Disclaimer: Harry Potter… not mine. Okay.
Lily crashed into the greasy-haired boy in the dungeons. With a loud ompf, they both fell not-so-gracefully to the concrete floor. Before Lily could get up enough to rub the back of the sore lump on the back of her head, she felt her body freeze. Severus stood rigidly with his wand determinedly pointed at Lily's chest.
"How could you?" he snarled, "How could you just forget, Lily? We've been best friends since we were nine. You were everything. Two little words can't change that."
Lily felt her limbs unlock. She stood up weakly as she opened her mouth to speak, "What the bloody hell are you doing, Severus Snape?"
Her growl, perhaps more intimidating than his, caused him to recoil.
"Two little words are not all it was, and you bloody well know that. You chose, Snape. You chose them."
"And you chose him."
"I don't have any idea-"
"POTTER, Lily."
The disgust in his tone tarnished whatever little peace remained between them.
"James Potter," she sneered, "is twice the man you'll ever be."
Lily awoke with a start, though even more alarmed to find James Potter sitting across from her, staring blankly at the wall behind her, surrounded by almost a half dozen empty glasses.
She cleared her throat, head pounding, and said, "I could go for another bottle."
James' eyes flashed back into focus, and he raised his eyebrows at her, "Sirius!" he called.
"James, don't you think that's enough? You've gone through at least two bottles tonight, and I'm not your bloody butler."
"A bottle for the lady," he gestured sloppily toward Lily.
With an overly exaggerated bow, Sirius ducked back towards the bar.
"Lil," James leaned toward her with a concerned tone, "you're crying."
To be honest, Lily had not known there were tears in her eyes. At James' mention, she discovered them only to wipe them away without comment.
"Lily," he paused. Lily noticed that his eyes were glazed over, "what happened?"
"Delivery for Madame Evans," sang Sirius as he nearly tripped over the rug to hand Lily her bottle of Firewhiskey.
Lily uncorked the bottle immediately and took a long swig.
"I see someone's not in any rush," Sirius winked and took a seat next to James.
Soon after, Remus Lupin plopped down on the couch between Sirius and James.
"Where's Wormtail?" asked Sirius.
"Oh, he passed out ages ago," chuckled Remus.
Lily tuned out the marauders and took a look around the common room. It was much emptier than it had been just two hours ago when she had fallen asleep, though mostly seventh years remained. Mary MacDonald had evidently made her way back downstairs as she was currently dancing with Marlene McKinnon (though there was no music and no dance floor). Peter Pettigrew, who was clearly not out cold, clumsily handed out drinks from behind the bar.
Sirius clapped his hands together, drawing Lily's attention, "Who's up for some good old-fashioned games?"
"Depends what you mean by 'games'?" slurred James.
It was not often that James got drunk to the point of physical embarrassment, but he felt his cheeks grow warmer and his vocabulary grow looser with every drink.
"Strip poker," smirked Sirius slyly.
"Absolutely not," Marlene and Mary had joined the small group.
Together, everyone formed a slurring mess.
"Beer pong?" asked Remus.
"At least make it interesting, Moony," called Peter as he ambled over toward the group.
"How about 'Never Have I Ever'?" asked Marlene.
"Simple enough for our drunken minds," grinned Black. "Evans. You've been too quiet for my liking. You first."
"Never have I ever," Lily paused in thought, "kissed Marlene McKinnon."
"You did that on purpose, Evans," he snickered taking a swig from a bottle they passed around in a circle.
"Perhaps."
"Never have I ever received a detention," said James.
"Complete and utter bullshit, mate," Lupin laughed.
"Drink up, boys and girls."
James himself took a sip from the bottle as did Remus, Sirius, Peter, Mary, Marlene, and even Lily.
"You too, Red? What for?"
"I dumped a glass of pumpkin juice on Brevis Birch's head back in fourth year."
"So you're saying you haven't had a detention in three straight years? Damn, Evans," marveled Sirius.
"I take that as a challenge," James smirked.
"You can't make me get a detention."
"That you think, my friend."
"Never have I ever performed illegal magic," Remus grinned as James, Sirius, and Peter took drinks from the bottle.
"I'm not even going to ask," Mary said yawning.
A few more rounds revealed that James Potter had in fact had his first kiss before the age of thirteen, Mary MacDonald had dyed her hair at least three times, Remus Lupin and Lily Evans had never in fact used a charm to help him pass an exam, and Marlene McKinnon was not a virgin.
"Who's the lucky bloke," Sirius grinned.
"That's for me to know and you to ponder."
Sirius smirk faltered.
"See what you've done, Marlene? You and your lack of innocence have drowned the last bottle of firewhiskey," Sirius frowned.
"Empty bottles of firewhiskey make for great rounds of spin the bottle," Marlene sang, and everyone (in their hopeless drunken manners) agreed enthusiastically.
Mary, the first to spin, cringed after kissing Peter. Lily could have only imagined how a kiss from a boy who looked like a contorted mouse could be. She contorted her own features to match his but failed.
Wiping her lips, Mary stood and announced her departure. "Excuse me, I am going to go wash my mouth with soap and water." She stumbled up the stairs. Peter headed toward the bar to see if he could find another bottle of anything. Lily assumed it was to hide his blushing red cheeks.
Lily watched as the bottle spun from Marlene's hands toward Lupin. The look on Sirius' face screamed murder, but rules were rules. Marlene leaned in to kiss Lupin, and though it was a quick one, Lily thought there would be nothing wrong with kissing Remus Lupin (unless, of course, if you were dating Sirius Black).
Sirius stomped off toward his dormitory in a huff with Remus in his wake. Marlene realized her mistake one minute too late and sulked off toward the girls' dormitories.
"I don't leave things unfinished," sighed Lily, spinning the bottle between her and the only person left sitting across from her.
Alone in the common room with James Potter, her thoughts were much less cloudy (though the firewhiskey had taken its toll). The feeling in her stomach grew evermore prominent, and she sensed that the firewhiskey may not have been strong enough to fill the emptiness.
Before the bottle had even finished spinning, Lily leaned across and planted her lips on James'.
James, at first taken aback by Lily's sudden action, molded his lips into hers and moved along to her chosen rhythm. He pulled her by the hips into his lap. For so long he had wanted this closeness, but alas, it did not feel as he has imagined it should have.
Lily Evans, what on earth do you think you're doing?
Hey, Red. This feels good. Don't stop. Just keep going.
The firewhiskey flushed the angel and devil off of Lily's shoulders.
Lily stood with James, their lips still locked, as he lifted her legs from the ground and lay her on the couch. He fell on top of her, supporting his weight with his elbows as to avoid crushing her. Their tongues danced. She bit his bottom lip and wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing a moan. James allowed Lily space to crawl on top of him and he let his hands explore her curves which had always been hidden underneath her robes.
"Lily Evans," he mumbled, "I love you."
Lily froze. James opened his eyes.
Her ginger hair fell in waves next to his ear as she was still on top of him. His black locks were even more disheveled than usual. She rose from the couch quickly and turned toward the dormitory.
"Lily," he called.
His voice was filled with pain and a hint of anger. He had wanted this for so long. So long, and it still was not enough. They were both piss drunk. He wanted it to mean something.
"I do, and no matter how many times you reject me, I will never stop."
He ran a hand through his hair.
"I'm drunk," Lily said before she walked upstairs.
Author's Note: There it is! I've finished. This fic was almost abandoned, but I'm glad I ended it the way I did. Take it to mean what you wish, but if you're really concerned about my own direction, send me a private message. I hope you enjoyed it! I'm hoping to write more stories, most likely short chapter stories or one-shots, but I'm not sure when I'll get the chance. Applying to college is a very stressful process. And to think I started writing fics back in the eighth grade. Oh, how time has flown.