Too Little Too Late

Chapter 22

"He was gentleman like.. And nice.. And considerate.. And different." She continues dreamily. She has so fallen for him. Finally. Lily continues rambling about her date.

"But that doesn't change anything. Does it?" She asks worriedly

"Of course it does! It means that you have finally seen that he's not all bad and are considering another date with the poor guy!!" Alice explains excitedly. I can't help but smile at her excitement. She really is one of the sweetest people you could hope to meet.

"Lily, you've obviously developed feelings for the guy. Maybe if you go on another date then you can be sure about how you feel afterwards." I suggest.

"That's a good idea" she replies dreamily.

"Ok maybe we should all go to sleep and catch up in the morning.. It's a Sunday tomorrow so you can all sleep in." Alice interjects. Marlene and I do a mini fist bump at the mention of a lay in. Lily is too busy in lily-land to have heard any of us. I chuckles quietly.

"Goodnight guys" I mumble while returning to my bed and pulling the curtain round me, submerging back into my slumber. I faintly hear Alice whisper "nox" but I am way to far gone to really notice.

The morning sun hits my eyes, causing my to pull the blankets over my head. How did the sun even get in anyway, aren't my curtains shut?

"Wake up sleepy head"

That's how.

"What do you want?" I complain, earning myself a laugh.

"Come on, it's time to get up and set Lily and James up on another date." Alice says while gently shaking my shoulders. I jump up straight away and take a running jump onto Marlene's bed, effectively waking her up. Before she knows what is happening I run into the bathroom and lock the door, securing myself a shower before her.

After the theatrics of getting ready we all leave our dorm and make our way to breakfast. We sit in our normal seats and I grab a piece of toast and spread jam on the top. Before I can even take a bite I notice the marauders entering the hall. James and Sirius' eyes immediately scan the gryffindor table. James' eyes light up in joy when he sees us, Sirius' contain hope and maybe even a hint of regret. That's if he's even capable of regret.

They make their way over to us and I nudge lily to alert her to our incoming guests. She immediately sits up straighter and makes sure that she looks 'presentable'. As if she's not always stunning.

"Hey Lily" James greets her rather nervously. I divert my eyes to my toast, not wanting to intrude on their moment but also not wanting to make eyes contact with a certain marauder who is staring straight at me. Stupid idiot.

After a few more minutes of making small talk, lily and James excuse themselves to go and talk outside. It's just so damn cute. I may or may not ship them more than I should.

The other marauders take a seat with us. Sirius sits directly across from me, where Lily was sitting. I want to tell him that it's Lily's seat but I'm afraid that it will start a conversation with him. That's the last thing I want. Alice and Marlene begin to talk to the boys but Sirius isn't paying attention, he's just staring at me.

I can feel my face heating up with every second and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Why can't he stop?

"Can I talk to you outside please Layla?" He eventually asks.

"No, sorry." Is my short reply. Soon after I excuse myself and hurry out of the hall, making my way towards the library. I hear footsteps behind me. Damn it. They're speeding up. I do the same and gain speed as I walk away from the hall.

In my panic I look behind me and see that Sirius is running towards me. I quickly turn back around and sprint as fast as I can towards the library. As soon as I get to the double doors I realise that I'm going to have to stop to open them. I try to as quickly as I can. Unfortunately just before I'm about to disappear into the library I feel a hand clasp around my wrist.

"Please.. stop.. running." He pants, out of breath.

"I need to go. Please let go of me." I avoid all eye contact with the boy.

"Just hear me out." He pleads, trying to catch my eye.

"Fine. But inside." I say slowly, giving in and hoping that he will stop trying after this.

"Thank you."

We walk to the back corner of the library, where the shelves are higher and there are no people. I sit in my usual seat and he takes the one opposite me. He looks at me for a few moments, I don't return his gaze.

"So..?" I prompt him, wanting him to stop staring at me.

"I didn't mean to. I was thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you and how beautiful you looked with the wind flowing through your hair and your red cheeks and your eyes shut, looking so at peace. I just wanted to be a part of that and then I stupidly went to kiss you. I knew that it was a jerk move as soon as I did it but by then it was too late and you were already running away. I tried to catch up and explain but you're too fast. I am terrified of losing you Layla. I don't even have you but I don't want to lose the little bit of trust that still remains and I will do anything to gain your full trust. Please let me make it up. Please let me take you out again and prove to you that I just want to make you happy." The words spill from his mouth so fast that I struggle to keep up, but I'm almost brought to tears by the end of his explanation. No one has ever said such sweet things to me. Can he be being truthful?

"I- I'm not sure.. But we- we can be friends and built trust from there?" I suggest quietly, trying to find a happy medium even though merely being in his presence makes me nervous. He smiles.

"I would love that. And that you so much. Thank you Layla."

"Umm it's ok."

"Do you want to come with me, I'll show you a really cool room that hogwarts has. It's secret but because we're friends I'll show you." He says excitedly.

"What type of room?" I ask slightly confused.

"Well..."