A/N: All L/J all the time.





Disclaimer: ::takes *very* deep breath and forces a sweet smile:: See Chapter One.





I'm young and I'm hopeless

I'm lost and I know this

I'm goin' nowhere fast

That's what they say

I'm troublesome

I've fallen

I'm angry at my father

It's me against this world and I don't care

I don't care!

-The Young and The Hopeless, Good Charlotte





Chapter Eleven

















Three days into vacation, Lily was bored out of her mind. She was happy to be home, yes, but it did get pretty damn boring sometimes. She was at breakfast that third day in when her mother suggested something that she just *loved*.

"Honey, why don't you invite James out to dinner with us tomorrow night?"

"Seriously?" Lily asked, looking between her mother and her father.

"Yeah, we haven't seen him in a while," Mr. Evans said. "I need to give him an interview."

"Only if you promise to be nice, Daddy," Lily bargained.

"I'll be good, dear, I promise."

Lily smiled.

"I'll write to him after breakfast."





*Dear James,

Hey, sweetie. I miss you so much!

Guess what...my mom said that, if you want, you can come out to dinner tomorrow night with us. You can Floo over to my house and Floo back after dinner. My dad wants to interrogate you, so you'll have to be on your toes. I really hope you say yes because I miss you SO MUCH!

Write back really soon!

I love you!

Love,

Lily*

"Aw, mah wittle Jamesie is a growin' up! He's a got a date wit wittle Miss Evans!"

"Sirius, shut the fuck up," James said. "I'm gonna go ask if I can go."

James went down to the kitchen where Mrs. Black was making lunch.

"Oh, Mama Black!" he said.

Mrs. Black laughed and said, "What d'you need, James?"

"Lily asked me to go to dinner with her and her family so that her dad can interrogate me tomorrow night. Can I go?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."





The next day went by *REALLY* slow for Lily. When the time finally came for her to get ready, however, time seemed to speed up WAY too fast. She finished getting ready only about five minutes before James arrived.

Lily was wearing a skirt that ended just above the knee and a matching blouse. She used a little bit of makeup and she did her hair nice.

James stepped out of the fireplace wearing dark gray MacGear pants that were baggy and a black Atticus t-shirt. His black hair was as messy as ever and he had on Etnies Vestas. (A/N: I have so much more fun describing his clothes...) In his left hand, he held a black leather jacket.

"Hey, Lils," he said.

Lily smiled, jumped up and nearly choked him in their hug.

James laughed and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Ready to go?" Lily asked.

"Yep," said James. "I'm starving."

"MOM! DAD! LETS GO, JAMES IS HERE!"

"WE'LL BE RIGHT DOWN!" Mr. Evans shouted back.

"WE'RE GONNA WAIT IN THE CAR, THEN!"

"OKAY!"

"My, my, Miss Evans," said James as he followed Lily out to the car, pulling his jacket on, "you do have a pair of lungs on you, don't you?"

Lily smiled.

"You know it."

A couple of minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Evans joined them and they drove off.





"Welcome to The Sizzler, may I take your order?" the waitress, Kelly, asked.

"I'll have the steak and shrimp special, medium well," said Mrs. Evans.

"Same here," Mr. Evans decided.

"I'll take the barbequed chicken and fries, please," said Lily.

"And I will have the Deluxe Double Burger cooked well done with lettuce, tomato, just a little bit of onions, extra pickles, ketchup, and fries on the side, please. Oh, and can I get some pasta as a sidedish...oh, and some shrimp too. And I'll have a Pepsi, please."

"It'll be right up," Kelly said, taking the menus.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans started at James. He popped an eyebrow.

"Are you going to be able to eat all of that, James?" Mrs. Evans asked.

Lily snorted.

"James can eat three times that in one sitting," she said.

"But you're so skinny!"

"Don't you just wanna kill him, Mom?"

James laughed.

"Lily's been out to get me ever since she learned of my eating habits," he said.

After a wonderful dinner, through which the older Evans' stared at James in shock of how fast he was eating the rather large meal in record time, Mrs. Evans said, "I'm going to go wash up in the powder room. Care to join me, Lily?"

Lily nodded and stood.

"Should I be worried?" she asked her mother as they left the table.

"I don't know..."

"So, James," Mr. Evans said, leaning back in his chair.

"So, Mr. Evans," James mimicked, leaning back as well. Then he smiled. "I just playing," he said. "What's up?"

Mr. Evans smiled.

"How are your grades in school?" he asked.

"I'm third in the school," he said. "It goes Lily, then our buddy Remus, then me."

Mr. Evans nodded.

"What do you plan on doing after school ends?"

"I bought me and Lils a house up in Godrick's Hollow and my friend Sirius and myself have purchased a business. We own a joke shop in Diagon Ally as of July First. But, uh, don't tell Lily about this or anything. I want to surprise her with the house and the steady job. See, she thinks I'm gonna be a bum who tries forever to make it into the music world."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Me, Sirius, Remus, and our friend Ally are in a band. We've already talked about it though, the band's pretty much done. It's not like we wanna give up or anything, but I need to think about mine *and* Lily's futures and Sirius has his girlfriend to worry about. Remus and Ally are together and they wanna do what's best for everyone."

Mr. Evans nodded.

"That's very mature of you, James," he said. "But, er, how did you get the money to buy a house and a business, if you don't mind me asking."

James' smiled faltered a bit.

"Well, a few years back...a few years back my parents got murdered by an evil maniac. They left me everything they had, so I basically just sold our house and all of the furniture in it and I sold my dad's store. It all held too many memories to bare.... I bought the house in Godrick's Hollow over the summer and the business too. Sirius is gonna pay me back as we go along."

Mr. Evans nodded again.

"I like you, James," he said. "I like you a lot."

"Thank you, sir," James said. "That's good too because there's something I need to ask you."

"Shoot."

"I wanna ask Lils to marry me," James said. "I know for fact that everything is squared away with the shop, I have a house, I have money in the bank, and most importantly I love her more than *anything*...even more than my guitar and if you knew me, that's saying something."

Mr. Evans smiled.

"Your guitar?"

"Her name is Robyn," James told him.

Mr. Evans' smile widened.

"I believe that you love my daughter if you're thinking like you are. I also believe that you'll be able to take care of her fine, and I think she'll say 'yes'. I'm looking forward to attending the wedding."

James grinned like a mad man.

"Thanks, sir," he said. "You dunno how much this means to me. I love Lily with all of my heart and I'm gonna take good care of her. As the song says, I'd do anything for her."

"The song?"

"Last year the Marauders, our band, played at the Halloween Dance. I wrote a song for Lily called 'I'd Do Anything' and that's the night we got together because I basically told her how I feel through that song."

"Ah, yes, I'd do anything, just to hold you in my arms, to try and make you laugh, 'cause somehow I can't put you in the past, I believe it was."

James turned around.

"Hey, Lils."

Mrs. Evans and Lily sat.





"No you didn't, James!"

"Yes I did," James said, laughing at Lily. "It wasn't my idea though, Remus came up with it."

"You kidnapped Ally...I can't believe you boys sometimes," Lily said, smiling.

"I wouldn't really call it kidnapping," James said. "I like to think of it as picking her up from her father's place to go have a sleepover."

"Yeah, whatever."

They were in the car on the way back to the Evans' house.

"Come on, it's not like she refused or anything," James said. "You should have seen the letter she sent me and Sirius. She said, 'Remus better find a way to get me outta here before I find a lethally sharp object'. I told you, she hates Eddie more than Malfoy, even."

"That's crazy...and what's more, I can't believe it actually *worked*."

"Me either. That dude is so dumb."

Lily laughed.

"Obviously."

They pulled into the driveway and Mr. Evans turned the car off. When they got inside, Lily kissed James on the lips and gave him a hug.

"See you at the station, James," she said.

"Before I go, Lils, I thought I'd give you your Christmas present," James said, smiling, completely masking his nervousness.

Lily grinned.

"Yay! I love presents!"

"Okay, here it is, you ready for it?"

Lily nodded and James took a *deep* breath.

He kneeled down on one knee and took a small black box out of the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Lillian Evans, I love you more than life itself. I'd do anything for you. I'd take the Cruciatus Curse and I'd take Avada Kedavera to assure your safety. I love you more than Robyn even, and you that's something very unusual right there." Lily laughed a little at this. "Lils, will you be my wife, by my side for richer or poorer...blah blah blah..."

Lily laughed again.

She was in tears from the happiness she was feeling at that moment.

"Of course I will! I love you!"

Instead of letting James put the ring on her finger, she tackled him and kissed him deeply. Mr. Evans smiled at his wife and they went into the kitchen.

Once they felt the need for oxygen, James and Lily broke apart.

"Can I put the ring on your finger now?" James asked.

Lily laughed and nodded. Mrs. Evans looked into the living room.

"All clear, Harold," she called to her husband. They sat down on the couch.

"Congratulations, you two," Mrs. Evans said happily. "Let me see the ring, Lily dear!"

Mr. Evans patted James on the shoulder.

"Welcome to the family."

(A/N: Kristina, are you crying yet? That seems like something you'd cry at.)





"Hey, Prongs," Sirius said as James entered their room. "You're a bit late, don't you think?"

"I dunno, what time is it?" James asked.

"Nearly midnight," Sirius said. Then he smiled. "Something good happened, I can tell by the look of you. Spill it, boy."

James' smile widened.

"I proposed to Lily," he said, "and she said 'yes'."

"She did? Congratulations, Prongs ol' boy!"

"Thanks, I think it was the 'I love you more than Robyn' line that got her."

They both laughed.

"So, did you tell her about the shop or the house?"

"No, not yet," said James. "That's a surprise for after graduation."

Sirius nodded.

"Night, James."

"Night, Sirius."

















A/N: How was *that* for an L/J chapter, eh? I think it was pretty damn good! Please review and tell me what *you* think because what *I* think really doesn't matter, does it? ;-)

-Kristin-