Lily Evans pushed him away suddenly ending the abrupt kiss that had just occurred. James Potter opened his mouth to talk to her, but Lily began to run down the hall. He had very little chance of catching up with her since he was standing as if stunned by one of their magical spells.
Lily ran and ran as if he would catch her as soon as she stopped. She ran almost randomly until she saw the stairs to the Astronomy Tower. Potter would never expect her to be there, she decided, quickly running up the stairs. The Astronomy Tower was completely against the rules at this time of night, and Lily Evans never broke rules.
Lily Evans also did not kiss boys in the middle of arguments. Lily Evans especially did not kiss James Potter in the middle of an argument. She was not exactly sure how it had occurred. One moment, they were arguing. Potter had stepped closer, his fury evident in his face. The close distance had made her heart beat ten times its normal rate, and before she knew it she had closed the small amount of distance left with a kiss.
Lily groaned. Potter would now know that she fancied him. She had always fancied him. She had fancied him since first year. But Potter had always been difficult, arrogant, and frustrating so she had always turned him down when he asked her out. Lily now sighed as she took a spot on the floor and leaned against the railing. Then, this year had happened. They were put together as co-Heads and the bad character traits she despised him for seemed to decline and the good character traits she loved him for seemed to take their place.
Then, they had become friends. Friends who laughed together, studied together, ate together…and fought together. Lily had tried to fight her feelings for him, but there was a chemistry that erupted between them that was impossible to ignore. Lily could feel it and she knew James could feel it.
Lily sighed. And that kiss… Now, he would really know the truth. She felt safe. Potter would never find her up here, she reminded herself. It was completely unexpected.
Then, Lily heard footsteps. She gasped and stood up quickly. How could she explain being in the Astronomy Tower this late at night? She could use Heads rounds as an excuse, but it was way past the times he should be doing rounds. She and Potter had snuck out to head to the kitchens when the inevitable kiss had occurred.
The footsteps neared, and then a man stepped into the light, and she let out a deep groan. Potter had found her.
"Potter," Lily said, quickly turning away from him, trying not to see his expression.
He tossed her his tell-tale grin. "Evans."
She could still hear his footsteps as he gingerly stepped closer. Suddenly, she could feel him right behind her, and she inwardly groaned…yet again.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, turning against her better judgment. Potter wasted no time in pushing her back against the wall and pressing his lips demandingly to her own lips. Lily could feel her brain turning to mush, her heart bursting into loud music, her pulse rushing as she instantly responded to his warm lips. She found her arms winding up around his neck, playing gently with his messy black hair.
Then, suddenly her brain seemed to catch up with her. She pulled away and tried to step out of his soft grip, but Potter was too fast for her. This time, he was ready.
"You kissed me, Lily," he said, softly. "Why?" His hazel eyes watched her as she looked away from him. She desperately needed space. Her mind could not work with his arms wrapped around her waist, and his eyes so close to hers.
"Let me go," she whispered.
"No," he said, his eyes glimmering with a hope she hadn't seen in a long time.
"Potter," she said, warningly attempting again to move out of his grasp.
"Do you fancy me?" he demanded, his eyes studying her, waiting for an answer. Lily reluctantly looked up at him, and then sighed.
"Potter, please let me go?" she asked, softly.
"Why?" he asked.
"You're too close. I can't think," she reluctantly admitted.
Potter grinned cheekily. "That's really okay with me, Evans, seeing as you will think of an excuse to get out of this predicament."
"Potter," Lily said, warningly. He leaned down and firmly pressed his lips against hers once more. Lily sighed into the kiss as he pulled her body close to him, and moved his hands to her red hair. Then, he stepped back, allowing her space.
"I will stop you if you try to run," he warned, with a slight smirk.
Lily found that she didn't like having her space back. She felt cold now that he was gone. She frowned, and then said, softly. "The kiss just happened," she lied. "It didn't mean anything."
To her surprise, his eyes flashed in sudden anger. "It didn't mean anything?" he stepped forward. His eyes were furious. "Don't lie to me, Evans."
Lily sighed, knowing that there was no longer any way out of admitting the truth. "Fine, Potter, maybe I fancy you a little…but not enough to chance you breaking my heart."
His eyes changed from furious to incredulous back to furious. "Breaking your heart?" he yelled. "I have put my heart on the line for you every day for the past seven years…and you put no care into resisting shattering my heart." His furious eyes looked almost curious as he studied her. "How long have you fancied me?" he asked.
Lily wanted desperately to rewind the evening and start over. She wanted to act as if the kiss had never happened and that they were still just good friends who happened to secretly fancy each other.
"Why can't we just stay friends?" Lily asked. "This year has been good."
"Good?" he said, sarcastically. "I know you can feel the chemistry between us. I know you feel what I feel. I can't just be friends with you, Lily. Answer my question. How long have you fancied me?"
"For a while," she answered generically.
"For a while?" he repeated. "So, what, since the beginning of this year?"
Lily's cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red.
"No?" he continued. "Then, sixth year?"
Lily finally responded by shaking her head.
He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Fifth year?"
"Potter," she interrupted. She couldn't continue to watch his utter disbelief as he continued to guess. "I've fancied you since the day you had the correct answer in McGonagall's class before me, and you got it wrong just so I could say the answer."
He stared at her silently. "You've fancied me since first year?" he asked.
Lily looked down at the ground. His disbelief seemed to grow and with it, his anger. "We could have been together all this time?" he said. "Why did you keep turning me down?"
"Because, Potter, you were arrogant. I fancied you, but I sure didn't want to! You and Black always picked on Severus, my best friend at the time…. You played pranks that caused utter mayhem, you asked me out every single day instead of just trying to get to know me, and you would flirt with other girls all the while… Do you really think if I had said yes the first time you asked me out in third year that we would have made it through our school career still together?"
Potter stared at her, and then he reluctantly shook his head. "We probably wouldn't have made it…but what about now?"
Lily sighed. What about now? Lily was out of excuses to not be with Potter. She fancied him. He fancied her. He had made it clear that we wanted what they had to last. And he had put his heart on the line for her millions of times. It was about time she put some trust in him, and take a chance.
"Now?" Lily whispered as she closed the gap between them. She put her arms around his waist and moved closer to him. She leaned her head on his chest, and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. "Now, we take the chance," she whispered almost so quietly that he couldn't hear. Then, she leaned up on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips against his once more. He quickly leaned down and kissed her back. Then, he took her hand in his, and led her down the stairs into the astronomy tower, and towards the Heads common room. Lily had finally decided… It was time to take the chance and put her heart on the line.