Guys Like You Don't Fall in Love with Girls Like Me

James lets out a sharp breath. He needs to make her understand, lay it all out there. She needs to know the depths of his feelings for her.

"I'm only going to say this one more time, Lily." He looks directly into her eyes. "I've waited so long for you. For you to figure it out. I don't know if it's me or not. You confuse me to no end. Most women do, but you especially. You are the most infuriatingly perceptive woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing and yet for some reason you can't figure this one out."

She takes a deep breath, like she doesn't want to have this conversation with him again. He doesn't care. He is so tired.

"Potter, stop. This has gone on long enough. You can just tell your friends that you won or whatever. I don't care. I'm not doing this with you anymore. It's not funny." She's turning beet red.

He throws his head back in exasperation. "What the bloody hell are you on about?"

She mirrors his expression. "You! This- it isn't real!" She yells it at him like an accusation.

His mouth falls open as he begs her for an explanation. "What do you mean it isn't real?"

"You don't actually have feelings for me. You can run and tell your friends, your marauders that you won alright. I'm done. You won a game that I was never even playing. I'll bet you're real proud of yourself." She fires at him.

"Lily, are you trying to tell me that you think this has all been a joke? Some sort of long con?"

"Of course, it has! God, James. I'm so bloody bored of this. I thought you'd matured a bit and moved on from this. That's part of the reason I asked to be friends. But apparently not."

He seats himself across from her on one of the couches in their shared common room and puts his head in his hands. "I am aware that I told you that I would only say this once more, but it seems you must be told again and again."

He takes a calming breath, steeling himself for this conversation. This woman makes him so bloody nervous. "I am in love with you." She opens her mouth to protest but he lifts a hand to halt her. "Please, Lily. Just let me say this. Let me get it out. Then, you can scream at me and tell me how much I've pissed you off, but I need to say it. Please." She chews her lip and has quite a put off look on her face but allows him to continue anyhow. "I am in love with you. I have been for ages. Nearly seven years. I don't know what you thought this was. I haven't been pranking you. I chose you when I was eleven years old. I know that's insane. Believe me, everyone in my life has tried to explain that fact to me but I have yet to be deterred. I know you don't feel the same. I thought maybe one day you would but I'm getting tired of waiting."

She doesn't look even the slightest bit convinced. "Nice try, James. I'm not buying it. You don't truly have feelings for me. I thought with age you would mature and move on from this bloody horrible joke, but it seems not. Just stop, please. It's not fair. I haven't done anything."

His eyes are unmistakably shiny. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because it isn't true! It can't be!" She screams.

He closes his eyes and takes a ragged breath. "And why is that, Lily?"

"Because guys like you don't fall in love with girls like me." Her voice is barely above a whisper.

"Girls like you? Guys 'like me' can't fall in love with beautiful, smart, and powerful women? Lily you aren't making any sense."

She stomps her foot. "Fat girls, James! Guys like you don't fall in love with fat girls." Her eyes well up with tears and she throws herself on the opposite couch.

He's eerily quiet. She's expecting him to start laughing any second and tell her she's finally caught on. She chances a glance in his direction.

He's crying.

James Potter is crying in front of her right now.

When he notices her alarmed stare, he hastily wipes his face and gives her a sad smile. "I get it now. I get it." He rises from the sofa and wipes his hands on his jeans. "This isn't what you think it is. That, I can promise you. I think you're beautiful. I always have. The most beautiful person I've ever seen in my life. So beautiful it hurts. Even more so, now. I'm sorry you don't see yourself the way I do. I haven't been trying to get you to fall in love with you so that I could break your heart and ruin your self-esteem. Honestly, I'm horrified you thought I was capable of that. I just wanted to have this conversation with you because I really thought I could be your friend but that's proving to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. It's killing me, Lily. I have to sit there with you in the library hours. I have to watch you scrunch your nose when you focus. I have to hear those little gasps you make when something happens in your novel. I have to hear you laugh at jokes I didn't tell. It's too much. And I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad for not being in love with me. I just need you to know that I have been waiting for you for years and I thought you just didn't feel the same way but apparently you thought I was faking it all this time. I'm sorry for the pain I caused you, even if I didn't know I was causing it." He walks to where she's seated on the couch and crouches in front of her. "If you never listen to another word I say, so be it. But hear me now. I do love you. I think I always will. You have ruined me for all other women. You're beautiful, with those giant green eyes, that wild red hair, those freckles, your curves. You are the most beautiful creature to ever grace this plane of existence. Waiting for you to reciprocate my feelings is bloody painful but it isn't a choice for me. I've never dated before. Reckon I'd be terrible at it. I've never even felt anything for another girl because they all pale in comparison to you. Even if it were a choice, I would still choose to have even a fraction of you. Romantic or not. Because you're everything. You're the whole damn world and I'm sorry I didn't explain that to you sooner."

It's the most beautiful thing Lily has ever heard in her entire life. She made the mistake of doubting James Potter. Now it's her turn to cry. She meets his gaze. "You don't do anything by half measures, do you?"

The corner of his lip turns up. "No. No, I do not." He places both his hands on her cheeks to wipe her tears.

"I'm sorry, James." She whispers.

"Why, because you don't love me? Come on, that's not your fault."

She licks her lips. "No. Because, I do. And I was too daft to believe you."

His eyes twinkle. "Wait. You what? You're sorry or-"

She withdraws his hands from her cheeks and takes them in hers. "I love you."

His eyes go wide. "No fucking way."

"I'm pretty sure that's my bit." She smirks.

He's almost one hundred percent certain that he has gone mental. There is just absolutely no way that Lily Evans has just told him she loves him. All he can do is stare at her beautiful face. He's pretty sure that he's gone mute. He doesn't need words. Lily can have them all. She can have the heart in his chest if she decides that she needs it. He's just gazing at her. She probably thinks he's short circuiting. Now she's leaning in. Oh, FUCK she's leaning in.

She presses her lips to his and he's pretty sure he has ascended. He has imagined this moment for seven years and never did he think it could be like this. He wills himself to participate in the kiss out of fear that she will feel like she's kissing a clammy trout. His hands fly into her hair and hold on for dear life. He never wants this kiss to end, not even to breathe. He doesn't need air, he only needs to kiss her for the rest of his life.

After quite literally the best few moments of his life, she breaks away.

He gapes at her. She smiles coyly at him. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away."

He knows that he has the absolute most ridiculous grin on his face, but he doesn't care. "Do me a favor and never apologize to me again."

All he can seem to do is look at her, it's all he wants to do.

"I think we have some things to talk about."

"Whatever you say." He says airily.

It's finally happened.

James Potter got the girl.