AN: I hope this can compensate for the long wait! ^-^ I'm not really sure how it reached eight pages when I was writing but oh well. I hope you guys like it! Oh yeah, some sentences/phrases like "I'm coming with." are intentionally like that. :) In reference to a character's height issue in the later part of the chapter, let's just imagine that James was six feet tall. And that would make the character...
Have fun reading! Please R&R... ^-^
Lily had just placed her bag down when the door to her room opened. She wasn’t surprised when she saw Marga enter and sit on her bed. It had been three hours since they arrived and they were pretty excited by all that they had seen. Marga was right; they were gonna have a rockin’ time.
“What’s up?” she asked her friend, tying her red hair into a ponytail and opening her suitcase. She might as well unpack since she had time. She hadn’t been hungry so she didn’t join the others in the dining room. She placed her clothes on the king-sized bed and opened the closet.
“So?” Marga asked; her tone expecting and her eyes big. “Do tell, Lils.”
“Tell what?” she replied, confused, as she put her clothes in the closet. She racked her mind for anything she had to tell her. No, nothing, she concluded.
“Duh! What’s with your passive expression to James being here? Do you like him?” Her eyes bugged even more, “Or are you guys—”
“We are not together, okay?” Lily jumped on the bed and lay down. “I just decided that I won't care anymore. I mean, I don’t want to waste my time on someone as insignificant as him. I shouldn’t even acknowledge his presence. You know what I mean?”
“Elaborate?”
“I mean, I don’t like James. Blowing up because he’s here would just mean that I let him get to me. Speaking of James being here, why is he here?”
“To cut a long story short, my mom -- big mouth -- his mom -- him -- absolutely no telepathy. James and his friends are—”
She was cut off since Clarisse had entered the room, shouting, “WHAT’S UP!”
“Er, right, Risse. What were you saying, Marga?” Lily rolled her eyes at her light brown-haired best friend. “Please ignore the girl behind the curtain.”
“I said, that’s why they’re here. Anyway, it’s ten o’clock right? You guys are to be ready by midnight; we’re going out.”
“Lily! What are you gonna wear?” Clarisse jumped on the bed and flopped down next to Marga. At this, Marga had said “Oooh,” immediately making Lily dread what was going to happen next.
Marga and Clarisse looked at each other, the same mischievous smiles on their faces, and jumped off from the bed. In one swooping action, they had opened Lily’s closet, raiding it for clothes.
“Hey! I just fixed that!” Lily whined at the mess her friends were making.
“AHA!” Clarisse exclaimed. She held a flattering black satin camisole victoriously.
“Perfect!” Marga eyed the camisole and the pre-faded cargo pants she fingered approvingly. “And I know just the shoes that would be great with it! We’re the same size, right?” Without waiting for Lily to reply, she exclaimed, “Great!”
Lily looked from one loony smile to another.
Oh dear.
Approximately two hours later, Marga lounged in the living room, dressed in a pink smoked tube dress and high-heeled jewel-encrusted mules. She had finished getting ready before everyone else—no surprise there. While she mused over this, someone had gone down the stairs and taken a seat next to her.
“Hey.” Remus gave her a small smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah; never better,” she smiled back. Remus’ brown hair had fallen over his face and he swiped at it, smiling boyishly in the process.
“How many times have you been here before?” He started to begin a conversation. Marga tried to remember everything she knew about this boy. He was one of the ‘Marauders’—she still couldn’t stop snickering whenever she said or thought it—though he wasn’t a Quidditch player like James and Sirius. He was smart, she remembered.
“A lot; too many to count, actually. I always spend part of my summer here,” she told him. She liked the way his brown eyes looked so sweet and soulful. “You’ve been here—to the US—before, right?”
“Yeah, when I was seven, I think. We went to Disneyland,” he shared. Seeing Marga’s eyes light up in surprise, he laughed and said, “You haven’t been to Disneyland, have you?”
She mock punched his shoulder. “Yes, I have, actually; when I was six. Though I remember crying when Mickey tried to hold me, it was very...enriching.”
Remus chuckled as he tried to picture a young Marga frantically running away from a creepy-looking mouse. It was the first time he actually got to talk to her. And contrary to what he had heard other people say, she wasn’t prissy at all. Well, maybe not to him, but she was nice. She was funny too.
“Hey. Where’re the others?” James went down the staircase two at a time with Sirius following him. The three boys had formed an aversion to the clothes they had worn earlier and changed into clothes that—to put it simply—increased their attractiveness—at least, that was what Marga thought. But she decided their looks wouldn’t really affect her after all; she had Ryan.
“And by others, do you mean Lily, Prongs?” Remus retorted, making James narrow his eyes at him dangerously. The girl beside him laughed at the exchange which was true, after all.
Sirius looked at Marga and Remus. They had looked pretty chummy, sitting side by side on the couch. Sirius wasn’t sure of how he felt for Marga, but he wasn’t going to let a pretty girl like her escape his clutches that easy. But of course, if Remus liked her, he wouldn’t come between them; there was the ‘Friends First Rule’ after all.
“After twenty long years...” Sirius sighed as he sat on the couch in front of Remus and Marga.
“We’re here, we’re here. Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Sirius.” Clarisse sauntered in, sporting a pale-green shrunken t-shirt, with Lily at her heels. James stood glued to his spot near the sofa, unable to move and his eyes fixated on Lily.
“Well, what’re you guys waiting for?” With that, Lily moved towards the couch, took hold of Marga’s hand and pulled her up. “Let’s go.”
“Well, here we are,” Marga said as they entered the club. ‘The Point,’ it was called, glittered under the strobe lights, and the double-height glass liquor cabinet was an architectural marvel. Numerous colored Chinese umbrellas adorned the ceiling and the red lighting scheme fluctuated, baring the people packed on the dance floor. The bar on the east wing of the club was decked with people flirting and chatting.
“Hey, Marga.” A tall girl with gorgeous dark skin and red lips passed by her and showed her a bright smile.
“Hey yourself,” Marga managed to reply during the brief greeting.
“Who was that?” Lily asked as they headed to a table. She had never been to a club like this before, and she was amazed by everything. The place, the people, the atmosphere. She had only spent around five minutes and already she had seen more than ten famous people she thought she would only see on TV.
“Er, I dunno really. Some model. Lots of people know me, though I don’t know half of them,” Marga replied distractedly as she craned her neck to look around. Where was Ryan...?
Sirius stood up from his seat and looked at the other people who sat around the table. “I’m going to go to the bar, guys; have a look around and all.” He winked at the girls who passed by.
“Right. We all know what you mean by ‘look around.’” James chortled.
“Touché.”
“Wait. You’re going to the bar?” Marga had snapped out of her trance and finally paid attention to what was happening around her. “I’m coming with.” She stood up and grabbed Sirius’ arm, dragging him to the bar.
“Are you looking for someone?” He noticed that she kept on looking around the club, as if searching for someone.
“Er, yeah. Ryan, my boyfriend. I heard he was gonna be here tonight...” She told him, her voice soft and weak. Was she sure he was there? No. Would she be disappointed if he wasn’t? Yes. She missed Ryan. He was the first guy she ever truly cared for, the first guy she had a serious relationship with.
“I’ll help you,” said the now deflated Sirius. She had a boyfriend. Oh well, there were other fish in the sea. He smirked at the blonde girl who had been eyeing him since before. “What does he look like anyway?”
Marga had been facing Sirius as they neared the bar. She wanted to talk to him to calm her nerves and her emotions. “Well...” She turned around to face the bar. “He has blonde hair—”
Marga had stopped so abruptly that Sirius mildly crashed into her. As he faced her to ask her what was wrong, he was surprised. Her expression was one of utter horror and disbelief. He followed her gaze and saw the probable reason as to why she looked like one of her favorite sandals had been vandalized. A guy was perched on a bar stool, being ‘intimate’ with a scantily-clad girl. Blonde hair—yep, it was Ryan. Sirius felt Marga tense up beside him. Sensing upcoming danger, he braced himself and tried to talk her.
“Marga, try to calm...” he began. Oh no, it was too late. She had walked up to them, leaving Sirius staring at her with his mouth open.
“Ryan??” Her voice was strained and disbelieving.
The guy immediately recognized her voice and pulled away from the girl. “Marga, wait! I can explain!”
Sirius saw a livid spark in Marga’s eyes as she said, “I understand completely, you jerk.” She took Ryan’s drink from the countertop and threw it at his face, winning the stares of the people close to them. She glared at him for a few seconds before stalking off, muttering something along the lines of ‘...fucking asshole...’ as she passed by Sirius.
What else was he to do but follow her?
“Well, since Sirius and Marga have gone to have a look around, I might as well too.” Lily stood up and looked around. She glanced back at the three people at the table, noticing that James had started to stand up too. “By myself,” she added. Meriting a nod from Clarisse and a ‘Kay’ from Remus, she went off and disappeared through the crowd. Five seconds after she left, James stood up.
“My, my. Are you going to follow her, James?” Clarisse’s left eyebrow rose in amusement. Watching James and Lily quarrel had always been fun. She was impressed at how he determined he was: Whatever Lily said didn’t seem to discourage him.
“Remember, Prongs: Be discreet.” Remus smirked at him. He felt that this would not end pretty but...talking—or fighting, rather—with Lily was what James lived for.
“Right.” James nodded at both of them and quickly walked off to the direction that Lily had gone.
“Are you sure that was a good idea?” Clarisse asked Remus as she slightly swayed to the music. “I mean, James. Lily.”
Remus tilted his head to one side. “Well, we’ll hear the shouts from over here, I’m sure.” He took a big gulp from his glass and smiled at the light sensation in his head.
Clarisse pushed her chair from the table and stood up.
“Where’re you going?” he asked her. He didn’t want to be left alone in the table. That would be just...weird.
Her chocolate-brown eyes sparkled as she grinned mischievously. She grabbed his hand and led him towards the throng of dancing people. “Let’s dance!”
Lily carried her drink in her hand, trying not to let it spill, as she walked around the club. It was really big, she found out. Deciding rest at one of the club’s many bars, she walked towards the nearest one, not minding where she was going.
“Oh!” She had bumped into someone, causing that person to move backwards slightly. His blue eyes sparkled good-naturedly, however, and he pushed his red hair out of his eyes. He looked familiar, Lily thought.
Noticing he had dropped something, she exclaimed, “Wait!” as she bent down to pick the thing up. It was thin, and wooden. She held it up against the light. A wand...?
“Er, that’s mine. Sorry.” The brown-haired guy took the piece of wood from her hand with a nervous smile. “Thanks.”
“What was that?” she asked him, curious to know if it was a wand or not.
He suddenly looked perplexed. “Er...it’s nothing. Just a...er, piece of wood.”
D'oh, Lily! she thought. No one was crazy enough to admit to a random stranger that he/she was carrying a wand. She smiled warmly at him. “I don’t know how to put this but...is that a wand?”
Startled, he looked at her intently. “Are you mocking me?” he asked in a serious tone.
“No! Not at all.” Lily racked her mind for a way to ask him if he was a wizard, or for his name. If he looked familiar, she must've seen him somewhere. At Hogwarts maybe? It suddenly dawned on her. “Derrick Hart?” He was a popular Ravenclaw stud, and one of the toughest Chasers on the field. He was also a year older than her, hence the unfamiliarity.
“How do you know my name?” He asked her curiously. Leading her to a sort-of excluded corner, he asked her quietly, “Do I know you?” And even more silently, “Do we go to school together?”
Lily couldn’t help but laugh. “No, we don’t exactly know each other. But we do go to school together.”
His eyes lit up in wonder. “Really? Wait, Evans, right? Lily Evans? From Gryffindor; the one who’s always shouting at James?” He asked, chuckling slightly.
“Yeah, that one.” She rolled her eyes. “Though I won't be shouting anymore; at this rate, I’d lose my voice at twenty. What’re you doing here anyway?”
“We were originally from the States; we moved to England when I eight. It feels great meeting someone from school. You don’t know how weird it gets, knowing that I’m ‘different’ from the people here.”
Lily nodded. “I know what you mean. But I’m with my friends from Hogwarts so it doesn’t feel that unusual.”
“Oh? Who?”
“Marga van Varick, Clarisse Kattrel, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and James Potter,” she sighed.
Derrick’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Yeah, I see you around with van Varick and Kattrel; so many memories on the field... I don’t understand what you’re doing with Potter and them, though.”
“Oh, that’s right! You’ve played against them!” she remembered, grinning at her self—and at Derrick, who was also grinning. Clarisse played as a Chaser for the Quidditch team. “James’ parents are friends with Marga’s parents, you know the rest.”
He nodded at her, his eyes crinkling in a smile. “Do I ever.”
James had been watching them for quite some time now. He kept on making her laugh. Huh. He couldn’t lie: Yeah, he was jealous. There he was, making his Lily laugh and smile. Wait—she isn’t even yours James, he reprimanded himself.
He had liked Lily for a few years now. And yet, all he could ever do was make her extremely red in anger. James chuckled as he remembered the numerous fights they had. Though he wasn’t supposed to, he thought those fights were fun. Those were the only times where Lily would talk to him—he couldn’t let the chance pass. But...maybe they were never meant to be together and he should move on?
“Prongs!” Remus’ alarmed voice broke his thoughts. “Prongs! Where’s Lily?”
Clarisse appeared beside them, panting heavily. “Oh my God.”
“What happened?” He looked at both of them; they were alarmed and they seemed...scared. “Lily’s over there!” He pointed to where Lily was seated.
“Risse, take James to Sirius. I’ll go and fetch Lily.” With that, Remus stalked off in a hurry, not waiting for an answer. James looked down, for Clarisse was around three inches shorter than him, and was about to ask her what was happening when she grabbed his arm.
“Let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.” She propelled James through the crowd until she was satisfied that James could walk on his own.
“What happened?” He asked her slowly, trying not to alarm or surprise her. Beside them, the people gyrated to the music, oblivious to their ‘situation.’
“Marga fell from her chair. Hit her head on the floor—there they are!” She ran off to Sirius, who was holding an unconscious Marga in his arms.
“Where’re Remus and Lily?” he asked them. Turning to James, he said, “You should’ve been there. I almost panicked. We...she fell off the bar stool and hit her head on the floor!” The red stood out alarmingly from the blonde of Marga’s hair. “The press were all over her, and trying to ask me for details. The manager got them out though.”
“Oh my God! What the hell happened?” Lily almost shouted. She didn’t mean to curse but to her it looked like Marga was about to die! “We need to take her to the hospital! NOW!”
Her vision was clouded. Where was she? White, so white and pristine. Oh fuck, did she die? No, she said as her vision cleared, she was only at the hospital. She tried to sit up; only to sink back down as the pain reverberated around her head. Was she alone? Who brought her here? Then she remembered: Ryan.
She felt her blood curdle at the mere thought of his name. How could he...! But, then again, how could she let her heart get hurt like that? Relationships in movies were what they were: Make-believe and fantasy. Those would never be real. She felt the tears gather in her eyes. No, she though as she forced them back in. I will never cry for a scumbag like him.
She tried to sit up again, but a force on her arm pushed her gently back down. Who...? “Sirius.”
“You shouldn’t move, you know.”
“Where are the others? Why am I here?” She looked around for them, but they weren’t there. The clock on the wall said that it was five-forty in the morning.
Sirius sat back down on his chair beside the bed. “Lily and Clarisse are up at the nurse’s station, trying to fix the papers and what-not. James and Remus went to buy food. You had a concussion from the fall, and you had to get your stomach pumped.”
“Whoa,” she said as she looked at the muted TV. The cartoon made her giggle a bit. She looked back at Sirius. “I don’t remember anything. Just a lot of booze. And the fall, I remember that. What happened?”
Sirius’ mind quickly went back to the events that happened earlier. She didn’t remember...
“Are you all right?” he asked her gently as he sat beside her. She had finished her drink in one gulp and asked for another.
“Oh, I’m just peachy,” she spat out bitterly. “I mean, my boyfriend just cheated on me with a skank that can only afford to wear imitation!”
Sirius tried to talk to her but all the while, she just talked to her self, mumbled things he couldn’t understand, and only looked at him if she needed confirmation, in which he’d reply “Yeah.” and nod his head fervently.
He looked around the bar. He wanted to dance and look around, but he felt that Marga needed someone to talk to—or at least, someone to sit beside her. He’d been sipping his drink when it happened.
He placed it back down and smacked his lips. It tasted good and fruity. Looking at Marga, he saw that she had a strange speculative expression on her face. He looked to his left and to his right. Yes, she was looking at him. And before he could speak, she grabbed his collar and kissed him.
She was kissing him. He was confused at her sudden outburst at first. I thought she wasn't interested, he thought to himself. He tried to think it over but soon found himself lost in the kiss. Damn, she was a good kisser—the best he had ever encountered, even. The kiss rising in passion, he didn't notice that she was leaning forward, her stool tipped over a bit, to reach him.
She fell.
“Hello, earth to Sirius?” Marga waved a hand in front of his face. “I was asking you what happened.”
Right, he thought. “You really don’t remember anything?”
Her forehead was creased as she tried to remember. “No,” she said, perplexed. “Was there something that I’m supposed to remember? Something important or significant?”
He looked out the window, at the sun that had begun to rise. He gave her a small smile. “No, nothing at all.”
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