CHAPTER NINETEEN

STORMING OFF AND RUNNING AWAY

I wake up on Saturday with a new-found confidence. If my family are mad at me, then they are hypocrites. I am the one who is mad at them and going to this party is me being the bigger person. I doubt they'll try to make me leave anyway. I don't know why I was even worried yesterday.

I go for breakfast with Mel and Rikki and we sit in our usual spot. I look over to where Caleb is sitting (as usual) and am surprised to see Al is looking at me. He sees me glance over and shoots me a small smile. I smile back and he goes back to his breakfast. If he is being nice to me, I see no reason to ignore him. It's James that I'm most mad at anyway, why couldn't he just keep his nose out of my business? To think I actually understood his initial concern. I eat my bacon and stare at my plate, deep in thought. I am approached by Fred and Roxie. Rikki and Mel look at me worriedly, scared that I will shout again, but I won't.

"Hey Lils. We-" Starts Fred.

"And James ... Don't forget James, Freddie." Interupts Roxie. Fred glares at her jokingly for interrupting and continues.

"Yeah. James too. We were all wondering if you were coming to our party tonight."

"Because we really want you there." Smiles Roxie. I highly doubt that they would notice if I was there but I smile anyway.

"Of course I'm coming. Have to give you your presents, don't I? Happy birthday by the way." The both grin at me, Fred throws me a wink, and they walk away. I hadn't realised how much I missed my family these past few weeks. Even though I don't really talk to them much, it's nice knowing that they're there for me. I love them.

I glance over at Caleb again and notice that he's already left. We decided to meet by our tree today so I run up to my dorm, grab a coat, pair of gloves, a scarf and a hat, and run back downstairs. I'm out of breath by the time I reach the lake. And there he is, waiting for me. He's wearing a Slytherin scarf and a black coat and reading a book.

"Hey" I say, walking over, "What you reading?" He smiles up at me. I sit down and he kisses me softly on the lips before answering.

"Potions." He says, making a face. I giggle and smile. He pulls me in for another kiss, this one isn't so brief. He licks my bottom lip, asking for entrance, and I grant it. He tounge darts in and out of my mouth, swirling and coliding with mine. I moan and blush, but luckily he can't see that. His right hand rests against my neck and his other hand has me pulled as close to him as possible in out current positions. My hands rest one on his knee and the other in his hair. This is the life. We pull away for breath, panting slightly, and his runs his thumb along mmy cheek. He's wearing his thinking face.

"What?" I ask.

"You're so beautiful, Lily. Your hair, your laugh, your smile. And those eyes." He moans lightly, "You're killing me."

"Me? I'm nothing special. And my eyes are just ... brown. Nothing special, at all. Look at you. Violet eyes. They're amazing. You're amazing. I don't know how I got so lucky. Why me,Caleb? There are so many other, prettier, sexier, more experienced girls." I murmer, looking at the ground, embarrassed. I feel his finger under my chin lift my head to look in his eyes as he talks.

"I'm sure there are ... for other people. But you are the prettiest, sexiest girl I notice. You are the only girl I notice. The first time I came over to your house, I stayed for dinner. But your Mum ran out of roast potatoes or something so everyone had more than me. And while James and Al were arguing over who had to give me one of their potatoes, you stood up took a potato off of your plate, put it on mine and sat back down. And nobody else noticed. And I thought 'How could nobody notice.". Now I'm not saying I payed all this extra attention to you, or always fancied you or something. I always just thought of you as Al's little sister, but I think I noticed you more than most people. And when I saw you at the start of this year, I wondered how I hadn't noticed how beautiful you had gotten. I noticed you more after that. How selfless, and calm, and smart you were. You are nice to your friends,and you look after everyone and you never complain about it. The more I thought about it, the more I knew how much attention you truly deserved and then... well, here we are." He blushed slightly at the end, but he never dropped eye contact.

I leaned in and kissed him deeply, words escaping me. I remembered that day with the potatoes too. But I can't believe Caleb did. I feel this overwhelming feeling wash over me. Like...love? But I can't be in love with Caleb, can I? We've only been together a few weeks. After the kiss I look at my watch.

"It's seven, we should go get ready. I'll see you at the party." I kiss him on the cheek and run back to the castle.

I go to the kitchens first for something to eat and am surprised to see Rose. She looks up at me and smiles.

"Hey Lily."

"Hi Rose, did you miss dinner too?" I ask her, wondering why she's in the kitchens. She nods and offers me some of her lasagne.

"Yep."

"Where were you?" I ask, curious. Rose eats like Uncle Ron, so I'm surprised she missed dinner.

"I-was, err, library." She stutters. I laugh.

"Rosie, you don't have to lie. If you don't want to tell me it's fine." She sighs, relieved.

"That bad a liar huh? Where were you."

"I don't want to tell you." I grin. Rose's eyes change from happy to concerned.

"Look Lily, I -"

"Oh Merlin, Rose, don't start! I don't butt into everyone else's life so stay out of mine. I'll see you at the party." I storm out, slamming the door behind me. Only then do I realise how hungry I am.