A/N: Sorry for taking a long time with this chappie...I had a little writer's block lol. But it's over--at least, it's over for now.
Lily winced as Madam Pomfrey dabbed all her cuts with some kind of potion to heal them.
"For a prefect," Madam Pomfrey began hastily. "You're awfully reckless."
Lily rolled her eyes and pretended Madam Pomfrey hadn't spoken a word. She noticed Sirius staring her, so she made a face to get his attention.
"What are you looking at?" Lily asked rudely.
"Don't talk to me like that, Evans." Sirius retorted firmly. "Why the hell were you fighting with Jennifer?"
"She started it."
"Oh, don't be childish Lily." Remus said suddenly. "You're supposed to be setting an example as a prefect. I mean, it's Jennifer for crying out loud."
"Excuse me, people!" Jennifer yelled from across the room. "I'm still in this room, you know."
"Then you can explain why you and Lily were fighting." A voice said from the entrance to the Hospital Wing.
"James?" Sirius asked slowly. "How did you know we were here?"
"I heard Lucius Malfoy telling his friends that a red-headed mudblood was in a fight. Only person I could think of was Lily, so I came down here." James replied casually. "Lily? Are you okay?"
James walked over to Lily and embraced her gently.
"Ouch! James." Lily said quietly. "No hugs until my body stops hurting."
"Oh sorry." James blushed slightly and turned to Jennifer. "What the fuck is your problem?"
"Oh shut up James. She deserved what she got." Jennifer replied hatefully. "Your so-called girlfriend is lucky she can fight or else she would have looked a lot worse."
"Krissy told me you were mad because James broke up with you and chose Lily instead." Sirius said slyly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous."
"Well it's your fault, Sirius!" Jennifer replied angrily. "You slept with me."
"Oh please." James interrupted quietly. "It's not Sirius' fault and you damn well know it. What is wrong with you? Look, I know I am an incredible lover and it's hard to get over me because I'm good like that, but you cheated on me Jennifer. You can't expect me to stay with you if you're going to fuck my best friend. Why didn't you just go out with Sirius if you liked him that way?"
Jennifer was silent. All eyes were on her now. Why didn't she just go out with Sirius? He was single and she took the time to sleep with him whenever she had the chance. Why use James to get to something she could have had from the start?
Madam Pomfrey had had enough. She came out of her office fuming, pushing James, Sirius, and Remus out of the Hospital Wing for disrupting her patients. That night Lily couldn't sleep. Jennifer's words from the fight they had were forever burned in her thoughts. James did have a habit of using girls to satisfy his sexual needs, but were those his intentions with Lily?
'No.' Lily thought to herself as she rolled over in her bed in the Hospital Wing. 'James wouldn't use me, would he? I mean I know he has this reputation as some kind of player. He's two-timed successfully several times. Oh no! What if he's two-timing me? No. Get a hold of yourself, Lily! Forget what Jennifer said. It's not true. Besides she cheated on him, so he had the right to break up with her. She's just jealous because I have James and she doesn't.'
Lily sat up and stared coldly at Jennifer, who, surprisingly enough, was staring back at her the same way.
"What are you looking at, Evans?" Jennifer asked coldly.
"Nothing important." Lily replied calmly.
"Ouch that hurt." Jennifer said sarcastically as she lay back down and went back to sleep.
Lily rolled her eyes and did the same as she silently told herself that James liked her for her.
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James and Lily walked down the hallway to Charms holding hands, even though Lily was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"What's the matter?" James asked curiously. He could feel the distance coming from Lily and it bothered him a lot.
"Nothing," Lily replied quietly. "Don't worry about it."
"You're not even trying to hold my hand. Should I just let go?"
Lily stopped dead and turned to face James.
"Are you going out with me for sex?" She asked point blank. James opened his mouth slightly and stared at her in shock.
"What kind of person do you think I am?" James asked half jokingly. He thought Lily was joking.
"The kind of person who thinks with his other member more than his heart."
James stopped smiling and started to look annoyed. "What the hell gave you that idea?"
"James, I've been thinking about your motives with past girlfriends, beneficial buddies, and any relationship you have with any woman. There's a trend."
"Oh really?"
"Yes really." Lily replied sarcastically. "You always end up sleeping with them, then dumping them."
"So you think that's what I intend to do with you?"
Lily stared deeply into James' eyes at that question. Did she really feel that way? Did she really take what Jennifer said to heart or was this her own assumption?
"Look, James-" Lily began, but was cut off by James.
"No you look." James said firmly. "I don't what kind of person you think I am, but I like you for you. If you don't feel that way, then maybe we shouldn't date."
Lily cocked an eyebrow slowly. "Don't talk to me like that. I asked you if you were using me for sex, you should have said yes or no. A simple answer would have been enough."
Several people who were walking past Lily and James in the hall stopped to surround them in a little circle.
"Did Jennifer tell you something about when we were dating?" James asked curiously.
"Yes she did. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. This is like a repeat of third year only-"
"OH CUT THE CRAP LILY! HOW MANY TIMES CAN I SAY I'M SORRY?"
"DON'T YELL AT ME, YOU USER! IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND I'M GOING TO LET YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME EVEN WORSE BY GETTING ME INTO BED YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!"
A few girls gasped behind James. James ignored them and stared Lily through wide eyes.
"You would rather believe Jennifer than your own boyfriend?"
"Well you know what they say...keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It's not the first time I've heard about you in that situation from a girl."
"People change." James said quietly.
"Yeah?" Lily asked slowly. "Well when you do, let me know."
"So what you're breaking up with me already?"
Lily sighed deeply. "I need time to think things through."
"No. There's no 'time to think things through'. You're either with me or you aren't, I don't wait for people, Lily."
Lily felt like she was going to cry and the way people were looking at her and James didn't make things any better.
"Fine." Lily finally said, her voice cracked a little. "It's over then."
James nodded slowly and walked away from Lily and the crowd.
'Damn it.' Lily thought to herself as the crowd dispersed. She went to the nearest bathroom and kneeled down against the wall and cried silently.
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James and Sirius packed up their stuff after Charms was over. Sirius couldn't believe James and Lily broke up so soon, but at the same time he wasn't surprised. He thought it wouldn't last just because James and Lily are complete opposites.
"Yeah? Well opposites attract." James said casually as he pocketed his wand. "I just don't see how Lily would rather believe Jennifer than me."
"Well it's not like Jennifer lied." Sirius added. "You do have a history with women and it's not exactly a good one on your part. Lots of sex though, but the relationships are terrible."
"Still..."
"Look, I know you like Lily but you need to get her to trust you before you get into her knickers."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"Friends first, lovers later." Sirius said simply, as he picked up his bag and hung it over his shoulder.
James did the same and followed Sirius out of the classroom. Sirius headed for the library and James went down the Quidditch pitch for practice. They had a game against Ravenclaw the following week and James wanted to test some plays he came up with. As Sirius walked down the hallway to the library, he thought about James and Lily. He wondered if they would ever get back together or if they would just spend the rest of their lives wondering about what could have been, what would have been, and what should have been.
'As long as James loves women and sex and as long as Lily is a stubborn know-it-all, I don't see those two ever coming to terms.' Sirius thought to himself. 'They make a good couple though, I don't exactly know what it is about them, but they seem to complete each other. Even before they started dating, I saw that connection. I need to think of a--FUCK!'
Sirius came out of his moment of thought and realized that he was on the floor. It seemed as though he had collided with a girl. He looked over at her and saw that she was rubbing her forehead. Her long dark brown hair was tied back in a braid that reached her waist, but her bangs shadowed her face so Sirius couldn't tell if he knew her or not. He noticed that she was in Hufflepuff and thought about how clumsy they usually are.
"I'm so sorry." He finally said as he stood up and held his hand out to help the girl up. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine." The girl replied sweetly as she took Sirius' hand and stood up. She raised her head to meet Sirius' eyes. "My name's Miliani Kailani, by the way."
Sirius was speechless (for once). Who was this beauty that was standing in front of him? The auburn highlights in her hair brought out the auburn color in her eyes. She looked exotic and womanly.
"I-Sirius-nice-meet-you." Sirius said dreamily, he seemed to have a hard time finding words.
"Well," Miliani said, slightly amused. "I'm late for class. I guess I'll see you around...Sirius."
Miliani picked up her bag and smiled at Sirius before she took off down the hallway and out of sight. Sirius stared and watched her go.
"I think I'm in love." He said breathlessly as his bag dropped to the floor.
A/N: Aww yay! Love interest for Sirius! You'll be seeing a lot more of Miliani in future chapters lol. I'm glad I put her in Hufflepuff though. For some reason, it seems cliche to have her be in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin since they're obviously the favorite houses of most people. Hufflepuff doesn't seem to get much credit, you know what I mean?