CHAPTER FIFTEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

"What the hell are you wearing." Shouts James, when we get to the Room of Requirement, "Go back to your dorm and change. Now." I sigh. I had not, when I came up with this plan, expected my brother to act over-protectively.

"Sod off, James. This is what I'm wearing. Look around the room, loads of girls are wearing costumes like mine. Leave me alone and let me past."

"Yeah and they all look like sluts!" He exclaims. I laugh sarcastically.

"That's a bit hypocritical since those are the kind of girls you dance with at these parties. Draped all over them you are."

"Yes well, forgive me if I don't want boys draped all over my little sister. Besides, these girls are in my year."

"No they aren't James. Look over there. All those girls are in the year below me." When he turns around to look, I slip past him and get lost in the crowd. Everyone is dancing and grinding against each other. I go wait by the drinks table, where I agreed to meet Lorcan. He's late.

Out of the corner of my eye I spot Caleb, who is dressed like a vampire. He is sitting on the sofa in the corner. The same sofa we had our first kiss on. Louisa Smith, who is dressed like a prositute with bunny-ears, is sitting next to him, practically on his lap. She is running her hand up and down his thigh and I feel the anger bubbling up in my stomach. To my delight though, Caleb looks very uncomfortable by this and pushes her hand away. Until he spots me. When he spots me, he doesn't recognise me, then he does a double take. I feel butterflies in my stomach when he runs his eyes all over my scantilly clad body. I smirk and watch him down his firewhiskey. My smirk vanishes, however, when he turns away, leans back on the sofa and puts his arm around Louisa. She giggles and kisses his cheek, putting her hand back on his thigh. The Lorcan appears.

"Hey Lily. Wow ... you look... em-" I giggle and toss my hair over my shoulder like I've seen so many other girls do. I lean in and give him a lingering kiss on the cheek, knowing that Caleb is watching. When I pull away I keep my hand on his arm.

"Thank you, Lorcan. You look great too. I love your costume." He is dressed like Hercules. His hair has been curled and he is shirtless, wearing only a bedsheet and brown sandles. He doesn't have a bad body - quite nice infact - but looking at his abs only makes me wonder what Caleb would look like topless. I turn around briefly and see Caleb glaring at Lorcan. If looks could kill. I grin to myself.

"Would you like to dance?" Asks Lorcan. I nod. We go to the dance floor and I twirl and spin. Lorcan hands me a drink of firewhiskey and I down it. We keep dancing and slowly we get closer and closer. Lorcan has his hands on my waist as I dance with my back to him. I keep getting handed drinks until I loose count. After a while I'm out of breath and I ask if we can take a break. The whole time I was dancing I could feel Caleb's stare. Sure enough when I turn round he is glowering at Lorcan. Then his eyes flick to me and his gaze turns from anger to lust. It makes my knees shake.

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom ok?" I tell Lorcan and he nods. Instead of walking to the bathroom though I walk into the broom closet that Louis and Mel were in at the last party. Caleb, like I knew he would, follows me. I open my mouth to talk but he walks forward and places his hands either side of my head on the wall, blocking me in. He looks me straight in the eye.

"I lied. I was so jealous when I heard Scamander ask you out. But I didn't want to admit it to myself, just how much I like you. I don't want you to go out with other blokes. I don't want you to even talk to other blokes. You're mine, Lily Potter. But I was too scared to tell you that. Then you come here dressed up like that for him and I can't stand it. I-" I interrupt him.

"I didn't even want to come to this party with Lorcan. I wanted to come alone and probably end up in this broom closet with you. But then you said you didn't care if I came with Lorcan and I wanted you to be jealous. So I thought if I dressed like all the other girls, like Louisa, then you might care."

"Brown-eyes I only came with Louisa to make you jealous. I have sat there, all night, with that stupid slut hanging all over me, watching you dance with him, wishing I was sitting there with you. I only have eyes for you. Brown-eyes, will you be my girlfriend?" I grin at him and nod. So happy and not because of the firewhiskey. We sneak out of the party, without our dates noticing, and go to our regular broom closet, where we know we won't be found.

At 1 in the morning we kiss goodbye and head back to our common rooms. When I get there, James is sitting in my armchair by the fire. He doesn't seem drunk. Weird.

"It's late." He says to me, "I've been here for an hour. I was about to go to bed when a couple of your friends came in and asked me if I'd seen you, they lost you at the party. They've been coming to me and Al a lot lately, because you keep going missing. They are very worried about you, Lils, and so am I. What's up with you? First you have a go at all of us for keeping secrets and now you're lying to your friends, getting drunk and dressing like a slut at this party."

"I'm not drunk." I tell him.

"Lily, you have been knocking it back all night, I've seen you. Then, after your friends couldn't find you, I went back to the party. You weren't there! So where were you?"

"Like I'm going to tell you James. You are such a hypocrite. You get drunk all the time at these parties. Last year, it was me who was walking you back to your dorm everytime. You all have secrets,so can I."

"Tell me or I'll write and tell Mum and Dad." He threatens.

"What are you going to say 'Dear Mum and Dad, Lily has been getting drunk at the parties I throw and provide alcohol for. PS I have been doing it since third year too.' Because that's the truth. If you didn't want me to get drunk, then don't provide the damn alcohol." I sneer at him. He looks at me, shocked.

"Fine. I can't tell Mum and Dad but I can tell the others, and they won't be pleased. You're supposed to be the sensible one, Lily. This isn't you. If you're in trouble then you can tell us. We-" I cut him off.

"I'm not in trouble James, I'm not stupid. And it's none of your business what's going on in my life, you don't tell me what's going on in yours. So bugger off and leave. Me. Alone." Then I march upstairs and go to bed, ignoring Mel and Rikki when they ask me where I was. Why does it have to be like this? My family or Caleb. Because I can't choose. I won't.