7CHASER 2 (bats) (6. "Choose it or lose it", 8. family, 13. bold)
If You Dare Challenge: 181. In A Coma
Disney Character Competition: Prince Eric: a sweet, adventurous prince who falls in love with Ariel. Write about someone falling in love with a person who saves their life.
"I'd rather die my way than live yours."-Delirium Quotes Competition
One Million Words Competition: 3701 words
A/N: I really had no idea what to do for an establishment of a democracy-and then I remembered a topic that I had just recently done a huge project on. The Korean War. So I decided to use that somehow, and incorporate James and Lily into it. THIS IS A COMPLETE AU SO I DECIDED TO AU EVERYTHING DON'T JUDGE. Let's pretend everyone here is from United States.
James!
Join The Army!
The Army is leaving For Korea!
The army is going to Korea-a place halfway across the world-to make it a democratic government!
What an honourable thing our country is doing!
And we need your help! There will be little violence, so do not fear!
We need men to come with us!
So join the army, and be a proud American soldier!
Lily smiled. She was going to finally do it. What she had been dreaming of her whole life. She was going to join the army.
She tore the poster off the brick wall in triumph. She didn't care what her dad was going to say; she was finally going to do it.
She carefully folded the poster and tucked it into her pocket.
"Hey, you can't just tear down the poster like that!" a voice from behind her called.
She froze in her spot. Then, she slowly turned around to see a young man her age with messy black hair, blue eyes, and glasses.
He was tall, but not too tall, and he was smirking at her.
"Why ever not?"
"Others want to see it too, you know," he said, maintaining his smirk.
"Well as you can clearly notice, these posters are plastered all over town! One poster being torn down will not change anything," she remarked haughtily.
"Oi James, which girl are you bothering this time?"
Lily turned to see a dazzling handsome young man with a pale face, black hair and black eyes. He, too, was tall, but not too tall. While the first young man was handsome in a rugged, boyish way, this young man was handsome in an elegant way-he was almost beautiful.
"Come off it, James," another young man, standing beside the second said.
This young man was neither chubby nor scrawny, with brown hair and brown eyes. He, unlike the two others, was average height.
"Well she just tore down a war poster," the first young man, presumably James said.
"Did she now?" the second young man said, grinning cockily at her.
She rolled her eyes. She was going to walk right passed them; they were being so irritating.
She put her hand into her pocket and clutched the piece of paper that would decide her future tightly. With that, she walked right passed them.
"Hey you!" James called. She stopped in her tracks. "What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you?" she asked.
"So I know what to call you next time," he said.
"Why are you so sure that there'll be a next time?" she said scoffing.
"Oh I just know. Fate has intertwined our paths." She could practically hear him smirking.
"Lily," she said softly, "Lily Evans."
She began to walk away when she was interrupted once again. "Aren't you going to ask for my name?"
"No, for I am sure that our paths will not be intertwined once more, nor do I wish it to be so." She then proceeded to walk away.
"Mate, I think you just got rejected!"
"I did not!"
"Oh yes you did!"
"Oh no, you are not joining the army!"
"I will do what I want, father!" Lily shouted. "This is my life, and I should choose my own path that I want to take!"
"You are a woman! Your job is to marry a rich man, like Severus Snape, and give him children! Your job is to cook, clean, and take care of children! Women are not barbaric like you are, running around and wanting to join the army!" her father bellowed.
"I will marry whoever I want to! And women have every right to do what they please, whether it is to be barbaric-like men, I must add-or to marry a rich man!" she yelled.
"You are a weak little girl who knows of nothing! You will surely die if you leave!" he roared.
"I'd rather die my way than live yours!"
There was silence. Then, he spoke. "Fine, girl. Do what you want. But know that when the time comes that you need my help, it will not be given. You are no longer my daughter."
Lily cried for the mother that she used to have. She cried for the mother who would have stood up for her. She cried for the father she could have had. She cried for the father that she had had, once upon a time. She cried for the father that she was about to leave, for the last and final time, and for the mother that might join. But mostly, she cried for herself.
After she finally stopped crying, she wiped up her tears, washed her face with ice cold water, and packed her bag. She lay on her bed, and inhaled the familiar and comforting smell of old but clean blanket.
Then, she got up, and said goodbye to her room for the last time.
Feeling pain in her heart, she turned around with a last fleeting glance and left.
"Lily Evans, sir," she stated clearly.
"And what exactly are you here to do?" the man behind the counter asked.
"I'm here to sign up for the army," she said.
He laughed. "Don't even joke around, honey. Next!"
"Stupid twit," she muttered under her breath. "I'm not joking, sir," she said, raising her chin. "I'm here to sign up for the army."
He frowned at her. "Next!" he called out once more.
"Don't go skipping Lily Evans like that, sir!" she heard a voice say.
She twirled around to see the young man from before-James.
"What-" she started.
"You know this girl, Mr. Potter?" the man from behind the counter asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, in fact, this is my fiancée," he said, smiling broadly.
"Wh-" she raged, but not before he covered her mouth with his right hand.
"And now we have to go talk. But you have to let her in, okay?" he grinned at the man.
"Of course, sir. Anything for you, sir," the man said, smiling back.
James dragged her to an empty hallway where he finally uncovered her mouth-but not before she bit it.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked, swearing under his breath as he held his right hand in his left.
"What was that for? What do you mean, what was that for? You just lied to the man and said that I was your fiancée, which I am not!" she fumed.
"It was the only way that he'd let you! Anyway, why do you even want to join the army? Do you even know how to shoot a gun?" he asked, looking up at her.
"Of course I do! My mother taught me," she said, raising her chin proudly. "And why did he call you sir anyway?"
"Well my father is a… very high official," he said, not explaining any further.
She decided not to question it, as he had just helped her, even if it was by lying.
"Well… thank you anyway," she said, looking away.
He grinned at her. "Well we're supposed to go and meet up when we're called… but I heard that you kind of got chased out of your house?"
She didn't look at him.
"Well… you can stay at my house, if you want. My friend Sirius is already staying at my house, anyway. He has family problems, too, so that's why he's staying with me. My parents would be totally fine with it." Seeing the doubting looking on her face, he quickly added on. "We have lots of extra rooms."
"Well… I'd hate to be a burden… but I really have nowhere to stay. But I didn't take anything with me-" she began.
"It's okay, we have plenty of toothbrushes and plus, I think my mum is your size." James smiled. "By the way, I'm James. James Potter. On that note, I think that fate has intertwined our paths."
James winked at her.
"Mum, dad, this is Lily. Lily Evans," James said, giving emphasis especially on her last name. Lily saw his father and mother's eyebrows going up in comprehension. "She's going to be staying here until the army calls us to get trained."
James' mother rushed forward to welcome her. "Welcome, Lily! It's so nice to have you here! You can stay for as long as you want. I'm so happy that for once I'm not the only woman here," she said, winking at her. "Sirius dear, come greet your new housemate!"
Lily heard someone thundering down the stairs, and saw the young man that she had seen previously when she had first met James.
"Hey it's you! I saw you with James-you're the one who rejected him!" Sirius began laughing in bewilderment.
Lily saw James' mother mouth rejected to her husband with raised eyebrows.
"And you're the second of the weird trio," she replied back coolly.
"We are not weird," James intervened.
"Yes, honey, I think you are," Mrs. Potter said.
"Mrs. Potter!" Sirius said.
"Sirius, I told you a million times to call me Jane!" Mrs. Potter-Jane said. Jane turned to Lily. "This goes with you as well. Call me Jane."
"But-" Lily started.
"If you call me Mrs. Potter, I'll call you Ms. Evans, and would you like that?" Jane asked.
"Well no…" Lily pondered the thought. "Okay, Jane."
Jane beamed. "Now Sirius, you have to call me Jane or I'll call you Mr. Black."
Lily stiffened. Black? That must mean… that he came from the infamous Black gang…
"If you even dare to judge him for his family, I will not let you stay," James said with clenched teeth.
"I am not going to judge him because of his family. I was merely shocked," Lily whispered back.
"Lily, you can call me Colin," Mr. Potter said.
Lily smiled warmly. "Okay, Colin."
"James, show her to a room," Jane said.
"Oh yeah, Lily also needs clothes, mum," James added as he gently pushed the small of her back forward.
"Give her guest room three! I'll have clothes for you by dinner, don't you worry dear," Jane said kindly.
James led her up the stairs until she reached the fifth door to the right. "This is your room. There's a washroom in there, so don't worry. No one enters unless they knock, so don't worry. When you're bored or whatever, just come to the living room."
Lily turned to say thanks, but he was already gone.
Lily was fitting in nicely with the Potter family and Sirius. Sirius was very funny, she soon realized. He and James could banter back and forth easily and Lily found it amusing to watch.
Jane and Colin Potter were both loving and caring like the sort of dream parents she had always imagined having.
They fussed, loved, and gave you the personal space that they knew that you needed at this age.
She felt like she actually had a home.
The letter came too soon; when she felt like she didn't want to leave. Army was what she had been dreaming of all her life, and now she didn't want to go.
"Lily Evans!"
"Here!" she said, and felt the heads turning around to look at her. Yes, she was a girl, and yes, she was now in the army.
The colonel continued down the list until it came to a name that she couldn't help smile when she heard it.
"James Potter!"
"Here!" she heard his voice.
"Just because you're the general's son don't expect to get any special treatment," the colonel said.
"Of course! Sir!"
Lily snickered. James might be so lax and free outside, but in the army, he was so nervous. Lily could understand; it was probably because he had such high expectations to fill because of his father.
She heard someone snickering in front of her. She looked up to see Sirius trying to stifle his laughter. She saw someone beside him poking him to shut him up; Remus Lupin.
She had met him in her first days there. He was the last member of the weird trio. Well, technically not the last. There was this weird scrawny and chubby kid that followed them around; Peter Pettigrew.
He, however, had not followed them all the way to the army. Too scared, she guessed.
A shrill whistle blew. It was time to start training.
She started jogging at a steady pace. Some of the young men there who wanted to show off started off at a ridiculously quick pace.
Back when she had first started running, she would have tried to follow them. Now, she knew better. It was better to keep your own pace-but of course to keep track of what was going around you so that you weren't left behind.
"Evans!"
She quickly turned her head to see James waving at her. She rolled her eyes and continued jogging, but she did slow down a little.
"Want to bet who'll win?" he asked.
He had long since learned that he shouldn't boldly boast that he could beat her.
"Ten bucks that Lily will win," Sirius chimed in, jogging slightly in front of him.
"I don't think that'll be wrong," Remus panted as he struggled to keep up with James and Sirius.
James looked furious. "Sirius, you're supposed to bet for me so I can bet for Lily! What happened to the plan?" he hissed.
Lily rolled her eyes and began jogging at her normal pace, slowly leaving them.
"Hey! You're Lily, right?" another girl-one of the only ones there that she had seen earlier-said.
The girl had blond hair and rosy cheeks. She was smiling brightly at Lily.
"Yes. And you're…?" Lily trailed off, waiting for the girl to finish her sentence.
"I'm Marlene. You look like a pretty good runner. Want to race?" Marlene asked.
"I don't know… I've never seen you run before," Lily said.
"What, you don't think you can win?" Marlene mocked, smirking slightly.
"I can win." Lily's eyes gleamed with confidence and an urge to win.
"Okay then!" Marlene grinned.
The race was on.
Lily collapsed onto the ground, panting for air and breath. She had really over-exerted herself on this one, coming twelfth overall out of the five hundred soldiers there.
Marlene had come first.
"Wow, how do you run so fast?" Lily said, gasping for air.
Her muscles were so sore. She knew that she should walk it off, but she didn't think that she could.
"Let's just say that I have really good genes," Marlene grinned. She had arrived five minutes earlier.
James and Sirius burst passed the finish line at the same time, tying for fortieth.
"Evans, what place?" James panted.
"Twelfth," Lily said; heartbeat slowly calming down.
"Wow Evans, you're amazing," Sirius said.
"Not as good as Marlene. Marlene came first," Lily said, pointing wearily to where Marlene stood.
James and Sirius gaped.
"Seriously?" James asked, shocked.
"I'm Sirius, not her," Sirius joked. "But did you honestly get first? That's amazing! You're beautiful and fast."
Lily rolled her eyes. And he was at it again.
"Marlene, this is James and Sirius. James and Sirius, this is Marlene. I decided to have a race for her and thought I could win. I was wrong," Lily added, grinning at her.
"Hey, you're pretty good yourself," Marlene said, grinning back.
Remus came hurtling passed the finish line. He landed on his face, and did not move.
"Remus, are you okay?" James asked, immediately at his friend's side. "I knew you shouldn't have run this race! You have asthma goddammit why did you? You should have told them you couldn't run it or something!"
Sirius quickly reached for Remus' pocket, and took out an inhaler, quickly putting it on his friend's lips.
Lily felt helpless as she could only watch her friend lying there.
Five minutes later, Remus was breathing again.
Lily had learned how to hold a gun properly, how to run with a gun, how to trudge through snow and rain, and how to dive when you heard gunshots.
To be a soldier, you needed to be trained properly.
She had so many bruises on her body that she felt like if someone touched her anywhere she would yelp in pain.
And now, it was finally here.
They were going to Korea.
They arrived in Korea, but things were nothing like she had expected. Instead of being out there in the front lines, she was out there, patrolling to make sure there was no trouble from Japan, helping the sick and hungry, and make sure that there were no problems.
The jet lag had affected them at first, but now, it didn't really matter. They had gotten used to the time change.
Lily couldn't help but feel pity and an urge to help the Koreans when she saw what terrible conditions they had been living in, even if she couldn't always help them.
"Lily!" James voice called.
"What is it?" Lily called back.
"Captain Lewis wants us to go check on that village that we can't get any communications from," James said, popping his head into her room.
"Just us?" she asked.
"No, Sirius, Remus and Marlene as well. He said that we need your and Marlene's speed, Remus' talent in speaking in Korean, and Sirius' and my brawns or something?" he said.
Lily laughed. "How long are we going for?"
"Just a day, apparently?" James said.
"Oh okay then we just have to go, no packing needed, right?"
"Yeah, that sounds pretty much right to me." James grinned at her. "It's like a double date, with Remus tagging along so that we don't do anything wrong."
"Oh shut up," Lily said, turning away to conceal her blush.
"James!" Lily cried.
The Koreans were throwing stones at them, and shouting things at them. A stone had struck James on the forehead, and he had fallen.
Lily quickly ran to his side.
"Remus, what are they saying?" Marlene asked.
"Something like 'Go away', 'Stop trying to control us', 'We deserve freedom', and 'You're just making things worse, we're better the way we are.'" Remus said.
"Say that we're not trying to control them!" Sirius said, desperation flashing in his eyes as he looked down to see James bleeding on Lily.
Lily took off her jacket and put it on his head wound.
"Lily calm down. Head wounds usually bleed a lot. Just try to control the blood loss so that he doesn't lose too much blood," Remus said, as he proceeded to shout something in Korean.
"James don't die, okay? Don't die don't die, please don't die," Lily begged as she firmly pressed her jacket onto his forehead.
She felt his slow and hot breath on her arm as she struggled to keep from crying. She held the jacket in place, hoping for the best.
"Sirius, Marlene, put your guns away. If we look threatening, they'll just keep on throwing rocks at us. It's not like we can shoot the stones that they're throwing at us," Remus said.
Sirius and Marlene reluctantly put their guns away, looking wearily at the Koreans.
The Koreans continued shouting things at them, and throwing stones at them. Sirius and Marlene tried their best to block the rocks from James and Lily, but one managed to strike Lily's left arm.
She let out a cry of pain and anguish. She was furious.
"WE'RE NOT TRYING TO HARM YOU!" she shouted as loud as she could.
There was silence all around, followed my murmurs.
Remus said something in Korean, and they slowly put down the stones in their hands.
Lily felt her head hit the ground, and everything went dark.
Lily woke up to feel a warm body beside her. She jumped in fear, and fell out of the cot.
"Lily! You're awake!" Marlene shouted, jumping up.
She was shushed from all around, and she sheepishly smiled at Lily.
"What happened? Why was I in a cot with James? Where are we?"
"Well you fainted right after you shouted at the Koreans. They finally understood that we were sincere, thanks to you. The reason you were in a cot with James… well there aren't exactly enough cots, and so you were on the ground. So once James woke up, surprisingly before you, he demanded you were put on the cot in place of him. So we just compromised that you could share a cot. And we're at the makeshift army hospital." Marlene quickly summarized.
"Is James okay?" Lily asked, worried.
"Yes, somehow. The doctor said that the impact of the stone should have damaged his brain more, but what can I say? He has a thick skull," Sirius said, grinning. "It's really thanks to Remus that we got through all this. Without his crazy Korean skills, we wouldn't have made it through that as perfectly fine as we are now. And of course, your scream at the end, Lily."
"Why thank you. It was quite brilliant, I know," Lily grinned.
"Guys, James is awake!" Remus burst out. Lily jumped up from her spot on the ground to see James opening his eyes.
"Hello beautiful," James croaked.
"You idiot! Why did you go and get hit like that?" Lily hugged him tightly.
"Can't-breathe-" James said, gasping for air.
Lily let go of him, realizing that she was hugging him.
"So I heard that you saved my life? Thanks, Lily," James said sincerely.
Lily blushed. "It was nothing."
The government had been set. The south side of Korea was a democracy, and the north side, taken by the Soviet Union, was a communist government.
Everyone was going back, but Lily and the others, as well as a few others, had been chosen to stay, just to monitor that things so that everything was running along smoothly.
"The North Koreans have planned a surprise attack! Get your guns!" James shouted.
Lily frantically reached for her gun, getting it out and running outside. She could hear the gunshots in the distance.
James ran in front of her, leading the small US troop.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Lily took position on the ground and aimed for the North Koreans.
Suddenly, James went down.
"JAMES!"
"He's in a coma. We're sorry, he might never wake up."