Hehehe you guys are in for a wild ride this chapter *satisfied smirk*
I would be so genuinely shocked if any of you saw this coming.
~ Mischief Managed
̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ・☽ ༓ ☾・ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶̶
The next few days, Carina found herself constantly being checked in on by the guys. They never brought up what happened, never confirmed whether James had told them. But she knew. She could tell from the attentive gestures and the regular follow ups. Thankfully, she never once saw pity in their eyes. She wouldn't stand for it if she had- she was not about to be their charity case.
Lily and Alice never caught on to what happened- mostly because Carina recovered so quickly after James put her to bed that day.
The next few days they settled into a slightly awkward but largely hilarious endeavor of navigating their fake relationship. More often than not, James would come find Carina while she was with Lily and Alice and end up spending time with Lily as well. Carina could tell Lily had been notably tense the first few days, but as time went on, she grew more and more accustomed to James out of habit alone. Slowly, Lily would grace him with a friendly smile as he approached them, or would ask him about his day without the usual exasperation in her tone. Moments like that made James come alive- it was all he'd talk about when he reported back to the boys.
Most of the times James would come find them out of nowhere, Carina would leave half way through to go tutor one of the underclassmen. Initially it was unintentional, and James even tried to leave when Carina had to go. But Alice, being the perfect unknowing ally she was, eventually started convincing James to hang around even after Carina needed to leave. This was purely selfish on her part- she merely wanted the chance to pick his brains and determine whether he truly was being good to their friend. But that ultimately gave James more time with Lily, which had been the whole point of their facade anyway.
It was just another ordinary day when the lot of them were sitting for lunch at the Great Hall. Carina was scribbling away on her parchment, wisps of her hair escaping the confines of the loose French braid she fashioned. Remus and Peter were being regaled by Sirius's tale of how he'd talked Moaning Myrtle into scaring away one of his fangirls. And to the surprise of the whole group, James and Lily were conversing amicably about their head duties.
It was a new habit of theirs, but ever since Carina and James had started "seeing each other," Lily made more of an effort to look beyond past grievances and sit with them so Carina didn't feel like she had to choose.
"Carina," James called to her, trying to get her attention.
The girl didn't seem to hear and continued writing away furiously.
"Little star," James tried in a sing-song voice, though her namesake was hardly little.
He'd gotten the attention of the others at the table, yet Carina remained oblivious. He leaned over, childishly tugging on one of the wisps of hair that'd escaped their confines.
"What?" Carina looked up startled, her hair falling into her open mouth.
Everyone chuckled at the disheveled sight of her, and she rolled her eyes at them, finally pushing back her hair.
"We were wondering if you wanted to be on the committee to set up the Ball this year," Lily spoke up. "James and I both agree that you'd be a great leader for the others."
Carina quirked and eyebrow in amusement. She couldn't remember the last time- if ever- Lily said 'James and I.'
"That's sweet of you two, but I can't," she groaned, stretching her neck left and right. "I have to run a study session for the fifth years' potions O.W.L.'s."
YOU ARE READING
Tides of Fate | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀs ᴇʀᴀ
Fanfiction❛ It's not like Carina would go and do something stupid like falling in love with Prongs, would she?❜ It was a terrible idea to date someone who'd been in love with someone else for years, even if it was fake. But James Potter was desperate. It was...
