Chapter V: Not a Short Date.

"Why am I letting him do this to me?" thought Lily. That was a question with no answer that had been nagging up the back of her mind for quite some time. Meanwhile, James was taking her to restaurant. It was obviously not very expensive, but it was not tacky, either. It looked quite welcoming and nice. James looked quite familiar to the place and Lily thought he was due to be an habitual customer, especially since a young waiter came by his side as if he were a friend.

"Same table as always?" the waiter asked, smiling.

"Yep" answered James.

James bore into Lily's eyes and she could feel a twinge of magenta coming up he cheeks. "Get a grip of yourself, Lily, it's James Potter we are talking about!" she warned herself. She looked at they hands that were still entwined. James noticed and let it go instantly, murmuring soft "I'm sorry".

"He doesn't look so confident now. are you losing your nerve, James?" she thought, a bit vindictive.

"May I accompany ye to the table, my fair lady?" said James, bowing courteously.

"Git" said Lily, laughing at his antics. "Hey, wait, am I just laughing at Potter's jokes?" she thought, thunderstruck.

They headed a table quite far away from the other ones. The truth is that it was quite cozy - and a bit romantic. Lily thought about running away, she wasn't sure about James' intentions.

"Do you bring here all the bimbos you date?"

"Oh, well, no, not actually" he said somewhat embarrassed. Lily knew he'd caught him in an awkward situation and decided to change the subject, especially since James could not look at her eyes now.

"May I take your seat, milady?" he said gentlemanly.

"Jerk"

"I know" said James appreciatively. After having ordered the food, well, after James had finished asking for the whole of the restaurant's stock of food, Lily decided to bring up an important matter.

"Why did you want to see me James?" she asked.

"Just to see you" he answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Lily arced an eyebrow, not believing him. "You are telling me that you sent me that letter, after five years of hearing not even a word of me, just to see me?"

"Yep. What so weird about that?" he asked blankly. "Did you think it was some kind of cruel joke, or something?" he added, concerned.

"It might have come round my mind once. twice." she said guiltily.

"You don't know me one single bit, Lily" he said reproachfully.

"I know enough of you to know when you are up to something" she snarled. "You haven't changed one single Knut, James Potter. Oh, and another thing - 'your Jamsie', since when you've been mine? No, better, since when would I've wanted you to be mine?"

"I'll always be yours" said James huskily as he took her hand.

Lily let it go quickly as she felt her face go read for the hundredth time in the night. James started laughing loudly. "Did you like then how I signed it, then? I thought, it was, umm, how to say it -" he said sophisticatedly , "ooh, yes, fitting to our new closeness."

"It looks as if the guy's confidence has come back" she thought. "Since when we are friends?" she snapped.

"Since you came to meet me after five years without seeing me" he added calmly.

Lily shut her mouth. Deep down she knew that he was right. James gazed at her knowingly and she could see the truth behind those hazel eyes. His eyes told her everything he was feeling.

"I could also say that you invited me to your house - very nice place, by the way -, and agreed to dinner with me. I think," he said smartly, touching the tip of his nose, "that after all these things we should consider ourselves friends, don't you think?" he asked her brightly.

"What if I refused you?" she thought grudgingly. "What if I told you I wouldn't want to be your friend?"

"You wouldn't refuse my friendship, would you, Lily?" he said nonchalantly.

"What if I did, what if I just said no and dump him?"

She looked at his eyes and surrendered.

"I can't, he's being truthful." she thought. "Ohh, alright. I'll consider you as a friend, however distant, but a friend anyway."

James eyes twinkled and he looked just as if he'd won the Quidditch World Cup for England. And Lily knew he was still up to something but she dropped the subject as the waiter approached.

"Look, the dinner is coming. I think you'll like it -I will." he said, looking starved (A/N: my poor baby). Lily noticed that that part of his personality hadn't changed a bit since Hogwarts. When they were at school, both Sirius and James would wolf down everything in the table, even the cutlery if the were hungry.

Lily smiled recalling his time as a student.

"What are you thinking about?" asked James curiously as he ate his dinner with gusto.

"Have you been at Hogwarts since Graduation Day?" she said absent-mindedly.

"No - we should go, we had a good time. You and me got on fairly well -"

"What? You and I, getting on fairly well? You were always messing around and nagging me!"

"Admit at least that you liked me. I was friendly, amusing, attractive, handsome. mind you, I still am!"

"You are a hopeless case" she said, thinking it would be better to leave the subject at that point for the moment.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, not even the plot, wah wah

A/N: Hi! New chapter!! I hope you'll enjoy it! I have to go know! My father is shouting nonsense to me ^^