— and I'm sorry that I couldn't do this fic justice, because I'm terribly forgetful.

Lily was fucked.

Thoroughly and utterly fucked.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Marlene said, waving her hand. "You just realized what everyone else knew, that's all."

Lily glared at her, her hands coiling into fists. "Well, it's more jarring to the person in question!" she snapped.

Approximately five minutes and twelve seconds ago, Lily had discovered that she fancied James Potter.

"There's nothing wrong with fancying the bloke," Marlene said reasonably. "Loads of girls do. He's not my type, but I wouldn't object to a snog if he wasn't like a brother to me." She made a face.

Lily stopped pacing in favor of sighing and burrowing her hands in her hair. "What am I going to do?"

"Tell him, like any normal person would do," her friend suggested dryly, reaching for a magazine on her nightstand. "The bloke's lo — liked you since fifth year. I doubt he'll react negatively."

"But it's us!" Lily resumed pacing. "We have history."

"Yes, but you also have chemistry," Marlene pointed out, opening the magazine. "Anyone with a functioning pair of eyes can see it."

"We're — we're —" Lily gestured aimlessly. "We're like fire and ice. Or peanut butter and pickles. We don't mix."

"Lils." Marlene shut the magazine, sat up, and looked her friend in the eyes very intently. "I think he'd be more than willing to melt for you. You're overthinking this way more than you need to. I mean, peanut butter and pickles?"

Lily deflated under the weight of her gaze. "You're right. I just have to figure how to tell him without fucking things up between us."

"Oh trust me," Marlene said sagely, reopening her magazine. "That's the last thing you'll do."

Rationally, Lily should've stuck with something simple, like a card or even a face-to-face verbal confession.

But Lily knew James preferred boldness, the go-big-or-go-home strategy. He'd expressed that throughout several occasions and had embarrassed and infuriated Lily to no end, which had demolished any hopes of her agreeing to a date.

But now, Lily wanted to go all-out. She wasn't sure if she was prepared for the potential rejection, but at least James would know how she felt. It would be awkward as hell to be around him, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

So Lily planned something elaborate, pulling out all the stops and even roping Marlene into it. She set foot into Zonko's for the first time in her life — an experience that she would never recount ever again, for it brought wave-upon-wave of abject horror.

On Christmas Day was when she finally set the plan into motion.

James had been expecting an ordinary morning. He did not expect to be woken with a spray of water to the face, and for one beaming, mischievous redhead to say cheerfully, "Wakey-wakey, lazybones!"

Blearily, he shoved his glasses on his face and realized it was half-past nine.

"Bloody hell, Evans," he groaned goodnaturedly, "I love you and all, but why do you insist on waking me up in the most unconventional ways possible?"

Lily flushed at the words I love you and James felt a flicker of hope. She had been doing that more lately, blushing whenever he gave her a smile or praised her in some form. Maybe she wasn't as immune to his charms anymore…?

"It's because of the look on your face, like you've just seen a Thestral," she said.

"A Thestral is one thing," he said solemnly, waggling his finger in front of her face, "water as a wake-up call is another."

"But in this case, you're a git and you deserve it," she retorted, though it contained no malice. James pretended to be offended.

"How dare you?" he gasped. "What have I done to deserve this kind of abuse?"

Lily giggled, a light, lifting sound, and James's heart soared — mind you, he was soaked, but he felt like the luckiest man on Earth.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a mountain of presents awaiting me downstairs," she said, bouncing on her toes. "I was going to be nice and open them with you, but since you're being such a lazy arse…"

"Oh please, you left all niceties behind when you decided to spray me with water."

James received a pretty good haul this year, but there was notable absence — he didn't really know what he'd been thinking, his and Lily's friendship was still brand new, but he had gotten his hopes up —

"Oh, James, this is lovely!" Lily had unwrapped his gift. It was a pair of earrings, a pure emerald in the center and sparkling diamonds around it.

It had cost James a pretty pence, but it was reimbursed with the look of surprise and joy on her face.

"I'm going to wear these right now," she announced. "Could you hold my hair back for me, please?"

James had seen his mother put on earrings many times; he knew the action did not require someone to hold your hair back for you, but he complied anyway, mostly because he wanted to.

He delved his fingers into her hair, marveling at how soft it was, and delicately pulled it back so that her earlobe was exposed. She slid one of the earrings into one ear, and then as James held back hair on the other side, slid in the second one.

It matched her eyes, as James knew it would, and she looked ineffably gorgeous, and James felt like he was fifteen and newly in love all over again.

"Thank you, James," she said warmly, practically radiating with elation, and he was over the fucking moon —

And that was duly crushed as Lily stood and declared it was time for breakfast, and she had yet to give him a present.

(He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.)

Lily's hands were shaking as she and James entered the Great Hall. It was now or never.

She winked inconspicuously at Marlene, who was concealed in a corner. Within seconds, fireworks exploded, and everyone fell silent.

Her heart pounding, she watched as the fireworks spelled out in blazing letters, Go - out - with - me -

James sighed. "Guess we'll have to supervise another detention tonight," he muttered to Lily, who was too anxious to listen.

- Potter?

Lily chanced a glance at James beside her. He was slack-jawed, wide-eyed, speechless. She took that as her cue.

"So?" Lily prompted. "What'll it be?"

"Who — what — I?" James blabbered when he finally regained speech. "Who on Earth—"

She took a deep breath. No going back now.

"What do you say?" She raised her voice so that everyone could hear her. "Go out with me, Potter?"

He registered her words, turned to face her, gaped. Lily forced herself to smile. Blood was roaring in her ears.

"You—"

"Yeah, me," she said, a thousand stares burning into her. "I know we haven't had the smoothest of relationships, but if you'll have me—"

He chose that moment to respond. "If I'll have you?" he asked loudly. "Now that's a offer I can't turn down."

Her heart stilled. "Is that a —?"

"Yes," he said, grinning brilliantly. "Yes, I'll have you, Lily Evans. Yes!"

Their audience was deathly quiet, but it was Sirius Black who broke the silence with a "Finally!" and everyone else joined in with applause, and Lily felt roused —

— but the only thing that mattered was that James had said yes, and she was no longer afraid.

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