Bring The Lion Out² | James Potter

one

He gave her a relaxed smile. "Yeah probably. But that means they're there together, so, no worries, right? Have you eaten? Let's make breakfast."

James headed past Andrea down the stairs, her following right behind him. He was worried about their parents joining the Auror's too, but he couldn't show he was worried in front of Andrea. Arriving in the family room, James picked up a new shirt off the laundry basket on the coffee table and switched out the one he had slept in.

Andrea sucked in a breath but did everything in her power to smother the noise by clearing her throat. James had been serious about wanting to make Quidditch Captain this year, and beating his record for goals scored during a game. 

And it was showing.

He had been working hard, drilling both Andrea and Sirius to join him last term, but he had worked a lot harder than the both of them. Andrea felt herself freeze in place as the sunlight from the window shone perfectly on his toned upper body, shadows cast in every dip and peak of his muscles.

As soon as she caught herself staring, she shook her head and kept walking, following him through the entryway, sitting room, and into the kitchen.

Stupid hormones, she scolded herself internally. She had thought about this quite a bit.

In June, before their school year ended, James had accidentally kissed her, making her question a lot in their relationship. It had sent her thoughts into a downward spiral and she had tried to block it out ever since it happened.

The same night, they had agreed to just forget it, to not let something so silly and stupid ruin their friendship. He regretted the kiss, and she told him she did too. 

And as much as she told herself it was nothing, she wasn't always very confident in that statement.

The rest of the school year, Andrea's body and mind betrayed her countless times. Where something as subtle a touch of her leg had sent her entire system haywire, or how she would automatically hold her breath whenever James got a little closer than necessary.

But the worst part was when she was peacefully daydreaming and then the kiss would suddenly pop into her head, playing on repeat as she tried to concentrate on schoolwork.

So she had come to the conclusion that she was a crazed fifteen year old with hormones affected by the opposite sex.

Yes, she knew James was fit and good looking but she wasn't attracted to him. Never had, never would be. 

Dorcas had told her to get it out of her system, to which she had laughed, but maybe there was some truth to that.

Maybe it was time to start dating and flirting. Sirius had flirted since he could talk and it seemed to be working for him.

As Andrea silently followed James into the kitchen he figured she was worrying about their parents. 

He was feeling very anxious himself but he couldn't show her that. He could be scared another day, but right now he needed to help her out of her head. Andrea would return the favour the next time he was a mess and she was able to hold it together. That's how they'd always worked. 

Give and take, always.

He didn't know what to say to help her though. This had become a problem for the last couple of months. Ever since the day they won the Quidditch Cup, James has found it hard to talk to Andrea. It was hard to find the right things to say and for the rest of the school year he had to avoid one on one conversations with her.

He hated that he had become awkward in their friendship, but there was nothing he could do about it. He just needed to power through as if there wasn't anything else on his mind. He set her to work on the coffee as he got started on the pancake batter.