Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except characters and events you can't recognize as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N: Hey everyone! Thankyou all so much for the reviews, it was nice to get some feedback! I'll try to get this one out way more quickly than the last one. I have a feeling this may be one of the last chapters though. So, we'll just see, I guess...

Chapter Eleven

Something For Lily...

"I want to do something for Lily," James announced, plonking himself down on the bed in the boy's apartment. The one bedroom was fairly disarrayed at that moment. Clothes were strewn all over both of the beds, where Remus was trying drying spells on them, as the dryer at the muggle Laundromat was broken.

Sirius was searching through a cupboard for his oldest pair of jeans, adding even more clothes to the several piles surrounding James on his bed.

Remus rolled his eyes at James announcement.

"Oh god, not that again," he groaned. "Remember in seventh year when you 'wanted to do something for Lily'?"

"Yeah," grunted Sirius, pitching a shirt over his shoulder. "I recall he rearranged the stars for her. Kinda extravagant."

"Dramatic," Remus added. "Try to keep it simple this time."

James rolled his eyes at them both, outdoing Remus' earlier performance.

"Oh, shut up. Just because neither of you have ever had a shot at romance," he scoffed. "And anyway, I can't do the same thing twice. I was thinking I might cook her something- you know, show her that I learnt something in those classes..."

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea," Sirius said. "Aha! My jeans!" h held up a pair of worn out, faded, baggy jeans.

James shook his head, and went back to contemplating what he could make for Lily. Remus was going to roll his eyes, but they were feeling a little sore so instead he just lifted his wand and muttered another drying spell. Sirius shimmied into his jeans (he had been walking around in boxers). Nothing like old jeans for comfort.

IN A MUGGLE SHOPPING PLAZA

"This one's nice," Sarah said, holding up a pink top for Lily to inspect.

"I'm sick of pink. And green. I want something...black, or brown," Lily sighed.

"Brown would clash with your hair," Grace said wisely. "I think you should go for a blue. Blue looks good on everyone."

"Yeah, says the one person here who never wears colours anyway," Lily scoffed.

Grace looked down. True, she was wearing all black again. But what could she say? It suited her!

Sarah was clad in a knee length, brown skirt and a maroon, tie up top. She looked rather like a hippy with her hair tied back in a bandana, and bracelets lining her arms.

Lily on the other hand, was just wearing jeans and a short green jacket. She was frowning in concentration at a red skirt.

"That would clash with my hair too, wouldn't it?" she said, nodding at the skirt.

"Yep," Sarah said. "Look, I reckon James would love you in whatever you wear. Stress less."

"But he said we were going someplace special tonight," Lily said, turning to look at her friends. I want to make sure I wear good clothes, you know?"

"Oh, come on, James idea of special is a pub with a couple of tankards of beer," Sarah grinned. "Just don't worry about it."

"Hey, I see a store over there that looks promising," Grace said, nodding over at the other side, of the plaza.

Lily sighed, and tried to clear her mind. Sarah was right. It probably wouldn't be a big deal anyway. It was time to get down to some serious shopping.

BACK TO THE BOY'S APARTMENT

"What I'd like to know is, why cookies?" Sirius asked, as James turned dials on their tiny oven.

The boys were in the kitchen, minus Remus, who was watching form a distance. James had a muggle recipe book out, and was carefully preparing tins for the cookies that he had chosen to bake. Sirius, who had reluctantly agreed to help, was now dipping his hand into the bowl of choc chips, and filching a couple.

"Oi, hands out of there," James scolded, taking the bowl out of his hands and setting it back down on the bench. "And they're not just any cookies, they're choc-chip cookies!"

"Yeah, well, why choc chip cookies?" Sirius persisted. He grabbed a packet of flour and measured the amount James pointed out to him into another bowl.

"Because- well, because Choc chip cookies are just like love!" James said, looking a little flustered.

Sirius snorted in laughter.

"Hate to break it to you, but I kind of missed that comparison," he grinned.

"No, really," James said, turning to face his best friend. "Think about it. First there's the hard, breaking, crumbly bits you have to get through, and they take time to chew, and sometimes hurt your teeth. But every so often, you stumble across a choc chip, all soft and sweet and tasty. And it makes it all worth it. And you know that you'll definitely battle through another hard cookie, just for the choc chips your bound to find."

"Sorry, but what's this got to do with love?" Sirius asked, confused.

"He's being difficult on purpose," Remus said, coming in from the lounge room. "What James means is that Love is full of hard times, and breaks and makes. And sometimes it hurts. But there will always be those sweet, wonderful moments, the choc chips, which make it all worth it."

James nodded. "Exactly," he said.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, and ate another choc chip.

"Okey dokey, then," he conceded. "I still think it's a pathetic attempt at a comparison, but whatever you want. And I don't think Lily will get it either."

"Yeah, well," James muttered. "I'm counting on the fact that she's obviously more intelligent than you."

THE GIRL'S APARTMENT NOW.

Lily surveyed herself in the mirror. A simple, blue, wispy shirt coupled with a pair of dark green pants made her look like a forest fairy. James was bound to be coming any minute now, and she was finally ready.

The sound of the door opening reached her ears, and she took a deep breath. She had no idea why she was so nervous, but for some reason, she wanted this to be the best night in her life. And with James she knew it would be.

The door to her bedroom opened slightly, and Sarah's head poked in.

"He's here, hon," she said. "Wow, don't you look beautiful!"

"Do you think," Lily said uncertainly. "I'm not too sure about the top."

"It looks great," Sarah assured her. "Shall I send him in, or are you gonna come out?"

"I'm coming," lily said. She grabbed her handbag and followed Sarah out the door.

The guys were sitting in the lounge room, once again transfixed by the TV. Grace was in the kitchen, searching for something to eat, and Andrea was sitting next to Sirius, trying the get his attention.

"Ahem," Sarah said. No one looked up. "Oi, over here!"

James turned with a questioning look. It soon turned into an amazed look, as he saw Lily.

Smiling, he got up and cam over to her. He reached over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Looking beautiful as usual," he grinned.

Lily blushed a little, and smiled.

"How was you day?" she asked, trying the make him stop staring at her.

"Just got better," he said softly.

Sarah made a puking face at Sirius, who nodded grimly. Grace rolled her eyes.

"Grow up, you two," she said.

"Uh, we'll be leaving now,' James said, taking Lily's hand. She waved, and the next thing she knew, they had apparated to a lake with a crisp, grass area surrounding it.

For the first time, Lily noticed James had a picnic basket in his hands.

"You made all the food?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, we bought most of it from a take away place,' he admitted, loving the way lily's lips quirked when she tried not to smile. "But I did make one thing. I'll give it to you later."

"What is it?" Lily asked curiously.

"You'll just have to wait and see," James said, leading her over to the lake bank.

He laid out the rug and started taking out the food, carefully leaving his package of cookies in the basket. There was chicken, smoked salmon, bread rolls, still warm from a spell James had cast earlier, salad, small raspberry tarts and about ten other dishes that eventually covered the picnic rug.

"How on earth are we ever going to finish this lot?" Lily asked amazedly.

"We'll give the left-overs to Sirius," James grinned.

Lily came and sat next to him. She wondered why she had ever worried about what James would think of her. Whenever she was with him, she knew that he loved her.

After they had eaten, they sat down, looking over the lake.

"This kind of looks like the Hogwarts lake, doesn't it?" Lily remarked.

"Yeah," James nodded. He seemed a little pre occupied, so Lily remained silent.

Then, he got up suddenly, almost making Lily fall, as she was leaning on him. He marched over to where the picnic gear was, and rummaged through the basket. Lily frowned a little at him. Strange man.

"What are you doing?" she asked, bemused.

"Juts a sec," he called back. He walked over, clutching a parcel she had noticed earlier. He sat back down next to her and then turned to look into her eyes earnestly. "This is for you."

Lily smiled puzzled, taking the parcel.

"Thanks," she said, loving the way eh was almost blushing. She carefully lifted the wrapping paper off from around the parcel, and discovered that it was a small plastic container. Opening it, she saw a mound of tiny choc chip cookies.

She grinned and looked up at James. He ruffled his hair nervously, and smiled back at her.

"Choc chip cookies?" she said, lifting one out of the container. "Did you make these your self?"

"Uh, yeah," James nodded, trying not to catch her eye. For some reason he felt amazingly anxious. What if she didn't like them? Had he remembered to put all the ingredients in?

Lily lifted one up and popped it into her mouth. James watched as she chewed and swallowed. He was almost breaking out in sweat.

"Delicious," Lily said, still smiling. Reaching over, she kissed him carefully, and he tasted the chocolate on her lips. "If you don't mind me asking, why cookies? I mean, I love them and all, I juts didn't think you were the baking type."

"Well," James frowned a little. What was it he had said to Sirius? "I just like cookies. Maybe I'll explain it to you sometime."

Lily shrugged and nodded. James reached over and put an arm around her. They sat like that for a moment, and then James shifted again.

"I almost forgot," he said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slightly crumpled note and placed it on Lily's lap. She glanced u at him questioningly, but he just indicated the note with a tilt of his head.

She picked it up and unfolded it.

It read-

'Dearest Lily,

I've said it to you in so many languages. Now here it is in a language we both understand.

I love you.

Your crazy admirer, James.'

"It was you!" Lily exclaimed.

James grinned sheepishly.

"Stupid, huh?" he said.

"B-but, you were angry at the admirer. You said he was a creep or something!"

"I was acting, hon," James said. "I didn't want you t know. It was a stupid thing to start, but once I did, I couldn't stop."

"Where did you get the languages from?" Lily asked, glancing at the note again.

"A book I found in Remus' collection. It was pretty handy," he remarked. Her grinned at her again. "Sorry if I freaked you out."

Lily sat frowning at the note in confusion for a second. Then she leaned over and kissed him again.

"You know, that's the most romantic thing any ones ever done for me...except for maybe the time you changed the stars for me," she said.

James smiled and kissed her cheek.

"So long as you liked it,' he consented.

"So, I suppose I should tell you something," Lily said, pulling away a little.

"What?" James asked. He didn't want anything to go wrong now.

"Just...did you know that I love you?" she said suddenly, and then grinned at his expression.

"You little minx!" he said, tackling her down and pinning her arms to the ground. "I thought you were going to break up with me!"

"Minx?" Lily giggled. "Who the hell says that?"

James looked at her tenderly for a minute and then kissed her.

"Don't ever leave me, ok?" he said seriously.

"So long as you never leave me," she said softly.

And for the first time, it felt right.

BACK AT THE GIRL'S APARTMENT

Sarah leaned her head against Sirius' shoulder and smiled. Perhaps things would be ok after all. She felt him move his head, and then he kissed her softly on the forehead.

Andrea, Remus and Grace were trying the play chess with three people.

And somewhere, sitting by a lake, Lily and James were in love.

It doesn't get much better than this, does it?

A/N: so, that may just be the last chapter. What did you think? Thanks everyone for supporting me this far- you all rock! Please review this one too.

This isn't the last from me!

Love, Jaizar