A short, fluffy chapter!

Oh, btw, I will be ending this story in...the next chapter or so. But never fear! A sequel will follow.

Oh, and only the plot and Raya belong to me!

Bedroom, 1 A.M.-

It is official: I am insane. Why did I blow up at James like that? Why? He just told me he LOVED me, for heaven's sake! I should be celebrating. Well, no. I should be feeling worse than I do now and at the same time be comforting Raya. Except that she was pretending to be asleep when I got back, and now she's actually asleep, so I can't talk to her. And James! Poor guy, he was only trying to do the right thing. What do I do? Wait! I may not want to disturb Raya now, but James is another matter….

Lily silently climbs out of bed and changes into a pair of jeans and a green cami. She grabs her wand and tiptoes out of the bedroom, making her way to the Common Room. Glancing around to make sure no one else is awake, Lily tiptoes up the stairs to the boys' dorms.

"Silencio," she whispers, pointing her wand at the door. She opens it without a squeak and makes her way to James's bed.

Merlin! Why's that prat have to have the bed next to the window? She softens a little. Just like me…

When she reaches his bed, she carefully draws back the bed hangings and puts the Silencing Charm on James before she pokes him with her wand. It's funny to see him sit up quickly, obviously cursing, but not making any noise. He looks at her and his eyes grow wide. She lifts a finger to her lips and gestures that he should follow her out. He nods as he fumbles for his glasses, and she takes the charm off of him. James grabs a shirt as they tiptoe and pulls it roughly over his head. In the Common Room, he turns to her.

"What's the deal, Lily?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"No kidding. What about?"

Lily sighs in frustration. "James Matthew Potter, you know what I want to talk about. You. Raya. Me. Mme. Puddifoot's."

"Right," James says, looking slightly guilty. "I'm sorry I got upset at you."

"What? Don't apologize! I should be apologizing for being such a jerk and a drama queen!"

"Lily, I'd just upset your best friend, and then I unloaded all of that on to you. It wasn't fair of me and perfectly understandable for you to react like that."

"James," Lily says firmly. "I have my wand and if you apologize or justify my actions one more time I swear by Merlin's beard I'll hex you. What I wanted to say is…I'm sorry. You were just trying to do the right thing and I gave you a hard time."

James looks like he's about to protest, but Lily raises her wand warningly. "Lily, this is ridic… fine, I accept your apology. Friends?" he asks, holding out his hand.

Lily sucks in a breath. Friends? He wants to be friends? Galloping gargoyles, he's far too nice for his own good. She lets her breath out slowly. What should she do?

Tell the truth.

"No," she says as she shakes her head, a slight smile tugging at her lips.

"Lily, but-"

"No," she repeats. "I don't want to be friends. I…I…" she breaks off, blushing. "I want to be…more."

"More?" James repeats, dumbstruck.

"M-more," she confirms, turning an even more brilliant shade of red. "James, I-I thought I hated you, but…you're different from what I thought you were, and when Raya asked you out and you said yes…that's when I saw-far too late-that I…I…James," she says looking into his beautiful hazel eyes. Come on, now or never. "James, I…love you."

"Lily…you…really?"

She laughs lightly. "No, I'm lying. Of course I do!"

He grins. "Don't do that! You scared me!"

"I love you," she turned even redder. "And I realized that when you agreed to go out with Raya, but you see my dilemma, right? She's my best friend. You two only broke up today. It's bad enough that I love you when she likes you, but now that you've broken up? I just don't know."

"I know," he sighs. "How about this: let's just enjoy this moment. Then we can go off to our separate dorms, and tomorrow pretend this never happened."

Lily nods, biting her lip. I shouldn't be sad! This is the right thing to do. I can't betray my best friend!

James steps closer to her and gingerly puts his arms around her in a hug. She relaxes in his embrace, and rests her head on his chest. "I love you," he whispers in her ear.

"Always," she replies.