different, we're guys. Well most of us anyway."
"Hey!"
James didn't hear the rest of their argument. He was too busy thinking about what he would have done. If he had never met Lily in France would he still have cared so much about saving her life?
If he had never met Lily in France would he have resorted to childish games just because she was younger than him? Something told him he still would have risked his existence just to keep her alive.
He didn't realize that the lights had gone out until her heard Peter's rattling snore from across the room. He figured he wasn't going to get any sleep, especially not in this dormitory. He grabbed his charms book from the floor and headed down the stairs in his pajamas.
No one would be up at this ungodly hour so maybe he would be able to take his mind off things with a bit of unscheduled study, much as he despised the idea of it.
He climbed down the stairs and entered the common room, heading for his favourite arm chair. He was half way across the room when he realized it wasn't there. He swirled around and saw it parked by the window facing the castle grounds.
He walked over to it and was about to pull it back when he saw a glimpse of red. He tilted his head around the side of the chair until his face was inches away from Lily's.
He started once seeing her face, nearly falling backwards however years of Quidditch and learning to balance seemed to keep him from toppling over the coffee table. Once he caught his balance, he took a step towards Lily, and slowly, lifted his arm up. He found himself surprisingly nervous as he stretched out his trembling hand to tap Lily on the shoulder.
As soon as he touched her, it was like he received an electric shock. She obviously felt something too because she jumped a foot in the air.
"James" she gasped as she became face to face with him.
"That's m name" he joked but the look on Lily's face made him sober up immediately. She turned back around, rubbing her hand up and down on her other upper arm, staring out the window.
"Are you cold?" James asked her when she finally turned back around to face him and lent against the window silt. She shook her head, looking down at her feet as she did so.
"Are you sure? Because you look – "
"James, I'm fine" she interrupted, looking him in the eyes. "But I've been thinking and, I think we really have to talk"
"Haha they are the four most dreaded words a guy can hear," James laughed but Lily didn't join in. She slowly walked over to the two seater sofa and sat down, motioning for James to sit next two.
James bounded over to the sofa like a puppy, leaping over the arm rest and onto the cushion. Lily gave him a dirty look.
"James, can you just STOP being silly for a few minutes? I'm want to talk to you about something serious and your acting like I'm about to throw you a Frisbee!" Lily exclaimed exasperated and if James was a dog, his tail and ears would have drooped.
"I'm sorry" he whispered, looking at Lily through his gorgeous brown eyes, making her heart melt inside.
"James, its just that, I don't know where we stand anymore. In August I knew that I loved you, in October I knew I wanted to strangle you and in now, in December I just have no idea"
"Well, I know how I feel" James said and Lily stared at him.
"That's good to know. So do you love me because I'm cute and funny or do you hate me because I'm fricken eleven?" she snapped, then stopped, biting her lip.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped," she whispered before continuing "But James, I know what you and I said out in the storm but the thing is, I don't know if I want to love you,"
"Why not? I'm a sexy beast" James joked the continued "Why not?"
"Because here I've seen a side of you that I don't like and don't want" she whispered looking down.
"But Lily, I love you!" James exclaimed, leaping off the sofa.
"Oh yeah? Where was the love when I moved classes? Or when you found out I wasn't eleven?" she demanded standing up as well. She looked at him impatiently.
"It was just that, I loved you so much and, it really hurt when I found out you weren't, well, what you said you were" he sank to the floor and Lily sat down next to him.
"I just liked you so much" Lily said "But I just don't know"
She turned to James, whose face was surprisingly closer than she remembered it being. His face inched closer to hers until they were only a couple of inches away from each other. Lily knew what he was doing, yet, it was like she was frozen in place. James moved his head closer and tilted it to the side. His soft lips brushed Lily's and she closed her eyes and only opened them when he slowly pulled away.
"How about now?" He whispered, and Lily shook her head.
"James, I just don't know!" she sighed and she walked away.
-:-
Most of the snow from the after mark of the storm was washed away as it continued raining the next day; however most of the boys were out there in the rain anyway, using the remainder in a major snowball fight.
Melody, Isabel and Lily walked through the neutral territory and walked towards the lake in the spitting rain, glad to be free of classes, regardless the weather.
"Where's Jesse Lily? I thought you two would be with each other today" Isabel asked as they walked over to the rocks.
"Nah we broke up" Lily said, watching her footing as she climbed over rocks.
"What! Since when?"
"Since the storm. I just realized I didn't love him" Lily replied plainly and an Isabel gave Melody a look.
"You better watch yourself Lily, the rocks are wet" Melody warned as Lily started on the bigger ones.
"Don't worry, I've done this a million times. I could do it with my eyes closed, see?" Lily said, closing her eyes to face them.
"Bet she couldn't do it with her eyes closed, IN the rain" Isabel grumbled as she climbed over the small ones around the side.
"Hope your not going to climb to the top! I know I'm shit at divination but I foresee a fall in your future!" Melody called up, following Isabel around the side.
"Nah, I'll go up to that ledge half way up" Lily called down as she continued to climb, focusing on wedging her feet into the groves and slowing down so as not to slip.
She managed to get to the ledge alright and she sat down under the little shelter and watched Melody and Isabel climb around the little pools of lake water between the rocks.
She lent back on the hard, wet stone to think. Again. She came down to the conclusion it was how James had treated her this year that made her think twice. If she knew, if she was certain …. His kiss last night was wonderful, one of the things she missed. If they had another argument, another misunderstanding, would he treat her the same way he had this year?
The ledge seemed to be getting a little two small for her thoughts so she decided to climb up to the top. The rain was no longer sprinkling, now it was spitting but Lily liked how the drops felt when they hit her face.
"Lily, what are you doing!" Isabel screamed up at her. They obviously noticed her climbing up higher.
"Lily get your arse back down here now before ……. Before I get McGonagall!" Melody threatened. Lily made the mistake of looking down but laughed at how red Melody's face was going.
"Don't worry guys. It's a little rain, and I'm a professional" Lily joked, turning back to the wall and continued to climb, ignoring her friends cry of terror.
She continued to climb up, but she was having a hard time concentrating. The rain was a little harder then it was before she started and it was hard when her friends kept shrieking from below.
"If you keep screaming I will fall!" Lily yelled down at them and they stopped, Isabel biting her nails.
A few minutes later, Lily's right hand closed over the rock at the very top. She pulled her body up, lifting her foot up to a higher foot hold. She was just lifting her second foot when thunder rumbled threw the heavens, startling Lily and causing her feet to lose grip of the rock.
She screamed, holding on for dear life with her good hand, trying to get her balance. She looked down and saw Isabel and Melody all the way down there, hands over their mouths to stop their screams. Lily kept trying to grab onto the ledge with her hand but she kept swinging so she didn't have much time.
Lily was frightened. She grasped at the rock, her feet still failing her. Suddenly, something grabbed onto her wrist, Lily screamed as that person pulled her whole body up and over the edge of the ledge.
Lily scrambled to her feet, brushing her self off hurriedly to look at the person. She looked up slowly, almost semi dreading who saved her but she soon looked up into a pair of anxious brown eyes.
"Lily are you alright?" James asked her concerned "You scared me half to death!"
"Yeah, well, you and me both," Lily said, heading to the middle of the rock, so there was no risk of her falling off the side.
"So, ah, Lily, have you had time to think?" James asked her nervously, staying where he was in case he wasn't supposed to move forward.
"Not really, that's what I was coming up here for" Lily said, sitting down on a mossy spot. The rain continued to fall on the pair as Lily sat and James waited.
Ten minutes later, James decided to be brave and bold and break the silence.
"Lily?" he asked. She looked up at him through her red hair that was like a curtain against her face in the rain.
"Yes?" She asked as she stood up, wiping her self down as she did so.
"Um, well, have you figured out your answer yet?"
"I think so" Lily replied, beckoning for him to come towards her. James did so and Lily took a deep breath.
"Well" he asked so only she could hear.
"If any boy saves my life once, let alone twice, I think I could definitely be with him"
James smiled and he slowly raised his hands to cup her face and slowly lent in and gently kissed her. A minute or so later they broke away, James with a pleased grin on his face and Lily with a puzzled one.
"What's wrong?" James asked her, suddenly concerned.
"Being kissed in the rain, this only happens in fairytales"
"Says who?" James asked and kissed her again. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and James wrapped his around her waist and held her close. He wasn't letting her go ever again.
THE END
A/N: Yep, that poll was a total waste of time but it totally threw you off the ending. Oh well, alls good. A BIG thank you, a hug and kiss for everyone who has reviewed, supported and PRESSURED me into finish this novel, there are just two many to list! Stay tuned to my new one Football, Quidditch…Hairspray? Which hopefully I will start writing for a chapter soon! Summer hols are about to start so PAR-TAY on! Thank you guys SO much!
Moonlight Honeysuckle xox