Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters that are in the Harry Potter books. J. K. Rowling does, like everyone already knows.
Author's Note: Thanks to pale pink roses, Black's Gurl, Jessie xxx, PammaPotter, lOvEiNhEaVeN, albus's bitch, sblomie, Babigirl2246, Kristanna, Tunnel'sEndingLight, kelala, lizziee, LeslieGlady, Desolation Lily, sassafras, KLLRS, damned for eternity, lily, hpjsr, Vitamin, dee, and Amorette for reviewing the original Love Affair!
Thanks to x0x-Mystique-x0x, Juicilyn, always-blond, Mr. Corso, drumer girl, marrokinhas, Katty03, Fairy-GYAKUTENNO-MEGAMI, On3-ShoT, sugur-huny-bun, BlueJeanMistress, Miss Myrtle360, Lo, LittleSunflower, evahyoung, Rose Angelz, Cora-leanna, wefeedowls, Tina, babi-gurl8907, xxquidditchjunkiexx, wh00t, polkaducksxd, -lily-potter-wannabe-, julies07, bratski, Percephone, piratequeen24, xXGryffinxWingsXx, hpandfriendsruletheworld, Chelles, babi-gurl-chels, Brilover, Vanessa, and bananaslugg for reviewing! Wow, I think that's the most reviews I've ever gotten for one chapter! You guys are truly amazing!
Juicilyn You caught a mistake of mine! Oh God, I'm getting pretty bad at catching these things during the editing process! Thanks for pointing that out!
Katty03 Oh wow, thanks for pointing that out to me! I must have mixed up the two! Although, actually I didn't know about the alternate universe thing until now, only the other character! And as for your question, Sirius isn't really a major character in this story. He may appear again before it ends, but I'm not making any promises. He will definitely be in the sequel though!
Lily's heart was racing even faster as she walked from the alley that she apparated into toward James's apartment. She felt the butterflies in her stomach swarming like a man on fire, or actually, twenty men on fire.
She was nervous, but excited. She wondered what she would say when she saw him, or even what he would say to her. The only thing she did know though, was that this was the only thing that would make her happy. She needed to see James, she needed to hear his voice again.
As she neared his building, she felt rain pour down onto her head. It wasn't a light rain, it was downpour. She looked up and saw dark, stormy looking clouds covering the night's sky. She was amazed at how a small location change could make a huge difference between torrential downpours and a clear sky.
Her heart pounded as she entered the apartment, saying a simple spell to unlock the massive door that only residents had keys to.
She whipped her head around and saw what she was looking for, the stairs. They were so familiar, and she wanted them to become even more familiar. She wanted to have to climb them every day; she wanted to see James everyday.
At each step she took her heart beat increased. The butterflies in her stomach beat their wings faster and faster. She heard a clap of thunder and saw a bolt of lightening not far from here.
She had two more flights of stairs to figure out what she was going to say, two more flights before she saw James again. She was both eager and anxious for the moment that the door would open.
She wanted desperately to see his face again, to hold him in her arms, to be held in his arms. She wanted nothing more than to feel the soft, gentle touch of his lips on hers. She wanted to feel the heat from his body warm her instantly, warm her spirits as well. She wanted to curl up on the couch with him, talking as they watched the bolts of lightening threaten the sky.
But on the other hand, what was she going to say? What would she say when she came face to face with him? Her mind was racing with different scenarios, all sounding worse than the previous.
She wondered if she should just flatly say what was on her heart, that she missed him and couldn't stand to be apart from him any longer. Or maybe she should walk in there and tell him that she loved him. She easily shook that choice out of her mind, she wasn't about to go and scare him with the loving you status yet.
She had less than one flight of stairs left now, and still didn't have a clue as to what she should say. She thought about just saying that she was in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by for shelter from the storm, but realized how stupid that sounded.
A quarter of the flight of stairs was left and the butterflies were in high effect. Her heart was pounding, and she felt like she was high on adrenaline.
In a matter of seconds she was standing at his door, and she suddenly thought that if she ran away, everything would be better. But deep down inside, she knew that wasn't the answer, she knew she needed to talk to James. She knew that if she backed out now, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.
She shut her eyes quickly and then opened them just in time to knock on the door.
Lily saw the handle turn and her heart sped up to the maximum level possible. The door opened and the butterflies increased.
"Hello," came a voice that Lily didn't expect to hear at all.
It wasn't James, it was Emmy! Lily felt her eyes go wide and her heart weaken. Emmy was in James's apartment. James wasn't alone. He did love Emmy.
Lily felt her heart come crashing down. She went from an all time high, to an all time low. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. Of course Emmy would be here, of course James still loved Emmy.
"Who's at the door?" James called from his room.
Neither girl said anything, nor did they move.
James walked out from his room wearing a pair of jeans and buttoning up his shirt as he walked. He stopped dead when he saw Lily standing there, and Lily felt like crying when she saw him.
"Oh God," she whispered to herself. She turned from her spot and started to run down the stairs, she had to get away. She needed air. She needed to get away. As she bolted for dear life down those stairs, she felt like a trapped animal, trying to get away, but not succeeding.
When she finally saw the front door, she felt like crying out of joy. She was almost gone, she was almost free.
Out in the street she let her tears run wild, figuring that the rain would mess up her make-up just as much, and no one would know the difference. Now all she had to do was reach the alley and apparate home.
---
James was shocked to see Lily standing at his front door. He hadn't expected to see her ever again, apart from his dreams anyway. But when he saw her, he felt rejuvenated. He felt like he found the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
Her hair was matted down to her face, wet and tangled from the rain, but he didn't care. Her skin was dripping wet, but it didn't matter to him. Her clothes were concealing and also damped, but it didn't matter to him. Nothing mattered except for the fact that Lily was there.
He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, she was running away from him. His heart sped up, not believing what he was seeing. How could she leave? How could she be leaving him?
He dropped the shirt from his grasp, not caring that the top buttons weren't done yet. He didn't care. All he knew was that he needed to get to Lily. He needed to see her again. He needed to tell her how stupid he was. He needed to tell her that he loved her- well, maybe not that far, he didn't want to scare her off. But he did need to tell her something, anything that would make her stay.
"James, where are you going?" Emmy asked as he ran past her.
He paused for a second and looked at her straight in the eye. His heart gave a sudden lurch, and that's when it hit him. He didn't love Emmy.
He never did love Emmy. How could he? He'd been in love with Lily Evans ever since their fifth year, and once you start loving someone, you can't ever stop. James knew that was completely true too, he never stopped loving Lily. All those years, even after their first break-up, he had never been as memorized as when he was with Lily. He had never had as much fun, laughter, or tender moments as he did with Lily. He had never quite been himself without Lily in his life.
He wondered how he could have ever chosen Emmy over Lily. Lily was his soul mate, the one person he knew he'd be happy with for the rest of his life. The one woman that through the best and the worst, he'd always love. The one woman that could always bring out the best in him. He needed Lily Evans; he needed her more than life itself.
He tried to motion with his hands, but it didn't do any work. Emmy was standing there, a puzzled look on her face.
"I'll explain later," he yelled before bolting down the steps of the building, taking them two at a time.
He needed to catch up to Lily. He couldn't afford to have her get away, not again. He already made the mistake twice before, and he wasn't about to let the love of his life escape this time. No, he certainly wasn't letting her go.
"Lily," he yelled as he opened the front door.
He turned his head in both directions, and then saw her to his left. She was walking fast, and James knew he'd have to run to catch up to her.
"Lily, wait," he called out, getting closer to her with each step.
She didn't stop though, and he wasn't sure if it was because she couldn't hear him, or she chose not to hear him. He ran faster, his heart beating so fast it felt like it was about to explode.
"Lily," he said, grabbing her arm as he finally caught up to her speed.
"What do you want?" she snapped, replacing her tears and sorrows with anger and bitterness.
She stared deep into his eyes, absorbing his every thought and desire. She felt her heart speed up once more, but this time it was different. It was a good feeling, a wonderfully amazing feeling.
He didn't want to break his gaze on her emerald eyes, but at the same time, could only think of one way to explain what he wanted. He kissed her.
When their lips touched, Lily felt all her anger melt away. She felt like she was in heaven, a blissful girl floating on cloud nine. The kiss calmed both of them down, their adrenaline levels coming down and into a relaxed zone.
The kiss made them feel invincible. It was as if the loud claps of thunder had disappeared, the lightening stopping in time. The rain drops didn't matter, nothing mattered except the two of them. Nothing mattered except their kiss.
His arms dropped around her waist, holding her petite form close to his body. He kissed her like there was no tomorrow, as if making up for the last few days.
When they broke apart, they were both gasping for air. It was an incredible kiss, a truly breath-taking kiss.
A loud crash of thunder boomed right above their heads, bringing them both back to reality and away from their perfect kiss.
Lily jumped a bit at the sound, and then said, "James."
"Lily, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he told her.
"For what?" she asked, hopeful tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Everything," he said, still holding onto her arms. "I'm sorry for everything."
He leaned forward once more and kissed her lips again. She could taste the rainwater that was soaking him.
Once the kiss was broken, Lily looked at him once more. His eyes were pleading with hers, begging for forgiveness. His hair was matted down his head, quite unusual compared to his normal mess. His breaths were still sharp, and his grip on hers arms was tight.
"Why didn't you come?" she asked, her voice was shaky and weak.
"I was a bloody fool," he answered, "But I've missed you so much. There hasn't been a day that I haven't dreamed about you, or thought about what you were doing. I've been jealous of Jason every single day."
"What about Emmy?" she asked, tears still pouring from her eyes.
"Fuck Emmy, I don't give a damn about her, Lils, all I care about is you," he replied. His face looked genuine and sincere.
Lily was trying to keep her smile from appearing, but found it very difficult. This was exactly what she wanted to hear. She wanted to know that he cared about her, and not Emmy, and that's exactly what she got.
She shut her eyes to hold back more tears, these ones from pure happiness. "Come here," she told him, escaping from his grip and placing her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her wet body.
James let out a sigh of comfort as he held his dream girl in his arms. He felt like the luckiest man alive. Here he was, in the middle of a deserted street holding a beautiful girl in his arms during a thunderstorm. Even through all of the crashes and booms from the rapid sky above, he felt safe and comforted, as did Lily.
Author's Note 2: Hey guys, I hope you all liked the chapter! They are finally together! Yeah! I know it's not that long, and the next chapter won't be either. But I feel that they are both chapters that need to be by themselves, and combining them will completely ruin the affect I'm going for. So, I hope that's okay with you guys, I'll update quickly though, I promise. Anyways, your feedback is the most inspiring thing I could get right now, so please review!