She wolf (James Potter)

THIRTY-FIVE

"What good are the wings without the courage to fly?"

As the following day rolled around, Eloise wished she could have just sunk in her bed. She had promised herself she was going to talk to Lily herself, though she just couldn't seem to bring herself to. It was heartbreaking, for her.
She couldn't help but blame herself for what had happened, if she just hadn't pushed Lily so much to try and see the good in James for the past years...perhaps she wouldn't be getting ready to tell her best friend that she had fallen in love with the boy she had begun facing as well that same year.
Her stomach twisted, what if she ends up hating me for the rest of her life? Would being with James be worth it, at the end of the day?
Eloise sighed, trying to get herself to stop thinking about it. She inhaled shakily and finally managed to get up from her bed, heading towards the bathroom.
When she was opposite the mirror, she simply stared at her reflection for what felt like forever. She smilingly brought her fingers to her lips, tracing them gently, recalling the previous night when she and James had kissed for the first time. She already knew it wasn't his first kiss, though it was for her. And, even though she would never tell him, she was glad he was her first kiss.
Her mouth curled into a goofy grin and she sighed again, feeling an hint of tension slowly rising inside of her. She honestly had to speak with Lily as soon as possible, even though she had agreed with James they weren't to tell anybody about their "relationship" just yet, she was planning on explaining everything to Lily. She deserved to know.
After a quick shower, Eloise got ready and wore her robes, descending the stairs that led to the common room, where she would've awaited for her redhead friend. When she arrived in the scarlet square room that was the Gryffindor common room, she sat by the fireplace on an armchair.

Soon after, James Potter descended the stairs of the boys' dormitories and happily trotted his way in the common room, where his grin only grew wider after noticing his very girl sitting by herself. Els seemed very concentrated on her book, therefore he took his chance and tip toed behind her.
James peeked his head just beside hers and softly kissed her cheek, startling her slightly, though he immediately noticed an hint of flush on her face.
"James!" She scolded, getting up from the armchair.
Prongs smiled widely and couldn't help but think how lucky he was to have won her over.
"Hello, love." He greeted, charmingly.
Lunar felt heat rising to her cheeks once more, then she rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.
"Thought I told you to lay low, James."
"What, am I not supposed to call my friend cute names?" He exclaimed, over-dramatically.
Eloise rolled her eyes again and sat back on her armchair, while he took a seat on the couch near her, his blue eyes never leaving her figure.
James had always been a quite observant person and always enjoyed to notice little details nobody else did.

A few more minutes passed by and, finally, Lily entered the common room. Her emerald green eyes fixed on the duo on the other side of the room and she softly found herself grinning, though she couldn't exactly lie to herself and say her heart wasn't hurting in that moment.
James was the first to feel the presence of the redhead, hence he turned around and gave Lily an hint of smile. Then, Eloise caught on and her eyes locked with her friend's.
"Lily," she called, her throat weirdly enough dry.
James immediately noticed how uncomfortable and anxious she seemed and stood up.
"Can we talk?" He spoke up, gaining a thankful look from the blond.
"Of course."
The raven haired sheepishly looked behind him, his eyes meeting El's for a split second and she nodded her head, following suit after him as Lily led the way out of the common room and towards the courtyard.

The three of them eventually sat on the soft grass, just under a large tree. Eloise was resting against it and playing with her fingers, something she had always done when stressed.
Lily knew that very good by now and worryingly eyed her, she was pretty sure she knew why they were all gathered there to talk. Even the daftest person could've figured out Eloise and James had always had feelings for each other, even when they were too blinded to understand it themselves. Lily had always noticed how caring James was for Els and vice versa, it was what made her realize he wasn't just a bully after all.
She felt her eyes welling with tears when the silence began too much to bare.
"Is somebody going to say something, then?" She heartbreakingly snapped.
Eloise looked up from her hands, her eyes glassy as she stared into those usually comforting green ones.
"Lily, we are terribly sorry," began James, since the blond couldn't bring herself to speak properly. "I-I never meant for this to happen, really."
Lily looked up and met the boy's eyes, her teary just like El's.
"Is this your way of telling me you've finally figured it out?" She asked.
Lily wasn't surprised they were having that conversation. Yes, she had indeed kissed James and she would've been happy to be able of dating him. Though, despite everything she had tried, she just couldn't seem to drift his attention from Eloise. It was always going to be Eloise and it alright with her. It didn't mean she wasn't hurting in that moment. Merlin if she was; even though she had indeed prepared herself for that conversation, hearing it was like being hit by sledgehammer.
"What?" Confused James, his eyebrows furrowing.
"It was obvious, you two had always had feelings for each other." Began explaining nonchalantly Lily, trying to not sound too pained. She knew that Eloise wasn't going to forgive herself if she knew she had hurt her friend so bad.
"Everyone had already figured it out," she continued with an hint of a shy grin. "I mean, I simply shot my shot and it's alright even if it didn't work out. We weren't meant for each other, at the end on the day."
James and Eloise locked eyes for a split second before looking at Lily once more. The redhead had a sheepish smile on her lips, though her eyes were still glassy; which made El acknowledge it was hurting her nonetheless. And it made her heart break even more.
Lily noticed Eloise shifting in her seat and put her hand on top of hers, gently.
"It's alright, El, really." She pointed out, truthfully. "It's not your fault, nor is it James's. You can't just control your feelings, the heart wants what it wants."
"I-I'm so sorry, Lil." Muttered El and swung her arms, pulling her best friend in a bone-crashing hug.
The two of them stayed like that for a few moments, just melting in each other's arms. James looked at them, his lips curled in a grin. He felt utterly relieved they had talked to Lily and everything seemed to be alright. Though, he couldn't help but fear Remus wouldn't be too happy about his relationship with his twin.
He couldn't exactly blame Moony, however, he had indeed hurt Eloise a few times already. But, he didn't mean to hurt her any more, Els was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he wasn't planning on losing her any time soon.
The two girls eventually pulled away and found themselves chuckling as their last tear streamed down their cheek.
"So, does this mean you lot are finally together?" Suddenly asked Lily and Eloise blushed slightly.
"Not exactly, we want to wait until the whole...you-know-who-thing ends." Stated El and smiled cheekily at James, who was chewing into his bottom lip.
"And we would really appreciate it if you didn't..well, tell anybody else." He added with a nod of his head to emphasize his statement.
"Of course, don't worry about it."

~•~

After all of their classes finished, Eloise and James were sitting together at the common room; her legs were resting in his lap and his hand eventually moved to her thigh, which made her heart skip a beat. She then lay her head on his shoulder, sighing in relief.
It felt so good, whenever she was with James. She couldn't quite explain it, they just clicked; something she had never thought would've happened with her condition. Though it did and she was the happiest about it.
James, with his free hand, began stroking her heart softly and his eyes drifted to her appearance. He lovingly stared at her and smiled to himself, taking in all of her beautiful features.
"Stop staring," she murmured, making an hint of blush creep to his cheeks.
"I'm not staring, alright?" He declared and smirked. "I'm admiring."
Eloise turned her head and faced him with a disapproving look on her face.
"You're such a flirt, James Potter." She told him, narrowing her blue eyes slightly.
James found himself smirking again and wider, "Bet you love it."
She felt her cheeks heating again and she hid her face in his chest, making him giggle ever so slightly. He then pressed a soft kiss on her head and kept smiling to himself, still asking how did he manage to get a girl as wonderful as Eloise was.

(A/N): my god, I really want a friend like Lily.
Hopefully, you liked this chapter.
I'll try and post tomorrow as well!!
Keep voting and commenting, I love you all!!
Lu.ce