Lily's eyes widened with fear as she saw Severus approaching the two of them. He must have the wrong idea, she thought worriedly, hoping that Severus wasn't going to punch James. She tucked a pencil into her hair, and smoothly stepped between Severus and James. James looked absolutely confused, and Severus seemed angry, She smiled softly, trying to keep the tension to a minimum.

She slowly slipped James a paper, asking him to come to their Halloween party and to bring his friends. The paper had all the details on it, where it was, what time, the theme of the party, and she'd quickly scrawled the information when he wasn't looking at her.

"Hey Sev," she greeted warmly, "what's up?"
"Nothing much. I just wanted to see you," he answered coldly, not looking at her, "What are you doing here?" He didn't even need to add the 'with him' for Lily to know as to what he was referring to.
"James is just a friend. We were working on a business project for the bookshop."
"Oh." Severus replies simply, then looked at James, "I think you should go now. I need to speak with my girlfriend. Privately."
"Right, of course." James answered, looking as if he were cleaning up their work, "I'll see you later, Lily."
"Bye James."

He turned around and left the room,  pushing up his glasses as he did so. She felt Severus grip her hand tightly, which sort of forced her to look at him. Severus looked neater than he usually did, with a nice shirt and pants. But his hair was greasy, as it always was. Lily released herself from his grasp and brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

Severus seemed to study her, a frustrated expression sitting on his face.

"I was going to take you out to dinner tonight." he said, not looking her in the eyes. Lily said nothing as he continued, "But now I see that you're with another guy."
"Sev, I said this before. He's just a friend." she cut in, exasperated, "Don't you trust me?"
He ignored her, "So? What if they hit on you or something?"

Lily thought for a moment. Why was he acting this way? So controlling. So possessive. What was he so afraid of? Going to take her out to dinner? Funny, she mused, as if he would actually pay for it.

Severus was extremely cheap with money. He barely bought her anything. For her birthdays, Christmas, or Valentines' Day. The best gift she'd received from him was a coloring set of pencils, which were very cheap and broke easily. But Lily didn't always mind it. He was always by her side, supporting her in whatever she did and being her shoulder to cry on when something went wrong. 

Well, he used to.

Marlene was right. Why was she still with him? He limited her freedoms and friends. She was always so happy to be out of the house. She could barely talk to any other male person without interruption. He didn't let her go out with Marlene because it was absolutely clear she hated him. Suddenly, it hit her.

"You're jealous, aren't you." Lily almost hissed.

Severus said nothing, which confirmed her suspicions. She glared at him, frustration growing in her chest. He didn't trust her. Wasn't trust the foundation of every relationship?

This was why she'd stopped believing in meeting 'the one'. She was trapped in an endless cycle of happiness, pleasure, pain, and anger. All because of her relationship with a guy. She'd stayed with him because she had respect for him, and he loved her obsessively and they would be able to survive. What if she left him? Would that break his heart?

Lily didn't want to do that. She used to always believe that your first boyfriend should be the one you're with for the rest of your life. Now she wanted to think more realistically and get her head out of the clouds. She would stay with Severus Snape because he loved no one else, she respected him enough, and they would be able to support a family. (Lily had always wanted kids.)

She'd tried breaking up with him once. They'd argued for a while and then just fell apart. Lily was young and naive. Then she met a boy. A handsome boy. With eyes that would make her fall in love all over again. And a smile brighter than the sun. They were so happy. So, so happy. But he'd broken her heart. He'd left, promising her that he would come back.

But he didn't.

And so she ran back to Severus, her heart ached with anger, sadness, and depression. Tears would flow incessantly, like a waterfall. She had no one to turn to. Her sister had disowned her, jealous of her skills. Her parents were out of the country. Marlene... Lily hadn't a clue as to where her best friend had gone. She'd called and texted. But to no avail. So she had turned to Severus for comfort and help. He'd mildly scolded her, telling her that he had told her so. Then he'd asked her to become his girlfriend. In a moment of insanity, she'd said yes.

In a moment of insanity and deliriousness, she'd ruined the concept of love for herself forever.

Her heart was desperate for someone to love again. For someone to hold her like the boy did. She needed that special kind of love. And she so had said yes.

A long time ago, she pitied him. But she was beginning to think otherwise.

"I don't think you should hang out with those types of people." Severus said quietly, "I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"Get hurt?" she asked, trying keeping the coldness out of her voice, "You promised you would never hurt me. Never in a million years."
"And I've kept true to my promise, haven't I?"
Sure." Lily rolled her eyes, not wanting to give Severus the satisfaction of her frustration, "I'm going to call Marlene. After all, we're not doing anything tonight."
"As I said earlier, I was going to take you out to dinner."
"By your time, you're implying that your were going to, but aren't anymore. So I'll see you back at the apartment. Or I'll stay at Marlene's, I'll pick when I get there."

Lily turned on her heel harshly, ignoring Severus' pleading looks as she did so. How dare he tell her what to do. How dare he.

Hey everyone! How've you all been? Sorry I'm posting so rapidly. So who's your favorite character so far? (As the writer, I'm not allowed to choose.)

Question of the day:
Favorite quote? (From any book)
Some of the ones I can think of off the top of my head is
"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good"
"Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve"
"Don't let the muggles get you down"
"What's life without a little risk?"

All from Harry Potter.

See you all next time!
-Abby