Love to Hate: A Jily Fanfiction

I Know You

"Evans." Lily would know that voice anywhere.
It was the voice that called the same word every day for the past 6 years. It was the voice that invaded not only her privacy, but also her dreams. It was the voice that she had slowly began to love.
Lily loved the way he sounded when he said her name, how his low voice became slightly higher as he called for her. She felt like she could have listened to him talk for hours; she found herself daydreaming where she would lay her head on James' chest, listening to his soft words as she lulled into sleep.

"Evans." She started as James' caught her arm and she turned to look at him.

"What?" She asked roughly, narrowing her eyes at him.
Even though she knew she loved certain aspects about him, there were others that she felt nothing but anger towards. Like the way he felt he could just summon her whenever he wanted and she would listen. Like the way he grinned at her crookedly, like he had just made some dirty joke, which he usually had. Like the way he would swagger towards her, people parting like the red sea for him, like he was God's gift to humanity.

"Go out with me?" His eyes were so incredibly deep and silky; they reminded Lily of smooth milk chocolate, and when he looked at her the way he did made her legs feel like jelly.
But Lily had become accustomed to James' looks, knowing they weren't really real, that it was all part of the James Potter bravado.

She rolled her eyes at him and turned away, but he jogged to catch up with her and blocked her way into her charms class.

"Move out my way, Potter." She sighed, really not in the mood for dealing with him today.

"I heard you broke up with that Ravenclaw. What was his name again? Something stupid like Rufus."

"His name was Roy." She glowered at him, "And how's that any of your business?"

"So why won't you go out with me?" He whined childishly. She thought about punching him, but he was a whole head taller than her and it would require an amount of effort she just didn't have in her.

"Get out my way, Potter." They were drawing attention now and she was getting really fed up.

"Only if you answer."

"Fine!" She suddenly shouted, losing whatever refrained her from speaking, "Because you're rude. Because you're arrogant. Because you bully my friends. Because there is not one single part of your personality which I would even slightly find attractive! Because I hate you James Potter!" She was breathing heavily and every eye on the corridor was on her.

James stared at Lily wide eyed. He had never seen her this annoyed before, or heard her scream like that before. Her huge emerald eyes that usually sparkled like the stars in the sky were full of rage, narrowed and watery. Her cheeks had burned as she shouted, matching her wavy red hair, her face contorted with anger.

"Now move out of my way." She growled and he stepped aside, letting her shove past him into the class.

James decided class wasn't important today and headed down to the Black Lake on his own. As he reached the tree he usually sat beneath with Padfoot, Mooney and Wormtail, he slung his bag off his shoulder and shrugged off his cloak before sitting down, his head resting on the trunk of the tree. He watched as the September breeze tangle the branches that hung low over the lake, thinking of his conversation with Lily. She hated him. There was no way to soften the blow; she had outright told him she hated him, while declaring it to half their year at the same time. He ran his hand through his hair as he sighed. Lily Evans confused him. Sure she had never showed that she liked him, but they were something. He talked to her more than almost anyone, with the exceptions of the rest of the Marauders. Sure, their conversations were full of sarcastic comments and insults, but that was all part of the great James and Lily love story. At least, that's what James had thought. He thought if he was persistent enough, she'd eventually agree to go out with him and realize they were meant to be. He had thought wrong.
He spotted a pebble on the edge of the lake and grabbed it, skimming it across the surface in frustration.