Hate Is A Strong Word (A Jily Fanfic)//FINISHED!

Sudden Events

Hello Jily fans!
I'm gonna cut to the chase on this one. It has been so long since I last posted, but I've made the decision to stick with it. I got sidetracked by another series I'm reading called the Dark Artifices. Have any of you read those books? Any way, back to Jily.
Disclaimer: JKR owns all of this.

James
James hadn't seen Lily since she'd gone to her room. Remus had returned looking somber, but after seeing the remorse in James' face, he kept his mouth shut. All day, James' mind was away from what was happening in front of him and was focused of what was happening with Lily. Was she angry? Was she hurting? Why hadn't he said anything the moment she'd been called out?

Around the time of nightfall, all of the teens (Lily not included) had gathered at the Potter's large dining room table. The atmosphere was friendly, but everyone was worried about their missing friend. When they had finished eating, they sat around the table sharing their concerns.

"I hope she's okay."

"That was such a horrible thing to say."

"I'd be upset, too."

This continued until they heard a feint clearing of a throat behind them. Lily had come out of her room for dinner, and James' heart instantly ached at the sight of her. She had done a good job in cleaning herself up, but her eyes were still puffy and red around the edges. The room had gone silent for a moment as everyone stared at her. The silence was awkward until it was suddenly broken by Sirius.

"AGGHHH, WHAT IS THAT?"

Everyone swivelled in their seats in panic, but James watched as Sirius turned and winked at Lily. For a moment she seemed shocked, but then she grinned gratefully. Sirius had gotten the attention off of her by distracting the others. It was a kind and sweet thing to do, yet James felt slightly annoyed that he hadn't thought to do it first. After the commotion calmed down, Lily sat in the empty seat next to Remus and began to fill her plate with food. Peter still looked around to see what all the commotion had been about.

James watched Lily out the corner of his eye since she had sat on the opposite end of the table as him. He wondered if she'd done that on purpose. A strand of her red hair kept falling in her face, and he felt a sudden urge to walk over and tuck it behind her ear. He shook off the thought. That would surely get him slapped.

Now that Lily was there, the atmosphere went back to the way it was before. People would take glances in her direction, but she seemed okay. She was tough and brave, a true Gryffindor. James also realized how good she was at hiding her emotions.

After Lily had finished eating, all of the teens resided to the living room. Lily sat down on one of the couches next to the fire. James paused for a moment before deciding to take a seat next to her. She looked at him for a moment before standing, turning away, and going to sit by Mary and Mar. James felt as if he were going to be sick. It wasn't as if he had never been denied by Lily Evans before, but the idea that her rejection had come from the fact that he had hurt her didn't sit well with him. He had never hurt Lily. Ever. Sirius, seeing the uneasy look on his face, came and sat down next to him with a sigh.

"Bad luck, Prongs?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh James, why'd you have to choose Evans? I know, I know. She's pretty, smart, funny, and all of those other things, but she's a tough one to handle."

"Don't you think I would choose differently if I could?" he asked. He laid down on the couch and groaned. Sirius patted him on the back. Suddenly, James realized his mistake. "I mean, I'm over her, but I still don't want to hurt her," he said quietly.

"I have faith in you, James. You're not a bad person. She'll come around. I know it."

The atmosphere was calm for the rest of the night. James continued to try and catch Lily's eye, but she intentionally avoided his gaze. After a few hours of conversation, Lily was the first to announce she was going to sleep. Without a look at James, she went to off bed.

Lily
When Lily returned to her room, she felt the silent tears roll down her face again. Why was she crying? Lily knew that she wasn't even crying about the Julie thing anymore. She knew, deep in her heart, that she was crying because of James.

Why is he making me cry? Why do I care? Why am I being such a jerk to him?

Lily did her best to block out her thoughts as she climbed into bed. How had things gone so bad, so fast. She didn't understand why she felt so conflicted. It would be so easy just to be done with him, but she had seen a glimpse of something wonderful before she'd arrived at Potter Manor. She had felt something she'd never felt before.

Tomorrow is a new day, she thought. With hope in her heart, she went to sleep.

Idk how I felt about this chapter. Anyway I'm trying to post the next one soon to make up for it. The next one will have a lot more to the story. Also, I'm going to try to post more often. I promise.