'James,

I am so bored. I've been trying to do this Potions essay and failed completely – I've managed to convince myself that owling you will help me. Or something.

How's Sirius? Is he still mad at me? I know he thinks I'm lying about Matt, but I'm not, I swear. You know that, right? I'm just so sick of everyone thinking I'm a liar!

Lil'

'Lily,

You actually think that I could help you with homework? Lady, are you losing your mind? Sirius is still pissed off with you, I'm afraid to say, but what do you expect? Don't worry too much, though – I don't think many people have taken his side over this; you know I haven't. I could never think you're a liar, I know you too well.

Prongs'

'James,

Oops, sorry that took a while – I was in the kitchen. Thanks for the vote of confidence – it means a lot. I just wish Sirius would wake up though! Does he want to blame me or something?

Lily

PS Why 'Prongs' anyway? You never did tell me…'

'Lils,

That's for me to know and you to find out if you ever get me drunk enough. Why were you in the kitchens, may I ask? We only had dinner a couple of hours ago and I swear you had more than one helping of mashed potato…

I really don't know about Sirius. I think it makes him feel better to blame things on you, otherwise he'll realise it was as much his fault as yours and become even guiltier about everything. That wouldn't make for a happy Sirius, and I don't like having a miserable best mate.

James'

'Fine, Prongs, I'll just get you insanely drunk next Hogsmeade weekend and get it out of you.

What are you now? My bloody dietician? For your information I was talking to the House Elves and picking Chrissy up some cookies.

I see your point about Sirius, but he seems pretty miserable even though I'm being blamed for the big breakup. And, in case no one's noticed, it's not making me a happy bunny either.

Lily'

'Lilykins,

My dreams of becoming a dietician are none of your beeswax and not to be ridiculed. Why would you want to talk to House Elves? And where the hell does that girl put it all?

James (with two miserable best friends)

PS What's wrong with this weekend?'

'Jamesypops,

For your information, House Elves are highly intelligent, fascinating creatures and, more to the point, a mine of information. I was asking them about bitch-features and whether they'd seen her up to anything. They wouldn't tell me much, though; they seem to love her.

As for Chrissy? Merlin knows. She eats at least six meals a day, plus snacks at least every half hour. My mum reckons she wears it all off bouncing around and being in-your-face – Chrissy drives her up the wall!

Lily

PS I have a date'

'Lillian, my darling,

I just knew there had to be something you got out of it. Not that I'm calling you selfish or Slytherin-like, but House Elves are strange company to keep, even if you do hang round with Chrissy. Nice thought, though; wonder why they won't tell you anything. There must be something to tell, or they wouldn't be being secretive.

James

PS Ooh, who with?'

'Potter,

I am not selfish or Slytherinish! I do like House Elves, and don't insult my best mate. And for your information, it's not Lillian, it's just Lily

Lily

PS That's none of your beeswax. Ha.'

'Just Lily,

Back to surnames, are we? Ever heard of a little thing called sarcasm? I was joking! You are quite Slytherinish though.

James

PS What makes you think I'm bothered?'

'James,

I am not! You're the one who likes humiliating people! Whether you were joking or not, you shouldn't. You use people for humour's sake all the time without even thinking or how they might take it. Not everyone's as thick-skinned as you lot, you know.

Lily (annoyed)

PS The fact that you asked in the first place, dumbschnitzel.'

'Lily, (annoyed)

I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to offend you. But I don't know what you're on about – I never upset anyone! And we're not thick-skinned; we just know how to take a joke.

James (sorry)'

PS Whatever, I'll find out somehow.

'James, (forgiven)

You never upset anyone? Are you blind, deaf and dumb?

Lily

PS You do that.'

'Lily,

What do you mean?

James'

'James, (BDAD)

Severus? All you do is make that poor guy's life hell! What did he ever do to you?

Lily'

'Lily,

He's evil! Have you ever seen him not throwing it right back at us? Anyway, if he washed his hair I might lay off him a bit.

James (What does BDAD mean?)'

'James, (Blind, Deaf And Dumb)

You've just proved my point – he throws it back at you, meaning you started it. I've never seen him start a fight with you lot.

Lily'

'Lily,

Fine, be all high and mighty. I'm going to bed; you can put away your lectern and go pester someone else.

James'

'Fine', Lily thought. 'He can be stupid and immature as much as he wants, it's not my problem.' She yawned and looked up as Chrissy came in. As soon as she saw Lily, she yawned too.

"Bloody contagious yawning."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I'm shattered!"

"Better get your beauty sleep, babe – it's your big date tomorrow!"

"Yeah."

"You don't sound too excited. What's up?"

"Oh, it's just James being a prick."

"What's he done now?"

Lily chucked the pile of notes at Chrissy, who scanned them, sighing. "Lily, isn't it obvious?"

"No," she snapped angrily.

"Oh, come on – even I can figure it out and I'm thick!"

"Whatever."

"Stop being stupid, Lil. It's just a lovers' tiff."

"Oh, shut up with your stupid 'He likes you and wants your babies' crap."

"Chill out, Lil. Do you want to know what's upset him or not?"

"Yes," Lily said quietly, and Christina smirked.

"He's jealous."

"Jealous? Of what?"

"Don't be an ass. He found out about your date with Matt."

"So? He knows I like Matt."

"Yeah, but then you basically said you'd rather spend time with Matt than him, and –"

"I did not!"

"Shut up. You then started criticising him, and you even favoured Snape over him. In James' book, that's bad."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Think about it."

"Ugh, he is such a dick!"

"How do you figure that one out?"

"Look, if he likes me, why wouldn't he just come out and say it?"

"Lily, he's a guy. Since when have guys worked like that?"

"Good point. But still…" Lily trailed off with a heavy sigh. Why couldn't it just be simple?

"Look, Lily, think how you'd feel if he went on a date with, say, Jess, and then started talking about how you should stop being harsh on Bellatrix Lestrange."

"That so wouldn't happen," said Lily, laughing.

"Yeah, but imagine how you'd feel if it did."

Lily thought for a moment. "You are so right."

"I know. Night night!" and with that, she waltzed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Mental!" Lily muttered to herself. She glanced over at Jess and Carrie's beds, with their curtains already drawn, and blew out her candle.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Lily was a bag of nerves the next morning, with the prospect of her date with Matt in Hogsmeade ahead of her. She supposed she should be really excited, what with him being gorgeous, funny, two years older and incredibly sexy, but somehow that made the whole thing worse. Lily just felt inferior, like she was a silly little schoolgirl and he was her older brother's best friend or something. What if he'd just asked her out to be nice?

Anyway, Chrissy had helped her sort an outfit out. She had gone (reluctantly) for skinny jeans with a baggy grey jumper gathered with a black cloth belt round her waist. It was a slightly eclectic getup, especially with her coloured beads, headband and rainbow pumps, but both she and Chrissy had agreed that at least she'd be remembered this way. Chris had also agreed, for moral support, to wear her mental Biba skirt while she waited for Matt with Lily, so that they would both be insanely brightly coloured and "insanely stylish," as Chrissy put it.

So the two of them were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, sipping their traditional hot chocolate with a tot of Butterbeer and muchos chocolate sprinkles.

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit!"

"Calm down, Lily!" Chrissy grabbed Lily's hand, which had been absent-mindedly shredding a serviette, and slammed it down on the table. "You'll be fine!"

"No I won't. What if he doesn't like me? What if he thinks I'm a silly little kid?"

"Lily, you complete dumbschnitzel, he asked you out. On a date. Of his own free will. Therefore, he likes you. He thinks you're fit. He thinks you're incredibly stylish, gorgeous and probably kinky, if your vampire outfit has anything to do with it."

"Yeah, but you would say that!"

"Oh, shut up! If you don't chill out and start emergency lipgloss application, I'm gonna leave you here all on your own so you look like a tragic loner when he comes to get you."

"No, don't do that!" Lily said, panicking. "Don't leave me!"

Christina burst out laughing. "Lily, you really need to loosen up. I won't leave you, but you need to calm down. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Umm, he could think I'm really weird, or I could say something really stupid, or we could have a horrible teeth-clashing moment…"

"Well, either of the first two can be resolved by the fact that he's in Ravenclaw, you hardly ever see him, and this is his last year at Hogwarts anyway."

"True."

"And the third one? Well, if your teeth clash, you must have been kissing in the first place, which has got to be a good thing."

"I suppose so."

"Right, you're sorted. Don't worry, just go with it."

"Right."

"And if all else fails, you can get James horribly drunk and marry him instead."

"Okay."

"See? It's fine. Don't look now, here he comes."

Lily used all her willpower not to look behind her, and to carry on talking with Chrissy as if her heart wasn't pounding and her stomach hadn't just disappeared off the face of the planet. Matt appeared to Lily's right, and Lily looked up at him, trying to smile like a normal person.

"Hi, girlies."

"Hey, Matt," Chrissy said, and looked pointedly at Lily.

"Hiya," Lily smiled, feeling slightly better. At least this proved that she could still talk.

"I'll scoot, I think. I've got to meet – er – Jess."

"I'd stay here for a bit if I were you, she's having an argument with that guy she's always getting off with. What's his name again?"

"Jake," Chrissy sighed. "Does the girl have no pride?"

"Apparently not," Matt grinned. Wow, smile. Lip ring. Smile, wow. Sexy. Wow.

"Yeah, stick around for a bit, Chris. I wouldn't wish that on you."

"You sure?" Christina looked from Lily to Matt, and both nodded. "Alright then. Sit down, Matt. Don't stand there like a pillock."

Lily gaped. "Chris!"

"He doesn't mind, do you?" she smiled sweetly.

"Nah," Matt said, but rolled his eyes at Lily when Chrissy wasn't looking.

Chris got up and said, "I need food. Anyone want some?" Lily and Matt both nodded mutely, trying not to laugh. When Chris had disappeared towards the bar, patting Matt on the head along the way, he leant back and sighed.

"Sorry about her," Lily smiled.

"Don't worry about it!" Matt grinned, and Lily melted. "She's good entertainment, anyway."

"True. So how are you?"

"I'm great thanks. You?"

"Shattered actually, but when am I not?"

Chrissy came back a few minutes later, and then Jess came storming in. At this point, Lily and Matt decided to take their leave. They wandered around the shops for a few hours, chatting amiably and generally having a laugh. However, Lily was getting very frustrated by the fact that they hadn't even held hands. When it started to get dark, the two of them walked back to the castle and said their goodbyes. Matt gave Lily a huge bear hug, and she kissed him on the cheek.

Matt seemed surprised by this, as he said "Aww," but Lily didn't answer. She just smiled and walked away.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Lily and Chrissy sat together in Transfiguration on Monday morning, whispering between Professor McGonagall's explanation of Vanishing Spells.

"Vanishing Spells are among the most complex pieces of magic you will be expected to perform at OWL. They are not nearly as complicated as Conjuring Spells, which will only come up in Advanced Transfiguration at NEWT."

"What exactly happened on your date then?"

"Ugh. Nothing."

"Vanishing Spells become more complex with the increased complexity of the object you are vanishing."

"Really?"

"Yup. We didn't even hold hands."

"What? But I thought you were all over each other at Halloween!"

"We were! I didn't kiss him, though. Maybe he thought I was rejecting him or something."

"I doubt it."

"For example, Vanishing a piece of parchment or another inanimate object would be much simpler than Vanishing a living creature."

"Well either way, it's bloody annoying. I tried everything! I moaned that I was cold, I tripped over…"

"And he didn't pick you up?"

"Well yeah, he did, but then he let go again! I even kissed him on the cheek and he didn't take the hint."

"That is why we will be learning how to Vanish parchment today, and proceeding to mice next lesson. For those who manage to Vanish their parchment, there are old exercise books for you to practice on."

"That's bad. What's wrong with him? Did you do something really stupid?"

"I don't think so. I was wearing jeans, so I can't have had my skirt tucked into my knickers…"

"Miss Evans, please repeat what I just told you."

Lily panicked. "Um – there are books for people that manage to Vanish their parchment?"

Professor McGonagall nodded, and Lily breathed a sigh of relief. "Miss Marsden. What did I say prior to that?"

"Um – er – Vanishing is easier with live creatures?"

"Detention, Miss Marsden. Kindly listen in my lessons, then you may realise that all spells are more challenging with living things."

Christina flopped onto the desk and glared at Lily. "Why do you always get away with everything?"

Lily smiled sweetly. "I'm just wonderful."

"That's as may be, Miss Evans, but I'm sure the rest of the class don't nee reminding. Move next to Mr Black, please."

Sirius' face contorted. "No, Professor! I won't sit with her."

Professor McGonagall sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. Swap places with her. You can sit with Miss Marsden and Miss Evans can work with Mr Lupin."

Lily was stung. Sirius wouldn't even look at her, or apologise as he slammed into her on his way to the back of the room. She felt tears welling up, but balled her fists and plonked herself down next to Remus, knowing that he would make everything seem better.

Wow, 10 reviews took a lot less time than I expected...however, I got this up the day I got my 10th! I'm quite proud of that.

HPBeatles Thanks. You keep being busy or away, so I don't talk to you. I've been really busy lately too, so that might explain it.

Angel2510 Alright, I took note of the hint, so here it is! How are you anyway? I'm so tired - I worte this whole thing today, and I'm pooped out.

Black For President I really kicked myself when people started pointing the Remus thing out - I've gone back and changed it now. I think I did it because I'd written the first little bit about a week beforeI continued, and I'd forgotten what I'd written. Me being a bit of an idiot, I forgot to check. Duh. Thanks!

Amanda I know! Awkward situations are so fun to write, too. I've been in enough of them myself. I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Anonymous Ugh, I was so annoyed with myself about that. Anyway, thanks a lot for letting me know, and I'm glad you like it!

Weird Not Boring I love food fights! Milk absolutely reeks though. I like Bellatrix's character, but I agree that she sucks. I just love writing evil people hehe.

TraptyetfreE Thanks. This fic isn't intended to be AU, and as far as I know it fits in with JK's depictions of Lily and James. If I'm wrong here, please correct me, but Lily and James hated each other at the end of fifth year, and didn't get together till seventh year. Harry was never told why they hated each other apart from that Lily hated James' cockiness. So I figured that maybe there was another reason they hated each other, and that at one point they might have been friends. When you're 15 your character is still developing, and at the moment this fic is still about the start of fifth year, so some stuff may happen to change things. I can't really tell you the rest of the way I see it, as that would ruin the plot, but I hope that makes sense to you. :)

Megan Thank you! I've really got back into this since you reviewed actually, so a double thanks is due!

brooke michelle Thanks so much! I read your bio, and I couldn't help noticing the part about the lip rings...I love them too, as you can probably tell by this story haha. Anyways, you got a quick update, so I hope you enjoy!

Thanks a million, everyone. You're really boosting my ego at the moment. (I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but it seems to make me write faster, which can't be all bad) I'm gonna have trouble updating every 10 reviews if this is anything to judge by, so my new promise is: I'll update every 15 reviews, or if I'm feeling particularly creative maybe before that. Either way, you know how to make it happen, or to make suggestions, or anything you wanna say really.

I was also wondering: what did you guys originally think about Lily and James? Did they have any history, or had they always just got on each other's nerves? Let me know if you review - I'd be interested to know.

Becca x