Yeah…I left you with a cliff hanger…so sue me. Oh…speaking of suing…I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR THE MARAUDERS! I do not even own Cara Richardson…I do own Madi…that is it. Now, this chapter is filled with lyrics from one of my favorite songs…so, this chapter goes to a band called Sweet Children…

Recap:

James said as he brought his lips closer…and closer…until…

Chapter Five

Dry Ice

…his lips made contact with hers. Lily felt energy flow through her veins and her heart overrode her mind as she began to kiss him back. Slowly, her hands made their way around his neck and to his hair as he gently laid her down on the bed. He kissed her with all of his heart. Suddenly, Lily came back to her senses and she gently pushed James off of her. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen, and her breath short.

"James, we shouldn't have done that." She said guiltily.

"Why not?" He asked incredulously.

"It was too fast. I'm not ready yet." She said, sitting up.

"Not ready for what? Snogging? Or a boyfriend?" James asked.

"Both." Lily said quietly. "Would you understand if we could just be friends?"

"Of course, Lily. Of course." James said kindly. Inside though, his heart was shattering into a million pieces.

"Thank you. Goodnight, James." Lily said as she kissed his cheek then left his room. As soon as the door closed, James let down all of his barriers and cried. Tears flooded his cheeks as he cried for his broken heart. He solemnly got ready for bed as the tears flowed. He lay down in his bed and cried himself to sleep.

The next morning, he woke up after a very disturbing dream and went to get ready. He silently passed Lily as he left the bathroom and went down to breakfast. Remus and Sirius were already in the Great Hall and eating breakfast. James walked over and slammed his bag down, making both boys jump.

"The bet is off." James said dangerously.

"Why?" Remus asked. James was rarely this upset.

"I can't do it. I don't have a chance. Last night, I handed her my heart and she crushed it!" James shouted.

"Whoa, mate, tell us exactly what happened." Sirius said, trying to calm his friend down.

"Last night, I had borrowed her book and she got mad. Then she went on about something and I asked her out. She got pissed and insulted me worse than she has ever done before. Then, she came into my room and apologizes. I tell her that I love her, and she left."

"Do you think you scared her off?" Remus asked.

"No. When I kissed her, she kissed me back!" James replied.

"Then what happened?" Sirius asked.

"I went to sleep after she left. Then, late last night I had a dream and she was in it again. She and I were in the sky, flying hand in hand. I woke up in a cold sweat wishing she was by my side. Praying that she'd dry the tears left on my face I've cried."

"Did you mean it when you said you loved her?" Remus asked.

"Oh I love her."

"Then keep dreaming of her." Remus replied.

"After we kissed, she had then nerve to ask if I would understand if we could just be friends! For me, it's a pain that's in my heart."

"That was cold. So cold it must have burned." Sirius said.

"Yeah, kind of like dry ice. But, you know what they say, 'Every rose has its thorns.'" Remus said.

"Maybe, but Lily has fangs." James spat just as Lily walked up to the table. She only caught James's last statement and felt her heart drop. She simply turned and ran out of the hall. She passed Cara and Madison on the way out. They could have sworn there were tears in her eyes. Madison sat down next to Remus and grabbed a muffin. Cara sat down next to Sirius.

"What happened?" Madison asked.

"James and Lily had an argument last night." Remus said softly.

"Oh, alright." Madison replied, leaving it at that.

The rest of the day was miserable. James was depressed, Lily was depressed, and their depression was depressing everyone else. James kept sneaking glances at Lily, and Lily kept sneaking glances at James. Their gazes never met. This was not a bad thing. If either of them had seen the heartache in the other ones eyes, they would have collapsed into a fit of tears right then and there and cried until their eyes bled.

That night, James stayed in the Gryffindor Common Room until eleven just to avoid Lily. He finally entered the Head Dorm around eleven-thirty that night. Lily's door was closed and James assumed she was sleeping. He made his way to his room and got ready for bed. He couldn't fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her face and heard her voice. That same voice that told him they could never be. Around midnight, he heard a scream come from Lily's room. He shot out of bed and threw open the bathroom door. He bolted through the bathroom and into her room. He saw no one in her room. Then, Lily screamed again. He looked over at her bed to see her thrashing around. James realized she was having a nightmare. He leaned over her and shook her shoulders.

"Lily! Lily wake up!" He said, trying to wake her from her terror. Suddenly, she shot up with wide eyes. She threw herself at the nearest object and clung to it. That thing just happened to be James. "Shh Lily. It's alright, I'm here now." James said softly as he gently stroked her hair. 'The dream must have been terrible. I have never seen someone cry this hard.' James thought as Lily sobbed into his shoulder.

"It was horrible. They all died. Everyone, my family was dead. All because of me." Lily sobbed.

"It was just a dream. It wasn't real. It's okay, I'm here, Lily." James whispered as he held her close.

"But the worst part was you." Lily said softly. James felt his heart sink.

"What happened with me?" James asked.

"You died. It scared me so much. I'm sorry James. I lied to you twice last night." She said, trying to stop her tears.

"What do you mean you lied to me twice last night?" James inquired.

"I lied when I said I wasn't ready for a boyfriend. I am. But not just any boyfriend." Lily began. James felt his heart soar. "I also lied when I said I wanted to be friends. I can't just be your friend anymore, James." Lily said and James felt his heart breaking. He was about to get up when Lily whispered, "I want to be more than friends." James felt the Earth stop moving.

"Excuse me? Did you just say what I think you said?" James breathed.

"You have to ask the right question." Lily whispered.

"Lily Evans, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" James asked softly.

"Yes. I will." Lily said just as softly. James leaned down and captured her lips in his own in another heart stopping kiss. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her as she lay down on her bed. After a few moments, Lily pulled away.

"What's wrong?" James asked.

"I'm sorry, but I am just so bloody tired." Lily confessed.

"It's okay. Good night Lily." James said as he began to get out of her bed.

"Wait! Don't go." Lily pleaded.

"But you need your sleep." James replied.

"Stay with me, please?" Lily asked sitting up.

"Okay." James said as he climbed into her bed and wrapped his arm around her. She lay her head down on his chest and they fell asleep in each others arms.

The next morning, James was awoken by an annoying ray of sun coming through a gap in the curtain. It took him a moment to realize whose bed he was in and when he did, he grinned like a Cheshire cat. The girl of his dreams, the love of his life was sleeping next to him. He tried to gently get out of bed, but Lily was lying on his arm. He tugged slightly and she turned over on her side, facing him. Her face was mere inches from his own. He couldn't help but plant a soft kiss on her forehead. She smiled in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open.

"Damn, I didn't mean to wake you." James said softly.

"It's okay; I needed to get up anyways." Lily replied.

"Did you sleep well?" James asked.

"Yes." She replied. James leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips. Just a quick one, morning breath is a real mood killer.

"That's good." James said.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lily asked.

"Of course, Lils, anything."

"Did you mean it when you said you loved me?" She asked.

"I love you more right now, more than I've ever loved before. Here these words straight from my lips 'I'll need you forever more'." James whispered as Lily just smiled.

They both got up and while Lily was in the shower, James started reading one of the books in the Head Dorm. While James was in the shower, Lily got ready and did some homework. They walked to the Great Hall hand in hand. There were many gasps, mutterings, and death glares from the 'Marauder Fan Club'.

"Whoa, Prongs, when did this happen?" Sirius asked.

"Whatever do you mean, Padfoot?" James asked innocently.

"Well, I am happy for you two." Remus said kindly.

"Yeah, it's about bloody time." Madison laughed.

"We were beginning to think we were going to have to take drastic measures to get you two together." Cara replied. James was smirking as Lily blushed.

"Madi, may I talk to you outside for a moment?" Remus asked, getting up from the table.

"Sure Remus, one second." She said, taking one last bite of her muffin and getting up from the table to follow Remus out of the Hall.

"Hey, Cara?" Sirius said.

"Yes?" She replied.

"We should go out some time." He stated.

"Why?"

"Well, all of your friends are dating a Marauder, so why break the cycle?" He said smirking. Though, that smirk did not last long as a whole muffin came flying at his face.

Another chapter done…yay! Read and review my lovely little whores…oh before I forget, for all of those who like the Ron/Hermione pairing, go to this link and watch the video…http/ ewfs . sytes . net /videos / edwinmccainillbe . wmv (take out the spaces.)