"Strawberry!"

"Chocolate!"

"Strawberry!!!"

"Chocolate!!!"

"STRAWBERRY!!!"

"CHOCOLATE!!!"

"Will you just STOP IT?!"

The two 16-year-olds stopped arguing and turned to the pale-haired boy behind them. Sirius and Aurora were once again fighting; this time fighting about what flavor tasted better — chocolate or strawberry. Peter winced when Remus actually screamed, which was absolutely out of character of him.

"You've been arguing about that for a while now," Lily spoke up from the back of the group. "They're just flavors, you know."

"Yeah, you're acting like you guys are married for the past few days…" James chimed in, smirking as he put his hands on the back of his head. He only whistled innocently when Sirius and Aurora threw him dangerous looks.

For the rest of the trip, Sirius and Aurora didn't say a word; they only glared at each other once in a while. Remus sighed repeatedly as Peter silently cowered – the boy wasn't actually good in dealing with winter. James and Lily, meanwhile, were talking animatedly at the back of the group; the girl apparently forgot about her 'fear' temporarily.

"Ooh, Honeydukes!" Aurora exclaimed suddenly, running ahead of the Marauders and hurrying inside. She had an amused, child-like expression on her face as she set sight on the magical sweetshop; making her archenemy smile knowingly.

Sirius seemed to have stopped, looking like he was frozen as he stared after the rest of his friends. He still had this amused grin on his face as he continued to look at the windowpane of the said shop, that is, until…

Remus elbowed him with a smirk. "Yeah, right…and you say you hate her…" With that, Remus walked away with a smile on his face, opening the door that led to the store.

"HEY! I DO HATE HER!"

*

James whistled the tune of 'Jingle Bells' as he skipped down the boys' spiral staircase, his messy, unruly hair bouncing up and down his head. As he landed on the last step with a happy little skip, he readjusted his glasses and whistled 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' when he plopped himself on the couch beside Sirius.

"What are you so happy about, Prongs?" Sirius asked, looking up from his hands.

"Actually, I don't know." James answered, still in a very happy mood. "I just feel happy for some reason."

Sirius groaned. "Don't you dare say you actually feel the Christmas Spirit, Prongs."

"Oh, I feel the Christmas spirit, all right," He said in a singsong voice, as if intent on annoying someone. "I feel it."

"James, you've become one of those stupid little Christmas-obsessed kids who run around screaming for the decorations on the Christmas tree." Sirius commented, looking back at his hands. He had been examining them carefully, as if checking if his hands were still smooth.

"Padfoot, it's Christmas. And guess who's staying," James said in between whistles.

"Ooh! Snivellus! Snivellus' staying!!!" Sirius exclaimed, joyous as well. "We can pull pranks!"

James waved his hand, dismissing the matter. "So, anyway, where's Lils? She's not yet here?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "You don't know? She went home for Christmas."

Hazel eyes widened in surprise when he heard Sirius's news. "What do you mean she went home for Christmas?! She never went home for Christmas! She only comes home if I come home!"

"Oh yeah, it's because of her sister, right? Well, no one actually knows. I think Callaway's the only one who knows why, but hey, she's not here, so I'm happy."

"But I'm her best friend!" James defended, still furious on why Lily wouldn't tell him she was going home for Christmas. "I should know!"

"Well you don't." Sirius said matter-of-factly. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll write."

*

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll write. 'She'll write' my ass."

James was glaring at him now, holding his knife threateningly and making it spin between his fingers. Remus' absence was quite noticeable when you look around the Gryffindor table. Peter was sent home because his parents were worrywarts and were absolutely worried that Voldemort would attack Hogwarts; nevertheless, a large amount of students stayed back for Christmas. James supposed it was because it would be safer for them to be under Dumbledore's care.

"Why the hell should you blame me for, Prongs?" Sirius demanded, swallowing a whole spoonful of bacon. "Just because your owl didn't show up for the past two weeks doesn't mean you have to take out your disappointment on me!"

James glared at him again behind his wire-rimmed glasses. "For your information, Mr. Padfoot, Apollo did show up for the past two weeks, only that the letters weren't from Lily." He struck his eggs with his knife with a loud clang. "Hmph, just because Aurora hasn't been writing to you don't mean you have to take out your disappointment on me."

Sirius narrowed his eyes – James always used his words when he wanted to annoy him. "Why the hell would Aurora write to me? Unless… of course! James, you know she loves me, right?"

Prongs narrowed his eyes. "You are so helpless, Sirius. You need a girlfriend. It's more of hate, not love. She'd only write a howler to you, saying what a brainless git you are and everything…"

"And now you're taking her side…"

"Well, at some point, she is right. Hmph, Don't worry, I'm sure she'll write my ass."

Sirius smirked. "So you want her to write on your ass?"

James threw an empty goblet at him.

"How come you're so hotheaded? You really miss Lily, don't you? So, my advice to you is get a girl and enter a broom closet, then boom – snog session takes all your problems away."

"To you, all your problems disappear with a snog session." James remarked, shoving a forkful of eggs inside his mouth.

Sirius chuckled. "Of course, Jamsie-poo, it's magical."

Prongs grabbed another empty goblet and threw it at his best friend, a menacing glare on his face. "Don't call me Jamsie-poo."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Sirius said with a smirk, waving his knife. "Lily's the only one who's supposed to call you that."

Sirius received yet another blow.

*

"HOW come she's still not writing?! I need advice!"

Sirius sighed. "Will you just calm down?! Why don't you go write to her?"

James glared at him through his spectacles, hazel-hued eyes glimmering in irritation. It was Christmas Eve already, the 24th of December, and the snow was falling harder than it should be.

"I already wrote to her like," James ticked numbers off his fingers. "…Seven times this week! She still hasn't answered me! I'm desperate, Sirius! I need a GIRLFRIEND!"

"Don't tell me you want her to be your girlfriend, Prongs." Sirius stated, wide-eyed.

He shook his hands defensively. "No, no, no…I just don't know what to do…"

*

"No, no, no…I just don't know what to do…"

Aurora's clear, sapphire-blue eyes were widened to their fullest extent.

"What are you looking at me like that for?!"

"I just…" Aurora started, eyes still widened. "I just don't believe it. Coming from you…it seems impossible, Lils. It just seems impossible for you to fall for a guy like him."

Lily Evans, with her sparkling emerald eyes and perfect, auburn hair, fiddled with the ends of her pajamas. Her parents had permitted her to stay with Aurora and her family for the rest of the holidays, with her residing in a large Victorian-style mansion.

"So, uh, Aurora, how come you're staying in a huge house like this?" Lily tried to change the subject, looking around Aurora's bedroom. It was lavishly decorated, mind you, since they were a pureblood wizarding family.

"My mother died when I was six," Aurora started to narrate, leaning on the edge of her bed. "So my father went off and married my stepmother, who was really nice. When they got married, we moved into this old house that belonged to my grandfather, since he died shortly after the marriage. Then I became Alex's younger sister, and he took care of me whenever mom or dad wasn't around."

"So this belongs to the Callaway family?" Lily queried.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Now don't go and try changing the subject, Lily. I still can't believe you fell in love with James."

At hearing the name, Lily looked down on her feet once again and plopped down on the carpeted floor, her long auburn hair cascading down her shoulders. "Don't remind me. I mean, I never knew I would."

"But you did," Aurora reminded her with a lopsided grin. "And that's the point – you fell in love with your best friend, who happened to be James Potter, one of the two biggest playboys in Hogwarts."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "And who's the other one?"

"The git — big, egotistical, Mr. Oh-Everybody-Loves-Me Sirius Black." Her best friend spat out spitefully. "Who else?"

The redhead smiled. "Care to tell me what horrible experience you had with him?"

Aurora shook her head. "No."

"When did you meet, anyway?"

"You don't need to know."

"Oh c'mon Aurora!"

She turned to Lily. "Aren't we supposed to be talking about you here? Why did it suddenly turn to talking about me?"

"Because your life is more interesting than mine." Lily said it simply, as if it was a world-known fact.

"How can it be interesting?" Aurora asked, waving a finger. "I have someone called Sirius Black to ruin my entire teenage life. Is that interesting?"

Lily giggled. "Yes," she said, waving a finger too. "Because as they say, the more you hate, the more you love."

Aurora glared at her. "Why don't we go to your beloved, for once, and not my archenemy?"

The redhead waved a hand defensively, since her best friend was already on the verge of killing her. "Alright, alright…so what do you need to know?"

"When."

"Some weeks ago."

"How."

"I don't actually know."

"Why?"

"Because he's James?"

Aurora shook her head. "A more precise answer, please."

Lily glared at her. "What do you want me to say then?!"

The light-brown haired girl smiled and titled her head, her locks spilling upon the dark blue bed sheets. "Say the things you really love about him, you know," Aurora pointed out, looking like an obsessed fanatic. "What you really like about him."

"What I really like about him?" Lily asked, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling as well. "Uh…let's see…his smile, I guess…that lopsided grin of his…. I'd have to say I'm NOT amused whenever he messes up his hair – but I like his hair naturally, without those extra rumpling of sorts. And…uh…and…"

Aurora looked at her curiously. "And?"

"I can't tell you the rest."

"WHAT?!" Aurora exclaimed, sitting right up. "Why the HELL can't you tell me the rest?! I'm your best friend and I deserve to know everything!"

"Not nearly everything, Aurora," Lily said pointedly. "Not nearly everything.

"Well I deserve to know something!"

"I already told you something!"

"That's not enough!"

Aurora suddenly smirked, something evil creeping up her brain. "Oh I know why you won't tell me the rest," she said in a sinister manner, sneering at her best friend. "It's one of your little fantasies, isn't it?"

Lily's eyes widened. "What do you mean 'fantasies'?"

"Aha," Aurora scoffed, holding her head up high as if she knew everything. She mimicked a lovesick girl's voice. "Don't pretend not to know, Lily. They're fantasies, you know, those things you think about every night before you go to sleep. You know, like one night, with the full moon shining bright, you finally but suddenly find yourself locked in his tight embrace —

The redhead grabbed a pillow from the bed in the middle of Aurora's sentence and threw it smack on her face.

"HEY! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

*

The moonlight illuminated patches of the sheets wherein she lay under. Her scarlet hair was scattered all over the pillows, looking like threads of silk that glimmered in little light. Her emerald eyes were lazily opened as she tried to keep herself awake, conveying the message that she was absolutely sleepy.

But at that night, the Sandman wasn't around. Sleep seemed to have no plans of overcoming her senses right now, right when she needed it. The wind blew fiercely against the walls of the Victorian home, making the curtains and canopy of her room billow like haunting cloaks that belong to Dementors.

Lily rolled to her side, her hand limply lying beside her head. Thoughts had been swimming in her head for quite some time now, and it seemed that nothing could make those thoughts go away.

A fist clenched and unclenched itself. "Stupid James…he's the reason why I can't sleep…stupid, stupid, stupid…"

She rolled over to her other side.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

And yet again, she rolled over.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

'Worried, aren't you?'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Oh, hi Ms. The-Mysterious-Unknown-Voice-Inside-My-Head. It's been a long time. What do you want today?'

'Oh,' said the voice. 'Nothing much — just to let you know your final fear of loving James Potter.'

'Oh.' Lily thought. 'That. I should've known you'd appear the next sleepless night.'

'Right on time, am I?'

'My, I'm going insane…I'm having a conversation with the voice in my head.' Lily closed her eyes.

'Anyway, to put things mildly, you're in the fear of rejection.'

Lily's eyes opened with a jerk to the point that in the middle of the night, she bolted straight up from the surface of her bed.

"REJECTION?!"

Why You Annoy Me: Part 4

Author's notes: Hope you liked: please R&R!