1962 ── lily evans

NINE

NINE

LENNON'S WARM breath mingled against the cold October air, swirling under streetlights before disappearing into the darkness. Beside her, Sirius strolled along the street lazily, a cigarette hanging limply from his lips as smoke danced from its tip and dissipated into nothingness.

"How far now?" Lennon withheld an eye roll as she heard Lily's whine from behind her.

The ginger girl was walking alongside her boyfriend, head rested against his upper arm as their hands swung, intertwined at their sides. Lennon found it difficult to suppress the waves of jealousy that hit her whenever she saw them together, so she ignored the question and continued to face forward.

"About half a mile," Remus said, looking over at a street sign to confirm he was right - of course, he was.

"That's so far," she groaned, and although everyone else found her whines to be annoying, James smiled down at her and offered her a piggyback instead.

Lily's childish shrieks of glee echoed around them as they walked the deserted streets, and James raced ahead on his slender legs, making her cling on tighter. Despite the air being still, the pace of his run made her hair dance in the man-made wind, vibrant red and orange whipping around her head.

Lennon sighed as the couple gained distance. She leaned against Sirius, who wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulder, providing the slight comfort he knew she needed. The older boy shared a glance with Remus, whose face was etched with concern. Both boys were beginning to suspect that the vague loss of her best friend was a sore topic for Lennon.

"Bloody hell, they're sickening, ain't they?" Peter quipped, jabbing an accusing finger in the direction of the tall boy and the ginger.

"Perhaps a little." Lennon frowned, trying to repress her faint feelings of envy for the boy who had stolen her best friend with such ease it scared her.

"It's okay, Len, you still got us." Sirius squeezed her arm comfortingly, but it did little to provide Lennon with the sympathy he had hoped it would.

"As much as I love you guys," Lennon said, lips turning up into a slight smile as she glanced up  at the three boys. "Lily's my best friend. She's irreplaceable. No wonder James likes her so much."

"Why don't you find someone like she did? Maybe that'd take your mind off her?" Remus suggested, tilting his head past Sirius to share eye contact with the shorter brunette.

"Is this your way of getting in my pants, Lupin?"

The brunette didn't bother glancing over at him, instead moving closer against Sirius to fight the cold - despite her overcoat falling past her knees, it failed to completely block the biting chill of the night. Although she was unaware, the three boys shared an uneasy look that was forgotten about almost as soon as it was shared.

"You wish, love." He smiled over at her and she scoffed as they approached their destination, unraveling herself from the warmth of Sirius' arm.

Up ahead, James and Lily were walking in unison, his arm draped lazily around her shoulder. Lennon managed to catch him pressing a loving kiss to her temple, which she accepted with a girlish giggle. The brunette rolled her eyes, and willed the boys to hurry up in an attempt to separate the couple.

The group of four who had previously been trailing behind sped up slightly, catching up to the couple fairly quickly. Sirius, perhaps more so for Lennon's sake, slid in between the couple, ruffling James' hair to make his dark locks messier than they had been before. Lily tried to hide her discontent as her boyfriend laughed and pulled Sirius into a playful headlock, fighting like brothers as they headed forwards with the group.

Lily slipped backwards, falling in step with Lennon as the boys raced ahead, filled with apprehension and excitement as they considered the approaching events of the night ahead.

"Can't you contain your boyfriend over there? James and I were having a very intellectual conversation over there." Lily frowned, gnawing at her lip in frustration.

Lennon rolled her eyes at Lily's statement - the more she hung out with her, the more annoying and judgemental she discovered her best friend to be. Regardless, something inside her couldn't bring her to resent her in the slightest - Lily Evans was a ray of sunshine that could never be rained on, even when in the foulest of moods.

"He's not my boyfriend, Lil. Besides, can't he hang out with his best friend? Can't I be with mine?"

Lily was surprised by the snappy tone the brunette had suddenly unleashed in her direction. She was normally the most understanding and level-headed person she knew, and yet the Lennon she had just witnessed was one she didn't experience very often - a very different, clearly frustrated girl who missed her friend.

"Of course you can, Len. You think I'm not hanging out with you enough?" Lily raised an eyebrow, shocked at the idea that Lennon truly missed her that much.

"Lily, I've seen you twice in the last three weeks! We used to be together every day."

"And how am I meant to help that?" Lily furrowed her brows, confused - what did Lennon think she could do to fix that, exactly?

"Stop putting boys before me, that's how." The brunette avoided all eye contact, gazing ahead at the loud boys who were visible under the flickering streetlights.

"James isn't just a boy, Len, he's-"

Lily cut herself off as Peter arrived by their side, a large grin on his lips at the prospect of the rally they were soon to arrive at. Both girls shut their mouths, careful not to argue in front of the boy who would more than likely report back to James in an instant.

"Alright, guys? Excited for tonight?" His exhilaration for the upcoming events pushed the negative atmosphere from the air, inviting a determined ambience to surround the group instead.

"Very. Should we catch up?" Lennon suggested, attempting to escape Lily's presence, which was becoming more strained by the second.

Before she could even receive confirmation, she called out into the night for the boys ahead to slow down, picking up her own pace to catch up. Peter and Lily were close on her tail, but she refused to stop and wait, hoping to relieve her mind of the conflicting thoughts that trailed through her brain whenever she thought of the ginger.

Reaching the boys, she slipped in between Sirius and Remus, relaxing considerably as they talked animatedly about the campaign they were rallying for that night. Desperate to clear her head, she joined in the discussion, and together, the group approached their destination, morale high as they marched onwards.

Lennon couldn't help but steal a glance in the direction of the ginger beauty, who had taken position under her boyfriend's wing once more. Withholding a sigh, turned away, adamant she would no longer think of her. Although she didn't truly know it yet, Lennon was being pushed further and further from her best friend as the days passed, and there was nothing she could do but let the storm pass by itself.