James Potter rolled over in his four-poster bed and sighed. Is it possible for my heart to actually hurt? he wondered gloomily. He glanced over to Sirius' dark form and grimaced. Normally a thing like this he would share with Sirius, and Sirius would laugh at him for being what he called "all mushy like a teenage girl," and James would laugh and agree and feel better. But this--this was different. What would you call it? James mused, running a hand through his dark, unruly hair. He groaned and slammed a fist into the bed beside him. It's called fucking being in love with your best friend's girlfriend, he thought sourly, and refused to let a tear leak from his eye.

"James! Mate!" Sirius' voice blared in his ear. James sat bolt upright, nearly colliding with Sirius, who was leaning over him.

"What? How long till breakfast?" James replied, trying to get a sense of the time.

"Breakfast's already over. Jeez, mate, you were out cold. I thought you'd never wake up!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I didn't need to see you and Lily making out at the table," James mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, squinting at him as the sun hit the gold Gryffindor lion on the covers, shining straight into his eyes.

"Nothing," James yawned, and blearily made his way to the shower.

"You missed it, mate!" Sirius called after him, and James paused at the bathroom door. "Frankie and Alice were missing for the entire breakfast hour, and at the last second they came down with their clothes all wrinkled and matching knowing grins!" James snickered. Frank and Alice had been dating for a week now, and James still couldn't figure out how their relationship worked so perfectly. Well, it's not as if you're some expert on romance, a snide voice seemed to say. He rubbed his eyes and waved to Sirius before closing the door. Taking off his boxers, he stepped into the large, white shower in the corner. He turned the temperature knob all the way, hoping to wake himself up. The scalding water sprayed down, and James tried to figure out when exactly his life had gotten so freaking confusing. Deciding it was still too early to think about life, he turned off the shower and stumbled over to the sink. As he scrubbed his face with the acne potion Sirius had given him for his birthday (Thanks for the hint, Padfoot) he inspected his facial features closely. What's wrong with me? James wondered. I'm handsome, I'm charming, I'm smart, and I'm amazing at Quidditch. What else does Evans want, for Merlin's sake?

A few minutes later, James pulled on his red and gold Gryffindor robes and ruffled his still-damp hair. He grabbed his books and hurried to catch up with Sirius.

"What class is first?" he said, and Sirius shrugged.

"How should I know?" he said, and leaned over and rumpled James' hair. James stopped in his tracks.

"Sirius." he said seriously.

"Hmm?" his friend replied, looking around, purposely ignoring James' tone.

"Don't. Touch. The hair." James looked in a silver-lined mirror that was hanging on the stone wall beside them and carefully shook his hair into the right position.

"It looks dashing, darling," the mirror chirped, and James jumped back, slamming into Sirius, whose books scattered everywhere. Sirius laughed.

"Wow, James, the only female attention you can get is from a mirror?"

"Thanks a lot, Padfoot," James said, glaring at Sirius but also trying not to let him know how much that comment hurt. James punched him lightly in the shoulder, and bent down to help him pick up his textbooks. "I can help with that," a soft feminine voice came from the stairway beside them, and suddenly Lily was right beside James, picking up Sirius' quills.

James felt his heart beating unevenly. Lily tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and smiled at him. Well, that's certainly a change from her regular routine. I wonder why she's so happy, James thought, staring. He couldn't take her eyes off her lips, and thought vaguely that this moment should be recorded in history as "The Moment Lily Evans Smiled at James Potter."

The moment was broken when Sirius held out his hand to Lily, and she laughingly pulled herself up. He gave her a hug, and said,

"Excited for tonight Lils?"

"Sirius is taking me out tonight," Lily explained to James. "It's my birthday and I'm turning seventeen!" I know that, James thought dejectedly. I've known that since 5th year, along with that your favorite color's lilac, you have an owl named Hoot, your sister Petunia gave you a broken CD for Christmas last year, and that you love banana splits from Pete's Ice Cream Shoppe. Sirius probably didn't even know how old you were. You probably had to remind him five times that it was your birthday, when I could've told you--

"James?" James jerked out of his little world to see Lily and Sirius staring at him.

"Uh, we better get to class," he said quickly. "If I get one more detention from McGonagall she won't let me go to Hogsmeade tomorrow." Not that I want to interrupt your little date or anything...

"Nah, mate, she loves you. I guess I was wrong about the mirror, cause I think McGonagall has a thing for you too--" Sirius teased and James stood up with a grin.

"Don't think you're going to get away with that, Padfoot!" he said lightheartedly and chased Sirius all the way to Transfiguration, Lily trailing behind still doubled over in laughter. Sirius blew her a kiss as she made her way to Charms.

"See you at lunch, milady!" he shouted and she curtsied, giggling. James scowled and slammed his books down in the back, his good mood ruined.

Well, I admit James is a bit of an arrogant prat in this chapter, especially when he wonders why Lily doesn't like him, but I try to stay true to the books. Please review--I'm not positive if I'll continue the story or not. Tell me how you like it. xoxo izzy