CHAPTER 7
The Message
Lily inched closer to James. Her bright green eyes were splattered with worry and sorrow for him. She pulled a piece of hair over her ear and tapped James's shoulder. When he finally turned, she saw that his face was bravely dry, but his eyes were shining violently with tears. She gave him the embrace that he needed. It was strictly a hug for someone feeling blue - the one that makes you feel as if nothing can hurt you any longer, as long as you are in that person's arms. He bowed his head onto her shoulder, muffling his face into her cashmere pink shirt. She rubbed his arm, and gave him a reassuring look. When he picked up the courage to look at her, he gave her a bashful, watery smile. She brushed his jet-black bangs out of his face and wiped away an emerging tear.
"James...," she whispered, feeling her eyes becoming glazed over with tears. "...please."
He nodded, shook off his grim expression, and got up. He reached his hand low to help Lily up. She smiled, and accepted his hand.
"Look, I'm so sorry you had to see me like that," James said, his face not three inches from hers. "It was stupid, really..." He broke the connection between their eyes. "It happened so long ago."
Lily looked up into those hazel orbs, glistening in the moonlight. She gave him a half-smile, and shuffled her feet a little bit, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Don't ever tell me that what just happened was stupid," she said softly. "You're so much more than that, James. Really."
James grinned sheepishly, ruffling his hair and blushing like a schoolboy who had fallen on the playground. He suddenly felt a small peck on his cheek, and felt his slightly pink face flush a vibrant scarlet. Lily looked down at her feet, and slowly looked back up at him again.
"Thanks for the best night I've had in a long time," she said faintly.
He swished his hair to the side and smiled. "It was nothing." Tear tracks were fading from his cheeks by the minute.
"Good night, Potter." She laughed. "I promise I'll eat breakfast with you tomorrow."
"Really?" he asked with a hint of excitement to his voice.
"I'll think about it, but it is a definite maybe," Lily said, brightening up. She turned around and started to walk away.
Plastered on his face was a smile that hadn't shown up on his face in a long time. Once she turned the corner and shut the door behind her, he whispered, "Sweet dreams, Lily."
Lily slowly walked up her stairs, creak by creak. A sudden realization washed over her. James actually and truly had a heart and soul. He cried in front of her. Told her about his deceased sister. She had never felt this close to him before, but at the same time, it was making her feel uneasy. She didn't like the way she bashfully smiled at him today, or how she even agreed to go watch the stars with him in the first place. It was all so crazy, and she constantly scolded herself for even thinking about falling for him.
She speedily jumped into her pajamas and threw her dark red locks into a high ponytail. She made her way to the bathroom, tiptoeing so as not to disturb whatever James was up to. She quickly spit out the toothpaste after a good scrub, mouth washed, and sprinted onto her bed. She grabbed Romeo and Juliet off her bedside table, and began to be consumed by the world of Verona. About an hour rolled by, before she yawned and put down the famous play. Lily constantly thought about how lucky Juliet was to have found "the one" when she was only thirteen. It was magnificent, really, how it happened. It was practically love at first sight. She wondered if it had happened to her, but she hadn't realized it. She yawned again, and blew out the dancing candlelight on her bedside table.
The once dimly lit room was now pitch black, and no sound could be heard but the distant hooting of an owl. She felt herself fade into the blackness, and before she knew it, those green eyes fluttered closed, and Lily drifted off into her imagination of true love.
As soon as she fell asleep, something came up the stairs with little sound. A small pit-pat could be heard, and then a white envelope shot out from the crack in Lily's door. As the message settled down to the floor, the pit-pat proceeded down the stairwell, and vanished into the cold autumn air.
