Chapter Thirty: "Because he's nasty."

"Hey you guys!" Sirius bounced over.

James jerked his head away and glared at Sirius. He seemed undeterred.

"Have a nice time?" He asked jovially.

I laughed. "Yes thank you Sirius. Your friend is quite the gentleman." I smiled seductively and skipped up the flight of steps leading to the castle.

~~*James' POV*~~

The day was going great. We were about to kiss, then Sirius had to bound over and spoil it!

Lily skipped out of sight before I turned on my supposed best mate.

"Couldn't you see I was busy?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Yep." He answered.

"Then why?" I exploded.

"Because you have a girlfriend already, Prongsie." He replied simply.

I had to agree, unfortunately.

"I know. How unfortunate."

~~*Lily's POV*~~

I was floating on air, feeling absolutely wonderful. Trust Arabella to bring me back to Earth with a bump.

"Oi! Get your ecstatic little ass in here and retell your encounter with the enemy!" She yelled as I opened the Portrait hole.

I grinned at her and pointedly glanced at Cassie, who was firmly intertwined with Remus on the love seat in the common room.

"Oh Cassandra dear!" Belle smirked as Cassie's head shot up and her eyes flashed.

"If you haven't noticed, Arabella, I'm abit busy." She shot back warningly.

"So you don't want to know how my date went then?" I asked, examining my nails.

"Not… now…" She growled as Remus kissed her neck.

I shrugged and settled myself next to Bella on the couch furthest away from the two lovebirds. I kicked off my flip flops and curled my legs underneath me. Belle sat cross-legged and summoned a box of chocolates from our dorm.

"Spill." She grinned as I dived for the chocolates. She purposely held them out of my reach. I sprang up and knocked them out of her hand.

I grinned in triumph and tried to restrain Bella. She was about to dive after them when James entered the common room. With a tall brunette on his arm.

Belle gaped at them, her mouth hanging open.

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as she turned and kissed him hard on the lips. He smiled down at her and kissed her back. My insides felt like jelly and my emotions were raw. He had done it again. He was gonna keep doing it, till I finally married him. He would probably do it then too.

His chocolate brown eyes swept over the common room and landed on me. I held his gaze for a minute, before pointedly ignoring him and turning to talk with Belle. I wordlessly summoned the Wizard chess set from under my bed and we began to play.

"Check." I said lazily.

"Damn." Bella muttered.

James swept over, having disposed of his brunette and slipped his arms around my waist. Bella moved another of her pieces.

"Bigamist." I snarled at James, whilst sharply digging my elbows into his forearms, making him drop his possessive hold on my body.

"Check!" Belle cried in a sing-song voice.

I moved one of my pieces expertly and grinned slyly at her. "Check…mate." I purposefully drew out my words and watched Bella's face fall and her bottom lip move instinctively into her trademark pout.

"Best out of three." She challenged. I nodded and her face lit up.

"Lily… can we talk?" James asked, rubbing his arms.

"Talk away." I replied, my voice deliberately even.

"In private." He tried again. "Please."

His fingers curled around my upper-arm and he pulled me to my feet. I emitted a low whimper and instantly, James dropped my arm. Reddish marks were appearing in the shape of his fingers on my arm and I stared at them in horror.

"Leave me alone Potter. All you've caused is heartbreak." I sighed. All my energy seemed to drain away and my voice came out wearily.

"But Lily I…" He began.

Suddenly I burst into noisy sobs and slid down to the cold unyielding stone floor. I shivered violently and tears streamed down my cheeks.

"Why is he doing this to me?" I cried on Bella's shoulder.

"Because he's nasty." She replied with conviction.

~~~***~~~

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