CHAPTER SIXTEEN

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100 REVIEWS! OH YEAH! (doing victory dance)

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"Wait, James-"

I turn around slowly, "Yep?"

"Come," Lily beckons me. I approach her in trance. Lily Evans, the girl who formerly hated me, is now telling me to go anywhere within three feet of her.

"I'd just like to point out that a) I can't believe you've never apologized to anyone, b) yes, the only true thing you've ever said, saying sorry does not fix problems, c) I guess I will consider forgiving you if you stop being such a prat, and d) yep, that was a screwed up apology," Lily smiles.

"Uh, thanks…" I have no idea what I'm supposed to say.

"Lily, hi," Martin comes in through the open door, "Oh, James…"

Martin and Lily kiss on the lips and Martin pulls Lily onto his lap.

"Well, bye then," Lily says to me after an awkward pause.

"Ok, bye," I reply weirdly.

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"Well? What did he say?" Bertha and Courtney ask.

"He said sorry," I mutter.

"And?" Bertha leans forward.

"Do you mind? You're breathing on me. And nothing. He didn't say anything else," Courtney and Bertha look disappointed.

"What?" I ask.

"Um, hello..? Some really cute guy just saved your life and apologized to you, and you're not even going to do anything about it?" Courtney replies.

"What am I supposed to do? Dump Martin?" I roll my eyes, "And James is not really cute."

"Ok then, really hot."

"Argh, guys, do you mind?" I say.

"Sorry for trying to open your eyes to the hottest guy in school who is crazy for you," Bertha mutters.

"Look, he's nice… ish… I'm sure we can be friends, but Martin is just… perfect… ish…" I try to explain.

"Friends? Friends?? Girl, you are crazy!" Bertha screams, "Do you know how hard it is for a guy to be friends with a girl he is crazy for?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, that's how it was with Martin. He was crazy for me, and pretended to be just friends with me. James is crazy for me, and never bothered to try to be just friends with me. Anyways, Martin is your brother. How can you stand up for James like this?" I retort.

"Fine, whatever. Your life, not mine," Bertha stands up with Courtney, "Let's go."

"Bye Lily," Courtney says as Bertha drags her out of hospital wing.

I sit and ponder for a while. Hmn… really cute, really hot, and really crazy for me. Now that is an interesting thought.

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"James," Sirius calls me as soon as I enter the common room, "So? How did it go?"

"Fine," I reply shortly.

"Fine? That's it??" Sirius slumps back into his chair.

"What, did you think she would dump her boy friend just because I said sorry to her?" I mutter, sprawling on the chair next to Sirius.

"Well, yeah, that's what I was hoping," Sirius replies.

"Dream on then," I close my eyes and run my hand through my hair.

"Are you still crazy for her?" Sirius asks after a long silence.

"Who?" I open my eyes.

"C'mon, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Are you still crazy for Lily?" Sirius offers a packet of every flavor beans.

I take one and munch thoughtfully for a moment. "No," I finally say.

"Really?" Sirius chokes on a brown bean.

"Um… no, yes, I don't know, ok?" I grab the packet and hurl it into the fire.

"Wow, temper," Sirius mutters, "And do you mind, those beans cost me!"

"What, like two minutes of nicking?" I close my eyes again.

"Yes, two whole minutes of my precious time! Now just answer the question. Are you still crazy for Lily? Do you still like her?" Sirius punches my shoulder to wake me up.

"Yes, ok? Yes. I am still crazy for her and I still like her. I wish that Martin dude would just shove off, I wish she'd like me back, I wish she'd go out with me, I wish she'd let me kiss her when she's awake, I wish she'd let me hold her. You happy! I still f*cking love her!"

"Ok… maybe you should just try being friends or something," Sirius suggests.

"Maybe," I run the thought through my head, "Who am I kidding? She would never want to have anything to do with me. I'm going to bed."

I stomp off up to our dormitory and flop onto my bed without changing into pyjamas. I stare at the dark ceiling and I can see Lily's glowing hair and electric eyes.

"James, get yourself together. Get over her. This is stupid," I say to myself, "We can be friends. Just have a normal conversation. It's not that hard. Mental note, talking to one's self is the first sign of madness…"

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"Miss Evans, you may pack up your things and leave," the nurse says.

"Thanks," I smile gratefully as I pull of the hospital wing garments and put on my own robes.

"The headmaster has also told me to inform you that you will have no exams due to your prolonged illness."

"Oh, ok," I'm a little disappointed. I must have missed so much stuff, "Um… what day is it?"

"It's Sunday," the nurse replies before leaving the room.

I grab all my stuff and my presents and leave for the Gryffindor common room.

"God, it's good to be back," I say to myself as I dump all my stuff on my bed.

"Lily! You're back!" screams fill the room as the Gryffindor students knock me over with their hugs. After about an hour of trying to fight my way out of the common room, I succeed. I walk out to the quidditch pitch, wondering how many games I've missed. I'm just about to leave when I notice some walking towards me. That someone happens to be James. Uh oh, I think to myself.

"It's ok, don't be stupid," I murmur to myself, "It's just James. Who cares if the rest of the school thinks you're crazy for not going out with the hottest guy who is crazy for you? Ok, I might care a little, but not a lot. Plus, he isn't hot or cute. Ok, may a little cute, quite hot, but that's ok. Everyone else thinks the same. He's getting closer. Uh oh. Lily, stop being crazy. Mental note, talking to one's self is the first sign of madness…"

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AN: how was that?? After re-writing this chapter three times, I am finally happy with it. "To serve, to strive and not to yield", who came up with that motto?? Sorry I was at camp for ten days and couldn't write more. Ok, ok, replies:

Angelbud2233 – writing, writing… geez… my poor, poor brain is being over worked.

C – uh… I didn't think of that…
LilynjamesAAF – oh, sorry, I can't help myself! It's so funny!

Hollow Headed Hamster – I always thought hamster had a 'p' in it… obviously not though…

Tori – they are bad, but good. Aren't you being just slightly contradictory??

SiriusVeela – best story huh? Very flattered.

Ali – hmn… I don't really have much of a reply to what you said. But thanks for reviewing.

Da-drama-queen – you're most certainly welcome.

Angelic-winkles – made you cry? Aw… is it really that emotional?

Kim – you finally reviewed! Yay!

Firewalker – updating… updating… go read fiction press in the meantime.

Megan – as I said, I couldn't update because I was on camp with no internet. I almost died!

Demoness Mark – yay, I'm on your fav list!

Laura – do you write fan fic?

Lanette – gah!? You're the first person I know of who's typed that before (that's, um, a compliment, I think…)

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