Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
03: The Game
Zoey and James walked to the Astronomy tower chatting occasionally about random things, nothing to do with the situation of last night, but both knew they would have to talk about it at some point
After reaching the top of the Astronomy tower both stood by the edge looking out across the Black Lake. The sun was at its peak and caused the water to shimmer in the light.
"What happened Arty?" James asked after a moment of silence "What actually happened?"
Zoey looked at James before sighing quietly
"Honestly I don't know, I didn't see it happen. I found you later on last night, drunk off your ass looking disheartened. I asked you what was up and you said Lily kissed you then slapped you, so I was then like 'what?!' And 'I'll go slap her right now' and you were saying she was the best kiss you've ever had and all that jazz" Zoey rambled shaking her head at the end
James didn't say anything
"James?"
"I really like her but she keeps hurting me." He finally said
Zoey frowned and wrapped an arm around his waist giving him a side hug
"I really like her and every time she rejects me it's like I'm not good enough and I don't mean anything" he sighed heavily
The silence rung between them
"When I first found out that Lily kissed me I felt ecstatic, but then finding out she slapped me afterwards felt like it was all of those times before, and that the best thing had just been taken away from me"
James' jaw clenched at the thought and he shut his eyes tightly. Zoey hugged him tighter to her in attempts to comfort him.
"Why does it hurt so much Zo?" James' voice broke a little and Zoey felt her heart go out to him
"She's not worth you James. If she treats you like this then she isn't worth you" Zoey told him "Acting like she did last night was not right and unfair to you. I know you probably don't want to hear this but you need to let her go James, she isn't good for you"
"You're right but I can't just yet. I feel like there's stuff between us that's unfinished" James told the witch
Silence continued to fill the area once more
"Well then make her regret it then" Zoey finally said breaking the silence and causing a frown to appear on James' face as he looked down at her
"What do you mean?"
"Let's make a bet"
"On what?"
"On us"
"I'm so confused"
Zoey rolled her eyes giving James a look
"I mean make her jealous, make her regret kissing then slapping you like the bitch she acted like"
"I'm still a little lost"
"God James, date me"
"Woah Zoey, way to be forward" James said pulling away from their hug laughing holding his hands out towards her to keep Zoey away jokingly
"James I swear to Merlin-"
"I'm kidding Art, actually that's quite a good idea"
Both the witch and the wizard stood on the balcony looking at each other intensely slightly smiling at the new idea thrown in the mix
"This could work" James continued "If we pull this off everyone could believe it"
"Everyone needs to be convinced though" Zoey confirmed to which James nodded "Even Sirius and Remus"
"Okay" James laughed for a moment "We could make this into a slight game and see how long it would take to make sure everyone believes we're actually dating"
Zoey chuckled "Only you would make this into a game"
"And only you would agree to making it a game" James finished causing Zoey to pull a face
"True"
The pair both laughed and turned to looking out at the lake below and around them. It was peaceful, the silence, almost as if everything was calm for a moment and nothing outside of this mirage existed. Not the rising worries of the dark magic being used outside the walls of Hogwarts, or the drama that was happening inside the school. It felt nice that two friends could take a moment and relax before they started their game.
***
The first thing people spotted at lunch time in the Great Hall, was the fact James Potter and Zoey Peterson walked in together holding hands and laughing at the joke that James had just told the dark haired witch.
Remus looked at Sirius and Sirius looked at Remus, both unsure of what was going on between their two friends
Peter however was the first to comment when the two sat down and began eating
"Why are you two holding hands?" He asked through a mouthful of food
"Because we can" Zoey replied
"Because we want to" James backed up Zoey's comment
"But why?" Peter asked again "You two have never held hands before"
"Well we wanted to start now" James said "Plus Arty has very nice hands that I want to hold"
"Thank you Prongsie" Zoey chuckled smiling at him
"Anytime, Love"
Sirius and Remus both shared another look. Whereas Remus looked confused, Sirius looked incredibly unconvinced
"Why the sudden urge to show affection?" Sirius asked
"Because I like Zoey"
"Bullshit"
"Hey!" Zoey cut in
"No offence, but seriously, you may like Arty as a friend, but not in the hand holding, lovey dovey way you two are being" Sirius said still with an unconvinced look on his face
"Why don't you think that we're interested in each other romantically?" James asked his best friend
"Because you're all about Lily" Sirius replies almost instantly "You were so beat up about Lily this morning it's making this whole scenario unbelievable"
"Well I realised that Lily has been stringing me along and I decided she wasn't worth my time as I keep wasting it on her when she'll never appreciate me the way I want her to" James stated "And if she doesn't want me, then I don't want her anymore"
Sirius sat back and peered between the two opposite him who were still holding hands but stayed silent
Remus was also silent throughout this conversation taking in the expressions of his friends and how they answered each of Sirius' questions
He too was also unsure of the believability of this new found close affectionate friendship between James and Zoey. The two had only been close friends before and not really ever affectionate to the other. The level of affection one would give the other would be a playful punch on the arm and the occasional hug when they left for the summer.
All three Marauders has their doubts about this new sort of relationship between their friends and all three were unsure of what was actually going on. James and Zoey however shared a smile with a hidden meaning underneath and both continued on with their plan to try and convince everyone that they were in love and dating, not knowing the fact that something would change between them soon enough and when they least expected it.
