A/N: Lets just get right into the story…there's a more detailed A/N at the bottom. Enjoy!
Chapter 3: 'Well, It's A Start'
Lily smiled slightly as she walked back to her house, proud that she had left James thoroughly dumbstruck.
Even so, she was still irritated at the fact that she would have to live next door to him, and the promise of having to take him out and around the town tomorrow, loomed over her like a dark rain cloud which refused to shed a drop of water.
She reached for the knob of her front door and stopped in mid action, turning to face the view. The air was cool as it whipped the hair out of her face and the sun was slowly inching lower and lower. The sky was painted in colors of orange and pink and Lily watched as the final rays of the sun cascaded warmly around the hillsides, signaling the end of the day. It was moments like these where Lily truly knew that the world must stop- that anything was possible, that there had to be something more out there if something this natural and beautiful could exist. Sighing, she finally entered her home once more and proceeded into the dining room. She helped Petunia set the table, at the request of her mother and finally sat down to a quiet dinner with her family.
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The Potters sat around a rectangular table to a dinner of Chinese take-out not having been able to go grocery shopping yet. After digging up a telephone from a box of muggle objects David Potter had brought home from work, they had placed their order and gotten it delivered.
James prodded curiously at a funny looking lump in his soup looking strangely at it before looking up at his mother.
"Are you sure this stuff is edible mum?" he asked warily.
"Of course it is James." Moira replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. "It's called a won-ton."
"Looks more like a brain to me." James muttered still looking skeptically at the thing his mother was calling food.
"Eat it dear. It's good, I promise." Moira said, assuring James.
James gave one more skeptical look at his mother before spooning up the strange looking thing and taking a bite finding it to taste rather good after all.
"So," Mr. Potter said, initiating a conversation, "I met our new neighbor today when I was coming in earlier, Jeff Evans, was his name."
"Did you, dear? I met his wife Laurie earlier, very nice woman-" Moira replied.
"Well, that's nice dear, anyway," David replied cutting off his wife. "I was talking to Jeff and he mentioned he had a daughter around James' age and he said that he was sure that she'd be happy to show James around the town tomorrow. Doesn't that sound nice James?"
"Huh?" James replied, having been completely spaced out.
"Jeff Evans, James. Our new neighbor, he said his daughter would be more than happy to show you around tomorrow." David repeated.
"Lily? Lily Evans actually agreed to go somewhere with me?!" James said flabbergasted.
"Lily? Oh! You mean Jeff's daughter, right. Well, she wasn't exactly there but Jeff assured me that he knew she'd be more than happy to." David stated before adding. "But, more importantly, how do you know Lily, James? Did you meet her earlier?"
James opened his mouth to speak before his mother cut him off.
"Actually, dear, Lily and her mum came over to introduce themselves; they brought us a nice batch of cookies, turns out that when I called James down to meet them, he and Lily already knew each other."
"But, how?"
"She goes to Hogwarts with James, dear."
"You mean she's a witch? But the ministry said that this was a muggle community."
"It is, dad. Lily's muggle born- her family are all muggles."
"Oh, well that explains it…but why wouldn't she want to spend time with you son?"
"Dad…" James began trying to explain exactly how Lily felt about him. "Remember when I got off the train this year for the summer hols?"
"Yes," David replied looking pensively at his son and telling him to procede.
"Well…do you remember what happened on the platform?" James asked.
------Flashback-----------
"JAMES POTTER!" shrieked an all too familiar voice from behind.
James turned around to see a familiar red headed, green eyed girl stalking over toward him.
"You called Evans?" James drawled.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lily asked holding up a piece of parchment and waving it around his face.
"That would be called an address Evans, you should know that." James stated smoothly.
"I know what it is you dolt!" Lily replied furiously. "I want to know why you gave it to me!"
"Well…I thought that maybe you could write to me sometime over the summer…what do ya say?"
Lily let out a sarcastic laugh. "Don't you think that I could find something better to do with my time Potter?"
"I could think of something better you could do instead." James replied a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"Oh, and what's that?" Lily spat scathingly.
"You could go out with me." James stated arrogantly.
He had crossed the line. Before, Lily had just been mad. Now she was furious.
"You are the most egotistical prat that I have ever had the misfortune to meet Potter!" Lily replied, her eyes now positively raging with fire as she raised her wand, and pointed it at James.
"N-now L-Lily, don't you think you're taking this a little too seriously? N-no n-need to get violent eh?" James replied slowly backing up and beginning to fear for his physical well being.
An evil smile played on Lily's lips as she walked toward him.
"You should have thought of that before, then Potter." She said in a low tone.
Lily muttered a few well chosen words and a yellow light burst from the tip of her wand, hitting James square in the face with a bat bogey hex.
She smiled satisfactorily as she turned on her heel and left the platform to meet her parents.
-------End Flashback-----------
David Potter practically howled with laughter as James reminded him of the incident, receiving a deathly glare from his son but not stopping until his wife shot him a look of her own.
"Honestly David! You're as bad as James and Sirius!"
David Potter cleared his throat and coughed before regaining his serious parental composure.
"Sorry, son." He replied deeply
Seeing that her husband would be no help, Moira decided to take over the conversation.
"Knowing you dear, you probably did something to deserve that hex?" she stated.
James looked at his plate sheepishly before muttering a
"maybe…" and trailing off his sentence.
He chanced a look at his mother and father, who looked at him knowingly.
"Alright, I may have done something to deserve it-" James replied before quickly adding, "But she's just so easy to tick off! I can't help it, its like it doesn't matter what I do. If I crack a joke, she hates me, if I compliment her, she hates me, if I ask her out, she hates me. Nothing I do will ever be good enough for Lily Evans." James rambled.
Moira shot David a look before standing up to clear the dishes leaving the two boys to talk.
"Sounds to me like you kinda like her son." David said stating the obvious.
"Yeah…I do..." James replied shaking his head. "But it doesn't matter, she's made it perfectly clear that given the choice between me and the giant squid, it most definitely wouldn't be me."
"Aw! Come on, Jimmy-boy! You're a Potter! And a Potter never gives up! Do you think I'd have married your mum if I'd listened the first time she'd told me to jump out the Astronomy tower window?"
James laughed a bit and let his father continue.
"Take this summer as an opportunity to show her who you really are…maybe turn on some of the 'ole Potter charm…" David trailed off as a grin tugged on James' lips.
"Who knows…she may even come around."
James heaved a sigh, before answering.
"Alright dad, I guess one more shot won't hurt."
"Be ready tomorrow at ten?" David asked his son.
"Alright." James replied as he stood up and stretched. "I guess I'm gonna head up to my room then."
"That's fine…g' night son." David replied.
And with that, James trudged up the stairs and into his new room.
He lay in his bed reading Quiddich Fan Magazine until finally falling asleep, fully clothed atop his new bed.
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She was running through a forest. The trees were thick all around her. Lily felt disoriented and lost. She sat at the foot of a large oak tree, suddenly feeling an immense wave of sadness wash over her. She was crying, the taste of fresh salty tears on her tongue as she sobbed and shook involuntarily.
"Lily." said a distant but familiar voice. It seemed so far away.
She looked up, startled to see a brilliant white stag standing in front of her. The beautiful creature slowly stepped closer, bending its head and nudging one of her hands with its head. Lily stopped sobbing, the last of her tears streaming down her face and stood up, gazing into the warm eyes of the stag. He nuzzled the side of her face and then started walking away. Lily stood there, watching the stag intently.
"Lily!" the same voice called to he.
The stag turned around and looked into her eyes once more, 'follow me' it seemed to say.
And she did. He led her through the forest, the trees seeming to become thicker and thicker. More than once, Lily though the animal would turn around and tell her there was no way out-that she would be stuck there forever and then leave her. But the white stag never did. He trudged through the trees expertly, gracefully, with nobility. Then, the trees became less clustered, the sun shown through the branches again, and she could see the trees clearing up ahead.
The stag stopped and Lily looked around. She was at the edge of the forest a large open meadow at her feet and just beyond that, she could see her hometown. The stag had helped her out of the forest.
She turned to look at him, amazed at the intelligence she found in his eyes, thinking maybe staying in the forest with this animal wouldn't be so bad.
"Lily, you have to get up now!" the same voice said yet again, only now it was closer. Lily felt her body shake only this time it was from some outside source.
She looked back at the stag and he nudged her until she had stepped fully into the clearing.
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Lily's eyes snapped open and she found herself gazing up at the familiar pearl color of her walls. She wasn't in a forest- she was in her room, in her bed.
"Oh, good, you're awake! I was afraid I was going to have to use the Jaws of Life to get you up."
"Mum?" Lily asked, still confused and slightly disoriented.
Laurie surveyed her daughter before going over and putting a hand to her forehead.
"Are you feeling alright dear?"
"Yeah, mum. I'm fine." Lily replied, "It's nothing really, I just had the strangest dream that's all."
Laurie looked at Lily skeptically before accepting her response.
"Well, alright. You'd better get up then, James and his father will be here in about fifteen minutes-"
"FIFTEEN MINUTES?!" Lily shrieked shooting up out of her bed faster than lightning.
"And you couldn't have woken me sooner mum?" Lily added sounding distressed.
"Well, I'll leave you to get ready then." Her mum replied through a stifled laugh,
Leaving Lily's room unnoticed by her teenage daughter who was running around like a chicken with her head cut off.
As soon as her mum had left the room, Lily stripped fully out of her night clothes and draped a towel around her body making a beeline for the bathroom just across the hall.
She turned the knob and hopped in, letting out a loud yelp as the ice cold water touched her fair skin and adjusting the water to a more comfortable temperature.
She showered in record time (five minutes to be exact) and toweled off haphazardly before wrapping the large towel clumsily around her petite frame and dashing to her room once more.
Lily swore loudly as she stubbed her toe on the nightstand but ignored the pain as she decided on what to wear, in the end choosing a nice pair of snug fitting capris and a powder blue tank top.
Never being one to wear much make up, Lily quickly lined her eyes with brown eyeliner and ran a layer of mascara through her lashes, before drying her hair slightly, allowing its naturally waviness to show. She grabbed a tube of cherry chapstick from her dresser and three twenty pound notes which she stuffed into her pockets before grabbing a white hair tie from the post of her bed and putting it on her wrist. Lastly, she grabbed her wand (just to be safe) and after putting a concealment charm on it (she had turned of age two moths ago) so the muggles wouldn't see it, placed it in her right pocket.
She was half way down the stairs before she realized that she didn't have her shoes. Groaning loudly, Lily raced back up and pulled on the same worn out white sneakers from the previous day before bounding down the stairs yet again.
She stood in the hall just outside the living room distinctly hearing the sound of chitchat coming from within, Lily took a moment to catch her breath, checking herself once over in the mirror that hung on the hall wall and finally walking into the room.
A man in his early forties sat next to her father on the long couch listening intently as her father explained exactly how a record player worked.
He was hansom, with a good natured face and there was no denying that he was James' father. He had the same unruly black hair and the same lanky yet tall muscular build but his eyes were blue, not hazel.
Lily caught herself thinking that if James aged as well as his father, it wouldn't be a bad thing as she caught sight of him sitting next to his dad.
As if sensing her gaze, James looked up at her. Lily smiled slightly at him before Jeff Evans took note of her daughter's presence in the room.
"Oh, there you are Lily."
"Morning dad." She replied grinning and walking over.
David, James, and her dad all stood up as she walked over and placed a kiss on her father's cheek. Lily then turned and looked at the two Potters.
"David Potter." James' dad said holding out a hand for her to shake. "It's nice to finally meet you Lily."
Lily took his hand and shook it.
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Potter." She replied with a smile.
"Please, call me David," David Potter said, trailing off. "I'd introduce my son, James, but apparently you've already met."
Lily laughed.
"Yeah…hey James." She said, turning to look at him.
'James? Well, that's new.' James thought.
"Hey Lily." James replied, hoping that he didn't sound as surprised by her calling him by his first name as he was.
But Lily had, and a slight smile tugged on her lips.
"Well, we'd better get going…ready James?" Lily asked nicely, but not waiting for him to respond. "We'll be back later tonight…Bye daddy! Bye Mr. Potter- I mean David."
Lily added before opening the front door and bounding out of it.
James stood there for another moment before realizing that he was supposed to follow her. He muttered a quick goodbye to Mr. Evans and his dad before heading out the front door after Lily.
"Have fun you two!" David called, a smile beginning to form at the corners of his mouth as she watched his son catch up with the red head.
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Lily slowed her pace, allowing James to fall into step with her.
"Your dad seems nice, James." Lily stated trying to initiate a conversation.
James heard Lily call him by his first name once more, but couldn't stop his jaw from falling open.
Lily slowed down and turned her head to look at him.
"You know, James, if you don't shut your mouth, you're likely to swallow a bug." She replied teasingly.
"Huh?" James asked confused.
"James, what's going on?" Lily replied, getting slightly irritated but keeping her temper down.
"Th-that! What you just did! That's what's going on!" He replied finally able to string words together in a coherent sentence.
"What are you talking about James?" Lily asked.
"There! See you just did it again!" James stated flabbergasted.
"Did what, exactly James." Lily asked.
"Call me 'James'!" James replied.
"Well, that is your name isn't it?" Lily replied laughing slightly. "and I have called you James before."
"Yeah, but not unless you were adding another not so lovely word along with it!" James accused.
"Well, would you rather me go back to calling you 'Potter'?" Lily asked.
"No!" James replied quickly. "It's just…well…don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you've just never been this nice to me that's all."
Lily stopped walking and turned to face him fully.
"Well, if you want I can hit you with a bat-bogey-hex for old time's sake." Lily replied seriously.
A look of dread passed over James' features and Lily laughed.
"It was a joke, James. As in ha, ha." Lily added sarcastically.
"If there's one think I've learned from you Lily Evans, it's to take all your threats seriously." James replied shuddering at past memories of Lily cursing him.
"Look, James." Lily began. "Honestly…I'm still not too thrilled with the whole you living next door thing, and before you say anything, I have a good reason, mind you, to feel that way. To put it nicely, you've been kind of a prat in the past few years."
"Well, you haven't exactly been an angel yourself Lily." James objected.
"James! I'm trying to compromise here!" Lily retorted getting slightly annoyed.
"Really? Because it kind of sounds like you're trying to list all of my flaws again."
"Why do you always have to make everything so hard?!" Lily asked.
"I don't always do that!"
"Yes you do! I was trying to tell you that even though this isn't the best situation that we should at least be civil toward one another, because like it or not…we're kinda stuck living next door to each other!" Lily stated her voice rising.
"We should try? Lily, in case you haven't noticed, you never seem to be on the receiving end of any curses when we get into arguments, so if anyone has to be civil it's you." James retorted.
Lily opened her mouth to reply before another voice cut her off.
Only this time, it was not James'.
James and Lily turned toward the voice and James noted that Lily's eyes narrowed slightly as the girl approached them.
There was no denying that she was pretty, whoever she was. She was tall and slender with an hourglass figure wearing one of the shortest skirts James had ever seen (and mind you he had seen quite a few.) her red top was tight and it looked as if she would have to cut herself out if it later, but showed quite a bit of cleavage, which was of course the desired effect she had been going for. Her perfectly groomed hair was a shiny golden honey color and swayed lightly as she walked. Her mouth, which was painted an shiny red quirked into a smile as she stopped in front of them and spoke in a fake sweet voice.
"Well, well, if it isn't Lily Evans…it's been quite a while hasn't it?"
"Not nearly long enough Anderson." Lily replied in the same tone using her surname.
James could feel the tension between the two girls, thinking it best to remain unnoticed for the time being though, kept quiet.
"I'm hurt Lily." The girl replied gasping and placing a hand over her chest.
"Well, break my heart!" Lily spat sarcastically. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go find someone with a few more brain cells to talk to…makes the conversation much more interesting you know."
The girl's ice blue eyes narrowed and she tossed a sheet of her perfect hair over her shoulder as her cheeks tainted scarlet.
James laughed but covered it instantly with a cough, finding Lily's come backs quite amusing now that they weren't directed toward himself.
The girl looked at him for the first time, standing there next to Lily. Her facial expression changed immediately. She shot Lily a look that clearly stated 'pay back time'
Before turning to James once more and speaking with quite a different voice.
"Hey there, I was so caught up in our little reunion." She gestured between Lily and herself. "that I didn't notice you there…quite rude of her not to introduce us huh? I'm Marilyn, Marilyn Anderson."
"James Potter." James replied taking the hand she had held out and shaking it.
"It's nice to meet you James." Marilyn replied in a feathery voice."I don't think I've seen you around before though, are you here on holiday?"
"No, actually I just moved into the neighborhood…Lily was nice enough to show me around today."
Marilyn smiled sweetly as she saw her opportunity.
"Well, now that we've met, you don't have to hang around with her anymore." Marilyn replied batting her eyelashes.
"What?" James asked disbelievingly, finally catching onto what Marilyn was trying to do.
Marilyn giggled slightly taking James' tone for clueless-ness than for what it really was.
"You are a cutie aren't you?" she replied as she stepped closer to him and ran the tips of her fingers down his arm, starting from his shoulder.
"How about you let me show you around the town… I'm sure I could show you a few interesting things that Lily over there never could." Marilyn drawled suggestively.
James shuddered internally. This girl was really laying it on thick and he caught himself wondering if many more muggle girls behaved with the same amount of self respect as she did.
"Um…" James stuttered. "no thanks…I-"
"James it's alright, you don't have to pretend to like her to spare her feelings…everyone knows she's a loser anyway." Marilyn replied gesturing toward Lily.
James turned to look at her, Lily had averted her eyes to the floor looking dejected and so out of her being. The Lily Evans he knew was strong and never let anyone get to her. And yet, here she was looking like a wounded bird.
Did she honestly think he would choose a tart like Marilyn over her? James thought as he watched Lily slowly turn away and start walking down the street.
-----------Lily's POV--------------
Lily hated Marilyn with a passion; she had ever since they had been in grade school where she had made her life a living hell on earth. And what she hated even more was that she could still get to her. But there was no way she was upset because James was about to chose Marilyn over her…right?
------------Back to James----------------
James turned towards Marilyn once more, flashing a forced smile which she none the less looked pleased about.
"Actually, I'd really like to, love but I can't at the moment…can you take a rain check?"
"I guess, that could be arranged." She replied silkily "Name the time and place hansom."
"Alright..." James replied placing a finger on his chin as if deep in thought. "How 'bout I meet you here at the end of the next millennium?"
Marilyn's smile suddenly faded away.
"Hold on. Are you actually turning me down?" She asked astounded.
"Gee…you're smarter than you look." James replied sarcastically.
" But no one ever turns me down! I don't think you know what you're refusing here." She replied, her voice suddenly becoming a tad venomous.
"Trust me I know more than you think. And I just did turn you down." James spat looking at her distastefully.
"So you're saying that you're honestly going to chose her over me." Marilyn replied shocked.
James let out a hollow laugh.
"I'd chose Lily over you or anyone else for that matter any day. She's much more amazing than you'll ever be."
And with that, James brushed past her proceeding to catch up with Lily.
"Lily! Hey, Lily! Wait up!" James called out to her.
Lily stopped and turned around.
"Only five minutes Potter? I thought you'd at least last ten what with your reputation at school." Lily replied scathingly.
"Do you believe everything you hear in the girl's bathroom?" James asked.
"No…but after the thousandth time it kinda speaks for itself doesn't it?...seriously though, where's Marilyn shouldn't she be showing you some things right about now?"
"Do you honestly think I would have taken her up on that offer?"
"I dunno, it sounded pretty tempting."
"Well I'm glad to know that you think of me as such a man-whore. Honestly, Lily I have some morals."
"Hmm, that's interesting. Well, I guess you learn something new everyday huh? But seriously, James if you want to hang out with her instead of me go ahead."
James laughed.
"Is that what this is about Lily? Did you think I'd pick her over you?"
"I really don't care what you pick James because I don't care about you remember?"
"Lily, I'd never pick-"
"Just don't say anything James, whatever suave comment is about to come out of your mouth, just don't. I honestly don't want or need it."
Lily turned and started walking once more.
"Lily." James replied pleadingly from where she had left him standing.
His voice had made her stop, but she still kept her back toward him.
"She doesn't even hold a candle to you…honestly. No one does."
It sounded so sweet, and apart of Lily that still believed in fairy tales and Prince Charmings wanted to believe what he was saying. Bu this was James Potter, for all she knew, it could very well be a line.
Even so, she sighed and turned her body half way to look at him. His face was unreadable as he stood there.
"You coming or what, James?"
James brought his gaze up from the ground and gave her a lopsided grin which oddly enough, didn't annoy Lily as much as it usually did as he caught up with her.
They fell into step once more, walking in silence.
"Lily." James said finally.
"Hmm?"
"What's with you and Marilyn? I mean, why do you hate each other?"
Lily sighed, and James thought maybe she wouldn't answer, but then finally she spoke.
"We knew each other when we were kids. We went to grammar school together…until I got my Hogwarts letter." Lily paused and thought. "I guess we just never really got along, she never really liked me," Lily trailed off , "I remember coming home so many times in tears because she had spilled glue on my new shoes or cut off my hair ribbons, or something along those lines." She laughed bitterly.
James paused for a moment before looking at her seriously.
"Want me to hex her for ya?"
Lily laughed slightly but gave him a stern look.
"James, I'm trying to be serious."
"Alright, sorry, I'll be serious I promise." James replied, and keeping to his word, he responded seriously. "But now you're older Lily…why do you still let her bother you? You're such a strong person."
"I dunno." Lily paused for a moment and thought before answering. "I guess, even if you're older, some things from your past can still seem intimidating."
James nodded, knowingly and they walked in silence once more until James nudged her shoulder slightly causing her to veer to the right.
Lily smiled, and nudged him back.
She looked sideways at him and he grinned.
"I still don't like you yet." She replied matter-of-factly.
"I know," James replied looking ahead and then back at her with the cutest expression of wonder on his face. "But are you getting there?-To liking me?"
Lily looked at him before gazing forward again. James kept his gaze on her face waiting for an answer.
"I guess you could say so." Lily finally replied.
James smiled and looked ahead at the rolling hills dotted with trees squinting his eyes a bit from the sun thinking about what Lily had just said.
'Well, it's a start.'
A/N: Alrighty…here's my formal author's note. So when I first started planning out this chapter, I had it so it would cover the evening of the night before and then the whole day, but when I got to this point it was already 15 pages long, you all will have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens when Lily and James go out on the town.
Oh and by the way, I probably won't be updating daily as I have been, this is as much of the story as I have written but I am about ¾ of the way done with writing chapter four so that should be out soon hopefully…It does help me move it along a little if you all review though!
Well, that's it I guess! Don't forget to REVIEW!
Toodles!
Luminous Star