'Hey Evans, want to go on a date with me?'

'No Potter, go away!'

Lily and James' relationship had always been this way. James consistently asking Lily out, and Lily inevitably saying no. Every time there was a Hogsmeade weekend, every time there was any weekend, really, every time he had a spare second in the day. Lily was tired of his games, she didn't want the attention, and she definitely didn't want to go on a date with him.

'Hey Evans, do you want to play chess with me Saturday?' first year James asked Lily.

'No, thank you Potter. I have much better things to do with my time,' replied Lily, turning away from him with Severus, and leaving James standing alone in the corridor.

That was the first time that James had asked Lily out. He had been heartbroken, and a little downtrodden, but seeing as they had only had a couple of conversations in their lives, and usually all they talked about was the new Transfiguration essay, James tried not to take it to heart. Besides, with Lily not being so keen, it only made the game more interesting. It gave James a chase, and he had always been a keen chaser. He had resolved to get Lily, even if it was the last thing that he did.

'Hey Evans, want to meet me after I win the Quidditch match?'

'No Potter, I'm not even going to watch the game.'

'What? You have to come and see me play! It's the first one! Gryffindor pride!'

'No thanks Potter.'

Damn! James had thought that that one was definitely going to work. It wasn't even an actual date, just hanging out after Quidditch! What was her problem? He could hang out with Sirius after Quidditch without it meaning anything, why couldn't he do the same with Lily? Obviously, he wanted it to be different with Lily, he was not into kissing Sirius, but he would be happy at this point with just some friendship.

Why was she pushing him away so hard? He wasn't doing anything wrong! Maybe she just wasn't ready to commit to him yet. Yes! That must be it! She had other friends; maybe she was threatened by the tightness of his group. Maybe she thought that he and Sirius were... No! It definitely wasn't that. Well, he'd keep trying. Lily had to come around eventually right?

'Hey Evans, want to come to Hogsmeade with me next Saturday?'

'Potter! I already told you no! I'm going with Severus.'

James knew it was a long shot. He'd already asked Lily three times, and all three times, she'd said no. He figured that maybe she'd just not been sure about who she wanted to go with, but now after 4 times of asking, she had finally given him a reason. That slimeball Snape was going with her. James could never see why she liked him so much. Snape was slimy and evil, his little friends practicing their nasty little spells.

He was not good enough for her and that was what was so frustrating. No matter how much he tried to show Lily that Snape was no good, it always seemed to send her running back into his arms. He'd tried to show him up, point him out for his wrongdoings, and show him up in front of Lily. It didn't seem to work though.

Well, maybe he could try for 5 times? Maybe if he agreed to let Snivelly meet up with them? Anything to spend some time with Lily.

'Hey Evans, fancy an evening stroll? I heard the castle looks beautiful in the moonlight.'

'No Potter. It's just never gonna happen. Why on Earth would I want to spend any extra time with you?'

James stuck his nose in the air, trying to hide his disappointment. He raised his eyebrows, and walked away proudly. People seemed to think that he was so arrogant, and didn't have any feelings, but truth was, every time he got rejected, it hurt even more. James couldn't let anyone know that though. He was much, much too proud to show anyone that he was upset about it. Surely she was just saying no for the fun of it now? Besides, there were plenty of other girls who were desperate to go out with him. He'd already been asked on a date this week, one that Sirius had persuaded him that it would be a good idea for him to go on.

Honestly, he thought that Emmeline Vance, who was in Ravenclaw, was a lovely girl, but she was not Lily. He was looking forward to the Hogsmeade weekend with her, but it would be much better if Lily was going too. Sirius, Remus and Peter were all going to shadow him on the date. Peter in particular was very excited about it all, but James would rather they didn't really. The whole thing was going to be awkward enough without them tracking him! What if there was kissing? Was there likely to be kissing? He didn't know what to do! He really hoped there would be no kissing.

'Hey Evans, want to go for a swim in the Black Lake?'

'No Potter, but if you like I can dunk you in the Black Lake.'

Ouch, that one was a bit harsh. He knew she wasn't keen, but threats now? She had been a bit tense lately, after everything that had happened with Snape, but she didn't need to be so mean. But James fronted it well. He didn't want anyone to know just how hurt he was, but it really upset him that even though Lily was mad at Snape, she seemed to be taking it out on James. All he wanted was one date. James had even dated Emmeline for several months in an attempt to show Lily that he was over her. Unfortunately, it hadn't really worked.

Emmeline had been nice, but she really was nothing compared to Lily. All James had succeeded in doing was leading Emmeline on, not on purpose, but he just realised that he didn't like her very much. He hated that he had to let her go, but they were still friends, and so at least he hadn't messed up too bad. But Lily still didn't want to date him. Why? He had kissing experience now!

'Hey Evans, want to have a private dinner with me this weekend?'

'No Potter, I'm perfectly capable of eating by myself.'

Well, he hadn't exactly suggested feeding her, but it was good to know that Lily was very independent. James had already organised this one. He had met with the house elves down in the kitchens, and arranged for a private candlelit dinner in one of the disused classrooms. He was sure this idea was going to work, but apparently not. Lily loved dinner! He had thought that this was a bit more sophisticated than midnight strolls and dips in the lake. Clearly not.

For some reason, it appeared that Lily was interested in that Hufflepuff twerp Benjy Fenwick. What did he have that James didn't? Sure, Benjy had great hair, but then again, so did James. Sure, Benjy was a good Quidditch player, but then again, so was James. Sure, Benjy got good grades, but then again, so did James. What made that prat any better than him? He was a Prefect though, which James wasn't. Maybe that was it? Maybe Lily just really liked authority figures. Yeah that must be it! She fawned over Slughorn. James vowed that he would become more authoritarian. Or maybe just mature?

'Hey Potter, are you ready for rounds?'

'Just coming Evans.'

James and Lily patrolled the corridors overnight, watching for any students out of bed, whilst chatting and laughing. James could not have picture a more perfect scene. He had everything he wanted. A great group of friends, great grades, and now he could add Head Boy to his repertoire. Oh and to top it all off, he was friends with Lily. Turned out, it was the mature thing all along. Why it had taken him 6 years to figure that out he would never know. But Lily seemed to like this new James, and James seemed to like him too. James pulled out the map to check for any students coming.

The two heads leaned closer over the map, until their actual heads bumped together. Both reaching up to touch the spot where they bumped, they were looking into each other's eyes. This was it James thought. Now or never. Evans had closed her eyes. Just do it James! He pressed his lips gently to hers. Thank god for all that kissing experience. James just thanked his lucky stars that Sirius wasn't here to see this one!