A/N: Wow. It's been five years since I posted anything for this story, but I was looking through the documents on my computer and found this gem. I feel like it's worth publishing; I spent a lot of time on it but evidently forgot to post it. You know how life goes! This chapter takes place after the incident at the bar, but if you haven't read this in a while I suggest reading from the beginning (because honestly it took me a bit to figure out the context of this myself). Enjoy! (p.s. maybe if the creative bug strikes again I'll write more for this story, mostly because I love these characters and where they could go.)

Disclaimer: I do not have ownership of any of these characters, sadly.

JPOV

"Oy, Prongs."

I'm at the party, good vibes and good people surrounding me. Firewhiskey is flowing freely, most of it going straight into Sirius' mouth, prompting him to hit on anything and everything that moves (including poor Peter).

"Prongs."

I look across the room and my eyes instantly fixate on her beautiful auburn hair, sparkling green eyes, and infectious smile. How in the world did I become privileged enough to have such a wonderful girl in my life? Suddenly, my vision is blurred by a red much less pleasant than that of Lily's hair, the red of rage, the red of a certain Amos Diggory.

"Prooooongs. C'mon, it's time to get up. Prongs. PRO-"

I'm kicking, punching, pushing, shoving, my anger and my Lily the only things on my mind. Who does Diggory think he is, stealing her away from me?

"She hasn't been yours for a whole year. Who says she never moved on? Foolish boy."

That dratted voice again. The one that nagged at me day and night the whole time I was gone. The one that left me, ME, the invincible James Potter, feeling so broken inside I didn't know if I would ever be put back together again.

"What a bloody girl. You think she missed you as much as you missed her? Think again. Lily's stronger than that. Exhibit A: she turned every sorry attempt you made at winning her heart down for six years straight."

"Shut up."

"Prongs?"

"How could she let six years of hard work avoiding you go down the drain? How could she spend precious energy on someone who was nothing more than a 'toerag' in the first place?

"Shut UP."

"James."

"Open your eyes, James. Lily is gone to you. You're nothing more than a memory to her now."

"I said, SHUT UP!"

"JAMES."

I opened my eyes, a wetness apparent on my face that definitely hadn't been there when I went to sleep. My entire head was pounding, and my body ached in a way as though I had just thrown it off the roof of a building. I looked down and realized I was tangled in a mess of white sheets on the floor, a wrangled mass of wavy dark brown hair next to me. "Not unusual," I thought. "Must've gone home with a girl from the bar last night. What even happened last night? And why is the mass of hair groaning, and not in a pleasant way?" Hesitantly, I prodded the stranger's head. It rolled slightly in my direction, grey eyes blinking slowly in the bright light of the room. One thing I was certain of: this was most definitely not a girl from the bar.

"Merlin, Prongs. You nearly killed me."

"Sirius, what happened? What do you mean? Why are you in my room?!" Sirius sat up, wincing in pain as he did so.

"First of all, you're in my living room in my apartment," Sirius began, leaning back gingerly on the edge of the sofa and massaging the part of his jaw where James had punched him. "Second of all, I came in to wake you as it's 2:00 in the afternoon and just as I was about to, you started acting like a madman, punching every inch of me you could reach. I wasn't sure if you had realized I put slug slime in your sheets or you were having a nightmare, but-"

"You- what?" I suddenly realized that my body was covered in slick, clear slime and let out a noise of disgust. That explains why my face felt wet. "Why the bloody hell would you do that?"

"I don't know," Sirius shrugged. "I thought it might cheer you up a bit. Which brings me to my next-"

"Why would I need cheering up?"

"If you'd be so kind as to stop interrupting me, I'll gladly share with you, in precise detail, why you would need cheering up."

"Sorry."

"Right. As I was saying, last night was a bit of a… well, a fucking disaster. A calamity. A catastrophe. A bloody fiasco! However you want to put it." My eyebrows shot up in surprise, which must have alerted Sirius that I was about to interrupt because he glared at me and rushed on. "It was a disaster because you decided on a "no limit" drink policy for yourself. It was a calamity because you let your emotions control you. It was a catastrophe because you broke a glass and put everyone around you in danger. But it was a FIASCO because you decided it was the perfect time to throw a hissy fit about Lily hugging Amos Diggory, which is quite comical, as Diggory has been sworn off girls for around a year now for an article he's working on for the Prophet. I think he's an idiot for agreeing; I can't imagine myself refusing a woman for more than an hour-"

"Padfoot, please. Stay on track. What happened exactly?"

"Like I said, we were having a jolly good time. Amos came in which prompted Lily jumping up to hug him, then you smashed a glass on the floor and said something along the lines of, 'You said you wanted, you promised, blah blah blah." and you stalked out, slamming the door for good effect. Lily left, looking much like a puppy that's just been kicked. Your little show sobered me up enough that I decided to be the good friend and come after you. I found you passed out in an alley a few minutes from the pub, so I threw you over my shoulder and apparated us back here. I only thought of the slug bit this morning. Clever, eh?" Sirius grinned cheekily at me, but I could see a glint of concern in his eyes.

"Really clever… has anyone heard from Lily?" I said, hoping, praying that she had come 'round while I was sleeping.

"Not since last night," Sirius said, looking down at his hands. At his words, I threw my head down, burying my face in the carpet.

"How am I ever going to fix this? I didn't think I had it in me to be such a jealous prick." I said my voice muffled by the thick carpet. "She'll never want to see me or speak to me again."

Sirius perked up. "Ah now, that is where you are wrong my dear, sweet Prongs." I glanced up at Sirius begrudgingly, recognizing the tone of his voice to mean he had a plan, and not necessarily a good one. "I invited her over for breakfast next week. She doesn't know you're staying here," he said brightly, heaving himself off the floor and walking toward the kitchen.

I could hear the clanging of pots and pans as they were removed from their place in the cabinet, the sound of Sirius' wand swishing cutting into the living room as he lit the stove. "Speaking of breakfast, what do you want? I have eggs, sausage, bread… I could make you an omelette! Or pancakes! Pancakes are always good."

"Pancakes are fine. I thought you said no one's spoken to her since last night!" I yelled after him, frustrated that he was focusing on something mundane like breakfast when there were more pressing matters at hand.

"I lied," he yelled back, and I could practically hear the cheeky grin in his voice. Git.