It turns out, I wasn't fine. My wrist was sprained, and my back was black and blue.

I chose to ignore the smug look that James sent my way.

But when the nurse finally turned on him, it was my turn to smile smugly at the unruly haired boy. The woman announced that he had to stay as well, for he had bruised ribs. My smile didn't stay for very long though, because I was the reason for that injury.

The nurse led him away. He glanced back at me, sending me a smile. Usually that boy's incessant smile annoyed me to no end, but now, it was almost…nice. Quickly, I batted that thought away. I really didn't want my mind to go in any direction near that word.

The injuries weren't that bad; sure, they stung, but it wasn't anything I couldn't ignore. I'd spent six years ignoring James Potter; I could definitely ignore the small twinge of pain. The only part I couldn't stand was the lodge was obligated to notify my parents about my little accident.

My mother was hysterical. One minute, she was berating Petunia, the next complaining to my dad, and finally fussing over me. "Are you comfortable? Are you alright? Oh, those ski lifts should be safer!"

The lodge nurse grumbled about, trying to fix my bandages as my mother trying to reach me. The poor woman had to deal with silly ski injuries daily. I was just another stupid person to fall off the ski lift. Well, I may have been the only person to fall off the ski lift.

My injuries really weren't that bad; I could have left after some simple medications. The nurse probably would have welcomed that, but my mother insisted that I stay.

"They're only bruises, Mum," but she heard none of it. She was convinced that I had a terrible concussion from my fall. I tried to tell her that my fall wasn't as bad as it could have been, thanks to Potter, but she still wasn't listening to me.

Trying to reason with my mother on my behalf, the nurse turned away from me for a moment. I glanced over their shoulders, trying to get a look at my self-proclaimed "savior". He was watching the nurse very carefully, setting the hospital gown she had given him on his mattress. He must not have felt my gaze, for he didn't even look my way. Without making a noise, he stepped around the edge of the bed, making it under Petunia's and my dad's radar, and slipped out the doorway.

I'm fairly sure that my jaw hit the mattress. He just ditched the infirmary! With bruised ribs! He was the one who had forced me in here, carrying me in against my will, and he just left! The buggering toerag!

Trying to catch the nurse's attention, I made to get out of my bed, but that caught my dad's attention.

"Hang on there," he said, holding my shoulders so I couldn't move.

"But James is-"

"No, you have to rest sweetie," my mother cooed.

As much as I attempted to tell the nurse that James was gone, I never found the chance to speak.

Finally fed up with my mother, the nurse kicked my family out after a few more minutes, and I was left alone in the infirmary. The place was actually kind of eerie when it was completely empty. I wouldn't have been alone if a certain black haired boy hadn't decided to slip past everybody.

Cursing him, wherever he had disappeared off to, I punched my pillow before lying down, the medications already making me drowsy. It was only the second day of my vacation, and Potter had already managed to destroy it. Now I had to spend a night in the blasted infirmary.

o~o

I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep until I woke up.

The sun was setting behind the mountain in the window frame, and the room had gotten infinitely colder. The paper sheets I pulled closer around me didn't do much to add heat; if anything, they made me more of an icicle.

There was no light coming from underneath the office door, leading me to guess the nurse was absent from the scene. Gathering up the thin blanket from the top of the bed and wrapping it over my shoulders, I shuffled my way over to the bathroom. The nasty taste of the medications was still hovering in my mouth; I was hoping there would be an extra toothbrush lying around somewhere.

As my fingers reached for the doorknob, a clatter rang out from behind the bathroom door, followed by a low curse. I felt shock build up in my throat and immediately pulled my hand back under the blanket. Scuffling noises came closer to the door, along with a groan. Light shown from underneath the door and it opened right in my face.

My hand came up from my side to block out the light as my eyes squinted. Blinking rapidly, I caught small glimpses of glasses, wide brown eyes, and large hands clutching the wood frame of the door.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered, my voice not as awake as the rest of me was yet.

James' eyes shifted quickly around the room, looking anywhere but me. The hand that wasn't clutching the wood of the door frame snuck behind his back.

"What's that?" I demanded, reaching behind him. He tried to push me off, but wincing, he breathed in sharply through his teeth, his hand moving to hold his stomach.

A pill bottle rattled to the floor as his other arm supported him from falling. They were the same kind of medications that the nurse had given me earlier.

"Painkillers? You snuck in here to get painkillers?" James moved over to the sink, turning his back to me. "Why did you leave in the first place if you were in pain?"

"I wasn't in pain before," he hissed, leaning on the wall. His face was even paler than it had been this afternoon. An unwanted worry began to fill my gut.

"Potter, you don't look good at all. Let me go get the nurse-"

"No!" His outburst reverberated through the whole infirmary and I whirled back to him, my eyes warning him to stay quiet. Turning his face to the side, he avoided my gaze again. "I can take care of myself just fine. I do it all the time. I don't need a nurse."

"Sure you can, that's why you're sneaking in here to steal some painkillers." I replied, sarcasm practically dripping from my lips. Setting the medications on the sink, I moved to him. "Is it your ribs?"

Reluctantly, James nodded his head, those brown eyes still looking above my head.

Sighing, I grabbed a cup from the cupboard and made to fill it up with water when the door outside squeaked open.

I looked towards the closed bathroom door, where padded footsteps could be heard; the nurse was back.

James' held fast to my wrist. "She can't know I'm here." His voice was deep, wavering with urgency.

I was being pulled in a million different directions. It felt as if I was stretched too thin. On one hand, James was in pain. The nurse could help him. Sure it was his fault he'd snuck out, but it was still my fault he was injured in the first place.

Those eyes were glued to mine, not letting my gaze stray from his. He really didn't want that nurse in here. I couldn't fathom why, but he was determined to keep his presence unknown to the nurse.

"Come on then," I whispered, pulling him towards the shower. The pill bottle fell to the floor again as I pulled the curtain in front of both of us.

"Miss Evans? How are you feeling?" The nurse asked with a light tap on the door, seemingly in a better mood than she had been earlier.

James and I struggled to fit in the tiny shower together, and I kept shushing him so the nurse wouldn't be suspicious.

"Um, I'm fine! I was just going to take a shower." I tried to finish normally, but my voice was far too high.

"Oh! Well there's no soap or shampoo in there! Wait just a moment and I'll go fetch you some!" We waited in silence as her footsteps fell away again.

"That was good." James whispered, looking relieved.

"Good? She's coming back you know!" I squeaked incredulously. My mind had gone into full panic mode. "You need to get out of here while you can!"

"Get out of here?" He sounded as disbelieving as me. "She'll see me if I leave! She just went over to her office!"

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. Even leaning back as far as I could go, James and I were still far too close for my liking.

"I'm not going to keep hiding you."

James whirled towards me, closing even more space between us. "Please, Lily. Don't tell her I'm here." He pleaded, his hands actually coming up to hold my shoulders.

The door creaked open, and I slapped a hand over his mouth, moving right up next to him, as if that would make us quieter.

"Here you go, Miss Evans. Make sure you get back to bed to rest right after this though."

"Thank you," I said, staring right at James. It felt like my shoulders were burning where his hands rested.

The tension in my gut was loosening just as I could hear the nurse leaving, when she suddenly stopped. "Oh, I forgot. That faucet can be a little stubborn sometimes. Let me help you."

I was about to object, as I tried to pull away from James, when a hand came around the curtain, and pulled roughly on the handle, causing water to spray down on the both of us.

What happened next was a bit of a blur; either one of us or both of us slipped, the water coming as a shock to our skin, but I hit the wall hard.

The outline of James' body pressed right up against mine as the water pounded down on us. The silly, thin hospital gown made it feel like nothing covered my skin as it got soaked. Those damned eyes saw right into me. I tried to tell myself I was trembling because I had been so cold before, but I wasn't sure if that was entirely true. The tile was cold against my back, but the heat coming from James was much stronger. How had we ended up in this position?

"I left some medicine on the counter here for you Miss Evans. Take it before you fall asleep. Good night." The nurse added.

"G-good night," I bid her as she left. I could have sworn that James' eyes got a tinge darker.

Not daring to move and trying not to breathe with James right there, I stayed silent. He didn't make a move either, making me quite suspicious. Usually, he would have taken advantage of a situation like this.

After a few moments, when I was sure the nurse wasn't going to reappear out of nowhere, I let out a small sigh. "I think she's gone." I whispered. Those words must have shocked James, out of whatever spell he'd been under, because he was immediately gone from our position, pulling aside the curtain and stepping out, still dripping wet.

I didn't even bother finishing the shower. It actually might have been impossible to, I was shaking so badly. The only noise in the small bathroom was the small drops hitting the floor from our soaked clothes.

He wouldn't look at me again. The whole day, I either hadn't been able to look away from those brown eyes, or I hadn't been able to catch their gaze at all. The boy was bothering me so much, with his flip-flopping attitude of the day that my insides were twisting every which way.

"Where did you go after you ditched the infirmary?" I asked, not able to bear the silence any longer.

I could hear his breathing as he shook his hair out. "Around," it was a soft mumble, barely loud for me to hear.

Tiptoeing past the office, I made it to my bed, pulling the rough covers back. I could feel James close behind me as I climbed between the sheets, fluffing my pillow.

"You should really be going," I said in a hushed tone, a little awkwardly. His eyes met mine, still the dark color they'd been in the shower.

"I guess I should," he offered, glancing casually at the clock on the side table. "And you should get some rest." He patted my mattress before moving away.

"You too." I added, gesturing at his ribs. The ribs that were injured because of me. The air around us had become heavy and strange. What was happening here?

As he stepped away from me, sneaking out of the infirmary, exasperation filled me. I couldn't just let him leave like that.

"Thank you," my voice came out a tad too loud. James turned, meeting my gaze over his shoulder.

"For what?"

"For…breaking my fall." Keeping my eyes down on the sheets clutched between my fingers, I waited for him to say something.

I thought he'd slipped through the doorway after a moment of silence, but his voice broke through to my ears.

"You're welcome," he whispered back. A sigh fell from my chest. "Though, I thought you were going to thank me for the shower."

My head jolted back up to find an empty infirmary and a closing door. My jaw almost hit the mattress for a second time today.