Chapter 2: Obnoxious Meets Annoyed

Lily's POV

If there were someone who wanted to be my friend, there would be one thing they would have to know about me: I desperately loathe, hate, and despise James Potter. The sight of him made my skin crawl, just to see him run his hand through that messy hair, to smirk with triumph when Sev would be hoisted from his ankles from a tree, to laugh mercilessly as a prank was carried out successfully. Of course, I was ignoring Severus right now, but still, the behavior was cruel…Would the annoyance ever cease? I highly doubted it.

So imagine my surprise when, at nine o'clock, a pebble hit my dormitory window; softly, but hard enough for me to notice the noise. I was the only one in the dorm still awake,—we'd had a party over the recent Quidditch win for Gryffindor— unsuccessfully trying to finish my DADA homework: it was the only class I didn't excel in. Oh, back to the pebble. Once the pebble had completed its task of catching my attention, another one tapped my window, this one a bit louder than the last. Confused, I crept to the window, expecting to see some kind of creature from Care of Magical Creatures spitting rocks at my dormitory window. Instead, who should stand there but James Potter?

"Potter!" I hissed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Can't you just come down here? For a second?"

I scoffed angrily at his incompetence. "And how am I supposed to get down? Fly? It's not like I'd live two seconds on a broom!"

"Leave it to me," he said with a tone of suspense. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he muttered, just barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Oh!" I gasped, as I was lifted from the windowsill and onto the grass right outside.

"James Potter, what was that? You can't just levitate someone from their dormitory because you have the whim to talk! It's absurd! Whatever it is, I'm sure it could've waited 'til morning! Honestly—" But I didn't get to finish. James had pressed his mouth, somewhat forcefully, to my own. My surprise? I kissed him back. I didn't keep my eyes open and try to push him away. I closed my eyes and kissed him. I enjoyed it. Crap. It was when he wrapped an arm around my waist and I put a hand on the back of his neck that I realized I was snogging my worst enemy, and I pulled back, gasping for breath.

"Are you kidding me?" I gasped out. "You've been making my school life my own personal Azkaban for six years and now you snog me?"

"Lily," he said calmly, surprising me even more. "Lily Evans, I have loved you for six years. I don't know what I was doing, messing with you like that. I just wanted you to notice me. I love you. So much, it hurts. I just want a little reciprocation. If at all…possible?" he finished in a question.

I heard a rustling in the bushes, and I cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "Are—are you serious? For real? You're not about to yell, 'Hah! You should've seen your face!'?" I asked, even more suspicious.

"No, Lily. I love you. Do you want me to beg for forgiveness?"

"Hmm…" I said sarcastically, as if I was considering the idea. But before I could believe what was happening, James was on the ground, hugging my legs.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please," he chanted. "Please, Lily, please!" he continued to grovel, but I'd had enough of it.

"James! Get off me!"

"Ah, you didn't call me Potter!" he was still hugging my legs pathetically, as if it could help his case any. I heard snickering coming somewhere and felt annoyed, but didn't see anything when I looked up.

"James," I half whined, half scolded. I tilted his head up to mine so I could see his bespectacled face. "I don't really want to be nice to you right now," I said, and he grimaced, and looked at me apologetically, "but why don't we try being friends? You know, until we decide we hate each other again."

His face broke into a smile that made his whole face glow. He kissed me again, smiling. "Okay, Lily! We're best friends! And, I'll never, ever, EVER hate you, Lily."

"Slow down, Jack. Alice is my best friend." He pouted. "And the kissing thing isn't helping the friendship thing at all."

"Right," he said, chastising himself. He hugged me instead, almost cracking my ribs. "That okay?" he asked.

"Can't…breathe…too…tight," I choked out.

"Ahh!" he cried. "Jeez, sorry, Lils. I'll go. Er…see you tomorrow? First period DADA?"

"Right," I smirked. In parting, I held out my hand. He shook it, smiling grimly. He turned to walk away, but he still seemed to have a happy glow around him. I didn't want to leave him disappointed, I guess. Why? I don't have the foggiest idea. "James?" I called.

He whipped around, grinning from ear to ear. "Yes, love, er….buddy?" I scowled at him, but went over and hugged him.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He looked woozy.

"Whatever happens, just go inside, I'm fine." He sighed.

"Er…okay?" He just kept standing there, so I sighed and levitated myself back up through the window. I smiled. Wait, what the hell? Why was I smiling?

Did…did I just agree to be friends with James…POTTER? POTTER WAS MY BUDDY NOW? Why was I okay with this? Maybe…did I want to be friends with him? I was just tired of fighting. Yeah, that was it. Definitely. He may be hopelessly in love with me, and I just told him we'd be friends to repress that love. Maybe he'd figure out we were only supposed to be friends. Then everything would make a small bit of sense again.

I heard more laughing from the ground, and turned around to look out the window. My eyebrows shot up my forehead in surprise. James had passed out, and now Remus and Sirius were helping—well, dragging—James back into the castle through one of the many secret passages they'd found. I sighed and rolled my eyes. What an idiot.

But he's my idiot.

What? My…mind was talking to me again. Time to have another argument with myself.

Oh, come on, Lils! He's completely in love with you!

"Yeah, but I don't love him!"

You sure about that?

"What? Of course I'm sure! I don't love James Potter! Not in a million years!"

Then why did you kiss him back?

"I didn't… well…Yeah, I did. But, I'm not sure."

Why did you hug him?

"I thought it would make him feel better, you know? He seemed sad…"

And why do you care whether or not he's sad?

Shoot. I had myself there.

Perhaps because you, oh, I don't know…care?

"I do not!"

Yes, you do. You want him to be happy.

"Well, shouldn't we all want people to be happy? It's really pretty mean to think that you want someone to be sad, or angry."

Oh, nu-uh. It's just James. You would wish the worst day of his life upon Sirius Black or Lucius Malfoy. You just want James to be happy.

"And Alice," I put in on my whispered conversation with myself.

Okay, fine. I allowed. But you wouldn't freak out for too long if you and James were literally the last two people on earth.

I thought about that one for a second. Oh, Godric, I was right! We would have to…repopulate…

That's right!

"Oh, jeez, no! No, no, no, no!"

"Mmmm," mumbled someone to my right. Leah Chandler, one of my other friends, had woken up to my mutterings and turned towards me. "Wha…What is it?" she asked sleepily.

"N-nothing." I stammered. "But I just got a new best friend."

James' POV

"What the hell was that, Prongs?" exclaimed Sirius, panting from dragging me back through the secret passageway into the castle and up all the stairs. "You fainted? I mean, you actually fainted?"* he scoffed.

"Give him a break, Padfoot! It was the only time he'd made an advance towards Lily and she didn't hex him! This is groundbreaking! Should we talk to the elves about some firewhiskey?" Remus wondered.

"No, screw the firewhiskey, guys. Can you believe I passed out?" I said, defeated.

"No!"

"Yes!" Remus and Sirius shouted at the same time.

"Ugh. Do you think…do you think she saw?"

"Yes, she did. I saw her looking out at us as we pulled you through the passageway."

"Oh, crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" I yelled, repeating myself as much as I felt necessary.

"James, calm down, I don't think she'll care!" I grimaced at Remus. "Well, she might care. But even on the off-chance that she does care, you know her well enough to know she wouldn't tell anyone, because she knows you'd be embarrassed!"

"Well, that's just…no, actually that is wonderful. But I looked so stupid, didn't I?" I asked miserably.

"The hell you did, mate!" Sirius chuckled.

"Shut up, Pads," Remus scolded. "He did all right, considering how nervous he was to do this. He did great!"

"No he didn't."

"Yes, he did."

"No, he didn't."

"You're right,"

"What?" I exclaimed. So much for back-up!

"He's right, Prongs. You looked like an idiot! I mean, you professed your love to her after about twenty seconds! Twenty seconds! I mean, the kissing-her-so-she'll-shut-up thing was sorta romantic, but you went a little overboard when you started hugging her legs."

I groaned. "Yeah, I may have looked like an idiot. But I would go through it a thousand more times, because I had a little bit of victory, I really did. And you guys just don't understand. I would do anything, anything for Lily Evans. Anything." I added seriously for emphasis. Remus and Sirius exchanged glances.

"Hopeless!" they sang at the same time, and gave each other a high-five.

"I may be hopeless, but at least I've got something to hope for. To chase after. To love…" I sighed. They sighed, too, but out of amusement and exasperation, not love and hope.

"Whatever," I grumbled, going back to the discarded magazine I'd left on my bed. I scowled, noticing I'd torn a page in my haste to get dressed and carry out Sirius's plan. Oh, well that must've had something to do with it, too, and I voiced my opinions. "And if we hadn't have used your plan, Sirius!"

"Well, I was the only one with an idea, may I remind you!" he exclaimed defensively. "I don't see light bulbs over either of your heads!" Just to irk him, I conjured up a light bulb that would hang over his head until it burned out. "Niiiiiice, James," Sirius drawled, obviously annoyed. He tried to swat it away, but soon after he discovered he couldn't get it away, just laid down on his bed to see what would happen. The bulb broke on the headboard and disappeared. "Ha!" he smirked at me triumphantly.

I grumbled incoherently about bridges and what exactly can happen when you jump off them without friendly merpeople waiting at the bottom, when Remus suddenly whispered "Petrificus Totalus!" quickly and quietly twice, pointing to me and Sirius both times. We were both frozen to our beds, my face stuck in a look of shock and Sirius' in anger: he'd had time to foresee the attack. "Do not panic, I will cast Finite when you are both asleep." Sirius looked even angrier, impressive when considering that he was frozen.

After about fifteen minutes, Remus sighed, watching us from his bed across the room. He looked at his watch. "Frank should be back soon, I'll ask him about Transfiguration and I'll just copy it onto your papers, McGonagall shouldn't be able to tell the difference." I tried to nod my thanks, but when I realized this was impossible, I just hoped Remus could guess I was grateful.

Indeed, Frank Longbottom, a fellow Gryffindor and roommate, showed up about a half hour later, a bit tired, but still coherent. Remus asked about the homework after explaining about Sirius and I, Sirius had already fallen asleep and Remus was just waiting for me now. "Oh, right. Sorry, mate, I'm really tired. I think I'll just crash. I already did the homework though. Front pouch, blue paperclip," Frank told Remus, describing from where to get the homework.

"Right, thanks, Frank."

"No problem, Remus," he slurred happily, collapsing onto his bed fully clothed. Though he could not have been comfortable, I was happy I'd changed back into my pajamas before being frozen to my bed.

Remus finished the homework at about 10:45 and sighed, slumping in his seat and putting all the homework into the owners' bags. "Well, James, you almost asleep?" I moved the only thing I could, my eyes, up and down like a nod to indicate that yes, I was close to sleep. "Good. Tell me when you are," he joked. I rolled my eyes at him and he just chuckled. He took the Quidditch magazine out of my hands; I had completely forgotten that I had been holding it when he'd frozen us. I just laid there, moments from sleep. As I closed my eyes, the last thing I hear before I went under was the quiet muttering of Remus taking away the spell. "Finite, Finite,"

Then, I fell asleep.

*Taken from the movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, and if you can't figure that out, maybe you should join Lockhart in St. Mungo's mental care facility.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sweetness! Aw, I love this chapter. But not as much as the coming story…! Keep reading, and I'll keep writing. But not unless you REVIEW! Thank you and goodnight. Good morning. Good afternoon. You know, whatever time it is where you are. 8)

-Hailey (Potternerd1997)