Thank you so much for reading this story, guys. I don't think I say it enough, but I appreciate all of you so much for reading this and telling me what you think. It's so awesome, so thanks again.

Alice's Point of View:

I'd kept the James secret from two weeks now, and I absolutely hated myself. I hadn't even told Madge about it yet, I was too disgusted with myself. It wouldn't make me feel as bad if I'd only kissed him once, but that was not the case. James and I hooked up more often than not in broom closets and empty classrooms, anywhere that Carver or my father wouldn't catch us. It would be fun if it wasn't so nerve wracking.

"What's wrong, love? You're a nervous wreck lately," Carver asked one day when we were cuddling up together on the couch. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Carver was such a good guy, I honestly didn't deserve him. I was supposed to be a good girl who dated good boys, but James was so sexy that it killed me. I couldn't stop him even if I tried, I was addicted to him.

"It's nothing, babe. I'm just really worried about the Herbology test that we have tomorrow," I said, making something up off the top of my head.

"Your dad's the professor, why don't you ask him to help you? I'm sure he'd tutor you if you needed it," Carver suggested before pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

I felt guilt swelling up inside of me yet again; it was all I seemed to feel anymore. I knew that I needed to tell someone about this soon before I exploded. I stood up quickly and shoved all of my things into my backpack.

"I have to go talk to Madge. I'll see you later, Carver," I said, squeezing his hand before running away to find my best friend.

I found her sitting in the library with a huge book sitting open in front of her and her asleep. I smiled before walking over and sitting down at the table with her, poking her hand to rouse her. She jumped up and looked around wildly before her eyes landed on me and she relaxed.

"Merlin, Alice, you scared my knickers off!" she shouted, making Madam Pince glare at her and shush her from behind her desk.

"I have to talk to you about something that's such a secret that no one knows about it. It could ruin everything that I've worked so hard for this year, but it's tearing me apart. I have to tell someone about it," I said, twisting my hair around my finger nervously.

Madge's eyes light up at that and she leaned forward. "Tell me all about it! I'm your best friend; that means we shouldn't have any secrets."

I took a deep breath before leaning forward to whisper in her ear. "You can't react like I know you're going to, okay? I've been hooking up with James behind Carver's back for the last two weeks."

She would've shrieked if I hadn't slapped a hand over her mouth. When I was sure that she wasn't going to get us both into trouble, I moved my hand off of her. She was so shocked that she didn't respond at first, she just looked at me.

"I don't even know who you are anymore, Alice! How could you cheat on Carver, he's so perfect," Madge said sadly, looking at me with big eyes.

"I don't know, Madge, I don't know how I did it. Carver's the greatest guy that I've ever met, but there's something about James that I can't ignore," I whispered.

"Okay, I've played the concerned friend so I get to play the bestie now. How good of a kisser is James?" she asked, giggling a little bit under her breath.

I laughed in response to her giggles. "He's fantastic, Madge! I can't believe that I waited so long for it to happen. The only bad thing is what I'm doing to Carver; he's such a good person."

If I thought it was hard to keep the James thing a secret from Carver before, when classes started it got even worse. He would sit in the back as always, and I could feel his gaze on me the entire class. I tried to ignore him and focus on the potion I was supposed to be brewing, but it was next to impossible.

I ended up spilling the bat wings all over the floor and contaminating them. I groaned before excusing myself from Carver and going back to the supply closet to grab some extra. I was digging through vials when I heard the door shut and the lock slide into place.

I turned around quickly over to be pinned to the wall behind me by a body. Hands held my wrists against the wall and lips pressed themselves to mine. I knew immediately that it was James by the way his mouth moved against mine.

I groaned and tried to pull my hands out of his grip, but he held strong. I wanted to knot my fingers in his hair, or hold onto him, anything to help me keep myself tethered. He didn't want that, he wanted to be in control.

As much as I hated to, I pulled myself away from him. I was breathless when I spoke, "We can't keep doing this, James. I have a boyfriend, and I'm not a cheater."

"I hate to break it to you, princess, but you're already cheating," he winked before stepping back and letting go of me.

"Don't be such a jerk, Potter. I don't have to do this with you, you know? Carver is great and he's the one that I should be making out with in supply closets," I said, rubbing my forehead.

James must have seen how confused I was about everything because he reached out to me. I tried to keep him from touching me, but the closet was only so big. He had his arms back around me, but this time he was trying to comfort me.

"No, this can't happen. I'm not this person, James, or at least I don't want to be. I'm sorry, but this little tryst is over," I said, pushing him away, grabbing the bat wings, and turned to walk back to class.

He grabbed my wrist and spun me around so I had to look at him again. "Look at me and tell me that you don't feel anything for me. If you can do that, then I'll stop pushing you and let you be with Carver."

I swallowed thickly before meeting his deep brown eyes. They were so warm and loving that I almost melted right there on the spot. I couldn't lie to him if I tried, I knew that much already, so this was pointless.

"I can't do that, and you know it. I'm in a relationship with Carver because I care about him, and I'm in a secret relationship with you because I care about you," I argued.

"You can't do that, Alice. You've got to make a decision over us. I'm not going to pressure you into choosing me, that wouldn't be right; I'm just going to tell you that I want you to be happy. With whomever you want to be with," he said, kissing my forehead before walking out of the closet.

I stood there and tried to collect myself after all of that. James Potter was supposed to be the rebel without a cause, not the boy telling me he just wanted me to be happy. That wasn't how this was supposed to work; I was supposed to be with him because of the thrill and with Carver because he was safe.

Everything was turned upside down and I didn't know how to fix it. I really needed to talk to someone who had been through this before. I didn't know if Mum had been in this particular situation, but I was sure she could help guide me through it. That's what Mums were for, was it not?