Forever in the Wings

She only stared at me with a slightly agape mouth. I knew she didn't understand how well I could read her. That certain ways she bit her lip were different ways that she was nervous or anxious. The different ways her eyes lit up and her smile stretched. Surely she had, or someone else had, noticed that one cannot help but end up falling in love with someone after seven years of chasing and liking. At first I had tried to ask her out just because I couldn't get her. Then I started liking her brains, her looks, her very . And then, last year, I realized that I had fallen love with her.

I couldn't stand not to be around her. It was physically painful for me to be separate from her. Hadn't someone once said that hate and love toe a very thin line, and it only takes a small nudge to push you over. Something had pushed both of us over that line a long time ago.

Lily, however, recovered from the shock of my calling her bluff quickly. I could see it in the set of her jaw. "Oh yeah, Potter. Aren't we being nice and full of ourselves this afternoon? Just because you're James Potter that doesn't mean everyone has to go and end up freakin' fallin' in love with you!"

I saw the tears begin to well up in her eyes. Ha! She did love me! She was fighting a battle with herself. I wanted to kiss her right then and tell her that I knew she really did love me. She didn't have to admit it, that I understood. I wanted to kiss her right then and there. But she wouldn't like that, so I refrained myself. So I had to content myself with saying it out loud then.

"But you did." I said softly. "You fell in love with me, and right now you're hating yourself for it."

I watched as she grit her teeth and wrenched her hand away. I missed the warmth already. Her voice was harder and darker. She was doing her best to remain mad at me, and it wasn't working. "What is with you tonight? I haven't fallen in love with you, Potter!" As she was saying all this, Lily stood up and raised her voice so that she was yelling at me for the first time in ages.

I kept my voice skeptically soft and questioning. I could see the fury light up in her eyes. The thunder cracked loudest this time. Her voice was icy now, and I winced inwardly. I hated it when she was mad at me. "What makes you so sure that you can read my thoughts that way?"

For Pete's sake! I wanted to yell at her. I had known her since she was a child at eleven and watched her grown into that awkward but never less lovely teenager and finally the beautiful young woman in front of me. It was a struggle for me to keep my voice down and my lips to myself. "Evans, I've known you since you were eleven. I've watched you ace every homework assignment and fail a single test. I've watched you laugh at everything and begin to break down crying. I've seen you when you've just woken up and after you've fallen asleep in the Common Room after a long night. I know you, Evans, because I've always been waiting for you to fall in love with me."

It was trued. I had watched her go through boyfriends and every time, I sat there in the wings and watched and waited. Always waiting for her to come to me when some guy dumped her.

Lily looked at a loss for words for one of the first times since I'd known her. I took a step towards her just as a streak of lightning shot across the sky. "Po-" she stared and then stopped. "James." My insides turned into jelly. She called me James! My face split into such a crooked grin, it hurt. . I was over whelmed with the thought that she had called me James."That's, that's…well, that's really nice."

I was quite frankly drunk with happiness and elation. "You- you called me James." I knew she could hear my joy. I took another step closer, surprised she hadn't said anything about it yet. There was something in the air that made it crackle. You could have cut the tension with a knife. I knew, somehow, that she could feel it as well. I was so happy with the success I had had so far that I branched out even further. Wasn't I feeling audacious today?

"You know, Lily, I only ever did all the hair ruffling, pranking, showing off, and big talking because I liked you so much. But you know what?" I whispered so low that I could barely hear myself. I had called her Lily and she hadn't slapped me. I was so close, her face was only a few inches from mine. I could smell her sweet scent of sunshine and sand. She smelled heavenly. Something had me rooted to the spot. There was nothing in the world but Lily. There wasn't a castle behind us or a storm headed our way. It was just her and me.

"What?" she breathed back.

But before I could answer, the biggest thunder of all shook the grounds, and all of a sudden, it was pouring rain. It was all over the place and drenched us at once, running down my face and soaking my clothes and Lily's. The dirt we were standing on was quickly becoming mud.

Lily looked up into my face, the rain making her squint. Her hair was curly now from being wet and a piece fell across her face. Her green eyes had me mesmerized like nothing else could. A hurricane could have broken out and I wouldn't have noticed.

I knew that for the first time in forever, my hair was lying flat into my face, and I was paler than usual from the cool rain. We were so close I could count all the flecks in her eyes.

"I'm doing this because I love you." And I leaned in the final two inches and kissed her.

I was afraid, at first, that she would push me away and then slap me silly, but after a few seconds that didn't appear to be the case because she all of a sudden flung her arms around my neck. I smiled into the kiss, and I kissed her more. I placed a hand on her neck and tilted her face up so I could kiss her better. This was something I'd been wanting to do since I saw her. And Lily Evans was accepting my kiss wholeheartedly. Feeling daring, I placed a hand in her gorgeous wet hair, running the sweet red locks through my fingers. Silk.

I was in heaven until we had to pull away for air, and I rested my forehead on hers and looked down at her.

I looked at her with all the love I had, willing her to see it and know that it was real and it wasn't fake. I could see something mirrored in her green eyes as well.

It was love.

I couldn't tell you how long we stood there in the rain with her face buried in my chest and her arms around my waist and my face nestled on top of her head drinking her scent and kissing her head whenever I felt like it. I looked up at the sky for a moment and saw how dark it had gotten. We were going to miss dinner if we didn't hurry.

She looked up at me, and I could tell that she knew that we needed to go in as well.

Lily took one of her small, delicate hands in mine and started walking towards the castle. Wouldn't everyone be surprised?

I finally had Lily Evans. She was mine. After seven years of chasing and waiting and asking, she was mine.

Lily, however, pulled me from my thoughts as we neared the imposing doors that lead into the castle. "You know what?" she asked quietly.

"What?" I asked playfully with a grin that I knew picked up her pulse.

"I was always waiting to fall in love with you, too." Just as I had always been stuck waiting in the wings, but now, it was my turn for a curtain call.

I leaned down and kissed her breathless again.

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