AN: I still have more alerts than reviews. Come on people! A couple words, that's all I ask. How am I supposed to improve if I don't know what I need to improve on? Good or bad, let me know what you think. Thanks, guys.
The (Very) Fine Line Between Love and Hate
Chapter Three: All's Fair In Love And War
"If Mary asks you out, it doesn't count, you know," James said as they headed back to the common room.
"You wouldn't be saying that if Lily looked like she might pull that with you," Sirius said. "Besides I'm not planning on letting her ask me out, it would ruin my image."
"What, your no-fail record of being the person who asks them out AND the person who dumps them?"
"Exactly," Sirius said, "Flobberworm."
"What?" Peter asked confusedly.
"The password, dumb ass."
"Oh..."
"Anyway, as I was saying... it's not quite the same," Sirius said as they climbed through the portrait hole. "Because this time, I'm not planning on dumping her once I've got her roped in to my Sirius charm."
Remus and James exchanged glances, rolling their eyes.
---
"Potter is such an arrogant-" she threw down one of her cards "-ass. Who the hell does he think he is... and what, did he honestly think I'd agree to tutor him I mean... Mary, it's your turn, are you even listening to me?"
"Yeah, yeah, he's a toerag," she agreed, putting down a card of her own and glancing towards the entrance shiftily.
"Well, speak of the devil, not to mention the devil's advocates," Lily said as James and Sirius traipsed into the room, followed faithfully by Remus and Peter.
"Well look who it is," Sirius said loudly, and the four of them walked over to the sofa where Lily and Mary were deep into a game of Exploding Snap. "Hey, MacDonald," he said, sitting down beside her.
"Hey Siri-Black," she said, fidgeting with a piece of long brown hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. Sirius smirked - almost knowingly, Lily thought. She was, not for the first time that day, questioning her friend and the truth in her hatred of Sirius Black.
"So, I-" he started.
"Did you know," James said loudly, "That Sirius wet the bed until second year?"
Sirius' face turned faintly pink in a blush that few people had ever seen. "And that," James continued, "He practises his kissing techniques on his pillow?"
"Thanks, James," Sirius said sarcastically, in an attempt at bravado.
"And that he..."
"Oh screw this... you better run, Potter... remember that fork from lunch? Yeah, I thought so... I've come up with a few more ideas of where I could stick it..." he jumped off the couch and James tore off up the boys staircase, followed closely by Sirius who shoved a first year boy out of his way.
"What the hell..." Mary started.
Remus laughed awkwardly. "They're not usually this weird, they're just..."
"Being themselves?"
"..caught up," he finished.
"Caught up in..."
"Nothing," he said quickly.
"Ha! I knew they were up to something," Lily said triumphantly.
"Yes, I did tell him..."
'Tell him what?"
"Nothing."
"You never were a good liar, Lupin," she said.
He raised his eyebrows and kept his mouth firmly shut, looking at her challengingly. Lily opened her mouth once, then whipped her head around so quickly that she kinked her neck. Rubbing it, she said sweetly, "Peter.. Pete, what's going on?"
"I.. um... they... they may have made a bet that might have been about you two and who they could get to go out with them first," Peter said very quickly and Remus slapped his forhead. "But you didn't hear it from me," he added hastily and Remus rolled his eyes.
"Suck up," he muttered.
"Come on, she was looking at me with those eyes, you know the eyes, Moony," Peter whined.
"Yeah, I know the eyes... I have fallen pray to the eyes more than once. Come on Pete, if we get up there now we might be in time to see where he ends up sticking that fork..."
"Ahah!" Lily said, a triumphant look gleaming in her eyes as the pair left up the staircase. "I told you..."
"So they made a bet on us," she said, shrugging. "Big deal." She looked odd, as though she was bursting to say something but forcing it back.
Lily looked from her friend to the stairs and something clicked in her mind. But she could not let it happen... they would be around so much more, and she had about as much Black as she could take, not to mention Potter... She got a sudden stroke of inspiration and, grinning somewhat devilishly, she said, "The only way I can see to make their bet fall through... is to make a little bet ourselves."
"I don't like the sound of that," Mary said. "Lily Evans does not often make plans, and when she does, I try to stay well out of the way..."
"Oh stop talking about me like I'm not right here," she snapped. "No, what do you say we make ourselves a wager: First person to accept their proposal loses," she said. "Unless you like him or something..."
"What? Pshh, no, what makes you say that, I absolutely do not, will not, will never, ever like him," she said firmly. "No. Absolutely not..."
"Okay then, is it a deal?" she asked. Mary's eyes widened and she glanced back at the staircase before taking Lily's hand and shaking it.
"Deal," she gulped.
---
Mary went over the bet in her head. Okay, so she had told Lily she didn't like Black, because she didn't...
Oh, who was she kidding, she was practically in love with the guy. But she couldn't have told her, Lily hated the pair of them, and she wouldn't ruin their friendship over some stupid, cocky, arrogant (sexy) guy.
They had not set the wager though, so maybe if she did accept then nothing bad would happen... except for the destruction of everything she and Lily had been building up for years.
Ah well, she thought. At least now she had a solid reason to say no when he finally got the question out...
---
Lily glanced over at Mary. Was it cruel that she had noticed her friends feelings and immediately tried to sabotage them.
Of course not, a voice told her. All's fair in love and war.
And between the two bets, this promised to be a combination of both.
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AN: Well, it's official. I am virtually incapable of writing a long chapter. This one is even shorter than the first. Oh well, review anyways. It'll make my day :)