YOU GUYS DID IT! 10 reviews in two days! As promised here is the next chapter. I hope you all like it and I sincerely hope you feel I did James and Lily's relationship justice! Thanks so much for the wonder reviews, they made my day. (Remember, reviews make me happy and a happy me likes to write -hint hint-) Please please let me know what you think. I probably won't post the next chapter as soon and I actually only have the next two chapters partially ready and I don't want to post the next chapter in the next two days and make you wait a week or longer for the next chapter. Hopefully the rest of the chapters will be coming to me quickly as I have some major plot lines coming! :D

Chapter 17

Ironically enough, the two wound up in the classroom from which they had just emerged. Lily was happy that the professor had already left the room. Lily closed the door behind them and turned to James, biting her bottom lip. She was actually a little shocked to be standing in the empty classrooms with the dark-haired boy. It was as if someone else had taken over her body in the hall, marching over to James, and grabbing him by the arm, leading him away from the others. Now, however, she was back in control, and she honestly had no idea what do next. It didn't help that James was watching her expectantly, waiting for an explanation. She merely stared back at him, blinking once as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

Surely she was dreaming. There was no way she was standing in a deserted room with James Potter, about to spill her heart out to him.

"Lily?" James asked, breaking her train of thought. His voice sounded real enough, as did the confusion laced through the single word. "Is everything all right?" His hazel eyes stared at her with such intensity, flicking over her face, noting her every feature.

She let out a sigh, breathing for the first time since they entered the room. "I'm not sure," she answered truthfully, as the seriousness of the implications hit her. So she was in love with James Potter. She had never been in love before, never given her heart to someone so completely. In all honesty, it rather scared her.

"What…what do you mean?" James asked, taking a step closer to her.

This time, Lily felt it all. Every sign she'd been searching for when she waited for him at the bottom of the stairs: Her heart raced in her chest; her head swam with emotions ranging from happiness to uncertainty to pure ecstasy. She had to remind herself to breath, which proved quite difficult as her mind was fogged over, and she couldn't seem to form a coherent thought, much less a command your life depended on. Besides, she thought breathing was something that required no thought, apparently not.

She could do nothing but watch, mesmerized as he seemingly floated towards her. Her mind was aware of nothing but his hazel eyes that were filled with concern, his black hair that was messy as usual. She realized just how beautiful he was. And just how familiar with his movements she was. She loved it. She loved every part of him. It was somewhat strange how she hadn't even realized it happening. She hadn't even gone through the proper "crush" phase and here she was, totally in love with the man that stood before her. Though it only took him a few seconds to reach her, time had stretched out, making it seem like minutes.

Finally, he came to a stop right in front of her. His scent engulfing her, filling her senses. She could feel the heat radiating off his body he was that close. She had the strongest urge to reach out and touch him. To press her hand to his chest as Robyn had just minutes before. She wanted to run her fingers through his unruly hair, hold him close and never let him go. Her heart was pounding and she was certain he could hear it. On the bright side, she was breathing again, taking hard and uneven breaths. This he did notice.

"Lily," he repeated, his voice sounding like velvet to her.

She loved that voice too. How deep and manly it was, yet how it could sooth her in an instant, comfort her. She fought to control her breathing, which meant she held her breath. His hand reached up and ran through her hair; he loved her hair and had told her so many times. A few weeks ago, when he had started doing this, it had been weird, having him run his fingers through her long, silky hair and say it was some of the most beautiful hair he'd ever seen. Now, though, she loved the moments when they would be studying quietly and his fingers would wind through her curls, always gently, as if they almost weren't there.

It had never occurred to Lily how close they actually were. How many little movements they made that weren't the norm for friends. Like earlier when he had patted her thigh, neither of them had a second thought of the action. This only confirmed to Lily that they were meant to be, that they were like pieces of a puzzle and someone had finally put them together.

He was staring at her intently, as if by staring into her eyes, he would be able to read her mind. Which she was surprised he couldn't. Surely, her own emerald orbs were filled with love. Then she remembered that James didn't know she loved him, so of course he would be perplexed by the emotion in her eyes.

"Lily," he repeated once again, and she wondered how long she'd been mute. She knew she should speak before he feared she was permanently unable to speak, but she couldn't seem to get the words out. Half the time, she wasn't even sure he was speaking to her, she was that absorbed in her emotions. But she watched his lips move, those warm, inviting lips. "You know you can tell me anything."

She merely nodded, the only movement she could make. She knew she would have to say something, anything. She couldn't just stand here staring at him like she wanted to devour him. Before long she would probably start drooling and she definitely did not want that. Plus, he wouldn't know how she felt unless she told him. So, swallowing hard, she opened her mouth. She felt triumphant until she realized no words were coming out. Apparently this was harder than she anticipated.

Lily glanced at him, not sure what to say. She really had no experience with this kind of thing. It was all so beautiful when she read it in the novels. The scenes were always so perfect; exactly the right words were spoken. It was different when it was you, when you were providing the dialogue. You weren't sure what the right words were, or how to say them. On the other hand, it was better, infinitely better to be experiencing this rather than just seeing the words on a page.

"James," she began, his name sounding amazing, almost God-like. He made no movement, giving her as much time as she needed. The single word was a good start but she would have to keep going. "I think," she paused for a moment. How exactly was she supposed to say this? I think we're soul mates. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be the mother of your children. She almost laughed at the last one, until she realized it was exactly what she wanted. "I think…I'm in love with you, James." There, she had said it. She'd actually said it. Her relief faded a bit as she watched his reaction. She swallowed as he processed the information.

For a second, he looked as if he was expecting her to say it was a horrible joke, but one look in her eyes and he knew it was the truth. How could he not? Then the smile that she loved finally spread across his lips.

"Bloody hell, Lily," he exhaled. His hand dropped to her neck, his thumb outlining her jaw line. "You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that."

Before she could even process what was happening, he pressed his lips to hers in a soft, gentle kiss. It was unlike anything she could ever imagine. His lips were soft and warm, covering her own. His touch was feather light, but the contact brought butterflies to her stomach. After just a few seconds, she found herself responding to him, kissing him harder. His lips moved against hers as her hand found its way to his hair.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, her mind was fogging over, her knees went weak, and she was smiling inside. This was love. This was the feeling Lily had been searching for. She knew it was real; this wasn't puppy love or a silly crush. This was the real thing. She wasn't sure how she knew it, but she had never been more sure of anything in her life. This was the kind of love that almost hurt, the kind that filled her heart, her mind, her whole body and held on tight, never letting go.

It amused Lily, actually, at how strongly this all had hit her. This morning, she wasn't even sure of her feelings for James. Now, however, there wasn't a doubt in her mind. Then, a thought crossed her mind, leaving her wondering where it had come from. Their friends were still outside, waiting for them to return. They had been gone for quite a while and the others must be getting worried. Reluctantly, she pulled away from him.

"We should probably get back before the others wonder what happened to us," she suggested, her tone making it obvious that rejoining the others was the last thing she wanted to do. But she knew it wasn't fair to the others that she and James just disappeared like that.

"We've only been gone like two minutes, Lily," James told her, smiling as he traced her bottom lip with his thumb.

"Oh…" she said sheepishly, her eyes falling to the floor as a blush crept upon her cheeks. "I guess you're right. It felt longer."

"Tell me about it," James laughed. "I about had a heart attack wondering what it possibly was that you had to tell me. Then the way you were looking at me, it only added to the anticipation."

"Yeah…I guess I did kind of go a little overboard on the suspense, didn't I?" Lily admitted. "I was just thinking through some things."

"Oh really?" James asked, staring at her. "What things?"

She stared off thoughtfully, wondering how she was supposed to put into words her jumbled thoughts.

"How…I feel cheated," she answered after a moment's consideration. His eyebrows rose slightly and his eyes filled with what seemed to be worry.

"Cheated?" he mimicked, his voice seemingly choked a bit. "Cheated how?"

"Oh," Lily gasped as she realized what he must have been thinking. "No, not about you, James! You are so much more than I ever could've imagined! It's just…well this all happened so fast. I never even realized I was falling in love with you. I never had that first sighting of love, never even had the joys of having a crush on you. I fell in love with you and I didn't even realize it was happening until it was done."

James smiled at her. "I know what you mean, Lily, because I feel the exact same way about you," he told her. "At least I got to experience a crush on you though. I've….admired you since First year, fancied you since fifth, and been completely head over heels for you since…I don't even know when. Since the beginning of the year at least. In all honesty, though, I was starting to give up hope. We've been friends for almost two months now, and it was starting to look like we would never be anything more. The others kept telling me that there was something in your eyes. That you liked me as more than a friend, but that didn't necessarily mean it was love."

"It was," Lily assured him. "I know that now." With that, she pressed her lips to his once again.

This time, the kiss was deep and sensual. She kissed him with everything she had and he returned the favor. Their bodies pressed against each other desperately. One hand was buried in his hair while the other clung to his shirt. He wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her slightly. They were completely engrossed in the kiss, unaware of anything else. Lily closed her eyes, letting herself get lost in his kiss, his scent, his touch. She almost cried in protest when she heard him sigh and pull away slightly. His lips were still practically touching hers and she pushed toward them once again. He kissed her back a few more seconds before pulling away once again.

Lily opened her eyes, glancing up at him, her emerald eyes filled with confusion.

James sighed once again, Lily could see he was fighting not to kiss her again. "We probably should get back out there," he suggested painfully. "Otherwise they'll just barge in and interrupt us."

Lily forced herself to nod. Though a small part of her didn't care who saw them kissing, she knew that the amorous feelings would eventually wear off, leaving her thoroughly embarrassed at being caught. She wasn't one for public display of affection, and clutching to James, desperate for more was one way she didn't want her friends to see her. Especially not Sirius, she could imagine his obnoxious remarks now.

One look in James' eyes and she felt herself losing control again. She blinked, looking away. "Let's go now while I'm still thinking clearly."

James chuckled slightly. "Exactly what I was thinking."

Lily glanced at him once more before turning around. She could still feel him right behind her. Unfortunately, they were close enough to the door to see that they both couldn't walk out at the same time. He placed his hand on her lower back.

"After you."

With a sigh, Lily reached out and put her hand on the knob. She heard a slight shuffle outside the door but didn't pay any attention to it. She turned the knob and pushed the door open, stepping out into the hall, all too aware of his hand on her back. The others stood gathered just outside the door, staring at the couple.

"It's about bloody time, you two!" Carmen yelled, with a smug look on her face.

The statement confused Lily. How had Carmen known they were together? Surely it wasn't James' hand on her back; that was a gesture the others were more than used to.

"How did-" she began, confused, only to be cut off by James.

"They were listening at the door."

Suddenly, it made sense to Lily: The scuffling outside the door; how they were all standing suspiciously close to the door. Plus, there was no way they would let Lily drag James into an empty room without listening in.

Sirius flashed a smirk at Lily. "I can't believe you didn't know we would be listening in, Lily."

"Well, it's obvious now, but I had other things on my mind," she smiled up at James.

"I'm so happy for both of you!" Faith exclaimed as she enveloped her friend in a tight hug. Lily hugged the blonde girl back, just not as tight. Faith might be small, but she had a strong grip. She released Lily a few seconds later. She glanced at James with a stern look. "You better take care of her, you hear me?"

Instead of James reassuring the blonde, it was Lily, who had stepped back to James.

"Oh he will," she answered, staring up at him with a never-ending smile.

"Of course I will," he told her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Lily couldn't stop smiling. In this moment, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She had a wonderful man wrapped around her, her best friends surrounding her. It seemed that even the huge corridor couldn't contain all this love. She had never felt so much of the strong emotion in her life. Her friends loved her, James loved her, and she loved all of them back. She hadn't the slightest idea of what she had done to deserve all these wonderful people in her life.

"I told you she fancied you, mate," Sirius said, walking over to clap his friend on the back. Then he turned his attention to the other couple. "Hey, maybe now that the Head Boy and Girl are finally dating, the news of your engagement will be overshadowed." He let out a bark-like laugh as Carmen gave him a death glare.

"Bugger, Carmen," Lily gasped, a horrible realization hitting her. How could she have been so selfish to think that now was a good time to start dating James? Getting married was infinitely more important that just getting a new boyfriend and it wasn't right of Lily to try and steal her friend's happiness. "I am so sorry. I didn't think. Oh, I feel just horrible for taking the spot light off you."

Carmen shook her head. "Don't even worry about it," she insisted. "In fact, I should thank you. I feel like I just want to throttle the next person who says I'm engaged. I've got my happiness," she looked at Kevin lovingly. "Now it's time you got yours."

Lily removed herself from James' side to hug her friend.

"Merlin, how did I get so lucky to have all of you in my life?" she gushed.

"We're the lucky ones, Lily." James' voice caused her to release herself from Carmen. "We have you in our lives, and you're the most wonderful person I know." Lily turned toward him, hugging him as he kissed her forehead.

Lily pulled away when she heard a sniffle. She glanced up for the source and immediately spotted Faith. Her face was red and her bottom lip trembled.

"Faith?" Lily asked, a smile playing at her lips and her amusement evident in her voice. "Are you crying?"

The blonde let out a gargled laugh. "It's just so beautiful. Love is so beautiful," she sniffled. Lily giggled and pulled the girl to her and James, engulfing her in a hug.

"Oh for the love of Merlin," Carmen sighed dramatically, though she was smiling.

Lily gave the girl a warm smile. At that moment, Faith pulled away from the hug. A small "oh" passed from her lips. Lily glanced at her to see her face contorted into something unpleasant.

"What is it?"

"Dean," Faith muttered, her eyes now wide. "I was supposed to meet him." She glanced at her watch in panic. "I'm late." She tugged Lily to her in one last quick hug. "I love you all. Bye!"

The others barely had time to bid the blonde goodbye before she was sprinting down the hall.