"Just give me one good reason."
She turned on her heels to face him, positively fuming. "One good reason for what, Potter?"
"One good, justifiable reason why you refuse to go out with me," he answered, equally agitated. "Give me that, Evans, and I swear, I'll leave you alone."
She averted her gaze from his piercing hazel eyes, far more sharp than she'd ever seen them. Who was she kidding? All of her previous justifications for denying his proposals held no weight now. He'd taken a pin to his inflated ego, deflating it quite a bit. There were no hirsute first year victims of the Marauder's pranks littering the hallways, and far less havoc wreaked upon the school sans vindication. In all honesty, he had matured, had become somewhat of a gentleman.
"I- James, I-" she stuttered, forgetting to call him by his surname. He took a step towards her, raised his calloused fingers to her face and gently stroked her cheek as a small grin spread across his face.
"You called me James," he reminded her. She shut her eyes tightly, as tightly as she could shut them, trying to block him out, trying and failing to erase her slip-up. She couldn't tell him the truth. The truth is a oneway street to vulnerability, and vulnerability is one thing that she could not and would not experience. His hand dropped to her shoulder and he drew her into an embrace. "Give me a reason to let you go," he whispered.
She succumbed to the overwhelming emotions bottled up inside her, letting salty tears flow down her cheeks and be absorbed into James' sweater. She lifted her head to see him better, resting her chin on his chest. "I'm scared."
"Scared of what, Lily?"
"I'm scared of what people will think when they see that I've given in. Frightened to think about the 'what if's, positively terrified of losing you to another girl. James, I'm scared."
"Don't be, Lily flower. People will think what they want to, we can't stop them, but we can pay them no mind. Why think of the 'what if's when we have the here and now? And you could never lose me to another girl, love. Haven't you realized by now: you can't get rid of me!"
She chuckled, burying her face into his chest and slipping her arms around his waist. She'd finally given into the Potter charm and realized that there was no reason to be frightened. James was hers, for forever and a day.
A/N: A little ficlet, written in the wee hours of the morning before I leave for vacation. Obviously, my love for you all knows no boundaries. :) I've been working on revising some of my stories, and I swear I'll be writing while I'm away. I'm hoping to have another oneshot up by the 29th (which, coincidentally, is my 15th birthday!) so, until then, drop me a line letting me know what you think! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Did you abosolutely adore A Very Potter Sequel and now can't get the songs out of your head, like me? ¡Hasta luego!
Much love, Sadie