Author's Note:

I was so excited when I checked my e-mail and saw how many reviews you guys sent me; you're amazing! And a ton of you put this on your favorites and story alerts. I'm pretty excited you have faith in my writing that you expect it to be good from just the first chapter. Anyways, I'll get to the story now.

-MaRaUdErLoVeR423-, I updated so now it's your turn!

Lily does some serious self-analysis. Delia tells a story or two. And Lily somewhat successfully avoids talking about the summer with James.

Ch. 2 Avoidance

Lily stopped in her tracks and gazed around the room, forgetting for the moment the person behind her until he tapped her shoulder lightly, "Lily, uh— Lily? Wanna get out of the doorway?" Lily stepped to the side but still didn't say anything; James gave her a funny look then glanced at his surroundings. His mouth dropped open, "Wow."

Lily walked over to the bookshelf across the room, loaded with books about every magical topic imaginable, from hexes to herbology. Lily even spied a few muggle books on the bottom shelf. She and James traded a look of amazement, "'Perfectly adequate,'" Lily quoted the Headmaster, "I believe that's what he called this room."

They were standing in a Common Room decorated in red and gold just like Gryffindor except it was loaded with everything a student could want from a mini refrigerator to two desks, one for each of them, with ink, quills, parchment, and even a wand cleaning kit. "I thought I saw him smirking a bit when he said that," James commented, chuckling to himself. He has a really cute laugh, Lily thought to herself, I never heard it over the summer, then again, it wasn't much of a laughing matter…Stop it Lily, she commanded herself, It's over, move on. Stop pitying yourself. Lily despised self-pity.

"Lets check out the bathroom," she needed to see more of something new, to get her mind off the past. James opened the door and Lily was instantly reminded of a toothpaste add, it was that blindingly white, Like Julia's perfect smile. Stop it, Lily, she commanded again. Lily forced a laugh, "Oh, God, this is crazy."

At that particular moment Lily started to walk out of the door at the exact same time as James. They got stuck briefly in the doorway, squished together, then burst through falling on the floor, one on top of the other. "Sorry," James said a bit too loud, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Lily. Are you okay?" His eyes were panicked; you'd think we just fell fifty feet rather then five the way he's acting, Lily thought.

"I'll be fine if you get off me, Potter," Lily was able to squeeze the words out of her rather compressed lungs.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," James sat up like a flash and helped to her feet. Lily noticed how much colder she suddenly felt. They looked at each other for a moment, at a lack of anything to say, Lily coughed and James stopped staring so intensely into her eyes. "I guess we have a habit of getting into awkward situations," James stated honestly. Lily's mind flashed back to the alleyway a month before and she instantly blushed. Just a glance confirmed James was thinking about the exact came thing.

"I—um, I'm gonna go, er, check out my room," Lily stated awkwardly. She hesitated as though she expected James to say something. When he didn't she turned with a crooked half smile and walked into her room.

For the third time that day, Lily swore her heart stopped. Unlike the rest of the castle, her room was light and airy with wooden panels covering the crude stone walls, ceiling, and floor. There were several big floor to ceiling windows and one wide one over looking the lake in front of which was a wide and comfortable looking day bed with a squishy patchwork quilt over it. All the furniture was made of driftwood from the ocean with swirling floral patterns covering it. Sheer creamy white curtains hung neatly on all the windows; one fluttered in the breeze from her opening the door. There were several paintings hug between the windows depicting various county sides, full of sunshine and flowers and color. An easel sat in the corner with huge set of paintbrushes and oil paints. How on earth did they know I paint, she wondered. A huge looking glass was rested against the wall, reminding her of the mirror at the Potter's and her holding that little boy…

"Man, your room's nice," Lily jumped and spun around to see James standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hi," Lily gave him what she hoped was a convincing smile, "You startled me."

"Oh sorry," the smile seemed to have been good enough for him, "Your room's so different from mine. Wanna see?"

"Sure." James turned and walked out. Lily glanced at her appearance in the glass again, adjusted her hair although it looked exactly the same afterwards and followed him out.

James's room was somewhat Elizabethan looking. She couldn't have expected it to be so, muggle. All the furniture was dark mahogany and the windows were hung with heavy curtains. His bed was covered with huge pillows in various shades of green and white, the dominant colors in the room and the colors of the Tudor family.

"Fan of muggle history?" Lily asked, as she examined a bureau with roses carved into it.

"A bit," James looked a bit sheepish. "Does your room speak to you, like it was made completely for you based on your tastes?"

Lily turned to James with a confused look, "How'd you kn—"

"It's the same for me," James had the expression that said he was quite sure he wanted to day what he was on the verge of saying, "Lily, this summer,"

"Uh, I'm going to go unpack," Lily had to force herself not to sprint out of the room.

"Oh, okay," James answered in a clearly disheartened voice.

Lily closed her door forcefully and sighed in relief, "That was close." Lily couldn't even let herself think about the summer let alone talk about it. She had been at peace for a week after the funeral, for the week Sirius was with her. He was always bouncy and friendly and bright and everything she needed to keep her spirits up. Then he left and she had been alone for the remaining two weeks of vacation. Petunia went on a vacation with Vernon and his family to 'relax' and 'cope'. "Coping's for wimps. I don't need to cope, I just need to move on," she assured herself but her gut told her she was wrong. After throwing a few things in her new armoire Lily gave up on unpacking and left to find some other form of entertainment.

She crept into the Common Room and listened for James. He tripped over something in his room and swore. Biting back her laughter, Lily stepped through the portrait hole and into the hall. First stop was the owlry where she held her owl, Cerci for a moment. He hooted softly into her ear. Lily swore he was trying to speak to her sometimes, "I wish I understood owl," she commented to no one in particular.

"That would be interesting to say the least," came a voice Lily knew quite well.

"Don't you, though?" Lily turned to face her brother who was leaning effortlessly in the doorway.

"I'd rather speak dog," Sirius walked over to join her at the window, "Then again I already do," he added with a smirk that told her he was leaving something out.

Lily laughed and smiled, "What aren't you telling me, Sirius Black? Is that the reason your friends call you Padfoot?"

Sirius gave her a thoughtful look, but it was quickly replaced with an amused one, "You're smarter then you look, Lils," he commented.

"Oh thanks," Lily's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Hey, have you seen James?" Sirius asked, clearly steering away from the dog topic, "We have a few start of the year pranks to plan."

"I should give you detention," Lily smiled, "but it's too early, even for you. Besides you haven't done anything. Yet." Sirius chuckled at that. "He's in the Head's dorm, just two corridors down, the full size portrait of Marie Antoinette, password's 'Let them eat cake'."

The historical meaning was lost on Sirius, he laughed, "Weird password. Thanks Lily."

"Later." As Lily walked away she felt her emotions deflating, Sirius had that effect on her, he made her forget her problems and just laugh, but once he left her alone agin, she was even more depresed and low. Maybe I should be a bit more easy-going, she thought to herself.

o0o

Two hours later, Lily, Delia, and Serena were flopped on Lily's bed, pounding down chocolate and talking.

"Where'd you go to school before if you weren't at Hogwarts?" Serena asked Delia.

"Well," Delia started, "My mum's French and she said I needed a proper French education so they sent me to Beauxbatons, but, needless to say, I'm not the perfect little lady my mother wanted so they expelled me for pulling pranks. Honestly they were all harmless, and that old bat got was coming for her anyways."

Delia trailed off and they sat in silence for a moment and then burst into uncontrolled laughter. "Do I even want to know?" Lily asked.

With a grin Delia started the tale of he expulsion, Well, you see," she began, "My da insisted I took a muggle studies class since he planned for us to be living with them for the summer before my seventh year. One day they hired some old witch, Miss Havening, to teach us about proper French etiquette. I'm not particularly fond of being told how to hold my fork when I'm eating steak as opposed to chicken so I burped rather loudly during the dining sesion. The day went on and we fond various ways to insult each other, she made me walk with books on my head; I purposefully wobbled so that they fell into the table holding her precious china, all of which shattered. She taped a chalkboard to my back to I'd stand straight and I pulled it off so she used some charm to make it stay. I won't to go into detail but I was rather, unhappy with her." Lily could imagine Delia with the chalkboard on her back screaming at a little old woman who reminded Lily of the pictures she'd seen of her grandmother. "I decided two could play that game and I put a charm on every chalkboard, eraser, and piece of chalk in the school to chase her out. Once she was outside, the rain washed all the chalk out of her perfect pink robes so I don't know why she was so upset anyways. She started screaming about disrespect and impropriety and, to make a long story short—"

"Too late," Lily and Serena chorused.

Delia grinned, "They expelled me."

Serena laughed, "You'll get along pretty well with the Marauders," she commented.

"Who are the Marauders?" Delia asked, curious. Serena and Lily exchanged looks, nodded, and went onto a detailed description of everything to do with Hogwarts life except for classes.

o0o

For the next few weeks Lily avoided James with all the skill, or lack there of she had. The fact that they lived together, patrolled together twice a week, had ALL their classes together, and Delia insisted Lily went to the Quiddich try-outs to cheer her on (Delia's a beater with Sirius), all added to her difficulty at being inconspicuous. Not only that, but Professor Slughorn had decided James was the worst potions student in the class and that he needed to be partners with "the brilliant and stupendous Miss Evans" (Sirius promised to never let it go).

By the time Friday rolled around at the end of particularly long week of James-avoidance, Lily flopped onto her bed with a grateful sigh, ready to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book in the comfy armchair next to one of her windows. She had just changed into some sweatpants and an old t-shirt when a knock came at the door. Sighing, Lily got up and opened it, thinking it was Sirius. He'd been in to wake her up every Monday morning since school began at the crack of dawn; she was beginning to regret having told him the password.

"James," Lily's breath caught in her throat when she saw his frame in the doorway. "Um, what's up," it would be really hard to deny she'd been avoiding him for the past month if he said anything about it.

"We have to patrol, remember?" He asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Lily had always secretly admired his hair. Ask any girl in Hogwarts and they'd agree, James Potter has the best hair, ever.

"Well, ah no," Lily thought it would be a bit obvious with her outfit. Yes, James, I enjoy being seen looking like a scrub, she seriously considered saying but didn't want a fight. "Just give me a sec and I'll change."

"Sure," James agreed readily, she felt like he knew what she'd almost said.

Glancing in her mirror, Lily pulled her hair up into a messy bun, she'd have to spend ages combing it out again, but there was nothing else she could do in such a rush. She pulled on a sweater and switched to jeans. "Thank God my face cleared up last year and I don't really need make-up," she muttered. (A/N: That line is for people like me who hate their skin with a burning passion. Yeah, I exaggerate a bit.)

Once they were in the halls, Lily and James walked several feet apart, arms stiff at their sides, each acutely aware of the other's presence. Lily shot side-glances at James continually, not sure if she should say something or if silence was best, James, ironically, was doing the exact same thing. They accidentally made eye contact and then both snapped their head straight forward. After a half hour of only catching a few couples snogging and two third years sneaking into the kitchen they called it a night, all the while avoiding each other's eyes. I feel like I'm Medusa or even something more sinister, Lily observed to herself, of course I'm not treating him much better.

"Goodnight, James," Lily felt her shoulders slump in relief when they finally returned to the Head's Common Room.

"Lily," James called. The shoulders tensed up again.

"Hm?" Lily turned slowly, regretfully.

James looked like he was about to say something important but he changed his mind, "Just—just sleep well. Okay?"

Lily smiled, he really is sweet, she admitted to herself, "You too." She felt James's eyes on her back as she entered her room. This time she didn't relax till the door was firmly latched behind her.

o0o

"It was so awkward, and I could tell it wasn't what he really wanted to say," Lily confided in Serena over bacon the next morning at breakfast. "Oh, god. I wish he would just forget the whole summer so I can go back to hating his existence like before. Last year he would have asked me out fifty times by now, but not once yet this year."

Serena frowned and twisted a piece of red hair around her finger. She was one of those punk style girls with a nose ring and dark brown hair she highlighted with every color of the rainbow. She had been talking about trying purple for a while but hadn't gotten around to it.

"Lily," Serena put down her fork and met her friend's green eyes with her own deep brown ones, "Either you like him back or you don't. After seven years, there's no way it's a joke that he's pretty much I love with you. Don't even try to say that he stopped liking you this year since he hasn't asked you out because all he's done it act more mature just like you've always asked him to. You can't play with his emotions; kiss him back over the summer and then suddenly you won't talk to him. You owe him better then that. What happened happened. He won't forget the summer so you have to work with it as it is."

Lily couldn't come up with any defense. She just looked at Serena hopelessly and somewhat pleadingly. Her friend relented, "You don't have to decide right now to marry him or to never talk to him again. You owe him friendship at least, if nothing else."

Lily watched Serena walk away with a small frown on her face. "But she doesn't know why I can't talk to him. I've been so cruel, she doesn't understand."

A/N: That's a little bit of a cliffhanger but not too, too bad. Jeez, was that a long chapter or what? Reviews please, please, please!