Chapter Eight:

"Actually." said Lily. "For your information we've done nothing of the sort. And your welcome for letting you in before you froze to death."

Amber just rolled her eyes. "Gag me with a spoon."

"So this is what the boys dormitories look like." Faith mused, quick to change the subject. Remus and Lily and James where all equally grateful for this.

"Don't tell me you've never been up here." said Remus, which to James sounded very much like a pick up line.

"Nope."

This started a long debate about which was better, the girls dormitories or the boys. Which, of course, Amber won because she kept making things up about it.

Lily stayed dutifully quiet the whole time. There was no better mood ruiner than best friends.

"Well." she said, after she thought she had been tortured long enough. "I think I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

Amber and Faith had been quick to leave after Lily had, leaving only Remus and James since Peter and Sirius where out gallivanting around Hogsmead.

"They better bring me something back." said Remus, unusually grumpy.

"Well not with that attitude, Moony. Remember your pleases and your thank yous." James said this half asleep, as he had already changed into his pajamas and was under his covers which smelled faintly of Lily.

"You and Miss Evans looked quite close." Remus pried.

"And your point would be...?"

"I'm just saying that its been in a long time coming. I'm glad you two are finally ... at the same place."

James sat up. "What exactly does that mean?"

Remus was untying his shoes lazily on his bed. He looked alarmed at James' sudden flair up. "Nothing. Just that it was bound to happen is all. I think you guys are good for each other. Different than the others." His words where carefully selected and slow versed, as if he was anticipating a violent mood swing. Instead James laid back down on the pillow.

"Remus, don't go soft on me." he said, but somewhere in his heart he knew Remus was right. This was different. And if there where any doubts being unable to sleep because he kept seeing Lily in his dreams definitely stinted them.

Early the next morning Lily and James met in the common room and walked down to breakfast together holding hands. It would have been a miraculous act of fate had James not been scouring the Marauder's map waiting for her to come down.

They walked to the Great Hall holding hands, talking. It seemed all too perfect, and as we all know too perfect things never last.

As soon as they entered the hall that morning there was a collective gasp from every table they passed. It might have been imagination, but the students craning their necks to get a good look post certainly where not.

James ignored them. He was used to the attention to be honest also quite prepared for it. Of course they would look, it was Lily Evans for crying out loud. Who would not look?

Lily on the other hand was more self conscious about it, and that was saying a lot seeing as she almost never got self conscious. This however was too much. It felt like everyone was whispering bad things about her all at once. Going out with James Potter, how predictable. The pretty always go with the pretty. What about Severus?

Speak of the devil.

Even at the thought of her former best friend she found herself scooting down the table a bit farther. How was she going to explain this to him? So what if they where in a fight, Sev would not take this well. In fact, he would probably not talk to her for a month and a half if he found out from somebody else... Just a month and a week if her found out from her... maybe.

"I'll be right back." she said, before getting up quick stepping it to the nearby girls washroom.

Lily had a plan. She would simply write it all down on that bit of paper they used to pass notes and that would make it all better. After all, she thought, if I tell him myself that makes it better. Right? If I'm honest and tell him before he hears it from somebody else? But deep down she knew she wasn't fooling anybody, he would still be mad no matter what.

Defeated, she sat down on the cold bathroom floor, feeling the tiles against her back. She would have to think of another plan.

"You want to pretend we're not going out." repeated James dumbly a few hours later out in the hallway.

"That is if we are going out..." she said, her cheeks reddening at the thought of kissing him and then not going out with him and bringing this up.

"No, we are. I mean, if you want us to be. But pretend to not be going out? Why? Thats the whole fun of it." he sulked.

Lily instinctively reached out and took his hands. "No. Its just." she sighed. "You know that Sev is my very BEST friend and that we've been friends for as long as I can remember. Well. I know that you two don't get along, and I just really don't want to hurt his feelings. We're in a fight right now and that would just make it all the worse."

James stared at stone wall behind her head, thinking. "So your pretending not to go out with me because of another guy?"

Girls where confusing.

"No. Well yes. But Sev doesn't really count as a guy. Hes more of a guy friend. But anyways, will you do it? Please?"

"But he'll find out eventually. Its never going to last." said James.

"I'll tell him sometime. Just not right now. Again: please?"

James smiled at the cute pout on her face. "Okay. But just for you. Don't start rumors that I'd do this for any girl."

Lily smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. "Thank you times a million. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Enough for a little broom closet time?"

"No."

"Enough to let me walk you to class?"

"Um. Yes."

Proud of his bargaining skills James took her books and walked beside her, head held high in the air. Even if he couldn't verify that they where going out, he certainly wasn't going to openly deny it either.

"You do know that we have the same class anyways, right?"

"Er. Yes."

Lily laughed.

It felt right to be with James, very right. Actually, it felt like she was ten feet above the Earth whenever she was with him, but she wasn't quite ready to let people know. Not yet at least.

That would just be a lot of trouble, and not something she wanted to start with.

But who was to say she couldn't have her cake and eat it too.. just without anybody knowing... and also technically without the eating his face, because lucky for her, her kissing skills had improved since the fourth grade.

Alright, how do you like that? Two chapters at once! Okay, so this chapter WAS really short... and maybe it was a few days...er...weeks in the making. But still. Can't blame a girl for trying, right?

Its been hectic I must say. I wont fill you in on any of the gory details, but heres the jist of it. High school way too many people craving drama.

ps. And also musical auditions suck.

pps. And ex boyfriends.

Anyways, thank you for being so patient with me and double thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter. Hopefully the next one wont take so drastically long to come up with.