DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything HP (obviously, though I wish I did)

A/N: This is my first fanfic, and I realize that I am not the best writer around here, so please review and give me comments on how to improve my crappy writing! much love :)

"Filthy dog! Useless son of a bitch!"

Thumps could be heard from within the house.

Lily, who was walking aimlessly that hot summer's afternoon, had decided to go and find Severus, her best friend outside of Hogwarts, to accompany her. As soon as she heard the thumps, and the piteous whimpers of "Please! Stop! Please! I beg you- ahhhhh, no!" it felt as if her heart stopped beating and she burst into the house.

"Stop! What are you doing to him? Get off him you bastard-"

The scene before her eyes was appalling and broke her heart. A tall, dark haired teenager lay sprawled on the ground, his limbs sticking out at weird angles, as a man loomed over him, beer bottle in hand, repeatedly kicking his hard pointed shoes into the boy's soft side. The boy just lay there, unmoving, not even reaching out to protect himself.

She rushed over to the boy, placing herself between him and that maniac of a man. She started caressing his face, lightly tracing her fingers along that face so bruised and swollen that for a moment she couldn't recognize him. The man, having gotten over his shock at seeing a red haired girl come running in, slapped her so hard across the face that the force of it caused her to fall over, hitting her head on the floor. Blood trickled down her forehead.

This action seemed to have sparked something in the boy as he suddenly jumped to his feet, with fire in his eyes –

"Don't you DARE touch her!"

WHAM! His fist landed square on the sneering man's face but before he could respond, Severus Snape took Lily's hand and pulled her from the room. The two of them took off sprinting, as far away from that devil as possible.

At last, after what seemed like hours, they arrived at an abandoned playground. Severus led Lily to a bench, sat her down and started to inspect her wound. He didn't say anything for a long time, simply concentrated on tending to Lily's forehead, washing off the blood with a napkin and some water from a nearby drinking fountain. All that time, Lily stared at his face, taking in the gaunt features, the tense muscles along his jawline, and saw that the usual mischievous spark in those dark, mysterious eyes had disappeared, leaving them hollow and devoid of emotion. As he gently wiped at her head, the sting of cold water caused her to wince, breaking her out of her trance.

"Why did you do that?" he asked softly.

Lily was surprised to hear a trace of anger in his voice.

"Do what, Sev?"

"…Come between me and my father."

"Well, what did you expect me to do? Just leave you there to die?"

"You shouldn't have done that!" he yelled.

The sudden increase in volume stunned her, rendering her speechless. He continued, this time hardly audible: "You should have just left me there to die…"

He turned his face away, avoiding eye contact.

This time, it was Lily's turn to be angry.

"Severus Snape, you look at me right now!" she demanded.

But his eyes remained stubbornly downcast.

Her emerald eyes glittered with frustration and she sprang up from the bench, reached up and brought his face close to hers.

"Listen to me! You are my best friend, and I would do anything to keep you from hurting, even if it meant giving up my life for you!"

The fierceness radiating from her eyes, her voice, her very hair…

He couldn't stand it anymore and roughly crushed his lips to hers. Lily, taken by surprise mid-rant, didn't respond immediately, but, as Severus started moving his lips more gently along hers, she closed her eyes and kissed him back, feeling his tongue flickering against hers. Her arms reached higher and wrapped around his neck, hands crawling up towards his hair, fingers tangling itself within it, deepening the kiss. He placed his hands on either side of her slender waist, drawing her closer until their chests were against each other. He began to lean in to her, bracing her against the bench, and swiftly twirled her into his lap as he sat down. His hands were roaming from her waist, snaking under her shirt and pressing against the flat of her belly as he savored the taste of her soft lips. He moved his hands even higher, pausing when he reached the under part of her small and perky breasts. When she did not protest, he continued, caressing the smooth skin of her breasts as she had caressed his face, massaging them until a moan escaped from her.

Taking his lead, Lily reached underneath his shirt too, feeling the hardened muscles of his chest, rubbing circles on his skin until-

"OUCH!" Severus gave a strangled grunt when she accidentally touched a tender spot on his hip where his father had kicked him, and broke away from their passionate kiss.

"I'm so sorry Sev – oh my god – are you okay? I'm sorry are you still hurting-"

Lily, flustered at having been so clumsy, was frantically wringing her hands and guiltily looking at him to see if he was still in pain. Amused, Severus firmly took hold of both her hands to calm her down, and stared into the bright green eyes that had always so mesmerized him. He wasn't angry at her – had never been angry at her, in fact. How could he be angry at this beautiful angel, who had a suffocating hold over his heart and wasn't even aware of it? He was angry at himself, hating the fact that he was the cause for her pain earlier that day. Seeing her look questioningly into eyes he said:

"Don't you EVER dare put yourself in danger for me again, I'm not worth it!"

A frown immediately appeared but before she could protest, his lips were against hers again, and the two of them sank into sweet oblivion once more.

He would enjoy the time spent with her whilst he still could.