A/N: Congratulations to alexis for being the first to get the Buffy reference! Sorry, guys, but I couldn't resist sneaking that in. If you want an explanation, just look at alexis's excellently worded review. Also, thanks for all the great reviews.

As Lily was walking to the pitch, carrying her broom, she heard a voice behind her.

"Lily! Wait up!"

Turning around, she saw it was James, carrying his broom as well. She smiled at him. "Hullo, James."

"Going to practice?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow and gestured to her broom. He flushed slightly, but smiled. "Obviously you're going to practice," James said sheepishly.

"Yeah."

They started walking together, not talking.

Lily looked over at James, who was staring at the ground pensively as if he was thinking hard about something. "Penny for your thoughts," she said lightly.

He looked at her in confusion and she laughed. "Well, over here you might say 'Knut for your thoughts', but the basic principle is the same."

James smiled at that, but then grew solemn. "It bothers you, doesn't it? That Arabella and Sirius don't get along, that is."

"Well, yeah," Lily said, carefully not looking at him. "I mean, she's my best friend and he's my teammate. It's not right that they hate each other so much."

"Yeah, that and the fact that you fancy Sirius," James stated coolly.

She turned to him, shocked. "I-I do not!"

James snorted at that. "Nice try, Lily. Here's a hint: If you want your denials to actually sound believable, you might want to work on the stutter."

She flushed and looked down at the ground.

James sighed softly. "You really like him, don't you?" he asked.

Lily nodded and looked up at him. "Yeah. I really do."

"Well, can't say I blame you," James said lightly as they walked out onto the grounds. "Practically every single female in the school's mad about him."

"Yeah, except for the ones that are crazy about you," Lily said without thinking.

James grinned. "Thanks for the compliment."

She smiled back. "You're welcome." Then she looked at James anxiously. "James, please don't say anything to him-"

"Of course not," James assured her. "But I have to tell you, he'd be thrilled if he found out."

"Really?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Oh, yeah. A gorgeous girl who's great at Quidditch worships the ground he walks on. He'd be ecstatic."

She blushed. "You-you think I'm gorgeous?"

"Yeah," James said casually. "In a average, everyday, normal kind of way," he said nonchalantly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye to see how she'd take it.

She smiled, remembering her conversation with Diane. "Thanks…I think."

James looked around the pitch and remarked in an aggravated voice, "Just where is the team? I said 2:00 exactly and it's-"

"1:53," Lily said calmly. "Relax, James. We're early."

James flushed slightly. "Sorry. It's just-this is the first match of the year and you saw the Hufflepuff Chasers…they're brilliant. We're going to have a hell of a time getting past them-"

"You don't have to remind me," Lily said, feeling a knot in her stomach start to form.

James looked at her, instantly contrite. "Lily, don't worry about it," he said, reading her mind. "You'll be great."

She forced herself to smile. "Thanks, James."

"Oy, you two!" Adam called as he and the rest of the team walked out onto the pitch. "Figures you'd be here early," he remarked, grinning.

"Right then," James said, instantly getting down to business. "We're playing Hufflepuff in a week, so here's the plan. The Hufflepuff Chasers are brilliant, so Adam, you're going to have a hell of a time protecting the hoops. Matt, I'm looking for a quick finish to the game. The Seeker on their team's terrible, which is good for us and bad for them. Becca, Sirius, I want you to be hitting those Bludgers as hard as you can toward the Hufflepuff Chasers. Melissa, Lily and I will just have to get the Quaffle early and keep it in our possession as long as possible. Everyone got the plan?"

The team stared at him. "Uh, James?" Matt said tentatively. "Could you repeat that and say it a little slower this time?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Exhausted, Lily dragged herself to the dormitory and flopped onto her bed.

Arabella, who was on her own bed and flipping through a magazine, raised an eyebrow. "Potter's being a slave driver, I take it."

Lily groaned in response and Arabella nodded. "Thought so. Nervous about the game this Sunday?"

Lily shook her head, staring at the canopy above her head. "No, I'm not nervous," she muttered. "I'm terrified."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the week passed, Lily's terror about the impending game only grew. Oh, she put on a pretty good front of seeming unconcerned in front of everyone. Only Frank, Arabella, and James seemed to realize that her confidence was just a façade.

Frank and Arabella tried to reassure her, and James insisted that she had nothing to worry about, since in his not-so-humble opinion, she was the 'best damn Chaser Hogwarts has ever seen, so stop worrying.'

Lily smiled softly at that. James had been great. Not only had he been calming her fears over the game, but he also hadn't said a thing to Sirius about her unrequited crush on him, something that Lily was extremely grateful for.

The rumors over her relationship with James had died down, to her relief. James was a great guy, but she just didn't see him as anything more than a friend. Sirius, on the other hand…

There was just one little problem.

He couldn't stand her best friend. And vice versa.

The fighting between Sirius and Arabella was only getting worse. For some reason, Sirius was extremely annoyed that Arabella was hanging around Liam McAllister, and was quite verbal about his disgust, something that aggravated Arabella to no end. But when asked why he even cared, Sirius grew mysteriously deaf.

Finally the day of the game arrived.

"Come on, Lily, you have to eat," Sirius coaxed.

Arabella agreed. "For once, Black speaks truth. You should eat something."

"Not hungry," Lily muttered, staring down at her plate.

"And what d'you mean, 'for once, Black speaks truth'?" Sirius demanded, peeved.

Arabella rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, Black, it's just a figure of speech. No hidden meanings here."

Sirius snorted at that. "With you, there are always hidden meanings."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Will both of you just shut up?" James hissed, with a glance at Lily. "We're tense enough as it is without having to listen to you two sniping at each other."

Slightly surprised, Sirius and Arabella nevertheless did as he had ordered. Adam glanced at his watch.

"We'd better go down there."

Silently the team walked out of the Great Hall and to the locker rooms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As Melissa, Rebecca and Lily walked to where the boys were waiting, Melissa turned to Lily and said, "Don't worry. You'll be great."

Lily tried to smile reassuringly at her, but it must not have worked too well since Melissa still looked worried.

Silently they changed and grabbed their brooms. Lily stared down at her red and gold robes. "Can't believe I'm actually doing this," she muttered to herself.

Carrying their brooms, they rejoined the rest of the team. Lily noticed hazily that Matt looked as terrified as she felt.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked quietly behind her.

"I'm thinking that I should never have let you talk me into joining the team," Lily replied, wondering if she could use her accelerated heartbeat as an excuse to hide in the hospital wing.

"Lily," James said urgently. "I know this is terrible timing-" he took a deep breath-"but if you really don't want to do this…then I'll put in one of the reserve Chasers. No questions asked."

Lily looked up at him, stunned, but in the shadows of the tent, James's face was completely serious.

"You'd do that?"

James nodded. "Lily, forget about what everyone wants you to do…what do you want to do?"

Lily considered. Echoes from the past few weeks flitted through her mind.

-"We're dead if she doesn't play!"

-"I am not going to let you-maniacs hound her into something she doesn't want to do-"

-"…with you, we'll be sensational."

Then the voices faded and Lily found herself gazing into James's concerned brown eyes.

"No," Lily said softly. "I'll play. But-thanks. For the offer." Impulsively, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "You're a good friend, James."

James sighed as she walked back to stand with Melissa and Sirius. "Yeah. I know."

"Well, then," Rebecca said abruptly. "Guess we'd better get out there."

Taking a deep breath, James led the team out onto the pitch.