-1Chapter 6
Lily and James were on the couch, an open book settled in between them. Lily was sitting with her legs crossed and parchment on her knee.
"So, what are some of the ingredients you found?"
"I think the most important one was-" Someone coming in through the portrait cut James off, or rather two some ones.
Summer giggled when Sirius kissed her neck. After a few seconds, she looked up and her face of pleasure turned to one of surprise.
"Oh. Hi." Her tone suggested that she had known the Head Boy and Girl were there the whole time.
Sirius pulled away from her neck and looked at the two on the couch.
"Hey, James. Lily."
Both merely nodded in response.
"Well, I guess we'll head upstairs," Sirius said, grabbing Summer by the hand.
Lily and James watched as they walked across the room and disappeared up the stairs. They heard Summer's giggle echo through the empty stairwell.
"When did they start going out?" Lily asked.
"Probably the second they got paired up for the project." James' reply was half-serious.
Lily couldn't help but smile, and James couldn't help but notice how well it suited her.
"You have a nice smile."
His comment caused Lily's cheeks to turn slightly pink, James couldn't help but notice this either.
"I'm sorry if I offended you or anything."
"No. No, you didn't. It's just weird, I guess: Getting a compliment from you. Plus, I blush easily."
"Well, we should probably get back."
"Back where?" Lily asked, confused.
"To work."
"Oh, right," replied Lily, her blush deepening.
A few weeks later, on a cool November Saturday, Lily and James were sitting outside under a big tree. Lily was propped up against the tree. She stretched out her legs, which had currently been crossed. For a couple of seconds, she watched James as he skimmed through his notes, making marks with his quill occasionally. She set aside the book that had been doubling as a table for her to write on.
"James?" she began, unable to believe she was going to do this.
"Yeah?" He looked up from his parchment.
Lily took a deep breath.
"There's something I need to tell you-well ask you, really." She paused and James waited patiently. "And to do this, I have to swallow my pride. This isn't all that easy for me, and I'm not exactly sure how to put it into words, so you may need to bear with me."
James rolled up the parchment and put the lid on his inkbottle, placing them next to him.
"I'm listening."
Lily drew another breath. "Here goes nothing. James, when Remus and Faith told me you were my partner for this project, that was due at Christmas, no less, I was furious. I was certain that I was going to hate working with you." Lily realized that once she got started, it was easier than expected to put her many, jumbled thoughts into words. "That first day, when I told you to meet me in the library and you were there before me, I was pleasantly surprised. Nevertheless, I still wasn't convinced that you had changed; it could have been an act. Even after you cut Quidditch practice short to study, I was in denial. In the back of my mind, I knew you had changed, but it took a few days for me to quit being stubborn and accept that fact. In the past week or so, I've found it easier to get along with you. And I was wondering if you-if we could be friends," Lily finished.
James smiled but managed to hold back a laugh.
"That's it?" he asked. "That's what you wanted to ask?"
"Yeah." Lily bit her lower lip; she knew this was a bad idea.
James chuckled and shook his head.
"You must've really hated me if you had to swallow your pride and go through all that just to ask if we could be friends."
Lily smiled.
"You have no idea." Then, she realized what she had said. "I mean, that was how I used to feel. I don't feel that way anymore. I know you've changed. I-"
James cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"Don't worry about it. I know what you mean, and I don't blame you. I was a jerk. Sometimes, I think back to some of the things I did and I feel ashamed and embarrassed that I acted that way. Nevertheless, the past is in the past and there's nothing we can do to change it. What we can do, however, pretty much all we can do, is focus on moving forward. So, to answer your question, request, whatever you want to call it, yes. I think it would be great if we became friends."
"Wonderful," Lily said.
Without knowledge of reason, or even registering her actions, she threw her arms around his neck. Noticing whom she was hugging, Lily pulled away slowly.
"Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed.
James chuckled a little.
"It's fine. Friends hug, see," he said, pulling her into another hug.
Being this close to James Lily realized how good he smelled: Like body soap and shaving cream. Unlike most boys his age, who usually drowned themselves in cologne, James didn't appear to have on even a drop. One thing was certain: His scent was intoxicating. When James released her from the hug, Lily became self-conscious about her attraction to the way he smelled. She felt her face warm as he looked at her.
"What?" James asked.
"You smell good." She did not just say that aloud, did she. The confused expression on James' face told her that she, in fact, had spoken aloud. "Not that I was-I mean, you don't stink either-I just...Oh Merlin, please just shoot me now." She dug her head into her hands.
"Friends compliment each other, too," James said. "For example, I couldn't help but notice the pleasant aroma of your hair; like green apples. Why don't we start over?" he suggested. "Hi, I'm James Potter, Head Boy and ex-egomaniac. And you are?"
Lily looked up slowly.
"I'm confused. I used to be Lily Evans, but she doesn't seem to be controlling my movements or motor skills anymore."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Confused, regardless of who is in control of your mind." James held out his hand.
Lily couldn't but laugh as she shook his outstretched hand.
"So, is there anything you'd like to accidentally blurt out?" James asked.
"Like what?"
"I don't know, maybe something about how rough, yet smooth, my skin is; or maybe how my handshake is firm yet gentle."
Lily laughed yet again.
"I thought you said you were an ex-egomaniac."
"There's a difference between having self-confidence and being conceited."
Lily placed a hand on her chest, feigning admiration. "Wow, James, that's deep. Really deep. But you know it would be more convincing if you actually believed it."
James laughed.
"Congratulations, I believe that Lily is in control once again."
Lily laughed also.
"I guess she is." After a few seconds of silence, she became serious. "You do realize that now, since we're friends, our friends are never going to let me live down that I was wrong about you."
"Don't worry," James said. "I'll tell them to lay off or they'll be put in detention."
Lily felt her lips form into a smile. She heard the distant yet distinct sound of the bell from inside the castle, whether it was signaling lunch or dinner, she couldn't be sure. James must have thought the same thing as her for he looked at his watch.
"We should probably head inside."
"Why? What time is it?"
"Six," James answered as he gathered his things and stood, Lily did the same.
"Oh, wow. Already?" The question was rhetorical but James nodded anyway. "Time flies when you're blurting things out like an idiot."
"I thought it was kind of cute." Noticing the look on Lily's face, he quickly added, "I mean it was nice seeing that aren't perfect."
"Me, perfect?" Lily repeated. "I'm nowhere near perfect. If anyone's close to perfection, it's you."
"Me? But I thought you hated me."
"I did, but that didn't change the fact that you were good at every thing you did: Your school work, Quidditch, even being mean to people, you were great at that."
"Lily, I'm not perfect. There are plenty of things I can't do. For example, I can't cook to save my life. I remember this one time, Sirius and I tried to make pancakes. We'd made a complete mess of the kitchen before we realized that neither of us had any idea what we were doing."
Lily laughed. "No way," she said as James opened the oak doors to the castle and followed her in.
"Yes way. Flour was everywhere. It was a disaster."
They were laughing when they felt hands pulling them into a broom closet.
"What the-"
"Lumos." Lily held out her wand, the light illuminated two faces. "Remus? Faith? What are you two doing?"
"We saw you guys hugging, so spill," demanded Faith.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Lily's head. She looked over at James and winked before walking over to him. She stood in front of James and leaned back into him while he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Well, you see," Lily began. "James and I were working and I told him that I knew he had changed, giving this whole big speech. Then, I asked if we could be friends."
"And I said yes," James finished.
"Wait a minute. Just friends. That's it?" Faith asked.
"That's all I can handle. We like each other as friends. No more, no less," Lily said, stepping away from James. "Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to take my books up to the dorm."
After Lily had left the closet, Faith looked at the boys.
"She has no idea how perfect you two looked standing there with each other," she told James.
"Yeah," agreed Remus. "But don't worry, mate, she'll come around."
"Maybe," James said. "But for right now, I'm just happy she doesn't hate my guts. I'm perfectly content with being friends."