A/N: I should be working on Neurotic. I know. But I can't write when I have no inspiration…so this came out instead. Originally, it was AU, but as always…my friend (sophdmoph…) made me change it…so it's cannon-ish. You know what, just read, and tell me what you think! Read my other A/N at the end too!! Now on with the story…yeah?

Flawless

Chapter One: The (After) Life of the Party

Lily Evans was mad as hell.

And bad things happened when Lily Evans was mad as hell. Well, bad things happened to a specific person when she was mad as hell at least.

"Why are you still here?" She hissed, arms crossed.

This wasn't supposed be happening.

This was her sixteenth party.

How dare he ruin it for her!

"I was invited Evans."

James Potter was not part of the plan.

"Not by me you weren't." Lily was getting angrier by the second, you could tell from her flashing eyes, as her features darkened.

James stood in front if her, a smirk on his face. The party had stopped; the music that had been pounding was mute—everyone was watching them.

Not that they had noticed though, both too caught up in each other.

They obviously hated one another.

Either that or they were madly in love.

One or the other.

"If I remember correctly, you weren't the one doing the inviting, were you Flower? Wasn't that darling Alice? She is right over there, shall we ask her?"

Lily took a second to glare at her friend, who was trying to hide behind her boyfriend now. Lily bit her lip, and James' smirk grew.

"I'll take that as a 'you are completely right James!' then?" he asked, imitating Lily's voice.

Lily clenched her teeth, her hands curling into fists.

"Get out Potter." She requested, her voice deathly low.

A smile had now replaced James' smirk, his teeth flashing.

"Nope." He said simply, pushing past her.

Suddenly, the sound rushed back into the house, the stereo coming to life as everyone began to talk at once.

Lily stood frozen. Had he really just done that?

Had she not mentioned that this was her party?

She spun around, her eyes zeroing in on James' retreating back. She followed him, walking as fast as she could while wearing heels.

"Potter!" She called, far behind him. She doubted that he had heard her. "Potter!" She repeated, louder still.

James twisted through the house, leaving the main room, where the party was being held.

He went down a hallway, opening doors along the way.

Lily finally caught up with him, poking her target hard on the back. James turned around, not looking the least bit surprised to find her behind him.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing Potter?" Lily asked, crossing her arms once again.

"I'm looking for your parents, I want to introduce myself. Where are you keeping them?" James asked, cocking his head to the side.

Lily swallowed loudly.

"They're out." She said.

James' smile grew, dimples emerging.

"Out, eh? As in, not here?"

"Yes, when someone is out, they're usually not in Potter."

"How long are they gone for? Did you just kick them out for the night?" He questioned.

"They're gone for three days, not that it's any of your business." Lily said curtly, her eyes glazing over, void of emotion.

"When'd they leave?" James asked, confused.

"Today, why are you asking me Potter?"

"Your birthday's tomorrow." He stated, trying to make a point without hurting her.

"No shit, maybe that's why I'm having a party."

James' smile slid off his face, his face now undecipherable.

"But won't they miss your birthday?"

Lily frowned for a second, but quickly regained her cool exterior.

"It's no big deal; they haven't been around for a birthday of mine since I was ten. I've grown immune to it, and really, I don't give a fuck. Now will you please get out of my house?!"

"I thought you had a sister as well." James said, not looking as though he was ready to leave.

"She's in France." Lily said quickly, sighing. "Will you go now Potter? I really don't want to deal with you right now." She had given up on the mask, now looking as though she was about to cry. James nodded, pushing himself from the wall that he had been leaning on.

"Yeah, I'll go," he cooperated, not wanting to upset her even more.

He had never seen her look so weak, and truthfully, it scared the crap out of him.

Lily nodded, her head down. There would be no crying in front of him.

"Thanks," She whispered as he left.

"Lily…" James turned, about to say something. He shook his head, redirecting his words. Lifting her chin, he looked into her eyes. "Happy birthday." He smiled slightly.

Weakly smiling Lily held his gaze for a moment, hugging herself as though she was afraid to give too much of herself away, or to let too much of him in.

When he was out of sight, Lily let out a strangled sigh, blinking furiously, trying to keep away the tears. She closed her eyes, trying to settle herself. One thought particularly calmed her.

He called me Lily.

Lily wiped her eyes, smiling now. Taking a deep breath, she forced a new expression onto her face, bracing herself to walk back into the party.

As she came back into the main room, she was met by a group of her friends.

"Lily, what did you do to him?" Alice Howard, a blonde bubbly girl, asked, taking Lily's arm in hers. "He just walked out; he didn't even make a scene!"

Lily shrugged, not wanting to get into it, especially with her boyfriend listening right over her shoulder.

Brandon Harper, the current beau of Lily Evans was picture perfect. With chocolate brown hair and eyes to match, he was an attractive guy, and the fact that he was the star chaser for Ravenclaw helped as well. On the inside though, Brandon wasn't really the wonderful boyfriend. Always wanting to be better, he was constantly pointing out Lily's flaws, mentally controlling her day by day.

"Well it's about time that he gave up, now isn't it?" He said, wrapping an arm around her waist, getting a chuckle from everyone at his remark.

Lily laughed weakly, barely smiling.

----::----

The rest of the night was a big, loud, blur for Lily. By 1:05 in the morning, everyone had left…or at least almost everyone.

Lily sighed, finally finished with the cleaning. Brandon walked over to her.

"That was some party Evans." He muttered in her ear, sending unpleasant shivers down Lily's spine. Brandon grabbed her hand, pulling her towards her room. "C'mon, let's go."

Lily stopped, not letting him pull her.

"Brandon, I'm tired, I just want to sleep." She said, emerald eyes pleading.

"You can sleep later." He gave a tug on her arm, making Lily stumble.

"Brandon, really, my parents will be home...what if-" Lily began to lie quickly. She was cut off by the harsh kiss that Brandon planted on her lips however, caught off guard. He pulled back, licking his lips, a malicious grin on his face.

Lily blinked.

Touching her lips, she felt blood.

"Come on." He said roughly; pulling her again, even harder.

Lily's room was very plain, since she was rarely there. However large it was, it seemed bigger, since the only piece of furniture present was a large, pluffy bed.

Lily hated it.

She liked personal rooms, ones that represented the person who lived in it.

Brandon loved it.

It was easy for him to find his clothes late at night.

Lily opened the door slowly, stalling for as long as she could. Brandon pushed past her, smiling widely.

Gulping, Lily stepped in behind him.

No way to get out of it now.

----:::----:::----

Lily woke the next morning at 10:38 sharp, as she always seemed to do on her birthday. Humming grimly to herself, she slipped out of her bed, finding her slippers. As she bent over, she noticed a bruise forming on her leg. Lily sighed, she had proclaimed herself unwilling the night before, and Brandon had instead chosen to push her around, causing more damage than Petunia ever did. It should have come as a surprise, but Lily knew that it would have only been a matter of time before her "perfect" boyfriend lashed out. He'd threatened her before, but they'd never seemed REAL.

Lily took a deep breath, running a hand through her tangled hair.

She didn't know why she was so weak around him, didn't know why she couldn't bring herself to break it off with him.

Was it love?

Lily shook her head, now seeing the forming marks in her arms and stomach as well. This was not going to work, Brandon and her, she knew that. The huge bruise that was on her hip knew it as well. Her body couldn't take it anymore. Her confidence couldn't take it anymore. Don't think about that now, she told herself. It's your birthday!

Trudging into the kitchen, she grabbed the remote for the telly, looking for something idiotic to numb her mind. She gave up after a half hour of American cartoons, (since when could sponges talk?) and went to take a shower. When she got out, feeling refreshed, she pulled on a pair of worn jeans and a long sleeved shirt, covering up the contusions that now freckled her body.

Heading back into the kitchen, she made another attempt to eat something. Just as she was getting out the cereal, the doorbell rang, confusing Lily. Her parents weren't due for another two days. Her brow furrowed, Lily pulled open the door, her eyes widening as she saw who it was.

"'Lo Lily. Happy birthday."

James Potter had brought her a birthday cake.

Talk about persistent.

On another note, muchos gracias to sorrybut, who handled all of the awkward sentences and strange grammatical errors, and also for letting me use the word malicious.

You have made a grande contribution!

I'm done blabbing en Espanol now…

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REVIEW PLEASE!