Bubblegum

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Pink. That was the color of normal bubblegum. It could be chewed forever, used to blow bubbles, or stretch out of your mouth and then sucked back in. That was what Lily hated the most. And James always seemed to be the one who did that.

That summer day, she was by the lake, chewing on a piece. It had always helped her think, and this day was no acception. Earlier that day, a guy from Ravenclaw had asked her out. His name was Mike Gibbs. He had blond hair, brown eyes, one dimple (which was on his right side) when he smiled, and he seemed nice. But Lily just didn't want to go out with him. Why? Because she knew she wouldn't be happy. She knew that, while his heart might have been there, her's wouldn't have been.

All because of James Potter.

The pompous, arrogant, simple-minded prick who did nothing but torment her. If she did go out with Mike, then he would pester her on end about why she didn't find "The Prick" attractive. But the bottom line of it was, she didn't.

Oh, she had told him, alright. Several times since their fifth year. But he seemed to think that they were soul mates or something. Whatever, she would never have gone out with the boy, but if he gave her a piece of bubblegum, she might reconsider…

"What do you mean by that, Evans?" a male voice sounded behind her, causing her to jump.

"Potter! Don't sneak up on my like that!" she commanded.

He raised an eyebrow and just looked at her.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Lily asked.

"Looking for you actually." He moved closer to her. "I wanted to talk."

"Talk?" Lily asked, voice slightly raised. "James, every time we talk, we end up arguing with each other! What's the point of talking?" she nearly shouted.

He winced and replied, "Lily, I know you think I'm an arrogant, bullying toerag, but the reason why is complicated. But enough about that, I wanted to explain something and show you something. Lily, we are soul mates."

She sighed a frustrated sigh. "There you go again with that soul mate crap! When will you get it James? We… are… not… soul… MATES!" she screeched.

He just shook his head. "If you won't hear my words, Lily love, you'll listen to my heart." And he bent his head down (he was much taller than her) and kissed her lightly. Even from that brush of contact, Lily felt a heat that she hadn't felt with her last few boyfriends. All too sudden, he picked his head back up and said, "Now will you listen?"

She was silent for a few moments, to catch her breath, and replied, "I can't believe you! That didn't come from the heart! I can't believe you did that." Her voice was soft, her eyes wondering.

He sighed. "Lily, when will you accept this? I guess I will just have to show you again." He bent his head back down, this time deepening the kiss to last a little longer. It only lasted a few seconds, though.

She shook her head. "When will you stop?" she wondered.

He said nothing, just bent his head down, this time leaving a French kiss full of wanting, need, passion, and tenderness that left Lily breathless. This time, like the others before, there were sparks. But these were more powerful and brighter burning. He moved away from her, not wanting the kiss to end, but knew that it must. He grasped her hand for a split second, and moved away.

She watched him as he headed back to the castle. Then, she noticed that something was in her hand. She held open her palm, and noticed that there was a piece of bubblegum.

Meanwhile, James had stepped just inside the castle when a voice rang out to him.

"Did you do it, Prongs?" Sirius asked. James looked at him happily. He merely nodded. "Good. Now, do you think she will?"

"I certainly hope so, Padfoot. I certainly hope so."

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The next morning in the Great Hall, voices were talking in cheerful tones. Well, all except one.

"She might say yes, or no. I certainly hope it's yes." James had been moaning about this issue all night.

"James, just go ask her already! I'm trying to eat here!" Sirius commanded.

"Yeah, I think I will." But Lily was already heading towards him.

"Potter! A piece of bubblegum? That's it? I expected something more… extravagant than that!"

"I'm sorry Lily! But I didn't want to mess up!" he jumped up in despair.

She stood there for a minute, and then started laughing. She put her arms around him and smiled. "You did perfectly. I love you, James Potter. I think I always did."

He smiled and kissed her softly. They then turned around and walked out of the hall… Together…

End.