Underneath the Stars
A/N: This was fun to write. I've always wanted to do a Jily. Prompts: dust, practice, stars.
Lily trudged down to the Quidditch field feeling a bit irritated. James had begged her to meet him there after practice and she had finally consented. She knew this would just be a waste of time, James would just prove himself to be more insolent the she initially thought, but something inside of her urged her to go, give him a chance. She sighed as she reached the changing rooms and saw James waving at her enthusiastically. This was it.
"Lily," James greeted her, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "I'm glad you came, I was worried you weren't going to."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I did promise I would come. I never go back on my promises."
"Yeah," James agreed absentmindedly. "That's what I like about you."
James stared off into space dreamily and Lily began to feel frustrated. She just didn't understand this guy. One minute he could he could be absolutely obnoxious and insensitive, the next, he was all goofy and love struck. There were also those times when she saw another side to James, reminded that little thing inside of her. A side that was sweet and caring. A side she wanted to see more of- No! She didn't want to! She didn't like James. Right? Suddenly she wasn't so sure. She pushed away her conflicting feelings and huffed out, "So what did you want to meet me down here for anyway?"
Snapping out of his dreamy haze, James smiled. "Oh yeah, right, close your eyes, and no peeking!"
He took her by her hands as she closed her eyes and lead her somewhere. Lily really had no idea what was going on, but for James' sake, it'd better be good. After a minute, James stopped her and told her not to move or open her eyes yet. Lily sighed.
"Okay," James called out. "You can open them."
The sight before Lily was so sweet and beautiful; she could hardly believe her eyes. Sitting in the middle of the Quidditch field was a picnic blanket with candles scattered around it, keeping the area bright as the sun went down. The whole field was rather dusty, as it always was that time of year, but the grass around the picnic blanket was perfectly green and healthy looking. James sat on the blanket, wand in hand, looking extremely pleased with himself, but underneath, his lack of confidence was still visible. Around him were all kinds of delicious treats; bottles of pumpkin juice, sandwiches, cookies, cake, apples, chocolate-covered strawberries, what looked to be miniature quiches, a proper feast.
"You did all this for me?" Lily asked quietly, a small blush forming on her cheeks. No one had ever done anything this nice for her, except her parents and Sev- No! She couldn't think about him. Not after what he did.
James blushed too and scratched the back of his head, looking down. "Well, yeah. You're really special to me Lily, I really care about you. I would do anything for you."
Lily made her way over to the blanket and sat next to James. Slowly, she leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. James blushed even harder and cupped the place where her lips touched his skin. Lily smiled at that. "You really are persistent, Potter. That's what I like about you."
James began to stutter. "I- Would you- I mean- If it-" Then began to mumble quietly. "I really- your face is nice, just wanted to tell you that."
Lily quirked an eyebrow. "What?"
"Would you go out with me?" James blurted out.
Lily smiled and giggled. "Sure."
They laughed and talked all evening. Lily completely enjoyed herself. And as they lay back to watch the stars come out, Lily thought to herself, maybe James is not so bad. Maybe I'll give him a chance.