"Oi, Evans!" he called out and Lily stopped, pausing a moment before turning around in a sharp motion, her school robes whipping around her and her scarf unravelling. James liked to think she took a moment to pause to compose herself and of course, he was right. At the mere sound of his voice a smile had creeped onto her face — not that Lily would ever tell James that, he's ego was already far too big and she had no intentions of making it bigger.

"That's no way to greet a lady, Potter," she told him as he came up to her. The closer he got the more he marvelled at her, the way her arms hugged her books across her chest, the way she held her head up high. Lily Evans beauty wasn't just in the fact that she was beautiful, it was in the way she carried herself, James decided. Confident yet approachable. It was a nice characteristic to have and it suited Evans to the tee.

James shrugged, "What do I know about ladies?"

"Hmm, maybe we should ask your hoard of girlfriends?"

"Maybe, but maybe I wouldn't have a hoard of ex-girlfriends if I knew something about ladies."

Lily considered this for a moment, her eyes gazing up slightly in thought. "I suppose you have a point. Any particular reason why you're bothering me, Potter?"

"Not really, just needed an excuse to see your pretty face." Lily scoffed. "You're quite charming, Evans." Lily rolled her eyes and James grinned because under all that dismissiveness, Lily Evans had a small smile on her lips and it was quite unmistakeable. "Hmm, I can cross that off the bucket list."

"Cross what off?" Lily asked.

"Making you smile."

Lily seemed taken back by his response and perhaps a little overwhelmed by the way he was looking at her because they weren't supposed to like each other let alone fancy each other and James knew that. Any chance he had with Lily Evans he'd surely blown last year and looking back he could admit he was a prat. No excuses, he was a bully and he was working on it but the more he got better at it, the less amount of time Lily spent sending scathing looks his way which made James notice just how pretty she was, reinforcing his fourth year crush on her. So he'd started flirting with her. She'd started flirting back.

"Potter, what are you doing?" Lily questioned suspiciously, she took an unconscious step back but he'd noticed and took a step towards her so the same distance remained between them. He liked being close to her — she smelled like the beach and coconuts. It could be the middle of winter in the worst snow storm and she'd still smell like the beach. James loved it.

"Talking," James informed her, "It's what people do, Evans."

"People who like each other, Potter. We do not like each other." Not true and she knew it.

"I'm wounded, Evans and I believe you're mistaken. I like you rather much to be frank."

"You know, I've never understood that phrase. 'To be frank' it means to be honest. But why is Frank honest? Why wasn't it Bill or Daisy."

"To be daisy?"

Lily laughed and James would never forget how it sounded and he could cross another item off his bucket list. He made Lily Evans laugh. "See?! What's so bad about a phrase that makes you laugh as you say it?" Lily asked, still giggling.

James chuckled with her, "You are something else, Lily Evans." He took another step towards her and Lily froze but she didn't move away and she looked at him, her eyes darting to each of his eyes like she was playing spot the difference.

"What are you doing, Evans?" he chuckled and she frowned.

"I never know which eye I'm supposed to look at," she admitted and before James knew it, he could cross another item off his bucket list because he was kissing Lily Evans for the very first time. Her lips were soft and tasted like mangos and though the kiss only lasted two seconds before she pulled away, it was the best two seconds of his life.

"What are you doing?" Lily breathed, their faces inches apart, James could still smell her mango chapstick.

"Crossing items off my bucket list."

"You kissed me!"

"Rather perceptive of you."

Lily pushed him but he remained in his position, his face an inch from hers, "Sod off, Potter. You kissed me!"

James was weary now, "Are you going to hex me now?"

"Considering it."

Her cheeks were blushed and James couldn't tell if it was the good flustered kind of blush or the on-my-way-to-tomato-red-because-if-you-don't-start-running-your-life-will-be-unexpectedly-short kind of blush. He decided to take his chances. He'd already gotten this far. He looked around the deserted corridor.

"So how about we take this into a broom closet and have an angry snog?"

"Romantic."

"Angry snogs are the best kind, after all," James shrugged, "And I rather think you're inclined to snog me."

"And why would you think that?"

"Because I can still feel your breath on my face."

"I just got out of a really messy relationship," Lily started and James rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, Tobias Knighton is the most dim witted Ravenclaw I've ever met and you dated him for like five minutes."

"Keeping tabs, Potter."

"You still haven't moved." Indeed, Lily and James' faces were still a mere inch apart and Lily didn't quite know why she hadn't done the sane thing and hexed Potter.

"Because you didn't let me finish," she replied.

"So what are you waiting for?"

"I just got out of a really messy relationship. I don't know if you heard but Tobias, he - well he cheated on me" - "Like I said — dimwitted" - "With Sara Bones" - "You're just further proving my point" - "And—"

"No strings. Just snogging," James said and Lily leaned back, blinking in surprise.

"What?"

"Well, I just recently got away from Polly Piggens—"

"Nice way of putting it, Potter. You two dated for like six months."

"Keeping tabs, are we?"

"Please," Lily scoffed. "I've better things to do with my time than keep track of your love life."

"Can we get back to the point?"

"Which was?"

"Snogging, maybe or maybe not on a regular basis, with no strings attached and no one has to know."

"What on earth makes you think I'll agree to that, Potter?"

"Because you still haven't taken a step back."

"Yes, well I'm cold and your breath is warm."

James arched an eyebrow, "Really, Evans? My breath is warm? Weak."

"Oh sodding hell. Fine!"

"What?"

"Fine! But you have to swear that you don't fancy me in any way! And - and that you're not going to ask me out! You've had a rather nice streak this year."

"I have, haven't I? And like I would go out with Polly if I still fancied you!" James retorted and Lily looked at him incredulously.

"You asked me out when you were still seeing Andrea Plunkett — Merlin, she hates me now. Tried to sabotage my Draught of Living Death the other week, she did."

"Okay but it was fourth year and I was a prat back then! And bloody hell she's mental if she's still not over it. I say I dodged a curse there."

"Of course you did and I mean literally," Lily agreed, "She hexed Matthew Gale last week — apparently he'd started a bet that her and Flint wouldn't last. I saw Gale in the common room just after, had mean bruises all over his arms and legs."

"See? Crazy! Bruises aren't even that embarrassing! If you're going to hex someone, at least make it a laugh. Give them something interesting like tentacles or Medusa hair or encase their head in a pumpkin."

Lily chuckled and shook her head and perhaps because he was incredibly fit or because his ego had come down a notch or two in the past year or perhaps she simply wanted to have someone to snog without the complication of a relationship. They could be mates who snogged occasionally.

"No strings?" Lily asked.

"No strings." James looked at her, a smirk in his eyes.

"All right, let's do it. But Potter I swear if I even get a hint that you have feelings for me, I am dropping your arse faster than you can say hippogriff. Now, lead the way."

"What?" he stuttered hoarsely and in response Lily rolled her eyes and used one hand to grab a handful of his robes, pulling his face down to hers and she planted a kiss on his lips.

"Lead the damn way."

"We - we have Herbology," James stammered.

"And we're already rather late for it, might as well make it worthwhile … unless you'd rather go to Herbology than snog me in a broom closet?"

James kissed Lily again and she grinned into the kiss because no matter what society's rules told her she should be doing, ahem not snogging James Potter, it felt too good. "That's what I thought."

"Where is Lily Evans and what have you done with her?" James accused and Lily smirked, pressing her lips to his again as they stumbled towards the nearest broom closet.

Author's Note:

Hi, this is a Marauder era fic (obviously). I wrote it quite a while back and it is quite long, so if you enjoy long fics, this is for you. I've already got around 400,000 words and it's not even finished. I'll keep posting chapters if it gets views :)

-Natalie xx