(AN: I wrote this for writing challenge. I chose New Years Kiss, "Please don't leave me alone tonight," and photographs as part of the prompt. These characters are all J.K. Rowlings and I just borrowed them for my (and hopefully your!) amusement. Please R&R!)

From an outsider's view, it would appear Lily Evans was reading a book. She had a book in hand and was staring at the pages but her mind was far from Martin's newest novel. No matter how hard she tried to distract herself, she couldn't keep her mind from wandering back to Lucas. How can you forget someone when they break up with you three days before Christmas?

She had managed to put on a front for her family but really she was still suffering, even a week after he'd dumped her. She tried to look forward to celebrating the New Year with friends tomorrow night, but it would've been the one year anniversary of their first kiss; the kiss that started their relationship.

Lily hadn't wanted to go out at all, but Marlene had insisted. It was her philosophy that all she needed to get over her first love was a glass of champagne and a good snog. Lily argued but once Mar sets her mind to something, she is not changing it.

At least the party was small - or so she'd been told. The Marauders threw one every year, usually in different spots as their leases on houses never lasted long after a Marauder party. However, the four boys' idea of "small" was not in the same circle as Lily's. The last "small" party ended up in a broken chandelier and a restraining order.

Mar - amongst other friends of Lily's - insisted that she needed this party. That she needed to let loose and ring in the New Year amongst her very best friends and a boy that meant nothing to her.

Though she didn't much feel like partying, a part of Lily knew she did need this. New Years would be ruined for the rest of her life if she didn't make new memories over the old. Besides, Lucas was sure to not show up because he had made it abundantly clear over facebook that he had other engagements.

The sound of the lock turning broke Lily out of her trance and she turned from her spot on the couch to see Marlene and Mary walking in with arms embracing numerous shopping bags.

"Lil, you missed the best day for shopping. It was like every store had amazing sales on the cutest clothes."

"There will be other stores," Lily smiled gently.

"Maybe, maybe not," Mary spoke up. "Which is why it's good we found the perfect top for you."

With flourish, Mary reached into one of her bags and removed a sparkly silver and sequined top and tossed it to Lily.

"I tried it on to see but I'm not quite your size and Mar is way too tall so it might not fit perfectly…"

Lily removed her shirt and slipped the new top on. It was a loose tank top with a slouch neck and open back. Admittedly perfect for New Years but maybe not for any other night.

"How's it look?"

"Sexy!" beamed Marlene. "I knew you'd look stunning in it."

"How much do I owe you guys?"

Mary waved her off. "Like Marlene said: everything was on sale. Don't worry about it."

Lily hugged her friends in thanks and demanded a fashion show from all the other goodies they'd purchased. It started out legitimate, with each girl trying her hardest to model outfits new and old, but as they ventured deeper and deeper into their closets it got a little more absurd. The night dwindled down with Lily modeling a Santa bead paired with a hairy swimsuit, Marlene in a sweater that barked and plaid pants that lit up, and Mary in a grandma nightgown that might've been there before they'd moved in and was therefore haunted.

The next morning, their traditional New Year's Eve brunch was held at LB's Cafe. Frank had even sent them home with a box of scones - free of charge - per the demands of Alice. They walked back to their flat with full tums and happy hearts.

The party started at 7, which means they had six hours to anxiously occupy themselves. Marlene suggested that they work on their resolutions and went in search of craft paper. Marlene was huge on crafts - like JoAnn's membership card crazy - and always made them display their resolutions creatively in their own rooms. She claimed that "if it looks pretty, you'll want to stick to it more." Lily always attempted to make something sufficient to Mar's crazy high standards but never could escape her crafts without a few papercuts.

After one cheesy rom-com and many glasses of wine, their projects were finished. Marlene's was undoubtedly the nicest; it read "I want to attend at least 10 concerts this year." Mary's had a lot of embellishments - maybe too many. In glitter glue the words "I want to be more frugal so I can treat myself."

From Lily's paper it was very evident that she was not an artist in the slightest. If you hadn't known a 24 year old adult woman made it, you might think a 9 year-old with a penchant for wine and yarn had scribbled "I want to not be in a relationship for the whole year so I can focus on myself." As Lily had a tendency to meet emotionally unavailable guys at every corner and Mary spent every available cent she had, Marlene's was the only resolution that was in the realm of reality.

Due to the singular restroom and the three girls sharing it, the getting ready process started immediately.

At a quarter to 7, Lily held her hand on the door knob and looked towards the bathroom where Marlene and Mary were putting on the "finishing touches."

"Ladies, c'mon!"

"Remind me why we can't take a cab?"

"It's New Years Eve; we're walking."

"Fair enough. How do we look?"

"Stunning. Let's go," Lily replied annoyingly as she ushered her roomates out the door.

It was at least a 20 minute walk on a normal day; this, of course, didn't account for the major festivities occuring downtown which required many detours and reroutes. By the time they made it to the boys' apartment building it was 7:26.

Only a half-an-hour in but the party was already in full swing. The small apartment had been tidied of living arrangements but was now littered with containers of all kinds of alcohol. A keg rested in one corner adjacent to a tree (with a bra hanging on top as the star), and speakers were connected and strategically hidden to deafen you at every turn.

When they entered, they were greeted by Remus who hugged them all. He was shortly followed by Sirius, who had his own way of greeting them by shoving cups with blue liquid into each of their hands.

"What is this?" Lily asked as she sniffed suspiciously at the plastic cup which smelled heavily like rubbing alcohol.

"Have another and you won't care what's in it." Sirius winked at Lily's disgusted face and retreated to entice more girls to try his concoction.

"Where's James?" asked Marlene. Mar and James we're practically siblings as they'd grown up next to each other. Marlene didn't wait for an answer and went in search of him. Mary did the same thing but in search of Peter, who, in terms of relations, was anything but a brother to Mary.

Remus looked at Lily sympathetically. He'd been her confidant throughout her breakup and knew this was a hard night. She looked at him and shrugged helplessly- as if to say "what can you do?"

"Let's go get smashed," Without warning, Remus was dragging Lily off to the drinks table and mixing her a beverage.

She took the drink reluctantly. Not that she didn't trust Remus, but it looked suspiciously similar to the poison Sirius had handed her earlier.

"Don't worry it's safe - it's James's recipe."

"You realize that makes me worry even more,"

Remus took her cup and sipped a little of the drink. "See? Perfectly safe."

"Is that James Juice 2.5?" A voice called from over her shoulder. She turned to meet the hazel eye of the dark haired boy. He smiled at her and eyed the drink.

"I was trying to explain to Lily here that it's the safest bet at this party."

"I've been messing with the ingredients all week and it's perfectly safe, I promise. You trust me, don't you?" James broke out into a wide grin that feigned innocence. Lily glared playfully but took a sip regardless of her prior thoughts.

The drink was actually delicious but Lily disguised her face so as to not give him the satisfaction. "'S'okay"

"Moony and I have do go do some hosting duties," here he paused to wink at Lily. "you're good, right?" She nodded and took another sip of her drink as proof.

Lily glanced around the room to try and spot anyone she knew. As more and more faces were registered unknowable, Lily realized just how few people she knew. She barely had enough energy to socialize with the people she knew, and was not up for small talk with strangers. She took it upon herself to avoid the crowds and explore the territory.

It briefly occurred to her that snooping wasn't exactly house guest etiquette, but if she was caught she could say she was looking for Remus or something.

Her hand glided up the staircase railing and she crept upstairs. The party was still starting to get its feet so it was unlikely anyone had stolen away to a bedroom yet. She considered herself alone and poked her head into the first door on her left.

By the tidiness of one side and excess of trash on the other, she guessed it to be Remus's and Peter's room. It was small - probably the smaller of the two bedrooms in the house - but it looked comfortable enough to live in. She closed the door behind her as she moved on to the next one.

It was their bathroom. Not just Remus's and Peter's, but James's and Sirius's as well. And Lily thought 3 girls sharing was bathroom was messing. They must have a very intricate shower system because there's no way all four of them can be in there at once.

The next door was on the right this time. On the door hung a sign that said "deer xing" that was probably stolen. For some unknown reason, Lily's breath hitched when she realized this was James's room. She mentally scolded herself for treating it any different than Remus's or Peter's room but she couldn't help deny that it was different.

It was for sure a mess. The twin beds that came with the room had been pushed together to form something along the liking of a queen-sized. Posters from every concert in existence littered the walls as did polaroid pictures of the four friends. They had only been living in this apartment a few months but it was evident the boys had made it their home.

Lily drew closer to investigate the knick-knacks on the dresser. It was a lot of receipts and cheesy keychains that said things like "high from Alaska" over a big joint. There were more polaroids and Lily picked a stack up that was sitting in the back.

Most of them were from parties; candid moments that only captured a glimpse of the fun that was had. Friends clung to each other for dear life with smiles permanently etched on their faces. She flipped through them but stopped at one of James.

It was from Christmas, most likely. A tree was in the background and decorations were all over. James was sitting in front of the fire and holding a baby, most likely a cousin. He wasn't looking at the camera but he still had the wide grin that he had in every other picture. The little tyke's hands were reaching to grab James's glasses and tug at his hair. Lily smiled despite herself at the innocently happy pair.

"That was from a few years ago," A voice breathed from behind her. Lily turned to find James standing there awkwardly in the doorway, hands in his pockets smiling sheepishly. He moved to come look at the picture with her and added, "Jefferson's almost three now. He's quite the trouble maker."

"Sounds like someone I know…" prodded Lily. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to intrude. I was looking for the bathroom and…" Her words were lost in her mediocre explanation.

"It's alright, Evans. Even I need a break from the party sometimes. This is one of the only places in the house that's unoccupied - or so I thought."

Lily didn't dare meet his eyes, she instead stared at the still ones in the picture still in her hands.

"I'm sorry about Louie,"

"Lucas," she corrected him.

"Whatever his name is, he's an idiot." James tentatively rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, Lily, you're so much -"

Whatever impulse had just taken over her body, Lily acted on it and kissed James frantically. Her lips lingered on his and she ventured to open her eyes to gage his reaction.

"I'm sorry I don't -" was all that she could say before James grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him. He kissed her back with more passion than she'd ever felt in the full year she'd been with Lucas.

They broke apart and rested their foreheads against each other.

"Please don't leave me alone tonight." she whispered, only audible to James because of his proximity.

"I'll never leave you."

Sweetly, he kissed her forehead. Neither of them knew what would happen come the new year, but both knew they'd be figuring it out together.