Disclaimer: the world and (most) characters herein belong to J. K. Rowling, I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter Eleven

Lily stifled a large yawn.

It was nearing midnight, and she and James were on the their way back to Gryffindor Tower having just finished the last of their corridor patrols for the night. It had been a rather dull night, and James had been unusually quiet all evening, unable to coaxed into conversation or give anything other than monosyllabic responses. Lily's thoughts had quickly taken a longing turn to the warm, squishy bed that awaited her, and she was grateful to finally be on her way towards it.

"What would you say if I asked you out right now?"

She was so startled by his sudden speech, it took her a moment to register the actual words.

"No."

When he did not respond, she glanced curiously at him. It was hard to tell from profile, but he seemed thoughtful.

"Were you expecting a different answer?" She asked. She'd meant to duplicate the peculiar overtly casual tone he'd used, but a hint of incredulity slipped through at the end, betraying her and ruining the effect.

"Not expecting, no…" He said, succeeding where she'd just failed. After a few moments, he added still not looking at her, but sounding much more normal, "You don't sound surprised."

"I am. It took you much longer than I thought it would to ask again." She said, only half-joking.

"What made you certain I would?"

They had reached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower now, and James turned to face her.

"Because you're you."

"I'm predictable?"

He looked amused.

"Only when you're being stubborn."

"You would know something about that." He said it mockingly enough, but it gave her pause. There was something almost ... resentful about it.

"I'm not being stubborn, James," Lily said, serious now. "I'm just not interested."

"Not even a little?" He asked slyly.

"Not even," She agreed.

He shrugged, seemingly nonplussed.

"Ah, well, all in good time…"

He turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who dozed with her head resting against the edge of the frame.

"Alihotsy."

She cracked an eye open to survey them before giving a sleepy grunt of acknowledgement; her portrait swung forward.

"Ladies first," James said, with a grand sweeping gesture.

Lily made no move forward.

"That wasn't a challenge, James. I'm not a challenge."

He blinked, hand falling.

"I know that."

"I don't reckon you do." She said softly, brushing past him and crawling through the revealed entrance into the common room. Bidding him a good-night over her shoulder while he scrambled in after her, she took the girl's staircase and ignored his attempts to call her back.

xxx

"Lily!"

Swearing softly, she ducked her head.

It was late in the afternoon the following day; his voice cut across the bustling corridor as newly dismissed students headed toward their next lessons.

"Lily!"

It wasn't that she was avoiding him per se..., she just had no interest in listening to any of the backtracking, protests, or attempts at smoothing over last night, he, judging from the looks he'd cast her way all day, had at the ready. So far, she'd been successfully denying him the opportunity to unleash them by remaining elusive.

"Lily!"

Quickening her pace, she wove through the throng and turned into a much less populated corridor. This corridor would take her in a roundabout route, but hopefully James would continue on his way, assuming she was somewhere up ahead still and he'd merely lost sight of her.

"Lily."

As it was, there was no such luck.

Hastily side-stepping the leisurely paced third years in front of her to slip past, she brushed someone at the fringe of a group passing by in the opposite direction.

"Watch it, Mudblood," that someone hissed, jostling her sideways.

"Bugger off," Lily snapped back. As she took her next step forward though, as if a carpet was abruptly ripped from underfoot, she tripped forward and fell, landing hard on the stone floor.

"Are you alright?" James knelt beside her.

"Fine." She said, sitting up, and swiftly zeroing in on the appreciative guaffaws and sniggers echoing from the retreating Slytherins.

"Twenty points from Slytherin!"

Her voice sounded like a crack.

"Each." James added loudly, voice cold with understanding as he followed her gaze.

"Mudblood." A Slytherin tossed back jeeringly.

This time it was not aimed to goad her.

"No!" Lily grabbed James' arm as he leapt up, reaching for his wand. "Leave it! Leave it. Don't make a scene!"

"A scene!" He repeated, attempting to wrench his arm free. "They just hexed you and called you a -!"

"I'm perfectly aware of what they did, thanks," She interrupted tartly.

"And that's okay, is it?" He demanded, stilling to stare down at her.

"Of course not," She said. "But there's no need to make a fuss. It'll only please them."

"You can't just let them off-!" He began.

"I haven't let them off," She said, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm just not about to get into a duel in the middle of bloody corridor."

"That's not what I had in mind," said James, casting a dark look down the corridor.

"You're Head Boy! You can't just go 'round hexing whoever you fancy now," Lily said hotly, dropping his arm. "That's not how it works anymore."

"I know that."

"I don't reckon you do."

"Not this again!" James warned, adding grumpily, "That's the whole reason I'm here in the first place."

"Is it?" asked Lily, feigning surprise. "I was under the impression it was because you can't get 'no' through your thick skull."

"I was going to apologize for last night." He said tightly.

"I don't want an apology," She said instantly.

"What do you want than?" He asked exasperatedly.

"At this moment for you to leave me to fight my own battles," She answered crisply. "I don't need you defending me, I'm perfectly capable-"

"Which is why," He interrupted. "I can't believe you just let those bastards walk away!"

Lily crossed her arms and leveled him with a look.

"You do realize, six weeks ago that would've been you?"

"I've never called you a Mudblood!" He said, looking incensed. "And I never did anything just because you're Muggleborn."

"No." She agreed. "It was just because you were an arrogant, bullying, toerag."

James blinked at her.

"Are you seriously having a go at me right now?" He demanded incredulously.

"I just find this all a bit rich coming from you," She sighed. "Considering all you've done."

"You might want to consider that I haven't done anything in a while-"

"Six weeks."

"It's a start-"

"It doesn't make up for six years."

James narrowed his eyes at her shrewdly.

"Is that what this is about?" He took a step forward. "Is that why you're not interested?"

"James." She huffed. "You don't want to go out with me. You just want to prove I will. That," She took a purposeful step forward."is what this is about."

He opened his mouth but she was finished and turned on her heel to walk away. Only, she didn't get very far. She was to caught in mid-step by the arm and reeled back around. Her shout of indignation was swiftly muffled by a pair of lips as James Potter began to kiss her.

It was not a soft or gentle kiss.

It was hard and angry and rough.

She stood, unmoving and unthinking against the onslaught until just as abruptly it had started, it stopped.

"You're wrong." He whispered, still close enough that their noses brushed.

She placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"You-! You-! How - are you -?" Reeling, she took a steadying breath, "If you ever do that again I'll - I'll -..."

He leaned in, the finger she'd brandished at him poked his chest, and she froze.

"Go on," He coaxed softly. "I'm curious."

She scowled.

"You are an arsehole."

This time when she whorled around, he did not pull her back. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve furiously as she stalked away.

"Do you know what I want?" He called after her. "From you?"

He answered when she didn't, "An open mind...I reckon if you had that, you might feel differently."

"I wouldn't count on it," she snapped, without turning around.

"No," He said, sounding almost grim. "I won't."

Briefly she wondered what exactly he was referring to.

xxx

Mumbling her apologies to Professor Glendower, Lily slid into a seat.

Professor Glendower gave her a curt nod before picking up where she'd left off when Lily had interrupted with her late arrival, and Lily promptly tuned her out.

What was he playing at? That egotistical, self-righteous, delusional, impossible arsehole.

Kissing her!?

If, you could even call it that, mind you. Attacking was more like it.

She had more than half a mind to hex him. Head Girl or not be damned. He would bloody deserve it.

The bat-bogey hex maybe? Or boils? Great oozing boils. Lily pondered the possibilities. Perhaps, she could curse his hair off...?

Oh, he'd be gutted about that. Whatever would he do without that electrically shocked looking mop to run his fingers through?

The image of a bald James Potter, and the expression on his face when he discovered it, filled her mind.

It such a fantastically beautiful thing, and cheered her up so immensely, she let it preoccupy her for the rest of the afternoon.

xxx

"She'll get over it." Sirius said.

James was in the middle of a brief recap of this afternoon with Lily, as Sirius, Remus, Peter, and himself sat in their dormitory after dinner. He had not mentioned the kiss. It had been an act born of desperation that, recalling her reaction, had failed. Rather dismally.

He saw no need to bring it up.

"No. I don't reckon she will." James said. "She's quite sore about all the pranks and stuff from before. Called me an arrogant, bullying, toerag. And an arsehole. Reckons I only want to go out with her to prove a point."

"Well, she's not wrong," said Sirius.

Remus pressed his lips together.

"Please," said James flatly. "Don't hold back on my account. I expect this makes you dead chuffed."

"On the contrary."

"Don't patronize me, Moony," James said tiredly, falling back onto his bed. "I'm not in the mood."

"What do you want me to say, Prongs? That it serves you right? That you are an arsehole?"

"Yeah, actually, that's better, thanks."

Remus sighed.

"The thing is James, you're not an arsehole. For some reason you just insist on acting like one."

"Do you ever consider it's not an act?" James asked the ceiling.

"No." answered Remus. "Although I'm afraid that won't be true one day if you keep this up."

The answer to the age-old question: what took you so long to update? writing. Writing is what takes so long. (In my case it's writing, and then re-re-re-re-re-re-x-a-thousand-writing. Really, I guess the answer is: not knowing when to say when.)

Let me know if/what you liked/disliked, and once again, if anyone has any suggestions or ideas they'd like to share, I'm willing to hear 'em. Please review!

-GoddessoftheMaan