Never was on time
Yes, I once was mine
Well, that was long ago
And darling, I don't mind.

Chapter 1:

For the love of Merlin he was hopeless. James stood there, panting and sweating and wiping his forehead, in a corridor that was exactly five minutes away from the Heads' Office. The weight of what just happened almost made him sink to the floor. Or that could be the fact that he'd been balancing the body of a seventeen-year-old girl on his leg and between the wall about two minutes prior, but who's to say. He thanked whoever was out there that Quidditch had made him strong enough not to drop her, even from shock when she had basically pounced on him. And now she was gone, forcing James to stand here alone and panting, with a stiffy that just wouldn't deflate. And his cloak was upstairs in his dorm, meaning that he'd have to be subjected to unimaginable forms of humiliation if anyone was to stumble upon him in this moment. Just utterly hopeless.

James looked at his watch for the hundredth time in two (now three) minutes since she'd left. He didn't know why he was always the one who had to wait, but she didn't give him much of a choice, did she? Anyway, waiting five minutes to seem inconspicuous was better than not having their little... meetings... at all. At least he told himself as much.

"Fucking finally." James muttered when his trousers had fallen back to their original state. It had passed five minutes, now eight, but he couldn't right walk into the Head's Office and conduct a meeting with that little (well not little, but you get the point) problem, could he? Knowing he was late, and not just late to the meeting but late late, James strode as fast as he could towards the office, praying Evans wouldn't chew him out. Though most of this was her fault anyway. Maybe she'd take pity on him. He doubted it.

"Evening everyone!" He called in his cheeky manner as he entered the room. A couple giggles arose from the group of Prefects who, prior to his interruption, were listening dutifully to Evans as she explained the new bathroom policies. Most of them were girls, a few even waving flirtily. James winked back, knowing it would drive one girl in particular quite insane. Just as he'd predicted, there was a scoff from the front of the room.

"Finally decided to join us Potter?" Evans snarked. "What was the hold-up, couldn't get your hair just right? News flash, it always looks the same: like you just got hit by lightning."

James grinned. She was in rare form tonight. "Oh, you know how it is. The bird I was with just wouldn't let me leave." Snickers from around the room. Only James noticed how the Head Girl's cheeks pinked ever-so-slightly at his remark.

"Poor girl must've come off the wrong end of a Confundus charm." Lily drawled, gesturing for James to join her at the front of the office. James wanted to say something more, but knew when she was done having her buttons pushed. If he kept going he could risk her actually getting angry, and in the past he'd have been fine with that, but now? He'd prefer keeping his witty comments to himself as long as this dynamic between them kept up. Lily put a hand up, shushing the group who'd began to chatter upon James's arrival.

"Okay. Potter, before you so thoughtfully graced us with your presence, we were discussing bathroom schedules." She said, turning back to the group.

"So it's settled that Ravenclaws have the earliest slot this month-"

"We can always share shower time, you know." James said. The group giggled once more, though James noticed a few of the girls who were flirting earlier looked a bit put out. Not that he cared. Oh how he loved the way Evans looked at him then, mouth still open from speaking, eyes narrowing dangerously. James held up his hands in faux innocence.

"Just doing my part to ensure no conflict between our peers."

"Oh I'll give you 'conflict'". Lily growled lowly, and turned back to the group. "Ignore Potter everyone. Seems the bloke just can't keep his head out of his trousers." James shrugged, grinning.

"Alas, it's the cross I have to bear." From that point on Evans ran the rest of the meeting smoothly, not letting James get a word in edgewise. It was probably for the best, all their banter was getting him riled up again. He made the mistake once of looking down at her thighs, creamy and inviting. He saw the faded red imprints of fingernail marks. His marks, from earlier. That almost drove him over the edge.

"...Potter?" His head snapped up at the sound of his name. Twenty pairs of eyes were staring at him, mixtures of amusement and annoyance ranging on their faces. Evans was looking at him expectantly.

"Huh? What?" He asked.

"I said 'is there anything you'd like to add?' Or is your brain still too firmly lodged between your legs to think properly?" Lily asked sweetly. Laughs again. James swore he heard one boy whisper this has gotta be their best performance yet to another student. James was about to counter Evans, never wanting her to get the last word, when something he'd forgotten popped into his head.

"Oh! I did want to say something to the lot of you, yeah." He said, becoming a bit more serious. "So, like, I've been noticing a lot of younger students seem more afraid to walk around by themselves since..." He didn't know how to finish the sentence, but the Prefects got it, nodding in recognition.

"So I think we should offer up a buddy system to them. They can ask any of us, wherever we are, to walk them somewhere and we'll do it. Y'know, make sure they feel safe at school." Since the rest of the world is such a mess.

There were approving nods from the group. James noticed Snivellus rolling his eyes. Remus, though, flashed him the thumbs up.

"That's actually a good suggestion, James." Evans said quietly next to him. James sucked in a breath, trying to ignore the gymnastics routine his stomach was doing.

"I get those sometimes." He replied, rather hoarsely to his annoyance. Lily looked at him for a moment longer, green eyes seeming to give off electricity. Then she turned back to the group, straightened her posture, and the moment was lost. James tried not to feel too disappointed.

"All right, seems that's the end of tonight." She called. Students shuffled out of their chairs, talking amongst themselves. James scuffed his feet and waited for them all to leave so he and Lily could lock the door behind them.

"You coming Prongs?" Remus asked. James was about to say yes when Lily cut him off.

"Oh, sorry Remus, he's actually got paperwork tonight." She said loudly. Behind his back, where Remus couldn't witness, she brushed her fingers over his arm. James felt tingles race from her touch. He tried not to smile.

"Sorry Moony. Seems we're swamped here. Tell the boys I'll be back in an hour... maybe two." He heard Lily's breath hitch at his words, and now he couldn't help but grin.

Remus looked a bit bemused at their behavior, but merely shrugged. "See you later then."

"Bye!" James called, a bit overeagerly, and nearly shoved his friend out the door. His fingers shook a bit has he locked it behind him.

There was a snort. James looked over to see Lily still standing in the front of the room.

"Just can't wait for that paperwork, huh?" She asked, biting her lip to hide a smile. James just strode over to her, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist. Her eyes widened, cheeks flushing adorably at his closeness. James smirked.

"What can I say? I'm very dedicated to my work as Head Boy." He replied seriously. She giggled.

"Too dedicated to even, say, have a little fun?" She stepped away from him suddenly, undoing a couple buttons on her shirt. James felt his jaw drop as the garment slid off her shoulders. Her bra was white, with little blue polka dots. It was a religious experience, that bra. James's heart was doing funny drumbeats in his chest. He looked down. Yep, the stiffy was back and at full attention. He was, in all senses of the word, gobsmacked. It didn't even register to him that he'd been staring now for an unusually long time.

"I mean." Lily said, breaking his trance. She looked a little embarrassed. "If the paperwork is just too important we don't have-"

"Come here." James gasped, cutting her off and striding towards her to envelop her in his embrace once more.

Note: So, I've started another project. I don't know why I do this to myself, but I can't help it! Anyways, I love James and Lily and I love secret relationships and writing this has been a blast. I know that with THIS story, there can be quicker updates expected (quicker than most of my other stories, that is), since every chapter is gonna be shorter like this one. Also, I'm definitely exploring writing sexy times more with this story than I ever had, but I'm not going to go into graphic details or anything. It's M for a reason, but it's not insanely smutty. So, yeah. Review if you like it!