It's All Your Fault

It's All Your Fault

It's all your fault
You called me beautiful
You turned me out
And now I can't turn back
I hold my breath
Because you were perfect
But I'm running out of air
And it's not fair

Isn't love ironic? After all these years, all this time, now was the moment he decided to walk away and take his love with him. Lily had always hated James Potter, but now that he was gone, she'd found herself falling for him. It just wasn't fair!

It didn't make any sense to Lily. She despised everything about him. Or, at last she had. It all seemed such a long time ago. Was it really just two months ago that it had happened? Surely not? But it must have been, Lily realised. It was September now. The start of Seventh Year. Final Year. And he had asked her at the end of July... Two months...

-July, Two months earlier-

"Evans! Hey, Evans!"

Lily sighed. What could be possibly want now. "Yes, Potter?"

James grinned and ruffled his hair. "Will you go out with me?"

Lily frowned and turned on her heel.

"Evans! Will you, or won't you, go out with me?"

"NO!" she roared, barely glancing back over her shoulder at him.

"Okay, then! See you around, Evans!" he called back, a hint of laughter in his oh-so-annoying voice.

Lily carried on walking, ignoring his comment. When would he get the picture? She wasn't interested in him, and never would be!

"What about now?"

Lily jumped in surprise when she recognised the tall, lean figure of James Potter leaning against the wall next to her.

She opened her mouth to shoot a sarcastic comment at him, but closed her mouth, flustered. "Drop dead!" she muttered.

He chuckled. "Now?"

"DON'T YOU GET IT, YOU STUPID, ARROGANT MORON? I DO NOT, AND WILL NEVER, WANT TO GO OUT WITH YOU! EVER!"

His smile vanished. He stumbled backwards, looking ever so slightly hurt. Then he recovered and remarked coldly: "Fine. Whatever. I can get any girl I want. You think you're so special? Think I like rejection, do you?"

"Look, James, I..."

He shrugged and turned away from her. "Forget it. I understand. I'll leave you alone from now on. I can tell when I'm not wanted...I'm really not that bothered, you know. It's fine."

He hurried away, leaving Lily bewildered and felling guilty. That had been unexpected, to say the least.

I'm trying to figure out what else to say (What else could I say)
To make you turn around and come back this way (Would you just come back this way)
I feel like we could be really awesome together
So make up your mind cause it's now or never (oh)

-September-

Lily hung her head, cheeks burning with shame. A quiet cough behind her made her start and she turned to face the intruder.

"Remus! You made me jump!" she exclaimed, relieved.

"Sorry, Lily! I didn't mean to scare you, I just..." He paused, his head cocked to one side.

"Don't worry about it... What's up?"

Remus sighed and wrung his hands.

"I'm just checking to see how you are. James wanted me to..."

He clapped a hand over his mouth, groaning loudly.

"What?" questioned Lily, worried for her friend. "Is everything ok, Remus?"

"Ah, I shouldn't have said that!"

Lily frowned. "I don't follow," she said truthfully. "Explain, please?"

He shook his head fiercely. "I can't. Sorry, Lily, but I didn't want to get involved in this anyway. I told James, but no it's his way or no way!"

And with that, he walked away. Lily was left staring after him, even more confused and upset than before. What had that all been about? She collapsed into an armchair near the roaring fire and massaged her temples. She should really have confronted James, but she couldn't face him.

Meanwhile, Remus was getting a telling off from two of his best friends...

"Moony! Prongs gave you clear instructions! How could you have mentioned him by name? Are you stupid?" shouted Sirius.

"Don't you dare, Padfoot! If he wants to apologize, he can do it himself for once!" retorted Remus, jabbing his thumb in James' direction. "Or do I have to do everything around here?"

Sirius crossed his arms. Remus glared in his general direction, huffing.

"Your right, of course, Moony!"

Remus' head snapped up to look at James, suspiciously. "What was that?"

A flicker of a smile crossed James' face. "It was wrong of me to put you in this position, I need to sort this out for myself! I'm sorry!"

The other boys gaped at him.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?" said Sirius, spluttering with laughter.

"That was a very mature thing to say, James. I'm pleasantly surprised!" added Remus.

James gave a little bow and shrugged. "I guess... Right, I'm going to go and look for Lily... See you guys later, alright?"

They nodded, laughing.

"Oh, and Padfoot, you should probably apologise to Moony!" he said, before heading off in the direction of Gryffindor tower.

Remus turned to face Sirius, expectantly. Sirius turned to face Remus. Then burst out laughing. Remus rolled his eyes, but smiled good-naturedly at his most immature friend. "Don't worry, I'm not really expecting you to apologise!"

"Good!"

Back at the common room, James had caught up with Lily. He stood in the entrance, watching her. Feeling eyes on the back of her neck, Lily looked behind her. She froze. "James?"

For a second, she didn't know if he was going to shout at her or not. But then he smiled at her, leaving her dazzled. She stood up and stumbled halfway across the room. He held out his hand, reaching for her. A half- sob escaped from her throat and she ran at him, launching herself into his arms. He hugged her to him and they were spinning, spinning. The room whirled before her eyes, but she didn't care. His lips came down on hers, rough yet soft at the same time. It took her a few seconds for her to process what was actually happening. She was kissing James Potter!

When they broke apart, he set her down and smiled down at her. She smiled back up at him. "I guess you still want me then?"

James frowned, confused. "Huh? What are you talking about? When did I ever not want you?"

Lily giggled at the expression on his face. "I thought you'd given up on me!" she confessed, chewing her bottom lip. "After what happened at the end of last year..."

"Oh, Lily! How could I? I've loved you since I was twelve!"

Her mouth dropped open. "James Potter! Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"What the hell do you think I've been trying to do for the past six years?"

Lily's mouth formed a perfect little O, as realisation hit her. "Oh!"

"God, Lily!"

He shook his head at her, laughing. She laughed too and slipped her hand into his. Life couldn't get much better than this, she decided.