All Too Well /\ jeverus

I remember it all too well.

"I'm not stooping to that level." Severus cackled.
"Oh, come on, Sev. It's not that bad of a movie—" James reasoned, but being quickly cut off.
"It's horrible production value! It's a pathetic excuse for a movie, really."
"That is true." James gazed at him, wide eyed and grinning, before looking back at the road. "Shit.."
"What?"
"I missed the turn." James laughed.
"Oh nooo!!!" Severus cackled again, slightly nervous.

Severus hadn't been that far up the countryside before, so he truly had no idea, but he got the feeling that they might have been a little lost somewhere up-town. He knew that James would never admit it, though. That was the only real flaw he could've seen in James at the time. He was the most arrogant asshole on the quidditch field besides maybe Sirius Black, but god did he love that about James.
He had loved a lot of things about James. His smile. His hair. His glasses. His stubbornness. His idiocy. And especially the way he looked at him before he—
"Shit, James!" Severus began laughing hysterically as he watched James' quick panic before amusement. "Watch the road, dude."
"Eh, it wouldn't be the first red light i've ran." James hummed with that dumb grin. Severus could picture it in his mind so well it was almost uncanny. "Besides, we're gonna make a turn on the next light, so it probably wouldn't have mattered."
"Yeah? And what's your logic for that, Jamie?" Severus chuckled.
"I'm a dumb pureblood and I have never driven a car." James smiled.

They managed to show up at the Potter's properties about an hour-and-a-half later and their first stop was the lake a mile or two away. It was probably the calmest it was going to get for the next few days, so Severus made a note of where to go when things got crazy. So far he had:
The forest,
The lake, and
The small town a few miles out.
James and Severus stood together and watched the water for a while, sneaking a few kisses every now and then. Severus had one arm draped around James' shoulder as James hummed a tune. 'you're so vain,' he hummed, 'you probably think this song is about you'
'You're so vain~' Severus joined in with a big smile plastered on his face.
James looked at him with that dumb grin that Severus had never been able to escape and he just laughed. "I love you, Sev." James whispered, leaning his head on his shoulder.
"I love you too, Jamie." Severus whispered back, willing himself to believe that both statements were true, even though deep down, he knew it wouldn't ever be.
The truth is, somewhere down the line they'd find the first crack in the glass, and everything would shatter all too soon. Severus would leave first, but he'd convince himself it had been James. James would get over it in a few weeks or so and he'd come crawling back to Regulus like it was his only option. James would try to take it slow, but eventually he'd fall back and he'd love him like it's breathing, and Regulus would smother him with all the love he deserved.
James and Severus were never meant to be, and Severus was okay with that. Mostly. James would find someone, and he'd fall in love with them and then he'd live and die for them because that's just his way. And Severus would watch. And that was alright.

Sometimes—on the trip and before it—Severus had caught James on the phone with someone, always either yelling or laughing hysterically. It was suspicious for a while, but it became normal after a moment.

The inside of the Potter Manor was just as beautiful as Severus had imagined, if not more. Severus barely felt like he was allowed to step foot through the door, let alone leave his stuff around. But he was, and James practically forced him to do just that. Severus just kicked off his shoes and hung his sweater up on the wall.
Mrs. Potter had apparently already cooked dinner, and had also apparently layed it all out on the table too.
The two of them (them being James and Severus) walked into the dining room, where there was a giant photo album sitting on the middle of the mantle—Severus remembered that very vividly. Mr. and Mrs. Potter greeted Severus warmly and got the conversation started quickly.
It got to James with his head in his hand while Mrs. Potter—Euphemia—laughed and told stories about him before hogwarts playing quidditch on some sort of little league team. Severus would laugh along and try as hard as he could to stay expressive as to not seem rude and bored. Sometimes James would save the day and take him to the kitchen to "get some more water," which worked perfectly because Severus had a habit of downing cups of water in seconds—it was a fairly neat party trick, really.
Severus would glance over at him while they talked with James' parents, and Severus would get the sense that James was embarrassed or ashamed of him.