Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Harry Potter. I do own the complete sets of books and DVDS. I like to think that one cancels out the other.

(Lily)

I am a horrible person, Lily thought, as she lay awake in bed that night.

Funny, Potter—James, she corrected herself—seemed to make her believe that a lot lately. How could she not? He had been nothing but a good friend to her all year, and she had jumped down his throat…again. She blatantly ignored her own better judgment telling her that James never could have done such a thing. She had assumed that she knew the whole story, when she hadn't even asked for the other side.

She had to apologize, and soon. Lily refused to make the same mistake she had at the start of term; she wasn't going to wait three bloody months to come up with the words to say she was sorry this time.

Lily was stubborn. She was cynical, and temperamental, and moody. But one thing Lily Evans refused to do was make the same mistake twice. When she was little, her mum used to say, "We are not defined by the mistakes we make, Lily, but rather the lessons we learn along the way." Lily had certainly learned her lesson.

I'll apologize to him tomorrow, she decided. I'm not waiting this out again.

Shit.

There was a Quidditch match tomorrow. Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw. So that's why James and the rest of the team had left the party early.

Before the match. I'll find him before it starts. He needs to know.

(James)

James groaned as the sunlight that was streaming through his bed curtains reached his eyes.

He loved the morning of a Quidditch match. His adrenaline started pumping the moment he woke up, and a buzz of excitement filled the entire castle like electricity.

James pulled his Captain's notebook off his bedside table and glanced over the plays his team had mastered over the previous month. He felt good. Ravenclaw was a tough team to beat this year, but thanks to James, the Gryffindors had plenty of tricks up their sleeves.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes one last time, James rolled out of bed and glanced at the clock. 7:08. He still had three hours before that match. Grabbing his guards from a dresser drawer, he looked over at his friends. All three were still sleeping soundly. James would allow Remus and Peter to continue their slumber at their own will, but like James, Sirius had a match to win.

"Oi, Padfoot," James called as he chucked an elbow pad at his friend's head. "Get up you sorry prat."

Sirius grumbled as he squinted his eyes.

"Bloody hell, Prongs. Don't you think there's a better way to wake your best mate up than by throwing things at him?"

"Perhaps," James smirked. "But then I'd be denying myself some target practice for a match that you really need to get your lazy arse up for."

Sighing, Sirius stood up and walked to the bathroom.

"You know," he called from around the corner, "you should be very thankful that I put up with a git like you.

Thirty minutes later, James and Sirius were devouring their breakfasts. James' eyes automatically scanned the Great Hall for a sign of red hair, but curiously, he was left disappointed.

That's strange, he wondered. Where is she? Maybe she's with Diggory….

James' stomach churned at the thought.

Enough, Potter. Pull it together.

James had been distracted ever since his fight with Lily. He couldn't pay attention in class. His team was upset with him because his head wasn't in the game at practice. It didn't matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to put his heart into anything he did. He couldn't let his personal problems divert his mind from the game. He had to find a way to get her out of his head today.

Let it go. Don't think about her right now. You need to focus.

"You talked to Evans today?" Sirius asked around a mouthful of sausage.

You have got to be kidding me.

James sighed.

"Padfoot, Lily and I haven't spoken in over three weeks. What makes you think she'd suddenly come over here and strike up a conversation with me this morning?"

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Oh, er," he stammered, "I dunno…just curious."

James furrowed his brows. He was about to ask his friend what the hell was going on with him, when Sirius suddenly interjected, "Come on, then. We better head out to the Quidditch pitch."

(Lily)

"James, why was Severus there?"

His eyes wouldn't meet hers as he said, "It was my fault."

Lily was confused.

"What? N—no, it wasn't."

But James just ignored her and kept talking.

"…was only meant to be a joke…"

"James, stop! Sirius told me everything!"

"…realize he'd go looking…"

"James!"

"…wanted to see the look on his face…"

Lily grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard.

"James! Please! It's not your fault! Don't you get it?"

But James just stared at her with shame painted on his face as he kept blaming himself.

"James!"

Lily panted as she looked around her dormitory. Thank goodness Alice and Mary weren't here. She really didn't want to explain why she was hysterically screaming James' name in her sleep.

Wait.

Alice and Mary weren't here? She looked at the clock. 9:11.

Damn! The match starts in 49 minutes!

Lily practically leapt out of bed and flung herself into the bathroom.

How in the world am I going to get all the way down to the Quidditch pitch now? she wondered as she frantically brushed her teeth. I have to talk to him!

She sprinted to her dresser and threw on a scarlet jumper. Grabbing her Gryffindor scarf, she ran down the stairs and out the portrait hole.

When Lily finally reached the Quidditch pitch, she was gasping to catch her breath. She continued to shove her way through the crowd, desperate to reach the players' tent in time.

"Oof!" someone cried as Lily accidentally ran into the stranger. "Lily?"

She hastily turned to apologize when she realized it was Alice and Mary she had bumped into.

"What are you doing here?" Mary asked. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Someone didn't wake me up this morning!" she explained, sending a pointed glare towards the two of them, "so now I'm late!"

Lily turned and started running again.

"Wait! Late for what?" Alice called from behind her.

Lily turned and shouted over her shoulder, "I have to go find James!"

She shoved her way through the rest of the crowd and, at last, reached the players' tent. She took a moment to catch her breath and collect herself and entered the tent.

Lily didn't see James as her eyes scanned the locker room. After a few seconds, her eyes landed on a player with his head shoved in a locker.

She couldn't tell who he was, but, Merlin, he was fit. He hadn't yet put on the top half of his uniform and she could easily see that the sport had kept him toned and in shape. As far as she was concerned, he didn't even need the uniform. He could just leave it off and—

Snap out of it, Lily.

"Erm, excuse me," she called. "Have you seen—?"

The player snapped his head around away from his locker. It was—bloody hell.

I just checked out James Potter.

(James)

"Lily?"

She flushed a deep shade of pink.

"Oh," she faltered, "er—I guess I found you, then."

James watched as her eyes traveled from his face, down his chest, and landed somewhere on his stomach. He suddenly realized he was very…shirtless at the moment.

"Oh—er—sorry," he muttered, grabbing his uniform shirt from his locker and pulling it over his head.

"Th—that's alright."

There was a pregnant pause. James was beginning to feel very uneasy as he pulled on his Quidditch robes. After several awkward seconds, Lily spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Sirius told me everything."

He froze, his eyes snapping up to meet hers.

"James…James, I'm so sorry."

He didn't know what to say. He stood there, felling like an idiot, but too in shock to do anything about it.

"You were such a good friend to me," she continued, "and I jumped to conclusions. I just…I wanted—I needed you to know how sorry I am."

"Lily," he said, finding his voice at last, "you have nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry I lied to you. Please know that…I wanted you to know the truth, but I just…I couldn't…I had to protect Sirius. He's my best mate."

Lily walked towards him with her arms folded across her chest.

"James, really, I understand. It's honestly quite admirable that you'd do that for him. Can—can we just…forget this ever happened? You know, go back to the way things were?"

James couldn't believe this was happening. He kept thinking that any second, he'd wake up from this dream and Lily would still detest him…. But every time he blinked and opened his eyes, she was still there. Oh, yes. This was definitely happening.

"I'd…I'd love that, Lily. I really would."

She smiled and walked so near to him that their shoes were touching.

James had never been this close to Lily. He could see a ring of gold on the inside of her emerald irises. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, making them a lovely rosy color. And were those…freckles? Yes, very light freckles softly dusted under her cheekbones. He'd never noticed them before. James decided he very much liked being this close to Lily.

After a few seconds of the intimate proximity, Lily reached up and slid her arms around his neck. James stood in a sort of stupor for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her waist, returning the embrace.

"Be careful today," she whispered into his ear.

James gripped her shoulders and leaned back to look her in the eye.

"Now, Lily," he said with a glint in his eye, "what's the fun of anything if there's not a little danger involved?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Just don't get yourself killed," she smirked. "Now get out there. If you lose this game for us, I will personally kick your arse on behalf of the entire Gryffindor house."

James chuckled and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

Lily shook her head in mock annoyance.

"Arrogant prick," she muttered with a laugh. "Good luck, Potter.

He gave a teasing bow as she backed towards the exit.

"Always a pleasure, Evans."

A/N: Sorry for the shorter than usual chapter, guys. I had originally intended to make this much longer, but this just felt like a good stopping point. But I promise next chapter will have some Quidditch action! Also, be prepared for either Chapter 15 or 16 (I haven't decided which yet). One of them will be FANTASTIC. EEP. I'm so excited to write it. Want to make me update faster. Here's a hint: REVIEW! Please and thank you. Until next time, lovelies!