"Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend." - Sarah Dessen.

If you asked anyone in Hogwarts if Lily Evans was popular, they'd immediately say yes.

And really, she was, in a way - she was pretty, easy to talk to, smart, and not a Slytherin.

So yes, Lily Evans was popular - but that didn't mean she had friends.

Lily was so very alone.

So many people talked to her everyday - she was popular, she'd admit, but she didn't have any real friends.

(Except maybe Severus, but she didn't want to think about him right now.)

Nobody stayed for long; talked to her at night; shared their darkest secrets; listen to her spill her heart out.

And then there was bloody James Potter, who insisted on demolishing her life at any possible opportunity.

She wasn't kidding when she said that he was the last person she'd consider going on a date with.

Andromeda was so very alone.

It was really all her fault, whether she wanted to face it or not. She was the one who decided to rebel against her sisters and date Ted Tonks.

She had been the gossip for about a week. It was amazing.

Except then it began to fall apart. Ted was no longer as appealing as before; he didn't give her the sparks anymore.

She wondered why she had risked so much for him.

Ted was a Hufflepuff, and he knew her so well that he broke it off himself. It made Andromeda felt like an absolute bitch, but honestly, he was starting to annoy her.

And now she was all alone, with no friends and no sisters - they all left her when she got together with Ted.

She was just Andromeda - nothing special.

Lily longingly gazed at the group of girls chatting by the lake. Oh, what she would give to be one of them.

Whatever, she decided, huffing as she opened her book. Books are better than people anyways.

(She didn't actually believe that though.)

Meanwhile, Andromeda, who was scanning the grounds in search of a place to sit and wallow in her loneliness, chances upon Lily Evans, who was sitting under a large fir tree reading a book nearly as big as her.

She was certainly something. Andromeda wondered why she, of all people, was alone.

Well, it's not like she'll talk to me, she bitterly thought. I'm a Slytherin.

(She has never hated her heritage more.)

But against her will, she found her feet walking towards her with a mind of their own.

"Can I sit with you?" Andromeda's voice came out all quiet and weird and she wished she could just jump into a hole.

Lily looks up at her with these large, evergreen eyes, and Andromeda finds her blithe perfection ridiculous.

"Sure," she hesitantly replied, though it sounded more like she was surprised rather than disgusted. She scooted over and Andromeda sat down.

"What are you reading?" Andromeda asked lamely, trying to start a conversation that would probably become very awkward.

It turned out that it wasn't that way with Lily; in fact, the way she beamed almost blinded Andromeda's eyes. "Oh, it's a book about Advanced Alchemy, talking about the relationship between certain herbs and-"

But she abruptly cut herself off. "I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear me ramble about something that's probably boring to you."

Andromeda laughed. "No, it sounded interesting."

Lily grinned. "Really? Well then..."

They were ushered back into the castle at sunset by Hagrid. They walked in, giggling, and promised to meet again the next day.

The next afternoon, Lily was waiting for Andromeda with a list of books to talk about.

But quickly, they weren't talking about just books; they were telling each other everything.

People whispered; they both knew. But having a friend was worth so much more than their opinion, so they didn't let it bother them.

Lily absolutely loved having Andromeda around. She was like the soul sister she never had; (Petunia was hardly a sister to her.) the other part of her; her better half. She finished her sentence before she finished speaking, and she knew what she was feeling before even Lily knew herself.

She supposed the reason she felt so dreadfully alone before was because, while people did talk to her, they didn't understand her. They thought all she was was a pretty redhead with brains who had James wrapped around her finger.

They didn't even bother to dig deeper. Andromeda was the one who learned about her sister Petunia, about her conflicted feelings for Severus, of her secret love of baking.

Andromeda, was an absolutely beautiful person, in her opinion. She was compassionate and subtle and everything Lily wanted to be.

She was beautiful, all right. Downright stunning. Drop dead gorgeous.

One day Andromeda walked into class with her raven hair falling in loose curls to her shoulders, and light make-up.

Lily couldn't believe how she hadn't noticed how pretty Andromeda was until then.

"Do you think he'll like it?" she asks in her ear, and suddenly everything comes crashing down.

Of course. Lily has forgotten that Andromeda's new crush was on Robert, and she had said she was trying to impress him.

Of course it wasn't for her.

(Lily hated how she wished it was.)

She was an exotic goddess. Lily had never denied Andromeda's perfection before, but now it was all she could think about.

She saw Andromeda and focused on her body and her pretty face.

She listened to Andromeda talk and swore that it was better than music.

She felt Andromeda's fingers brush hers, and tingles danced under her skin.

Lily wished she could hate her for doing this to her; but she could never hate Andromeda, so instead she settled for hoping that they were still just the same best friends, she wasn't hopelessly in love with her, and didn't want to murder Robert every time she saw him.

Andromeda was talking - about something important she said, but for once Lily just couldn't listen because she was staring at her lips.

Her lips. They had to be the best lips on the planet. The way they just moved to each word like they were dancing - and their color! They looked so pink and kissable-

Lily was broken from her steamy daydream to Andromeda coughing.

"Are you even listening to me?" she asked, annoyed. "Come on Lily."

Lily apologized, but if Andromeda was in her position, she was sure she wouldn't have been much better.

She began to talk again. But it was just the same; Lily was staring at Andromeda's lips again, and it took all the self-restraint she had not to pounce on her-

I can't do this anymore, she decided, so before Andromeda could say another word, she stood up and planted a kiss right on her lips.

Her lips tasted better than they looked. They tasted like peppermint and belonging and everything James would never be to Lily.

Andromeda's eyes were wide as saucers, as she touched her lips in shock.

Now I've done it, Lily thought. I'll lose the only friend I'll ever have, and nobody will talk to me because they'll think I'm a gay loser-

Her thoughts were interrupted by Andromeda's lips again; except this time it was the other way around and Andromeda was kissing her and oh Merlin she could just fall into her now-

Andromeda broke away, smiling nervously. "I've been wanting to Dominique that for a while now. But I was scared that you'd reject me."

Lily just laughed and pulled her in for another kiss.

"How could I ever refuse you?"

They were lonely, and then they were best friends, and then they were girlfriends - but really, their love was just their strong bond, a thousand times over.

A/N: I feel as if I narrated this more in a more snarky tone than usual.

Done for:

Quidditch Competition - Appleby Arrows, Round 3 - Lily/Andromeda with the prompts: "Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend." - Sarah Dessen.; open book; wonder.

All Sorts of Love Competition - Femmeslash

Harry Potter Femmeslash Project - For themes Fluff and AU, using the prompt people are just people.

Pairing Diversity Boot Camp - Prompt #2: Whatever.