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Tweak says, "Fortunately the lad's a genius"

James Potter is an arrogant toerag (prongsed) wrote in the_recruitment,
@ 2012-02-25 02:14:00

Entry tags:

! 02/1977, ! complete, ! thread, char: james potter, char: lily evans

Who: Lily & James
What: James is trying to run away, but Lily won't have any of that
Where: Hogwarts main courtyard
When: Friday the 24^th of February, afternoon
Status: Complete
Rating: PG

The path isn't set yet, your life is unsure
So you're runnin' in circles, got a bug in your head
Feel the needles and pins, get 'em out of my head

Since that day in the common room earlier that week, it had been a chore trying to evade Lily. Funny that their situations were reversed after the many years that James had spent chasing her, but now it was a matter of getting his bearings and trying not to break down in front of her. It was a difficult pill to swallow, being told that they should slow down. After all, that was practically like Lily telling him that she'd started to fancy him too, but didn't think there was a a future in him. In them. Any rational person would have shaken their head and tried to correct James, but he was far from rational and hardly thinking about anyone but himself.

So that's exactly what he was doing again as he sat on a rubble pile in the old courtyard, probably warming some 1000-year-old stone with his arse as he worried a piece of parchment with no writing on it. He'd had his quill hovering over the bloody thing for the better part of 10 minutes; still, nothing. McGonagall would be annoyed at the ink splotches that were collecting up in the corner and would no doubt give him a stern talking to. The thought temporarily pulled his mind away from why he'd been out there, but as soon as he thought he was safe, he could have sworn that he saw a flash of red in the sunlight. Heartbeat suddenly thumping in his throat and hazel eyes darting around, he tried to pinpoint where it had come from.

Easy Potter, it was just your imagination, he tried telling himself, even still, keeping a roving eye on the courtyard. A few students were milling about, but thankfully, no sign of her yet. He knew this was ridiculous, that he'd have to face her eventually. At least he could do so after some time to ruminate on the circumstances, for once thinking something through before facing it headlong. This was probably the most important thing in his life; if only Lily knew just how deep he'd fallen.

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doed
2012-02-25 08:27 am UTC (link)

It hasn't escaped Lily that their roles had been reversed; she had become the stalker while James had done everything in his power to stay out of her way. She tried every thing she could think of; she waited in the common room for him, she waited outside his classrooms, she even tried sending him an owl or two. No response came and she felt hopeless. Her worst fear was coming to life, that she had ruined the one chance she had to try things with James. Everything just seemed so confusing and she had been getting different forms of advice on what to do. She didn't trust herself to make the decision, but that was what came down to it. She had spent a lot of time over the week thinking about things with James and she finally had her answer. Now she just needed to corner him and convince him to listen to her.

She had tried multiple times to get him, but he was always one step ahead, evading her. It was frustrating to say the least and she was beginning to understand what it was like for him when he had been chasing her. Will that ever happen again? she asked herself, staying behind a rather large group of Ravenclaw girls, watching as James made his way out of the classroom. It may have seemed a little creepy if anyone had noticed, but for the moment, she was just determined to get to him. She slowly followed behind, always making sure there were other people or groups of people between them. Part of her knew that he was keeping an eye out for her, so she had to be super stealthy to get away from it.

She watched from inside the castle as he made his way into the courtyard, her eyes watching to see where he stopped. She just watched him for a bit, wondering what actually went on through his mind now. She frowned, watching his steady movements yet they were nothing at all. At one point she thought he spotted her, but she ducked behind a pillar just in time. Was this really a good idea? She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the pillar. Yes, it was what she wanted and he had to listen to her. She would make him.

Opening her eyes, she stepped outside, walking up behind him so he wouldn't see her and bolt.

"You've done a good job avoiding me," she said, leaning up against a tree. "But can we talk? Please?"

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prongsed
2012-02-27 05:59 am UTC (link)

He tried really hard not to be startled, really he did... but after having been on the move for a few days now, his nerves were fraying and he was tenseness all over. The undignified little yelp was swallowed as he stood abruptly, grabbing his belongings and slowly backing away from her. It didn't feel right to be so on edge around her, and yet, he couldn't imagine feeling any other way after the little 'talk' that they'd had. James felt a fresh wave of hurt rushing through his limbs as he looked upon her, eyes reflecting the pain freely. His voice almost crackled with it when he finally spoke.

"Maybe I should've been doing a better job of it. Now's not a good time." He looked around him, hoping that no one else would be witness to this scene. Luckily, the various students milling about seemed interested in their own affairs and weren't paying the two of them any mind. James felt his heartbeat increase exponentially as he thought of what else he could say, what he could do, to delay this encounter. He hadn't had nearly enough time away from Lily to think things through.

"Er, I've got McGonagall's class to get to, if you'll just excuse me..." He turned and hoped that she wouldn't follow. He had at least 30 minutes before class, but he needed to get away.

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doed
2012-02-27 07:25 am UTC (link)

Lily was done with his excuses and she just wanted him to hear her out. She grabbed his wrist, pulling him back to face him. "No, we need to talk James," she said, her eyes pleading with him. It was almost too hard to look into his eyes and see the pain that was so obvious. It hurt even more knowing that she was the reason he was feeling this way. She took a deep breath and let go, her eyes downcast.

"Please James, won't you at least listen? If you're still upset with me after we talk, then you can walk away and I'll never bother you again. You can choose to speak to me when you want." She didn't like the idea of that either and cursed herself for even starting this in the first place.

"Please, just a few minutes. We could take a walk around the lake." She glanced out of the courtyard, wanting to talk with him in private. She didn't like being in an area where others could overhear and whisper about it later.

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prongsed
2012-02-29 12:20 pm UTC (link)

The feel of Lily's hand against his wrist brought an uncharacteristic flush to James's cheeks. Not from want, but from embarrassment and even a touch of anger. How she could even try to stop him after what she'd said, the way that she looked at him... after everything... James felt the hurt rise and turn into a different breed of animal. He forced himself to ignore the way that she pleaded with him.

"If you want to talk, let's do it here, so everyone has the privilege of seeing you tell me to sod off again. Because that's what you're going to say, isn't it, Evans? Just like always?" The cockiness that he was so famous for tainted his words as his voice raised, causing a few interested glances to shoot toward them. It had been quite a while since he'd felt this way, childish and arrogant like he did, but she'd instigated it on her own. Or so he reasoned.

"C'mon then, do your worst. Clearly my snogging you at the Ball didn't mean a thing." At that James crossed his arms, trying unconsciously to protect himself against the verbal lashing that he was anticipating. He really wanted to stop himself, but it was too late now. It was all in the open.

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doed
2012-03-01 03:25 am UTC (link)

Well, at least he had stopped and was listening to her. Still, she didn't believe that he had been hurt so much. Well, she had an idea, but it wasn't this.

She dropped his wrist, suddenly feeling very exposed. His yelling had caught the attention of the other people in the yard and she couldn't help but glance at them, wondering how it had come to this. She was going to pour her heart out not only to James, but everyone else there.

"No, it's not what I'm going to say," she said, her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry I hurt you earlier, but don't you understand how big a step it was for me? I like you James, a lot. And when I really stopped to think about it, it seemed like I may have been rushing into things and it scared me." She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. What she was going to say next, she wanted him to know she meant every word of it. "I was scared of how deeply I cared about you even though I was just getting to know you. I want to be with you all the time and feel strange when you're not holding my hand." She glanced at the people whispering around them, but pressed on.

"I didn't mean to hurt you in this way James, I just wanted some time to think things out for myself. And I found that I just don't want this to be anymore." She held out her hands as if it explained everything. "Please forgive me?" It came out as a question, as if she could play it off if he didn't. She was going to be rejected in public and be the talk of the school. This was not how she wanted this conversation to go.

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prongsed
2012-03-01 07:30 am UTC (link)

Throughout her entire monologue, James felt himself go from angry, to hurt, to longing, and back to angry. It was all so confusing and embarrassing to have to go through this now, but the rational side of his brain was trying to make him see reason, to not let his wounded pride get in the way. He was so bloody confused about how he should act that he found himself opening his mouth a few times before snapping it shut. His defences were on full alert and he didn't know if he should stay or run.

Choosing the former for now, he darted a nervous look around them, suddenly so concerned about the students that were starting to whisper and even stare in unabashed interest at how things were unfolding. "Look, I don't want to argue this or anything. Let's just... I don't know, let's just see how things go." His gaze was anywhere but at Lily, mind working overtime and heart beating unsteady rhythms against his entire body. He felt himself start to tremble just a little bit and he quickly quashed it down so that Lily wouldn't see his weakness.

"Okay? I can't talk right now. It's just not — it's not possible right now." Just why isn't it, you prat? his mind asked in shock. James couldn't answer even himself because he didn't know exactly how to feel. On the one hand, he wanted things to go back to how they were, even before Lily had seemingly accepted him, yet on the other, he still yearned so badly for her that he almost broke apart right in front of her, giving in to the need. Instead, he blurted out something that he'd never intended, Sirius's words in his journal lingering at the back of his mind.

"Why don't we go to Hogsmeade this weekend?" James nearly flinched at how needy and scared he sounded. Finally meeting her gaze, he worried his lip at what she might say, or at how she would take it.

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doed
2012-03-01 07:52 am UTC (link)

Lily had tried being honest and genuine, but that obviously wasn't working. She was going between anger and hurt and then he had the guts to ask her to Hogsmeade? She wanted to say no, she had just lain everything out for him and he was being SO. DAMN. STUBBORN. But she had promised Sirius, had even asked him to make sure he did. She had to grit her teeth, but managed to say 'yes' without too much animosity behind it.

"I guess I'll see you then," she said, feeling completely embarrassed. She couldn't even think of the good behind it; if he truly didn't want to have her around, he wouldn't have asked, right? But still, she found herself shouldering her bag and turning to march straight for the common room, ignoring the looks the others were giving her. She had spent this whole time trying to speak to him and it didn't even do her any good. She had never felt so much like a girl and hurried her steps as she felt hot tears spring to her eyes. DO NOT CRY. She quickly brushed them away as she stammered the password to the Gryffindor Tower and hurried up to her dormitory, throwing herself on the bed. Tears over James Potter? She never thought it would happen.

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