A/N: Okay, this chapter is dedicated to Holly because she finally got out of her freakishly busy schedule to read it! Heh - busy my foot - you were just avoiding my fic! But really, you all are way too nice! I have more reviews than I deserve on this! Well, not that you don't need to give 'em to me - still review, please! Anyways, here's chapter five!

– Note to Holly Curtis a.k.a. Sierra Sitruc *if she's reading this*: Hey, can you please email me? I know that it's stupid asking you here, but I can't get on IM, as you know… But I need someone to talk to, and I've missed talking to ya, buddy! *makes puppy dog eyes at her* Pweese? I wuv you! *huggles and snuggles like crazy*

*

JULY 15, 1984

Lily's Kitchen

"So, Sn – Severus – um – why exactly did you come here? And how did you know I was here?" Lily asked as she stirred some sugar into their teas.

Severus cleared his throat loudly and said, "You could have always used your wands for the tea…"

Lily banged the cups down on the table making the tea splash all over. She glared at him. Severus got the message, but he still didn't seem willing to answer. He tried to change the subject again.

"Were you about to call me Snape?" he said, in an even, menacing tone.

"Well, when you spend too much time with - certain people - their habits tend to rub off on you…" Lily muttered as she sat down.

"Oh, really, and I don't suppose you'd like to tell me who those certain people were, hmm?" he asked her, trying to make her look him in the eye.

"What's wrong in telling you? I don't have a problem with that."

"Then tell me, damn it!" he yelled, making Lily flinch.

"Sirius Black, Liana Bl – um – Matheson, and - and…" Lily trailed off.

"And James Potter – am I right?" he said, eyeing her carefully.

"Yes, you're right. Are you happy now?" she said, getting up from the table in a rush.

Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head. It was a sign of how much he hated 'Potter's gang', as he still called it, that he refused to take notice that Lily, who was biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed and staring determinedly out of the window, had flushed a bright pink and seemed to be thinking deeply. However, after a couple minutes' silence, he had to turn and face her. Face her back, actually, for she had not yet turned around.

"Lily," he muttered.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

Severus was surprised to hear a tone of sadness in her cracked voice. She hadn't been crying, had she? Things were going too far for him to keep track of. It seemed as though he would have to keep a closer look on what Lily was up to.

"Have you been crying?" he asked, as though the idea was unthinkable.

"No, I haven't. But if you don't shut that damn mouth up I might," she said, glaring at the window.

"Lily, turn around."

"I don't want to," she said determinedly.

"Lily, I said turn around," he said calmly.

His voice held bitterness in it that Lily knew only too well. She had been subject to that bitterness more times in her life than she would have liked. But, then, if you're anybody to Severus, you were somebody to be yelled at – at least once. But Lily had changed since her childhood days at Hogwarts. She had wised up, and she was not about to give up her newly-acquired enlightenment for him – for the sake of a man.

"Make me," she said obstinately.

Severus (A/N: Ack - I keep writing Sirius instead of Severus! If I make such a mistake, I'm apologizing for it beforehand! I think Microsoft Word should come with an inbuilt Harry Potter fact error finder…) walked up to her, and placing both of his hands on her shoulders, he spun her around to face him. Well, he tried to anyway. He succeeded at turning her around, but her eyes were still looking at anything and everything except for him.

Lily half-expected him to wrench her head until she had no choice but to look at him, but he did nothing of the sort. He delicately raised his hand to her cheek, and with his thumb, softly wiped away Lily's tears. Finally, she looked up at him – into his dark, lifeless black eyes. Except that, for once, they were not lifeless. There was something in them that Lily had never seen before. She tried to decipher the look on his face, but before she knew what was happening, he leaned into her and she felt his lips on hers.

She flinched and shut her eyes, but did not back away. She had wanted this in so long. Here it was, finally – and yet – and yet… There seemed to be something wrong in that kiss. Something was missing. She knew that Severus meant what he was doing. Those hands around her waist could never lie – nor could those lips. Yet, there was something different about this. He was not lying. She knew he never would. If he had ever doubted his own love for her, he would never have come back. Then, it hit her. Though, it wasn't quite the answer she had expected. Lily knew that Severus still loved her, but – did she still love him?

Lily's eyes opened in a flash. She pushed him away just a slight bit harder than she had meant, and stepped back. Her mouth was still slightly open, and her emerald eyes had a look of questioning in them. She continued to step back, and accidentally tripped over the corner of her couch. As she landed on the ground with a thud, she shook her head, as though trying to get all her thoughts out of it. Quickly scrambling back to her feet, she ran back to her bedroom and locked the door.

Panting, she leaned against it, doing a quick charm on the lock to keep him from opening it. She banged her head against it again and again until it started to hurt. She shut her eyes, letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks.

*

JULY 15, 1984

Sirius' Apartment

"James, do you really have to go?" Liana asked him.

James picked up his bag. With a wave of his wand, it had shrunk, and he placed it in his pocket. He looked up at her and smiled.

"I'm sorry, Liana. I've got to go see Crouch about that job offer. Besides, you don't need me anymore. Sirius looks live and kicking, to me. And if he's anything like he was at school, it'll take more than just a few drinks to get him down," James said.

"James, you don't understand. The only reason he's like this is because you're here. It would hurt him to see his best friend hurt. That's why's he putting up this – this – this scam."

James turned around and looked at her. Her chestnut hair was slightly out of place, and her eyes were just a bit red, yet she was looking better than when he had first come. If he left, would she go back to how she was before? James thought of Liana like a younger sister, almost as much as he thought of Sirius as a brother. He did not want to see Liana get hurt either emotionally – due to Sirius' condition – or physically. Who knew what Sirius might do if he got drunk anymore?

"I'm sorry, Liana. I'll come back when I can, I promise. But I have to go now. I've no other choice, I'm afraid."

He smiled at her, and then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a quick, friendly hug.

"Alright, go then. But come back soon. I – I'm still worried about Sirius. It's silly, I know. But – well…"

"Liana, trust me. He loves you and he doesn't want to see you hurt. I'm sure he'll realize how happy you've been while he's not been – drinking, and I'm sure he'll want it to stay that way."

He gave her a grin and a wink, before picking up his things and Disapparating. Liana let out a sigh, and turned around, to see Sirius standing there, studying her carefully. She chewed her lip, wondering how long he had been standing there. He raised his eyebrows, looking away, taking a deep breath.

"So, James is leaving, huh? And you don't trust me enough to believe that I'll keep my promise to you."

She let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through her light brown hair and sitting down on the moldy green couch by the door with a huff. Her gaze flickered back up to Sirius' face lingering there for a moment, before shifting back down to the stained carpet. She started to absentmindedly run her toe over the dark coffee stain over and over again. Sirius watched her for a moment, tilting his head to one side as he did so, much like a puzzled dog.

"That's not true, Sirius... I'm just worried, that's all. I trust you. Of course, I trust you. How could I not? I – I just..."

He forced a smile, walking over to her slowly and kneeling on the floor beside her, hesitating for a split-second before running his hand up and down her arm to comfort her, giving it a light squeeze before pulling it back and resting his head on her knees like a small child. Her brown eyes flickered up to his face, and she let out a short, soft laugh. He grinned, lifting a hand to her cheek and sliding up onto the couch. He traced his finger down from her ear to her jaw, and she shivered slightly, making him pull his hand back.

"Is something wrong, Liana?" he asked, frowning.

"No, Siri... nothing's wrong... Sorry, I don't know why I –"

He pulled his hand back up, putting a finger to her lips. He scooted closer to her slowly, sliding his other arm around her waist slowly as he ran his finger over her soft lips.

"Sirius, I –"

"Hush..." he whispered, leaning closer and pulling his finger away before replacing the position with his own lips, pressed softly against hers.

She gave a soft gasp as he kissed her; slowly closing her eyes as she felt his hand lift up her chin and his other arm pull her closer and closer to him. Without thinking, she grabbed a hold of his collar with one hand, using it to reduce the distance between them to nothing. She pulled him to her, just as he was pulling her, eventually succeeding in pulling him on top of her as she fell backwards on the couch. For a moment, their lips parted, and Sirius brought his face up an inch to look at her.

"Oy, Liana, are you alright?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her in surprise.

She smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down again in response. He grinned as he felt her kiss him this time, whispering teasing words into her mouth.

"You sure you aren't the drunk one this time?"

She smacked him playfully, shivering again as she felt him run his lips in a chain of kisses down her neck. His hands found their way under her to the zipper at the back of her blouse, as he slowly pulled it down. She let out a gasp again, pushing him away lightly, only just realizing that her own hands had been toying with the buttons on the front of his shirt.

"Sirius, what –?"

He cut her off with another kiss as he slowly pulled off her top, dropping it on the floor without a second thought as he ran a finger over the strap of her bra. It was now his turn to shiver as he realized that the cold metal against the bare skin of his back was his belt buckle – now undone and held tightly between her fingers.

He suddenly seemed jarred to his senses, and his eyes widened as he pulled away from her, shaking his head as he looked at her. Sirius sat up quickly, swallowing as his eyes darted around as he held his head in his hands. Liana frowned, sitting up herself as she picked up her blouse from the floor and hugged it to her chest. Reaching forward, she placed a hand on his arm, just as he had done minutes ago to her. It didn't have the reaction she had expected, however.

He flinched, standing up quickly and shaking his head again as his brow furrowed in frustrated desperation. He turned and walked away quickly, accidentally banging his knee into the couch (A/N: Okay, it took me three tries to type 'couch' right… *typed crouch and coach first*) as he made his way into the kitchen.

Liana felt a chill run down her back. What had she done wrong? She watched him, slowing slipping her blouse back on as she let out a sigh. Then, she felt her entire body go cold – frozen and numbed.

Sirius had opened the fridge. And he was drinking.

But he promised…

Sirius gulped down the liquid, ignoring the trickles of beer running down his chin and dripping onto his bare chest. He released it when it was about half-full, looking back at Liana, who was now only a few feet away from him.

"I was right not to trust you. You've broken your promise already."

He took a deep breath, lifting his arm to wipe the drops of beer from his chin. "I promised I wouldn't drink if you married me."

"And I said I would. You told me to wait a couple of years."

"Aye, I did, didn't I? It's barely been a couple of days. So what's keeping me from drinking?" he said, shrugging, his vision getting slightly blurred. He took another swig from the bottle as he brushed past her on his way back to the couch.

"I thought you meant…" Liana began, frowning once more.

"Y'know, the one thing about you women is that you always jump to conclusions…" Sirius drawled, his speech getting slurred as he turned to look at her, losing his balance and falling backwards on the couch. "I meant to do that…"

"Fine – do what you want. I couldn't care less."

(A/N: *is only just realizing how confusing this story is and how screwed up the characters in it are* Crikey…)

Liana chewed her lip, glaring at him as best she could as she picked up her coat from the kitchen counter and stomped out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Sirius flinched as it shut, the automatic lock clicking into place.

*

A/N: I suck. Admit it. I do. I know I do. I haven't written in… what, six months? Sorry… *shuffles feet* I've been busy… *noddles* Anyhow, please review! Maybe then I'll get back on track… *grumbles* don't count on it, though. I can't get on the internet as easily any longer… *scowls at her parents* Blame them, okay!