***************Lily looked around the corner. Great. She thought. There’s Remus and Peter and those two idiots. If I go past, James is going to try and seduce me again. She was really tired of having to take alternate routes to classes just to avoid him, and it was becoming increasingly difficult, because James must have caught on. He was now arriving at classes so early that when Lily got there, she would have to stand there with him almost 5 whole minutes listening to him tell her why she should go out with him.

Taking a deep breath, she turned the corner and walked right by them. For a minute she thought they hadn’t seen her, but then Sirius whispered, “James, look, behind you!”

James turned around as quickly as he could, and yelled, “Hey Evans! EVANS!”

She ignored him. He followed her anyway.

“Evans, why are you giving me the cold shoulder? You seem to be avoiding me lately.” James said, talking to her casually as if they were good friends.

“You’re right, I have been avoiding you. Because I know that every time I walk past you are going to ask me out!” Lily exclaimed. “Honestly, I am really sick of it. You know I am going to say no, so why do you keep trying?”

“Come on, you’re just playing hard to get.” James said, trying to wrap his arm around her.

“Get off! I don’t like you!” Lily yelled as he whirled her around.

“Well, that’s an improvement. The other day you told me you hated me.” James said, smiling.

Lily looked up at him. She never noticed his eyes before. They were a beautiful shade of brown, and almost hypnotizing to look at. She pulled herself away from him.

“Maybe I still do hate you! You are never going to learn, you are never going to grow up!” Lily yelled at him. She walked away and smiled to herself. She left James there standing confused and shocked, like she had just hit him across the face.

But what had happened before? She had become entranced by his beautiful eyes, they had looked at her with such longing…

Stop! She ordered herself. She would not fall for James. There was no way she was going to let herself fall for James.

*************

James walked back to his friends, having been turned down yet again. Sirius walked up and patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, mate, she’ll turn round eventually.” He said.
“Whatever.” mumbled James. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was never going to grow up. He didn’t think the matter over, because at that moment the perfect vent for his frustration had walked around the corner.

“Look Padfoot, it’s Snivellus.” James whispered.

Sirius looked up and grinned. “What should we get him with today? Bat-Bogey hex? Or a Jelly-Legs Jinx? I am personally up for the Bat-Bogey hex.” He said.

James nodded and began to pull out his wand, when he heard Lily’s voice ringing in his head:

“Maybe I still do hate you! You are never going to learn, you are never going to grow up!”

James stopped and put his wand back in his pocket. “Not today guys, I’m not in the mood.” He said quietly. “I’ll see you in Charms.”

Sirius looked appalled, Lupin looked a little impressed, and Peter just stared as Snape as he went past.

James felt happier with himself. If he could stop picking on Snape, maybe Lily would look at him in a different light. Maybe, just maybe, she might consider going out with him…

This thought carried him all the way to Charms, where, to his delight, he saw Lily, looking as beautiful as ever, rereading her charms notes from the lesson before.

“Hello Evans!” he said cheerfully as he approached. She looked up and rolled her eyes.

“You again? I thought I made my feelings about you clear before.” Lily said, not taking her eyes off her notes.

“Well, I thought a bit about what you said, and I think I am ready to grow up.” James said confidently.

Lily looked up. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? “Oh, and why is that?” she asked him.

“I have just passed up an opportunity to pick on Sniv…Snape…and I intend to do the same every time I see him.” He answered.

“Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.” Lily snorted. James frowned. What else was he supposed to do?

“Come on Evans? Will you just go out with me once?” James asked hopefully.
Lily didn’t look up. She knew if she did, she might become weak from those beautiful eyes of his, and then she might even say yes. “I don’t know.” Lily said.

“What do you mean? It is a simple yes or no question!’ James exclaimed.

“Maybe to you it is!” Lily yelled. She stormed into the classroom and took a seat far away from where James and his friends usually sat. James followed her again. Couldn’t this guy take a hint?

“Please Lily?” he asked, looking straight into her eyes.

Lily looked up. His eyes were so entrancing! She was about to open her mouth when Professor Flitwick walked in and said, “Everyone, take a seat, that means you Mr. Black, and open your books to page 572!”

******************

Lily looked at what they were supposed to be reading. She couldn’t concentrate. Had she had a few more seconds, what would she have said? Yes? She shuddered at the thought. She looked over the room at James. He was pretending to read, but was passing notes to Sirius when Professor Flitwick wasn’t looking. Sirius was right behind him, reading the notes then scribbling something back. Lily saw her friend, Kristen, looking at Sirius with longing and Lily rolled her eyes; Kristen didn’t deserve that scumbag. Before she knew it, Flitwick had ordered them into pairs and told them to practice turning hot coals into ice.

Lily partnered with Kristen as usual, and muttered in her ear, “I saw you looking at Sirius. Won’t you get over him already?” Lily asked.

Kristen giggled, “No, honestly I think he likes me too, I saw him looking at me yesterday in Transfiguration!” she said this all in a high, girlish voice she usually got when she was excited or embarrassed.

“Sirius Black is not capable of loving anyone longer than two minutes.” Lily retorted. “Him and that stupid Potter.”

Her friend Melanie had walked over at the moment and snorted. “Going on about that Potter boy again? We hear about him day and night!” she exclaimed.

Her other friend, Ashlee, walked over too. “I think she fancies him. She’s in denial.” She said simply.

“No I don’t! I can’t think of anyone I hate more!” Lily snapped. She could tell that she hadn’t convinced her friends, because they were all still smirking at her.

“Sure, Lily. I don’t think anyone could hate someone so much and NOT like them.” Said Melanie.

Lily rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help thinking in the back of her mind that maybe her friends were right.

*********

James looked back at Lily. She was chatting with that giggly girlfriend of hers, Kristen, whom Sirius was looking at. What was she playing at? James thought. One minute she looks at me as though she is dying to just grab me and kiss me, and the next she is storming off in the other direction. What is wrong with women?

James hadn’t been concentrating on his spell, which made his coal burst into flames rather than turn to ice. Lupin extinguished it with one flick of his wand. “James, what are you thinking about, Lily?” he asked him.

James nodded. “I am so close! I am sure that had she had a moment more she would have agreed to go out with me!” James said angrily. “If you liked a girl for seven years, and she constantly turned you down, what would you do? Sirius, are you listening?” he added.

Sirius jerked his head up. He had been staring at Kristen. “Yes, of course, um…what were we talking about again?” he asked.

Peter answered very quickly, “James and Lily, as usual.”

“Look, mate, I think you should forget Lily. Go out with someone else. Melanie is very pretty, or maybe Ashlee? Maybe if she sees you with another girl, she will suddenly come to realize that you are prefect for her!” Sirius said.

“Really, Padfoot, that is not going to work. Maybe in your world, where you are blessed with such good looks girls don’t care if you act like a prat, but not mine.” James explained.

“Whatever.” Sirius mumbled.

***********


Lily hurried out of the classroom at the bell. She saw James out of the corner of her eye, and hurried into the girls bathroom where he couldn’t follow her. She sank against the wall and listened to the class moving around outside. She heard someone emerge from one of the cubicles.

A girl with long, blonde hair walked out of the stall. “Oh, hi Lily. What are you doing on the floor?” she asked.

“Hi Olivia. Just…hiding…from Potter.” Lily said as she got up.
“Him? Why are you hiding from him?” Olivia asked as she washed her hands.

Lily groaned. “He wants to ask me out. He won’t leave me alone.” She answered.

Olivia giggled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If Potter was asking me out, I would have said yes in a heartbeat! Well, see you later.” She giggled again and walked out of the bathroom.

Lily was shocked. Olivia actually liked Potter? Well, she obviously doesn’t know the real James Potter like I do. Lily thought. But in her heart she felt mad and angry at the thought of James going out with someone else. She tired to push the thought out of her head, but it didn’t work. Lily realized Ashlee was right.

She did like James, and she was in denial. But she still hated him. She slumped back down again the wall. What is wrong with me?

*********

James was mad and frustrated. He kept thinking to himself What is her problem? None of the others had any idea what it felt like, to be in love with someone for years and for them to not love you back, to keep rejecting him and turning him down, she had no idea how much she was hurting him every time she told him he hated her.

“Will you stop acting so depressed and lighten up?” Sirius asked. He had been quite short with him after everything in Charms.

“Padfoot, lay off him. It must be tough.” Lupin said in his defense.

“Well, I still say, ask someone else out.” Sirius said.

James rolled his eyes. He just didn’t understand! Sirius was so oblivious to things sometimes.

They went around the corner and Sirius stopped. “Yes, Snivellus!” he whispered. “Come on, Prongs, it will make you feel better.”

James was defiantly tempted to. He was so frustrated with Lily, he needed some way to let go of some of his anger. But he knew that wouldn’t improve his chances with Lily at all.

“No, Padfoot, Lily told me it was childish and I needed to grow up or she would never consider…”

Sirius cut him off. “I am so sick of hearing about Lily! Prongs, she would have said yes by now if she liked you at all, but she obviously doesn’t!”

Lupin looked like he was going to say something, but apparently couldn’t think of anything. Peter just watched them. It was very rare to see the two friends fighting.

“Fine! I’ll jinx Snivellus, but I am not happy about it, and this is the last time I am ever doing it, got it?” James snapped at Sirius.

James turned around and looked at Snape, who was sitting on a bench, staring at his book. Snape went to get up, and James quickly pointed his wand at him and muttered something under his breath.

The Jelly-Leg’s Jinx took place immediately. Snape began doing an odd sort of dance, and James did a quick Expelliarmus to send all his books flying.

James turned around and glared at Sirius. He was really mad at him right now. But Sirius was looking past James and down the hallway. James looked to see what he was looking at and felt his stomach flip.

Lily had been watching the whole scene. She glared at James with a look of mixed emotions. She looked sad and angry, but also confused and hurt. She turned her heal and stomped all the way to the bathroom, where she slammed the door. But before she did, they heard a loud sob that echoed through the hallway.