Wednesday, October 19th, 2016, 9:31 AM

"We need to talk."

The words fly out of Lily's mouth more garbled and incoherent than James had ever imagined possible for such a concise, yet anxiety inducing, sentence.

"Er, yeah, of course, what about?" James replies while his hand jumps to his head and drags through his hair, a habit he couldn't seem to shake off as if it were a vexatious mosquito.

Lily had cornered him outside the creative writing classroom seconds after the bell's shrill sound rang in their ears, and now they stood no more than a meter outside the room. They were surrounded by swarms of students zipping past them, broken bits of conversations and arguments filling their ears and drowning out their own discussion. A mumbled phrase slips out of Lily's mouth and disappears into the din of the bustling hallway as she averts her eyes to her slightly worn sneakers and clutches her sketchbook tighter against her chest.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," James tilts his head closer to the ginger haired teen, hiking his backpack further up his shoulder while he does so.

"Never mind, can you meet me outside the cafeteria around noon? I'll tell you during lunch."

"Yeah, sur-"

"Great," Lily cuts him off before stepping to the side and allowing herself to become swallowed by the throngs of people and movement rippling throughout the building, vanishing from James' line of sight before he could even begin to blink an eye.

"Strange," he mutters to himself, brushing through clusters of people and pushing them aside with his shoulders.

"May I inquire the details of the event that happened to be so obfuscating that it's left you in a solemn, speechless state that contradicts your usual loquacious manner?"

"Hey, Pads," James mumbles, automatically synchronizing his steps with his friend as they fight through populous halls and make their way to class. "It was nothing, don't worry about it."

"Was it Evans?" he asks sympathetically, resting a hand on the shoulder of his brother as a gesture of comfort.

"You know me too well," James cracks a grin, meeting the grey eyes of Sirius as he runs his hand through his hair once more. "She wants to talk to me about something, but I don't know what."

"Whatever it is, it can't be worse than the time McGonagall called you into her office and gave you detention for setting the science classroom on fire and 'sending the whole school into chaos and pandemonium," Sirius consoles, smirking at the memory.

"Padfoot, I was 15! It was a mistake!" James laughs while angling himself to punch Sirius, his fist making immediate contact with his side.

"But you have to admit, nothing can be worse than that conversation!" he insists, ramming his shoulder against that of James'.

"Ah, you're right," he agrees, almost reluctantly, and claps Sirius on the shoulder, unable to conceal the grin blooming on his face.

"Here, have some chocolate," Sirius digs through his pocket and extracts from it a folded, worn out tin foil wrapper concealing a half-eaten chocolate bar.

"That was supposed to be for Moony, wasn't it?" James raises an eyebrow, nibbling on one end of the chocolate.

"It sure was."

"He's not going to be happy."

"Ah, he'll get over hit," Sirius raises a shoulder nonchalantly, the microscopic trace of a smirk washing over his lips like waves crashing against the shoreline at the beach.

"Thanks, mate."

"Anytime, Prongs."

With that, the two brothers approach the classroom of Minerva McGonagall and duck through the doorway, their arms draped around each other's shoulders as they make their way to their desks and James flicks the chocolate wrapper into a dustbin.

The vaguest hint of a smile rests on the teacher's mouth as she tears her gaze away from her students and redirects them to her laptop.

---

12:01 PM

The blissful aftermath from the three bites of chocolate James consumed two and a half hours earlier had long worn off. Instead, he found himself shaking with nerves as he dragged his feet towards the cafeteria, urging his hands to cease their incessant shaking and sweating while praying nobody would heed his relentless, erratic heartbeat.

The view of the double doors leading to the cafeteria become more enlarged with each heavy step as James sweeps his eyes throughout the vicinity, seeking the distinguishable fiery color of his soulmate's hair.

Finally, he picks her out of the crowd and finds her leaning against the wall while absently fiddling with a thin, silver chain around her neck as she darts her eyes around the area, searching for James' tall frame.

James increases his pace, his heart audibly increasing its heavy pounding, and he finds himself standing inches away from her shoulder within the blink of an eye.

"Hey, Lily," he rearranges his face to display his signature dimpled smile and ruffles his hair, hoping to conceal the anxiety hidden behind the gesture with his typical confidence.

"Oh, hey," Lily's face relaxes into a calm grin to match his as the worry wrinkles engraved into her forehead disappear while she tucks her necklace beneath her shirt. "I was beginning to think you forgot."

"Me? Forget? Never," he shakes his head and grins, earning a tinkling laugh from Lily and brightening the glint of adoration in his eyes as his nerves dissipate. "What did you want to talk about?"

She shakes her head, her hair rippling across her back, "I'll tell you inside, it'll be harder for anyone to eavesdrop," she explains, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Rumors spread faster than a wildfire here, as you and I both know.".

"In that case," James steps forward and pushes open the cafeteria doors, "after you."

"Thanks," Lily steps through the door frame while looking behind her to send James a grin. The moment she turns her head around, she's met with a half-eaten, soggy, ketchup covered chicken nugget ricocheting off the center of her nose. She recoils as her nose scrunches and her lips twist in disgust.

James enters the cafeteria and halts his steps directly behind Lily, astonished to see a smudge of something red smeared beneath her nose. "Wh- is- is that blood?" he stammers, his eyes widening in astonishment as his eyebrows jump to his forehead.

"It's ketchup," she grimaces, snatching a napkin from an unobservant student and dabbing the condiment off her face. Suddenly, a handful of carrots whizzes towards James' head, and he ducks out of the way, watching as the vegetables collide against the wall.

"If you're going to start a food fight, at least throw foods that are going to make a mess, otherwise you're taking all the fun out of it!" he grumbles, shaking his head at the long forgotten, abandoned carrots sitting on the floor, eagerly awaiting a victim to trip over them.

"I reckon this isn't your first food fight, is it, Potter?" Lily smirks, ducking another carrot.

"Obviously not, but don't tell anyone that," he smiles, intercepting a chicken nugget and tossing it behind his shoulder, never breaking eye contact with Lily.

"If you don't mind my asking, what kinds of foods are adequate for food fights?"

"Things that make messes, but you can still throw them. Mashed potatoes, half-eaten Jolly Ranchers, gum, opened juice bottles, pizza, chicken wings," he shrugs. "Carrots, on the other hand? Despite being easy to throw and aim, they don't do any damage. In food fights, messes outrank injuries."

"Sage advice from the wise James Potter," Lily laughs. "I should've taken notes."

"Or you could sign up to take Food Fights 101, taught by none other than James Potter himself," he suggests. "Only 50 pounds an hour."

"How many hours is the course?" she asks.

"Oh, I'd say three a day for a week, so 21?"

"Thanks, but I'll pass," Lily tells him.

"Your loss," James smirks at her, realizing he'd never truly appreciate the glimmer of mirth in her bright green eyes until that moment. "Shall we head to the library instead? I reckon our chances of being hit in the head with a wad of gum will be decreased there.

"Sure," she agrees, and with that, the two teens escape the chaos and cacophony of the cafeteria, leaving the carrots to sit on the food stained floor, absent from the minds of the students inhabiting Hogwarts Secondary, including James and Lily.

---

12:06 PM

Lily dumps her belongings on a vacant table while James tips back in his chair, feigning nonchalance to hide the return of his apprehension. He remains unsure on the topic Lily had yet to discuss with him, and frankly, he can't help but admit that it's taken a toll on his nerves, not to mention confidence.

"So," Lily begins, settling herself in a chair and once again fiddling with her thin necklace, "I, erm, wanted to talk about this whole soulmate thing with you, if that's okay? It's just really confusing, I guess."

"Of course," James smiles at her, hoping to ease the tension and calm her nerves, along with his. "What exactly do you want to talk about."

"I, er...." she trails off, biting the corner of her lip and allowing her eyes to wander and explore the surrounding bookshelves. "What are we?" Lily blurts out suddenly, meeting the gaze of James again.

"Well," he begins slowly, "we're homosapiens, that's for sure," he jokes.

"No, what are we, apart from the whole soulmates thing."

"We're whatever you want to be," James answers, stretching his hand across the table to hold hers, no hesitance involved in the gesture for the first time since freshman year.

"In that case, can we be friends, just for now? I know we're supposed to have some weird, unique bond or connection, but I don't want a relationship at the moment. I like you and all, I'm just not ready for shit like that yet. Sorry," she mumbles looking down at the table.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he retracts his hand away from hers. "No pressure. I'll wait, love."

She snaps her head up, "Don't call me that, please. I just- I don't-"

"Sorry. I get it," he grins again, his eyes apologetic.

"Thanks," Lily smiles, appreciating his understanding nature. "This whole thing is just really confusing, you know?" she chuckles awkwardly.

"Yeah," James laughs.

"Love is confusing, isn't it?"

"Truer words have never been spoken," he agrees.

Silence ensues, and the two teens sit, averting their eyes from each other and choosing to gaze around the library instead. Lily begins toying with the thin chain around her neck.

"Lily?" James finally breaks the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Erm, you don't have to answer this, but is there something special about that necklace? It's just that I've never seen you without it."

"Er, yeah, it was from my dad."

"Oh," he nods. "Was it a birthday present?"

"Yeah, for my 14th birthday. That was the last time I saw him."

"Really? Why's that? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, of course," James adds hastily.

"It's, um, it's complicated, to say the least," Lily informs him.

"You can talk to me, if it would make you feel better."

"It's a long story," she explains, sighing ever so slightly while she does so. "A very complicated one too."

James rests his hand on top of hers, providing comfort to the teen. "I've got time."

a/n: I am so sorry for the late update! Lack of motivation and writer's block and shit like that. Anyway, how's everyone's week been? I've decided that my science teacher is definitely part asshole. Hope you enjoyed!

Bye, loves!
~Madeline