Author's Note: Gosh, am I ever sorry for having taken so much time to update. Argh! I have a valid excuse though, what with it being Frosh Week at university and then work and then hanging out with those friends I will most likely never see again except for by chance at the nearby cafe. Right, anyway, the chapter below is okay in my opinion. Definitely not one of the best, but I was writing it half sleepily half not, and overall, it went where I wanted it to go, but I just don't think I got the feel of it right.

To all you fantastic people who reviewed - that means Queen of Duct Tape, WitchyMage, wizemunkee006, maraudersrock11, nora17, lily4477, you people make me come back to write instead of going out at night. Yay! To all those who read and don't review, I guess you're in there too!

Next chapter should be up soon! I just got my laptop and I'm obsessed so I'll be writing every chance I get!

Now, on to the formalities:

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I would not have been typing up chapter 9 and 10 on a really slow, really old computer that bugs every five minutes. Trust me.

Chapter 11 - Plastic Green Gloves

James sat on his bed leaning against the headrest, talking to a small mirror in his hands. If anyone were to walk in his room, they would be convinced that he was actually giving himself a pep talk. They would be…wrong.

"Trust me, Sirius, I think –"

"No James, we're not going to risk it!" The boy in the mirror, although he too had dark hair, was not James' reflection and Sirius was not the name of his schizophrenic other self. The boy in the mirror was indeed none other than James' best friend Sirius Black.

"Risk? You're not going to risk it? My, my, Padfoot, I never thought – "

"Prongs, mate, I know that to you it seems the logical thing to do and all but – "

James' ears began to prickle. That meant that he wasn't exactly angered, but he was getting rather annoyed. The solution he had come up with had been a thumpin' good one, anyone in their right minds would agree. Thus, apparently, Sirius Black was not in his right mind, as he saw James' plan as "too risky" as he had put it. They had been arguing back and forth about this for five minutes which, to them, seemed to have actually dragged on for three hours. But that wasn't what was bothering James.

The fact that Sirius rejected his idea on the sole presumption and, might James add, a false assumption, that the only reason James had come up with his plan was in order to get closer to –

"Lily Evans is our only option, Padfoot! She's got it in her, I know she does! When we were – "

Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed. Something seemed to be troubling him. Seemed to be. "Prongs, buddy, don't take offence but I honestly think you're letting your feelings about Miss Evans cloud your judgement. Yeah, she's a nice girl, and that's exactly it! She's nice! She'll most likely whine about what we do and report us and…James admit it, if Evans gets Head job, she'll make sure to make our lives a living hell!"

James let his tongue click. He could see why Sirius would think that. Even he had, at one point or another, been thoroughly aggravated at her attempts (and successes) to catch him and his friends in very suspicious situations. But even then, James spotter her challenging glares or the evil twinkle in her eyes. The combination of both was not something a good girl would normally do.

"Padfoot, I swear – solemnly so – that whatever you think about why my conclusion is centered about Evans is wrong. I am a professional; I do not let my little crush jeopardize our success. It's out last year – I want this to be perfect as badly as you do and Moony and Wormtail." He really hoped his friend's grey eyes would see reason. Lily was a jewel. She had it in her. She kept her nervousness under check, her noise to a minimum; she picked up on all her cues, not to mention her magical abilities rivalled all of theirs! And her speedy thinking combined with her quick wand…Lily Evans was the perfect candidate to join their ranks.

Sirius looked nervous. "Dang! Prongs, I gotta go! I'll talk it over with the other two and we'll sort this all out next time, alright? Send Mum my love, and Lily my – er – well send her a 'hello' from all of us."

Sirius' image flickered and faded, leaving James to stare at his own reflection. Tucking the mirror under his mattress, James leaned back and lay on his bed, arms crossed behind his head, staring up at his ceiling. Of course, it was a normal ceiling and, in the darkness, he couldn't actually see anything. But he didn't notice. No, James was too busy inside his own head to notice that his vision was swallowed by the blackness around him. He was too far into his own mind to notice a stream of dim light, and a silhouette, enter his room, only to be replaced by darkness again.

When he felt something sit at the foot of his bed, however, James pulled himself out of his deep contemplation and diverted his eyes to the dark figure.

"Am I bothering you?"

"No. Why?"

"I head talking through the door. Your second set of legs and arms and hair, it would seem." James smiled

"I was conversing with Sirius, yes "

"He left?" She obviously had no idea of how they had communicated.

"Yeah, he had to go," came his reply. It wasn't a lie, either, because technically Sirius did leave. He had even said himself that he had had to go.

"Good." That surprised him. How could Sirius leaving be beneficial to Lily?

"Good?" His voice was croaky. It embarrassed him to clear his throat for some reason, and so he struggled to silently choke back whatever it was blacking his vocal cords from sounding normal.

"I wanted to talk with you. Still want to, actually." When Sirius had annoyed James, it had been his ear lobes that had prickled. Lily's words, however, made the top of his ears burn.

"A long talk?"

"A long talk."

James scooted over to the far left side of his bed and tapped the empty spot beside him. "Better make yourself comfortable, then." She hesitated. Maybe she thought he would try something ungentleman-like, and as he was about to voice reassurance against it, Lily had pushed herself into the offered spot and lay on her back. Next to James. On his bed. In the dark.

"Would you like me to rack my brain for some small talk so that we can ease in to what's on your mind or should we get straight to business?" Oops. He hadn't meant to say it! He had thought it, but never would he have under normal circumstances, said it. His ears made a whistling sound that told him that he had ruined it. Lily would be angry with him for sure. Girls didn't like to be talked to like this. His neck grew above normal temperature.

She breathed. Loudly. But it wasn't quite a sigh. Just breath. "Petunia," was all she had to say. The way she said the name, the way her voice seemed to quiver, how she exhaled at the same time, all contributed to James' understanding. At least she hadn't been offended by his directness.

"You don't have to tell me what happened between you two. If you don't want to, that is. I mean, it's personal, right? So, just know that I'll try my best to decipher whatever it is on my own." It was the right thing to say. It was always most important to take all pressure off whoever is trying to talk. Especially after being locked in a bedroom for about three days!

"It hurt me. Beyond anything, you know. And I just didn't know what to do!" He breathing became heavy, and her voice hinted at hidden tears. "She was right, you know, and, and, and I...I…I just, I can't! …I don't know…"

James waited. Not for Lily, for he knew she wanted him to say something. No, James Potter waited for his brain to feed some very perfect and comforting words to his tongue. Apparently his brain was on vacation, so when none came, James muttered the first thing that his tongue pushed out. "I get mad when people say rude things to me. And sometimes, depending on who says it, I get offended. But when someone I know offends me or says something I would usually get ticked at, but I know it's true, then it's like everything caves in on me. I have…filters and dams around me that sort of protect me from out there, but when those words reach my ears it's like they echo and my dams crash in. But it's not their fault, it's my own! Because what they say is the truth. So all the anger and offence and…hostility is directed towards myself. I feel guilty and worthless and all." He hadn't a clue whether it had made sense to say that right then, or if he was completely missing the mark. All he knew what that it had felt appropriate when he was about to say it, but as soon as he had heard his voice, he had doubted his choice.

"What do you do to ease it?" She wiped her hands across her eyes. James didn't see it – his eyes were shut – but he felt it. He felt sad for her. But glad for him. Obviously he had been right in saying what he did. Good job, self!

He thought. Last time he had felt like that he had been in Dumbledore's presence. The old wizard had managed to zero in on James' weakness… What had he done to shrug it off? "For instantaneous and temporary release, I use physical force. I'll hit a bludger, I'll dig a hole, I'll punch my pillow, and it helps with the umph! part. That urge you get to scream and physically destroy everything in sight eases off a bit, but I can still feel its core – my own shame and guilt."

There was a pause. Maybe his brain wasn't on holiday.

Lily's feet stirred. "And for permanent escape?"

That's when James opened his eyes and turned to face her. It was still very dark in his room, but he knew her face was also directed towards him. "That's the thing. You can't escape from it, Lily. You have to confront it, unravel its clench around you. In your case, it would mean to tell your sister she was right and then, well, do whatever you feel would be necessary to clear yourself free of it all." He hoped he was still making sense.

"Lily Evans never apologizes to Petunia Evans, James. There's a law out there somewhere against it." Lily's voice hinted at something like sarcasm, but James' mood had grown sombre and he did not quite feel like playing along.

"I never said apologize, Lily, but obviously you need to, as it was the first thing that came to your mind. Usually, first impressions are right."

"My first impressions were way off about you," she informed him. He blushed a bit. Not knowing what to respond, he replied with an "hmm".

Silence. Heavy silence. It wasn't loud, but it did crush his chest and made his arms extremely sore. Every breath was heard, a small move of his little toe could also sound like an explosion. It was too much for him, and he decided that if, at that moment, someone were to come along and offer him entry into Lily's thoughts in exchange for murder, James would have gladly sealed the deal. Without even thinking about repercussions. Did he say something wrong? Was he being too honest? Too forward? What had he done wrong to make her no longer want to talk? He was tempted to stick a feather in his hair, make unintelligible noises with his tongue and lips and dance with a metal chair. Anything to relieve him of this stress!

"I can hear your heart beating." Finally, she had spoken! Of course, it caught him off guard and he felt rather embarrassed, unsure what to retort for the second time. Something clever, something deep…

"Umm, well, you were making me nervous – "and that, ladies and gentleman, was when James' Potter cheeks caught fire. His voice had cracked. Not a slight crack, but the full upper super high pitched squeak pre pubescent boys make. He had gone through that a while ago! Why would it come back now?

"I see," Damn girl! He shouted inwardly. She was mocking him! Just by the tone of her voice, he knew she was privately making jokes about him!

He decided to clear his throat. It would be less embarrassing than another one of those…cracks. "Rmm – hermm," his throat unblocked.

"Better?"

"Much, thanks." Very funny. Hilarious.

More silence. Even his brain was silent. How could everything be without sound Lily Evans was beside him, in his bed, instead of her room locked inside, and there was silence! They should be celebrating! They should be feasting, dancing, talking, hugging, and kissing….wait! No, hugs, okay, but no kiss. Thinking about kissing Lily Evans was danger. It would most probably lead into fantasies and boyish daydreams that James knew he could really do without for the moment.

"Your heart's beating fast again." Caught again. Darn! Why couldn't he control the beating of his own heart?

"Yes," he replied smoothly.

"Why?" Feigning innocence. At least he knew she seemed to be in a better mood.

Still, he shifted. "I'll give you two options. Option number one, I lie to you. Option number two, I tell you that I can't tell you." Option number three: I show you. NO! At least he had only thought it and not spoken it. That would have been worst than the little crack.

"Touchy topic, then?" He grunted. "Thanks James."

"For?"

"The food. You know, the door was unlocked the entire time. I thought you'd try to open it, but you never did." Ah yes, but he had been trying to be respectful of her privacy. Women! Why can't they just come out and tell you that they want you to come in their rooms and talk to them instead of leaving the door unlocked for you to discover on your own free time?

Again, he didn't know what to say. But he didn't want the silence. Too much silence had been had between them for a while. "Mine was too!"

"Huh?" That was the exact reaction he had to his own words. What was that all about?

"I mean," he stumbled through every last resort in his brain and found his answer. "It was and will be. Don't hesitate next time you want to talk about something. My door's unlocked." He added after a few seconds' pause, "for you." It was her turn to respond with an odd sound.

"Thanks, James." She thanked him a lot tonight. Must be because he was doing something well.

"For?"

"Your…I don't know, just, how you're always I guess in tune. You find ways to say things that at first I figure won't make any sense or relate to the subject and then it turns out that it was the perfect thing for me to hear, that I didn't want to hear it but because of the way you said it, I did. And then, since I heard, I automatically listen and then I'm forced to think about it. So, thanks."

He shrugged his shoulders. What was he to respond to that? Should he compliment her? Thank her? What?

"Lily Evans," well, that was stupid. It was definitely not what he had planned on saying (actually, he hadn't had a plan at all, so really it was no surprise that he had uttered her full name).

"James Potter." Ah. Clever.

"You know when my father died, Sirius came to the funeral. His mother hadn't really wanted him to, but he came anyway. He came for me. He loved my father and all, and respected him, but he came to keep me company. Apparently, I was completely out of it, though, and I didn't say a word to him. Do you know what I did?"

"No, but you are about to tell me, so there's no point in guessing." Ha ha, funny witch.

"I laughed at him. It was stupid, really. I just saw him walk up to me all dressed in black and I kept thinking 'Sirius Black in seriously back dressed in black.'" She laughed. Not a full out laugh, but a chortle. "I couldn't stop laughing. And I laughed and laughed and everyone at the funeral thought I was delusional, but it was Sirius – ever time I looked at him, I laughed."

"He must have felt pretty uncomfortable, huh?"

"I can't answer you that. I never asked him." It hadn't occurred to him until then that his friend may have taken offence at his out of control laughter.

Both seemed to lose themselves inside their thoughts – Lily with only she knew what and James with Sirius. Argh. It was a mystery to James how Sirius had never mentioned it to him. Perhaps it had been a silent agreement not to mention it. Perhaps Sirius, too, thought James was delusional because of his father's death. One day, they would have to talk about it.

"How many girls have you kissed?" Once again, completely unexpected. Lily's mind, James concluded, was even more scattered than his own.

"Six, although only two of those can be called "real" kisses. You?"

"None. But I've kissed four and a half boys. What's a 'real' kiss?" She turned her entire body and propped herself up on her elbow.

"Like, you know, open moth, full frontal snogging." And there went his ears, neck and cheek again. Hot as fire.

"Then I've only really kissed three boys. The other one was only a kiss on the lips."

"And half?"

"I was my first kiss. Really uncomfortable. Some boy from my primary school kissed me on the lips but I didn't know until he was halfway out the door."

"Hmm," came James' reply. Muggle first kisses apparently were identical to wizard first kisses. Children will be children was an actually valid statement. That thought really impressed James.

"When my father died, my boyfriend, at the time, came to his funeral. Dumb wizard just stood there and looked extremely out of place. So I screamed at him, I told him that he was stupid, a real jerk, and that if he didn't leave I would personally hunt down his future children and turn them into toads. We broke up after that."

"Really? Who would have expected that?" The sarcastic mood finally hit him. Now this was his comfort zone. Sarcastic, random, and pointlessness. He was an expert at these kinds of conversations.

"You know how sometimes you just don't know what to do, so you do the first thing that comes to mind?" she leaned in closer to him and so he turned his face towards her once more.

"Yeah."

"And you're unsure whether you mean what you say or do but it seems like the only way to draw the tension away so you do it?"

"Uh huh."

"I feel like that right now." Yikes! James swallowed hard. She was close to him, super close to him, in his bed in the dead of the night and she wanted to do the first thing that came to mind? Was she insane? Of course he'd want to kiss her! They had just been talking about kissing people and then she talked about boyfriends…he struggled to keep track of his thoughts.

He took his hands from behind his head and rested them on his stomach, leaving his head to sink into the pillow. "What? With me?" That had been asked innocently enough. So he thought.

"Yes. No! Yes – n – yes! With everything! With your mom, you, Petunia, school – everything!"

James smiled at her without having to think about it. Of course the smile was wasted to the darkness but he couldn't help it. Perhaps she'd want to play a prank on the house elves? "So let's do it! What do you feel like doing?" He was overly enthused and couldn't wait to hear what she had to say. There were a few moments like these from Lily that were never expected and every time they happened it made him wonder if even Lily was sure of whom she was.

"I actually feel like walking in on you doing something really embarrassing like…" James felt his cheeks blanch, "like scrubbing the toilette or something!" She sounded shy. Why? It took a while for the young boy to register what she had said. And, strangely enough, when he did, he was actually amused and agreed that it would be a great way to shake off the intensity of the conversation they had had.

"Wearing a big oversized pair of plastic fluorescent green gloves?" He made his voice slightly louder and let his excitement take over his tone. Not that there was something devious about the scheme, it was just oddly conjured, and there was something strange about it that made it both extremely distracting yet not completely overly embarrassing. It was the perfect plan.

"Yes!" she chirped in just as excitedly. "Exactly," he voice changed completely to a smooth and thoughtful tone.

"What? You don't want to do it?" He felt somewhat dejected.

Sensing it, she regained her previous excitement. "Of course! Go now," she proceeded to push him out of bed, "and I'll show up!"

James obediently left his room unsure why he was conjuring up a pair of oversized green plastic gloves he had once seen Rhett wear, all the while heading to the upstairs corridor bathroom. He felt his excitement drain away only to be replaced by humiliation. What had he gotten himself into now? Thanks to Lily Evans!

He knelt down on the cold cream coloured tiles on the floor in front of the toilet and stared at it. He had never cleaned a toilet before. Never. IT was gross, when you thought about it, and he officially never appreciated having house elves as much as he did now.

He heard shuffling behind him. He turned his body around to face Lily standing in the doorway and sat on his haunches, knees raised. She smiled warmly. "Exactly," she repeated in that same voice.

James grinned lopsidedly. "Well?" She took a step forward, closed the door behind her and sat, cross legged, in front of him.

"You actually got the gloves on and everything." She laughed a little in disbelief.

"Yeah, o'course! They make the scene worthwhile."

She smiled warmly at him once more, a sad-like twinkle in her eye. Or maybe it was just poor lighting? "Don't you feel stupid?"

He nodded. "Extremely."

"Then why did you do it?" James concluded that this entire episode had been Lily's idea of a test of character. Obviously, he had passed…or so he hoped.

"Well, you felt uncomfortable in my bed in my – er – room, and yet you didn't want to leave, and it would have been awkward for me to push you out so, I guess I did the first thing that allowed both of us to leave. Besides, I told you I'd do it and I am a wizard of my word." He smiled happily, almost cheerfully. He had made sense without trying to.

Her eyes returned the smile, though her lips never twitched. He tried to focus on her smiling eyes, but found his eyes falling back down towards her lips. Back and forth, back and forth from green eyes to pink lips bounced his eyes from behind his spectacles.

"What if, on three, we say the first thing that comes to mind?" she suggested at long last.

"One," he said, "two" she joined in, "three –

"I want to kiss you," said the deeper voice nervously.

"You're making me nervous," said the softer, more feminine voice just as nervously.

All the blood in his body rushed to his cheeks. They ached so much that he was sure they were going to explode with every pulse. How very stupid it had been of him to tell her that he wanted to kiss her. How very foolish and naïve indeed!

Lily only managed to smile. "You look sunburned," she remarked about his cheeks. What a great way to make him feel less embarrassed.

"How do I make you nervous?" It come more as an after thought.

She shrugged... Silence. Again.

James opened his mouth, considering his options. He could, for one, turn around and scrub the germ infested bowl behind him. Second, he could take off his gloves and retreat to his room. Third, he could say something. He chose number three.

"Are you feeling better?" Smooth. Way to take attention off all the tension in here…of course his own mind was being sarcastic with him.

She nodded, however. "Thanks to you." He smiled warmly, taking off the gloves.

"My pleasure," he added with a very sophisticated accent. Neither one moved. They sat, her cross legged and he with his knees up, on the cold tiles of his upstairs bathroom.

That was when James remembered his feelings for her. Not remembered in a way that he had forgotten, but rather, they just seemed to have been numbed by concern over her. Yet now that she felt better, his heart flipped and his mind wandered off to a place where it was only him and Lily. It only occurred to him after a few moments that now, here, right in front of him, was that world. His dream world was now his present.

Oh, now he fought a private battle. Should he kiss her? She knew he wanted to, and obviously he would have to lean in, giving her plenty of time to make up her own mind about whether or not she wanted him to kiss her. And whether or not she'd kiss back. He was still staring at her lips and eyes, stealing glances at her nose, the few freckles on her cheeks, her chin…It would almost be romantic of him, to tilt up her chin as he leaned in towards her and rest his lips against hers. It would be smooth, sly, worthy of fame and history books, so why hold back? He had caught her stealing glances at his lips, his eyes, running her green stare over ever flaw of his skin, every feature of his face. It was – and he was sure even Lily would concur – a very intense moment. His heart was pounding against his chest, his head was screaming something or another at him, and his lips longed to brush up against hers! But against the lips, a kiss would mean so much and so little. All at the same time, it would mean number three for him and number four for her. It meant he'd be looking for more, implying that he desired for her to kiss him – and thus longed for him – as well. And if she did kiss back, it meant that their whole perspective of their friendship would forever be altered. But he was enjoying this- these – moments with her and cherished them. It was so different to be with Lily, so nice…So what did he want? And, most importantly, what did she want?

James decided himself by placing his hands behind him and pushing his butt up closer to where Lily was sitting. That made the foot of space close down to a mere four inches. His knees still up in the air; James placed one down, along with the opposite hand, and with the other hand, pulled her chin towards him. He wasn't surprised when she obliged, although part of him wanted to be. After a moment like what they'd spent, there was no way either of them would have pulled away.

James leaned in carefully, slowly, calculatedly, eyes fixed on her lips, spontaneously bouncing back up to her eyes, which had now grown softer. Her pupils had dilated, informing him of her alertness, that he had her full attention. He smiled slightly as he brought her chin closer, as she smiled back, as she closed her eyes as soon as his eyes were a few centimetres away. He kept his eyes open, despite the strain on his already weakened eyeballs, and brought his face closer and closer and poast her lips. He brought his lips to the part of her face where her cheeks joined her ears. He pushed her cascading red hair out of the way first and softly passed his lips in that aread until he found the perfect spot, in front of her ear lobe. That's where he pressed his lips softely against her skin. That was James and Lily's first kiss.

It was small, short, sweet, but what happened afterwards was always a possibility, but had never occurred to James as being a probability. Lily proceeded to wrap her arms around James' back from underneath his arms and leaned into him. She buried her face in his chest, to hide herself from his view, but James knew from the shaking of her shoulders that she was desperately trying to prevent herself from crying.

He was desperately trying to prevent his heart from leaping out of his ribcage.

"My door's always opened for you, Lily. Always," he whispered as he wrapped his arms protectively about her. He would be whatever she wanted him to be, however, whenever, for any reason. She needed him just as bad as he needed her. It didn't matter to him that theirf first kiss was on the bathroom floor, in front of the loo in extreme close proximity to fluorescent green gloves. It didn't matter that she hadn't kissed back or even mentioned the kiss. All that mattered was that something was still troubling her and that she was looking to him for help.

He would provide that help as long as he held a breath in his lungs.

Time passed by unnoticed. James had not let go of Lily, though her grip had relented slightly. She had lost her father, then her mother, and her sister hadn't made it easier, and now, after a year of loss, Lily had James Potter, Gwendolyn Potter and soon – at least he hoped – she'd have the Marauders. After all, they were not only just four guys who joked around every chance they had, there was also that feeling of belonging that they seemed to have together, that bond that existed between them that James knew no one else had, no one else could have, unless, of course, that person was Lily.

This made him think. What about Lily's friends? He'd never been interested enough to learn their names – first or last – all he knew was that Lily had close friends. A few of them. So why hadn't she gone to their houses? Why hadn't Lily owled them and cried on their shoulders? Why him? Not that it wasn't welcomed, it was just…curious is all.

Then he remembered her falling out with her boyfriend at her father's funeral and wondered if that had perhaps happened with her friends. Not that Lily was evil, but, she had probably felt claustrophobic after her last root had been pulled. Seventeen was, after all, far too young to be losing both parents. Far too young.

Lily pulled back and clear the sleep from her eyes, then brushed the hair from her face. James kept his arms around her, though he did loosen his grip. He watched her and lowered his head so that his eyes were even with hers. He was about to voice his concern, but her reassuring smiled came first. He wanted to push, say 'are you sure?' but she nodded gratefully and shrugged it off. Wow. They had had an entire conversation without a single word.

If that wasn't a strong bond, then James wasn't sure what was.

"It's late," she whispered. He nodded. She stared at him. Ooooh! That was meant to be his cue!

Standing up, James offered his hand, which she took, and he pulled her up to her feet (with a mock groan). She raised an eyebrow. He smirked.

"Bed time?" he asked.

"Bed time," she asserted. She took his hand and tangled her fingers into his. That surprised him. But more than that, it made him happy. So he walked Lily to her bedroom door, hand in hand, inwardly cursing how incredibly cheesy this all felt. He was James Potter, one who prided himself on originality. How dare he fall into the cliché?

But, then again, wasn't it also cliché to resent being cliché? Scared that he would actually confuse himself too much this late at night (or early in the morning, whichever way one preferred), James cleared his mind of all thoughts when they stopped in front of that familiar door. It wasn't closed, as he had seen it for the past couple of days, but rather there was a three inch crack between the door and its frame.

"Thank you, James, for everything." He took her other hand and they stood looking at one another.

"Honestly, Lily, there's no need to thank me. I'm just glad I was able to be there for you when you needed me." He got nervous again. Why would he get nervous now?

"If I'd have known, James Potter, that you were as kind as you are handsome, I would have accepted your offers sooner." She smiled-laughed, a gentle mix of the two. James felt his ears prickling again.

"My offers still stand, you know," he informed her in a very posh tone.

"Nice, Potter, very romantic –"

"What? It wasn't romantic!"

"Exactly."

"You want me to be romantic?"

"Do I?"

"I don't know, do you?" He was losing track of the topic. They were arguing – playful banters someone once called it.

"You tell me. Do I want you to be romantic?" James tried to concentrate. Did Lily Evans appear to be one of those 'sweep me of my feet' kind of ladies. No, no she definitely would not want a candlelit dinner or a walk along a white sandy beach. Since that was what his brain told him, James only ignored half of what it said.

"Sort of. I think that, as long as I try, it'll be perfect for you." He felt her hands turns cold. Nerves. He wondered whether it meant he had been dead on target.

"Umm, okay, good answer. Score: James 1, Lily none."

"And what about me, Lily? Do I want to be romantic with you?" He cursed himself inwardly. Did he honestly expect her to answer that?

"I don't think you know the answer to that one, James."

"Touché." She laughed. He laughed because she laughed. Then she laughed some more causing him to laugh harder.

And then the laughter subsided and died out. Bizzare.

"Lily?" they were still holding hands, standing in the dead hallways in the midst of the night, outside of her bedroom door. Why nothing was happening was completely beyond him. Not that he figured that as soon as he and Lily got together they'd immediately start snogging. Actually, since they learned to be civil towards the other, James' idea of the relationship between Lily and himself had drastically changed. He now expected more than snogging. He expected – gasp! And he knew he'd be made fun of if anyone were to find this out – meaningful gestures and conversation, the odd peck and some very warm, very comfortable embraces.

"James."

"Don't move!" he squeezed her hand reassuringly and bounced away from her until he reached his bedroom. Digging through his closet, in the dark, James felt around for – ah – there it was. It wasn't romantic, he knew that, but at least it'd be something.

He came back, heart pumping fast from his run, and placed himself in the same position he'd been in before he had left. Lily lifted her right eyebrow quizzically at him, before he placed what he was holding into her hand.

"Er – James?" she brought her face closer to it, trying make out what it was.

"A token."

"For what?"

My undying love for you was his initial thought, but knew that it was disgustingly overly cheesy and worthy of a shovel on top of his head. He could imagine a large black fly swatter hitting him right above the neck. It was stupid. "For – as a promise."

"A promise?" she asked in very uncomfortable disbelief.

"You'll see – you'll understand eventually. Just stick to your ticket, Lily Evans, that's the best advice I can give you." He didn't need light to see the very confused expression on her face. Granted, he'd have loved to see it, but just knowing he was stumping her was great enough.

"Alright, then," she was beyond perplexed.

"Right, good night Lily Evans," he leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead.

She snickered. "Good night James Potter, you bizarre git!" He laughed.

"You have no idea," he whispered as he squeezed her hand and let go, slowly making his way back towards his bedroom. "No idea at all."