Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

I'm sorry for not updating for a while. Not that many of you care - I have like, what, four reviews? Oh well, it kind of sucks that not a lot of people like this but whatever. I like writing it so ha! You people are stuck with it! Ok, I'm done. Enjoy.

Chapter 8: Breaking up and making out

James walked across the platform hoping to get a glimpse of Lily. He was wearing kind of baggy, faded jeans and a white shirt. It was September 1, the first day of his fourth year. Over the summer, he had been looking at a picture of him and Lily and suddenly a feeling overtook him. It had been in the background for a while, but now it was at the front. At the time he had tried to convince himself it wasn't possible that he liked Lily Evans. But that was tough, considering he did.

He pushed his trunk onto the train and searched for a compartment. When he neared the one at the back, he heard voices from inside. He recognized Sirius' and pulled the door open. What he saw made his jaw drop.

Megan was sitting on Sirius' lap, giggling as he whispered something in her ear. Lily was sitting next to them, uncomfortably squirming and Miranda was sitting next to her with a sour expression on her face. Tina was nowhere to be seen. Remus and Peter were sitting across from the girls and Sirius. James carefully pulled his jaw up to where it belonged and put his trunk where it was supposed to go. Then he sat next to his friends and proceeded to stare at the couple just like Remus and Peter.

"So, um…uh…" James tried to start a conversation. He cleared his throat. "How did this happen?"

"They hooked up over the summer," said Miranda. Then she pulled a book out of her bag and stuck her nose in it.

"But they hate each other. Er, hated," said James, looking at Sirius and Megan.

"Well, I certainly never thought we'd be on better terms this soon," said Remus.

"Oh, shut up," snapped Miranda. Everyone (including Sirius and Megan) looked shocked. She sighed. "Sorry, I'm in a bad mood." Remus nodded understandingly while Lily looked thoughtful. Then she shrugged and continued looking out the window and trying to move away from Megan and Sirius.

During the train ride (Tina had appeared by then and seemed shockingly mortified over the new couple) everyone read or talked. James went over ways to ask Lily out in his head while staring at her.

When they arrived at Hogwarts, the group put on their hats and made their way to the Gryffindor Table. James seated himself next to Lily but never got a chance to ask her. First it was Sorting, then Dumbledore's speech, and then the feast. James was so caught up with trying to ask Sirius what he had done over the summer besides hook up with Miranda which, by the way, he was never told about, that he forgot to talk to Lily.

Soon they were walking towards the Fat Lady with full stomachs and tired eyes.

"Fairy Lights," said Lily and they all walked inside. When everyone was leaving, James held Lily back.

"Lily, can I ask you something?"

"What is it James?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Will you go out with me?"

Her eyes widened.

"What? Go out with you?"

James nodded.

"Will you?" he asked.

"James, where's this coming from? You hated me last year!" she said.

"I know, but I was looking at a picture of us together and I just had this pang. Suddenly I realized I had liked you all along, I just never saw it."

"James, that's really – look, I know you'll end up playing me in the end. No matter what you say, it'll happen. You know why? Because you're a player. It's what you do."

"No, I promise, I won't, Lily," he was almost pleading. Suddenly her eyes hardened.

"No, Potter. I don't know why I'm even still standing here. I could be in my warm bed instead of talking to you. God, this is a waste of time. I would never even consider going out with you, Potter. Don't think that just because Sirius and Megan are an item we can become one. We won't even become friends, so don't try." With that, she turned around, and walked up the stairs to her dorm.

James' POV

She just left me there, staring at her retreating form. I had really meant what I had said, but she might as well have hit me on the head with a large metal object. I really liked her.

I slowly stood up and walked towards my room. When I got inside, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were whispering things but stopped when they saw me.

"What's wrong, Prongs? You look crushed," said Sirius.

"Nothing," I mumbled and went to bed.

Sirius' POV

I have to say, James looked really bad. Of course, we had been spying on him and therefore knew exactly what had happened but he didn't have to know that.

A day later, he was totally recovered though, with a new girl on his arm. I was really glad I hooked up with Megan. She was awesome, and I really liked her. Whenever Miranda saw us though, she seemed to run away or glare. It was really strange but I would just shrug it off.

Nothing else was different, really, but I had noticed Lily was pretty distant lately, when she was around us. Especially James. That led me to wonder if maybe she actually liked him or she just hated him more and was uncomfortable around him. I resolved to get to the bottom of this.

I came into the common room one night and was going to talk to Miranda about Lily and Lily about Miranda when I heard voices. I hid behind the sofa and watched. Megan and Miranda were standing up facing each other. Neither of them looked very friendly.

"You could have told me earlier! Then I wouldn't have said yes!" screamed Megan. I jumped back, almost revealing myself. I had never heard her scream.

"I did tell you earlier!" yelled Miranda.

"Yeah, earlier as in, like, last year!"

"Well you could have told me it had happened over the summer instead of on the train! Or asked me if it was ok!"

"You're being so selfish! I can date whoever I want to! I don't have to ask you! And besides, he didn't even tell James, did he?" said Miranda. Ok, they were definitely talking about me.

"Well James doesn't have a crush on you, does he?" asked Miranda. Hmm, what does that mean?

"Maybe he does, we don't know!"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself. James Potter, fall for you? Besides, he likes Lily, remember? She told us he asked her last night!" said Miranda. I gotta say, that was harsh. What if Megan did like James? Wait…no! She can't! She's my girlfriend!

"What do you mean? I'm not good enough for James?" asked Miranda.

"Yeah! He'd never fall for you!"

"Why not? I think you're talking about yourself because I am a pureblood! You're half!" Megan screamed and immediately covered her mouth. I was shocked. How could she say something like that? I mean, it wasn't exactly mean, but it was really uncalled for, and none of us cared. Miranda looked surprised and hurt. "Miranda, I'm so sor -"

"Who cares about blood? Besides, Lily's Muggle born and he likes her!" Yeah, good point. Wait, why were they fighting over James?

"I'll prove to you that I am good enough for James! I'll make him fall for me! That'll show you!" shouted Megan. Ok, I had had enough. I stood up and made it look like I just came in. They didn't notice me.

"You slut! You're with Sirius!" said Miranda. It was my turn.

"Not anymore," I said. They turned around.

"Sirius!" Megan exclaimed.

"Listen, I don't need to know why exactly you were fighting over James, my best friend, or why you want to be with James now. I just want you to know that we're not going to be going out anymore. We're over," I said and walked to my dorm.

"Sirius! Sirius, wait!" Megan called. I didn't, though. I entered the dorm, and went to sleep.

Remus' POV

I had heard the whole thing. There had been so many fights and it was still the first day. How much more heartbreak was going to occur in that room?

The next day Megan and Miranda were miserable, Lily was still distant, and Sirius was acting happy but I knew he was hurting inside. James looked normal, but I knew he had changed. Lily was the only girl he had liked a lot. It had been obvious, when we were all friends and when we were enemies. I think I was the only one who noticed. He probably hadn't even known. James was acting more arrogant and he was showing off. He had a new girl even more often than usual. Sirius did too, as if that would make Megan jealous. My friends had strange ways of dealing with pain. Only Tina, Peter, and I were really normal.

Peter had hooked up with Janice again. They had broken up a couple of times during third year but I think this time they were going to be together for a long time.

I was going out with a girl named Leah from Ravenclaw. She was in our year and had blond hair with grey eyes. We had been going out since the end of last year.

Us Marauders were known as the players of Hogwarts but Peter and I had long relationships recently. James had been trying to get into a serious relationship and Sirius had been in one until she made it sound like she liked his best friend.

I have to say, Megan did a pretty bad thing. It was going to be hard most likely, to get Sirius to forgive her. James was his best friend. They were like brothers. He had been really hurt by what she had done.

Nobody's POV

A couple of months later, James came up to Lily.

"Hey, Evans. There's a Hogsmeade trip next weekend. What do you say we go together?" he said. She made a disgusted face.

"No way, you arrogant jerk." James just smirked.

"Your loss," he said. "Hey, Anna!" he went after another girl. Lily's expression looked hurt for a split second, but then was replaced by anger.

"How dare he?" she said and started walking away. Miranda, Tina, and Megan followed. Soon James came running back and, judging by the fact that the girl named Anna was walking away giggling, she had agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him.

James' POV

Ok, I have to say, that hurt. Pretty harsh, Lillian. But she was right; I had become arrogant. That was the way I dealt with her constant rejections. I hid myself behind arrogance and showing off.

Things had gotten even worse between us. I had started to ask her out a lot and she would always say no. She even slapped me sometimes. Hard. I can still feel it stinging. But that's all right. I love her anyway.

Lily's POV

Was he ever going to stop asking me out? Didn't he realize I absolutely hated him and would never, ever say yes? And I hope he didn't think I didn't see him running after Anna! I saw it, all right. I can't believe him! He is so infuriating! He just makes me want to scream out my lungs so everyone as far away as America, or at least France, can hear me!

Oh, you're probably wondering about Jesse. Why would James ask me out if I was taken? But Jesse and I looked like such a good couple…yeah, I know. Nothing that good lasts. I don't really know what happened between us. I think we got in an argument. He thought I liked Amos Diggory and broke up with me. It happened so fast. To get back at him I said yes to Amos when he asked me out, but it didn't work out. He cheated on me with Chelsea Burnshaw, Jesse's sister. She's in sixth year, like Amos. It was weird. My boyfriend thought I had been going out with someone so I did go out with him but he ended up cheating on me with my ex's sister. Anyway, that's why Jesse and I weren't together anymore.

After Defense Against the Dark Arts, I was walking to lunch when, speak of the devil, Jesse pulled me aside.

"Hey, Lily, can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said. We walked into an empty classroom.

"Listen, I know it didn't work out last time because I didn't trust you. And I'm sorry, I really am. I should have known you wouldn't cheat on me and I don't know why I thought you might. It's just, all of the girls seemed to like Diggory and I had heard you talking with your friends about who was the hottest guy in Hogwarts and one of them said Amos and you agreed that he was hot and all…I don't know, I just got jealous. I'm really sorry about it. Do you think we could try again?" Jesse asked hopefully.

I stood there, blinking.

"I – I – um – yeah. Yeah, we can try again," I said, smiling.

Jesse grinned.

"Thanks," he said and pulled me into a passionate kiss.

We walked into the Great Hall together. His arm was around my shoulders and he was whispering in my ear. As we walked to the Gryffindor table, I saw the Marauders and my friends staring. James was looking funny. Not funny like "ha-ha" funny, more like "something isn't right" funny. I couldn't read his expression. Jesse and I sat down next to Miranda, Tina, and Megan. Miranda and Megan still weren't speaking to each other after about three months. They would talk on and off but the littlest thing would flare up their tempers.

Flashback…

"Hey, Megan, can you pass the ketchup?" asked Miranda at dinner. She was sitting next to Sirius and Megan was sitting across from them.

"Get it yourself," grumbled Megan.

"What, is it so hard to pass ketchup?"

"Yeah."

"What the hell is wrong with you? All you have to do is extend your arm!" screamed Miranda.

"Oh, shut up! You can lean over your precious Sirius to get it!" Miranda stood up. So did Megan.

"I have had enough of you! God, I hate you so much!" shouted Miranda. She and Megan got into an all-out cat fight. In the end, the teachers had to use magic to separate them and gave them two weeks of detention.

End flashback…

It was really tough for me. Tina barely ever hung out with us anymore. She had found a group of Hufflepuff girls who she apparently liked better. She didn't leave our little group or anything; she just hung out with them more. But it was ok, we were on good terms. Anyway, with Tina barely ever around and Miranda and Megan at each other's throats all the time, it was really hard. The only time I could have a good time with my friends anymore was when either Megan or Miranda wasn't there. Remus and I had become friends, though. I know he didn't like how I treated James but I know he also didn't like how James treated me. That's probably why he never interfered. Remus was the most sensible out of the Marauders. I liked him the most. He was just like me. We both loved books and were in the tops of most of our classes.

Remus was who I hung out with most these days. Of course, he was always with the rest of the Marauders so that created problems. Usually I would just come up to them, say no to James before he even said anything, wave at Sirius and Peter (I was ok with them), and fall into step next to Remus and we would start talking. I guess the only person I actually hated out of the Marauders was James.

In almost no time, it was Christmas. We had had an eight-day leave for Hanukah and the Jewish kids got to go home. Then it was two weeks of classes and Christmas. I have to say, I was relieved that Megan went home. It wasn't that it was Megan; I would have been just as happy if it had been Miranda. Or both, incase they decided to rant on and on about how they hate the other one. Peter, James, and Sirius left also. Sirius was going to spend the holidays with James' family.

I was sitting in the common room with Jesse. We had been together again for a month. I was reading a book when suddenly he turned to me.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

"Sure. What is it?" I asked, putting down my book. He sighed.

"I have a confession to make," he said. Uh-oh. This couldn't be good.

"Yeah?"

"I cheated on you," he said in a rush. I was shocked. This has got to be a joke.

"What? After accusing me of cheating on you a while ago?"

"I know, I know. And I feel terrible about it. But I promise it was nothing big. Just a couple of kisses."

"You know, that's big enough! With who?"

"A girl named Olivia in my year," he said.

"I can't believe you!" I screamed. He looked really guilty.

"I know. I can't believe it happened either! It was just…heat of the moment. I understand if you want to break up." He looked so cute when he was guilty.

Focus Lily, focus!

Right.

"I don't know." I thought for a bit. "Let's break up while I think."

"Ok, but why can't we stay together while you think?" he asked hopefully.

"Because I won't feel guilty if I kiss another guy then."

"Oh. Good point. Well, ok. Tell me when you're ready to talk again. I'm really, really sorry," Jesse said. He stood up and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see you later." I nodded and watched him leave.

The next evening I was sitting on the same couch when Remus came down. His shirt was unbuttoned and he tie was loose. He plopped down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Hey," he said. "I heard about what happened. You ok?"

"Yeah," I said. I turned to look at him. The firelight was dancing in his eyes and making his face an orange color. He looked really cute. "Everything's such a mess now. What with Miranda and Megan hating each other and Tina not being around anymore and James and Sirius playing even more girls...I dunno it's all just bad." I turned away but he reached out and pulled my face back. He had his hand on my chin and he was staring into my eyes. He hesitantly leaned in. My heart was beating fast. I saw him close his eyes and I did too. Our lips found each other's and came together passionately. He moved his hands around my waist and I put my arms around his neck. It was all wonderful until I remembered. I broke away. "What about Leah?" I asked.

"We're on a break right now," he said.

"Ok, then," I said and pressed my mouth against his. We stood up and mashed our bodies together. I felt his tongue on my lips and I opened them, allowing his tongue to find mine. I pulled his shirt over his head, still engrossed in the kiss. My hands ran over his smooth and muscular chest and stomach. He lay me down on the couch and hovered above me. Then he brought his head down again.

No, Remus and I did not sleep together, which was good, considering the fact that we didn't have real feelings for each other. It was just hormones, I guess. A one night stand sort of thing. The next day it was a little awkward but then we talked about it and somehow found it hilarious.

A week later I got back together with Jesse and Remus did with Leah.

Remus' POV

I was afraid of what James would say when he found out. I knew he would find out; Sirius would drag it out of me and James would know about it. But I still wouldn't tell them until they got it out of me. I didn't have to wait long.

"There's something different about you," said Sirius the night they got back.

"No there's not," I said quickly.

"Yeah there is. Come on, tell us!" This continued for a while before I gave in. I looked at James and cautiously told them.

"I sort of made out with Lily a week and a half ago," I said quietly. James looked shocked but not mad.

"So…" he said.

"So what?" I asked.

"Is she a good kisser?"

I grinned.

"Yeah."

Far from making him mad, this seemed to motivate him even more.