Disclaimer: I own nothing.

When did you fall by larissa

Was it at the coffee shop?
Or was it that morning at the bus stop?
When you almost slipped and I caught your hand
Or the time we built the snowman?
The day at the beach, sandy and warm
Or the night with the scary thunderstorm?
I never saw the signs
And we've got to make up for lost time
And I can tell now by the way that you're looking at me
I better finish this song so my lips will be free
Yeah

Have you been waiting long? When did you fall in love?
I kept you waiting so long
When did you fall?
Have you been waiting long?
When did you fall in love with me?

Lily Evans was currently sitting by the lake, her thin fingers grazing gently at the grass as she waited. Her fiery red hair looked more bright than ever and she wore a sleeveless white summer dress that, her best friend had assured, looked lovely on her. She didn't look up until her name was called.

James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were walking towards her with a grin, a smirk and a gentle smile, respectively. The redhead waved at them, getting up.

"Where is Peter? I thought he would come with us." She had become their friend since the beggining of the seventh year and her days out at Hogsmeade with them had become some sort of tradition. Alice used to go with them but she had started dating Frank Longbottom and Lily knew they would want some alone time.

"Yeah, we thought so too, but he says he rathers stay here. Something about homework or whatever." Sirius answered, rolling his light grey eyes. His hair fell at his face in an attractive way, that caught the attention of the girls near by. Remus sighed.

"Just because you're such a irresponsable person it doesn't mean Wormtail has to be one as well. Even James is worried about his exams!" The young man had brown deep eyes and a pale complexion. Despite his ill look, the marauder was quite handsome.

Sirius waved his hand, disregarding his friend's comment and walking to where the other students were. James put a hand in Remus' shoulder.

"Give it up. You should know Padfoot is never gonna change." He turned to Lily, his hazel eyes focusing on her green ones. The headboy still found it incredibly hard to be around her and not actually be with her. He smiled, pushing this thoughts aside, linking his arm with hers and leading her the way.

Remus smiled, thinking how they would certainly get together some day.

She giggled, something so unlike her. Lily was never one to do this overly girly things. The headgirl grimaced, realizing how stupid she had sounded. James laughed and, soon, she followed.

"I can't believe you just giggled! Who are you and what have you done to Lily Evans?" The redhead rolled her bright green eyes at him and a strand of hair fell on her face. James' hand itched to tuck it behind her ear but he knew he couldn't. They were friends. Even if he wanted much more than just that.

"It wasn't my fault. You were the one that started flirting! It's what I do when guys are making innuendos." She pouted and the man's gaze fell on her pink lips. James tried to think clearly.

"Why, miss Evans? Were you flirting back, then?" His smile was malicious, playful and dashing. Lily suffocated a sigh. Instead, she laughed.

"Stop it, James!" And she drank another sip of her tea. He grinned, his eyes twinkling strangely behind his glasses.

"Fine." His voice was happy and hoarse and it melted her. James took her hand in his own, playing with her fingers as he looked around the coffee shop. "I think we better be going. Sirius might have forgotten he was supposed to meet us here."

Lily wasn't really listening to him. She was too busy feeling his warm skin on hers and trying to convince herself that no, she wasn't falling for James Potter.

"Lily?" The woman turned around, slipping at the frozen ground. The man caught her, taking her hand and preventing the redhead from the fall. She looked up at him, mesmerized by their proximity.

"James?" He grinned, just as he always did. A perfect grin, between happiness and excitment. She found herself smiling as well.

"Wow! This is definitely the last place I ever thought of finding you." His breath was warm on her face and that's when Lily realized she needed to stand up straight. She blushed bright red and James fought the need to caress her flushed skin.

"Gosh! What are you doing here? You scared me half to death!" She said, putting her hands on her hips. He gave her a crooked smile. She glared, still waiting for his answer.

"Sirius is bying an apartment abou two blocks away. He is there with Moony and Wormtail right now. I was just on my way. What about you?" Lily crossed her arms, seemingly satisfied with his answer. She waved her head to the Bus Stop sign. "Oh."

"Yeah, I'm going back home. I was actually seeing an apartment in this block but I don't really like it." She explained. James moved closer to Lily, puting an arm around her shoulders and bringing her to him.

"You look cold." He said as if he was trying to explain his actions. And it was true. She was wearing a much too thin coat and her body was trembling slightly. Lily nodded, snuggling into his chest and breathing his scent of soap and grass.

"Have you been playing quiddich?" Her question was so out of order that both of them laughed.

"As a matter of fact, I have. But I thought the shower would have taken the smell away." He grimaced. She smiled.

"You can take James Potter out of the field but you can't take the field out of James Potter." She paused, sensing his grin. "I actually really like it." They kept silence for some seconds.

"Why don't you come with me? The guys will be ecstatic to see you. They were talking about kidnapping you from your parents house so you would spend this holiday with us before we have to go back to school." His hazel eyes looked straight into hers and, as dizzy as she was, she couldn't do anything but agree with it.

"I don't think we did it the right way." She said, trying not to laugh. James frowned, examing the snowman.

"I think it's lacking clothes." Sirius said, a sly grin at his handsome face. Lily felt like hitting him when James started taking another hat from the pile in order to place at the snowman head.

"Please, don't." She exclaimed, watching the almost completely clothed snowman. There were hats, scarfs, coats, belts and even a skirt which she wasn't completely sure where it had come from.

"I think it's perfect!" James beamed, adjusting its carrot nose. Remus, who had been lying at the snow, reading some book, looked at what they'd made and scoffed. Peter just kept staring at the snowman, completely confused. "Ok! Everybody, gather around it!"

James took a camera from his coat and made it float in mid-air, joining the picture. He dropped his arm around Lily and she rested her head in his shoulder. Sirius made faces by his side, Peter waved like a fool and Remus smiled moving his gaze from the bizarre snowman to his friends and back to the camera, laughing now and then.

Later that day, Sirius would put some music and James would force Lily to dance with him, stopping only when Remus appeared out of nowhere, taking another photo of them.

"I can't believe we're going back to school tomorrow." Sirius said, dropping himself in the sand. Alice and Lily rolled their eyes. Frank laughed while arranging the beach chairs.

"Quit complaining, Padfoot. Today is gonna be great, so just enjoy and forget about Hogwarts." James answered, envolving Lily's waist and pulling her to him. She tried to escape his hold but gave up.

"James, will you please let Lily go? She's kicking sand on my face." Remus interfered from his spot next to Sirius.

"Oh. Sorry, Remus." Lily said as she sat on one of the beach chairs. They talked for a while and then went for a swim. The readhead prefered to stay on the beach.

Lily watched as her friends played on the water and a smile crept into her face. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. She had the most incredible people on the world by her side and, as she thought about the future and the war that promised to reach them as quickly as they left school, she couldn't think of a better group to be with. Remus, with his sensible, gentle mind. Sirius, with his sharp comments and cheerful personality. Peter, with his amiability and admiration for his friends. Alice, with her loyalty and goodness of heart. Frank, with his kindness and bravery.

And James. James was so many things to her she couldn't even explain it correctly. He was her guardian, her protector. He was intelligent, kind, goofy, corageous, a bit arrogant, joyful and so much more. He was one of the most important things in the world for her.

She loved him.

Lily opened her eyes, surprised. And, then, everything became completely clear.

She loved him.

And just as Lily was starting to think about the implications of that revelation, a pair of strong arms found their way around her middle and James threw her over his shoulder. As their friends laughed, he got into the water, forcing the squirming Lily to go with him. Her mind, then, drifted to more frivolous thoughts. Because, really, everything would be okay as long as she was with James.

Lily screamed, her breath irregular and her head pounding. She adjusted herself in her bed. Some of the girls on the dormitory had waked up and the redhead felt incredibly embarassed. She said several sorries before laying back into bed.

It's just a thunder storm, she tried to tell herself. And, then, there was another loud noise and Lily flinched.

She got up and made her way downstairs, feeling tired and a bit scared. Lily hadn't been feeling well in some time. It had been about 2 months since a letter had came telling her parents had been attacked and were dead. She remembered throwing things and crying on James' shoulder. Despite the time, it still felt as if there was a piece of her that was missing.

"Red?" She looked down to see James Potter sitting at the couch, his flawless face in a mix of curiosity and worry. "What happened?" She stared at her hands before answering.

"The thunder storm." She didn't have to say anything. He knew. Two months ago, it had also been a night of terrible thunder storm. James moved so that Lily had space to sit.

"Come here." He opened his arms as another thunder resounded through the tower. She ran into him, hugging the man as she started crying again. He embraced her and didn't say a word.

They were found that same way in the following morning.

"You are in love with me." It wasn't a question. Lily stared at him wide-eyed.

"W-What? N-No!" James grinned and she tried to make her mind work properly again.

"You so are." His expression infuriated her.

Lily put her hands on her hips as she always did when she was mad. "Hear me now, Potter. I do not love you, understood? You're a big headed pig and I don't want anything to do with you." She yelled, trying to walk past him. He holded her back, still grinning.

"Oh, really? Please, Lily, we've been past that point for almost an year. Do you really think I'll buy the whole 'I hate you' thing again?" She tried to conceal her blush. "I've been waiting about four bloody years for you to figure out how you feel about me." And, as he said that, Lily looked up at him again. His hazel eyes were sincere and there was some other emotion on them. Admiration, maybe? Or... if she dared think it, love? Lily's gaze moved to his lips and she felt as if some force was pulling her towards him. So, she did the only thing to could think of doing at that point.

She kissed him.

Because, really, James just wouldn't shut up.

Her lips on his were hot, his hair in her hands, his chest pressed against her, his hand on her waist, his tongue in her mouth. It was bliss.

They opened their eyes and stared at each other and smiled.

"So..." James whispered, still holding her, his breath tickling her ear. He grinned, now pressing soft kisses to her neck. "When did you fall in love with me?"

She slapped his arm playfully.

"Shut up and kiss me."

And he did.

I hope you liked it. I thought it was cuter than what I usually do, so I was very glad. Check my other fics, please. I'm Brazilian so please help me with any mistakes, when I did this I was so sleepy I was pretty much falling onto the keyboard. Thank you so much for your attention!