A Memory in the Making
By Misha

Disclaimer- Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and is not mine, however much I might wish differently. I don't own the song either, sorry. However, I am not making any money off of this story, so please do not sue me!

Author's Notes- This is part of my "Friends and Memories" series, which is an AU (as of OotP) series focusing on the friends of Lily Evans. This is a short piece about Peter and Vinny, a fictional sister of Arthur. This is set in the present tense, which I know is weird, but it worked best that way. It's just a short, quick relationship piece. That's all, enjoy!

Pairings- Peter/Vinny.

Rating- PG-13

Summery- They are sixteen and the possibilities seem endless, if only for this brief moment in time.

Spoilers- None, really.

They sit in a circle of people, the girl leaning against the boy's legs. He absently plays with her long red hair. Her eyes are fastened on another young man and the redheaded girl snuggled into his arms. She watches with sorrow in her blue eyes for a long moment. Finally she tears her eyes away and looks up at the young man she's with.

She smiles at him. "What are you thinking?" She asks lightly, desperate not to show her true feelings.

"Just how beautiful you are." He tells her truthfully, for he sees nothing but her, whereas her feelings are not as simple.

She looks into his face and earnest eyes. He is not an unattractive young man with light brown hair and big, soft brown eyes. An adorable teddy bear of a young man, not the sports hero that some of his friends were, but still attractive and kind. Very kind.

She wishes she could love him. She's very fond of him, she likes being with him, but her heart belongs to another. To someone who will never love her. She'll never let the secret out though.

"You're so sweet." She whispers now, her voice warm and affectionate.

He blushes and she laughs gently and reaches up to kiss him.

He really is a nice boy and she knows she's lucky to have him. She just wishes that he was the other boy, but she knows that not fair.

She knows most of her feelings aren't fair. She settled. She picked him, not because he was the one she wanted, but because he was the one left.

Four boys, four girls, it seemed natural they'd pair off. Well, ok, technically there were five girls, but Alice had paired off with Frank early, leaving no squabbles.

It seemed perfect.

Fire paired with fire. Lainey and Sirius were the hot-heads, the live wires of the group and together they crackled. Paired with any one else, they would have burnt their partner alive.

On the same token, calm shore to calm shore. Erin and Remus were calm and rational, the glue that held their groups together. They had a softness, a quiet that matched perfectly, they could be together in total silence and perfectly content.

Then... Well, shining star with shining star. James and Lily... They both stood above the crowd, both destined for greatness, unable to be anything by number one. Together, they were the perfect couple, destined for great things.

That left Peter for Vinny and they didn't match as well. She's bright and vivacious, the spoiled baby of her family, and he's quiet and unassuming, the perpetual tag along.

Everyone outside their circle always looked at them in disbelief, unable to believe that they match up. And yet... In a weird way, it works.

Neither of them will ever be the leader or the shining star. He will be forever out-shined by the brilliant James and the intense Sirius, forever following their lead and she will always be in the shadow of the incomparable Lily and the passionate Elaine, always overlooked next to them.

The difference is, he has accepted that lot in life and is happy to look to another for guidance, where as she is bothered by it, bothered by the fact that she will never truly shine. She wishes for more, but never lets him know it. He may not be the one she wants, but he's the one she has and she cares too much to ever hurt him.

Besides, she knows it's only temporary. Maybe some high school romances are meant to last forever, but not this one. She knows it'll end after graduation, that they'll go their separate ways and keep their fond memories and that is what keeps her from ever voicing her unhappiness. It may not last, but she wants him to have happy memories, it's the least she can do.

"What are you thinking?" It is his turn to ask.

She gives him a beaming smile, one that shows none of her inner turmoil. "Just about all the happy memories we'll make." She tells him truthfully.

He leans down and kisses her, unmindful of the others watching, and she kisses him back, knowing that one day he'll look back on this memory with fondness and that she will too, because if you can't have love, then affection is a good second.