High school is never easy. Especially if your name is Lily Evans. On top of classes, debate club, prefect duties, preparing collage applications and that stupid git James Potter asking her out every couple of hours, Lily felt like she was at the end of her rope. Her stress culminated last year, when her own best friend called her 'a filthy little ginger' in front of the entire school and fell even deeper with the gang of bullies who were intent on making her life a living hell.

"And where do you think you're going?" rumbled the voice of Mulciber one Friday as he and his buddy Avery stood in front of the cafeteria doors, blocking her way.

"The cafeteria. That place right behind you, where we eat," Lily said flatly.

"You need to have a soul in order to enter," Avery jeered. "Gingers eat in the hallway."

"Is that a fact?" rang the voice of James Potter, current high school heartthrob and star striker of the football team, as he appeared behind Lily. "And where's your soul Avery? I don't see it anywhere. Perhaps I should rough you up a bit, see if I can beat it out of you?"

"Stay out of this, Potter!" Lily snapped. "I didn't ask for your help!"

"So much for gratitude..." Sirius Black smirked, flanking his best friend as always.

"I am a school prefect, Mulciber," Lily reminded the thickset boy, turning to face him again. "And you can't tell me where I can and cannot eat. Now beat it, before I've given you detention!"

Mulciber and his friend sniggered.

"Oh, no," Avery said mockingly. "She'll make us do lines! How will we ever get out of this one?"

"There will be lines on your face if you don't move it," James added threateningly. Lily turned to glare at him again.

"You heard the man," Black added. "Sod off."

The boys glared at each other for a few intense seconds.

"Your beef-headed boyfriend won't always be there to save your skin, Evans," Mulciber growled before giving a nod to Avery, and the two walked away.

"Oh, don't worry," James called after them. "I will be."

Lily watched them leave, then turned to James. "I didn't need your help."

"Clearly." James smirked. "Your threat of detention had them running for the hills."

"You are so infuriating!" she exclaimed angrily and shoved passed him into the cafeteria to find Mary and Marlene.

"God I hate him," Lily grumbled, practically collapsing on the table. Her two friends exchanged amused smiles.

"Yeah, what's not to hate?" Marlene sighed, getting that dreamy expression again. "His gorgeous body? His charming smile? The adorable way he ruffles his hair? Oh, what I wouldn't give to thread my fingers through it..."

"Go for it! Maybe you can put some lice eggs on them and smear it all over that bird's nest he calls hair," Lily suggested, and her eyes flashed mischievously. "That'll teach that arrogant prat..."

Marlene gave her an indignant look, while Mary shook with laughter beside her. At that moment Potter and Black finally sat down as well, starting a conversation with their friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, who were saving them seats. Lily saw James wink at her and gripped her plastic fork so tightly it broke.

"Are you going to the Prewett's party tomorrow?" Mary asked quickly, trying to distract her.

"What? Oh, the Halloween Party. Yes, I already bought a costume and everything," Lily said, her eyes returning to her friend. "Are you two going?"

"Yes!" Marlene gushed enthusiastically. "My mum gave me some extra money, and we raided the mall yesterday! You'll never guess—"

"It's a sexy cat costume, isn't it?" Lily cut her off, sensing where this was going.

"How did you know?" Marlene asked in befuddlement, and the other two laughed.

oOo

"Lily!" The happy face of Alice Prewett stretched into a wide smile when she opened the door and threw her arms around the redhead. "So glad you could make it! Your costume is adorable! Little Red Riding Hood?"

"What tipped you off?" Lily smiled, holding up her straw basket. "Looks like we're both turning to fairytales this year, huh?" She nodded to the other girl's outfit. "Alice in Wonderland?"

Alice's smile grew wider and she ushered her in, where the party was already in full swing. Lily plunged into the crowd of people, looking for Mary and Marlene. She found them after only ten minutes, but as the night progressed, she lost both of them to the mouths of Pirate Fabian Prewett and Prisoner Sirius Black respectively. At some point, she spotted Remus, wearing a simple orange shirt on which he seemed to have drawn to make it look like a jack-o-lantern, talking animatedly with a blonde girl in a white ghost costume. Lily knew her only in passing, but was faintly aware she was on the football team. The girl laughed at something he said, then gestured to their empty red solo cups and offered to go get more. Remus agreed and watched after her with a funny expression on his face, before running a hand through his hair nervously. Lily chuckled to herself and approached.

"You seem to be having fun," she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Lily!" He jumped. "Hello. How is your evening going?"

"It's alright." She shrugged. "Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but how's the progress on our biology project? It's due next week, and you weren't in class the other day..."

His face paled in an instant, and his eyes darted around the room uncomfortably. "Yes, erm, I had a doctor's appointment, so I—"

"You were to the doctor? Are you sick?" Lily asked with concern, and his whole body seemed to go stiff.

"Not really. It was only a routine—"

Suddenly, a long arm wrapped around Lily's shoulders.

"Fancy meeting you here, Evans. Care to go to grandmother's house with me?"

Lily rolled her eyes and removed James' hand, turning to face him. When she saw his costume, she almost laughed. "And what are you supposed to be?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, looking down at his battered blue jeans and red plaid shirt, on which he had glued some sort of gray fur. "I'm the Big Bad Wolf!"

Lily was very close to cracking up, when something clicked in her head and her eyes narrowed. "And how did you come up with that idea?"

"Erm..." James' hand flew into this hair and messed it. "I... wanted us to match."

"I knew it!" Lily exploded. "You creepy, slimy, arrogant STALKER! What would it take to get the message through your thick, pigheaded skull: I WILL NEVER GO OUT WITH YOU!" She whirled around and stomped angrily through the house.

"Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" James asked, trying to keep up with her.

"Stay the hell away from me!" she snapped, walking out the front door.

"Come on, Evans, what did I do that was so bad? Where are you going?"

"I'm going home! Don't follow me!"

"I can't just let you walk alone!" James objected indignantly. "It's not safe!"

She turned around and held out her hand in front of her, fingers spread out warningly. "James Potter, I swear to you, if you take one more step after me, I will fill your locker with sand every single day for the rest of the year!"

He stopped in his tracks and just stared at her for a second, before throwing his head back and erupting into a loud, bombastic laughter. "Lily Evans, you are the perfect woman."

"You GIT!" she shouted, reached into her basket and threw her lip-gloss at him, before walking away seething with anger, as his laughter continued to echo behind her.

That completely impossible, arrogant prick! Where the hell did he get off matching her costume and laughing at her threats, with his self-important attitude and his stupid grin and his stupid friends and stupid big head and that stupid hair he kept ruffling...!

Lily continued fuming and walking angrily down the street for about fifteen minutes, when someone stood in her path. She lifted her eyes off the pavement, and a cold chill ran down her spine as she came face to face with Mulciber, Avery, and Severus Snape, her former best friend.

"What do we have here? Prowling the dark streets for victims to suck blood from, Evans?" Mulciber sneered. Lily threw an angry glance towards Sev, but he kept his eyes somewhere around her knees.

"Maybe I am. If you don't get out of my way, you'll be the first," she answered coldly.

"I don't think you're in a position to make threats." Avery smirked ominously. "You know, they say gingers don't feel pain." He took a step forward and a long pocketknife flashed in his hand. "I've always wanted to find out if it was true..."

Lily's eyes widened with horror. She glanced at her ex-best friend again, and saw the hands at his sides were balled into fists, but he seemed to be staring resolutely at his shoelaces. Avery made two fast steps forward and caught her wrist.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled angrily and hit him over the head with her basket. Unfortunately, the basket was only made of straw and it broke, causing her phone, wallet and other possessions to scatter on the ground.

"Or what? You'll give us detention?" Mulciber sneered.

Avery jerked her hand to draw her closer, when quick footsteps echoed behind them and by the time they turned to look, a fist connected forcefully with Avery's jaw. A blur of red plaid and gray fur jumped between Lily and her attackers, and for a few minutes all she could do was stare in awe, as James Potter kicked the living crap out of Mulciber, Avery and even Snape. When it was all over, Mulciber was shouting threats and sputtering blood onto the sidewalk, as he and the black-eye sporting Severus were retreating, supporting the unconscious Avery between them.

"You okay?" he asked urgently, turning around to look her over for injuries.

"Er... y-yeah, I'm fine," she stuttered. "You're bleeding," she said, still a bit dazed, and lifted a hand to touch his cut lip gently. He winced.

"Just a scratch," he grinned. "Probably won't even need stitches."

"Don't be an idiot," Lily snapped, kneeling down to pick up her things. "Come on."

She grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled him down the street to the nearby 24/7 supermarket.

oOo

James placed the cold packet of frozen waffles to the right side of his head where Mulciber was able to clock him, and groaned in relief. It felt sooo good.

"I thought I told you not to follow me," Lily said beside him. They were sitting on the bench in the dark playground, and she was cutting up a thin bandage strip with a pair of scissors.

"I wasn't following you!" he exclaimed defensively, but Lily only shot him a skeptical look, arching her eyebrow in that irresistibly sexy way. "Okay, I was. You're a pretty girl, Lily, and pretty girls can't just go walking around dark streets, looking gorgeous in their Red Riding Hood costumes. I mean, come on! Did you even look at yourself in the mirror today?"

"Flattery won't get you anywhere with me, Potter." Lily rolled her eyes and applied the bandage over his bottom lip.

"Doesn't mean it's not worth a try." He grinned. "And if my bruises hadn't tipped you off, I was right. Admit it."

Lily breathed out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, fine. I admit it. It wasn't safe for me to walk home alone."

"Not that. About you being gorgeous."

Lily gave him that skeptical look again and his stomach did a somersault.

"Sod off, Potter."

"Not until you say it," he insisted playfully, grabbing a hold of her wrist and gazing into her green eyes.

"So if I say it you'll leave me alone?" Lily smirked, turning the tables. "No more pestering, no more begging for dates, no more stalking?"

James returned the grin. This was the girl of his dreams, and it would take his heart to stop beating to make him give up on her. "Not a chance. That will only stop when you agree to go out with me."

"You mean if I agree to go out with you."

James laughed. "Don't twist my words. I will get you to say yes, even it if takes the rest of my life."

"Then you better have a long, long life, because that's not happening in the next century."

"Then I'll ask you out every day for a hundred years."

And this time it worked. For the first time ever, Lily Evans laughed at one of his jokes. Her laugh reminded him of ringing sleigh bells.

"You really are impossible."

"Impossibly enamored by you."

"Get over yourself."

"You wound me!" he said with a sweeping gesture and rested his other hand on his heart. "I am perfectly serious! I'd do anything for you!"

"Is that so? Then tell me, why does Remus keep skipping class?" Lily asked playfully, but to her surprise, James immediately grew serious.

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Because he's a friend of mine, and I worry about him."

James let go of her hand and faced forward, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"He's sick, isn't he?" Lily added in a low voice. "He slipped that he had a doctor's appointment. Is it life-threatening?"

He didn't reply, but even in the dim light coming from the street, she could see his jaw tightening.

"You can't ask me about that," he said finally.

"Why not?" she exclaimed. "I care about him too! I want to know what's going on with him!" James however, seemed adamant about keeping quiet. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. "If you tell me, I'll go out with you."

His head snapped in her direction and he stared at her, completely thunderstruck. "Don't pull my chain—"

"I'm not pulling your chain. Tell me what's wrong with him, and I'll go out with you."

James stared at her for a long minute, before his brows resolutely knit together and he faced forward again. "Both of us will stay disappointed then."

Lily stared at him in shock. Not only had he refused her something for the first time in her life, he turned down the chance to finally get what he's been after for years now. Had Lily Evans found the one thing James Potter was serious about?

"I... didn't expect this," she admitted quietly. "You always make a big joke out of everything... I just thought..."

"Remus is not a joke!" James interjected sharply. "He's my best friend, and I won't betray him."

Lily was stunned. Was there more to James than met the eye? He was fiercely protective of his friends, that much was always clear, but he came across just as a bullying toe rag, who didn't seem to understand what the words 'responsibility' and 'reliability' even meant. Yet he just turned her down, just so he could keep his friend's secret. Had she... had she misjudged him all this time?

"Yes," she said out of nowhere.

He turned to look at her. "Yes what?"

"Yes, I'll go out with you. Tomorrow sound good?"

He just stared at her in bewilderment. "Wait... are you serious?"

"Potter, do you want this date or not?"

"Yes! I mean, yeah. I mean, sure, great, perfect, brilliant! Pick you up at 7?"

Lily smirked and rose to her feet.

"Don't be late."

A/N: James is many things, but he's nothing if not loyal to his friends. And no, of course Remus isn't a werewolf in the muggle world. He has AIDS.

I hope you liked my very first one-shot! Criticisms are welcome (and in fact, much appreciated). Thanks for reading!