Lily Evans screamed into her pillow, unleashing a seventeen-year-old screech so ear-splitting it caused her cat to yowl and give her a well-deserved whack on the head. She didn't care; she just kept crying, convinced her world had done a somersault.
"How could he do this to me?!" she wailed, "I mean, I'd expect this from Sirius, but his scrawny little brother?! And right after I’d shown up to the game wearing his colors?!”
Lily motioned at her whole self, showing off the scarlet and gold clothes she’d plucked from her friends’ closets to impress James. She felt like an idiot now, a scarlet and gold macaw colored idiot.
Somewhere from above Lily’s head, Marlene McKinnon let out a dramatic sigh. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."
Lily shot up, a bubble of snot popping as she wiped her hair out of her teary face. "Marlene, I heard it straight from Peter Pettigrew's mouth when I walked onto the rugby field looking for James!"
Marley passed Lily a tissue to brush her nose with. "And what did Peter say again?"
"He told Sirius that James went to give his brother a kiss!" Lily groaned, remembering the way Peter had snickered and Sirius had looked so smug. "A kiss, Marlene!" She blew her nose, sounding like a trumpet, before tossing the tissue aside dramatically. “I’m going to die alone.”
"Yeah, yeah," Marlene plopped down next to Lily, causing the mattress to sag. "Look, Lily, I still don't buy it. James Potter's had the hots for you since we were eleven. Except for that brief, unfortunate period when he was sticking his tongue down Annika Spinnet's throat, but that was only six weeks."
"Six weeks of hell," Lily mumbled.
"My point is," Marlene said loudly, "James has never once shown interest in Regulus Black, and when he likes someone, he’s about as subtle as a bull in a tea shop. Got it?"
Lily sniffed, "But Peter said—"
"Forget what Peter said," Marlene said, giving Lily a gentle shake. "You're Lily Boss Ass Bitch Evans, and you've got that boy so wrapped around your bloody finger he’d sooner kiss a dog than anyone else besides you."
"Then why isn’t James kissing me instead of Black?" Lily cried, looking up at the ceiling with her hands clasped at her chest like she was praying for a miracle.
"Sorry, Evans," came a voice from the doorway, "who have I been kissing?"
Lily's head shot up to see James Potter standing there, looking dashing even with a black eye and his muddy rugby gear. His hurricane hair was swirled around his head from running around all afternoon at the game. She just wanted to run her fingers through it, but her eyes kept zeroing in on the bruise that was appearing over his left eye.
She jumped up quickly after her assessment. "What happened to your eye?"
"I went to teach Regulus Black a lesson," James said, leaning off the doorway and giving Lily his most tender smile. "He was making fun of my date for this weekend because she was cheering my name so loud at the match."
Lily’s mouth opened and closed. “But Peter told Sirius you went to kiss his brother.”
James arched an eyebrow. “You honestly think I’d kiss a prick like him?”
“Well, no,” Lily replied, her face turning a deep shade of red. “I just heard Peter say you went to kiss Regulus…and I believed him.”
“Peter?! You trusted Peter?!”
Lily nodded, feeling more and more embarrassed. “I guess! Yeah?!”
“Peter was just joking around with Sirius,” James said, tilting his head so his hair framed his face. “He told Sirius last night that I was practicing kissing ass because I offered to help Professor McGonagall clean out the spots shed. He once convinced Professor Skillan that he was being possessed by a ghost and couldn’t turn in his homework. I’ve watched Peter Pettigrew lie in his own mother’s face for the sake of a joke. You can’t trust him, Lily…maybe with your life…but certainly not anything that comes out of his mouth.”
“I’d trust Peter Pettigrew with a drumstick and that’s about it,” Marlene rolled her eyes.
James glared in Marley’s direction momentarily. “Hey, no one makes fun of Peter, except me. And maybe his mother.”
Marlene’s lips quirked up and she stifled a laugh by coughing into her hand. Meanwhile, Lily watched them as she had a mini mental breakdown.
“I-I—” Lily struggled to find words, but all she could manage was, “I am so stupid.”
“Nah,” James offered a wicked wink. “You’re smart, you’re just really stupid pretty.”
“Stupid pretty?”
“Yeah, you make my brain do stupid things because you’re so pretty.”
Awh.
Lily felt her heart swell at his words. James Potter thought she was pretty. Even though she’d been crying and her makeup was smudged, his eyes kept drifting to her lips as if he wanted to kiss them. She almost swooned.
"Nice rizz, Potter." Marlene clicked her tongue and skirted around the couple. "I'll leave you two to it, but keep it PG until at least one date, yeah?"
Lily's heart skipped a beat as she stared at James. "Date?"
James nodded, stepping closer. "Yeah, I thought I'd ask the most amazing girl I know. The one who cheers loud enough at a match to make the other teams jealous.”
Lily blushed, unable to hide her smile. "So I’m going to be your date, really, actually yours? A date, for real. No jokes."
"Really, this is not something I’d ever joke about, " James said, reaching out to take her hand. "So, what do you say, Evans? Will you join me for a fancy tea this weekend in your nicest dress? We can drink champagne and I’ll let you eat all the sweets. I might even let you get to second base, and take you to finally meet my parents after seven years.”
”I can’t believe I’ve never met them.”
”They can’t believe you’re real.”
”I’m as real as that black eye.” Lily squeezed his hand, her tears forgotten. "Can I cover that up with make up? I don’t want anyone thinking I punched you.”
“It would be an honor to get a black eye from you, Lily Evans.” James’ eyes sparkled like fireflies against a dark night sky.
Lily tapped his nose playfully and said, “not so much an honor to get one from Regulus Black though, huh?”
James rolled his eyes. "That jackass threw a trophy at my face when I called him a prick of the highest regard…but I broke his nose for that, so we’re even."
Oh shit. She wanted to be upset with him, but it had been in some stupid way, James’ attempt at defending her honor. “On second thought,” Lily placed a hand on his chest, “we’d better wait to make plans, because I sense a detention for you this weekend if Professor Dumbledore hears what’s happened.”
James chuckled but kept his arms around her. “No way! He’ll never be able to prove I’m the one who broke Regulus Black’s nose. I have a solid alibi.”
“What’s that?”
“I was too busy kissing Lily Evans.”
And suddenly the pillow wasn’t the softest thing her lips had touched that day, because James Potter was kissing her. She could scream from excitement, but she didn’t, she just laughed as he started peppering her face with kisses like he’d been planning it all along.