DISCLAIMER: I own nothing that you recognized as JK Rowling's.

A/N: I'm BACK! LOL! This Chapter is dedicated to Paras! Belated Happy Birthday girl:o) Although it's what? 2 weeks late? Hehehehe :o)

Chapter Fourteen: The Sweetest Thing

James paused. He waited for Lily to finally turn around to face him. He wanted to say the final words to her, needing her to see his emotions.
Aware that her heart was pounding fast against her chest, she turned around, willing herself to face the person that hunted her for the past few days.

Looking at her straight it the eye, he repeated the lines. "Could you leave your uncertainties behind and give me a chance?" He paused, still gazing in her eyes. "Because after all Lily…" He paused a while taking a few uncertain steps towards her and continued on. "Because after all Lily, my heart beats for you."

For the longest time, they just stared at each other. Lily was too engrossed searching James' eyes for all the emotions she believed he had. And like a wave, the relief she felt was filling her with an overwhelming happiness. She found hope, love, and to her distress, she saw the pain as well.

James took another step forward, and soon after, he was standing next to Lily. He was nervously twirling the tulip in his hand before handing it to her.

Slowly, she reached for it, never breaking their eyes away from each other.

"Thank you…" she whispered silently, giving him a shy smile, not entirely sure what to do.

Returning the smile, he said almost as shyly as Lily did, "You're welcome…"

Lily then allowed her eyes to wander, not wanting to look deeper into James' eyes. She couldn't understand what she was really feeling. She had admitted to herself that she had once hoped it to be James. But now that he was standing in front of her, his heart on his sleeves, she didn't know what to do.

What James felt when Lily looked away pained him in more ways than he could have imagined. He was hoping that at least she would give him a chance. But by the way she just acted, his hope died in an instant. The thing that he had been holding along with the tulip was once again kept behind him. He was about to give it to her, but then, she suddenly broke the contact. Now that everything was clear, there was no need for it. He took a step backward, careful not to expose what he had in hand. He was surprised however when he heard Lily's voice.

"Wait…" she started. She stood her ground, her hand stopping him from leaving. James' eyes automatically met hers. He was puzzled to see her looking at him with much confusion in her eyes. Not wanting to feel more hurt, he begged her to just let him go.

"It's ok. I'm fine. I understand…" He glanced at the portrait and smiled sadly. "Just let me leave. There's no need for you to explain. I know."

"No you don't…" she said in haste.

His nerves surprisingly calmed, his head thinking of possibilities. "What do you mean?" he asked, not allowing himself to sound so hopeful.

"It's not what you think… I'm not…" Lily's confusion was once again seen in her face but Lily struggled to continue. "I'm not shutting you off." Seeing him wear a more pained expression in his face, she hurriedly explained. "James, please… Please just listen…"

She took a deep breath, afraid to say the wrong words. "When I first received the tulip," she started, "I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what it was supposed to be." She looked around, reminding herself that everything was real: That everything that she had hoped for once, was now fulfilled by James; the romantic gestures that would sweep any girl off her feet; the sensitivity; his honesty; his sincerity.

"I guess I wasn't ready to see you… I hoped once… hoped it to be you." She looked away, not wanting to give him more than she should. "When you handed me the flower once, I felt a sudden… a sudden happiness that I couldn't explain. I didn't know where it was coming from, or how it was triggered." She turned her back to him, her confusion much seen. "I had to examine my feelings for you again. I had to ask myself what is it with you that makes me… makes me feel so… makes me feel so good…"

James could sense that Lily had a hard time expressing herself in words. Her gestures, her voice, her expression—everything made so much sense, but still, he couldn't understand what she was meaning with her words.

She once again looked at him, but the confusion in her eyes was overpowered by desperation. "I know you're finding it difficult to understand me… but."

"But what, Lily?" James asked. He sounded so hopeful, but he caught himself right on time. "What is it that you really want to say?"

Taking a deep breath, Lily closed her eyes tightly and blurted, "I want to take a chance with you…"

James stood frozen to the ground, hardly believing what he heard. Lily, on the other hand, remained her eyes closed, feeling embarrassed of her revelation. She wasn't entirely sure of her feelings until she saw James wanting to turn away and leave. It was then she realized that she really do have feelings for James beyond friendship. How much? She wasn't sure, but she was certain she wanted to find out. The times that they had together were never dull and she enjoyed every moment of it. Though she didn't constantly think of him in a romantic manner, it was enough that once, she had considered him.

"Please open your eyes…" She heard James say softly. "Please look at me…"

And she did. She opened her eyes and their eyes locked. James was wearing the sweetest smile, and she was looking so uncertain with her shy smile. "Say it again…" He requested gently. "Without looking away or closing your eyes please?"

In James' eyes, she looked so cute when she pouted, quietly asking him not to let herself repeat it. "You heard me already.." She whined.

Taking her hand in his, he said, "Yes I did, but I want you to tell me with your eyes open. I want to look into your eyes while you say all the things you said. You don't know how long I've waited for this."

Lily felt so much love for him—but she was not certain if it was really love. After all, it has only been weeks since she and James held a new kind of friendship. But when he heard him speak those words, she was so drawn to him that she could kiss him right then and there. He was so gentle and so sweet, but he was not aware of it and that what made him so much more appealing than days ago. She felt even sure that what she felt was real: she wanted a chance with him, and she wanted that chance to last. She had a feeling James was different; that James will be worth all the time she intends spending with him.

"I want to take a chance with you…" She finally said, granting what James wanted and locked her eyes with his. "Was that enough?" She asked playfully.

He smiled lovingly at her and pulled her close to him. Their foreheads touched as he stroked her face in a loving manner, savoring the moment he had with her—so close, for the first time.

His eyes were asking her if it was all right for him to kiss her. She understood. For the first few seconds, she was not sure how to respond. But the longer she looked at James' eyes, seeing so much love and affection in them, the more convinced she was that kissing James wouldn't be a bad idea. On the other hand, kissing James would probably make things easier for her.

As she nodded her yes, James slowly inch his way to her. A second before their lips touched, Lily decided it was time to close her eyes and allow the magic to flow between them. The energy of their kiss was so strong that even Sirius failed to make playful remarks about them finally being together.

Their kiss was slow, as if giving their selves time to get used to the fact that they were kissing: Lily and James; James and Lily.

As their kiss ended, James was still holding Lily face, stoking his thumb against her soft skin. Lily was biting her lips uncertainly, but was at the same time smiling.

"You weren't a bad kisser, if that's what you're worrying about..." James said playfully. "That was the sweetest thing..."

She let out a laugh and said "I would have punched you if you didn't add the last bit…" She encircled her arms around his neck and buried her face on his shoulder. "Hmmm.." He heard her say. "You smell nice. You didn't bathe yourself in your cologne, did you?"

"The fact is…" They heard Sirius say, "He didn't bathe himself in his cologne because he used mine." He was looking at them with an amused smile then added. "But it's ok. My mate looks happy and a galleons worth of cologne doesn't matter anymore."

James let out a groan as he turned to look at his best friend. "Sirius…!"

He ignored James and continued on his way in. "You two were taking too long so I figured I'd come to check on you guys. And besides, the whole lot of the Gryffindors is waiting." James gave him an annoyed look, and again, Sirius ignored him. "So I see the whole Giant Stuffed Squid worked, ei?"

"What Giant Stuffed Squid?" Lily asked, confused.

Looking somewhat alarmed, Sirius started. "So Jamie didn't use it? Oh well.. What a waste. I personally thought it was a cute idea."

"I thought you said it was corny?" James asked, more annoyed.

"I changed my mind?..." Sirius said sarcastically. "Oh well. I might as well leave. I see you have an explanation to do, not that you're in trouble mate. You just need to enlighten little Miss Evans here. Bye mate! I'll see you later." He gave James a wink and left the common room.

The moment that he left the room, Lily went on to the questioning. "What's with the wink?" James was about to answer when Lily interrupted. "No, wait. Don't answer that. What was he saying about a Giant Squid or whatever it was that he said?"

"You're not mad, are you?" James asked nervously.

"Of course I'm not. I was just curious, that's all."

"It doesn't matter really…" James said.

"It matters to me…" Lily persisted. "It can't be that bad, James. Come on, tell me."

"Well, remember fifth year?" James finally said. "At the lake?"

Looking confused, Lily asked. "When I said I'd rather go out with the giant squid than with you?"

"Yeah, that." James said, feeling himself go red.

"James, are you blushing?" Lily asked adoringly. "Oh you look so cute." As if it helped, James turned even redder.

"Well, I was supposed to make myself look like a giant squid then asked you out." Seeing the horrified look on Lily's face, he continued. "Not really turn myself into the giant squid. Just an illusion. Well, I told the guys about it and they laughed their hearts out. Remus suggested instead of turning myself into a giant squid, I'd give you a stuffed toy instead and make a sort of speech or something."

"Well, I don't blame them why they laughed. Thank Merlin you didn't do that 'coz I'm not sure what to do if you did that. I don't want to break your heart in case I would laugh, which I think I'd probably do if you turned to look like a squid."

"You just did…" James whined.

"Did what?" Lily asked, looking surprised but failed to keep her enjoyment.

"You just broke my heart." James said pouting. "I gave everything a lot of thought and you're here laughing at me. Curse Sirius for mentioning that stupid Squid!"
"Don't be such a baby, James. You know it was funny."

"Yeah, but it still hurt."

"Can it still be mended?" Lily asked, joining James' game.

"I don't know." James said, turning away from her and sitting himself on the couch.

"You're really upset?" Lily asked, a little worried. "I was just kidding James. I think it was really sweet. A bit stupid, yes but still sweet. Honest!" She seated beside him and tugged on his sleeves, asking him to look at her. When James wasn't responding, she forced his head to face her and when he did, she kissed him. She very well knew that by this stage of their relationship, she can take advantage of James' weaknesses and that was her and her kisses. And to prove that she was right, James immediately returned the kisses, encircling his arms around her waist as Lily placed her arms around his neck. Lily smiled a triumphant smile as she felt James' "act of anger" subside. It was a great feeling to know how she can make him forget about things that upset him, and wondered 'til when will it last. Brushing aside other thoughts, she focused her attention on a more important matter: And that was, kissing James Potter, her man:o)

A/N:

I hope five pages of MS WORD are enough to make up for my long absence. I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. I've just been terribly busy lately. I'm in school 6 times a week, and I only get Sundays off. I spend my Sundays sleeping for longs hours, trying to get all energy lost and of course, doing school works.

I hope this chapter was not a disappointment. It's been ages since I've written anything and I'm afraid I've lost my touch in writing. I didn't, did I?

I'd love to receive reviews. I get inspired when I receive comments from you guys. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing this. I'm a bit upset 'coz I was reminded of the notebook I lost. My drafts were all written there, and so as some of my short stories and poems. But oh well, I'll get over it.

Please leave me a review.

-KiM-