A/N I apologise for the extra wait for this chapter, I've been really ill and haven't managed to find the right words but here it is and I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait - you've all been anticipating it I think... Enjoy x

FIVE REVIEWS BEFORE NEXT CHAPTER! :)

Everything belongs to Jo x

Will It Ever End?

Chapter 36: Trick or Treating?

"Feel the heat running through the air.

Raise your hands up, wave goodbye

To the world as we know it."

- Fire, Obsession

"Okay so we're not just going into Hogsmead," James started as he brought the precession of himself, Lily, Marlene, Sirius, Peter, Remus, Dorcas and Alice to an abrupt halt just as they were about to enter Honeydukes.

"Not!" Lily narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Then where else are we going?"

"Padfoot had this brilliant -"

"It wasn't just my idea Prongs, don't pin the blame on me!" Sirius cut over him indignantly. "Although it's a fucking genius idea," he added into Marlene's ear.

Marlene laughed and shook her head. "So? What's the plan?"

"We're going muggle clubbing!" James announced excitedly. "Are we all ready to get wasted?"

"Firstly, you've changed your tune since earlier - what happened to that essay of McGonagall's you didn't want to do with a hangover? And second, that is a fucking marvellous plan Potter." Dorcas stuck her hand out so James could high five her.

"I did the essay earlier with Moony's help," James smiled in a self-satisfied sort of way. "We all ready to go?" His gaze lingered on Lily for a second, trying to read her expression.

Everyone else seemed to be waiting for Lily to say something before doing anything.

"Well," Lily looked around at them all then allowed herself a resigned sigh. "I suppose there's not really much I can do about it."

A huge breath of relief was released and Sirius whooped while James grinned and pushed the trapdoor that led into Honeydukes cellar open. "Excellent, let's go then!"

"Um, so how are we getting there?" Dorcas frowned. "And how are we getting in, I mean, we're not of age in the muggle world."

Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing Marlene's hand and tugging him after her through the trapdoor, following James. "We're apparating and it's easy to transfigured muggle ID, we've done it loads of times Dorky."

Dorcas scowled at him. "Don't call me that," she muttered threateningly but climbed the small ladder anyway, emerging at the top into the cellar of the famous sweet shop.

"This is possibly my favourite place on earth," Remus said next to her, gazing around at the stacked boxes of chocolates and lollipops all around him.

"Would anyone notice if we took a couple of bars of Honeydukes finest?" Alice asked, grinning as she pulled herself up next to them and James shut the trapdoor after her.

"We're breaking enough rules tonight Al," Marlene whispered conspiringly. "We shouldn't push Lily any more than we already have."

Alice scoffed, looking around. "I think much worse rules will be broken tonight than nabbing a bar of chocolate."

Dorcas smirked as she saw Remus subtly drop something into his pocket. He saw her looking and put a finger to his lips, eyes glinting with humour.

Lily looked around her at the lights flashing between green, blue and red, the dance floor thick with bodies moving in time to the pounding beat. She sat in the medium sized booth that the marauders had picked out. It was dark and Lily could just about see Marlene and Sirius in the corner. Marlene was sat in his lap and the pair of them seemed completely unaware of anyone else's presence.

"Here," James sat down next to her and passed her a shot glass and then change form the muggle money she'd given him to pay for the drinks. "I don't know what type of alcohol this is, they didn't sell firewhiskey." He had to shout to make himself heard but Lily just laughed, her laughter melting away into the background noise.

"Do you think they have any sort of decency?" James frowned at his friends. "I really don't want to see that."

"I think it's sweet," Lily replied loudly. "They're both already pretty drunk."

"You don't say," James said. "I swear they were pre-drinking in the dorm." Despite the fact that it was something he might do himself, Lily thought he looked like he didn't approve of his friends.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe the desire to let her hair down a bit or maybe it was just because she was feeling reckless, it might have been all three, but Lily downed her shot, slamming the glass back down onto the table as the liquid - which turned out to just be vodka - burned her throat. She stood up and held out a hand to James. "Dance with me Potter," she declared, "show me how a marauder has a good time."

James stared up at her for a spit second, not seeming to register what she had meant. Then he blinked and downed his own drink and gabbed her hand. Lily grinned as she felt his rough fingers sliding against her own and she spun around and led him towards the dance floor.

Dancing with James wasn't what she'd expected it to be. He moved in perfect synchronisation to the rhythm of the music, hands clinging onto hers as he spun her around under his arm so her red hair whipped out around her, laughing as he did so. Lily found herself caught up in the moment, not caring that anyone might be watching them. It was just her and James and they were the only ones who mattered.

As for James, he was savouring every moment of this. The look of pure joy on Lily's face as he twirled her around was something he'd never get used to seeing, because he'd never seen it until very recently. He'd always thought Lily was beautiful, her fiery temper to match her hair and scowl that made her face scrunch up in a way that made his insides squirm, but he'd been missing out on what made her beauty unique. The delight and laughter that he saw in her green eyes was something he knew he'd never forget, and he didn't ever want to. In that moment, James seared that image into his mind forever.

So caught up in the moment, it felt only natural to pull her closer; to bend down and kiss her on the lips. James forgot where he was the moment their lips made contact. All he remembered was that Lily Evans probably wouldn't want to be kissing him if she was in her right mind and forget everything else, James did not want to ruin their friendship. The thought was like a splash of cold water to the face and he pulled back sharply, letting his grip on her hands drop and stepping away. "Shit, Lily I'm so sorry!"

Lily had a very strange expression on her face as she stared up at him, James could only describe it as disappointed. He knew he'd ruined everything.

"James..."

Her lips moved to form his name but James couldn't hear her. Along with the loud music, the blood was rushing past his ears and making him want to kick himself at his own stupidity. He needed air, desperately. So he turned and stumbled towards the exit, not looking back at the dance floor where he'd left Lily standing. He burst through the back door into a dark alley.

It was a narrow passage and had a load of bins and rubbish piled up against the concrete wall. James breathed out shakily, his breath misting in the cold air. He'd just messed everything up. Why did he have to act without thinking like that?

"James."

James spun around again to come face to face with Lily. She had her arms wrapped around herself and she looked cold, seeming to have forgotten to pick up her coat on the way out, wearing only her jeans and sparkly top she'd been wearing inside. Her hair was disheveled but her eyes were clear and fixed on him.

"Lily, I'm so sorry," James lifted up his hands like he was pleading for her to believe him. "I don't know what happened back there - I just -"

"Why are you apologising?" Lily asked calmly. "It was barely even a kiss, James."

"I -" James stopped. "Hang on, what did you say?"

Lily gave a small smile. "I don't mind," she paused then let out a heavy sigh. "If I'm honest, I wanted you to kiss me."

James's hands dropped to his sides and his jaw unhinged, his mouth falling open. "I...you...what?"

Lily let out a small, hysterical laugh. "I know! Mental isn't it?" She shook her head. "Who'd have thought?"

James scrunched his face up. Hope was slowly starting to leak back into him but he refused to pull down the damn yet. He had to make sure she was saying what he thought she was saying. "So if you wanted me to kiss you," he started slowly. "Does that mean...?"

"I fancy you!" Lily exclaimed, definitely sounding hysterical this time. "I fucking fancy James Potter," she muttered to herself. "What the hell happened?"

James was speechless. He literally had no clue what to say but inside, he was jumping for joy. Lily Evans fancied him! This night couldn't get any better if it tried.

Apparently it was going to try. Lily edged towards him. "So I was actually quite disappointed when you decided you didn't want to kiss me anymore," she said quietly. "Do you have anything to say to any of this or can I just, y'know, kiss you properly now?"

James cleared his throat, she was now mere inches away from him. He could count the light freckles that were dotted across her nose. "Um, yes, you can if you want."

Lily smiled but James could tell she was nervous. There was no drowning noise, no getting swept up in the moment and alcohol. It was just them and they were the only ones who could stop this now. Lily was moving so slowly towards him it was painful, her eyes were trained on his face. James could feel his heart beating ten times faster than it should be, feel her breath on his face and smell her flowery scent.

Eternity passed before their lips met but when they did, the whole world seemed to fall away. James gasped as a flash of exhilaration whipped through him like lightning and he wrapped one arm around Lily's waist, pulling her closer, while the other hand cupped the side of her face, thumb trailing across the soft skin of her cheek.

The door to the club banged open loudly, causing James and Lily to jump apart guiltily, even though that hadn't done anything wrong. James looked up and saw Sirius and Marlene, laughter frozen on both their faces as they took in the scene in front of them.

"Alright Prongs," Sirius nodded, looking very amused to have caught his best friend in this position. "You enjoying yourself?"

Marlene giggled and tugged on his hand, whispering very loudly, "I think they want to be left alone."

Sirius looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face as he resisted his girlfriend. He just stared James and Lily down mercilessly.

Neither James or Lily had said one word. James shot a glance down at her though the corner of his eye. She was standing motionless with her eyes locked on Marlene, an unabashed expression on her face. James looked back at Sirius and gave a small shrug which said 'what can I say?'

Sirius gave a short burst of laughter before he stopped it and tried to look serious again. "You're telling me all later," he said, pointing a dangerous finger at James who nodded, not able to stop the triumphant grin stretching across his face.

Sirius turned and picked up Marlene and flung her over his shoulder. Marlene let out a yelp of surprise which dissolved into giggles.

"Come on Lena, the dance floor is missing us."

"Put me down you git," Marlene was wriggling in his grip so much that Sirius was forced to let her drop back down to the ground. Quick as a flash, Marlene grabbed his face and kissed him.

James blinked, slightly baffled at how everything had been suddenly switched. Wasn't he supposed to be the one kissing the girl out behind the muggle club in this dingy alley? Plus he wasn't used to his two friends being so public with their affection, it made James feel uncomfortable to look at them, almost like he was intruding on something. They weren't exactly subtle either, although James put that down to alcohol. Marlene was curved into Sirius and likewise, he was holding her so tightly it didn't look like anything could fit in the nonexistent space between them. James didn't think he'd seen anything so passionate in a long time. He cleared his throat loudly and Sirius broke away from his girlfriend, looking round at James. He shot him a wink and a grin then wrapped one arm around Marlene's waist and led her back through the door they'd come out of.

There was a silence after they'd gone in which James just stood there, at an utter loss as to what to do after that performance. It was broken by Lily who giggled.

James turned to her. She had covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes were sparkling. She met his gaze and shook her head slightly. "I think they was trying to show us how it's done."

James pulled a face, "why did they have to do that in front of me?"

Lily smirked and took his hand, "because they can. Come on, let's go back inside."

"Hang on, Lily -" James pulled her back towards him. "One more? For the road y'know."

Lily grinned and raised herself on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips then grabbed his hand, pulling not such an unwilling James back inside.

so there we have it, I hoped you liked it and please tell me what you think

REMEMBER: 5 reviews before you find out what happens - don't leave it to other people folks! :)