A/N: Hi guys (I say sheepishly). So it's been a long time. Almost a year. Remember how last time I promised to have one up with a month? Haha. I'm so funny. But, all regrets aside, I am pleased to bring you this next chapter. Which I don't know how to feel about. It's basically just a way to get a little bit of conflict in the story so I have a way to end it. Word of advice: when beginning a story, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HOW IT ENDS! Maybe not specifically but don't go into a story blind and just wander through. Because then stories end up longer than you anticipated them to be (not a bad thing) and take twice as long to write (a terrible thing when you have people counting on you). So just…know what you're doing. Hope you enjoy it! I'm not dumb enough to make any promises as to when the next chapter will be out.

Chapter 12: Decisions Were Made This Night…or Day

After breakfast I ran upstairs and quickly finished getting ready, throwing on a bit of makeup and wrangling my hair into a more manageable style. With the monster tamed I grabbed my purse and headed back downstairs.

Mum and Mrs. Potter were already waiting in the foyer for me, giggling like school girls about Merlin only knows what.

"Oh, Lily. Are you ready to go then?" Mrs. Potter asked when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

I nodded my head and started towards the door when Mum grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Why don't you go get a sweater? It's still drizzling outside and it's chilly," she worried, like only a mother could.

"I think I'll be fine. We won't be spending much time outside, will we?"

"I hadn't planned on it. I figured we'd shop the muggle way today. And there isn't much in the way of downtown shopping when it comes to that. There's really just a mall," Mrs. Potter explained.

I looked at Mum and gave her a smug, satisfied smile before skipping to the door. I heard her sigh loudly behind me and they followed me to the car.

Mum was right, however. The weather was a bit nippy and the wind was blowing the rain right at us. I quickly climbed in the backseat, trying not to shiver and chatter my teeth. I would not let Mum have the satisfaction of being right.

I pulled my seatbelt across me and we pulled out of the driveway.

Thankfully the entire drive to the mall involved a lot of middle-aged gossip. How two people who have only known each other for a few days can find things to gossip about baffles me. I can hardly find things to talk about with friends that I'd had for nearly seven years now. Where exactly did the social wellness that my mother so obviously possessed go when I was born? Because it sure as hell didn't land in my DNA. But all that talking between them gave me time to think about my current situation with a certain boy-who-shall-not-be-named without him interrupting me with his goofy grin or anything else.

What was I honestly going to do about this? I liked him. I was finally willing to admit that to myself after two years. But was that enough to throw myself into a potentially (and most likely) doomed relationship. I saw how it always worked with his past girlfriends. He'd date them for a few weeks and then he'd get bored and break up with them, usually leaving them to Sirius for rebound sex. But I refused to be a statistic in his life. I couldn't knowingly put myself through that.

But then there was the growing possibility that it was different with us. I used to think that he only chased after me for the thrill. I was just something that he couldn't have and that was frustrating for the rich and famous preppy boy who was used to getting whatever he wanted. But that didn't seem right anymore. His family was a real family; down to earth and everything. And these past few days with him had been great. I had really gotten to know him and I let him get to know me…and he wasn't running. Granted how far could the kid run from someone who was staying in his own house?

It was all very confusing. In the most simple of explanations, I liked him, he seemed to like me, but he had a reputation for heartbreak and I was stubborn. There were too many variables. Maybe it would be in everyone's best interests if we just stopped what we were doing and became friends. Then we couldn't break up and Mum and Dad could stay friends with the Potters and our friends wouldn't have to choose sides and Tuney wouldn't be able to rub in my face that I couldn't even keep a wizard as a boyfriend. Yes. We would just have to be friends. I would let him know as soon as this shopping trip was over.

As I came to my final conclusion, we pulled into the parking lot of the mall and I took my time getting out of the car. The entrance was a long ways away and I really should have grabbed at least a cardigan. But the rebellious teenager in me had been acting up and now I was stupid and freezing. I swung the door open and felt a very cold burst of air hit my face and turn my nose into a red, dripping mess. Wrapping my arms around myself, I briskly walked to the doors, leaving Mum and Mrs. Potter behind.

As I flung the door open and walked inside, I was expecting warm air to cover my body. Unfortunately, the mall apparently didn't believe in heaters and it was colder than the dungeons at Hogwarts inside. I shivered violently and wished for a hug from James before I realized that friends didn't think things like that and I needed to get my brain under control.

Finally, the other two made it inside and we officially started our girls' day. We started off going to all the expensive boutiques that seemed to be in abundance here. Apparently they needed to find new dresses for some ministry party tonight, and the theme was dress like a muggle. I should have known they weren't taking me on a girls' day just to be nice. They just needed an expert opinion on their clothing choices. Well they should have gotten someone else like Petunia, or better yet, Sirius. He at least seemed to think he was an expert. I barely knew how to dress myself. It must have been the lack of variety at school. A uniform didn't give me leniency to fun outfits.

The first store we stopped in was thankfully a department store. While they wandered off to look at the gowns, I meandered my way to the shoes. Lack of fun outfits at school aside, I did have a shoe obsession. What woman didn't? I was known for buying ridiculous shoes that I had no place to wear them too and leaving them in my closet for years. And even the shoes that were more practical got left there as often as I could go barefoot. But I liked pretty things to decorate my feet and whenever I was having an off day, a pair of shoes was just the right pick me up.

As I was walking up and down the aisles, peering into boxes of flats and sandals and pumps, I heard a sudden screech and the sound of shoes hitting the floor. I turned the corner of the row I was in and glanced into the next to find a woman sitting in the most hideous of wedding dresses ever thought up. Ruffles upon ruffles, lace and tulle, sequins galore, and I think I even caught sight of a few feather. If you could name it, you could see it.

After my eyes adjusted to such a monstrosity, I glanced to the face of the woman wearing it. She seemed to be in her early twenties, no more than five years older than me. The makeup that she probably paid a lot to have done, was running all over her face and her hair that seemed to have been in some type of elaborate up-do was falling out into a haphazard mess.

I approached her carefully, trying to wipe the horrified look from my face.

"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you okay?" I asked quietly when I reached her.

"Does it look like I am okay?" she screamed in a shrill voice.

"You have a point, there. But are you going to be okay? Is there someone you need to me to call?"

"I just want a pair of shoes! The perfect pair! But I can't find any…in my size!" She threw another heel into the aisle, narrowly missing my face.

"Okay, ma'am. Can you please just tell me what happened? Maybe I can help," I pleaded with her.

"All-all I wanted was for this-this day to be perfect. It- it-it was my wedding day! It was supposed to be p-p-p-perfect!" She broke out into more tears and not of the quiet sort.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to calm down. I'm sure whatever it is, it couldn't be that bad."

"Not that bad?" The tears had stopped and now she was glaring at me with a face that brought a whole new light to 'if looks could kill.' "Not. That. Bad? Five minutes before walking down the aisle that was perfectly decorated, I found out that the 'love of my life' slept with my 'sister!' Would you call that 'not that bad'?" she yelled.

"Okay. Okay I see your point. That's actually probably the worst thing that could ever happen to a wedding. But…but you'll be okay. Eventually. I think...," I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to deal with this kind of situation. Wasn't it akin to the situation I was avoiding by not dating James? I did not want to be as broken as the woman before me. I doubted that James would ever sleep with Tuney, but sleep with other girls…now that wouldn't surprise me as much.

"I'm gonna kill him. Him and her and everyone!" she muttered. She started rocking back and forth.

I realized that I should probably leave now and get a manager. There was no telling what this woman would do in her condition anymore.

I walked away as quietly as possible, hoping that she wouldn't notice I was going to get help.

"Sir," I tried to tell the first worker I saw as quietly as possible, "there's a woman over there. I honestly don't know how you could have missed her, but anyway. She's throwing shoes around and seems to be in pretty bad shape. I think you should probably call security."

"Thank you, miss. We've got in under control. Security has been called and they're on their way," he explained with a small smile.

I smiled back and nodded my head before heading off to the evening wear. This day wasn't getting any better. If I talked myself out of dating James before then this was just the cherry on top of everything else. There was no way I could let that happen to myself. And it would undoubtedly happen. That was just James. Friends is all we could ever be.

I found Mum and Mrs. Potter just outside of the dressing rooms talking to another woman that I didn't recognize.

"Oh, Lily. You're all right! I was so worried. There's a lunatic on the loose in here! This nice woman has been explaining it all to us. Apparently she escaped from the mental hospital, went a robbed a wedding dress shop, and is now telling everyone that her sister slept with her fiancé! Stay close to us the rest of the day, okay, sweetie? I don't want you getting hurt." She pulled me into a bone crushing hug that given my short stature, shoved my face into her chest, which wasn't a comfortable place to be.

"Mum. Mum, I can't breathe. Lunatics won't matter if you don't let me get oxygen to my lungs," I wheezed out.

"Oh, yes. You're right. Well, Mrs. Potter and I are done looking here. They don't really seem to have anything that screams ball. Is there any place you would like to go before we continue looking? This is a girls' day after all," she said as she smoothed the loose hair behind my ears.

"No. I'm okay. I don't really need anything. But thanks."

As we left the store I thought of the woman back there. Was she really crazy? Was that story really true? I guess I would never know. But that didn't change my mind about James. That was always going to be set in stone.

A/N: I hope you liked it? People, I don't know how to feel. Spring Break starts tomorrow and my mind is on other things. Like midterms. But I'm bored at work and I'm tired of studying so this is what came about. The story of the bride actually was a short story I wrote for class last semester. I'm happy that I got to use it somewhere actual people might read it. Have a fun time! And if you're a lucky (oh, so lucky) college student, good luck on midterms if you have any of those.

Marah