Cruel Summer - Lily and James Potter

Chapter 11 - Que Sera Sera

'WELL?'

James stepped further into the kitchen, glaring at them. Remus was dumbfounded, seeing them in that position; he didn't know where to look. He chose to look at his best friend; who was red-faced with anger and his fists clenched in tight balls by his sides. He thought if the situation was any worse, James looked like he would have grabbed one of the Muggle knives and killed them both with it. It occurred to Remus that this could still happen, so he chose to intervene.

'Erm...Prongs, maybe we should just leave th...'

James whirled around to face Remus, and he took a quick step back, 'Leave them?'

'O-or not then,' he mumbled.

Sirius and Lily had pulled away from each other when James had turned back; Lily had pulled her skirt and sweater up from the floor and Sirius was fumbling to do up his Muggle jeans. Somehow this seemed to anger James more as he looked at them again.

'You two make me sick!' he snarled, 'Me and Moony were only in there!'

Lily glanced over to where he was pointing. Somehow she knew that the fact they had only been in the next room wasn't the cause of his fury. It was the same reason he'd moaned her name when she'd caught him in his precarious situation last week. She looked down at the floor, unsure of why she felt guilty but it was there regardless.

James shifted his glare onto Padfoot and narrowed his eyes slightly. Sirius caught the look and frowned, not understanding his best friend.

'What the fuck did you think you were doing, Sirius?' James snarled, stepping towards his best mate; his eyes lit up with fire.

Sirius knew James didn't use his first name just for the hell of it and he could feel the annoyance start to rise up inside him. He looked at the other Marauder defiantly.

'I don't get you!' he stated, 'First, you want me to seduce her...and now...and now what? You don't?'

James took a second to absorb what Sirius had said, and the venomous glare drained from his face, rapidly being replaced with horror.

'What?'

James heard Lily's sharp voice and he glanced at her, recklessly searching his brain for an explanation. The situation at hand flying out of his mind, and the tables quickly turning on him.

Lily frowned at him, questions that needed answers evidently showing in her face. He watched her glance back at Sirius, and then to him again. She looked lost; realisation dawning on her slowly.

'No...' he heard her choke, 'no...you guys are bad but you...you wouldn't do that...would you?'

James felt sick. What could he do? He couldn't do anything. He did ask Sirius to do that, to...seduce her, but he couldn't exactly tell her that he'd changed his mind and just didn't happen to let Sirius know afterwards.

What a great conversation that would be: 'Sorry Lil, forgot to mention to the guy I got to fuck you, that I'd fallen in love with you. Never mind, eh?'

James looked back at the Head Girl and frowned. He thought she'd be angry, want to kill him, throw him out onto the street and leave him there, but she wasn't. No...what was covering the face of the girl he loved was pure hurt.

No Lily, don't look at me like that.

Lily looked away, a strange sense of betrayal flooding through her veins and taking over the alcohol, making it impossible for her to think straight. She'd never in life felt like this, it was sickening. To her, it was the worst form of vengeance.