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The world was hazy, indefinite, and surreal. Angularities of images were blurred and softened so that everything blends into each other as a girl tossed and turned.
The last drops of water fell. The soothing water would lead her into a state of precious serenity, where time moved languidly and reality seemed to dance away. She closed all troublesome thoughts from her mind as she eased into the large, nearly overflowing, claw-footed tub.
The warmth soaked into her bones. Closing her eyes, she let out a deep breath as her muscles loosened up and all the dirty stress seemed to flow out of her body and into the clean water.
Minutes passed, unnoticed by her. Time seemed to be irrelevant now. The water was her protector, nothing could catch up to her now that her body was surrounded by the water.
Her moments of blissful unawareness were later interrupted by a sudden puzzlement. It had been ten minutes at least. The water's warmth was not dissipating at all. Surely it would have been lukewarm by now.
But it wasn't. She continued to mull it over in the eerily unchanging water. But she didn't take it seriously.
Suddenly, a quick flash of darkness came and went, so quick she thought it was illusionary at first. The serenity was shattered. She looked around, baffled. Her eyes slowly widened. What she saw confused her.
The lights had dimmed noticeably. The tiles were rapidly metamorphosing before her eyes. Once dazzlingly white, it was darkening, chipping, growing old with age as though time was speeding past. Her mouth slightly dropped open in disbelief. The silver taps were also aging, crumbling slowly before her eyes.
Shock seized her and quelled her initial instincts to escape, like an overeager usher at a horrifyingly bad opera. Stupidly, she did not run out of the bathroom as she should have, although in the back of her mind she hated herself for being so cowardly.
Her gaze fluttered to the mirror and she saw that it was rapidly fogging. The tiles and faucets were still crumbling and she looked at the tub, and let out a shrill scream when she saw thick steam arising from the water.
She lifted one of her legs fearfully, wordlessly pleading that her body was not harmed, and saw that her leg was a deep red all the way to her toe. The skin was grotesquely peeling off, her toenails were falling out and from the looks of it, she should have been in intense pain.
But she didn't feel anything. Her shock quickly progressed into sheer panic, but the shock was still holding her captive. She found herself unable to move.
But now was time to take action. She gripped the tub, intending to jump out and run, with or without clothes, but as soon as her hand contacted the smooth stone, a searing pain rose up her arm, black was white, white was black for a moment, and she screamed, the pain still bringing tears to her eyes.
After the pain slightly subsided, although her hand was swelling, blackening and her head was still spinning dreadfully, she tested the floor with her fingernail. She felt a highly painful sensation, though it was nowhere near the pain her hand was being subjected to. She jerked her arm away from the floor, not daring to touch her sensitive fingernail, actually fearing that a touch might cause it to just fall off. She began crying wretchedly.
She was having trouble breathing; the steam seemed to be everywhere. An acrid stink filled her nostrils and she sat still, almost scared to look around and see where the stink was coming from. It smelled like blood.
Almost as if on cue, the water started swirling around. Slowly at first, so it was barely noticeable, but she noticed it when a slight tinge of pink entered the water. Minutes passed, and she was too scared to do anything but watch the water. There was nothing else she could do.
The pink darkened to a darker shade of pink, a light shade of red, until finally all residual traces of pink were gone. The water was blood red and thickened.
She looked at the end of the tub and saw the source of the blood red coloring. Fear coursed into her veins and she was too shocked to think, to breathe, to move. At her feet, in the blood red water, was a young man. He was completely naked, his skin a nasty shade of green as though he was dead and had been for a long time, his mouth was hanging open, and deep cuts ran through his body, the skin opening to show his internal organs. But worst of all, his eyes were opened, and gazing at her. They looked inhumane; the pupils were dilated and red.
"Wake up. Lily, wake up." Hands were clutching her shoulders and shaking her. She awoke, her body slick with moisture, her hair stuck to the back of her neck and the strap of her thin shirt down her shoulder. She gasped air into her lungs. The dream, or rather nightmare, was still fresh in her mind.
His arms encircled her body loosely. "Another nightmare?"he asked groggily.
"It was terrible, James." She whimpered, feeling ashamed immediately after doing so. She usually detested whimpering or any other noise designed to invoke feelings of sympathy. But she felt that the occasion should be an exception.
"Tell me about it." His voice sounded slightly apathetic. She didn't care however. Though they both agreed that their relationship was purely physical and made a point to not tell many details of their lives, she was going to tell him whether he wanted to hear or not.
"I was taking a bath," Lily told him, feeling safer in his embrace, "And--"
Before she could continue he interrupted her with a deep kiss, tightening his arms around her body. She was about to push him away, feeling slightly angry that he wasn't listening to her, but she saw no point in the intention. Letting the last remaining memories of the horrible nightmare drift away, she closed her eyes and kissed him back.
*
The night sky knew no boundaries. It was an endless stretch of black, with an occasional stare. It was laid above them, it was everywhere they looked. She had always loved the vast darkness when night arrived. Sunlight was bothersome, something that interrupted the night, and destroyed the tranquility of darkness.
"What are you thinking about?" He pressed his lips onto her pale neck, where it burned in a way that wasn't completely unpleasant.
"Nothing." she said simply. She might allow Daniel Meyers to take her to the Astronomy Tower because he was experienced in things other boys would not, but that was all he was good at. He was in danger of failing that year and she didn't want to spend unnecessary time explaining her thoughts to him.
"Are you sure?" he asked, trying his best at making his voice sound teasing. He hoped she would take his response as witty, rather than think he had nothing better to say. Which was true.
"Yes, I'm sure." she said. There was a hint of annoyance that she didn't bother to hide. This boy was the most popular boy in her class, and yet she didn't feel intimidated at all. She felt no respect for this boy, only slight annoyance now. Not only him, but almost everyone else in her year. Maybe because she always felt ages older than she really was. Trying to channel her frustration into passion, she began unbuttoning his shirt slowly. "Why don't you kiss me?" she whispered, trailing a finger down his chest once his shirt was opened.
He seemed to have trouble breathing. With eyes bulging, as though not quite believing his fortune, he complied. While kissing her, he worked at the buttons on her shirt tentatively. When she didn't resist, he began unbuttoning more hastily, nearly ripping her shirt off.
"What is going on here?"
She pushed Daniel off of her with surprising strength at the voice. She closed her shirt and met the gaze of Nathan Williams, who was livid. His face was red and he was breathing harshly. He was Head Boy, a fellow Slytherin. He was usually quite laid-back, one of the few people in school she had a bit of respect for.
"I shall have to report you to Dumbledore." he said tersely, "This is unacceptable."
"No!" Daniel protested loudly. "I can't afford another suspension. I'll be sent back!"
"That is not my business." Nathan replied coolly. He turned and left, probably off to Professor Dumbledore already.
She didn't speak throughout the exchange. She didn't care whether Nathan told Dumbledore or not. She was a top student and she had never been caught in the Tower before. The worst that would happen to her were a few detentions.
By now Daniel looked like he was about to burst into tears. Stifling a small laugh at his expression, she put on her cloak and left.
*
James was sitting on the edge of the bed when she awoke. He was wearing a well-worn pair of sweats and he had put a gray shirt on. She sat up and he looked at her blankly, blinking his eyes.
She felt a bit self-conscious now. "James," she acknowledged, and nodded her head. She immediately regretted saying it. She sounded so-- professional.
"Hello." His eyes were already shifting toward his closet, surveying his array of robes. Which to wear, which to wear--
"What are you doing today?" she asked, as she had every morning the past week. It had started with a simple date on Monday. She ended up staying over that night. The next day, they decided she would stay in his house for awhile. Neither of them were working, they were living off their parent's money until they did. Why not have fun while you can, had been the reasoning.
"I don't know." he said, his attention still on his wardrobe, "I think I have to meet someone today."
Julia. Lily didn't mind much, but it was surprising that he was already seeing someone else. It had only been a week since they were in a way, seeing each other. Of course she didn't mind however. It was just surprising. But then again, not so surprising. They barely knew each other.
"Maybe," he started hesitantly, "maybe you should go back to your own apartment now."
This is awkward. "I agree," she replied feebly. When it was clear he wasn't going to bother responding, she went about the small apartment, collecting her few belongings and placing them in her duffel bag.
When she was done, James was at the kitchen, eating breakfast.
"Should I just go now?"
He looked at her, his fork in mid-air. "You must be hungry," he said awkwardly, then made a gesture at the table. "Eat before you leave."
"No, that's all right." But right after the statement her stomach growled in an embarrassingly loud manner. Her cheeks were flaming and she just stood there for a moment before James laughed without restraint or warning. About to retort something sharp and leave, she stopped when her stomach growled again. Sighing, she sat down at the table.
