A/N Did anyone spot my mistake in my authors note in chapter two? I said it was 102C, I should have said 102F! Honestly, my brain has fried! Either way, it's very hot!

Thank you all so much for your reviews. I have to say, I write first and foremost for me, because I like to write, but when you get reviews it makes the effort worth it. I can understand how disheartening it is for writers here who don't get reviews for their work. I suppose I'm old enough not to be bothered, but for some young writers, it might discourage them from trying. Anyway, I was very pleased to see the reviews I've had so far, and all so kind too. I will reply to each one. I will just say, I do realise that when you have dialogue between people, they are supposed to be on new lines, for ease of reading. However, I personally tend to think that when the dialogue is short, it can look wrong on the page if it is split. I just find the way I write it easier, it helps me to flow and hopefully, makes the dialogue more natural.

Anyway, that's more than enough from me. I'll leave you in the capable hands of James and Lily….not that either of them will be a bundle of joy for a while yet. As ever, read and review.

CHAPTER THREE: TIME TO THINK

Lily Evans stood in the kitchen for at least an hour after her boyfriend had left the house, still completely confused about what had taken place. The only thing she knew was that at the beginning of the evening she was happy, laughing and kissing and telling James about her day at St Mungo's, and then James was saying he needed some space and was going to stay with his best friend, Sirius Black for a few days. In her shocked state, it hadn't even occurred to Lily to say that as it was his house, she should be the one to go. She wondered if she should get in touch with him at Sirius's and at least offer to move out herself. She dismissed the idea. James had seemed in a hurry to get out of there, away from her. He hadn't even said goodbye when he went. He wouldn't want her bothering him, even if it was his house. She decided to give him a week. If he hadn't come back in that time she would get her things together and move back in with her mother's cousin for a while, a least until she could get a place of her own.

Soon Lily tired of the kitchen, the quietness of the room seemed to mock her, reminding her that someone wasn't there. She sighed heavily and went through to the living room and dropped into an easy chair by the fireplace. The only light in the room came from the sun as it streamed through the window, creating an orange glow in the room.

Lily sighed again. She thought of all the evenings she had stood in the garden with James and watched the sunset when she first moved in with him. They would stand, in each others arms exchanging kisses. Then James would say 'I love you Lily' and kiss her again as the sun dipped and day turned slowly to night. Now Lily knew that within the next couple of hours the sun would be setting and she would be alone.

Lily turned the events of the evening over in her mind again. She just couldn't understand what had happened. She couldn't understand how it was possible for a person to express his love and then essentially say he was leaving. He hadn't even given her a clear explanation. All he'd said was that he thought they needed some time to think about how they felt about each other. Lily remembered questioning this; she thought they knew how they felt. Surely they'd been together long enough to know? She could still hear James's reply, 'No Lily, I'm not sure we do….at least not both of us.'

Suddenly Lily Evans knew why James Potter had gone. His words said as much. She reasoned that he must know that she loved him. She showed him all the time, she was always kissing him, cuddling him, cooking meals she knew he would enjoy when he was tired from Auror training. She kept the house tidy so that he would always have a clean house to come back to. She was certain James knew how much she loved him.

Lily realised there was only one reasonable explanation for James's behaviour. In spite of what he'd said, in spite of the way he'd held her in his arms and kissed her, the truth was obvious. James Potter had stopped loving Lily Evans.

James Potter arrived at his best friend's flat. He knocked on the door a couple of times. Soon he heard a high pitched giggle and some muttered swear words before a low voice yelled 'I won't be a minute!' James frowned; Sirius clearly had a girl in his flat. He shook his head in exasperation, realising his timing could not have been worse. He'd left his girlfriend on one night his best friend was….busy. Then he realised what he'd thought. Had he really left Lily? No, he answered himself. As he'd explained to her, he thought they needed some time to think about how they felt about each other. Or, rather, Lily needed some time to work out her feelings for him.

James was distracted from his thoughts as the front door before him opened suddenly. Before he could react, a dark haired, handsome young man a little taller than himself appeared and following him, a blonde woman, with baby blue eyes, a low cut top and a skirt short enough to see….everything. James smothered a groan. When would Sirius ever settle down? This was obviously another in a long line of good friends Sirius had made. Each had been blonde and attractive in a 'come and get me' sort of way. They had also all been incredibly…..James struggled for the right word. In an instant he found it…..thick. Sirius was obviously with them for something other than stimulating conversation.

James watched as Sirius showed his new friend out of his flat, patted her on the bottom, drawing another giggle out of her (James had to fight to restrain himself from thinking that if he'd ever done that to Lily she wouldn't have giggled, she would have done something painful to him with her wand!) and then waved her off, assuring her that he would be in touch. At the same time he turned his attention to James and rolled his eyes, as if to say that it would snow in a particular hot place before he ever contacted that friend again. In spite of his frame of mind, James grinned and followed Sirius Black into his flat.

The two young men went into the flat. Sirius shook his head. 'Honestly Prongs, remind me in future to pick women who know how to spell their own name'. He flopped down into a seat, looking exhausted. James smirked, 'Oh come on; she can't have been that bad surely'. Sirius muttered something James couldn't quite make out, but judging by the look on his friend's face, it might have been just as well. Then he broke into a huge grin. 'No, for once you're quite right. It wasn't that bad, it was worse, much worse!'

The friends laughed together for a moment before James remembered why he was there and became serious. Sirius Black, who had known James since he was eleven years old and was as close to him as a brother, realised immediately that something was wrong. He straightened his face and turned his eyes towards the front door. 'Is Lily on her way then, late from training or something?' Sirius knew that these days it was rare for James to be apart from Lily except for training. James shook his head and swallowed. He knew he'd have to explain what was going on if he was going to stay with Sirius. It wouldn't be right to keep him in the dark in his own home. 'No….she's…..Lily's….she's at home', he said at last, finding it difficult to find the words. Sirius nodded, still certain that something was wrong, 'Oh right, well I suppose she's tired from a long day or something?' James shook his head again. 'No….er….I….um…..'

Suddenly James realised what he'd done. Whether it was temporary or permanent, he had left Lily. The truth hurt as it began to sink in. But he soon saw that Sirius was waiting for him to say something that made sense. Shifting in his seat, he looked his friend in the eye. 'Padfoot…is….is there….' Sirius Black could see that his closest friend was clearly upset. 'What is it Prongs, has something happened to Lily?' he asked, as his heart began to thud. Lily had become a good friend since she had got together with James. If anything bad had happened….James sighed and, to Sirius's relief, shook his head and seemed to pull himself together a bit. 'No, at least not in the way that you mean, she's fine'. Sirius raised a quizzical eyebrow. 'Well are you going to tell me what's wrong then, or do I have to guess?'

Again James sighed. He suddenly seemed to flop in his seat, his face took on a defeated expression, he knew there was no getting away from it; he would have to tell Sirius what had happened. 'Padfoot, is there any chance I could stay for a few days? I think….I think I might have just left Lily'.

A/N Well there we are, chapter three. I think I might actually be looking at five chapters for this. Sirius is going to be a major part of the next one, hence why this is written like this, with a bit of a cliffhanger….how will Sirius react? More soon!