A/N: Yes- finally!  I used to be really good at updating…and now, well, now is another story. Although- if you knew what I had to study for, you would understand ;) Thanks again to the reviewers, you truly made me happy, which is a laudable accomplishment during finals.

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Chapter Three- Dark and Dewy           

James rested his head against his palm. "This was so not in the job description." He glanced over at Lily, who was completely passed out a foot or so away.

A few nights in a cave with no outside…anything, was enough to make any man lose his mind. James, however, was a very patient person. By this point, he had only just begun the process of speaking to himself animatedly.

Spinning a tune off his tongue, he shifted to look at the drawing he had created earlier on the wall. "I still think it's a masterpiece…"

"You really are mad, you know."

He spun around and let out a breath after realizing that it was only Sirius. His dark-haired friend laughed at the image of the mayor's daughter out cold.

            "Well well well, Prongs. Even stuck in a cave, you have quite the effect on the ladies." Sirius approached and dropped down beside James. They turned their heads toward each other. "I would think you'd be bored, though." He paused. "I've come to brighten your night."

            "How on earth-"

"Oh Jamsie. Have you lost your sense of adventure? Don't question my ideas. Just go along."

            James rolled his eyes. "You know, last time you said that I ended up in Dumbledore's office…"

            Sirius shrugged. "Alright." He made a move towards the cave opening. "Then you just stay here, all night, staring at the wall…"

            "Wait!" James exclaimed, rising and glancing at Lily. "I want to go…but she'll kill me." He nudged the red-head lightly in the side.

            "No doubt." He grinned. "But she probably will anyway, after she learns that she spent the whole night in your cave, my friend."

            "Oh, like it matters." James replied, annoyed. "Let's just go."

They tip-toed out into the night air. It was refreshing for James, but all Sirius was concentrating on was the sand seeping into his shoes. James spun around repeatedly, the wind whipping at his clothes.

            "Stop acting like a freak and let's go have some fun."

James nodded and followed his dark-haired friend down the beach, glancing back once at the cave and reassuring himself that Lily was asleep.

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            Lily sat up quickly, hitting her head and rubbing it painfully. "What the hell?" she glanced around, and suddenly reality came flowing back. "Bloody-"

            Her green eyes searched for James, but he wasn't there. Horrible thoughts ran through her mind, but she dismissed them all. James had more respect for her than that…she thought. "James? James!" she hissed. No answer.

            Her head was throbbing. I am never touching alcohol again. Then she saw the darkness outside and her insides churned. "My parents are probably freaking out!" In any case, she was freaking out. Her only thought was to find James, who was obviously not there. The blasted boy- to leave her there and go off where he could get them both into major trouble. He probably already had.

            Ignoring the terrible feeling she had, she left the cave swiftly, running through the sand as quickly as possible without twisting her ankle under the weight of it.

            She ran around frantically for what must have been three-quarters of an hour. It wasn't until she was near the town that she spotted two shadows headed for the narrow street that led to the part of the island she lived on.

            "James!" she yelled as quietly as possible. The figures froze, and she sped up, colliding into James.

            "What the hell are you doing?"

"I- er- just a breath of fresh air, you know." James groaned. "I'll just be going now."

            Lily glared at him. "This is how you repay a favor- is it? Find the easiest way to get me in major trouble?"

            "No, I didn't mean- I don't want-"

"Never mind. This is hopeless, arguing with you. Let's just go someplace else; we're right in the open."

            James grinned, grabbed her arm, nodded to Sirius, and they left. "Can we just stay out for a little bit? I couldn't take the cave anymore- I promise, I'll do whatever you want from now on."

            Lily crossed her arms, looking annoyed. "Fine." She tried to hold down her hair, which was whipping around in the wind. "But James- this was reckless! What would you have told them, if they had found you? I don't much care about your ass, but mine-"

"More like, what will you tell us?" A flashlight shone into their eyes, blinding them. Three policemen appeared. James looked horrified, but not nearly as much as Lily.

            "Shit." She groaned, about ready to run for it, had she thought it would help.

The guard who had spoken laughed. "Why, Miss Evans, what are you doing with this criminal? We've been searching for you as well. Your father will be very surprised to find out where you've been all along."

            Lily hung her head, auburn hair falling into her face.

"All right- come with us. To Mayor Evans-"

            Before she knew what was happening, Lily was seized by James and Sirius, who took off running.

            Lily grunted and tried to release herself, but they only held tighter and pulled her along. "Come on! I know a place we can go!" James yelled at her, aware of the guards trying to catch up.

            Sirius pulled out his wand and muttered a spell. Fog suddenly covered much of the distance behind him. "That will stump the Muggle guards. A handy spell to know, in my opinion." He winked.

            James led them into an abandoned alley, where there was a slightly crumpled staircase which he pulled down so that they could climb. It seemed hazardous to Lily, but she was shivering out of fright and didn't much care at the moment. The whole idea of what was going on was too much for her to digest. It was just a dream.

            "This was where Sirius and I lived for a little while. Not too bad here. Just hurry up- the fog won't keep them behind for long. And we probably can't stay here long, either. The whole town will be looking out for us soon."

            Lily glanced around and noticed that Sirius was gone. "Where did he-"

"Sirius? I told him to leave…no need to mix him up in this. They didn't know it was him. He's safe."

            "What's going on?" Lily leaned against the wall and slipped to the floor slowly, dusty as it was.

            "In short, both of us are screwed like no others."

Lily groaned and felt a sudden urge to punch him. "Could you be any duller?"

            "Probably not." James grumbled.

There was a long silence, only broken by the scurrying of a rat on the other side of the crowded room. Normally, Lily would have been sickened. At this point, she merely watched the rodent with indifference. She had a worse and much bigger one, sitting next to her.

            "Lily? I was- I was wondering…" their heads slowly turned towards one another. "You- er- kissed me. Right before getting sick…yeah…"

            Lily snorted. "Did I?" She seemed to find it amusing.

James stared at her, attempting to be serious and not appreciating her lack of earnestness. "I don't find it funny. Even if you can forget about the fact that there are guards after both of our heads, there are other pressing matters. I want to know, Lily, did you mean anything by that kiss? Because, some people become more honest when they're drunk."

            Lily stopped smirking and stared back at him. She shook her head, after awhile, and gave him a thin smile. "How the hell should I know? I passed out right after, if I remember correctly."

            "I guess." James, recovering his mischievous and rather annoying side of himself, abruptly added, "Would you like to find out now?"

            Lily rolled her eyes and gave him a light smack in the side. "You're asking for it."
James chuckled thoughtfully. "I guess this isn't the best time to be doing this…" they heard noises of the guards close by, but both ignored them.

            He brushed a strand of her hair back, and watched as her green eyes sparkled in the light of excitement. Grinning, he leaned down and kissed her lightly, at first, then opened his eyes in disbelief when she probed for a deeper kiss. She laughed merrily as they broke apart, hearing the guards come up the stairs slowly, muttering to themselves. Lily stifled a laugh and James bit back a grin. He held out his hand and she took it, as he led them inconspicuously to a fire escape on the other side of the darkened room.

            "This is ridiculous." Lily whispered harshly, trying to recover her wits.

"It's also an abandoned fire house." James said back, right before swinging her in front of him and sliding down the pole, somewhat together.

            "Urgh." They collapsed onto the first floor. There was silence elsewhere for a moment, and that clued them in that they had been heard. James pulled her up from the floor, among her protesting, and forcefully pushed her through the back door.

            "Come on!" he hissed. "Have you lost your mind? Or are you still drunk?"

She laughed quietly. "Both."

            He gave her a look that implied his next remark," What a perfect time for you to become the one with no head."

            She seemed to be considering this when they heard a rustling behind them. There was no time to think; not that either of them could. James grabbed her hand and tugged it until she followed.

            The eastern edge of the island was covered in forest. Tropical, mostly. It was dewy and warm, something Lily couldn't decide whether she liked or not and James hadn't given it one piece of mind. He led them into it quickly, zigzagging and hoping that the guards could not follow their tracks in the dark.

            She stopped suddenly, and pulled him to the trunk of a large tree. They leaned against it, panting.

            "Lily," he gasped, "what are we doing?"

For the first time that night, Lily's emerald eyes looked somewhat disturbed, as if she was suddenly realizing what sort of predicament this was. "I have absolutely no remote idea."

            He grumbled something, while she began to climb the tree.

"What're you doing?" he whispered up at her.

            She shrugged and replied, "You expect them to miss us when we're standing right there? They'll be looking all night, you know."

            He sighed and climbed up after her. The tree was a secluded one; the leaves large and if you pulled them down a bit, they would hide just about everything.

            "I'll have to thank my father for not ripping this forest down."

After a time, James grunted. "If you ever see him again."

            Lily's eyes shot over to him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Tell me, Lily, does your father love you enough to let his reputation be destroyed: you were caught with a criminal! He'll be after you too, unless you have some reason to believe that he would stick up for you."

            She slumped against a branch silently and refused to respond.

He leaned over, sitting next to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

            "No, you're right. I'm dead."

There was a solemn, thoughtful silence. Until, "We're just gonna have to get back to school without their help and without them knowing."

            Lily's eyes searched over him, making him want to look away; her stare was piercing, maybe even degrading. But he didn't. "Won't your father be worried?"

            "My dad?" he rolled his eyes. "No. He'll wonder, but I doubt that he'll care much."

"Oh." She said, and then suddenly grinned. "I guess we're in for a long road then. Where to begin, where to begin…"

            James smiled and leaned over, kissing her lightly on her lower cheek, closer to her neck than anything else. She squirmed away.

            "Ticklish, are we?"

She turned back to look at him. "Feisty, are we?"

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A/N: Yes, you may yell at me for it taking forever. And for however this chapter came out. I've given up on trying to judge what I write, because most things that I like, other don't. Well- please leave a review!

Merry Christmas!!

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Thanks to:

Evillalmanotlamma(frogs- Lol, yep, and she's in for a lot more than simply being drunk. Thanks again!

Lilygurl88- Lol, gracias. And yeah- there's a name I know- Haiti. I'm an idiot =) We learn all of this stuff in Spanish but, yeah. Heh, thanks again! Of course you aren't wasting my time!

Lil miss moony- One that I made up, but it seems that there is an island that's name is very similar. Thank you!

Golden.Slumbers- a name change, eh? I like it ;) Thanks for another review, and I'm glad you think that there's some diversity in what I write, because there have been several people who told me otherwise. Anyway, I appreciate the review!!

Ander- Thanks! And I will keep working on it, I'm just taking forever…

The Queen of Death- Thanks for reviewing!

Krazy Kitty :P- Wow- on your favs? That makes me happy! Thanks!

AnotherKoolKitty- Lol, thank god we're out of school for now, right? I'm so happy. Anyway- hope your break is going well and thanks!

Kimali Lautoka- Yeah, I happen to like their characters. But anyway, I appreciate another review from you!

CrestfallenLight- Glad you're liking it, hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Reader- I will, of course! Thank you!

A Rose By Any Other Name- I'm happy you think so, you're a good writer yourself. Thanks and I hope you have a great Christmas!

Britz- Lol, thanks again, for all the reviews you've given me. Finally updated this…after so long.

Owl Eyed Athena- Glad you think so ;) Thanks!