Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter or anything associated with the HP world. If I did I would be filthy rich.

This story is also on Harrypotterfanfiction . com, under my screen-name Celtic Princess

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JAMES' POV

I don't know how long I can do it. How long can a person be rejected, but still ask her out anyway? Every time she rejects me, every time she turns me down, it breaks my heart a little more. I know I sound like a pansy, but I'm way past caring about that.

Looking across the common room I can see her sitting by the fire and laughing with her friends Mary Mcdonald and Alice Bennet.

Lily Evans. I used to just ask her out because she seemed to be the only girl in school who hadn't fallen at my feet. But that was in second year, now five years later it's practically the oppisite. I'm the one falling at her feet. Metaforicly of course...I mean...that one time I tripped in her presence and landed on her right foot totally doesn't count. Sirius thought it was funny though, and has been teasing me about it ever since.

SIGH

I'm in love with her. I know it.

Once when I was almost sixteen, I asked my dad how you could tell the diffrence between having a crush and being in love. He gave me a funny look like a 'James-you-are-not-old-enough-to-be-in-love-look.' But then he said that "crushes are pretty short in duration and if it is a crush it will probably go away with seperation...But if it's love, you think of her before yourself. You would die to protect her. And you would want her to be happy, even if it was with somebody else."

Okay...So I don't exactaly want her to be with someone else. But if she was happy. If she was truly happy, I think I would be happy for her. Sure, it would bloody hurt like nothing else. But...Whatever.

Remus & Sirius are headed this way. I wonder where Peter is, he hardly ever hangs out with us anymore.

"Hey, Prongs mate." Sirius greeted, sitting in the chair next to me, Remus taking the one on my other side.

I move my eyes from where they had been resting on Lily to look up at Sirius.

"Hey, Padfoot." I greet him, but with less enthusiasm than when he greeted me.

"So...Prongs. What cha been doin'?" Sirius asks me.

Remus sighs, exasperated, "Isn't it obvious what he's been doing Sirius?" Remus asks him.

Sirius rolls his eyes, "of course it's obvious Moony, I just wanted to hear him say it."

Sirius redirects his eyes from Remus to me, and gives me a sad but knowing look.

"Prongs, mate," Sirius begins with a sigh and I know what he's going to say even before he says it. "You need to let her go." He pauses for a moment but then continued on, "James, I know you hate to hear it, but Lily doesn't like you. You need to move on."

I sigh, we have had this conversation before. He probably already knows what I'm going to say, but I'll say it anyway.

"Sirius, I can't. You know I can't. How often will I have to say it before you understand?"

LILY'S POV

James...I mean Potter...He keeps glancing in my direction. What's worse is that I keep glancing in his direction to see if he is still glancing in mine. I wish he would stop. He is making it quite difficult for me to concentrate on what Alice & Mary are saying. Speaking of those two - what are they saying?

I should really be paying attention to the conversation on hand instead of thinking about Ja...I mean Potter.

"Earth to Lily," Alice shakes me from my thoughts while waving her hand in front of my face. I can feel my face go red, and I know that they know (or at least think) I was thinking about Potter. I mean I was glancing in his direction.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying Alice?" I smile in an attempt to remain cool and collected.

"I was just wondering Lily, how is the veiw of James Potter from where you're sitting?" She asks with a smirk firmly planted on her face.

I want nothing more right now than to wipe that smirk right of her face. But alas, we can't always get want we want.

"Alice, whatever do you mean?" I ask her, obviously knowing exactally what she means. I feel like I am always trying to steer my way out of this conversation. Because unfortunately this is not the first time we've had it, how I wish it were.

I feel like my heart won't obey my minds commands anymore, and what's worse is that now my body is out of my control as well. I wasn't trying to glance at Ja...POTTER...I mean POTTER!! I wasn't trying to glance at Potter. In fact I was trying not to.

And now not only are my heart and body not listening to my mind's commands, but my thoughts are constantly in conflict with eachother.

Now both Alice and Mary are smirking, and I know I should really pay attention to the problems at hand.

"Alice! Mary! What are you two smirking about?" I exclaim a little more loudly than I meant to, drawing the attention of most everybody in the common room. Including Potter.

"Hmm...let me think." Alice says quietly. "Mary what do you think?"

"Hmmm...I don't know." Mary begins sarcasticly, and then says, "Oh I remember now."

I'm growing impatient now. I wish they would just spit it out already.

Finally Alice speaks up, "Duh Lily...We know you like Potter."

"I do not!" I exclaim in a whisper.

"Sure Lily." They both say simeltaniously.

My face is going red now, but from anger not embarrasment. Well...maybe a little embarrasment mixed in. Because...well I do like him. I wish I didn't, but I do. This might have even been a humorus conversation if I didn't.

"I do not like James. When have I ever given any indication that I do?!" I ask them in hushed tones, realizing that I called him James but knowing if I correct myself it will only make the situation worse.

JAMES' POV

Lily and her friends are arguing. I wonder what about. They hardly ever fight. They caught the attention of the rest of the common room when Lily started yelling a few minuets ago. She seemed to notice that she raised her voice right away because thats when they started whispering.

Remus and Sirius gave up arguing with me about Lily a few minuets ago, and went up to the boys' dormitory.

Lily's friends keep glancing at me and then looking at Lily and smirking. I wonder what thats all about. Lily however is keeping her face determindly pointed away from me.

She looks angry. Like...Really angry. She usually only ever gets like that when she's talking to me. She glances in my direction before getting up and storming out of the common room, leaving Mary and Alice behind.

Should I follow her? Shes already really angry so it doesn't look like theirs much harm I can do.

I think I will.

LILY'S POV

I wish I could control my temper. But those two can make me so mad!

Agh!! I wish I could just stop likeing Potter! This is sooo bloody annoying! I'm supposed to be the only girl in school who is immune to his incredible charm and good looks, and whats worse is everybody in the whole freaking school knows! I can't just give in. I'll be labled as the biggest hypocrite to ever enter into this school. And besides, I absolutly refuse to be like all those annoying girls who follow him around, bat their eyes at, and fall at his feet.

I just reached the lake. I always find it very calming to sit and watch the water.

Theirs just one thing I can do, and that is to forget about James Potter. Sure, it will be hard. But it can be done. People move on everyday if they have to.

I can feel tears welling up in my eyes...I must be premenstural or something...Because their is no way on God's green planet that I am out here crying over James Potter...But I am.

Who am I bloody kidding?? I want nothing more right now than to run up to James Potter and kiss him full on the mouth. And then after I do I can hex the smirks off of Alice and Mary's faces, hopefully forever.

But then their is still the problem of what the rest of the school would say. I mean honestly, I have been turning the guy down for six years. Six! It's not like I was doing it privately either, I once got a detention for yelling at him in the Great Hall during breakfast.

If I give into that idiot for him it will be a victory, but for me it will be torture...Why does this have to be so hard?

I mean sure we would be together. And that would be great! But what about the rest of the school?

Shoot someone is coming, I can hear the rustleing of leaves on the ground.

I wonder who it is.

JAMES' POV

Lily is sitting on the ground by the lake with her knees tucked up to her chin. The sun is setting on the other side of the lake leaving a long shadow behind her.

She must have heard me approaching because she is turning around now.

"Potter, what are you doing here?" She sighs exasperatedly, wiping her face of what looks like tears.

I wonder if she's okay. Lily hardly ever cries. I have only ever seen her cry once, and even then it was because her paents had died.

"I...er..." What am I doing here? "I just wanted to see if you wanted any company." Thats a huge lie...what I should have said is, "Lily, I came out here to see if you're okay. I saw you and your friends fighting in the common room, and was hopeing I might be able to somehow get out of you what had happened. Even though I know their is not much chance of that...Why are you crying? Oh, and will you go out with me?" But since I didn't say that I'll just have to wait and see what her

answer to my 'company' question.

"James...I mean..." she sighs, I can't believe she just called me 'James,' she never calls me that, "I just want to be alone right now. Okay?"

She is being unusally polite to me right now.

Disregarding what she just said I go and sit next to her anyway. She sighs but surprisingly doesn't tell me to leave.

"Lily," I begin quietly, "are you okay?"

She doesn't look at me but continues to stare out at the lake.

"Lily?" I ask again.

This time she nods and says, "I'm fine, Potter." I wish she had called me James, but I'm not going to push my luck.

LILY'S POV

James is sitting on the ground next to me. I can tell he want's to say something, but doesn't know how to begin.

Should I tell him how I feel? I want to, but at the same time...I'm just so scared to.

Totally not meaning to I let out a huge melodramatic sigh...I wipe away a few tears before turning to look at him. I think my sigh got his attention because he is staring at me...Although it is quite possibe he was stairing at me before I sighed. He has a tendancy to do that, stare at me I mean.

Now I'm looking up into his hazel eyes. His gorgeous hazel eyes. "James," I begin quietly. I can tell he is pleased I used his first name and I don't correct myself, "I...James, I think I...I mean..." I trail off hopelessly.

"Lily." He whispers, "What is it?"

I break eye contact because I can't think straight when I'm stairing in his eyes. Instead I fix my gaze on a piece of lint that is stuck to his shirt. It seems like a safer place to look than his eyes, untill completly without thinking about what I'm doing, I reach out and brush the lint off his shirt just below his neck. I can feel the heat of his body through his thin cotton shirt.

I can tell James is surprised by my behaviour.

I take a deep breath, - as though trying to draw in some courage - before looking back into his eyes.

"James," I begin again. Determined to get it out this time, "I think I'm falling in love with you." I say it all in a rush to get it over with. I hope he understood me.

JAMES' POV

Did she...Did she just say what I think she did?

I think I must be grinning like a fool.

I reach my hand out and brush a few flyaway strands of her red hair behind her ear.

I once kissed Lily and she about killed me. She was just walking alone in the corridor, and I started walking with her. She told me repeatedly to leave, but I refused. In an argument that followed we ended up really, really close. I couldn't help it, we were just barely two inches apart, so I kissed her. She was so angry that even the next day she was shooting flyaway hexes under the desks at me during class. I ended up in the hospital wing for three days.

I decided then and there I would never, ever, repeat that mistake.

"Lily." I whisper hardly audibly.

"Yes, James?" She whispers, if possible even quieter than I did.

"What would you do if I were to kiss you...like...right now?" I ask her quietly, glancing between her eyes and her lips.

"I don't know," she says, and I feel as though my stomach has fallen to the floor. I thought she was going to tell her I could kiss her. "Probably this." She says quietly.

And before I know it she has leaned in and is kissing me. It's not like the one kiss we had before, this one is diffrent. This one is special, and I feel as though this will be my last first kiss. It's filled with passion but is also slow and sweet. Probably because now it's being reciprocated on both ends. But I think the real reason is I love her, and she loves me. Love is a beautiful thing. I know it sounds corny, but nothing could be more true.

FIN