01 First Kiss/Get Together
You know that line that they feed you about couples, the one that says the first kiss is always the perfect kiss? The kiss that will set the mood, that would tell you if you should be together forever or not? Well I'm here to tell you that line is bollocks. Reality is first kisses are overrated.
The truth is: most first kisses are awkward.
Like the one Mary gave Reginald after their date to Hogsmeade, where he paid of lunch and she was so nervous she sweated through her undershirt in the mid of winter. Reginald was blushing like crazy, stuttering even, and Mary was freaking out about her scarf that kept getting in the middle when they talked because she knew what a date entailed and she knew she was getting kissed, so she wanted to be prepared. There's no need to tell you that it was an utter disaster, Reginald probably kissed more scarf than lips and Mary could only recall the hard wind that stop them from continuing, however, that small hiccup didn't stop them from trying, and become a proper couple.
Another fine example were Marlene and Remus. Is a known fact that Marlene McKinnon is someone that goes after what she wants, she's driven, passionate and doesn't go around the bushes. Another known fact is that no matter how the weather is proven to be against her, or how jittery they both are, Marlene always gives a perfect kiss. Not too long, not too short, always on point, never too eager and always leaving them wanting for more. Yet, with Remus, the perfect kiss was just that, a perfect kiss and nothing more. They didn't date past the few outings they tried to see where things were going and that was it.
That was why Lily Evans, someone practical and observant, didn't think that first kisses were all that great. Sure, they could set the mood, they could tell you some things, but ultimately, what really spoke louder than anything were the actions accompanied that kiss.
So, after too many shots, when her friends and housemates started that horrible 'spin the bottle' game on Halloween of sixth year, she didn't fail to sit at one of the ends of the circles and see the bottle spin around stopping on everyone but herself. It was fun to see how people's faces went red to the brim when they got someone unexpected, or scrunch their noses when they almost got the ones they wanted. With the punch spiked and more people joining it wasn't hard to believe she would never get a turn. She saw Dorcas shyly get a kiss from a seventh year Lily couldn't recall the name at the moment. And one fourth year that squeaked when she got a kiss from Peter Pettigrew. But what made her truly laugh was when Sirius Black, rebel extraordinaire, had to kiss James Potter, his best mate.
Now, Lily wasn't laughing because a boy was kissing another boy, she could care less about that fact, what she laughed about was how Sirius batted his eyelashes like on one of those ridiculous cartoons she used to watch when she was back home, and his hands moved towards his chest coping his left side, exclaiming for everyone to hear: "Stay still my beating heart, or else we won't get to kiss our loved one." in his worst impression of a woman.
What happened next was that not only Sirius played the dramatic exaggerated part but that James, fixing his glasses before moving closer, started to talk in the same corny voice, "If you faint I'll be here to catch you, my love, but I would what thy kiss instead." he smirked extending his hand for Sirius to take, who sighed dreamily, or that's what he intended, coming closer before laughing their asses off in the middle of the circle.
"Oi! That's not a kiss!" Lily exclaimed still laughing at how utterly ridiculous they were. They couldn't do anything simple, they always had to put a production, some sort of twist to be funny or entertaining.
"She's right, James, I'll be jealous, Pete would be devastated that you kissed Sirius, but you have to do it for the game." Remus supported her with a smirk on his lips knowing how stupid this great act this was since they were all drunk and he was sure this scenario was seen before in fifth year with less dialog, but it was fun to stir the pot.
"Well, we have to give the public what they want." James added looking at Sirius who nodded and moved closer, "No tongue, you've kissed half of the common room already." James warned him making Sirius pout.
"Are you jealous, mate?" The Black former heir asked making James shake his head.
"Just cautious, people keep putting amortentia all round." he joked before they pecked their lips and moved to their respective ends of the circle. People were still talking about how Potter and Black were too over the top for the game when the bottle landed, for the first time that night, on Lily's direction.
Now, Lily Evans didn't chicken out of any situation, she as rational but she wasn't a coward, she knew where to draw the line, and when to stop playing. A sober Lily would've probably thought things a bit better and sat on a place where James' bottle wouldn't land, not in a million years, in her direction. James had a bit of a infatuation with her, and even if he had improved since that horrid day at the lake she didn't want to poke the beehive, sort of speak, and makes James believe there was anything more than a friendship. Yet, drunk Lily just wanted part of the fun and didn't consider that it was quite probably that the current scenario developed. James' bottle, pointing in her direction.
James on the other hand didn't think that the universe, not in a million years, would allow him to kiss, even a mild peck, Lily. Why? Because he was an ass to her friend. Given than her friend was a rotten git, but he wasn't exactly blameless. It was true that he had a crush on Lily, that he had acted impulsively –or more impulsive, really– making her annoyed and appalled by his behavior, so he tried to move on from that and tamed himself a little, dated other people, think of Lily of more like a friend than a significant other. However, he would be lying if he said that a little part of him didn't wander: what if. So, when the bottle landed he was a little gobsmaked to react on first take.
"Well, Potter, what are you waiting for?" was what Lily said to make him snap out of his reverie, "I'm wearing a skirt, so..." she motioned to the place she was sitting, saying without words that she wouldn't move, it was one thing to play spin the bottle but she wasn't going to show her knickers to the Common Room.
James nodded and moved from his spot, he crawled to her and looked at her green eyes, like asking for permission, what he just found what her rolling her eyes and pulling him close to kiss his lips. One swift motion, rough, firm, to the point, not at all romantic.
To Lily Evans that kiss was just part of the game, the rules stated that they should kiss, and spin the bottle to kiss the next person and keep the party going, she did that she didn't give that kiss another thought, for the rest of the night, she even kissed the next person without a care in the world.
To James Potter the kiss meant that he was right and she wouldn't look at him as anything more than a housemate, but that she didn't hated him as he thought, and at the moment it was more of a relief than anything else that could happen at that party, because Lily was Remus' friend, even Sirius' friend, and she was utterly brilliant to be around to be always bickering and making everyone uncomfortable. That night James received a kiss but got peace of mind, and that was more important.
Because, as we know, first kisses aren't perfect, they don't set the mood of a relationship. They just set things in motion, and what is important in this case is not the kiss; simple, a bit drunk, blunt; but the clarity that James needed to stop getting on his way, and the trust that Lily needed to stop thinking of James in a horrible light.