Chapter Twenty-Three: Never Too Late

"It's not too late;

It's never too late"

Never Too Late, 3 Days Grace

"Now I'm picking up this pieces…putting my heart back together"

Over You, Daughtry

The next morning, a Saturday, James came out of the dormitory even later than usual. He had woken early, but had spent a little while longer trying to mull through the last of night's thoughts. Remus and Sirius and seen through the sleeping act when they had woken up, but had once again given him his privacy.

James was nervous as he walked out of the deserted, lonely common room. He was sure Lily knew the truth now, but he was still anxious about how she felt about him, and the situation in general. Had she decided, while they were separated, that she preferred being single instead of dating him? Had the separation been long enough for her to lose her feelings for him? He had always known she was too good for him; had she realized this as well? What if she had found someone new? James felt sick to his stomach at the thought, and had to stop for a moment, holding his midriff. He had to know though. No matter how much reality hurt, he knew he had to talk to Lily.

He started walking again, watching the floor and not really knowing where he was going. That was ok though, he had no idea where Lily was anyway.

He had been wandering for a few minutes when a small pair of completely black converse stopped in front of him. He mumbled an apology and started to walk around them, forgetting to look at who the feet were attached to. He was stopped, however, by a small, beautiful yet hesitant voice.

"James?" He looked up with wide eyes. "Can…can we talk for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure, of course," he replied, his stomach clenching painfully. He followed her into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to where she was standing.

"James…Remus explained to me what really happened. I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry for not going to you for the truth, and for not listening when you tried to tell me. I'm really, really sorry." She trailed off, not meeting his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Lils. I understand. I just want to know though…is it too late? Am I too late? I won't be mad or anything if you've moved on…I wouldn't blame you at all." He broke off. She looked up for the first time, meeting his eyes and seeming startled.

"James, it'll never be too late." She smiled softly at him before stepping hesitantly closer. He grinned back, closing the remaining distance between them. He placed one hand gently on her waist, while the other came up to stroke her cheek. She closed her eyes, her smile full now, leaning her head into his hand. Turning her head softly to face him, he gently placed his lips on hers, smiling into the kiss.

A/N: First off, let me apologize for the long wait for such a short chapter. I'm really, really sorry guys, but my band has had practices/competitions/football games every day except Wednesday (which are homework/orthodontist days) and Sundays (chores/homework days...I know, I don't have much of a life...). Not to mention we are going to State this Saturday, so my director has really been piling on the workload. Some good news though: after Saturday, Marching Season will be officially over, so I should have more time to write and update. Until symphonic season starts, that is...

Secondly, let me apologize for the cheesy-ness of this chapter. Yes, I know it's so cheesy you could use it as a month's supply of fondue cheese, but it's really kind of hard writing a touching get-back-together scene that doesn't make the author smell like Swiss and American for a week. So sorry, but it was a tad bit necessary.

So besides the unfortunate lenght and waiting period, I hope you enjoyed it :) Review if you did, review and constructively criticise if you didn't :)

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