Chapter 6

(James' Journal)

You know, I thought I hurt the most when I persistently asked Lilly out, and she bluntly refused, but I was wrong. Your friends' betrayal is worse. Much worse. Es muy mal!! I feel so bad I'm speaking in other languages!!

Anyway, I cant' really grab a hold of my feelings and describe them, they're such a mess. I can't tell half of the time whether Lily and I are dating or not. It's just, I wish I wasn't such a wimp around her. I know, I could ask her out easily, but when you know what the answer is going to be, and it's not in your favor, it doesn't take much courage at all…

James sat on his bed, closed his journal, and placed it into his backpack. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a poem he had written for Lily, not even an hour before the 'prank' incident. He slowly unfolded it and read aloud, softly, the words inscribed upon the parchment.

"I hate you.

I hate your gorgeous red hair,

And how it gives me butterflies.

I hate your emerald eyes,

Because I could stare at them forever.

I hate the way you laugh,

And the way it makes me smile.

I hate your perfect smile,

And the way it gives me chills.

I hate how you know everything,

And how you give advice worse than none.

And I hate the way you look at me,

And how I wish you'd feel the same as I.

I hate you,

Until I remember that I love you."

James fell back onto his pillow, not caring that he was crying. He failed to notice the redheaded figure standing in the dormitory doorway, who, was also crying.

Lily began to sob, and made loud noises as she did. James looked up and saw her standing there, then quickly hid his tears.

"What do you want?" said James defiantly, his voice quavering with his emotions.

"Um, was- that poem- for me?" Lily stuttered between sobs.

James ignored her and pretended to straighten up his messy dorm.

"Well," her voice trembled. "I, really liked it," She said, gaining confidence. "It's how you truly feel, and I didn't realize that you cared so much. You know, I figured it was just one of those 'flings' you always have with girls just to boast to your friends."

James snorted. "You got that right."

"And," Lily continued, " It's exactly how I feel," Lily said. James' face lit up with a grin. "Sort of," she finished.

"What do you mean by sort of?" James snapped, the grin sliding from his face.

"Well, it's complicated," Lily said, trying to avoid the subject.

"I'm listening," James said.

"Oh, fine. But, remember, you asked for it," Lily warned. "Well, I've fancied you for a while now, ever since, well, I don't remember when. Anyway, I've been fancying you. And then Remus came along. And I found out that he's fancied me for several years now, and some other junk. We got closer and I began to fancy him and you at the same time."

"What?!" James exploded. "We're supposed to be dating, and then you start to 'fancy' someone else? Especially one of my friends.

"James! We were never dating! Never!" Lily shouted.

"Oh?! So the past three weeks have been just a game for you? Well, they've been real to me!" James retorted.

"Yes and no!" Lily bellowed.

"Pick one! You can't be both!" he replied with just the same volume.

All this time James and Lily had inched closer together until they were not even a foot apart. James noticed this, and quickly leaned in toward Lily's reddened with anger face. Suddenly, the door to the dormitory crashed open, and in unison, James and Lily looked to see Remus standing in the open doorway.

Remus frowned. "James, I hate you," he snarled as he stormed of.

James just shrugged it off. "Now, where were we?" he asked. He leaned in and caught Lily's lips in his. They stood glued together for several minutes until Lily backed away.

"I really need to go talk to Remus," she said.

James sighed. "You know, you'll just be wasting your time."

"No, I won't," Lily replied with a smile.

"If he hates me, just think of how he feels about you," James retorted, also with a smile. "And, also, how are you even going to find him?"

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing," Lily said.

"Don't you always," James muttered, which earned him a slap on the arm. Lily walked briskly out of the dormitory door. "I'll be waiting!" James called after her. He sat down on his bed and pulled out his journal.

(JAMES' JOURNAL)

Wow! Kissing Lily is like eating chocolate cake. No, vanilla. But, I think the cake is better than kissing her, although, Lily's mouth tasted like the raspberry cake that we had for dessert at lunch today. That cake was good! Oh, great! All of this food talk is making me hungry… Okay, I'm back! MMM… this chocolate frog is delicious! I'm going to bite off your leg, little froggie! Oh, no! Get back here froggie! I need to bite off your leg…

Lily climbed the last of the steps and reached the top of the Quidditch stadium where Remus sat.

"May I join you?" Lily asked as she sat down next to him. Remus didn't answer and continued to stare out around the grounds. "Well, no matter what you said, I'd have joined you anyway. I was only being polite," Lily said with a slight smile to him. "But, then again, you could have pushed me down all of those stairs. Then I could be dead! Or worse, have to climb all of the stairs again!"

Remus couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, all that exercise would be awful! You might lose some of that flab you've got going on," Remus teased.

"I know! Then I'd have to eat double the muffins to gain it all back again. But, then again, I like muffins," Lily said with a grin.

"Pig," Remus said with a laugh.

Lily laughed, and they sat and joked with each other, forgetting the recent past, if only for a moment.

"So," Remus began, "Why are you here? Is your new boyfriend boring you?"

"Ha, no. I cam here to make sure that my best friend was all right," Lily replied. Remus forced a weak smile.

"Well, I'm fine," Remus said, and then muttered, "Except for the fact that the girl I love is taken by my best friend."

"Yeah, about that. Remus, just let me go. I know that sounds mean, but there are girls out there way better than me for you."

"I don't think that," Remus said politely.

"But, it's true. We're too much alike, Remus. We're control freaks, studyholics, and very short tempered. We'd get on each other's nerves, not realizing that we're acting the same way."

"Oh, all right. I see your point," Remus said giving in to her.

"Just promise me that you'll let me go, and look for someone better!" Lily pleaded. "I promise. It just won't happen right away," Remus muttered. And with those final words, Lily and Remus walked arm in arm back to the castle.

Lily climbed the stairs to the boy's dormitory. "What is with all of these stairs?" she muttered. She finally reached the door to James' room, and pushed it open slightly to see James writing in his journal.

"Very cute, James," she teased as she walked into the room. She sat down beside him as he tried to hide it from her. She snatched it away from him and began to read it aloud.

After a few moments, she exclaimed, "You're comparing kissing me with chocolate, no, vanilla cake? You're a dork!" she said with a laugh. She tossed the journal into the air, which James caught with extreme ease (maybe, just maybe because of the fact that he was a legendary seeker).

"Let's go to the Common Room," James suggested.

"Sounds good," Lily agreed.

They exited the room, James taking great care to hide his journal. As they were walking down the stairs, Lily muttered, "Shoot, more stairs!"

"Excuse me?" James asked.

"Sorry. Nothing," Lily replied meekly.

"Okay…" James said, dearly confused. They sat down on a couch near the large window.

"So, how did your talk with Remus go?" James asked.

"Fine. We settled a few things," She replied.

"Such as?" James prodded, trying to get a more in depth answer, secretly hoping he'd have Lily to himself.

"Well, I mainly helped him get over me," She said.

"Obviously," James said, astonished.

"Whaddaya mean?" Lily asked as she looked in the direction that James was pointing in. She noticed Remus snogging Abigail Peterson, a girl from the grade lower, on a nearby couch.

"He certainly has," Lily agreed with a laugh. "Go Remus!" she shouted. "Woo!"

"Remus looked at Lily and blushed, whispered a few quick words to Abigail, and then walked over to Lily and James.

"What was that for?" he snarled. "Couldn't you see I was busy?"

"Well, I was just wanting to cheer you on. To motivate you to…well, you know. I was just trying to congratulate you," Lily said in defense. "You did it!"

"Obviously," James muttered.

"Shut it!" Lily snapped as she waved her wand at him, causing his ears to enlarge to the size of an elephants.

"Hey!" James whined. "Change my gorgeous ears back!" He received more than several giggles from around the common room.

"Mmm, sorry, I don't know how." Lily said with a laugh as she skipped out of the common room.

"Meanie!" He yelled after her. He slowly walked back to his dormitory room, showing off his 'elephant ears' to the giggling girls. He laid down on his bed to think when he reached his dormitory.

"This sure has been one crazy day," he muttered. James sat up when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" he called.

Remus walked into the room and sat on his bed next to James'. "You're one lucky guy," he said.

"Yeah?" James questioned.

"Lily is an amazing girl," He continued. "Don't let her get away from you," He advised James.

"Okay, thanks," James said hesitantly. "Look, I'm sorry. I was way too hard on you guys. It was just a simple prank. And, also, I haven't been much of a friend to you Remus."

"No, don't be. That prank was just cruel. Anyone would be expected to act like the way you did. We just weren't thinking straight.

"True. Yeah, you're right. It is your fault. What was I thinking?" James said with a smile.

"Forgiven?" Remus asked, smiling as well.

"Forgiven," James said. James and Remus sat across each other for several awkward, silent moments.

"So…" Remus said, breaking the silence.

"So…" James replied. "How's Miss Abigail?"

"Erm…heh," Remus stuttered, turning red. "You know…" he said, trailing off.

"No, I don't know. That's why I'm asking," James replied with a cheeky smile.

"Shut up!" Remus joked. "Let's see. How's Lily? No, wait, let's just ask your diary. Remus made a run for James' headboards where the journal was stashed between the bed and the wall. James pushed him back, which resulted in a friendly grapple on the floor.

Later that night, James was writing in his journal, once again.

(James' Journal)

…Today has been a serious roller coaster. You know, one of those things that those crazy muggles pay to ride in, and it goes really fast up and down? Well, I think that's what those are. Maybe I'm wrong. Eh.. who cares.. I want some cake. Chocolate, or vanilla. I think I might get vanilla.

Okay, I'm back. I brought both, I just couldn't decide which one I'd want more. MMMM… they're both delicious. Anyway, on to the real stuff. Today, Remus and I resolved one of our issues. He's finally gotten himself a girlfriend, after 17 years of being single. What a loser. But, now I have Lily all to myself! Woohoo!…

With those final words, James closed his diary, stashed it in a new hiding place, and quietly went to sleep, not knowing that Remus was watching exactly where he hid it.