Author's Note: This chapter was inspired by the band Scary Kids Scaring Kids but it's not a song fic/chapter. It's actually more like a SKSK album fic/chapter. The only time I use lyrics is in the title and I'm only going to use the general idea from their songs. So, I hope you enjoy! Reviewing is much appreciated!

UPDATE: Right now, I'm in finals week of school, so I won't be able to write for a bit. I thought I might update all the edits I made to the story, though it's not as exciting as a new chapter would be. Sorry for the delay; please bear with me!

Disclaimer: None of it's mine. The title belongs to SKSK and the rest goes to J.K. Rowling.

Prologue: Just a Taste

"I can't believe you. I can't believe this." My voice was flat with suppressed emotion. I was surprised at the amount of calmness I was showing. Inside I was screaming and containing the urge to cry. I would not cry in front of him; I refused to.

"Just listen to me, Lily. Please!" He begged to me as I turned to leave the empty classroom I had been pulled into. His eyes, like mine, were brimming with tears. I had rarely seen him cry in the years that we had been friends. "Just forgive me! I can't say sorry enough and I just want my best friend back. I miss you Lily!"

His words cut through me and I had to remind myself of what he had become, what I should have seen he would become. He was no longer my best friend. The person he had become was so different from what I remembered.

"I can't do this anymore, Snape. I can't be your friend any longer. We've just grown apart." It was getting increasingly harder to keep my tears held in, so I turned my back to him.

"Oh. So now it's Snape, no longer Sev?" His voice cracked on the last word and it broke me down. I could no longer hold back the tears, and they silently streamed down my face. "Am I really that forgettable to you? I thought I meant more to you! I thought you and me…" He couldn't finish his sentence because I wasn't the only one crying then.

"No, it's not that you're forgettable. Not at all! It's what you've put me through when we were friends! How much pain you've caused me and I just…I just couldn't stand it anymore! Especially not after fifth year."

I could see the flash of anger in his eyes after that statement. That seemed more fitting of the "New Snape" than what he used to be like. That realization made me even sadder.

"I told you I was sorry for that. Remember?"

"Yes. I remember. But only saying sorry is not enough."

"What else do you want me to do to fix this? Please tell me. I don't think I can come up with words to describe how disgusted I am with myself for saying that-that word to you."

"It's not just that you said it to me. Simply saying it at all…it's vile." I wanted him to understand that insulting anyone in that way was the most wretched thing to do. "Severus, I'm not going to tell you what to do to fix this rift between us because I honestly don't know what to tell you. It may seem like a simple word but it's not-"

He cut me off. "I know it's not a simple word, Lily."

"Well then, you have to understand the amount of betrayal I felt that day. You knew what that word meant to me. You KNEW how much it hurt me, and how hard I have tried to break through that stereotype, and how much grueling work I've put myself through. You knew! And then you went and-and called me that word and I just…I couldn't believe that it was coming from you--my best friend!"

There was silence after my outburst and we both stared each other down. Then his face slowly changed. It melted into an expression he used to wear, the way I remembered him to be, and he looked away.

I took that opportunity to look at him properly. He looked like he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in years and his hair was much greasier than I remembered. Seeing him like that made me upset. I wanted it to be like it used to be in the worst way. Me and Sev: best friends. He used to be the one I went to with all my problems. The one I used to laugh with and to dream about the future with. I missed him terribly.

But seeing him like this made me realize that things could never go back to that, because we had both chosen different paths. He had chosen evil and I had chosen to fight against evil. We did exactly as I had said before: we had grown apart, and now things could never be like the way it used to.

"Lily," Severus started after what seemed like forever. "I know things have changed and I know that I've hurt you. I'm sorry. Just please tell me that I haven't lost you completely because I wouldn't be able to bear it. I'm in love with you Lily Evans, as I've always been."

My heart dropped and my mind raced for the words that would harm him the least. The problem was that whatever I said, it would hurt him. I wasn't in love with him, and to be honest, I never was. Oh, I did love him, but not the way that he obviously loved me.

Plus, since he and I had stopped being friends, I had become closer to certain other people. Others like James Potter, for instance. James and I had started getting close in sixth year, and when we both happened to be the two Heads in Seventh year, we had grown even closer. In fact, I'd fell for him. I had fallen for the one guy I could never even hold a civil conversation with. James made me happier than I thought possible.

"Sev-…I-I can't. I don't…I don't feel the same way." Tears started gushing out of my eyes more freely now. "I just can't. I love you, but not like that. The only thing I ever had to offer to you was friendship. I'm sorry."

The expression on his face looked as if I had stabbed him then twisted the knife. I felt like I had. No matter how much we had grown apart, I still didn't like hurting him.

It was a long moment before he could speak. His face showed an array of emotions. It was like a battle between heartbreak, sadness, defeat, and fury. In the end, anger won out above all the rest.

"So that's how it is. You don't feel the same. Is it because of your precious Potter? He could never love you like I do, Lily."

That made me angry. "Oh really? How so? How could you ever love me more than he does? More than the guy who never gave up on me and always defended me? You know, if I can recall correctly, he defended me against you a few times."

"But I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you. I have always loved you! What could you say for him? Tell me Lily, does he honestly love you?

"And I could protect you Lily! If you haven't noticed, a lot of people have been dying out there. If you were with me, I could keep you out of danger! Potter, on the other hand, would probably be dragging you into harm's way, even if it was unintentional."

"How dare you." I said in a deadly voice. "Of course James loves me. Just about as much as I love him. And do you really think that I would care about protection from you against your 'friends'? I'd rather die."

With that, I turned on my heel, and walked out through the door. I couldn't take it anymore because I knew that we were going nowhere with the conversation. If I had stayed, we would have hurt each other more, if that was even possible. It was too much pain for one day. As I walked down the corridor to the Gryffindor Common Room, I tried to put the conversation behind me and get on with my life.