It has for quite a while annoyed me how very OOC Lily is in Show Him No (a fluffy little one-shot I published last January). While Lily is arguably still rather OOC in this fic, she is considerably less OOC than she was in Show Him No, so hopefully readers who were annoyed by that in Show Him No will like this better. = )

I don't own HP, and I stole some dialogue from OotP.

No, I haven't forgotten about Come Together. I've been working on it, I promise. Hopefully I'll be able to publish the first chapter soon!

Tell Him Yes

They're at it again. James Potter and Sirius Black, and tagalong Peter, with Remus ignoring everything, despite his badge. Why can't they leave people alone? Yeah, Severus Snape's not perfect, but neither are they. I finally reach them. The Slytherin is on the ground, choking over the soap James put in his mouth.

"Leave him ALONE!" I snarl in a voice I must have learned from Severus.

And the egotistical fool has the nerve to mess with his hair and grin that beautiful smile of his that he seems to reserve just for me. "All right, Evans?" he asks in a tone that makes my insides melt, and these unwelcome emotions just make me frown even more.

"Leave him alone," I repeat, fixing upon his haughty but handsome face my patented Glare that never fails to achieve the desired result, even when used against James Potter. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," he drawls (I must not have applied the Glare correctly), "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean..."

Laughter from the brainless peanut gallery. It's the dumbest response I've ever heard, and I've heard quite a few stupid statements from James. Why doesn't he realize that if he just stopped being such an idiotic, conceited bully, I'd marry him in a heartbeat?

"You think you're funny," I very nearly growl, "but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," he answers immediately, his obnoxiously-mischievous hazel eyes twinkling. "Go on...Go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

I can't believe him. He thinks I—a prefect—would allow myself to go out with someone (however attractive) who's behaving in such a way as James is behaving now? For a moment I think about just telling him no, but then...I get a better idea.

I'll show him no.

A part of me is repulsed by what I'm about to do—I mean, it's Severus Snape, for goodness' sake! Yeah, the Slytherin was my best friend before Hogwarts and for the first few years of school, but he's always hanging out with those creepy Slytherin friends of his and laughing at Dark magic. Our friendship is only hanging by a thread by now and has been for months, if not years. Nearly every conversation we have turns into a fight. Not to mention he has a huge nose and really greasy hair...but it's necessary. If I ever want to be able to go out with James, which, by Merlin, I so terribly want, James has got to understand that this behavior of his must stop. What better way to show him but to really shock him by doing the seemingly unthinkable?

So I send one last glare toward James before marching over to Severus Snape, pulling him to his feet, using a quick Tergeo to get rid of the remaining pink bubbles, and kissing him full on the lips.

His nose doesn't get in the way like I'd worried it might. His hair tickles my jawbone in the soft breeze, and I can't even tell that it's greasy. I'd forgotten his smell: old books and new spring grass and potions ingredients, and these smells remind me of memories that I'd long since pushed to the back of my mind. I'm overwhelmed by memories of when we were younger: Severus explaining all about magic while we lounged in the woods near my house, the two of us sitting by the lake or in the library doing homework, Sev's soft, awkward voice speaking to me as he glances at me out of the corner of his eye. Nostalgia fills me; our childhood never seemed sweeter, and I wonder how it was that he changed so completely from the Sev I once knew. But then I look into his deep, black eyes as we separate from the kiss, and I see the same exact Sev that I was remembering.

Out of the corner of my eye I see James standing dumbfounded with his wand hanging limply at his side. Even Remus has dropped his I'm-not-here attitude and is gazing up over his book in surprise. The satisfaction at a stunt-well-pulled bubbles up inside me at this sight, but I find myself every bit as confused as everyone else.

Everybody is still staring at me—I feel their eyes needling me, but all I can do is stare right back into Severus' eyes, which are gazing at me in disbelief and a tentative, desperate hope. I suddenly realize something that I should have seen years ago, and I don't know what to do about it. What do you do when you've just kissed the worst enemy of the guy you like, when the worst enemy in question is your former best friend, and now you realize that that former best friend has been in love with you for years?

James takes a step closer to us as I take a step backward from Severus.

"What the hell, Evans?" James asks, his beautiful hazel gaze flickering between Severus and me. His tone is incredulous and indignant. He can't believe I would ever do such a thing. I can hardly believe it myself.

I glance at James, and then back at Severus. I don't think I've ever been at more of a loss. Part of me wants to go through with my original plan, explain why I did what I just did, and hope James changes for me. Yet, another part of me crumbles at the thought of seeing my Sev's countenance fall, at seeing him set a mask of cold indifference over his face and go off to laugh falsely with those Death-Eater wannabes in order to cover up his pain.

Because somehow, now I see what I was blind to for so long. I see that Severus never wanted to distance himself from me. I understand fully for the first time why Severus loathes James so much. I even suddenly understand why it is that Severus has always found the Dark Arts so attractive, and I know now that I haven't lost him, not yet—my best friend is still there, still exists—and this moment could be the moment, the climax, that will determine our paths for what could quite possibly be the rest of our lives.

There's James, standing there with his gang behind him—handsome, confident, and proud—confused, yes, but nonetheless sure—utterly sure—that I will ultimately choose him over a disgusting little Slytherin loser.

There's Severus, trembling slightly as he looks at me, utterly alone—skinny, greasy, and vulnerable—his eyes by degrees losing that hope as he begins to convince himself I didn't mean it the way he wishes I did.

I thought I was in love with James (foolish as that might sound coming from a sixteen-year-old girl's mouth), and I never thought, before now, that I could ever fall in love with Severus—I'd never even considered him in that respect. But now, looking at them, I realize I'm not in love with James: I'm only in love with some non-bullying image of James that doesn't actually exist outside my mind. And while I definitely cannot say I'm in love with Sev right now, something tells me that what I do feel for him will soon blossom into what he feels for me, so long as we give it a chance.

I can choose James, whom I want to change, or I can choose Severus, whom I don't want to change.

God, I've been a complete idiot.

I reach out to Sev and take his (slightly sweaty) hand in mine. He looks like he's barely daring to breathe.

I glare at James Potter, who stands, frozen, staring at us.

"Snivellus, Evans?" He can now see my decision, can read it in my eyes, and his voice is almost pleading.

And finally, I tell James Potter the word he has for so long wanted to hear escape my lips.

"Yes."

So? What did you think? Criticism always welcome!