Okay, So a month isn't so bad, right? Anyway, this is the last chapter before, well basically the climax of the story. Hope you enjoy Chapter Eight.

Disclaimer: Keith and Lily's friends are mine, and everyone's words are mine. That's basically it...

Chapter Eight: Week Seven

James didn't bring up Saturday to Sirius. He was asleep before Sirius entered the dorm that night, he got up before Remus and then wasn't at lunch.

"Probably with Lily since he didn't see her at all on Saturday," Remus suggested.

He opted for sitting in the back of the classroom when it was needed and the classes that he could afford to miss was spent in the library. By lunch, the whole gang was asking questions. Lily walked into the Great Hall and was quickly motioned by three-fourths of the Marauders.

"What have you and James been doing today?" Sirius asked.

"Excuse me? I though he was with you. I haven't seen him all day," Lily said.

"Yeah…but…you're his girlfriend!" Sirius cried.

"Doesn't make me his babysitter," Lily said. She sat down next to Peter and grabbed a piece of bread.

"So seriously, you haven't seen him?" Sirius asked.

Lily glared at him.

"You know, I haven't seen him since we got back last night. By the way, how was dress shopping Lily?" Remus asked.

"Um…good. Found something. I hope James likes it," Lily said as she picked at her bread. "You know, I feel like I'm missing something…"
"While you think about that, can you help me with my potions essay?" Peter asked.

"Oh my gosh! I've got to go write mine!" Lily cried as she sprang up. She hurried down the aisle and started running up the stairs. Making sure she didn't trip up the stairs, Lily looked down at her feet and ran into someone.

"Oof! I'm really sorry," Lily said as she bent down to pick up the student's books. She handed the book to the boy.

"James!" She cried. She punched him in the shoulder.

"What was that for?" James asked as he rubbed his shoulder with one hand and grabbed his book with the other.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you. Sirius is about to have a heart attack…"

"I've been busy," James said with a shrug.

"So busy that your friends haven't seen you?" Lily pointed out.

"I had to um…do my potions essay."

"Well, go and eat some lunch because I know you didn't eat breakfast," Lily said to him with concern.

"Yeah, I'll eat later. You said Sirius was in the Great Hall?"

"Yeah. You gonna go say hi so he stops asking me if I've seen you?" Lily asked with a chuckle.

"Um…yeah. Of course. See ya later Lily," James said as he walked around her.

Lily just rolled her eyes at his distant glance.

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James didn't go to afternoon classes. No one was able to find him and James usually spent the free period on Monday's with Sirius. Sirius was completely lost without his best friend. Eventually, James showed up for dinner. His face was bright red and snow was in his hair.

"James! Buddy! Where have you been?" Sirius asked.

"Have you been outside all day?" Remus questioned.

"Not all day, just part of the day."

"You haven't been in any of your classes though," Remus pointed out.
"Yes I have," James argued.

"I haven't seen you."

"Okay, whatever. Um, I just came in to get something to eat then I have to do today's homework," James said as he grabbed an apple.

"Nice to see you to Prongs!" Sirius called. James had avoided Sirius' glance the whole time.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday went like Monday. James was just really distant and didn't let any of his friends stop him in what he was doing. Remus knew that James had moods, but Lily wasn't even in on the situation. That left concern for him.

"Sirius, if anyone is gonna get something out of him, it will be you," Remus said to Sirius Wednesday night.

"Okay, well in case you haven't noticed, James hasn't wanted to talk to anyone all week."

"I know, but he gets really stubborn and you know him better than anyone else," Remus pried.

"Okay fine. I'll go look for him," Sirius said as he started for the door.

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Sirius walked down the corridor alone; the echoes of his shoes constantly reminding him of this. As Sirius turned the corner, he ran into Sandy.

"Sandy! Merlin, you scared me!" Sirius said as he embraced her, which she didn't return.

"Um…yeah sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for not talking to you all week. It's just that James has kinda been on the D.L. and I don't know why. But that doesn't matter right now," Sirius said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Sirius, I don't think we're gonna work out."

He immediately pulled back. "What do you mean…"

"I mean, hanging with you was fun, but I just don't feel anything."

"Anymore?"

"Well…no…not really ever. I just…I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time…"

"I don't know what the hell you are talking about right now," Sirius snapped.

"Well…it's just that I broke up with James. But then, I saw him with Lily, and he was really happy…and I just…"

"Wanted to use me," Sirius finished.

"No! No, that was not what it meant to me!"

"Really? Because that's the impression I'm getting right now."
"Sirius…"

"Whatever. I've got shit to sort out right now," Sirius grumbled as he walked past Sandy.

"Come on Sirius! Don't be like this! You knew it wasn't right!" she cried.

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James looked out at the grounds of the castle from the Owlery. He was glad that no one had disturbed him for the past four hours. It was calming up here because no sound from inside or out reached this top part of the castle. James saw the star Sirius twinkling extra bright in the sky and he rolled his eyes.

The door to the Owlery opened quietly. It was Keith Fox.

James didn't say anything to him. He just moved to the side as Keith entered with his pristine white owl on his arm.

"Potter," Keith greeted. James nodded in return. Keith watched his owl fly away until he was not visible and then turned to James.

"Things bad between you and Lily?" Keith asked.

"Why would you automatically assume that?" James snapped.

"You just look…lost. And seeing as we've been hanging out more and more and the two of you less and less…" Keith trailed off.

"We're fine. Besides, Lily would never go back to you," James sneered.

"Really?! Are you sure about that?" Keith asked.

"I know it," James said without skipping a beat.

"We'll see about that after the dance," Keith said as he looked up into the illuminated sky. James followed his gaze and saw the moon, not full quite yet, shinning back at him. When he looked down, Keith was gone.

James picked up some straw off the ground and threw it over the edge of the railing. He watched the straw fall all the way until it hit the ground. The Owlery door opened again, this time a little more aggressively.

"What do you want now Fox?" James asked in an aggravated tone.

"Prongs?" Sirius' voice said.

"What are you doing here?" James asked.

"I could say the same thing. Where have you been all week? Is everything alright?" Sirius asked.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," James grumbled.

"Come on. You tell me everything. What's going on."

James didn't say anything; he just moved away from Sirius.

"James—"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" James cried, facing Sirius.

"I don't know…"

"Sandy? Seriously?"

"James…you don't under—"

"You're right. I don't understand," James said while clasping his hands together. "So please, friend, enlighten me. Was it the fact that she had a great body that made you attracted, or the fact that she was my ex-girlfriend that got you, or maybe the fact that she broke up with me made you want to go out with her? Am I even close? Or did you just want her so you could compete with me?"

"Is that what this is to you?" Sirius shot back. "You think being with Sandy was some sort of…game…humorous attribute to me? You're sick."
"I'm not the one sneaking around with my best friend's ex-girlfriend!" James shouted.

"She came to me!" Sirius cried. "She came to me and started kissing me and starting feeling me up!"

"But you didn't stop it! That's who you were on a date with on Saturday, hum? Gosh, Sirius. Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?"

"I didn't want—"

"Next time you want to keep someone a secret, don't go about practically having sex with them in the hallway. Then maybe people won't be suspicious," he snarled.

"That's not even what happened. Besides James, you've had your fare share of fun: Maggie C. from two years ago, while she was going out with Connor. Or how about sneaking around with Linda was declaring your undying love to Lily fifth year? What makes those different than now?" Sirius asked.

"This…this isn't about me! This is about you and how you betrayed me!" James cried.

"Well I hope you're happy because things are done between me and Sandy anyway."

"Oh let me guess, you went up to her and was like, 'I really like you but I don't want to hurt James' feelings so let's end this.' Please," James drawled.

"You don't even know the half of it!" Sirius cried, trying to defend himself.

"Whatever. I don't want to hear it," James said as he walked past Sirius.

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Lily and James sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, Friday night. They were holding hands, lost in their own thoughts. The silence was not uncomfortable.

"James, what's going on with you and Sirius?" Lily asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"No."
"So, I only get one word answers eh?" Lily asked with a nudge of her shoulder.

"We've had nothing to discuss over the past few days."

"Really? Sirius always has something to talk about. What's going on?

"Seriously, nothing. We just...had a bit of a falling out. That's all," James said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Lily placed her head on his shoulder. She sighed then said, "Alright. I guess I must pick my battles, so I'll let you win, but talk to me eventually, okay."

"Of course."

They sat in silence for ten minutes. The fire crackled and while Lily though about what James was thinking about, James thought about the quickly approaching dance that was a little under a week away. That was always what James though about. Of course their original plan was to end things after the dance. But, the thing was that James really didn't want to. Why should they anyway? There really was no reason to. Why had their deal even come into being? Why date for all this time, why not just make a promise to attend the dance together? James didn't know. He didn't know the answer to what felt like anything anymore. All he knew was that the girl, his girl, lying on his shoulder wouldn't be his much longer. As much as he didn't want to admit it, what Keith had said was always present in the front of his mind. It scared him.

Just thinking about Keith made James' blood boil. He hated the guy. He hated what he had done to Lily, how he made her feel. But for some reason, it wasn't just Keith that James distrusted. While he couldn't even think it, he felt as if Lily would go running back to Keith as soon their ordeal was over with. These feelings might have spurred because of Sandy, who'd dumped him during a time when everything had felt so right between them. Maybe that's why James didn't trust Lily. Maybe he was afraid that everything that felt good, felt right about them, was going to end so she could be with someone else. But what did James feel? Did things feel right between them? Because the word he would use was that things felt natural. Natural as in, it was natural for the two of them to be sitting on this couch, holding hands, staring at the fire burning. It was natural for the two of them to walk together to class, each meals sitting by each other and kiss goodnight before bed. Every motion, every feeling, was a natural part of their relationship.

Now that certainly couldn't be right. Not between couples. Shouldn't they feel some sort of emotion towards each other, like a stirring in the stomach, a palpitation of the heart? James looked over at Lily. There was no flutter, but his heart seemed to have sped up. His vision kind of glazed over and all he saw was her. The room started to spin around him, but Lily was steady, thus making him feel steady. All sounds seemed to be put on mute, while her steady breathing seemed to be the only thing he heard. She glanced over at him and smiled.

"What?" she asked as she blushed.

James couldn't bring himself to say anything to her. Was this what being in love felt like? These feelings of everything being so natural, so normal, so right? A single glance making him feel once more like the awkward teenage boy who doesn't know how to talk to girls.

"James, don't look at me like that, please. It makes me uncomfortable."

"What look?" James asked, snapping out of his trance.

"Well, you kind of look like you're… inspecting me. As if you are looking for something that isn't there. I don't know, it's a peculiar look you have," she said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, don't know what your talking about. Sorry. I do know that I'm about to fall asleep on you any moment though, so I guess I should turn in. But I can't seem to be able to pull myself away from you," James said as he leaned in towards her. "Maybe we could, spend the night on the couch, eh?" James said with a suggestive grin.

"What about the first years who didn't go home for the holidays."

"Their parents sleep in the same bed."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they should be able to intrude."

"On what exactly?"

"Our…peaceful slumber."

"Why don't we give them a reason to keep their mouths closed."

"Okay. Stop that! I'm going upstairs, good night," Lily said as she got up and moved quickly towards the stairs. She gave him a devious grin before she entered her dorm.

James just shook his head with a smile. If James wasn't in love with that women, then the emotions he would have while in love would probably kill him.

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Laundry was picked up every Saturday. Today was Sunday, James didn't have any clean dress clothes and there were six days until the dance. Brilliant. He'd gone through all his draws, the closet, under his bed and now James was digging though his trunk to see if there was anything he could spare.

"What have you lost?" Remus asked upon entering the room.

"Nothing. I have nothing to wear to the dance on Saturday." James pulled out text books from his third year out of the bottom of his trunk.

"Have you ever cleaned this out?" Remus asked as he picked up the old text-book.

"Yeah…only if my mother does it."

"So, you gonna tell me what's going on with you and Sirius?" Remus asked.

"Merlin! Why does everyone keep asking that?"

"Maybe because you two haven't talked in a while and you might consume your time hanging with Lily, but Sirius spends his time wandering around outside. The other day his face was bright red because he had really bad wind burn. Something happened and it usually takes a lot for the two of you to be mad at each other.

"How about the fact that he's a two-timing, back-stabbing friend, is what's up," James spat out.

"Why? Because he was seeing a girl he wouldn't tell you about?"

"Yeah, because that girl was my ex-girlfriend!"
"Ah, I can see the resentment…and the reason as to why he kept it a secret."

James whipped his head up, hit the top of his trunk, curse and looked at Remus. "So you agree with him?"

"I agree with him keeping it a secret, yes."

"Remus, why?" James asked as he rubbed his head.

"Why should it matter to you? You weren't planning on going out with her again where you?"

"Well…no. But…I just…"

"You were surprised that your best friend could keep a secret from you," Remus said as he sat down on James bed.

"No one is at fault here. I mean, you're mad at him for a horrible reason. You don't even have a solid argument! Besides, you two better make up soon or you're going to be very alone at the dance," Remus said as he crossed over to his dresser.

"Yeah? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It…it means that I won't be attending the dance.

"Remus, if you need a date, I'm sure one of Lily's friends would go with you. And even if they won't, going stag isn't—"

"It's that time."

James stood up. "No. No it's not. I've checked the calendar…"

"No, it is. I can feel it. We just assumed that it wouldn't be on the dance because, honestly, who wants to think about that when there's a dance around," Remus said with a shrug.

James gave a defeated laugh. He ran his hands through his hair. "Seriously? Why is this happening? Well, you know we'll go with you, just like always—"

"I want' you to go to the dance. That's your night."

"But it's your night too!" James cried. "This…this ruins everything!"

"James," Remus said as he walked over to him. "I've seen you and Lily together. I've never seen you so happy in my life. You two have that weird deal going on, but I know you want something more out of it."

"Mate, you're—"

"No. This is different. I want you to go to that dance with Lily, tell her how you feel. You and I, we will always be friends. Lily, she might not always be your girl."

"Remus, how are you going to do this alone?" James asked.

"I'll manage. Remember, before I met you guys I had to suffer. One night won't make a difference."

"I feel like a shitty friend."

"And I would be one if I didn't let you go," Remus said as he clasped James on the shoulder. "Have fun. Make sure she sticks around, because I really like her," hesaid with a smile.

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James knew he could find Sirius in the Owlery whenever he needed to talk. So James waited for four hours until he heard the door open slowly.

"Not again. I'll just—"

"Padfoot, wait," James said. Sirius stopped, but he didn't turn around.

"Look, I'm sorry for over reacting." Sirius scoffed at that. "It's just…you surprised me, that's all. I didn't know how to handle it. I was okay with moving on, but I wasn't okay that she moved on. It was awkward."

"Yeah. How do you think I felt?" Sirius asked as he marched over to James. "I had to sit around and watch you make goo-goo eyes at Lily. She understood where I was coming from," Sirius spat.

"Yeah, and I get that now. But, we are friends. No chick can change that. Bros before hoes, yeah?" James said as he offered his hand.

Sirius looked down at the offered hand, and then firmly shook it.

"You know about Remus, right?" James asked.

"I just found out."

"I feel bad for him," James said as he looked out the window.

"I do to. His life is so complicated. He can't even get into petty arguments like this, because he has always has a shitter situation in front of him," Sirius replied.

The two looked out across the landscape at the very still Whomping Willow.

Give me some feedback in a review! What do you think is going to happen!? Also, you can vote on who bought the snow globe in the las chapter on my profile page! Vote Now! :D

Happy new year and have a wonderful January.