Okay, first of all, this is my first actual story. If there are any complaints, please accept my most sincere apologies. This is based on that Tumblr AU with tally marks representing and revealing love. I hope you enjoy it!

Third Year

For such a smart boy, James Potter was capable of being awfully foolish.

And James was a terribly intelligent thirteen year old. He was top of his class in Transfiguration, his pranks were renowned school wide, and he was the youngest Quidditch captain at Hogwarts in 30 years. He had a fantastic memory, which was usually a blessing, but now rather felt like a curse. He could remember the textbook's words exactly, and could not stop remembering them:

"When a person falls in love, a physical manifestation will appear on his or her forearm. A red tally means love, a black tally is requited love, and a scar is a dead love."

How could this happen? How did I not notice? There is no way Lily Evans-Sweet Merlin. Evans is going to kill me. I am in love with Lily Ev-

He sat in the bathroom, staring at his forearm for what may have been seconds, minutes, hours, before the boys came to find him.

"James!" Sirius strode through the door without knocking. Sirius had always been a confident boy, but since their third year had started, the lingering glances from the older girls had drawn out a cocky, smug grin that only Snivellus had been able to provoke before. He wore a smile of mischief and excitement as he interrupted James' pity party.

"Prongs, you are not going to believe what we did to Avery's broomstick! We went out to the Quidditch pitch with a ham and some rope and Moony levitated Pete through the window-" Sirius froze, his eyes landing on James' arm. "Oh, Prongs."

James had a bright red slash mark, about 3 inches in length, trailing down his wrist. It seemed thoroughly out of place on his clear, tan arm.

James looked up at him, misery tainting his features. "I'm too young to die."

Remus walked in, and grimaced when he saw the red slash. "It's not exactly a death sentence. And it's even less of a surprise. You have been following her for months." He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I figured it might just be a crush. Are you going to tell her?"

"Are you joking? Bloody freaking NO. It's RED. She doesn't love me back. Telling her would be a death sentence." James' voice spiralled into hysteria. "I'm going to end up like Frank, and my reputation will be ruined. I'm thirteen! I'm too young to be an outcast!"

"Well, what else are you supposed to do? You can't just expect to hide it."

Sirius snorted. "Of course he can hide it. You really think that Evans is going to pay any attention to James' body? All he has to do is keep it hidden, and let everyone who sees it wonder who he could be in love with. So long as there are other girls to blame, Evans need never know."

James looked at each of his friends, imagining a future of endless jumpers, heat stroke, and flirting with girls who would probably never matter to him. It sounded miserable, but anything would be better than death by Lily Evans.

"Yeah, okay."

Seventh Year

For such a smart young woman, Lily Evans was capable of being awfully foolish.

In her defense, however, it's not as though she had any experience in this sort of thing. There were far too many important things going on in the world for her to focus on love, of all things. She was only 17, after all. Her mother had despaired at the young witch's mindset, but Lily would certainly not spend her time searching for a boy when there was a war going on and NEWTs to take. Absolutely not. Any time she felt anything stronger than platonic affection toward any boy, she would squelch the feeling. She had gotten very good at destroying any sense of romance.

That is, until James. They had grown into a rather strong friendship during 6th year, and she had been perfectly content in it. But then 7th year came around, and it was as though everything he did appealed to her every interest. He became Head Boy, and proved himself to be an empathetic and talented leader. They had to share the Head dorms, and he was careful not to cross any boundaries that would have scared her away, but driven any other girl mad with longing. He made her laugh, and he was the only person she had ever met who made her want to be different. A better version of herself. Before long, he became the best part of her days. Knowing all of that, what happened next should have been expected. Around Halloween, her stomach started erupting with butterflies whenever he walked into the room. By a few weeks later, she wondered where he was whenever he wasn't in a room with her. Shortly thereafter, she wanted to be near him whenever he entered the room. With each development, she found it harder and harder to rationalize and crush each new feeling. She did her best to keep herself under control, so as not to act rashly. While he was safe because he was James, he had not given her any special attention in years, besides the incident by the lake during fifth year. Neither of them had taken any particularly telling risks, at least until last night.

It had been a terrible day. Slughorn had cornered her after Potions to invite her to a Slug Club meeting, and Marlene had said that Lily had no plans for the evening. Bloody Marlene. Lily had gotten back to the Head Dorms far later than usual, and it had thrown off the unspoken schedule she and James had made. Lily had usually retreated into her room by now but last night Lily had been waiting rather impatiently for James to leave the bathroom after Quidditch practice. He took outrageously long showers, but she didn't dare think too long on the subject in the fear that she might think something unsavory. Though she would have certainly savored a glimpse at those-

James left the bathroom, clothed only in a towel. He had always been a lanky boy, but he had filled out considerably. Lily's eyes caught on his broad shoulders, the creases in the muscles on his arms, the V-line going down towards his…. Her eyes snapped up to the bewildered, horrified face of one James Potter.

"Lily," he said hurriedly, "I need to get to my room." He tried to push past, but she was frozen to her spot. She ripped her gaze from his face, feeling her own cheeks begin to burn. Her eyes flickered across his form, unable to decide where to land. His hands. Surely, his hands were a sight that she had grown used to, and fond of. Her eyes shot down the length of his left arm, but once again her eyes caught on something James had never planned to let her see.

A bold red stripe cut down his wrist. Lily's heart simultaneously soared and crashed. James Potter was in love, it wasn't returned, and she had no clue who it was. He had made eyes at many of the girls in their year. Lily was among the number, of course, and none of the other girls had been serious, but James Potter was in love. Lily looked up into his eyes, and he looked so disappointed. The feeling perfectly matched how Lily felt, and her feet began to move of their own accord. She silently turned and walked into her own dormitory.

As Lily paced the length of her room, her heart raced. James loved somebody. He was IN LOVE with somebody, and she had absolutely no reason to believe that he could be in love with her. James wore long sleeves constantly, so she had no clue when this had begun. It was possible, she supposed, that the love had long since died. The marks always stayed, after all. But he had nothing to be ashamed of if that was the case. He had been covering up the mark, that she was sure of. She finally collapsed into bed, and tears burned in her eyes. A life spent watching James love somebody else is not a life worth having.

J&L

When James woke up in the morning, it took him a moment to remember why he felt sick to his stomach. He lay in bed, considering why the day felt heavy with dread before it even began. He looked out the window and the green of the grass made him think of Lily's eyes. His lips curved up at the thought of her, and his heart leapt into his throat as the previous day came rushing back.

She knows. He was certain of it. She had looked so upset, and he just knew that she would take a step back. Things had been going so well, and he had been terribly happy. Who needs love when she liked him? He didn't need sex or anything so long as she sat by him at meals. He would never need a love filled marriage if he had her devoted friendship. He wasn't waiting for her or anything. James had given up on winning her over ages ago. He just knew that being near her would have to be enough if he wanted anything at all.

He hopelessly rose out of bed to get ready for the day. While the weather was cooling, it was still far too warm for the flannel pajamas he had been wearing nightly since third year. Nighttime was probably safe for short sleeves, but he had never been able to bear the thought of Evans seeing the tally mark. He had tried so hard to hide his feelings from her, and had nearly succeeded. James hadn't expected Lily to be waiting outside of the door. She had always gone to bed before his infinitely long practices ended, so he thought it was safe to go out with his tally visible. James miserably brushed his teeth, knowing that he would have to face her feelings, or lack thereof, eventually. She wasn't supposed to see it, and he looked down at the mark with disdain before choking on his toothbrush.

The tally had turned black.

When a person falls in love, a physical manifestation will appear on his or her forearm A red tally means love, a black tally is requited love, and a scar is a dead love.

James stared at the mark, a desperate hope spreading to his fingers and toes. He ripped the bathroom door open and ran to find Lily Evans.

J&E

Lily Evans sat huddled in her closet, hoping that James wouldn't look for her there and the soft clothes would calm her down. She had noticed the tally immediately upon waking, and it had not taken any time for her to understand the magnitude of her situation.

She had, perhaps foolishly, fallen in love with James Potter. He loved her too, and had for maybe years. If he hadn't seen it yet, he would very soon. She had thrown herself into her closet, hoping that he may not think to look for her there. She had been waiting there for the better part of an hour, and sitting with her head stuck between a bulky pair of boots and a rumpled shirt with a mysterious green stain that smelled of chocolate pudding hardly calmed her down.

It wasn't so much that she didn't want to be with James as it was that she needed a plan. Lily Evans thrived when her life was in order, and she had been thrown into a world of chaos and nonstop feeling. She distantly heard heavy, uneven footsteps and her heart lifted just knowing that James was near.

She wanted to date him. She wanted marriage, and to touch him, and a life beside James Potter. The realization hit her like a train, and she knew how to regain control. So Lily Evans, the girl who had refused to fall in love, dove out of the closet to meet the boy who had made love worthwhile. She threw open the door just as James reached it, and he took in her disheveled appearance with shock. He opened his mouth to speak, and she whipped her hand over his mouth to put her plan into place.

"Go out with me." He looked utterly thrown, and she removed her hand to allow him to speak. He opened his mouth, then shut it again. He looked at her as though she was a miracle, and her fears left her in a rush of breath.

Lily used her left hand, with the tally mark in full view, to grab his left hand. She raised it to her lips, and pressed a series of gentle kisses up the length of his matching mark. He grabbed her hand, and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Go out with me," she repeated.

"Yeah, okay." He seemed to regain his bearings, and leaned in close to her ear with a smirk. Her heart rate increased as the distance between them lessened until she heard what he whispered to her. "There's something green stuck in your hair."

She pulled away in a rush and slammed the door. She heard muffled laughter, and she touched her head. Something sticky and green pulled away with her fingers, and she squealed with disgust.

A half an hour later, a thoroughly showered Lily Evans exited her room to find James Potter waiting to walk her to breakfast. As his fingers found hers, she smiled at the sight of him in a button up with the sleeves rolled up for the first time in 4 years.