She Hated Him! Nah, She Didn't: A Jily Fan-Fiction

Part Eleven - The Morning After

A/N Just saying, none of the fan art is mine. I found it online. Enjoy!

The next morning I wake up before everyone else, surprisingly. I pick out some jeans and a plain white blouse and head to the bathroom to get changed. I walk past my friends who look very peaceful on the couch. They probably won't wake up for a while. Marls might wake up soon though. 

I walk into the marble bathroom and get dressed. I brush out of my hair and put on a little lipstick and my rose perfume. As soon as I walk out of the bathroom I hear, "Lily, can I talk to you for a second?" I turn and see James walking down the stairs from his room. "Oh, sure!" I say and follow him to his room. 

What's this about? He looks serious - no pun intended. The butterflies return to my stomach as he closes the door behind me and sits on his bed. I stand right near the door staring out the window even though I can feel his gaze on me. 

"What's up?" I ask in a small voice, still avoiding his gaze. "Ok, this is going to be kind of hard to say, but I need to tell you." He takes a deep breath, looks directly into my eyes, and ruffles his hair. "I really like you. I have for a really long time. And I know we've kissed a few times, but I want this to be real." He looks at me pleadingly, wanting me to say something. When I don't he keeps going. "I know you probably don't feel the same way and I'm crazy for thinking you could ever like me because of all I've done but I really need an answer. I can't keep going on like this." He runs his hand through his hair again. Oh my Merlin. What do I do? I don't really know how I feel. Well, I kind of do I guess....

I cross my arms around my waist, hugging myself. "I really can't believe I'm saying this and I might be going crazy but-" I take a deep breath. "But I do like you." James smiles widely. "Wait, really?" I nod and I can't help smiling. He looks so happy and relieved. 

I walk over to the bed and sit next to him. "Now what?" I ask quietly. He laughs lightly and turns to me. I look straight into his eyes, his hazel eyes. He leans towards me and I find myself staring at his lips. Who would've thought that I would have feelings for James Potter. I lean even closer and feel his lips gentle on mine. 

I pull away for a moment and James looks confused. "Wait, I have a question. Who was that girl you were snogging in the kitchen?" I say trying to hide the hurt from my voice. James looks around awkwardly. "Well to tell you the truth I was only with her to try to distract myself from you. Padfoot told me I should try to move on." "Oh!" I say not hiding the happiness I am feeling right now. 

"Also, is this real?" I ask. "Well yeah." He says confused. "No, that's not what I meant. Like I know you've been with a lot of girls and you've been known to like move on quickly and I don't want this to be like that." I say and much to my surprise, James grins. "What?" I ask, bewildered. "You know I was only with those girls to distract myself from you. It obviously didn't work. I couldn't move on." He bites his lip and looks back and forth from my eyes to my lips. We lean towards each other and our lips meet again. I feel his hands running through my hair and I breathe in his cologne. We keep going until the door slams open and we break apart. 

It's Marls. She looks from me to James with wide eyes. "I'll just go then." She says with a smirk and walks backwards through the door. I jump up and walk over to Marls. "Marls, please don't tell! I'll explain later but don't tell them." I whisper frantically. "Don't worry. I won't tell. Who do you think I am?" She says calmly. "Only the biggest gossip in the school." I whisper. I can't have her telling anyone. "Yes, I am but I wouldn't tell your secrets. I promise." She reassures me and closes the door behind her as she leaves. I run my hands through my hair, exasperated. "Sorry about that. She won't tell anyone though. Also, can I tell her about us sometime soon? She's my best friend so I really would like to." James nods. "Can I tell Padfoot?" My eyes widen. "No! He'll tell everyone!" James laughs. "I know, I was just kidding. But I'm going to tell Remus." I nod. "You can go if you want. To be with your friends I mean." James smiles widely at me and walks over to me. He kisses me one more time and I walk out of the room feeling lightheaded and I know I'm smiling like crazy. Oh my Merlin! What is wrong with me!? I mean it's James Potter! But he's changed and he's much better now. And I do like him... Ack! Crazy.

I walk back into the common room and see Marls there sitting and staring at the fire. Dorcas, Alice, and Mary are still sleeping. As soon as Marls sees me, she takes my hand and silently drags me to my room. She closes the door behind us. 

"Explain." I sit down on my bed next to her. "Ok. I'll start at the beginning. So you remember when Severus like attacked me?" I start and take a deep breath while she nods. "Well after that, James and I went into the common room and I explained what happened while he listened. And then we were sitting together on the couch and then I um- I kissed him." I cringe as I say the last part. "You what?!" Marls yells and smiles widely. 

"Sh!" I hiss at her. "And then I think it was the next day I asked if we could talk. I apologized for kissing him and then asked if he wanted to just forget it happened." I pause and bite my lip. "He said that he didn't want to forget it and then we um kissed again." Marls eyes are wide and she waits for me to continue. "After that we like kissed a little but nothing big happened until today." I pause again. 

"Oh my Merlin just say it already. The suspense!" Marls says happily. "And then today he asked if we could talk and he told me that he liked me for a long time and then-" I sigh. "And then I told him that I liked him and then we snogged a bit until you came in." I finish with a small smile on my face. "Wow! Ack! I'm so happy for you! This is great! So are you dating now?" She beams at me. "Well, I don't really know!" I say shyly. Marls moves closer to me and gives me a hug. "Aw, you're all grown up now!" I hug her back and laugh. "You do know I'm older than you." "Whatever." She says with a smile still etched on her face. We sit there talking for a while and for the rest of the day our group of girls just hangs out around the castle.