A/N - I can't tell if this where I want to end this story, or not. I will most likely do one more chapter, kind of going back to let you guys see how Lily came to the decision that she comes to in this chapter. Anyway, if you haven't been able to tell from this story, or from any of my other stories, I don't do fluff. I don't throw the characters a happy bone until I've mangled their hearts so much, that some fluff is much needed. Now, this not a very fluffy chapter, but I really, really hope that this makes up for the last one.

She was so nervous about this. She'd been looking for him all day, but had no luck in finding him. Part of her was sure that he just hadn't arrived back to school from his house yet, and the other more paranoid part was sure he was avoiding her.

Lily Evans just about gave up on looking for him as she walked into the Gryffindor common room for the millionth time that day. But, lo and behold, there he sat, amongst his three closest friends. Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin looked to be in the middle of a game of Wizard's Chess, one which Peter was hopelessly losing. Sirius was napping in an arm chair, looking more peaceful and less dangerous than Lily had ever seen him in her life. The boy whom she'd been looking for all day was sitting on the floor beside Peter, trying to whisper hints into his ear, as Remus scolded the both of them for cheating.

"James." she calls as she reaches their little area. All of them, minus the sleeping Sirius, look up at her. Peter looks beside himself with excitement, as he looks from Lily to James and back again. Remus just looks tired. Lily always thought he was the most wary looking teenager she'd ever seen.

"Hi." Says James, his face impassive.

"I really need to talk to you." The nerves that had been replaced by the relief in finding him, had returned. She smiles, trying to show that she means no harm. He does not return her smile. He continues to look up at her, no decipherable expression on his face. "James, please." She pleads.

"Alright." He stands up and walks towards the stairs that lead to the boys dormitories.

"Up there?" she asks.

"Yes, up there. Let's just make this quick." His back is to her, but she can tell that he is annoyed. And for the first time ever, Lily has to admit that he has every right to be.

Once they reach his room, he plops down on his bed, turning to face her. She doesn't know how to start this up, so she goes for the first thing that comes to mind.

"How was your holiday?" She asks. She's aware that she's awkwardly standing in front of him, both hands clasped in front of her, but she just can't make herself sit down next to him.

"Eye-opening." Was his only response.

"James, I have something to tell you." She pauses, questioning if it was too late to turn back now. But the thought of going the rest of her life not knowing how this would have played out was much more unbearable than the embarrassment that was flooding her system at the moment.

"Go on." He says, sounding almost bored.

"I want to be with you." She says, simply. She could immediately tell that this was not what he'd been expecting. His expression noticeably changes from annoyed, to almost comically surprised. He looks at her for a few seconds, then shakes his head in confusion.

"What?" he asks, standing up and walking towards her. He keeps a couple of feet of distance between them, but their now closer proximity is enough to make Lily even more nervous.

"You've done a lot of growing up, and this year it was my turn. I've been trying so hard to blame you for the way I've been feeling, but I can't do that anymore. I can't push you away and then expect to you keep sitting around and waiting. You did that for years, and it's not fair to expect you to keep doing it." She stops here and waits for him to say something.

"I pushed you away first." he says.

She nods her head, remembering the night of Petunia's wedding when things first started to go sour. "I know you did, and I was so angry and hurt by that. But, I handled it badly. I moped and I sulked, instead of fighting for you like I should have. I just wasn't brave enough to do that yet. But I am now, if you'll have me."

He's quiet for what feels like the longest minute of Lily's life, clearly thinking over what she'd just said. Lily's palms are sweating, and she's pretty sure her face, her cheeks especially, must be beyond red now. This was really it. She'd never thought that she'd ever be in the position of asking James Potter out. Why had they been wasting so much time? She'd been missing his presence in her life for so long. She realizes that she's been missing him since last year, when he'd first disappeared from her life. Maybe she'd liked him all along. But they were almost out of time now, and she feared once they left school, he'd move on to someone else, if he hadn't already.

He's still quiet, as he walks back to his bed and sits down. He doesn't break eye contact with her once he sits down, and it makes her feel like he's looking right through her. For some reason, she feels naked, as if he can see all of her. It doesn't help that thinking about James seeing her naked just makes her even more red. He'd never want to date a tomato like her.

"Why?" he asks her.

"Why, what?"

"Why do you want to be with me? You've spent six and a half years doing everything you could to not be with me. Why have you changed your mind?" He sounds calm enough, but she can tell how much she'd hurt his feelings over the years. This thought makes her sad, and she wishes she hadn't messed up so badly with him.

The words rush out of her mouth, and this question seems to be the easiest question she's ever had to answer. "Because I like you, James. I like you a lot. Because when I see you, I hope that you'll walk over and say something, anything just so we can talk. Because I smiled more with you in those two weeks of friendship than I have with anyone else. You're honest with me, and I know that I'm safe with you. You quote Quidditch Through The Ages, which I always found really funny even though I called you a prat whenever you did it. You do that thing, where you run your hands through your hair pretending that you're trying to make it tidy, when you're really trying to make it messier because you know it makes you look even more boyish and charming. And yes, James, you are so charming that it's kind of hard not to always want to be around you. Because snogging you on that train was just about the best two hours of my life." She pauses, takes a deep breath. "I want to be with you because you're James, and I'm Lily, and it's about bloody time this happened."

He stands up, and before she even knows what's happening, he's lifted her off the ground and is twirling her around She's laughing more than she has in months, and he's grinning when he puts her down in front of him. He puts his hands on either side of her face and pulls her in for a kiss. Before their lips touch, he pulls back for a second.

"What about that bloke, Daniel?" He asks.

Lily shrugs. "He's not you. He never will be."And that's all it takes for him to kiss her. He pulls away, and grabs her hand, practically flying down the stairs. "James, what are you doing?" she asks, terrified that they're going to fall. Once they're back in the common room, she can see that Sirius is awake and flirting with some fifth year girl who is sitting on his lap, while Remus and Peter continue to play their game. Everyone in the common room looks at James and Lily.

She can tell he'd been hoping to pull his friends aside and tell them the good news, but she had a better idea. After all, she really owed him for all the times she'd turned him down. She turns to James, beaming at him.

"James, will you go out with me?" she says, loudly enough for the whole room to hear. He wraps an around her waist, pulls her in for another kiss. Plenty of wolf whistles break out as they kiss, and Lily is surprised when she even hears some people clapping.

"Of course." He says.