Lily and James: Their Summer of Love

Authors Note: Okay, I hope yall aren't TOTALLY pissed at me for getting this up so frickin late! But let me tell you I have pretty good reasons. They are as of the following:

I am loaded with school work

Cheerleading. Enough said there.

Computer problems

Yes, I DO in fact have a life ;)

So I hope yall enjoy this chapter, because I LOVE IT! You'll see why!

--Love, Riley

Disclaimer: Nope, I'm not rich, therefore I am not J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 18: Of Goodbyes and Reunions
(James POV)

--"C'mon mate, don't worry about it. He'll be gone soon enough." Remus remarked, passing him with an apologetic glance, as they got on the subject of 'Casper' as Sirius now referred to him as.

James threw him a skeptical look, annoyance etched across his features. "Another week is not soon enough for me." He snapped back with a scowl.

The past few days, the only thing James wanted to do (besides to snog the hell out of Lily) was to knock that buggers teeth out. But of course, Lily wouldn't do so well with that idea so he not-so-politely refrained.

Running a hand through his hair in frustration (and succeeding in ruffling it up more than usual) he just rolled his eyes.

"Lily and I were just getting close again and now—" slamming his fist on the table he sighed, "Oh well. He isn't stopping me from talking to her at least…"

Without another word he made up his mind and stood up from his seat on the couch. Glancing at Remus, who looked openly amused, he tugged at his shirt collar once and finally made his way down the hall towards Lily's room, muttering all the way about how 'this was his house anyways'.

So, this is the plan, he thought as he walked down the hall, go to Lily's room and we can just work this whole Cass thing out and—

James stopped suddenly as he reached Lily's door, and he heard a voice.

"Ever since I'd gotten here yesterday, all I've wanted to do was—" Then came a small kissing sound that made James want to retch and kill someone all at once. "That." Furious at the thought that anyone would ever dare to touch Lily, he almost burst through the door at that moment. The only thing that stopped him was Cass's next words.

"Lily, will you be my girlfriend?"

Rooted to the spot in shock, the only words that entered his mind were "Say no, say no, say no." Swallowing a lump in his throat, he leaned towards the door to get a better look inside. The only thing he could see was the back of Cass's head, and a bit of Lily's bright hair, both of them sitting on her bed.

Taking a deep breath he waited in shock and listened.

Silence.

More silence.

And then finally---

"No."

There was a long silence where Cass blinked wildly for a while; apparently not comprehending the words Lily had just spoken to him.

"What?" he finally asked, clearly dumbfounded.

"I said 'no'." Lily repeated, trying to breath in deep, even breaths. What the hell was he thinking, asking her that anyways?

Realization of what she had just said sinking in, Cass shook the hair out of his blue eyes, contemplating on what to do next. He had never handled rejection from Lily well. He'd gotten it from her quite a few times actually.

"But—why?" he asked finally, his eyebrows furrowed in what might have been half a grimace.

Lily sighed and brought her hands up to her face, pushing her hair back and resting her hands on her forehead. "I—it's complicated…" she started slowly, silently wishing that he had never come.

"Is there someone else?" he countered somewhat angrily, as he already knew the answer. He felt pretty damn stupid, actually thinking she'd say yes.

"Yes." She stated quietly, all of a sudden very interested in the state of her nails. Not daring to look up, she listened for any sign that he had heard her. After a couple of moments of silence, she raised her eyes cautiously. His eyes were closed and he was clenching his jaw.

"It's that Potter, isn't it?" he asked suddenly, his eyes snapping open, their vivid blue piercing through her.

Biting her lip, she stared back at him, and after a long moment slowly nodded her head.

Clapping his hands together once, he stood up. "Well, guess that's it then." He stated, ready to walk out the door.

Lily jumped up also, confusion evident on her face. "Wait—what? No, Cass. You don't have to go!"

Whirling around so fast he almost knocked a lamp over, he glared at her. "Why not? I'm doing exactly what you want! I'm leaving you here with you precious Potter—" he spat, adding, "You know, the one that you hated just last year? The one that you used to write to me about and how awful he was to you, and how he never missed a chance to prank you? The one that goes around picking up every good-looking girl he sees? C'mon Lils, you're better than that! I know you better than anyone—why would you want to lower yourself to him?" he finished, practically spitting the last word, his features stuck in a scowl.

Glaring furiously, her emerald eyes flashing, she clenched her teeth together in anger. "You don't even know him." Lily whispered stonily.

"Maybe not." Cass replied, towering almost dangerously over her. "But I sure as hell know guys like him Lily!" he said, his face contorted in rage. "Strutting about using nice women—now he's about to do the same exact thing to you--!"

"I LOVE HIM!" she yelled at him, sick of him telling her what she should do, sick of contradicting herself, and sick of people telling her how horrible James was.

Having sliced through his sentence like a knife, her eyes shining with tears, Cass only stared at her, clearly abashed. Swallowing with some difficulty he only nodded lightly.

"Yes, well—that settles it." He remarked. ""Goodbye then Lils. Give me a call when Potter dumps you for someone else—I won't be waiting long." He said, giving her one last look before walking out the door. All Lily could do was stare after the guy who she once used to claim as her best friend.

James was sure he looked like a fish out of water. His mouth was open wide as were his eyes and he seemed to be gulping for air.

She said no.

She said it was because of me.

She said she loved me.

At that exact moment, Cass walked out of the door and into the hallway. He stopped. He stared. James stared right back, a look of hatred etched on his features.

"Get out." James whispered menacingly, reaching his hand into his pocket unless he needed his wand. It seemed that he didn't need anything, for the only thing Cass did was mutter a few string of curse words before practically sprinting out of the hall.

Taking a deep breath of his own, James walked slowly into Lily's room, only to see her looking quite distraught and…now, by the look of it, embarrassed.

"So, er—you heard everything, did you?" she asked shyly.

He nodded slowly, hoping that she wouldn't hex him for eavesdropping. "Er---so, it's too bad he's leaving..." he lied, taking in Lily's appearance. A few tears that had leaked out were falling down her face and her nose was red.

With a small laugh Lily shook his head. "Don't lie James, you know you couldn't wait for him to go." She said, through a watery smile.

James laughed with an almost embarrassed look on his own face as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, well, who could really blame me…?" he asked, reaching a hand out to wipe the few tears off of her face. At this, the pair of them fell into an awkward silence, darting each other's eyes.

Finally, James cleared his throat. "So er—is all that stuff you said earlier true?" he asked, although not too sure he really wanted the answer. Sighing, Lily leaned back on her bedpost and looked at him. "What do you think?"

Honestly, James wasn't quite sure what to think at the moment. He was just really confused.

"Look Lils, I'm really sorry about everything that happened! I really am. And I know these past few weeks have been really weird but I really do love y—"

He stopped mid-sentence when she practically threw her arms around his neck, doing what both of them had wanted to do for so long.

"Just shut up and kiss me, you idiot..."

Recovering from the slight shock quickly, he obliged, running his hands through that beautiful hair as his lips connected to hers for the first time in weeks. He'd missed everything about her, how she felt, how she smelled, how she tasted…he never wanted to let her go. As his tongue slipped into her mouth, he explored the place that was so familiar to him. Running his hands down the side of her body, he lifted her up and onto the bed. Stroking her cheek lightly, he didn't think he could ever feel as happy as he did at that moment.

Breathing heavily, Lily marveled in the way his hands felt on her body again. "You know what?" she asked smiling softly, her lips now red and swollen.

"Hmm?" James replied, playing with a strand of her hair as he held her tightly to him.

"I really love you too."

Authors Note: YESSSSSSSSSSSS! I can almost hear everyone saying "ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME!" I was so excited about this chapter because of course…..LILY AND JAMES ARE BACK TOGETHER! I know it took SO long (right along with this chapter!) but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Once again: I am…beyond sorry for how long this has taken! Fan fiction (for some reason) was not working on my computer so I was having issues with that. And I accidentally broke my keyboard once so….that kinda sucked. Hehe. But, I'm just…so happy with this chapter. I loved it.

Remember to:

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---- 3 Riley 3