&& We're Just Racin' Time... • OPEN •

[Katie]

With a jolt of adrenaline, the tall, dark-haired boy kicked off the ground, shooting into the air with amazing speed. This was what the boy lived for, the rush and that peculiar feeling you get after moving too fast of his stomach dropping as he flew straight up. It never got old. Without wasting one second, he shot through the air, relishing the roaring in his ears from the wind as he zoomed around the quidditch pitch. His hair whipped around, his face was almost immediately frozen from the bitter cold, as were his hands, but he loved every second of it. He knew in this moment, that nothing would ever be able to keep him from feeling this; ever.

The sun was just setting, leaving an orangish glow around the pitch, glinting off the chairs and hoops. James Sirius usually chose this time to fly because of the sheer beauty of the sun setting, and because most people were at dinner so he had the field all to himself. He had only been able to ride his new broom about a dozen times, and this was being to wear on him. During most of his classes he would sit there and imagine being out on the pitch, just flying around or playing a game of Quidditch. So he was exceedingly grateful when his professors' eased up on the homework tonight, giving James a chance to ride this priceless broom.

As he quickly finished two laps around the large field, James noticed someone walk on. This was an odd occurrence; usually no one came to the pitch at supper, with the exception of himself of course. He couldn't really tell who the person was, or the gender of them, either. He mentally chastised himself for not wearing his glasses, as well as cursed his terrible eyesight. But there was no way he was going to wear those glasses and end up looking like a dork. Nuh uh. So he decided to loop around the pitch a few more times and wait for the person to notice him, instead of him calling out to whoever it was.

[renee]

Renee Labelle...Potter. No. I can't think like that. Not yet. Can't let myself get attached. God, I'm a mess of emotion.

Renee walked onto the Quidditch Pitch. It was late and the sun was just setting, casting a reddish orangeish glow in the sky. She loved the colors the sunset could make. Renee smiled, looking at it. Though the Quidditch Pitch wasn't a place you could normally find Ren, it was a place you could find James. And poor Ren had been searching for him all night. He wasn't in the Common Room, nor his dorm...though there was no way she would tell him she went in his dorm...nor the trophy room, or the great hall! She even checked the Library for heaven's sake, but only found Rosie...as usual. Finally she remembered....Quidditch. That wretched broom-thing. Renee couldn't stand flying...mainly beause it scared her to death.

She looked up. Sure enough, there he was, flying around in circles. She smiled, and ran up the steps to the highest level in the stands. She wasn't fond of hights either, but she figured she could see James better this way. "Getting dizzy?" She called out to him, with a smirk. God, he was beautiful. Tall, masculine, an amazing kisser, and all together beautiful. She smiled, waving to him and standing up on a seat at the highest perch.

[Katie]

"Getting dizzy?"
Even with the wind at a roaring decibel in his ears, James could pick out the angelic sound of a voice, and recognize just whose voice it was. Ren he thought with a growing smile plastered on his face. He brought himself to an almost complete stop, then swung around, going straight towards where he heard the voice come from. He was surprised, to say the least, to see his girlfriend (his smile grew even wider at this thought) standing on the highest point of the quidditch benches with a smile that matched his own. But what surprised him even more was that she was even here. He knew Ren hated quidditch and didn't own a broom, so the only logical explanation for her definitely not unwanted presence was to see him. And boy was he glad she came.

When he finally got close enough to see her (he cursed his eyesight once again), it was like a bludger had just been hit at him; all his air just completely knocked out of him at the sight of her. She looked radiant: the setting sun cast a gorgeous glow on her skin, mesmerizing James. He sped up, before coming to a stop about three feet away from where she stood. Her smirk was driving him crazy.

"Love, the only reason I'm dizzy is because you've knocked the breath out of me with your stunning good looks." He returned the smirk, attempting to use some of his charm on her, even though he wasn't sure if it would work. He moved closer to the benches, and hopped off his broom onto the seat right next to her. "This is quite the pleasant surprise..." He said, giving her a short but soft kiss.

[renee]

Renee laughed when he complimented her looks. Though she was flattered. She smiled when he kissed her. "Well I figured since you weren't anywhere else..." She shrugged. She was glad to see him, but the height of the stands and the sight of the broom were scaring her. It was like a bad dream with one silver lining, him. She bit her lip, trying not to think of the things that were scaring her. "So! Practice almost over? Might I be able to steal you away yet?" She asked him, hoping it would be a yes. Yes so she could get out of there. But she was certain that if he wanted to stay, she would stay. And if she were to stumble, he would catch her...or would he...? Her thoughts added at the end. Of course he would! Who else has he called 'love' and kissed, protected...asked to be his girlfriend...? Who am I kidding, there's no way I could be the ONLY one. Her attempts a reassuring herself failed. She stood there not knowing what to do.

[Katie]

As he pulled back from the kiss, he noticed she was smiling. James loved the fact that he could make her feel happy like that, and bring that smile out. He chuckled a bit, realizing his mistake. In his haste to just get out of the dorm to go practice, he completely forgot to tell Ren where he was headed so she could find him. “Sorry.” he gave her a small, apologetic smile, hoping to get the point across that he truly was sorry. “I hope you didn’t search too much for me. I was actually planning to come visit you after I was done. But I am definitely not complaining about you being here.” he added quickly so she wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

"So! Practice almost over? Might I be able to steal you away yet?"

James grinned, realizing that poor Ren must be having a heck of a time trying to stay here just for him. He loved this: the small sacrifices she made just to be with him, to make him happy. James gladly chose any time to return the favors, in any way possible. Making her happy was always one of his priorities. “You ask that as if it was actually a possibility of me saying no.” He chuckled and took her hand, rubbing small circles on the back. “Let me just fly back down and get my stuff from the locker rooms. I’ll be back in a second. Don’t miss me too much, now. ” He winked and kissed her cheek, before mounting his broom. He thought about offering her a ride down with him, but then reminded himself of her fear of flying. Better not to even ask.

He zoomed back down to the ground, all the while trying not to listen to his internal dialogue too much.

‘She looked happy, didn’t she?’

‘Well, other than the fact that she looked terrified to be up there, yeah.

‘Good. I don’t know what I’d do if she was unhappy. I have this odd need to just do everything for her. Like a pull or something.’

‘Never felt that before, have you?’

‘Not once.’

He shook his uneasy thoughts out of his head as he landed a smooth landing. He had a few thoughts about what the feeling was, but couldn’t bring himself to believe it just yet. Running into the locker room, he grabbed his bag quickly, slung it over his shoulder and ran back out. The sun was just setting as he mounted his broom again, casting darkness over the pitch. “Lumos.” He muttered after taking his wand out, creating a tiny spot of light in front of him as he flew quickly back to his girl. Landing softly back beside her, he said, “Any idea of where you’d like to go, sweetheart?”

[renee]

Renee didn't tell him that she did search for him everywhere. Especially since that included his bedroom. She smiled as he took her hand and rubbed small circles on the back. She wanted to tell him...tell him that she...loved him. Wanted so badly, but she wasn't even quite certain. She waited patiently as he left to get his stuff. She wondered only for a second why he hadn't offered to give her a lift down, but then she smiled realizing that he knew of her fear of flying. She tried not to look scared as she waited for him to come back. She really was not fond of heights. When he did come back, she smiled and took his hand, which was the least she could do to keep from throwing her arms around him. "No idea, really. I don't mind, just..." Ren didn't want to be rude, but she had to say it, she'd really had enough of standing up here in fear to last her for the rest of the week! "...just could we please get down to solid ground, soon?" She asked, softly, trying not to let her face show how anxious she was to get down. She hoped that one day she'd conquer this fear of heights and flying, but she didn't think there was any way she would be able to do it alone.

{Sorry, it's SO short compared to yours. I totally lost what I was going to say, but I hope it's alright.}

[Katie]

{I liked it! Don't worry about it though. What matters is what is actually in the post, not the length! (: )

His conflicting thoughts had rattled his mind somewhat, making him all anxious to be around her. However, when she grabbed his hand as he sat down next to her, an overwhelming sensation of calm washed over him. He hadn't ever felt anything like this before. He didn't want to admit what the feeling was; no, he just couldn't. He was James Sirius Potter. And James Sirius Potter does not fall in love. He has a few flings with girls, maybe a relationship here and there, but no love was ever involved. But...things were different with Ren. She seemed to just completely captivate him and make him do anything in his power to make her happy. As unnerving as this feeling was, he was glad he was actually feeling it. There had been times where James had worried about ever falling in love because of the way he acted with girls. Thank God he was wrong.

While sitting there, once again locked away in his thoughts, Renee began to speak again, but James was only half-listening. He just admitted what he was afraid to admit, without realizing it. He was in love with Renee Labelle. And what was worse, he wasn't sure if she felt the same way. A small crease started forming on his brow as he thought over if she had given him any indication that she might love him too. But, he was broken from his thoughts from a voice that sounded like they were trying to cover up being anxious. "Oh, right. Of course we can." He smiled apologetically. "Sorry, sometimes its easy to forget that not everybody loves to be up this high in the fresh air."

He wrapped his hand around her hand that he was already holding on to, and started walking towards the staircase with his broom grasped firmly in his other hand. He was silently going over where he could take Renee, picking out the places she might like best. 'Well...it is a pretty chilly night....maybe back to the Common Room to enjoy a nice cozy sit in front of the fire?' James, being a regular teenage boy, started to go over some not so decent thoughts about what they could do while they were there, but shook them out of his head. He was raised as a gentleman and would treat Renee with the utmost respect. But that didn't mean they still couldn't go and enjoy sitting in front of the fire.

"How does going back to the Common Room sound to you?" He asked quietly. The echo from the stairwell as they made their way back to solid ground amplified his voice so he didn't have to speak that loud.

[renee]

{Okay (: Thanks!}

Ren noticed that he seemed to be lost in his thoughts a lot lately, and it worried her a bit. She squeezed his hand gently, and smiled. "Common Room sounds great." She walked with him in silence for a bit, but then chimed up again. "You know, it's not that I don't like being up there...I mean...okay yeah, I don't...it scares me." She sighed, not knowing how to put it. "When I'm with you, I'm fine. I take comfort in the knowledge that you're here next to me and will hopefully be there to catch me if I fall." She blushed ever so slightly as she said that. "But when I'm up so high by myself, or when I flew with Rosie..." She shuddered, trying not to think of the fear that creeped inside of her every time. "Don't worry. I'll still come to all the games, when you're playing. And I'll still meet you here if I can't seem to find you. I just tend to stick to the ground rather than the air. I mean..." She sighed again, she was talking too much. "...nevermind."

What is with you? Just because he's particularly quiet doesn't mean you have to talk his ear off!

I know, I just...I don't know what he's thinking...and it worries me a bit...

You worry too much.

But he does have a past with girls, how should I be any different?

I don't know. I just...don't know. Talk to him...wait...don't. Let him talk to you.

Ren struggled to pull herself from her thoughts and she bit her lip and looked out over the grounds. It had gotten dark and cold surprisingly fast.

[Katie]

{No problem!}

He smiled slightly when she agreed on the Common Room; James took some pride in the fact that he could, at times, figure out what a girl wants. But, like everything about their relationship, it was different with Ren. She was hard to pick things out for and choose things, but that was almost a really big part of her appeal to him. He liked not having a completely predictable girl. They walked a few more steps down the staircase in silence, before finally making it down to the nice, sturdy ground. The bitter wind whipped more fiercely now, making James bite back a shiver. He of course, thought immediately of Ren and how cold she must be, so he removed his jacket quickly and draped it over her shoulders, trying his best to ignore his now chattering teeth. He just hoped they made it back inside the castle before he froze to death.

"When I'm with you, I'm fine. I take comfort in the knowledge that you're here next to me and will hopefully be there to catch me if I fall."

James frowned a tiny bit when she said ’hopefully’ . So she didn’t realize that he would do anything for her? James thoughts started to plummet even faster, immediately jumping to the conclusion that she didn’t feel the same way about his as he did her. So quietly, he said, “I would do absolutely anything to make sure you’re safe and happy.” He had said it so low, he wasn’t even sure she had heard it, what with the wind whistling in their ears so loudly. “Ren, I appreciate how committed you are to coming to see me play, and while I am flattered beyond belief,” he gave her a small smirk, “I don’t want to cause you any discomfort. If you don’t like heights or flying, you shouldn’t have to be subjected to it.” He looked thoughtful for a second, wondering if he was being too overprotective, but still feeling like it was the right thing to do.

James squeezed her hand slightly, then let go to wrap his arm around her shoulders. With her wearing his jacket, his only means of warmth was her tiny body, and with about fifty feet left to walk to get the castle, James needed the heat. He walked quietly for a second, sighing contently as her body started to warm his. He noticed how quiet she was, and that she was once again biting her lip. James was starting to become more attuned to what her facial expressions meant, and her biting her lip means she was being sly, or was worried about something.

“Penny for your thoughts, love?” he whispered as he bent his head down close to her head, getting so close that his lips gently ghosted over her ear .

[renee]

Renee wasn't about to argue with him. Though secretly, she really wished he would take and teach her how to fly and not be so afraid of it. She wanted to be as connected to him as possible. (However that did bring a few naughty thoughts into her head and she blushed, pushing them into the back of her mind.) She felt his cold body press against her, and she gasped. "James, you're freezing!" She said, ignoring the penny for your thoughts comment. She took off his coat and wrapped it around him, kissing his cheek. "You need it more than I do, right now." She said, slightly apologetic, and at the same time, sincere. She didn't want to make him feel like she was rejecting him, which she wasn't in any way. Renee grabbed his hand and pulled him, running towards the door so they could get inside where it was warm. Finally reaching the castle, while still dragging him behind her, she smiled, closing the doors behind them. "There. Better, huh?" She stood up tall, but still had to go on her toes a bit, and kissed him softly on the lips. She smiled and took his hand, "C'mon. I think I know of a Common Room that misses our presence." She said with a laugh, and headed up the stairs.

[Katie]

A small blush crept onto his loves’ cheeks, and James quickly became curious to know what she was thinking about. However, she was avoiding his question, completely not to James’ liking. He wanted her to be able to share things with him, and vice versa. He wished she would divulge in him all of her secrets and thoughts, and let him help her out with him. Or, he at least wished he could read her mind. Yeah. That’d be cool. James grinned slightly at the aspect of being able to know everything she was thinking, but then frowned. He didn’t really want to know if she didn’t feel the same way about him as she did her. He kind of just wanted to keep pretending.

“James, you’re freezing!”

Yes, yes he was. But that was such a small price to pay for her to be happy and warm. He could deal with the cold, and with her next him, he was perfectly content. So when she removed his jacket and put it back on him, James felt a little bummed. There he was, trying to be all gentleman-like and she went and denied it! James was just about to refuse the jacket, but then she told him why and kissed his cheek, making his heart skip a beat-and that never happens. A slightly goofy grin spread across James’ face as he nodded, completely smitten with the feeling he got from just being around her. ”Yeah, I guess I am.” He muttered reluctantly but still happy all the same that she was thinking of him too.

She pulled him behind her, running the rest of the way to entrance hall doors. As soon as she pushed open the door, a warm gush of air quickly surrounded them, almost feeling like it was pulling them in. It was so comforting and nice, James at once felt completely relaxed. His hand instinctively squeezed hers as she stood on her toes to kiss him softly. James sighed gently against her lips and kissed back. He hadn’t been this happy in a while, if even ever. He immediately felt the loss as she pulled back and started dragging him up to the common room, although he gladly went with her, not stepping too far behind.

Once they were on the first floor, James stepped quickly in front of Ren and whipped her behind a tapestry that led to the 7th floor. “Just a little passageway I discovered in my first year. It sure beats having to run up 7 floors to get to the dorms.” He grinned and moved in front of her again. ”Care for a ride, Ms. Labelle?” He bent his back slightly and indicated that he wanted to give her a piggy back ride.

[renee]

Renee probably should have been more shocked when he showed her the secret passage way, but she wasn't. Simply because James was full of surprises. She smiled. "Well, since you're offering, I simply cannot refuse." She said, and carefully climbed onto his back. If she wasn't mistaken, she hadn't gotten a piggy back ride since she was probably around seven years old. Her mother was small, like her, and so once Renee got too big...that was it. Had she been living with her father...she pushed the thought out of her head. She didn't want to think about her father. Why should he even be considered a father? He didn't show up until she was TEN! Renee had to pull herself from her thoughts before she started to get angry. She wrapped her legs around James' waist, and her arms gently around his neck, and kissed his cheek. "Ready when you are captain." She said, saluting him, and laughed.

[Katie]

With a slight, breathy chuckle, James looked up and behind him to catch Ren’s eyes. ”Of course, Ms. Labelle.” He grinned and winked at her, before wrapping his hands around her legs and hoisting her up a bit since she had slipped. Once he was certain that he had a good hold on her legs, and that she had her arms securely around his neck, he took off running. He didn’t run like he did when he was training for quidditch; he took long smooth strides in order to help Renee hold on. Fortunately, James was in excellent shape and had hardly no trouble running with her on his back, but he had a feeling that even if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have had a hard time. Renee was really light.

The passageway, which was lit with torches on the walls that seemed to never go out, only had one flight of stairs, opposed to the seven you had to run up when going the normal way to the dorms. James took the stairs three, even four times a stride, keeping up with a pretty good pace. Before he knew it, the end of the passageway was in sight. He gently set Ren down off his back and smiled. ”Enjoy the ride, did you?” He laughed and reached for her hand to move them out of the passageway, but not without giving her a peck on the lips first.

The common room was a few feet from the tapestry that led to the passageway, so they didn’t have to walk very far. Before they stepped in however, James said a small prayer that everyone was at supper and that the Common Room was empty. He didn’t want to be interrupted. In a small voice he said, ”Godric Gryffindor” to the painting of the Fat Lady and stepped inside as it swung open. ’Yes.’ He thought with a grin as he walked in and saw it was empty. He quickly brought Ren over and had her sit, before moving over to get a fire going. Once the wood was in, he took out his wand and muttered, ”Incendio.” Once he was sure that it was going to last, he went over and flopped down on the couch beside Renee, making a big scene and bopping up and down on the couch, making the whole thing move.

{Sorry for the late reply! And its a bit crappy... :/}