The Curtain Call
Chapter Six: An Overactive Imagination
The following Friday, two weeks before the final performance, James had finished the majority of the set midway through the rehearsal. After moving every prop “ without any accidents “ onto the stage, James joined Mr. Evans in the front row of the theater.
“How’s it going?” James asked as he plopped into a red chair beside Mr. Evans, greeting Lily’s father like a friend instead of an adult.
Lily and Peter were holding hands onstage, speaking their dialogue with enthusiasm.
“Eh…” Mr. Evans shrugged, drumming his fingers on his notebook. He leaned over in his chair and rested his head on his hand. After Lily and Peter finished the scene, Mr. Evans snapped his notebook closed and dropped it onto the ground. “Alright “ I want you both to go back and do that bit one more time, but Peter “ you really need to feel the emotion this time. Alright?”
“Yeah,” Peter muttered, scratching his head. He returned back to his original spot next to Lily and grumbled about redoing the scene again.
“And “ begin.”
“I can’t keep you here any longer,” Peter said in a loud voice so that the entire room could hear him. “You mean too much to me, Adelaide.”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t understand, Eddie. Why are you letting me walk away? Don’t you want your ransom money?”
“Because I love you!” he shouted in Lily’s face. “I love you, Adelaide!”
Peter stepped away from Lily and looked out into the audience. He stammered through his next few lines, trying to remember the words he didn’t seem to have fully memorized. “Ever since I laid eyes on you, I haven’t been able to take them away.” His brow furrowed together for a moment before recalling his next words. “And these past few weeks have been like heaven “ but I can’t stand to see your family suffer without you any longer.” Peter returned to Lily and picked up her hands. “Do you understand now? I got attached, and if I wait any longer for ransom money, I’ll never be able to let you go. I love you!” he shouted again and then kissed Lily.
James shuddered at Peter’s “emotional” acting.
Mr. Evans groaned into his hands. He threw James an exhausted look, appearing very disappointed that after weeks and weeks of practice, Peter still did not have an understanding of the scene.
“Hey “ James.”
James tore his eyes away from the stage to find Jimmy, kneeling on one knee beside him, trying to whisper soft enough not to distract Mr. Evans. The boy started to run a hand covered in dried blue paint through his curly hair, biting his lower lip.
“What is it?” James asked sharply, sounding slightly irritated at the interruption. He had been focusing entirely on the performance and had been startled by the intrusion.
“One of the sets,” Jimmy said in his soft, Irish accent. He started to stand and point in the opposite direction of the room. “I don’t think it - ”
“Can it wait a bit?” James asked very impatiently. “I was trying to watch this for just a minute.”
Jimmy started to open his mouth to respond, but Mr. Evans’ loud voice cut him off. Instead, he just stood beside James and watched the scene before him with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting until James was ready to speak again.
“Peter,” Mr. Evans called, loud enough for the actor to hear him clearly. He slowly stood up and approached the stage. “Princess Adelaide is your true love,” Mr. Evans explained to him. “She’s “ your love.” He scratched his head, unable to put it simpler. “She has transformed your character into a new man “ a better man.”
Peter slowly nodded. “Ok,” he shrugged.
Mr. Evans held up both hands in question. “Do you understand what I’m trying to get at here?” he asked, wishing that he had finally gotten through to the boy.
Peter started to nod again in response, and then slowly shook his head.
“Imagine,” a new voice piped up from the dark audience, “you win the lottery.”
Lily squinted into the darkness and was surprised to find James, now standing just behind her father. Jimmy stood in the background, jaw dropped and speechless to find James speaking like a director would. “Imagine what you could do with the amount of money you win in a lottery.”
Peter’s lips curled into a smile.
“A girl comes along - ” James pointed to Lily “ - and she’s being held hostage.” James looked back at Peter and gestured back and forth between him and Lily. “You have to give up every cent of your lottery money to get this girl back.” James continued moving closer to the stage, very slowly. He was now standing just beside Mr. Evans.
“And you know what?” James whispered. “You do it.”
Peter’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows shot up into his forehead. “Why?” he asked, mystified at the idea of anyone ever wanting to give up so much money.
“Because you love her,” James pointed a finger at Lily, “more than any amount of money in the world!”
Peter shook his head. “But why would you want to give up that much money?” he nearly shouted, sounding like he was about to laugh. “What an absurd idea…”
“Look,” James threw his hands up into the air, “it may not have been exactly that way in this play, but it’s along the same lines, isn’t it?” James finally approached the stage and leaned up against it, speaking directly to Peter. “Your character hardly has any items of value “ he’s only a thief! Yet he’s willing to let a princess walk free because he loves her more than any amount of money she would be worth.” James backed up with a casual shrug, speaking just as loudly as before. “You’re head over heels for this girl and you would do anything for her.” James suddenly lowered his voice to a whisper, causing everyone to lean in to hear him.
“Show it.”
Lily felt her own jaw drop, feeling like she was unable to hold it up after the shock she had just received. James’ words had her floored; never had she dreamed she would live to see the day that James turned into a romantic. No wonder all of those girls at school adored him…
“A-alright,” Mr. Evans spoke suddenly, clearing his throat. The actors onstage “ and offstage “ broke out of their trance, shaking themselves awake again. Mr. Evans turned away from James and looked at Lily and Peter onstage with a smile. “Let’s try it again, shall we?”
Peter and Lily returned to their original spots onstage and started the scene over.
“Great speech, by the way,” Mr. Evans complemented James, beaming. “I think we were all moved.”
James smiled and looked up at the characters onstage.
Within seconds, however, James was shaking his head in disapproval and muttering, “No, that’s not it…”
“Was that better?” Peter called out into the audience at the end of his scene. He stuck his hands into his pockets and started to slouch, looking bored.
Mr. Evans nodded slightly with a forced smile. “It improved,” he finally said.
It had improved, James agreed with that statement. But this was the moment of the play when the audience was supposed to be swept up in the story “ unable to think of anything but the story!
James turned around and, sure enough, two rows of teenage girls, that had nothing to do but wait for their scene, were patiently sitting behind Mr. Evans in the red chairs. While watching the latest romantic scene between the princess and the thief, James hadn’t heard a single one of them sigh or lean over to whisper and giggle to their friends when the actors onstage had kissed.
And that was not what should have happened.
Jimmy started drumming his hands on his legs, nervously. Finally, he stepped towards James and tried to get his attention once more. “James “ I really think you need to - ”
James calmly held a hand up to Jimmy, stopping him midsentence. James was too busy trying to think, weighing options in his mind. He swallowed and opened his mouth very slowly. For a moment, Jimmy thought that James was about to answer him, but instead, he turned to his other side.
“Uh “ Mr. Evans?”
The weary man ran a hand through his thin hair and turned to James. “Yes?”
“May I?” James pointed up at the stage.
“Well, I “ uh, yes, I suppose…” Mr. Evans stammered, unsure of what James’ plan was.
The room watched in a curious silence as James walked directly to the stairs leading to the stage, skipping two at a time.
James walked to the center of the stage and was instantly blinded by the lights from above. He impulsively held a hand up to shield the beams, but was soon comfortable and brought his arm down.
He turned to look at Peter. All James had to do was nod, and Peter knew that he had to leave the stage and wait in the audience. And, without any complaint, Peter did as he was told.
The two rows of girls in the red chairs started to whisper frantically as they realized that James was replacing Peter in the scene. None of the actors in the play “ with the exception of Lily “ had ever seen James act before, and were extremely curious to see what he could do. As extra cast members behind the curtains heard the buzz in the audience, they, too, appeared quickly to see what was happening, creating an even larger audience than before.
James turned to Lily and stepped toward her.
“What are you doing?” Lily whispered frantically to James. Her face burned, but not from the heat of the lights shining brilliantly on her already warm face. She could have sworn her heart was about to burst from her chest it was thudding so rapidly. What James was doing was not normal. He couldn’t possibly be doing what she thought he was about to do…
“Peter isn’t doing it right,” he whispered back to her, maintaining a gentle calmness to his voice that Lily had not mastered. “He needs to see an example.”
Lily swallowed.
“Look, don’t worry,” James took her hands in his and calmed her. “Just pretend we’re practicing like we do every day after rehearsal.” He bent his knees slightly and cocked his head to the side, trying to look closer into Lily’s eyes. He noticed a troubled look flit across her face. “Are you alright?”
Lily nodded hesitantly, swallowing. She couldn’t explain her nerves. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t comfortable acting with James. After all, she had been running lines with him after every rehearsal for two weeks, now, and they had been getting along as if they had been friends for years. They were no longer stepping on egg shells around each other. They could have a serious conversation one minute and then poke fun at each other the next, but they always managed to remain comfortable around each other.
But now…
“I guess I’m just not used to having an audience.”
“You’ve had one the whole time,” James told her calmly, “you just never knew they were there.”
Lily nodded again and looked out at her father, waiting for a command to begin. But it was James who took control.
“Alright,” he spoke in a louder voice so the entire room could hear, “I’ll start.”
James turned to Lily and squeezed her hands. The room grew quiet and James stepped closer to Lily. “Ready?” he whispered.
It’s been two weeks “ I almost have everything memorized! So why am I so nervous about doing this one scene?
Lily made a strangled noise, hoping James took that answer as a yes.
He began.
“I can’t keep you here any longer,” he recited in a firm, but gentle voice. No one in the audience made a movement. James paused and opened his mouth like he was about to say something. Finally, he dropped Lily’s hands and stepped backwards. He held a hand up to his hair and shook his head, looking as if he had been defeated. “You mean too much to me, Adelaide.”
Lily stepped forward towards James. “I don’t understand, Eddie,” she stammered, acting thoroughly confused. She picked up her hand and gently touched James on the shoulder, but he recoiled from her touch and moved further away, trying to distance himself. “Why are you letting me walk away?” Lily’s voice rose with every word. “Don’t you want your ransom money?”
“Because I love you!” James shouted, sounding as if he had been harboring this secret for years, and it was finally coming out into the open. He slowly turned back towards Lily, anxious to see her reaction.
His voice had reverberated off of the walls, sending chills down everyone’s spine, including Lily’s. He took one step toward her, his eyes sparkling radiantly in the stage lights. “I love you, Adelaide,” he spoke much more gently. And then, as if he was confused, James spun away from her watery eyes and walked towards the edge of the stage, looking out into the audience. His hands were held at his sides, but they were clenched into fists as if he were in way over his head. “Ever since I laid eyes on you,” he whispered, looking down at the floor, “I haven’t been able to take them away.”
James turned back to Lily; she was still standing in the center of the stage, speechless and unmoving. Her legs started to tremble beneath her and her short breaths caught in her chest.
“And these past few weeks have been like heaven,” James whispered urgently, as if it were the last thing he would ever say to her, “but I can’t stand to see your family suffer without you any longer.” He ran back to Lily and scooped up her hands, lacing his fingers through hers. “Do you understand now?” he cried desperately, the evidence of tears coating his voice. “I got attached and if “ if I wait any longer for ransom money, I’ll never be able to let you go.” He pulled his hands away and threaded one through her auburn hair, cascading past her shoulders and down to the middle of her back, while the other gently cradled her cheek. Lily gasped at the touch of his pleasantly warm fingers; it had not been what she was expecting.
James took one step in, towards Lily, and pressed his head up against her forehead. He smiled discreetly as if he were sharing a private secret with her.
“I love you.”
Lily’s eyes closed. She moved closer.
“And then,” James spoke loudly, abruptly pulling his hands from Lily’s face and stepping several paces away to face the audience, “you kiss her.”
The crowd of people gathered in front of the stage started to clap enthusiastically, every single one of them on their feet.
Lily’s eyes quickly fluttered open in surprise and reality caught up with her. She had never seen a more beautiful performance, even during their private rehearsals. Her legs had gone weak and her body felt like it was about to collapse from the intense emotion that she was now feeling; she felt the strong urge to let herself sit for a moment and catch her breath, but fought against it.
In fact, Lily had been so moved by James’ performance, she had almost believed that he was talking about her personally “ that he actually loved her.
Almost.
James smiled, a little embarrassed by the attention that he was receiving. The original crowd had easily doubled since he had started the scene.
“Hey, great job,” James turned back to Lily. He gave her a nudge on the arm and spoke in a quiet tone. “I thought that was by far the best that you’ve done,” he smiled kindly. “It looks like that practice has really paid off.” He grinned.
“Yeah “ yeah, you too,” Lily nodded with a smile, trying to steady her pulse. “You weren’t too bad yourself.” She quickly turned towards the back of the stage where she knew James could see nothing but her back and dropped the smile. She closed her eyes, trying her best to refocus her thoughts.
“That “ was “ amazing!” Peter shouted to James once he ran onstage. He slapped James several times on the back with a great amount of enthusiasm. “Why haven’t you ever tried out for the play before? You would’ve been fantastic!”
“I wasn’t interested,” James shrugged. He slowly backed away from the crowd forming on the stage. He hadn’t done this to get attention “ he had only wanted to show Peter an example!
“It was breathtaking,” Jess cut into the conversation. She slipped in front of Peter, now standing directly in front of James. She smiled seductively, batting her eyelashes. “I was moved,” Jess whispered, leaning close to his ear and trying to snag James’ hand amongst the confusion onstage.
“Well “ thanks,” James said loudly, pushing away from Jess. He pulled his hand back and tried pushing through the crowd towards the exit, while explaining, “I don’t normally like to act “ my place is backstage.”
“Nah!” Peter shouted, finding his way next to James once more. “You deserve to be front and center in the spotlight!”
James shook his head rapidly, made a beeline toward the front of the stage, and leaped off, landing upright on his feet. He escaped the crowd for only a moment, nearly barreling down Mr. Evans in his rush to avoid the group. He wished he could hide himself behind the tall, thin man.
“Alright, alright,” Mr. Evans waved his hands, sensing James’ discomfort with the brewing situation. “Let’s just keep moving, shall we? Peter, we are going to come back to this scene later, so be ready “ remember James’ example.”
James was grateful that Mr. Evans had been able to stop the large mob from hunting him down. He wouldn’t have escaped any other way. But before James could leave, the man stopped him.
“You know,” Mr. Evans leaned over after the actors had resumed their scenes, “that really was one hell of a performance you had up there.”
James’ eyes darted back to Mr. Evans. The man just swore. Never in his life had he heard Lily’s father swear! Of course, all he had said was “hell” “ but that was major for Mr. Evans!
He took this as a compliment.
“Well “ thank you, sir,” James smiled.
Mr. Evans sat down in his chair with a smirk on his face. “You could be a great director someday.”
James grinned.
*
“Well, that, certainly, was unexpected…”
James punched Jimmy in the shoulder, rolling his eyes. They were making their way to the back of the stage, headed towards the prop room. “I was just trying to show Peter what to do,” James whispered, keeping his voice down while others onstage continued rehearsing the show.
“That’s right,” Jimmy muttered, smiling to no one in particular. “The fact that it was Lily Evans you were with made no difference in the situation, I’m sure.”
“Well,” James stammered, his ears going pink, “she and I have been practicing every night after each rehearsal,” he explained. “It was certainly much easier to just show Peter what to do rather than trying to get it through his thick skull “ trust me.”
Jimmy’s voice switched from a whisper to his normal voice once they were out of earshot. His eyes danced with amusement. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy towards Peter?”
“Oh, come off it…”
Jimmy did not hide his laugh.
The boy stepped into the brightly lit, set room, heading towards their primary reason for wandering around backstage in the first place.
“So, what is it “ what’s so important that you just had to talk to me?” James asked, trying, rather unsuccessfully, to hide his irritation from being bothered earlier.
“It’s the backdrop,” Jimmy said in a softer, much more fearful voice than before, as if everything had come flooding back to him. He put aside his jokes and grew serious. “I “ I think we have to start over.”
James could have sworn his eyes were about to pop out. The entire crew had been working collectively on the backdrop of the play for nearly a month, now, trying to add as much detail to it as possible. James knew that he could have easily used magic to fix anything that had happened to the backdrop, but not without raising a great suspicion after Jimmy “ a Muggle “ had already seen the damage done to it.
“What happened to it?” James spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, silently weighing his odds at using a successful memory charm on Jimmy.
“I was just working on it, see?” Jimmy started in a small voice, holding his hands out with a shrug as they entered the room. James, again, noticed the boy’s blue hands that he had seen “ and had ignored “ earlier. Now, however, James was starting to worry that Jimmy’s hands had something to do with the accident that had just occurred.
“I was painting up there,” Jimmy pointed to the top of the ladder, set up in the corner of the room. The tarp was hanging just beside it, nearly complete. “I went to dip the brush in the paint can, and it just “ fell.”
James saw, in horror, the can of blue paint lying on its side on the floor; he could only imagine what the backdrop looked like from up close.
He wasted no time running to the opposite end of the room, anticipating the accident he would meet. He stepped through some drying paint on the floor, nearly slipping and falling in the puddle of blue, but James expertly slid into place, just in front of the tarp.
He paused, frowning.
“Jimmy “ what are you talking about?”
Jimmy blinked. He was still standing at the door, almost too nervous to approach James. “What do you mean?” he asked in response to James’ question.
“There’s nothing here,” James breathed, looking very relieved. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the tarp.”
Jimmy did not believe him. He walked swiftly to James’ side of the room, skidding to a halt in front of the tarp.
He gasped.
“But “ there was paint “ all over it!” Jimmy could not believe what he was seeing. The canvas looked normal! Nothing had happened to it!
“Maybe you just over exaggerated everything in your mind,” James shrugged. “I think it looks fine, Jimmy. You probably just thought you saw paint on the backdrop, but,” he pointed to the mess at their feet, “it only fell on the floor.”
Jimmy scratched at his head, hiding his confused face. He could have sworn he saw paint splatter the tarp!
“Yeah, I guess,” Jimmy muttered. “I might have just made it up.”
James thumped his friend on the back with a smile and started to walk away. Once he was a safe distance from the mess on the floor that Jimmy had created, he pulled off his shoes and took them outside to clean the blue paint off of them. “Just don’t scare me next time, alright?”
“Uh “ yeah,” Jimmy stammered, staring fixedly at the backdrop.
And then he, too, backed away from the suspicious looking tarp and pulled off his blue shoes, casting one final glance over his shoulder at the strange canvas.
*
“Good work!” Mr. Evans shouted to the group. “Now, remember “ James is going to teach everyone the dance sequence next week, so be ready and bring your dancing shoes!” Mr. Evans laughed at his words. “I’ll see you next Monday “ have a good weekend!”
The crowd dispersed and Mr. Evans sought out his daughter, finding her just offstage, putting her sword away. “Hey, sweetheart,” he smiled and hugged her. He gave her a kiss on the forehead. “You have fun with James, alright?”
Lily backed away from her father and raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” she asked. Lily had never told her father that she stayed after play practice to run her lines with James. And, as far as she knew, James had never mentioned anything to her father, either. “What are you talking about, dad?”
“Oh, you just have fun,” Mr. Evans winked at her. “I’ve got an appointment to get our television fixed this afternoon; I need to get going or I’ll be late!” He waved hurriedly and jetted out of the theater.
Lily was puzzled. Nothing seemed to make sense. And then, slowly, with a suspicious smile, she turned towards the room offstage and walked towards it. What did James tell my father that he didn’t tell me?
Before her foot had even left the ground, a small girl, possibly twelve, ran over to Lily and cut in front of her. She started to hop in one spot, her ponytail bouncing up and down.
“Oh my gosh,” she grinned, looking straight up at Lily with wide, watery, blue eyes, “that was so good!”
Lily blinked several times, unsure of what the girl was talking about.
“I saw you and James Potter!” she squealed. “That scene was fabulous!”
“Oh,” Lily blushed, looking down at her feet. “Thank you.”
“And between you and me,” the girl leaned closer to Lily, standing on her tiptoes, “I think that James should be on the stage instead of Peter any day.”
Lily took a step away from the excited girl, feeling much too close for comfort. “I’ll be sure to pass that information along to James,” she smiled. “He would be happy to hear it.” Lily tried to step around the girl but she cut her off again.
“Especially with you,” she beamed. “There was some sort of chemistry between you and James. It was almost like you actually were in love!”
And then suddenly, the girl reached out and clutched Lily’s wrists in a death grip. “Oh my gosh,” she lowered her voice in a frantic whisper. “You are, aren’t you?”
“I am…” Lily trailed off, trying to figure out what the girl was jabbering on about. The girl’s previous words finally came back to Lily and she froze. She shook her head slowly at first and then rapidly. “No,” she corrected the girl. “We’re “ James and I, we’re not “ we’re not in love.”
“Yes, yes you are!” the girl nodded her head eagerly. “I can see it in your eyes! But don’t worry,” she whispered, making a show of zipping her lips, “I’ll keep it a secret. I promise.”
Lily shook her head again. “It’s called good acting,” she informed the girl, and quickly passed her before she could stop Lily again.
James must be better than I thought he was to get that sort of a compliment, Lily thought to herself, stuffing the girl’s accusations in the back of her mind.
A second girl walked past Lily, making a face and slamming her shoulder into Lily’s. It didn’t take a genius to realize that this girl was none other than Jess Marzoli. Without showing any sign of pain, Lily resolved to bite down hard on her lip, controlling her anger.
She stared hard at the girl following Jess; it was Rosie.
Before Lily had a chance to scowl at Rosie, the blonde-haired girl leaned over and whispered softly, “Nice scene today, Lily.”
The surprise of this statement held Lily in her place for several seconds. By the time she had processed what Rosie had said to her, the two girls had already stepped off of the stage and were now proceeding through the theater aisles.
Lily turned and spotted Rosie, obediently following Jess and acting as if nothing had happened. And Lily knew that if she were ever to approach Rosie in front of Jess, Rosie would never admit to having said anything to Lily.
But Lily smiled all the same.
“Hey, Lily,” Jimmy’s voice reached her ears. He was carrying a wooden set piece that resembled a green shrub.
“How are you doing today, Jimmy?” Lily asked, genuinely curious. For the past week, Jimmy had been the only person in the cast “ besides James “ that spoke to her as a genuine friend.
“Oh, I’m “ fine, I guess,” Jimmy tried to shrug, shifting the large object in his arms from side to side. “This is just “ a little heavy,” he gasped, dropping the set piece to the floor a bit harder than expected.
“No…” Jimmy moaned as he fell to his knees, studying the damage he had inflicted on the fake shrub. “I just fixed it “ please don’t be broken again…” He looked at the corner of the wooden block that had splintered, leaving a rough edge. “Oh, damn.”
Lily’s green eyes flashed. “Jimmy,” she scolded the young boy. “You aren’t old enough to be swearing!”
Jimmy tore his eyes away from the damaged set and stood up, staring at Lily. “Why not?” he asked innocently, blinking. “James does it all the time.”
Lily sucked in a breath and held her hands on her hips. “Well, he shouldn’t, particularly when younger children are around.”
“I don’t mind,” Jimmy crossed his arms. It was clear he did not intend on backing down anytime soon.
“James is six years older than you, Jimmy!” Her eyes found the room that James was sure to be in, and she narrowed her eyes, intending on visiting there next. “James should know better than to swear in front of an impressionable eleven-year-old, and you should know better than to listen to him!”
Jimmy looked offended. “First of all, I am not impressionable. And, for your information,” he added with a sense of pride is his voice, “I’ll be twelve in two months!”
“That won’t change anything,” Lily held up a finger. “He should “ ”
“Oh, give it up,” Jimmy rolled his eyes. “I won’t change “ and you know James won’t change either. So what’s the point in arguing about it?”
Lily dropped her finger in defeat. Jimmy was right, after all. The boys wouldn’t change their ways, no matter how hard she tried to convince them.
“Fine,” Lily mumbled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and trying to hold her head high. “Be that way.”
Jimmy smirked. “I’m glad that you see my point of view.”
Lily huffed, blowing an auburn lock of hair out of her face.
“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Jimmy started, turning around, “I’ve got to take this back to the - ”
Lily frowned at the sudden stop. “What is it?”
Jimmy spun around in a circle, looking panicked. “I put that bush “ right here “ didn’t I?” Jimmy glanced at Lily, trying to figure out what had happened to the set piece he put down just behind him.
Lily scanned the stage. It was nowhere in sight.
“I dropped it,” Jimmy muttered to himself, retracing his steps. “I turned around to talk to you.” He spun to face Lily again. “And then I was going to take it back to the set room.” Jimmy turned to look at the room offstage and gasped, finding the same, broken shrub sitting at the door to the set room, waiting to be taken inside.
“How on earth…”
“Did someone pick that up when I wasn’t looking?” Lily asked curiously.
Jimmy’s wide eyes reflected her confusion. “They must have…” He started to drift into a thoughtful silence, but quickly recovered.
“I need a break,” Jimmy finally decided. “I’ve been working in this heat for far too long “ it’s starting to affect me.” The boy turned to face Lily. “Tell James I left, alright?” Jimmy nodded with a small wave in Lily’s direction. “I’ll see you on Monday.”
Lily waved back, slightly surprised by his sudden departure. She shook herself and returned back to the task at hand.
She approached the back room. It looked empty without any of the set pieces to clutter it up. In the middle of the room, she found James bent over a large duffle bag. He hoisted it up, over his shoulder, and turned, surprised to find that Lily was waiting for him.
She stood silently in the doorway, leaning gracefully on the doorframe with her arms and legs crossed and a suspicious look on her face.
“Maybe you could tell me,” Lily started, entering the room, “why my father told me to have fun this afternoon?” James made a big show of stuffing his hands in his pockets, like he was thinking very hard on her question, and started to look at everything in the room but Lily. “With you?” Lily emphasized.
“Gee,” he said with wide eyes and an innocent voice, “I have no idea what your dad is talking about.”
Lily rolled her eyes and stepped away from the doorframe and into the room. While Lily had been talking to him, James had dropped the bag back on the floor.
“What’s in the bag?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
Lily raised an eyebrow at James. Unfolding her arms, she reached for the duffle bag and tried to unzip it. James, instead, lunged for the bag and sat on it, blocking her path.
“Tell me what’s in it,” Lily demanded with bright eyes.
James firmly shook his head, sticking his nose in the air. “It’s a surprise.”
Lily felt a smile cross her face. It’s always a surprise with him… “It is, is it?” As fast as she could, Lily tried to knock James off of the bag, hitting him in the stomach when he had his guard down, so she could peek inside of it for herself.
For several minutes, Lily and James laughed as they playfully wrestled around with each other on the floor.
“I will see what’s in there,” Lily told James with a giggle as he tried to grab her hands and hold them behind her back.
“Not now, you’re not,” he grinned as she managed to weasel her way out of his tight grip. She spun around, trying to pull away, but James grabbed her waist and pulled her right back towards him.
Lily heard a high-pitched giggle.
She put both of her hands on James’ shoulders to stop him, and looked towards the door with wide eyes, as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the visitor and she couldn’t help but smile to herself.
“Uh…” James’ hands did not move from Lily’s waist. He looked back and forth between a smiling Lily and the short girl, bubbling with laughter in the doorway. Finally, he asked, “Is she a friend of yours?”
The girl was grinning from ear to ear. She waved quickly at Lily and then held a finger up to her lips. She moved her hand from one side to the other as if she were zipping her lips, and then giggled again.
Lily laughed. She let her head fall weakly onto James’ shoulder and gave the girl a thumbs up sign. It was no use trying to correct the girl. She had, of course, come at the worst possible time. Lily tried to imagine it from the young girl’s perspective. Lily and James were laughing, inches away from each other. And she knew that James’ hands on her waist only helped, if anything, to persuade this girl that Lily and James were more than friends.
“Who was that?” James asked, very confused at the silent communication between the girls. Lily was laughing softly into his shoulder. He couldn’t help but smile at Lily’s contagious laugh.
“This girl,” Lily pointed to the now-empty doorway after she managed to control her laughs.
“I thought that much was obvious,” James smirked as Lily raised her head from his shoulder.
“She came up to me less than five minutes ago,” Lily continued explaining with a sigh. She lowered her voice. “She thinks we’re in love because of that scene earlier “ can you believe it? I told her it was acting…”
James nodded slowly and then laughed. “Yeah, that’s “ that’s funny,” he smiled weakly.
“I know, isn’t it?” Lily laughed loudly. “She kept saying that she wouldn’t tell anyone that I liked you and she would keep it a surprise. Hence,” Lily motioned again towards the door, “the signals back and forth.”
James nodded, understanding now. “So, we have a following, now?” he asked with a smile. He dropped his hands from Lily’s waist and backed away, creating a significant amount of space between the two of them.
“I wouldn’t say that we do,” Lily shrugged. “More like you do.” She shook her head, looking very amused. “You’re as popular with the ladies in the Muggle world as you are in the Wizarding world, James,” she said softly, not wanting anyone to overhear her words.
“Well, what can I say?” James winked playfully. “I’ve got the charm. Not everyone can be blessed like I am,” he smirked.
Lily jabbed him in the side with her elbow and laughed.
“Hey!” James protested. “Do you not remember my injury?”
“Oh, please,” Lily rolled her eyes. “It’s been weeks “ I think it’s healed.”
James opened his mouth, as if he was about to retort, but couldn’t find the words to say. Finally, he closed his mouth and decided it was better to stay silent rather than use any sort of comeback he could think of at the moment.
“So, when are you going to tell me what’s in this bag?” Lily pointed at the lump of a duffle bag. She nudged it with the tip of her toe, but didn’t open it.
“Let’s see…” James looked carefully at his watch. “About twenty minutes, I’d say.”
“Twenty minutes?” Lily raised an eyebrow.
James rolled his eyes and picked up the bag. He threw it over his shoulder and carried it out the door. “You’re just full of questions today, aren’t you?”
Lily shrugged and followed James onto the stage. “Same as always,” she answered.
James walked through the empty audience and towards the front doors of the theater. He turned and realized that Lily was no longer following him; she stood center stage, scratching her head.
“Well, aren’t you coming?”
“Where are you going?” she shouted back. “I thought we would practice lines first!”
James grinned and shook his head. “Not today!”
Lily jumped off of the stage and ran to meet up with James. She quickly swiped the hair falling down her back into a messy ponytail, tucking the loose strands behind her ears. “Are we going to another museum?” she asked rather enthusiastically. She tried not to sound too excited about spending another afternoon learning about history, but she couldn’t deny that she had actually had fun with James the previous week.
James didn’t miss her enthusiasm and smiled. “Better,” he said. “Well “ I hope.”
“You “ hope?” Lily bit her lip.
James put a hand in the middle of her back and ushered her through the door. If she kept asking questions like this, they were never going to leave! “It all depends on the conditions,” James shrugged. “Personally, I think the conditions are ideal today, but we’ll see…”
They stepped out into the heat. Lily squinted as James took his hand off of her back and continued walking forward towards the street. “What conditions?” Lily asked. “Like the…” Lily’s voice trailed off as soon as she saw where James was headed. “Is that yours?”
James grinned. He pulled out a set of car keys and opened the trunk of a gleaming, silver car. “My dad’s,” James said simply and stuffed the duffle bag into the small trunk space. He moved hastily to the passenger door and opened it politely for Lily. He bowed deeply and held a hand out for Lily to take. “My dear.”
Lily hesitantly stepped forward and took James’ hand. He gently guided her into the passenger seat and closed the door for her. He ran around to the other side of the car and jumped excitedly into the driver’s seat. Fumbling with the keys, James finally pulled out the correct car key and stuck it into the ignition.
“So “ you can drive?” Lily asked, stunned. Nearly all of the students that attended Hogwarts found that driving a car was a waste of time when they could easily Apparate “ herself included! Because she was a Muggle-born, Lily had been taught to drive by her father and was, now, officially a licensed driver. But Lily never would have guessed that anyone from such a prominent wizard family would ever learn to drive before they were an adult.
“My dad loves Muggles,” James explained. “He got his license several years ago, and then decided that I had to have one ‘just in case’. Personally,” James turned the key, firing up the engine, “I think it’s because he’s obsessed with Muggles.”
James revved the car engine and grinned. “But I also believe that driving gives you a great feeling of power that nearly everyone at Hogwarts will never be able to imagine.”
Lily paled at these words. She had seen James fly before; the fact that he now had the power to drive made her nervous.
Her hand automatically went to her seatbelt latch; she double checked to make sure that it was secured tightly around her waist. She then put her other hand on the handle above her window “ just in case.
“Just “ curious,” Lily chuckled nervously. “How many tickets or accidents have you ever gotten into?” she asked with a terrified tremor in her voice. “Just curious, of course,” she hastily added.
“Well,” James said with a casual sigh. He leaned back in his chair and shifted the gear into drive. “In the past few days “ none.”
Lily’s hand flew instinctively to James’ hand. She shifted the gear back into park and looked frantically into James’ face.
He cracked a smile, unable to keep a straight face any longer.
Lily deflated into her chair as relief swept over her. “You liar,” Lily slugged him in the arm. She started to relax and laughed.
Smoothly, James pulled out of their parking space and into the flowing traffic without a hitch. “Never been in an accident,” he boasted proudly. “I was close once, but that old lady just wasn’t watching when she backed out.”
Lily hid her smile.
James flipped on a radio station and merged onto a busier street.
“So where are we going?” Lily asked with a smile.
“Question after question,” James rolled his eyes, pressing his foot down on the acceleration pedal. “Do you ever give up, Lily?”
She shook her head rapidly, causing the red curls in her ponytail to fall out.
“Well,” James grinned, “you’ll just have to wait.”
*
“Are we there yet?”
James turned the car onto a gravel road. “We’ve been traveling for fifteen minutes, Lily.” He shook his head with a smile. “I would have thought you, of all magical people, would be more patient with cars.”
“Nope,” Lily shook her head firmly. “I think I’m probably worse, because I fell into the magical lifestyle, not the Muggle lifestyle.”
James laughed.
“Where are we?” Lily asked. She pressed her face up against the window and squinted outside. Large clouds of dust were kicked up into the air as James drove over the gravel. “We must be in the middle of nowhere,” she mused.
“Well,” James shrugged, “not quite.”
Lily spun back in her chair and faced James with a curious look. “Where are you taking me?”
“Do you honestly think that after asking me forty-four times that my answer is going to change?” James pulled his eyes from the road to give Lily a look.
“Probably not,” she muttered under her breath. “But one can always dream,” she added hopefully.
“Well, keep dreaming,” he smirked.
Several minutes later, James pointed straight in front of him and said, “There it is.”
Lily leaned forward in her seat. “There’s what? Is that where we’re going?”
James nodded.
“I can’t see,” she muttered. Lily tried moving around in her seat to get a better view, but saw nothing. “James, there’s nothing there but trees.”
James smiled.
He pulled off of the gravel road and drove up a smaller path hidden between several, large trees. They reached the top of the hill and began to weave through the heart of the woods until they came to a clearing.
James slowed to a stop.
“I “ don’t get it,” Lily stammered, looking through all of the windows of the car. “We’re in the middle of the woods, James. There’s nothing up here.”
James pulled out his car keys, unbuckled his seat belt, and leaned close to Lily. “Precisely.”
He climbed out of the car and went to open the trunk as Lily sat still in the passenger seat, more confused than ever. What are we doing in the middle of nowhere?
Lily’s face flushed and her stomach flopped several times. Maybe “ maybe he likes me as more than a friend and wanted to tell me out here “ that little girl was right!
She shook her head quickly, clearing her thoughts. Impossible “ why would he have brought me all the way out here when he could have told me just as easily after play practice?
He wanted to be romantic! Lily argued with herself. It’s so much more meaningful if he did something to show how strongly he felt!
True “ but unlikely. Come on, the voice in her head reasoned, this is James Potter we’re talking about. The boy would never, in a million years, think about doing something this romantic just to confess his undying love for someone. I think it’s more likely that he would have brought you all this way to kill you rather than to say he loved you.
Lily laughed at the idea. She reached for the door handle to open the passenger door, and then froze.
Oh god “ he hates me.
Lily immediately spun in her seat to find James digging around in the trunk of his car.
He brought a gun “ he brought a gun in his duffle bag “ that’s what he was hiding from me! News headlines of her mysterious death flashed through her mind. I knew it was too good to be true! He only befriended me so he could get back at me when I least suspected it! Lily’s heart sped up and her face paled. I thought I trusted James “ he tricked me this whole time!
Stop panicking! Lily shouted at herself. Calm down “ just get out of the car and ask what’s going on. It’s probably nothing…
Lily reached for the door, swallowing. She turned her head to the window and screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw James’ face peering back at her.
James threw open the door with a slight chuckle. “Did I scare you?” he smiled. “Sorry “ I didn’t mean to.”
Lily looked back at James. He was greeting her with a heartwarming smile and holding out a kind hand to help her out of her seat.
She put all of her past thoughts about James behind her and took his hand.
Climbing gracefully out of the car, Lily moved toward the duffle bag lying on the ground. She eyed it carefully.
“You can open it, now,” James smiled at her. He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned up against the sleek, silver car with a smirk.
Lily cautiously fell to her knees. She unzipped the bag and quickly shuffled through all of the items. She knew that, over time, she would have trusted James before too long, whether or not she had been allowed to open the duffle bag, but found that she was, nonetheless, rather relieved when she couldn’t find any sort of weapon hidden inside of it.
But without realizing what she had done until she did it, Lily sighed.
James, however, noticed it. “What’s that for?” he asked, frowning. “Is that a good sigh or a bad sigh?”
“Oh “ that was nothing, just “ ” Lily cleared her mind of the crazy stories she had made up in the past five minutes “ “ just an overactive imagination, that’s all.”
James’ made a confused look. “What do you mean - ”
“What is this stuff?” Lily quickly asked before James could question her any longer. She had no intentions of letting him know where her thoughts had taken her.
“Ah,” James knelt beside Lily with a grin. “This stuff is for camping.”
Lily’s eyes doubled. “We’re going to camp out here?” Millions of thoughts ran through her mind “ but she was sure to keep her imagination to a minimum. “You asked my dad?”
“Asked your dad,” James smiled in affirmation.
“And you brought all of the equipment we need?”
“You’re looking at it.”
Lily blinked several times as she tried to process the idea before finally gasping, “Why?”
This time, James stood up with a slow nod. “Well “ you know,” he smiled.
“No,” Lily shook her head. “I don’t know.” She was extremely confused, now. He didn’t want to confess his undying love to her; he didn’t want to kill her; what did he want?
“Well,” James struggled for words, “I guess it’s “ it’s like last week, remember?”
Lily nodded hesitantly. She squinted through the sun, up at James. “You’re helping me with my role by taking me camping?”
Oh, sure, when you say it like that… “I know it might be hard to understand, but “ I thought that you might get used to a camping lifestyle,” he shrugged. “You know, when the thief takes the princess and holds her hostage in the forest? You would have a better understanding of camping when you’re onstage. And,” he added as a last attempt to make Lily change her mind, “I thought it “ it might be fun.”
Lily scratched her head. The reasoning didn’t make any sense. There were thousands of things James could have done to help her with her acting before dragging her into the middle of nowhere!
James, on the other hand, looked as if he was about to be sick. God “ I knew that this would be a bad idea! I thought she would like it, but she hates it, I knew she would! James tried hard not to hit himself while Lily was still watching.
“If “ if you don’t like it,” James shrugged in what he hoped looked casual, “you’re always welcome to go back home. It’s only twenty minutes from here, so I can drive you back. Or you could Apparate, course, if you wanted to do that instead. Or we could “ ”
“No,” Lily abruptly cut him off, shaking her head and standing on her feet. She put both hands on her hips and looked up at James, catching his eye. “Let’s stay.”
“Really?” James felt all of the air rush back into his chest at her words.
“Sure,” she smiled. “I mean “ why not? It sounds like fun,” Lily grinned. She zipped up the bag and swung it over her shoulder. “Come on,” she smirked with a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes, “let’s go further.”
James couldn’t hide his smile. The look in Lily’s eyes had ignited a fire that burned deep in his chest: one that he wouldn’t be quick to put out.
He pushed off of his car and chased Lily into the woods.