girlsrule4ever - Thank you very much for the constructive criticism...I'll work on that, but what part are you exactly talking about? At breakfeast? In Lily's bedroom?

A/N: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, it's much longer than the last one. Please read and review, I would love to have some constructive criticism! Enjoy!

2. An Unexpected Visitor

"Sirius, there's no way I'm," Sirius Black's best friend paused, making Sirius lean forward with hope and impatience, "not going to do that!" James grinned and Sirius smiled and sighed with relief. Sirius knew there was no reason to think that James would reject a prank. But still, this prank was the craziest one yet, and James was unpredictable.

"So, how are we going to get to The Leaky Cauldron?" James asked excitedly, his features in a look of unexplainable excitement. Sirius didn't have the same expression. He hadn't given one single thought about how they would arrive at Diagon Alley.

"Er-I haven't quite figured that one out yet," Sirius admitted with a sigh.

James chuckled. "I should have known. Then I guess we better figure that out, eh?"

So they sat down and planned their best prank yet, not even imagining that this one idiotic prank would change the whole wizard world. This immature little joke on someone would change everything. It would begin something that, no matter what they did, would last eternity. Just two teenage boys having fun, would change the future forever.

•••••

Lily stood there stunned for a minute, then shook her head and ran over to her mom. Both mother and daughter began crying.

The ropes that the stranger had shot at Mrs. Evans were now hanging loosely around her trembling body. Lily gently pulled the ropes away from her mother and collapsed into her lap, wanting to be cradled and hugged like a baby again. She just wanted everything to be simple. To be able to cry about a tiny scrape when you fell off your bike. To be tucked in at night. To be sung to. But life isn't simple, and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

Lily and her mom lye there together, rocking each other back and forth, crying silently, until there were no more tears left to cry.

After sniffing loudly, Lily asked quietly, "What do we do now?"

Lily's mom shrugged loosely and whispered, "I guess we just live like it never happened." Lily nodded and decided mentally to erase it from her memory.

"But Lily, who was he talking about?" Her mother asked, curiosity and fear slowly consuming her thoughts.

"I don't know, Mum, I don't know."

Lily went up to bed, not even paying attention to the fact that she was still in her clothes. She heard Petunia's rock music still pounding through the walls, and Lily desperately wanted to switch places with her sister. Lily had always believed that she (Lily) was the luckiest one, not the one hiding in her room every day. But now, Lily wished with all her might that she could be in Petunia's shoes. To not have to worry about people and incidents like these, it would be wonderful. She slowly climbed into bed, and her stomach growled. Lily didn't even notice it. Her eyes fluttered closed, but then with an urge of surprise, she opened them again.

Oh God. It's Daddy. Lily thought, and sure enough, when she closed her eyes, there was an image of her father. Fearing that her father would haunt her dreams, Lily kept her eyes wide open the rest of the night.

The next morning, Lily was startled by the sound of a chirping nose coming from her window. She sat up quickly and walked over to her window, pulling apart her white linen curtains. Jade, her owl, was flying outside the window, with a piece of parchment tied to her leg.

Lily quickly opened the window and let her beautiful owl fly in gracefully.

"Hey sweetie," Lily greeted Jade. Jade gently nibbled on Lily's ear and she giggled. She set Jade down on the top part of her chair and gently untied the parcel from her leg. Lily already had an idea of whom it was from. She read it through quickly, smiling to herself.

Hey Lily!

That's so great! I'm so proud of you! I'm doing pretty well too. Danny' came home for the last couple of weeks before school starts and we've been hanging out a lot. I've really missed him over the last year.

Anyways, that sounds great! My mum said that's fine! So do you want to just meet at Diagon Alley? On what day? Let me know- I can't wait!

Love,
Mandy

Danny, Mandy's 19-year-old brother, with his shaggy brown hair, dark, mysterious blue eyes, strong, broad nose, and handsome body, was the funniest person Lily had ever met. Mandy and Danny were very close and since Danny was the youngest Auror ever, he had a lot of responsibility. Therefore, he rarely got to visit his family. Lily was glad that Mandy and him were still so close, even when they lived so far apart from each other. She used to have a huge crush on him, blushing at the slightest recognition that he gave her, not having enough courage to even say hi. Lily still had a crush on him, but she wasn't the immature teenager she had been last year; the kind of teenager who wrote 'I love Danny' all over a notebook.

Lily smiled happily, recovering those old memories, and then the events from last night rushed back into her head. She shook her head, as if shaking out all the bad memories of yesterday. She quickly changed into pajamas, so that Petunia wouldn't ask her why she was dressed in her clothes from yesterday. That's if Petunia even comes out of her room. She put on a new smile and happily walked downstairs to start some break feast for her mother and her. Lily had only cooked break feast once or twice so this was very unusual for Lily to do. But things are going to be different now, Lily thought and she got out a pan for some pancakes.

Just as Lily was flipping some eggs, the doorbell rang. She looked up, startled. No one ever came to her house this early in the morning. They didn't get milk or the newspaper, so the loud, chiming noise that filled the house was not a regular occurrence. Lily grabbed her robe, slipped it on and walked quickly to the door. Scared of seeing those yellow eyes again, she slowly looked out of the peephole, and a wave of relief swept over her as she saw Potter's face outside the door, looking nervous. Lily pondered on the thought of just ignoring the doorbell; a smirk came to her pretty face when she thought of this. Oh, well. I'll answer it. Maybe I'll be able to get to Potter's soft spot, Lily thought hopefully and opened the wooden oak door, sending a blast of cool wind from outside. Lily pulled her robe around her tightly and stifled a shiver. The last thing she wanted was to have James rubbing her arms to get her warmer. Although that probably would warm me up. It was as if a second voice had just been born in Lily's mind. Potter! Touching me! The thought is just revolting Lily whispered to herself angrily.

"Hey, Lily," James said, a gleam in his hazel eyes at seeing Lily in only pajamas, a robe, and bunny slippers. Another breeze rushed toward them, taking care of James' usual habit of rustling his hair to make it look messy. He did it anyway.

"What do you want Potter?" She asked harshly. Her hair hadn't been brushed at all, neither her teeth, and for some reason, Lily didn't care. Maybe he won't like me as much now, Lily thought hopefully. But that will never happen. There was that second voice again.

James, however, thought Lily looked like a Goddess every single second of every day. Her hair was messy and curly at the moment, making her look mysterious and sexy. Ducky pants that easily came five or six inches beyond her feet fit her legs loosely and James could just make out a white spaghetti strap shirt, with a ducky on it and the words, 'Quack, quack' behind her robe. James quietly chuckled to himself as he thought, what is it with girls and animals? Lily noticed James taking in her looks and she pulled the robe closer around her.

"Well, I was just checking in on you. I could have sworn I heard some screaming last night, and when I looked outside, all your lights were off except in the kitchen, and it was 5:00. A little early for bedtime, eh?" James said smoothly. This was all true; he'd left out the part where he had climbed out of his window, crossed the street, and spied on Lily and Mrs. Evans crying in the kitchen. James might seem like an immature teenaged boy with a huge crush on his neighbor, but anything mysterious that went on at Lily's house, James worried about.

Lily's face turned extremely pale and James immediately noticed. His eyes turned to concern and he reached out a hand as if to touch Lily's cheek and soothe her from whatever was bothering her but then he quickly pulled his hand back. Lily noticed this and wondered why he didn't try to touch her. It's not like he hadn't before. Maybe he's changing, the second voice in her head echoed. Lily didn't fight that thought.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lily muttered, her eyes scanning the floor. She knew James could tell that she was lying, but there was no way she was going to tell James Potter the events of last night; especially when she was in her pajamas, with no parent awake. Even if she did explain everything, she most likely would have started crying, which would lead into probably soaking James' blue cotton shirt. He would possibly rub her back and embrace her into a friendly hug, wipe away her tears, tell her everything would be okay…Lily stopped herself immediately. This second voice was starting to control her feelings now, too!

A smell from the kitchen caught Lily's attention. She sniffed and then it dawned on her; she had left the eggs on the stove this entire time! She quickly turned around, completely forgetting about James, and ran to the kitchen. James stood there confused, then followed her inside and closed the front door behind him.

"Shit!" Lily cursed as she turned off the stove and dumped the eggs in the trash can. She put the pan under the sink water and turned on the stove fan.

"Can I do anything to help?" James' voice floated toward Lily, and she jumped. She'd completely forgotten him. She turned around, and was surprised to see his expression looking serious and concerned. His eyes seemed to be more pronounced than Lily had ever seen them, and she felt herself falling into their depth. She quickly shook her head and the feeling of the second voice was gone.

"Sure. Can you get out two plates? They're in the top right cabinet," Lily, said, surprised and angry with herself for letting James monger in her house longer. James, apparently, was stunned too, for he stood there for a moment, taking it in, and then coming back to his senses, walked over to the cabinet and reached up. Lily couldn't help but steal a glance at him, at his tall, lean body. He was wearing faded blue jeans, a dark blue shirt, and big, brown boots. He looked amazingly handsome. What are you thinking, Lily? She regretfully pushed the urge to slap herself aside.

James grabbed the plates and carefully lowered them down so that he was holding them around his navel. When Lily looked over, he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Just put them on the placemats in the den." Lily made sure to not look him in the eyes. What is going on with me? I can't even look at James Potter, the stupid prat that I despise. What is wrong with me? Lily questioned herself angrily.

James nodded and headed out of the kitchen. As soon as he was outside of the kitchen, he realized that he didn't know where the den was. Perfect, James thought, a smirk rising to his face. Now I will finally be able to see Lily's bedroom. He looked behind him to make sure that Lily was still busy, set the plates carefully down on a nearby chair, and then quickly, but quietly, headed up the stairs. About the only placement of rooms that James knew about Lily's house was where her bedroom was, for he spied on her often without Lily's knowing, and the kitchen, which he had just recently discovered. So, obviously he knew that Lily's bedroom had to be upstairs, for it was even with James' room across the street, and he knew it had to be the closest room to the street because there would be no other way to be able to see into her window.

As James stepped up onto the second to last step, it creaked. He instinctively ducked down immediately behind the solid wall that was connected to the stairs.

"Mom?" Came Lily's voice, and James could tell she was still in the kitchen. "You up yet?" Her voice was now near the bottom of the stairs. James silently cursed himself. He sensed, rather then heard, Lily pause, and then heard her house-shoes sliding back to the kitchen. James sighed with relief. He continued up the stairs.

At the top, he took a left down a wide hallway, pausing to look at the arrangement of pictures on the right side of the wall; next to a bathroom, which he guessed, was Lily's. They were pictures of Lily as a baby, then a toddler, a cute child, and then the real changes started to happen. She changed from pouty cheeks to high cheekbones, from a round face to a more elegant oval shape. Obviously, the change in height was big, from Lily's head being at her mother's waist, to being an inch taller than her. Her small lips formed into larger, rounder lips and her tangled, fiery red hair became long, wavy, shiny shades of a burning candle. The biggest difference in her, however, were her eyes. From when she was around 7 years of age, her eyes had been a cloudy bluish-green, but then changed into an everlasting, forest, and mysterious green. They were the color of grass that's hidden in a dark and dense forest that's always wet with dew and soft to the touch. Or the kind of green that you can't take your eyes from, that pulls you into the very darkest and bottommost part, the kind of green that you fall in love with.

James shook his head to get the pictures out of his mind, but they gently stayed there, as if they had been glued to the side of his brain. He walked the rest of the length of the hallway, until he came to a white door that was closed. There were pieces of paper with 'Lily' on it that covered the front of the door. Some were colorful with all the colors of the rainbow; others were just drawn with a pencil. 'Lily' was somehow made out of animals on one sheet. On another, it was made of different designs, and James had to admit, it was creative. But I still don't see what makes them so special. James sighed silently and gently pushed the door open, to reveal Lily Marie Evans bedroom.

Immediately, blurs of blue, green, turquoise, and colors of the sea came into James' view. Blinking, James realized that the whole theme of Lily's bedroom was of the ocean. Her walls were painted a light blue, with creatures of the sea decorating it. Dolphins, fish, sea horses, whales, sharks, starfish, squids, and many other creatures took over the walls surrounding James. Her dark blue, large desk was sponged with pale, yellow stars, which James guessed were starfish. It looked like professional work. She had all her Hogwarts books stacked up on the top shelf of the desk, and stuffed animals of the living animals of the sea were placed randomly here and there; it made it look creative and alive. Her flat screen computer was on the right side of her desk and there was a black computer chair that was facing opposite of the desk, as if someone had just gotten up from it. James' eyes fluttered to Lily's bed. It was a patchwork quilt, with sea grass colors, colors of the bottom of the ocean and colors of the top of the ocean. There was light green, dark green, turquoise, some yellow and pale orange. A light-colored crotched blanket at the end of her bed brought together all the deep colors of the ocean. Her window curtains were a turquoise color with sea horses decorating it. It really looked as if you had just walked into an ocean.

Another of James' usual smirks arrived to his face, and he walked towards Lily's dresser, which matched the desk. He gently pulled out the topmost drawer and cautiously looked inside. With a pang of disappointment, he saw that it was her pajamas. There were a couple of plain shorts and big t-shirts that looked as if they could be her fathers', her dead fathers', James corrected himself. He felt a sudden sadness for Lily, and then it disappeared, as he looked through her other sleepwear. There were flannel-colored pants and shirts and a couple more ducky pajamas. Satisfied, James closed the drawer, a little too loud, and reached down to open the next drawer, a growing curiosity arising inside him.

"James Potter, what the bloody hell do you think you are doing?" Lily's angry voice shocked James so much that he jumped nearly a foot in the air. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled up, and he slowly turned around, knowing he was going to get yelled at as if Lily was his mother and he was a naughty little boy who had been stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

When he was facing Lily, he slowly raised his eyes up to hers, and stared at her guiltily. He felt like a little kid. I'm not going to let her get the best out of me, James thought selfishly and he pushed his guiltiness aside, although he couldn't get rid of all of it. It sat at the bottom of his stomach like a bad ache.

Lily looked ferocious; she looked like an animal. Her hair literally looked like it was on fire. Her face was so red with anger; you could hardly tell where her hair and face met. This made her green eyes stick out more than ever. With her hands on her hips, she looked as though she could have killed James right then and there. She was actually kind of scary, and James felt a tiny bit of fright seeping into him.

James shrugged casually and said, "Just browsing." He tried to look as calm as he could, but, obviously, that was not the thing to do.

"ARG!" She said through gritted teeth. She stomped her foot angrily and closed the door behind her, so that she could commit murder right then and there and her mom wouldn't know. This thought fluttered through James' brain and he diminished it.

"Potter, do you have any idea how angry I am with you right now?" Lily almost screamed, her hair falling out of her loose ponytail. James nodded automatically. Maybe this wasn't the best time to try and act cool. "I don't know what to even say to you! You're the rudest, stupidest, ego-inflated, stubborn, immature, inconsiderate fool that I have ever had the unpleasantness to meet. I could go on and on, you know."

James nodded again and quietly said, "I'm sorry. I invaded your privacy without your permission and misused your trust, if you had ever even given any of your trust to me."

Lily looked as if she had been slapped. He sounds serious, she thought, amazed. She realized that she had been holding her breath so she let out a deep sigh. "Why did you come up here anyway?" Lily asked, her voice more under control. She did love her room and all, but she didn't think it was the best room for a teenage witch. Especially since she had had these decorations since she was 8 years old.

"I don't know. I guess I was just curious to see my love's bedroom," James said casually, and shifted his weight to his other leg.

"I'm not your love," Lily mumbled.

James sighed impatiently and said in a straight-out voice, "Yes you are. You always will be and there's nothing that anyone can do to change that."

Lily looked appalled at James being so straightforward and serious that she felt heat rising to her cheeks. Jeez Louse Lily! Blushing because of James Potter? You're a shame, a real shame, Lily scolded herself, and this time, she wanted to run into a wall and sink into it and never come back out.

"So…Nice knickers." James teased. He could at least act like he had seen 'THE DRAWER'.

Lily's sudden shyness turned into disbelief and anger again. "You didn't!" Another blush rose to her face as she remembered her Superwoman underwear that Mandy had given to her for Christmas as a joke last year.

"Naw, I didn't. I was about to, though, before you stormed in here like a wildfire." James' classic smirk was back, although it had more of a smile to it this time.

Lily sighed with relief, and then questioned James. "How do I know that you're not lying? How do I know that you didn't looked through every drawer in this room?"

"You don't. All you have is my trust." And he winked at her, now completely smiling.

Lily was about to protest but another voice came from the hallway. "Lily, is someone else here?" A pause. Then the voice turned to complete utter disbelief. "Are you cooking break feast?" Lily could just imagine her mother's face turning into horror at the thought of Lily using an oven and she sheepishly grinned. Ever since she had caught a bagel on fire in the microwave two years ago (which was mostly because the bagel was lying on a paper towel: perfect fire source), her mother had been very hesitant to let Lily cook anything that had to be heated. When Lily was home alone, her meals usually consisted of cereal and bananas.

"Yes, there is someone here. And yes, I was cooking. But the eggs got burnt, big surprise," Lily called back down the hallway.

"Who's here?" Her mother asked, sounding tense and nervous.

"Potter from across the street." Lily said bluntly.

"There's a boy here!" Then they heard stomping feet headed towards Lily's room. She opened the door, which revealed her in a long white nightgown with a light blue robe covering her. "No offense to you, Son. I've always thought you were a well-mannered boy." Lily gave a dry laugh that clearly meant she completely disagreed from what her mother was saying. Mrs. Evans turned to Lily. "But you. You know I won't allow any boy in this house of mine to come in, especially to your room, without my knowing!"

"I know Mom! It's just-" She glanced at James, a complicated expression upon her delicate face. She sighed and seemed to have made a decision to herself. James shot her a questioning look but she ignored it. Lily paused as if figuring out what to say and then seemed to have come upon a solution. "Potter needed to borrow one of my Hogwarts books because he left his at school and he needed it to finish some summer homework. I was cooking so I told him to go on upstairs to my bedroom to fetch the book. I came up here because he couldn't find it" Lily explained. She sounded so honest and serious that there was no doubt Mrs. Evans wouldn't believe her. James' jaw dropped. Damn, she's almost as good at lying as I am! James thought, aghast.

"Yeah, I was just borrowing a book. Honest, oh look! Here it is!" James played along as he grabbed "The Standard Book Of Spells, Grade 7". He gave Lily a sly grin when her mother was looking away.

"OK. Well, you had your reasons so I'll let it slide this time. But next time," Lily's mother put out a disregarding finger, "You make sure to tell me." Mrs. Evans turned to James, who had literally had to put his hand up to close his mouth. He still couldn't believe that Lily had lied so well to her mom and that she had lied for James, who she hated. She could have easily told the truth and then Mrs. Evans would have been hysterical and most likely would have kicked James out of the house and threaten him to never come back again. Lily just amazed James more and more every minute, and along with being completely surprised, his love for Lily grew. "Would you care to join us for break feast? I surely wouldn't want you to leave this house after all this confusion without some decent food in your stomach. I can whip up some eggs and my famous French toast, which I have to admit, is pretty good." Mrs. Evans gave a hopeful smile.

James nodded happily; glad that he would be able to spend even more time in Lily's dear old home.

Mrs. Evans smiled cheerfully and walked out of Lily's bedroom. Lily looked around carefully, as if checking to make sure James hadn't destroyed her room in the last five minutes.

"Well." James said. For the first time, he didn't know what to say to Lily. He swung his arms in front of him and shifted his weight. Then, he stopped. A confusing question arose in his mind. "Why'd you do that?" He asked, for once, seriously.

"Do what?" Lily seemed to have been in a trance, and hearing James' voice, whom she had forgotten was there, startled her.

"Lie to your mom. You could have gotten me banned from this house forever…But you didn't," James tried to search her eyes for an answer, but she just gazed away, thinking. She looked confused and distraught. Her face was no longer red from anger, and the only thing that showed proof of the "fight" earlier was her auburn hair that was now in a messy tangle.

Lily shrugged nervously. She honestly didn't know herself. "I don't know," She said, confirming her feelings. "I just didn't want to get you in trouble, even though you do that enough already." She shot a beautiful grin at him and then, realizing what she just did, became horrified at herself.

I just smiled at Potter! This is just too weird...Lily thought, so very confused.

James, too, was pretty confused. Is Lily actually starting to like me? How could she? I mean, I wish with all my might that she would like me, but she completely and utterly hates me so how could, all of a sudden, she just grin at me? These questions were buzzing inside his head, like a hive of hungry bees.

Lily looked up just as James was walking towards her. "Lily?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, Potter?" She said, and suddenly, all her feelings of hatred and disgust for James flooded back to her. James hesitated and then said reluctantly, "I guess we should go downstairs and have your mum's fantastic French toast."

"Yes, I guess so."

"James, dear, what would you like to drink? We have milk, orange juice, and water," Mrs. Evans asked, interrupting James's staring at Lily, who looked uncomfortable and nervous. They were downstairs in the kitchen, Lily and James awkwardly standing by each other.

"Milk would be great, Mrs. Evans," James answered politely. Ugh, Lily thought, turning away from James. I wish he'd just be himself, and then Mum could see who he really is.

Mrs. Evans nodded and, trying to break the silence, asked, "So, James. What have you been doing this summer?"

"Oh, being just the typical teenager. Watching TV, sleeping in late, playing video and computer games, hanging out with friends, talking," James shrugged. "Just taking it easy, I guess."

"Well, yes, I suppose that's what normal kids do at your age," Mrs. Evans said worriedly, glancing at Lily. James noticed and, smiling a sly grin, turned to Lily.

"What have you been doing, Lily?" He asked, impatiently waiting for an answer.

"Nothing that concerns you," Lily whispered, so her mother couldn't hear her.

"Everything about you concerns me." It was more of a statement than anything else.

Is he ever going to give up? He just can't seem to get the idea in that tiny brain of his that I will never like him! Lily thought stubbornly, and she sighed.

James, who looked concerned and serious, whispered, "I'm never going to give up on you, Lily. Nothing can make me not love you." Lily almost gasped. It was as if he had read her mind!

"Go on Lily. Tell James here what you've been doing this whole summer," Mrs. Evans encouraged, interrupting Lily and James's silent conversation with each other.

"Er–Well, I've been reading books mostly," Lily admitted, suddenly self-conscious.

"School books or just regular boring books?" James inquired.

"Regular boring books."

"Oh." Then he added in an offhand voice, "Sounds like fun."

"Yeah, I just get so wrapped up in the books," Lily said, her eyes brightening up. And then she was off, telling James of all the fantasy and love novels she'd been reading, of the unforgettable tales of action and romance, of her bookworm habits, such as having to put her hand down on the upcoming sentences as to not skip ahead, of her late nights when she just couldn't put the books down, and, amazingly, it didn't bother her one bit that she was talking to James Potter about this, for this was one subject matter that she could not resist to get excited about.

"Lily. Lily! LILY!" Mrs. Evans screamed in her daughter's ears, making Lily jump and look up at her mother. Mrs. Evans continued, "While you've been talking your head off to James, here, I've been making us some break feast, and guess what? It's done!" Lily could detect some anger and sarcasm in her mom's voice.

"Oh." Lily thought. "Let's eat, then!"

Mrs. Evans sighed angrily and James chuckled. As soon as a plate was set down in front of Lily, which was filled with scrambled eggs, buttery pancakes with maple syrup, and brown bacon, she started stuffing her face. She took a bite and would place another bite of food in her mouth before she had finished chewing; her eyes looking hungry like her stomach. James's mouth dropped. Lily? Being a pig! This is just unbelievable. Before James could think anything else, Mrs. Evans spoke.

"Lily! Stop it immediately! You're acting like a homeless person! Get yourself together! I can't believe your lack of manners; especially when we have a guest!" Mrs. Evans scolded, looking ashamed.

Lily looked up and seemed to realize that there were other people at the table beside herself. She quickly finished chewing the current food in her mouth, which consisted of scrambled eggs with syrup and butter, wiped her mouth, and sat up straight. She smiled guiltily. James couldn't take it any longer; He started laughing. Lily looked at him surprisingly and then she, too, started cracking up. Neither one of them had a real reason to be laughing; it just felt like this serious situation needed some more happiness and laughter. At first, Mrs. Evans looked appalled to see her daughter laughing right after she had scolded her. And James was laughing! Then, Mrs. Evans seemed to have caught the humor in the situation, as if it had woven itself around her, and she also started giggling. Soon, everyone was wheezing and crying tears of laughter.

Fifteen minutes later, James was heading toward the front door, Lily nervously following him.

"Um- Well, thanks for having me over," he said awkwardly. What did you say in a situation where you barged into your crush's house, sneaked in her room, and then was invited to breakfast? Seemed like a kind of weird thing to say thank you to…

Lily gave James a confused face and then said, "Sure, whatever." She, too, was at a loss for words.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in a few days." James said.

"Yes- Wait –a few days? School doesn't start for another week-and-a-half," Lily said suspiciously.

James just grinned and then winked, his hazel eyes gleaming, and then went out the front door, leaving Lily with her tangled emotions.

•••••