James Potter // Failed Road Trips

omg?? two posts in a day?? what is she cooking 🔥🔥🔥🔥

nothing.

i'm bored and unemployed and uni doesn't start anytime soon so here we are. ik i said i hate my writing but the comments have given me a bit of an ego boost and it's made me want to write more - even if it sucks. ESPECIALLY if it sucks. i thrive on hate now. go nuts w this one, nerds.

also this is an american au bc why tf not. didn't give it a second read bc i'm on a roll now.

***

the car jerked to a stop as sirius pressed on the brakes, hoping none of the cranks, whom he so dearly calls his friends, would wake up from their deep slumber. the 5 of them had been the ones excited about the idea of a road trip but when the "road trip! road trip! road trip!" chants died out about 10 minutes into the drive, the complaints began to kick in. lily had been driving initially, y/n in the passenger's seat and marlene in the extra single seat behind the backseat. sirius was stuck in the backseat with remus in between him and james. remus - who valued his personal space more than anything and james - who didn't give two fucks about that.

"fucking hell, prongs, will you stop manspreading like a whore?" remus gritted, shoving his pillow in between him and james in order to create distance.

"i'm not manspreading, you dolt, this damned car is so small my knees hurt; i'm just stretching it out, besides don't pretend like you don't enjoy being so close to sirius," james retorted, teasing. remus turned red and sirius huffed, clearly flustered.

y/n made eye contact with james through the rear view mirror, and scolded him, "james, stop that. we chose the car together and i remember you agreed on this one specifically."

james glared at y/n, muttering, "traitor," and then louder, "this was literally the cheapest option, alright? forgive me for wanting to save a few bucks." he rolled his eyes at them.

"says the one who buys y/n gifts constantly," remus piped in, eyes gleaming at the opportunity to tease james in return.

it was his turn to become flustered now, avoiding making eye contact with her. y/n's cheeks, in turn, turned pink and she avoided his eyes, too.

lily's fingers drummed the steering wheel, gaining y/ns attention "can y'all just tolerate this for just another-" y/n looked at the navigation system, and finished her incomplete sentence, "-four hours."

the entire backseat abrupted in chaos.

"4 hours in this cramped up place!?""with this asshole next to me?!""it's really not that bad,"

"i'm perfectly comfortable here!" marlene drawled, folding her arms and watching the drama unfold. the best seats in the car happened to be the extra one at the back, the passengers and the driver's.

lily grinned at marlene and sent a soft smile to sirius through the rear-view mirror at his response. they were so cute, honestly.

that had been about 6 hours ago when they left as the sun began to set. in that period of time, there were various fights over the choice of music, the continuous pit stops for someone or the other to relieve themselves and worst of all - who got to sit in the passenger's and extra seat to escape the cramped up back seat.

sirius looked out the window at the motel sign that glared a bright neon colour:

SUNLIT MOTEL OPEN 24/7 ROOMS AVAILABLE

he glanced at the time; it was almost midnight and he needed to catch some sleep too. remus was asleep, with his head propped against the side window, his mouth slightly opened. sirius almost felt bad for wanting to wake him up, he looked so peaceful. but he could also benefit from a good sleep in a motel bed. a good option than a car, really. he gently roused him. remus' eyes opened and he sat up slowly, looking to sirius confused. he felt a slight tension in his neck and he stretched it out.

"figured we could use a motel to sleep for the night," sirius explained, pulling the keys from the ignition and grabbing his wallet.

"yeah, right. everyone must be really tired after all that bickering," remus snorted, glancing at the backseat and what he found was even more amusing, but not surprising.

marlene was propped up to the side, her head lolled against the glass, she was snoring softly. lily was right at the back, comfortable in her own solace. james and y/n, on the other hand, were huddled close, their heads resting against each other, james' arm around her frame and y/n curled up at his side.

sirius followed his gaze and chuckled at the sight, "i'll go book the rooms, wake them up,"

"yeah, alright, we'll be there." remus rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. sirius walked towards the entrance and went to talk to the receptionist.

remus placed his hand on marlene's shoulder, "marlene, wake up. sirius stopped at a motel for us to get some sleep, come on."

marlene groaned but woke nevertheless, blinking the drowsiness from her eyes, "thank fuck, i would rather sleep in a motel bed than be a third wheel with these two nunchucks," she exhaled, opening the door and stretching her legs out, "wake up, you idiots, we're at a motel, let's get some real sleep."

lily abruptly woke up right after hearing the word motel, determined to get her complete 8 hours of sleep on a bed. remus pushed the seat in front and let lily walk out. she patted remus' shoulder in gratitude and walked sleepily arm in arm with marlene to the motel.

y/n and stirred slightly at the noise and opened one eye to see what the sound was. remus felt her gaze and softly said, "come on, let's go sleep on a bed. we're at a motel,"

y/n hummed, still sleepy. she looked at the soft pillow she was sleeping on and froze when she realised she was cuddling james. she cleared her throat, no longer sleepy, "go ahead, we'll be right there."

remus nodded and ruffled her hair affectionately, grabbed his bag and followed the girls into the motel.

"james," she whispered and shook him gently.

he hummed in response, his hands rubbing her arms to pull her closer. she felt her body warm up at his actions, "you 'kay?" his voice was low and sleep ridden. it made her face feel hot.

"yeah, come on, sirius stopped at a motel for us to get some sleep. i'm sure he's feeling drowsy, too." she pulled back from his warm embrace and stretched her arms above her head, stifling a yawn.

james smirked, his eyes still closed, "i bet you he's gonna book a room with a single bed for remus and him."

y/n swatted his chest, "stop teasing them, james!"

he opened his eyes to look at her reaction and grabbed her hand before she could pull back, "they're so easy to tease. besides they're already dating it's not like they're not aware of each other's feelings."

"bully," she narrowed her eyes at him, snatching her hand away dramatically, ignoring the butterflies in her tummy, "i know that, potter, but i'm not gonna make them feel uncomfortable by saying things like that!"

james looked smug, "they secretly enjoy it, y/n. you would, too," he raised an eyebrow at her, challenging.

she rolled her eyes, "alright, loverboy, that's enough of you, let's go." she jumped out of the car, stretching her legs out. she walked in step with james, her bag slung over his right shoulder and his carry bag on his left. he opened the door and let her through. the receptionist called out to them, "i'm assuming you two are with mr. black?"

y/n nodded, "did they already go to their rooms?" they looked around, but none of his friends were to be seen.

"yeah. they seemed tired. they've asked for three rooms; you guys got lucky - those were the last 3 left. but not to worry, your room is just opposite to theirs." she smiled at y/n.

james leaned against the counter and sent a knowing smirk to y/n, who tried to fight the smile that was threatening to show on her face. james always managed to look effortlessly attractive - even when he's just woken up, hair all messy, carrying 2 bags, looking at her with that stupid smirk.

the receptionist placed the key on the counter, "have a nice night." james grabbed the key and led the way towards the corridors. the lights flickered softly.

"seems like a decent motel. newly built. so maybe their services couldn't be that shitty," y/n muttered under her breath as they made their way through the corridors and james chuckled in response to her rant.

he stopped infront of the room 30 and opened the door, allowing her in, "m'lady,"

she mocked curtsy, "thank you, ser." she walked in and her heart stuttered for a millisecond.

there was only one bed.

james followed behind her, placing the bags down. he seemed to notice her hesitancy and he broke her out of her thoughts, "hey, love, don't worry, i'll sleep on the floor."

she pried her eyes away from the bed and looked at him, "what? no, are you insane? the floor is worse than the car. i'll be fine, james, really, it's not that big of a deal."

he searched her eyes, "are you sure?"

she nodded her head, smiling.

"you have to tell me if it gets uncomfortable, alright?" his eyes were so soft and the way he was talking to her made her melt.

"james, seriously," she said, "this is fine. if it gets uncomfortable, i will tell you. i always do."

james smiled at her response.

"are you okay with this?" she asked tentatively, her fingers fidgeting with the gold ring on her finger.

james' heart warmed whenever she wore his gifts. especially since the band he gifted was on her right ring finger.

"yes. more than okay."

***

sleep did not come to either of them until 2am. they both laid on their backs, eyes wide open, whispering and laughing and exchanging stories. when they first got into the bed, they remained at the edges of the bed, too scared to inch any closer to the other. now, over the course of 2 hours, they managed to break that barrier and move closer.

y/n turned to her side to face him, "you really think that?"

he mimicked her position, "i know so, love. it should be a crime to think otherwise."

"melted ice cream is not a serious offence," she laughed at him, incredulous.

"well it should be," james rolled his eyes. he loved teasing her about her melted ice creams.

"it's like a sweet soup, jamie, why would you hate sweet soup?" she reasoned, propping her head up using her elbow.

"soup? that's the first time i've ever heard someone describe ice cream as sweet soup. it's a milkshake, at best!" he argued, his hand twirling the free strand of her hair.

"i'm not arguing with someone who uses pictures as the only way to communicate via text," she retorted, knowing that would get a rise out of him. if there's anything james potter prided himself in was his seeker abilities and his outrageous collection of random pictures and memes.

"low blow, love," he deadpanned. he tried to act pissed but seeing her in such a free natural state and so, so beautiful and so damn funny. he tried not to laugh at every joke she made so she wouldn't think him down bad tryna hit.

y/n settled back down on her pillow and a comfortable silence fell upon them. no one spoke and y/n found herself liking the fact that she could exist with james like this in silence that isn't so awkward. she was starting to get sleepy and he was, too, she could see it in his eyes. they were pretty close now; close enough for her to see the freckles on his skin. her cheeks tinted and she was about the pull away when james said, "you're cute when you're flustered,"

that made her feel even more flustered, her heart fluttering at the proximity.

"comfortable?" he muttered, low enough for her to hear.

"very." she pulled closer to him and james had to control everything in himself to not close his eyes and lean against her. confidence surged through him as he inched closer, their shoulders touching now.

he leaned his head against hers, "come on, love, let's get some sleep. we have a long ride tomorrow," he kissed her forehead and pulled back.

y/n tucked herself closer to his body, grabbing his hand that rested between their bodies and held onto it, "good night, jamie."

"good night, y/n."