the sweater ~~ jily

20.

Chapter Twenty: The Unexpected

Lily noticed how James was acting for the rest of the day. He didn't act like the normal, joking person he was. He seemed...a little quieter and sad. Lily began to worry about this because he was fine in the early morning, but his mood went down as the day went on.

"James, are you okay?" she finally asked after their last class. They were about to go to the common room. "I've noticed you've been a little more...quiet."

James shook his head. "I'm okay. I'm fine, I'm just tired."

Lily looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Hey, are you sure?" James nodded, although Lily could tell he was uncertain. 

"Today was a lot, I guess," he said flatly.

"Is it because of what happened in the morning after breakfast?" Lily asked him.

He didn't answer.

"You can talk to me, James. I've noticed your mood today. Whatever you're feeling is valid, you don't have to hide," she reassured him.

They passed the portrait (who gave them a weird look). James sat down on the couch nearest to the fire. He lied back tiredly. Lily sat next to him.

"I know it doesn't seem like much of a big deal, but I really didn't like it when I fell off my broom. It's as if I'm insecure about it, I don't know. It feels like that. I don't know if you understand what I mean," he explained in a whisper. Lily leaned on his shoulder.

"I do understand what you mean. That boy really shouldn't have mentioned it. We still have time to mess up his face, y'know."

James shook his head. "I feel like he was right."

"Listen." James didn't seem to listen, actually. He was staring at the fire the whole time as he was thinking. Lily kissed him on the cheek to get his attention, and he faced her. "He was wrong. You were doing so good. Really good. One mistake doesn't define your whole character, and look, no one else seemed to bother you but him, right?"

James nodded. 

"I'd like to think of people as kingdoms, their mindset being the ruler of the kingdom. There'll be people who try to invade the kingdom and try to mess the way the ruler should work. But there's the knights to protect the ruler, that being your hands. You can use your hands to strangle — "

"No," said James. 

Lily rested her chin on James's shoulder. "Fine, but my point is, there's people who want to make you feel bad about yourself. Try not to let them get to your head."

James faced her, his eyes looked from her lips to her eyes. Lily felt the sinking feeling again and noticed his lips slowly curved into a smile. It felt as if it was just them in the room. Lily didn't realize she was smiling.

Lily felt herself slowly lean a little closer to him. His eyes stared at her lips. James moved a little bit closer and as Lily shut her eyes...

Slam.

They both jumped. Lily turned around almost immediately, crossing her arms and leaning back onto the couch. She watched as the portrait closed screaming and Sirius coming into the common room laughing. 

"Sirius, what the hell?" both James and Lily asked, yelling.

"What? Oh, did I interrupt a moment?" teased Sirius. They stayed silent. "What would I end up interrupting anyways?"

They still stayed silent.

"Both remain silent. Oh deer." said Sirius, causing James to roll his eyes. "All right, I'm leaving."

Sirius walked around the room and to the stairs. He walked up to the dormitory leaving them both there sitting silently.

"I can use my hands to strangle him," said Lily.

James shrugged. "I agree."

They both silently agreed to forget about what was about to happen. James and Lily acted as if nothing happened and everything was fine.

Skipping to after dinner, Lily begun to walk alone to the common room. James had to talk to McGonagall about the tutoring of the first years. That way, she walked back by herself earlier than usual.

Lily felt as if something was going on. It was a gut feeling, and as Lily turned around, she saw a few Slytherin people following her. They could be going back to their common rooms as well. Lily continuously checked behind her.

With more looks, she noticed a few familiar faces; Severus's friends. She noticed he was there as well. They all acted if they didn't seem to notice she was there, and to make sure they weren't following her, Lily walked a different way from Gryffindor, instead taking an opposite turn.

They kept following her. Why would they want to follow her? Lily wasn't at all afraid, she could hex them then and there, but she really didn't like the gut feeling she had.

Taking another turn, she accidentally bumped into something. Or someone.

"Lily?" said the familiar voice. Once she had heard it, she looked up immediately to find the person she really needed; James. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't see you."

Lily turned back and noticed Severus's friends were still following her. "Just trust me," Lily whispered. "Don't get mad."

"Okay..." James furrowed his eyebrows at her, but Lily's only idea was to kiss him, and she did just that. She grabbed him by the tie, pulling his face to hers and met their lips.

It was quick, about a few seconds. Lily could tell James was confused at first, but he went along with it anyway. 

Once Lily pulled away, she noticed Severus's face lose its color and his friends walked away. She looked back at James who was as red as a tomato. 

"I did not see that coming," said James. "At all."

"I'm sorry," Lily said quickly.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Are you okay? You seem to be in a rush." James moved away a part of her hair from her face.

Lily put on a brave face, not wanting to break this boy's heart and tell him it meant nothing. "I'm fine, I was just looking for you."

"Are you sure?"

She had to lie. It pained her to see him hurt. She couldn't see him like that again. "I'm sure," she said simply. James let out his hand so they could walk back to the common room together.

a/n

what a turn
this chapter (including author's note) is 1,084 words

thanks for reading!!

~the sweater