She was always conscious of his presence, not that she would ever admit that to anyone. And if he ever caught her staring, she would claim that it was just because his insufferable self was getting on her nerves.
That was only half true.
It would've shocked almost all of Hogwarts's residents (or at least the ones who knew both Lily and James) to hear that Lily Evans envied James Potter. Not because he could easily coast through his studies or because he could charmingly smooth-talk his way out of many a punishment, which, truth be told, really were rather envy-inducing abilities.
No, Lily envied him because he never seemed to worry or even care about what others thought of him; he just did whatever he wanted and appeared to have no trouble whatsoever in expressing what he felt. His utter disregard for fulfilling the expectations of others was what grated most on Lily's nerves, for the simple reason that she herself could never do that.
Although she seemed composed and confident, Lily put quite a bit of consideration in what others thought of her. That was why she put so much stock into following the rules and being fair to everyone (even the Slytherins), and, if she were being truthful with herself, it was also part of the reason why she always rejected James's advances.
She had, however, gotten closer to James this year, after he stopped being an arrogant prat (well, after he became less of one), and after seeing the carefree way in which he lived, she decided that she was sick of living her life for other people.
So Lily decided to throw caution to the wind for once in her life and, when James walked up one day and asked her for if she wanted to go with him to Hogsmeade, she did what she had been longing, albeit secretly, to do for quite some time now.
She said, "Yes."
And then she kissed him.
