A/N: Okay, you all obviously thought that the last chapter was a little odd. I mean, all of the sudden, James is blurting 'I love you' to Lily. So, here is a chapter from James' point of veiw, and it's going to be most of the story crammed into one chapter. Now, since it IS my birthday, I'm excpeting a heck of a lot of reviews. And if I don't get them, I'm going to cry. You don't want to see me cry. JK! But seriously, I want those reviews.

Chapter 20

The moment James laid eyes on Alli, he knew that she was the one. The one to make Lily Evans jealous. After asking her out, he found that she was sweet and funny. But she didn't compare with Lily. He would always love Lily.

Knowing what he had to do, James spent all his free time with Alli. He hardly spoke to any of his friends anymore and stopped paying attetion to Lily.

As he had hoped, he saw her looking at him more often, watching him. His plan was working. He didn't know how long it would take, but at the moment, he didn't care. Being with Alli was great.

After a month, Christmas came. James didn't know what made him do it, but he sent Lily a present. A necklace with a tabby cat on it. On Christmas day, James needed to think. He went to the park near his house.

James needed to think about Lily and Alli. He knew that he would have to choose between them, and soon. After kissing Lily on the train, James knew that she liked him. He felt the spark, the fireworks.

When he reached the park, he was not at all surprised to see Lily there.

"Lily?" he asked.

Lily turned to face him.

"Oh. Hi," she said.

"Hi. Do you mind if I sit down?" he asked.

Lily shook her head, and James sat down next to her.

"So, hows it going?" he asked.

Lily shrugged."Thanks for the necklace."

She held up the necklace so James could see she was wearing it.

"I was sure you were going to come here and throw it in the lake or something."

"Of course not!" Lily said.

James was silent.

Suddenly, he turned to her.

"Lily?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I need to see something. Can you stand up?" he was extremely nervous about what he was about to do.

James saw a confused look on Lily's face, but she stood. James drew a breath and kissed her. For a moment, she stood, obviously shocked. Then she started to react, confirming James' suspicions. She liked him.

When James pulled away, he felt his face growing hot, and knew that his face was turning red. Lily's was also.

"I...I have to go now," James said. He turned and left a very confused Lily behind.

When he got home, he went up to his bedroom, ignoring Sirius. Lying on his bed, James thought.

She likes me. But do I like her anymore? James pondered this for a long time.

His answer came to him when they returned to school. James had angrily stomped down to the lake, and in the moonlight sat, staring at the lake.

As he suspected, Lily had followed him. He heard her turn to leave, but said,"Stay."

Lily walked over to him and sat down. James turned to her."I had the feeling you would follow me."

"Yeah, well my curiousity usually gets the better of me. Speaking of curiousity, why are you dating Alli?"

James stayed silent.

Lily's voice quavered as she asked him,"Do you love her?"

James thought. If she had asked him this question before the had ever kissed, the answer would be yes. Now, he was not quite so sure.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"Do you think you do?" Lily asked.

"No," he said after several more minutes of thinking.

"Then why are you still with her?" Lily pressed.

"Because, there's something about her... I can't leave her," James lied.(HAHA!! I got you all! He was LYING!) He must have sounded convincing, for Lily fell silent after that. Suddenly, an urge overcame him. An urge he couldn't ignore. James stood.

"May I have this dance?" he asked goofily, bowing and holding out his hand.

Lily took it and stood.

"But there's no music," Lily said. James saw her eyes dancing.

He pulled out his wand and flicked it. Music began to play. He put his hand on her waist, and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

Oh, kiss me. Beneath the milky twilight.

Lead me, out on the moonlit floor, lift your open hand,

Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance, silver moon's sparkling.

So, kiss me.

James leaned down and kissed Lily softly.

That was the moment that he realized that he was completely in love with Lily Evans.

James stayed with Alli, though, unsure how to tell Lily. He made the mistake of telling Alli what had happened at the lake. She didn't talk to him for a month. When someone looked at him, they'd think he was upset that his girlfriend wasn't speaking to him. He was, but not because he loved her. He was upset, because it was ruining his plans to make Lily jealous.

His mood did not improve when Alli began speaking to him again. Sure, his plans were back in action, but then he found out that Lily and Sirius were dating.

James was bitter on the inside, but hid it from the world. They didn't need to know that he was bitter. It was better for James for Lily to think that he was happy with Alli.

A month later, Alli dropped the bomb. She was going back to Beauxbatons. Lily had been with her when she had told James. As soon as Lily had left, James had let his anger out.

By the time he was done, he had reduced Alli to tears. He got up and walked angrily to the Great Hall entrance, shoving past Lily in the process.

He was sitting by the lake, yet again, when he heard her voice."James?"

"What?" he asked angrily, even though he wanted to stand up and kiss her and never let her go.

"I...I heard what happened," she said, trying to make conversation. She sat down next to him.

"Why do you care? Besides, I don't think Sirius will like you being out here with me."

Lily laughed, and the bitterness in her laughter surprised James.

"Sirius...," she said."Remind me to kill him later. We were pretending."

"Why?" James asked, curious now, but still angry.

"To make you jealous," she said in a small voice.

"Why?"

"It's was Sirius' idea?" she asked James.

James laughed."Nice try."

"I don't want to talk about it," Lily said, suddenly becoming stony.

"Something else is bothering you. What's up?"

Lily nodded."It's my parents."

"What happened?"

"Voldemort murdered them," Lily said, before bursting into tears.

James felt so bad for her. He wanted to pull her close and tell her everything would be alright, but he could do neither. He could not pull her close, and no matter what he said, everything wouldn't be alright.

Instead, he said,"Oh. Lily, I am so sorry." He took her hand gently.

Lily's tears were falling faster now.

"It's okay," she whispered."It's not your fault."

"Lily, I have something to tell you," James said.

"What?"

It was like there was someone who could control him, someone who clearly liked to see him suffer, who forced him to say stupid things. He blurted,"I...I think I love you."

A/N: Okay, so I hope you liked this chapter! This is the answer to exactly WHY that happened so fast. Aren't I a miracle worker? Yeah, don't answer that...Also, please excuse that author's note in the middle of the chapter. I just needed to make sure you knew what I was talking about. q:

That last sentence is from Zoey 101, and it's suppose to be funny. so LAUGH. JK! Well, I mean it is suppose to be funny but I'm not forcing you to laugh. As I said, it's my b-day, so I expect a heck of a lot of reviews. Love ya all!