AN: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever, but it really doesn't matter, cause as far as I can see, only one person reads it... :-(

-xXx-

Chapter 7: Maybe…

Sometimes, Lily really hated homework. She had been staring at the near blank sheet of parchment in front of her for the past half hour. It was simply titled "The Properties of Unicorn Hair and It's Uses," but nothing more. It was only Wednesday, and this essay for Potions wasn't due until Friday… Lily set her quill down on the table in front of her and stared out of one of the common room windows. It was raining. Again. It had rained every day this week since Saturday, and all the Quidditch players were getting anxious since the Quidditch Finals were the upcoming weekend. Of course, Lily could really care less about mundane things like Quidditch.

Lily took her eyes off the window and glanced at the common room. It was nearly full; the rain was keeping everyone inside the castle. There was virtually no one on the grounds. Although, Remus would be returning soon from the Shrieking Shack, having completed his monthly transformation and by now being ready to return to school. Lily looked back at her essay, then out the window, and then back at her essay again. Smiling mysteriously, Lily slid out of her chair and walked over to the portrait hole, exiting silently, in the hopes that no one would see her leaving. And she almost got away without anyone noticing.

Almost.

Lily jogged through the castle, taking all the shortcuts she knew to get to the front doors. Once she was there, she stared for a moment at the solid oak doors, then smiled, opened one of them, and stepped out into the pouring rain. Instantly, she felt happier than she had since that previous afternoon when she had said her farewell to Remus until the next day. Laughing, she eventually made her way over to the lake, and by the time she got there she was soaked to the skin, her thick cotton white blouse sticking to her stomach; her black, red, and gold plaid skirt heavy on her waist; and her red hair dripping with water, several locks falling out of the bun she'd had it in and framing her face haphazardly.

Her green eyes sparkled with delight when she got the sudden urge to make herself look like a fool by spinning around in circles, her arms stretched out to their fullest – and she was smiling and laughing like a goon. Unfortunately, this caused her to get dizzy, and when she stopped herself from spinning she found herself staggering to stay upright. Just when she lost her balance and started to fall, she felt two strong arms catch her around the waist and help her to stand straight. Whoever it was that had helped her was behind her and now had their hands on her shoulders, holding her steady. When the world stopped spinning she turned around to find none other than James standing there.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. She noted that he was just as wet as she was – the rain was still coming down in buckets.

"Yes, I – I'm fine…" she said, still wondering why James had stopped her from falling and not simply watched her hit the ground and then laugh at her. Moreover, she was wondering why James was even out here in the first place…

"Oh, that's good then… you seemed a bit loony for a minute…"

"Loony?" asked Lily quizzically.

"Well, sane people don't often spin around in circles laughing their heads off," said James with a slight smile. Lily smiled, too, but it vanished quickly. Can I really be having a decent conversation with James Potter?

"I was, um, just letting off some steam, you know… exams coming up and all…" she said awkwardly. James raised his eyebrows.

"Interesting method, but I'll let you operate the way you want."

There was a long silence in which neither of them said anything. They simply stared at anything that wasn't the other person.

"I know about you and Remus…" said James finally. He spoke very quietly, as if he didn't much want to speak at all.

"You do?" asked Lily, looking at James.

"Yes… I thought he would have told you, but I guess he had other things on his mind," said James. "Lily, listen to me, please…"

"James, if you're going to try and woo me again…"

"No, Lily, just listen," James interrupted. "I—whenever I think about you, I feel something in my heart… I'm not quite sure what it is, but I think it means that we're destined to be together… it's indescribable, and I just know that somewhere in you, there's a part of you that cares about me, too… you're too nice of a girl to completely shut me out… you're practically perfect…"

Lily was standing there, not even feeling the rain any longer, listening to this speech. Something stirred very deep inside her, so small that she could barely feel it, but what James said had struck a chord somewhere deep inside her body, however small.

"Lily, I love you… more than anything…" James said after a short pause. And then, at the same time Lily gave a small gasp in surprise, James did the only thing he could think of to do. All in one smooth motion, he reached out, put his arm around Lily's waist, and pulled her into a deep kiss. Lily's mind exploded with thoughts. This was nothing like what had happened in the Great Hall a couple of weeks ago… this had feeling, this had passion, this had… love…

She pulled away after a mere three seconds and covered up this chord inside her body that James had struck with a cold, hard glare.

"I love Remus, James. Not you. And nothing you say – or do – can make up for the years of torment you've put me through." And with that said, Lily turned on her heel and stalked away, back towards the castle, her mind simply a confused jumble of thoughts and ponderings. She loved Remus, not James… James had given her a heartfelt speech telling her exactly how he felt… Remus showed his affection daily… James had seemed sincere… Remus never lied to her… James had apparently been trying to win her over for years but had not succeeded… Remus reeled her in on the first try…

But damn it all, why did James have to be such a good kisser?

-xXx-

Sirius walked into the dorm to find James lying flat on his back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He cautiously walked over to him.

"Prongs, why are you soaking wet?"

"I was outside."

"Oh, brilliant… trying to train yourself up to play in it this weekend?" asked Sirius sarcastically.

"No."

"Okay then, enlighten me, why did you decide to take a stroll around the grounds on a rainy Wednesday afternoon?"

"I was talking to Lily."

"Talking, sure… I don't think you've ever talked to Lily… of course, you've taunted her, scoffed at her, teased her, yelled at her, mocked her, and even kissed her in front of the school… but talked? Nope, never done that one."

James had to give Sirius some credit for trying to lighten the situation but he really wasn't helping much.

"No, really Padfoot… we talked…"

Sirius sat down on the bed, being careful to not sit on a wet spot. If James was serious, then this was worth hearing.

"Come on, James, tell Sirius the story," he said with a smile.

"Fine. But I don't think you'll believe me," said James.

"Try me."

"Well, I saw her leave the common room earlier, so after a few minutes I followed her (using our map, of course) and found her out on the grounds. She was spinning around in circles like an idiot…"

"Wait, Lily Evans, Head Girl, was spinning around in circles?" asked Sirius.

"Yes."

"In the rain?" Sirius persisted.

"Yes, now can I continue?"

"Go on…"

"Anyway, she got dizzy and started to fall over but I caught her and asked her if she was okay and stuff… she gave me civil answers. Then I pronounced my undying love for her…"

Sirius laughed. "Wow, you really know how to make sure someone is listening… I assure you, James, I'm hanging onto your every word, and you don't need to test me by saying ridiculous things like you pronounced your 'undying love' for Lily…"

"No, actually, I'm serious."

Sirius's laughter died off quickly. "You—you are?"

"Yes. I told her about how I had that feeling that we were meant for each other and that I knew there had to be some part of her that cared about me, then I told her I loved her, and then…" James stopped talking and sighed.

"And then what?" pressed Sirius.

"I kissed her…"

At this statement Sirius's face went from "patient listening" to "total shock."

"James, the last time you kissed Lily it didn't go so well, remember?"

"This was different. I felt something. Really felt something… and you know what, Padfoot?" asked James, a look of pure bliss on his face.

"What?"

"She kissed me back…"

Now Sirius looked just about near shock overload. But before he could say anything, James continued.

"Of course, then she pulled away after like two seconds and said that she loved Remus and not me and that nothing I said or did would change that."

"James…"

"But it doesn't matter, because she actually kissed me… really, truly, actually kissed me…"

Sirius could see that, at the moment, he would be getting nowhere with James.

"Okay James, I'll let you be… but you might want to try a drying charm on yourself, it could make you a bit more comfortable."

-xXx-

Meanwhile, Lily was having exactly the opposite reaction of James.

"Oh, Margo… I can't believe myself…" moaned Lily into her pillow, which was wet with tears. The rest of herself was dry, however, as she, unlike James, had performed the drying spell upon entering the castle.

"Is it really so bad that you kissed him back when he kissed you? I mean, you've realized your mistake and now you can move on with your life…"

"But if anyone saw… if anyone knew…"

"No one saw anything, you couldn't see five feet ahead in that rain," said Margo bracingly.

"I still can't believe myself… I fell for his little love speech… even if it was only for a few seconds…"

"Well, look at the bright side," said Margo. "James is pretty much the best looking guy in the year. Better him than someone ugly."

"Yeah, but he's also an arrogant prick," said Lily, rolling over onto her back, giving herself some much needed air.

"This is true."

"How do I tell Remus?" asked Lily suddenly.

"You don't tell him. That's definitely something he doesn't need to know. It'll probably make him angry, and he'll get really jealous and possessive."

"I suppose so…"

"Lily, listen… you can just forget about this whole episode and put it behind you, make your life a lot easier…"

"But see, Margo, there's a problem with that," said Lily.

"What's the problem?"

"I don't know if I want to put it behind me…"

-xXx-

AN: Yes, that's the end. DON'T KILL ME! What I'd really like you to do is review!

-xXx SpicySugar xXx-