Prompt Two: Lily and James’ first date
*This writing includes a bisexual James Potter, who had a past relationship with Regulus Black. It also indicates that Regulus had been pulled out of school early, presumably because his parents had found out about the relationship. If you do not like the idea of this past relationship, do not read, skip this post, and leave your hate out of my comments/notes section*
A Patched Jean Jacket, A Nervous Boy and Girl, and How Mandrakes Scream
It wasn’t a date. It wasn’t a date. It wasn’t a date. Lily repeated these four words in her head over and over as she got ready. She had obsessively planned her outfit. She didn’t want it to be too casual, in case it really was a date, but she also didn’t want to seem presumptuous. She picked out a simple green shirt, her school-regulated black skirt, and her nearly four-year-old jean jacket that was more patch than jean by now. Her hair fell just above her shoulders, curling just a bit at the ends, and she hadn’t bothered with any make-up. After all, it wasn’t a date.
This isn’t a date. This isn’t a date. This isn’t a date. Lily repeated the newly revised mantra in her mind as she walked down the stairs to the common room. She could tell she was shaking without even looking at her hands. Though she had no idea why she was nervous. She had gone to Hogsmeade with James and their friends many times before. Why would this time be any different?
Lily knew the answer to that, of course. Everything had been different since Regulus was pulled out of school the year before. James and her had been spending more time together, and her feelings for him, that she thought she had left behind in fifth year, were slowly creeping back. She fancied the pants off James Potter (unfortunately, they were only truly off in her dreams), but every time she thought that he might fancy her too, he pulled back, just enough for her to get the point. So, despite what Marlene and Dorcas said, and what she hoped, this was most definitely not a date.
Once she had gotten down the stairs, Lily immediately knew something was off. Peter, Remus, and Sirius were not standing with James as they usually were when they all went to Hogsmeade together. Only James was standing there, his hair looking as if he had tried to slick it down, his glasses less disheveled than they usually were, and he was wearing the tan jacket that she had gotten him for his birthday, just five months before. Later, when telling this story to her friends, not knowing that they had been watching under disillusionment charms, she swore to whatever higher power there was that she had stopped breathing for just one moment when she saw him.
“Hey.” James was the one to speak first, his voice softer than he would usually let it be in public. This was not the confident, nearly cocky, James Potter the rest of the world knew. This was the shy, quiet, James that she had only seen when their friend group was alone. And that meant one thing: This was, despite all of her earlier misconceptions, a date.
“Hello. Are you ready to go?” To anybody who wasn’t listening closely, she would have seemed cool and confident, but James had heard the underlying nervousness in her voice, shown mostly through the slight quiver of her chin when she had said the word “ready”. And she knew he had heard it. They were mostly silent after that, didn’t even make a noise when he had grabbed her hand and led her out of the common room, didn’t say one word as they made their way out of the castle.
Lily Evans knew one thing for sure: she was completely and utterly screwed.
James Potter was a lot of things. He was the sole son of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, he was Sirius Black’s best friend, he was Head Boy; but he never thought he would ever be Lily Evan’s boyfriend. Sure, he had flirted with her over the years, but it was mostly a cover up for his relationship with Regulus. It was more of a joke, that is, until it wasn’t.
When Regulus had left, it was like James had lost his whole world. But then Lily was there, lighting up every thing around, reminding him that just because Regulus was gone, his life was not over. She had pushed him to get better, to do better. Lily Evans had saved him, in a way. But that wasn’t why he liked her. He liked her because when she was stressed, she twirled her hair around in her fingers, until it was an absolute mess. He liked her because she was hilarious, and he didn’t even think she had tried to be. He liked her because of how open she was, how she didn’t hide anything from the rest of the world, even her crush on him. If people said he wasn’t subtle, they would not be prepared for seeing her in action.
So, James had asked her on a date, though not very well. Remus was sure that Lily thought it was just another day, just another hang-out, and then, he and Sirius had gone ahead to Hogsmeade, dragging Peter along with them, leaving James alone with his first date anxiety. When Lily had walked downstairs, more beautiful than everyone else in the room (though, to be fair, there weren’t many people in the room), his heart actually skipped a beat. He knew this, because he had heard it beating just the moment, the pulse quicker than it had ever been before, and then suddenly, it had stopped. The skip hadn’t even lasted one second, but he had still noticed.
Their conversation was awkward, borderline stilted, and James could hear the nervousness in Lily’s voice. It was obvious that Remus was right, that she had no idea that this was going to be a date. To clam his nerves, and to confirm for her, that this was, in fact, a date, he grabbed her hand, pulling her gently out of the common room and, eventually, out of the castle.
James Potter knew one thing for sure: this date had to go well.
Lily was surprised that James knew enough about her to bring her here. Some people, thinking she only cared about smarts, would have taken her to Tomes and Scrolls. Others, thinking she was just a girl, and therefore girly, would have taken her to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Only people who truly knew her would take her here. And she had no idea how he had even gotten them in the place, seeing as it wasn’t normally open to Hogwarts students. In short, James had taken her into the Wizarding Wireless Radio Headquarters, a building bordering the edge of the village.
Lily looked at him incredulously. Of course she liked it! She had always loved the idea of being on the radio, not singing of course, she had a disastrous singing voice if it was anything above a whisper, but talking on it. Delivering the news with a dash of witty banter was a dream of hers, one that was most likely never going to happen with the war on the horizon. She threw her arms around him, only just having to stand on her tippy toes, holding the hug just a moment longer than she usually would.
She whispered these words in his ear, so that only he could hear it, not wanting to include the tens of people around them in their moment. James pulled back the tiniest bit when he heard those words, and Lily was afraid that she had scared him off, again. But when his lips stopped just short of a centimeter away from hers, she realized that it wasn’t fear that had pulled him back, it was something entirely different, something that she didn’t want to put a label on yet. Knowing that he wouldn’t make the final move, she leaned forward, smashing her lips into his.
The kiss wasn’t fireworks, it wasn’t waves crashing into a shore, it wasn’t anything really special, to be honest. It was simply her lips against his, and it felt… normal. As if they had been doing this for years. It felt calming, it felt safe, it felt like… home. And that’s what she liked most about it. James was the one to break it off, breathing softly and rhythmically, his breath smelling of the cinnamon toothpaste she knew he used. After a moment, he finally spoke.
Lily smiled teasingly, pulling away from him, walking down the hall as if she owned the place, because in that moment, she felt like she did. Halfway down the hallway, she turned back to him, seeing the dazed look on his face, and finally answered.
“Later. But first, how much do you think I’d have to pay for them to let me on the radio. And second, if they don’t let me on the radio, I dare you to break into one of the recording studios ranting about how you love the way mandrakes scream when you pull at their roots.”
He laughed, sounding like his normal self once again, and chased after her, ready to take on the world. Or, at least, the people of the radio station.
