tampered | (no subject)

When; Saturday
Rating; PG, at the most
Characters; James (

potionflower)
Summary; James has a bit of a weight on his mind, so Lily offers to listen.
Log;

Lily found James exactly where he said he'd be; sitting on the ground in front of the gates to the Opera House. She could hear the distant sound of music and singing, which was a pleasant replacement of the ticking from the carousel. She wondered how they were supposed to stop the damned thing from counting down with all of the curses and mishaps that seemed to happen here. She assumed that if it was the end of the worlds, this City would be destroyed as well. So those who liked the place - she honestly could not imagine why - would eventually have to pitch in and help.

I'll worry about saving the world later, she thought, walking up to Potter, his messy black hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. He certainly did look troubled, and she wondered what on earth could change his cheerful demeanor so suddenly.

'Hullo, James,' she said in greeting, looking down at him. 'Care if I take a seat?' She gestured to the open ground beside him.

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James couldn't help but smile. Yes,he had been feeling off, yes he was confused and scared by what he saw, but Lily Evans had just asked to sit next to him. Her voice had been a refreshing clam, opposed to the screaming thoughts in his head.

"But of course my love." He patted the ground next to him and rested his head back on the gates.

Lily sat next to him, her legs stretched out as she leant against the metal gates. 'So...how are you enjoying the City so far?' She asked, striking up conversation. She was not used to talking to James in such a civil manner; most of the time she was nagging him and yelling at him to leave poor Severus alone. But here they were, in front of a muggle Opera House, sitting beside each other as if they had always been friends. She prayed to God that there wouldn't be any awkward silences. It was awkward enough as it was without them having anything to talk about.

James just looked at her for a while...staring at her, taking her in. He had remembered why he was so in love with her. And now, with her being so openly kind to him...

...He fell even more in love with everything about her.

He took another moment to think about just how to put it, her question. Bringing his knees to his chest, he let out a sigh. "I hate this bloody place."

He felt sick. To start, he had said everything he had to Remus and Sirius when he was cursed. That was unforgivable. But then, to see Moony and Padfoot together the way that they were...not only was confusion at hand, he had an odd sence of felling left out, not belonging. He was at a complete loss for what to do.

She nodded, watching him intently. 'This City isn't that great of a place. I have some information you might want to know about, but you should be in a better mood to hear it first,' she told him. You didn't just tell a depressed teenager that the world was going to end if they didn't stop a carousel in the middle of a strange city. She had to take this one step at a time, or else she wouldn't have any of his help.

Lily cocked her eyebrow curiously. He looked slightly pale, and his dark eyes seemed extremely troubled. 'James, are you feelng all right?' She asked, laying a tentative hand on his shoulder. If he was ill, she wasn't going to waste time sitting there; she'd bring him to the nearest healer as fast as she possibly could.

"I...I don't know how I feel." He replied honestly. It was odd for him, James wan't used to having deep feelings about anything. He wasn't used to needing to talk to someone, he wasn't used to wanting to be so far away from his friends, and he wasn't used to not know what to do about something. James Potter was depressed.

"This place is good at ruining lives." He tried his best to smile at her; all she got was a pathetic lip twitch. "More than anything, I just want all of us to go home. I want none of this to have ever happened."

'We can't change what's happened, as much as we'd like to,' she told him. 'But there's the future...that's something we can always look forward to.' She wasn't sure if this was the right thing to say, considering their future in particular, but it was the only thing she knew to say.

'What happened?' she asked quietly, curious as to what caused his change in behavior.

James didn't know if he should tell her. He wasn't sure if he could tell her. Frankly, he didn't want to even think about it.

"The past couple of curses really got to me. Funny thing is, I wasn't even effected by the last one, but the Marauders were." He looked away, and when he looked back he smiled at her. "Don't worry about me love. I just need a good nights sleep." Not to mention, a place to sleep. He reminded himself.

'Why don't we find a spare room in one of the buildings?' she suggested. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. 'I d-don't mean it like that,' she said hurriedly, turning from him to hide the flush in her cheeks. 'I mean, you obviously don't want to go back to the flat, so, um...'

Now you've done it, Evans, she thought to herself miserably. Gotten yourself into more trouble than you can handle.

He gently turned her to face him once again. "It's okay love," he said softly. "I understand."

He stood up and held out his hand to help her up. "Come on, I'll take you home."

She stared at his outstretched hand for a moment, then took it, getting to her feet. 'You're welcome to stay awhile, if you want,' she said, trying to gain her composure. 'I'm sure no one will mind.'

She wondered when it would be good to tell him about he end of the world. Now? Later? She wasn't sure. She best keep it to herself until the time was right.

"No love," He thought. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I'll survive alright." He smiled at her and led her down the street. "Thank you though."