UPDATE!

So I finally finished typing up Chapter 15 and sent it off to Elle who got it back to me. I'm sorry for the long wait (I don't know why even keep saying this, I take way too long every time) but here it is. Enjoy!

"When do you have to go back to school?"

"Sorry?" Lily asked as she tried to pack up her stuff to go home. It was almost six in the morning and she was still at Jodie Dakvaala's bar. James had finally agreed to stay home after much persuading on Lily's part but she was sure he had stayed up waiting for her. He had been coming with her to work for the past few days.

"Hogwarts; your Easter Holidays will be over soon." Jodie answered leaning on one of the locker doors.

Lily froze, "I… hadn't thought of that. School's been the last thing on my mind lately, I mean, James and I have just moved into our new house and I'm still getting used to it all. I forgot about it, I'm sorry Jodie, I should have thought about it earlier."

Jodie eyed her closely, nibbling softly on her lower lip. "Lily, I hired you because you needed help and I needed a new employee. In only a few nights you've proved to be quite efficient and I put all that before anything else. But… I need my employees to actually come to work, Lily."

Tears welled up in Lily's eyes against her will. "Does that mean I'm fired?"

"Lily, no. I can accept that you're in a difficult situation right now and I'm willing to let you go back to Hogwarts and then come back as soon as school is finished. I'll be able to get along with the employees I have now but during summer I need all the help I can get. However, I would like you to continue working until school starts; you need the practice."

Lily nodded thankfully and only whispered a hurried and embarrassed 'Goodbye' before leaving the bar to go home.

When Lily got home a few minutes later she found James sprawled out on the couch, his glasses hanging loosely from his nose. She slapped his face lightly and muttered his name, trying to wake him up. Only moments later, he opened his eyes looking around at his surroundings, "Lily?"

"Yes, it's me. Come on, let's get you to bed, you fell asleep on the couch."

He yawned slowly as he got up from the couch and started following Lily up the stairs to their bedroom, "What time is it?"

Lily gradually turned around to face him. "Six. You should be in bed by now. You knew that when I said I didn't want you coming it meant you should go to bed at a decent hour like someone normal."

"I know, Lily, but I stayed up waiting for you. I was worried."

Lily sighed deeply. "James… if this is going to work we're going to have to agree with some things here. I'll be sleeping during the day because I work at night. You have to sleep while I'm out… no Quidditch team is going to accept you if you show up for tryouts with circles under your eyes."

"I know that but if we're going to be working at different times this isn't really going to work out. We won't have time together, Lily."

"We'll figure something out James. Some other time, I'm going to take a shower now." Lily whispered, turning around.

"Can I com-" James started to say, feeling only slightly hopeful.

"No." Lily answered flatly before locking herself up in the bathroom.

Lily sighed as she finally got into bed. She wasn't used to working at night and was desperate to get to sleep.

"You OK?" James asked, making Lily jump, clearly startled that he was still awake.

"Mmm… just tired." She replied, closing her eyes for a few moments. James moved in to kiss her but his lips had just brushed hers when she pushed him away and rolled around to the other side of the bed. "Not now, James," she said.

James turned away from Lily and dug his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut hard in order to stop himself from yelling out in frustration. "This isn't going to work, Lily," he whispered before grabbing his pillow and leaving the room.

Lily desperately tried to ignore what had just happened but she couldn't stop herself from staring after him, feeling a mixture of shame and guilt. Tears welled up in her eyes for the second time that night but this time she didn't do anything to stop them from running freely down her cheeks.

The rest of the Easter holidays passed by slowly. Lily and James rarely spoke at all and she had become used to getting home and seeing James sleeping on the couch, his new best friend and the place where he now slept every day.

It was almost a relief when they climbed onto the Hogwarts Express to go back to school. James went off to find his friends whilst Lily walked slowly to Head's compartment. She had lied to Jodie about the day she was due back at Hogwarts and had gone to work the previous night. Part of her had done it because of the guilt she felt for leaving Jodie in this situation but another, stronger, part of her just didn't want to see James. She would never admit it but just the idea of staying home and watching him set up his bed on the couch, his pillows on the left side and the duvet messily tucked in at the sides, scared her. She couldn't (and wouldn't) ignore the accusatory and yet sad look in James' eyes every time they looked at each other.

Lily was constantly being tormented by the guilt she felt for acting the way she had that other night. She'd been extremely tired and dying to get to bed and she'd been unable to help herself from starting up an argument between her and James. Now, drowsy as ever and desperate to go to sleep, she regretted it all. She missed the comfort of having someone to talk to, to make her smile and laugh, but most of all she missed her most intimate moments with James. She missed his kisses – all of them -, his midnight hugs and cuddles and the very few moments in which they'd gone a step further. She'd been fascinated beyond belief at how they'd both been able to create a private world of their own and now she wanted nothing more than to kiss and hug James, as if nothing had ever happened. But she was alone now, walking to the Heads' compartment and wondering what James' reaction would be if she were to hug and kiss him, just like she'd fantasized moments before.

Lily's thoughts were interrupted as she saw Caitlyn walk in her direction, fighting her way to pass through the students that had now started circulating the corridor of the train, looking to find their friends before the train started moving.

"How hard is it," Caitlyn asked, "to just move out of the way for a seventh year to pass?"

Lily laughed as she watched the first and second years giggle and shuffle further down the corridor.

"Hey, Lily. You OK?" Caitlyn questioned, looking at Lily worriedly.

"Hey. Yeah, I'm fine, just tired." Lily answered.

The truth was Lily hadn't been sleeping much at all during the past week or so. She'd get home, terribly exhausted but just the sight of James sleeping on the couch (and looking extremely uncomfortable) was enough to take her sleep away. She'd lie in bed most of the day, sleeping for 30 to 40 minutes occasionally but mostly just thinking. She'd hear James leave, not bothering to close the front door quietly and then come back in. Sometimes he wouldn't be home for lunch or dinner and she'd lie in bed, rebelling tears streaming down her cheeks every once in a while. Lily didn't know the reason for which she cried but she was thankful she did anyway as the stress relief and occasional outbreaks were what kept her going.

She'd gone to her parents' house for lunch on Easter Sunday - leaving a note (which she'd found in the bin that day) for James, saying she'd be back in a few hours - and they had commented on how pale and worn-out she looked. She had dismissed it but Caitlyn seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her parents as she said "You sure? You look like you haven't slept in weeks. Lily, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Lily insisted. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I'm just a bit tired; I've been working during the night at a bar in Diagon Alley."

"That's great!" Caitlyn exclaimed, looking truly happy for her best friend. "How's it going?"

"It's pretty good, I guess. Different place, different people." Lily answered dully, leading Caitlyn to the other end of train where the Heads' Compartment was located.

"Mmm… and how's stuff with James?"

Lily froze; this was the exact topic she'd been trying to avoid. "It's OK," she responded quietly.

"Oh, come on Lily, we both know something's not right. I can tell."

"We've been having some difficulties but it's nothing to be worried about. Nothing much." She answered feebly.

"Lily, what happened? You're standing in front of me and you're on the verge of tears. You look exhausted, damn Lily, you look sick. Your skin's all pale and dry and your hair's completely flat and lifeless and your eyes are surrounded with dark circles. I'm not stupid; tell me what's going on, I need to know." Caitlyn pleaded.

Lily shook her head fiercely but hot tears poured down her cheeks, "It's nothing Caitlyn, nothing I want to talk about. I'm sorry". Lily said before shutting the door the Head's Compartment behind her.

"I'll just go look for everyone else, then." Caitlyn muttered as she shuffled her way to the other end of the corridor.

Hope you liked it and thank you for reading. PLEASE REVIEW!