Jily one shots

Never cry over James Potter

Disclaimer: written by @weirdly

Should I do a face reveal? Ahahah

Lily Evans never cried for anything but weddings, funerals, and births. Nothing else moved her to tears since she had been about eight years old.
Maybe that was oversimplifying the whole business, but Lily never shed a tear for anything less than a major event. It just wasn't Lily to do so.

And yet, here she was, sobbing on the shoulder of her bestest friend forever Gretchen, while her other best friends crowded around and made sympathetic noises.

Ellen Frank was Lily's other very bestest friend. She took one appraising glance at the situation and tsked. "Sorry, girls," she said. "For now, Lils needs some time with one girl. Then we can have chocolate."

Being relatively sensitive, the crowd regarded this as scripture and headed out. Ellen followed behind; Gretchen was perfectly capable (and more) of handling Lily. Gretchen was a Hufflepuff, and that really made all the difference.

"Okay, Lily," Gretchen crooned, smoothing some of Lily's now tear-soaked hair into a little ponytail. "What's wrong?"

The door closed, and Gretchen heard the whisper of a Silencing Charm on the door before turning back to Lily.

Lily said, "I'm just such - sob - a mess! - sob - and I don't know - sob - what to do!" Gretchen rubbed little circles on her back.

"Tell me what's wrong," Gretchen replied. She squeezed a comforting arm around Lily's shoulders.

"Everything!" Lily wailed. "The N.E.W.T.s are coming, and I haven't started studying because there's so much homework, and I feel like I can't keep up, and I've had horrid allergies that I haven't had time to go to Madam Pomfrey for - " Her whole body shuddered with hoarse sobs that had barely any tears left. Gretchen stayed silent and listened. "And on top of that, there's J - Potter, and I just don't know what to do about it anymore!"

"Well," Gretchen began softly, "The N.E.W.T.s are about six months from now; you shouldn't have started studying yet, though you wouldn't be our Lily if you hadn't worried about it - " That elicited a sob that had a fraction of a laugh, and Gretchen felt some triumph, " - your homework anxieties you have at the beginning of every year, and then you're totally unstressed when everyone else freaks out. As for your allergies, we're going to Madam Pomfrey first thing tomorrow instead of breakfast."

"It's not that easy!" Lily almost yelled, strangely trying to keep on crying and stay obstinately sad. "J - Potter is still - "

"Then tell me about what the deal is with him; I haven't heard anything new from you except the same spiel about what a prat he is."

"That's the problem," Lily whispered. She stopped.

"How so?"

"He's being nice, and I have no idea how to act around him, Gretch - I used to be mean to him because he was always mean first but now I'm the one being mean first, and I feel really bad."

"Yes?"

"Really, he'd be a prat and then I'd yell at him and that was just the way it was, but now I actually want to be friends with him. And I can't because I'm too mean, and it's just me being an ass, but I don't know how else to behave around him. I'm so confused, really. And I think - " A tear trailed down her face. "I think I have this huge thing for him, Gretch, and I don't know how to handle that because I don't know how to talk to him, and I'll just get all tongue-tied and everything. And I've never been so attracted to anyone; oh, I don't know!"

"So," Gretchen said, as if to clarify, "James has deflated his head, you've finally noticed the thing you have for him, you've realized that you're acting like a second grader with a crush, you want to be friends with him, and yet the history between the two of you keeps blocking any attempt you make because you can't get past that he was a prat before he changed. Difficult."