Unofficial Portkey Archive

***NOTE FROM AUTHOR:***

Instead of my usual disclaimer (though it all STILL APPLIES) I'm going to bring up a few points.

On the subject of Arabella Figg being in my fic and how iffy it seems, trust me, I'm aware that it's still questionable who Arabella is and what age she happens to be. For the purposes of story (and since I've received nothing definitive otherwise off some very reputably HP fan sites) I'm going to go along with the popular majority and assume the Arabella was about the age of Lily and James. I don't know for certain if this is true and I'm merely going off the "Old Crowd" statement by Dumbledore in Goblet of Fire so if you have a major problem with this, well sorry I guess.

* * *

~ The Game of You ~

By: Oy! Angelina

* * *

The cool afternoon breeze ruffled Lily Evans long red locks as she leaned over a balcony watching other Hogwarts students commiserate in the school courtyard. It was Tuesday, three days since James Potter had decided to drop a crate's worth of Filibuster Fireworks on her and Severus Snape and James had not so much as placed one toe out of line. In truth, he seemed to be going out of his way to be more than civil to her whenever their paths crossed but made an effort to not be too much underfoot.

Naturally, she suspected he was up to something.

Lily really didn't know what to think about James anymore. When they were younger, he was kind of obnoxious to her. Always clowning about or attempting to get the faintest rise from her just for a giggle. She still managed to like him though because Lily knew in her heart that he was only doing it for sport and really meant nothing offensive by it. After James had become firmly established with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew she got the impression she had more or less dropped from his radar in the wake of his little boys club or whatever their group was. It was around their 5th Year that James had started speaking with her on a more frequent basis and now, in their 6th Year, it seemed as though there was little they could do to escape one another's attentions.

In addition to her nostalgic thoughts, Lily was also preoccupied with what had happened in the field.

". . .and let me kiss you."

What the hell did that mean?

Lily found her mind playing the scene over and over, as though she would find something that had been overlooked in the heat of the moment. Had James really meant it? Had he wanted to kiss her? Or was it all just some ruse, some new tactic James had devised to get her flustered?

"If it is just some ploy. . .it's cruel." Lily thought.

It had taken her about a week to get over James peeping on her. Lily was by no means HAPPY about this, but the anger had drained from her after a while. Now the whole ugly business seemed like a book she had read or an incident she once heard about, something she felt sort of removed from.

Besides Lily figured James was probably either too decent or too much of a coward to get a good look at her anyway.

Lily hoped James wasn't just toying with her. Never mind that she did find something attractive in the boy, but there was just nothing proper about manipulating a person's emotions. So Lily was faced with the dilemma of whether James was leading her on for a great big laugh later or. . .

. . . Well things would probably be simpler between them if James was just leading her on for a great big laugh.

"What's with the long face, Lily?" Arabella Figg inquired as she joined Lily against the balcony.

"Just lost in my thoughts." Lily shrugged as she turned to Arabella.

"About?"

"The usual."

"Ah." Arabella replied. "So you'll be going to Hogsmeade this weekend, right?"

"Yes, all the Prefects are." Lily nodded. "Want to do something while we're there?"

"Sure! At the least we'll have to grab some butterbeers." Arabella quickly agreed. She paused a moment before continuing. "You remember that conversation we had the first night back. . . about James Potter?"

"About whether or not I was interested in him." Lily remembered but wanted to know where Arabella was heading with all this.

"Yes." Arabella has grown awkward. "I have to ask and I'd like it if you'd tell me. Are you interested in James Potter?"

"I-I don't know how I feel about James these days." Lily answered honestly. "Why are you asking, Arabella? Looking to set me up with him?"

"Actually, the opposite." Arabella confessed. "I had, um, someone else in mind but if you tell me you're interested in James, that will be the end of it."

Lily didn't like being put on the spot like this. She didn't want to commit herself in any way to James Potter if he was setting up to play her for a fool, but she found it hard to just so easily hand him over. Deciding that there was only one real way to discern exactly what James wanted of her, Lily said the only thing she could think of.

"I'm only interested in seeing what type of girl James could fall for." Lily placed out simply enough. "If you can think of someone you think he'd fancy, there's only one way to be sure."

Arabella seemed to breath a little easier at this.

"Hogsmeade will be fun. . . anythinggoingonbetweenyouandSeverusSnape?" Arabella got out quickly.

Lily had to laugh.

"What do you do? Just sit around and concoct love scenarios involving me?" Lily demanded. "Snape and I are friends. . .no that's not right. . .we're friendly with one another."

"I was just wondering how free of a spirit you are these days." Arabella shrugged with a shy grin as she started to coil her blonde curls around her finger.

"Single." Lily replied firmly. "Do I get to ask you sorted questions about your fraternizing with Sirius Black."

"Oh, that's an easy one." Arabella smirked. "We're just getting on well these days, that's all."

Lily wondered if Arabella was hinting at harboring feelings for Sirius and raised an eyebrow.

"So what do you think of Sirius?" Lily asked with an interested tone. Arabella's expression lit up, as though she had been waiting the entire conversation for Lily to ask her this.

"I think he's brilliant and gorgeous, certainly a riot." Arabella proceeded to list. "That and he's such a good and loyal friend. They don't come much nicer than Sirius."

"Well one of us had better snatch him up then." Lily suggested coyly, hoping to provoke Arabella along. "I don't believe he's attached at the moment."

"Well, he's not really but I think he might have his eye on someone." Arabella said with a knowing expression. Lily wondered if Sirius and Arabella were on the verge of some sort of relationship. Smiling, Lily decided to be as supportive as she could be to her fellow Gryffindors.

"Everything you said about Sirius sounds right on the galleon to me." Lily agreed. "I think he's about as decent as they come about and any girl who caught his fancy would certainly be a lucky one."

Arabella let a giggle slip out from her lips as she practically quivered with joy.

"Oh, Lily! This weekend is going to be so much fun!" Arabella promised happily as she ran off. Lily was glad things seemed to be going so well with her friend and hoped they would get only better for her. Arabella seemed to be pretty confident about what she saw in Sirius and Lily envied that kind of certainty.

Now if only she could figure out James.

* * *

Sirius was finding himself with a serious lack of amusement that same Tuesday after classes. James was off practicing for Quidditch and Peter had made a run to Hogsmeade, unable to wait a few more days to get his hands on a large brick of Honeydukes famous chocolate. Sirius had tried talking Remus into playing "Spark in the Dark" with him, but Remus was sadly too wise and fond of all his hair to agree. They sat in the bedroom they shared with the other Marauders, playing a civil game of Wizards' Chess to pass the time until their friends got back. After talking casually about Quidditch (in between criticizing one another's moves) Remus decided to bring up a question, which had been nagging at his mind.

"Sirius, just HOW serious are you about Lily Evans." Remus asked directly.

"I'm not following you." Sirius frowned, then realized the potential problem looming. "What's this, you interested in her too?"

"No, I'm not." Remus answered quickly but sincerely. Sirius seemed to relax a little after this. "I'm just curious about what she means to you, is all."

"Hard to say." Sirius shrugged. "I mean, I know her only casually from outside of our studies. Seemed like a more than decent girl to be interested in though."

"That's true." Remus agreed. "I just wanted to know why her out of the hundreds of others about."

"I don't really suppose she is all that different on the surface. I've known plenty of girls to be smart or pretty or charming." Sirius admitted. "Lily's something to ponder because she happens to be ALL those things at once. That and watching her go back and forth with James showed off a side I didn't give her credit of having. I thought Lily was something of a straight laced, broom in the mud before she took to insulting James and pummeling him into the grass."

Sirius laughed as he relived the incident in his head. Remus frowned and looked at his board, so as to pass himself off as trying to figure out his next move in Chess. In reality, Remus was wondering what his next move should be in this whole question of Lily.

"I've been meaning to ask, what do you think has possessed James lately?" Sirius inquired as his cackling died down. "I mean, he's been obsessed with nothing but showing up Lily for damn near a month but just stops out of the blue. What do you reckon has gotten into him?"

Remus had a suspicion but he didn't think it was his place to share it with Sirius. Instead, he hoped to guide his friend to his own conclusion by playing along.

"Good question." Remus replied. "I've never seen James act like that toward anyone before. Even his dislike for Snape was never as consuming as what he had going on with Lily."

"Yeah, I know." Sirius paused to think deeply about this. Remus watched him hopefully, silently encouraging him to begin piecing the clues together for himself. Sirius glanced over toward his present friend. "Kind of makes you wonder what it must have been they were fighting about, anyway."

"Odd James wouldn't tell us." Remus observed and Sirius nodded to this.

"Certainly is, Mr. Moony." Sirius agreed. "I'm thinking its either something really embarrassing or really horrible if he's willing to hide it and Lily won't mention it."

"I think you might be on to something with that." Remus HAD been wondering about what had happened to James that night he never returned to the room, which he figured was around the same time he had done whatever it was to provoke Lily's fury. Remus was fairly sure it wasn't something uncharacteristically terrible of James as Lily seemed willing to still interact with him so that left a humiliating instance of some sort.

"Or maybe." Remus thought. "It's neither. Maybe Prongs is pleading silence because he has no choice."

Remus had come to suspect that James feelings for Lily had drifted from the platonic. Around last year, when James had taken to making an effort to see Lily more about Hogwarts, he would always seem nervous and start running his hand through his hair as he did whenever on the spot. Remus couldn't be certain but he thought Lily might like James too, but Lily was always pretty nice to everyone so it was a little hard to gage. Their visit to Diagon Alley and James's consuming preoccupation with Lily had made him wonder what was at the root of the two's frustrations toward one another, but the incident last Saturday had started pulling Remus's suspicions together.

When James and Lily were having it out with one another, it struck him as less ferocious as it was flirtatious.

Remus was betting that James was aware of what was going on between himself and Lily, but he knew James well enough to wonder if he was as much in the dark about what was going on as Sirius seemed to be. Figuring he'd need to talk to James and get him to discuss things with Sirius soon, Remus resigned himself to concentrating on his game rather than the complicated affairs of those closest to him.

It was then James stepped in to the dormitory clad in his Quidditch uniform with his broom in hand, covered in grass and sweat. He made his way to the showers with a swift wave to his friends.

"Hold on a minute, Remus." Sirius asked as he abandoned his move to chase after James. Remus leaned back, craning his neck to catch a view.

"What's up, Padfoot?" James asked with a glance to his friend as he started to disrobe.

"Just wanted to see if you wanted to get together and work on Transfiguration homework later on." Sirius shrugged. "Don't want anything coming between us and Hogsmeade, hm?"

"Oh, yeah, that'll be great!" James grinned appreciatively. "What with Quidditch I could use the focus on my Lessons."

"I figured as much." Sirius shrugged. "So, about Hogsmeade. You don't mind that I promised we'd hang about with Arabella do you?"

"Lily not going?" James frowned. Remus's ears perked up to this.

"No, she is." Sirius assured happily to himself. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't have your heart set on a boys' day out or what-not?"

"Nope." James shook his head. "The girls are more than welcome."

"Yeah, it's kind of nice bashing around with them." Sirius agreed. "Arabella especially." James perked up at this.

Maybe Sirius was really interested in Arabella. Quickly, James mind worked to produce something to help seal the deal.

"Certainly." James smiled. "A pretty girl and live wand that one! Hard to not get all giddy along with her when she'd in a room, hm?"

"Like her then?" Sirius raised his eyebrow. James shrugged at this.

"If you fancy her, then why shouldn't I trust your judgment?" James decided as he headed to the showers.

Remus was in complete awe of how to such incredibly stupid people managed to pull off becoming animages before the age of sixteen.

Returning to the room, Sirius winked at Remus who rolled his eyes in return.

"I think I'm going to take a long nap." Remus announced as he flopped on his bed and buried his head under his pillow.

"What about our game?" Sirius protested.

"Oh, I think enough pawns are being moved about!" Remus replied through his pillow.

* * *

The first weekend of October brought beautiful weather with it. A chill ran through the air, leaving the students who had visited Hogsmeade occasionally adjusting their cloaks and talking about their intentions for warm mugs of Butterbeer. Lily had lost track of the Marauders as soon after arriving and were undoubtedly working their way over to Zonko's Joke Shop. Arabella had intended to spend most of the day with Lily but when she got the impression she'd be sharing her time with Severus Snape, decided to go off with some of the other Gryffindor girls to pick out dress robes for the Yule Ball the Prefects were intending to hold over winter holiday.

Lily strolled around Hogsmeade while Snape more accurately patrolled. He kept up on his conversations with Lily all the while darting his black eyes about, in search of unruly Hogwarts students. Snape interrupted the discussion occasionally to yell at someone or deduct points. Lily, confident Snape was enforcing school conduct enough for the both of them, tried to enjoy the day and distract Snape whenever she could from being. . . well Snape. When Snape subtracted points from a Hufflepuff girl for using poor grammar, Lily decided to comment on the scene.

"Perhaps you should ask Madam Pomfrey about that when we get back to school." Lily vaguely suggested.

"About what?" Snape stopped glaring at a couple Ravenclaw boys who were glaring at him to look at Lily.

"About whether you will, in fact, DIE if you have a bit of fun." Lily grinned. Snape scowled, evidently not amused by Lily's criticism.

"Were responsible for these students while they're here, Evans." Snape reminded. "Their behavior is a reflection of the entire school."

"And are you excluded from this?" Lily inquired. Snape snorted out some air, evidently refraining himself from tearing into Lily. Placing a hand on his shoulder, which stiffened under her touch, Lily's green eyes shined at Snape. "All I mean by it, Severus is fear and respect are not the same thing. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life having people listen to you only because you can bully them around?"

"Fine." Snape quickly agreed. "I'll select my battles a little more carefully; however, don't expect me to be lenient with Potter and Black once they start up with their usual nonsense." Snape threw a deliberate look Lily's way.

"As opposed to?" Lily baited.

"I simply feel you allow your good-nature to be an invitation for deviant behavior." Snape replied. "You may catch more flies with honey but then they're certainly stuck to you afterwards aren't they?

"So you're suggesting I'm a soft touch." Lily said with a stern look not unlike on of Professor McGonagall's.

"I would do no such thing." Snape insisted. "I'm flat out telling you that you are one."

"So scowling about and barking at anything that gives you a second glance would be an improvement?" Lily shot back. Snape seemed amused by this.

"Perhaps it would make you a little more thick-skinned when it came to constructive criticism." Snape shrugged. Lily sighed, realizing Snape had a point in his own berating way.

"Tell you what, Severus." Lily offered. "If I attempt to be a little more aggressive in my duties as a Prefect would you work on being a bit more passive?"

Lily extended a hand towards Snape. He glanced down with a harsh look of inspection as though he expecting some sort of weapon to be present. Turning his eyes on Lily's, Snape's cool hand accepted her in a firm shake. A small smirk formed on his lips.

"Agreed, but I warn you Evans, I have very little in the way of a nurturing nature."

Lily smiled at this.

"Well I suspect you make acting like an utter bastard look much easier than it actually is."

Snape looked at her sideways a little at this remark and decided that Lily Evans was the only person he'd allow to get off free and clear after calling him a bastard. Lily nodded to the store behind them with a friendly smile.

"Want to stop in at Honeydukes for a bit?" She suggested.

"I'm not particularly fond of sweets." Snape informed stiffly.

"Oh come on now, who doesn't -." Lily stopped when she noticed Snape was no longer looking at her.

As Snape released her hand, Lily turned her head and saw some other older Slytherin, Lestrange and his steady girlfriend along with Avery, Macnair, and Nott were leering at them. Lily blushed a little bit since they may have interpreted Snape holding her hand differently from what she had intended.

"I believe I shall talk with some of my fellow Slytherin for a while." Snape announced with something of a hiss. Lily could only assume he was more than annoyed with the idea of being spied upon, even if they were all a part of Slytherin. "Why don't you seek out some members of your own House to socialize with for the remainder of the afternoon?"

Lily nodded, getting Snape's message. Facing into the display window of Honeydukes, Lily watched Snape and the other Slytherins' reflections in the glass. As Snape stalked over to them, Lily strained to hear their conversation.

"Taken up voyeurism have we?" Snape spoke through his teeth.

"Nice mate." Macnair sarcastically approved. "Count yourself lucky a looker like Evans has perverse taste in men." Snape threw a look back in Lily's direction, as though to discern if she was listening or not. Lily felt herself blush more as she began to imagine the rumors soon to fly about school.

"Perhaps next time you're ogling her chest, you'll take notice that her robes are a Gryffindor's." Lestrange's girlfriend advised with a sneer. "Maybe that will bring you back to reality long enough to see you're being made a fool of."

"I think I'll take one point off Slytherin for every second of my time you waste with your nonsense." Snape cold voice snapped out like a whip. "We're at thirty by my count."

Scowling at Snape, the Slytherins started walking off.

"Just remember WHAT you are, Snape." Lestrange reminded as he threw his arm around his girlfriend. "And who your real FRIENDS are."

With this, Lily stepped into Honeydukes and hopped she'd still be able to try on dress robes in her size after the pound of chocolate she fully intended to eat.

* * *

The Marauders found that waving their wands about was an affective means to reserving a booth in the Three Broomsticks from any who attempted to encroach. With a round of hot butterbeers already in front of them, James and Sirius were getting a head start on their traditional argument about who was picking up the tab.

"I recall you shelling out the Galleons last time we were at Diagon Alley." Sirius smirked. "Only decent for you to let me get it this time around."

"Oh to Hell with you if that counts!" James laughed. "I had to pick your robes for your coin sack just so you'd let me!"

"And you're a bloody bastard for that!" Sirius declared. "You let me walk around half the day looking for it, accusing and threatening every last Slytherin I saw!"

"To be fair, you had every intention of doing that anyway." Peter interjected.

"Whose side are you on?" Sirius demanded with a laugh.

"Whoever happens to be paying for my butterbeer." Peter grinned.

"Well then that's mine." Sirius informed as he threw a deliberate look at James. "Because I'm calling shenanigans on Prongs for dirty pool last time about."

"Moony, tell him I'm buying your drinks." James glanced to Remus with a grin who started to shake his head.

"I'm afraid I agree with Sirius this time around, James." Remus apologized. James sighed as he was clearly outnumbered.

"Alright, our drinks are on you." James agreed as he took a sip from his mug. "Of course, I call buying drinks for the girls once they get in."

Sirius's spit out a mouthful of butterbeer, Remus and Peter chuckled and raised their mugs to James for his nicely played trump of Sirius. Bitter that it would be James impressing Arabella and Lily, Sirius glowered at his supposed best friend.

"Potter, you goddamn prat." Was all Sirius could mutter as he took an angry swig from his mug.

"If you shag with the stag, Padfoot. . ." James cautioned with a laugh. He noticed Arabella and Lily enter through the doorway of the Three Broomsticks and nudged his other Marauders. "Make way, gents."

The four boys pulled themselves out of the booth to greet the girls. James put a friendly hand on each of their shoulders as he headed toward the bar.

"I'll grab you girls both a mug, eh?" James offered without waiting for an answer. Lily watched James run off curiously.

"He REALLY is doing his best to impersonate a proper bloke isn't he?" Lily observed as she felt Sirius put one of his own hands on her shoulder as he lead her over to the table.

"You should have been here two minutes ago." Sirius cast a glare at James who waved to him like the prat he was. "Slide on in Lily."

As Lily took her seat in the booth next to Peter with Sirius sliding after her with, Sirius recalled his conversation with Arabella not a day earlier. She had informed him that Lily seemed about as unattached as she could discern and had spoken very highly of him when he came into conversation. For his part, he had talked with James and was to make sure Arabella sat next to him in the booth. Sirius could only hope that the inside line Arabella had been feeding him was accurate since he was planning on trying to get in good with Lily now that she seemed keen on him and tolerant of James.

After all, if she couldn't get along with his best friend there wasn't much hope in a future for them.

When James got back with two mugs of butterbeer and a fresh round to come along in a short bit, he suppressed a scowl when he found Lily had been boxed in between Sirius and Peter. As Remus had cozily taken up one opening of the booth, James took the seat next to Arabella and handed both her and Lily their drinks.

"Fun day?" Remus asked politely.

"Both of us got our robes for the Yule Ball. Lily went with a beautiful green to go with her eyes." Arabella announced, turning to James, Arabella smiled and went on in detail about herself. "I found a lovely looking one in a nice sky blue. The clerk offered it up saying it would get along nicely with my clear eyes and golden hair. What do you think, James?"

Why the HELL is she asking me? James thought.

"Um, sounds like it would suit you." James answered before taking a sip of his butterbeer hoping he responded right. Since Arabella smiled broader at this, he guessed he had done so. "So Lily, you're intending to go to the Ball then?"

"Not much sense in a dress if I didn't." Lily observed.

"Right..." James pondered if there was a stupider question he could have asked Lily but decided simply wasn't possible.

"I think you'll look amazing. You always have such excellent taste and green is truly your color." Sirius charmed as put his arm around Lily, causing both her and James to cast him a surprised look.

"Um, thank you Sirius." Lily responded with a blush. Why was Sirius black coming on to her. Lily thought he and Arabella. . .

"So James, are you planning on going?" Arabella cooed at him, while leaning into her hand.

If only to bludgeon Sirius off Lily with a stick! James thought.

"Possibly." James replied. Arabella smiled shyly at this. Lily thought her jaw would threaten to hit the table. Arabella was flirting with James, not Sirius. . . which meant. . .

"You know, I think you would look positively smashing in House colors, James." Arabella advised. "You're always so dashing in your Quidditch robes." She deliberately ran her hand up the length of his side to emphasize her point.

That was when James half fell, half leapt from the booth. Five sets of wide eyes were staring at him as he jumped to his feet.

"Apologies. . . I've had a lot of sugar." James tried to explain away his jitteriness. Peter look at him quizzically.

"I don't see how. We haven't even been to Honeydukes yet." Peter remarked.

"Well that's because I drank a mug of maple syrup before we left the school." James said quickly glaring at Peter who took this as his hint to shut his Charm hole.

"Oh well why don't we go to Honeydukes then?" Lily suggested. "Be a shame to waste our day inside."

"Be a shame to make James act more queer." Sirius commented as he eyed his friend but started to nudge Arabella out of the booth. "Still, would be fun to walk about in such lovely company."

"Yes, good fun!" James agreed as he started throwing galleons on the table for the girls' drinks and a tip. Sirius contributed to the pool as they made their way out of the Three Broomsticks.

* * *

Sirius had been right. It was fun strolling around Hogsmeade with Lily and Arabelle. Armed with a camera, Arabelle kept snapping moments of them having fun about the burg, handing the camera off to the occasional member of the group so she could get in on a few pictures. Sirius kept finding excuses to get off ahead or lag behind with Lily while Arabella had taken to pulling James around by the arm to show him one thing or another. As Arabelle scampered off to take a picture of Peter with some cat merchandise, James took Remus to the side.

"Arabella's coming on to me!" James hissed with a look akin to panic.

"Foul woman!" Remus responded in sarcastic outrage. "I say we ship her off to Azkaban before things get out of hand!"

"What's going on, Remus?" James demanded.

"Same thing since we left Diagon Alley." Remus shrugged. "Except now Sirius and Arabella have teamed up to bag you and Lily I reckon."

"Oh bloody HELL!" James shot a petrified look at Arabelle who waved. James forced a grin and waved back. "What do I do, Moony?"

"I don't know, but once you figure it out remember a gentlemen never tells." Remus enjoyed James flustered antics.

"Could you possibly ATTEMPT to be helpful?" James demanded frantically.

"I just don't see what the problem here is." Remus replied. "Arabella is a lovely woman to be attached to. . .unless there's someone else you're fancying at the moment?"

Remus gave James an expectant look. He was hoping James would take the initiative and confess whatever was happening to himself, Lily, or Sirius because his hand had just been forced and he couldn't possibly bluff everyone much longer.

"Um. . ." James sought the right response. "No. . .I just don't really think of her like that is all and I, um, want to let her down easy."

"Oh, come now James." Remus patted his friend on the back. "You'll never know how you feel about anybody unless you give them a chance. Unless you have some GOOD reason for not being with Arabella, I'm going to personally tell her not to let up until you give her one."

James hated Remus a little at the moment and hoped it showed.

"Thank. You. " James said coldly as he sulked off.

"It's called 'tough love,' James." Remus called after him. "There will be a day when you understand and that will be the day you thank me for it."

Remus smiled a little to himself. He hated to see his friend so miserable but he had to teach him not to bring it on his own head.

"Everyone gather about!" Arabella called to the group. "I want one last picture of the lot of us together in front of the Shrieking Shack before it's time to go on home."

Remus joined the others for the picture. Never the shy one, Sirius had an arm around Lily's waist while Arabella was practically coiled around James's arm. As everyone either offered or forced a smile in the last of a series of pictures that would provide memories they would later treasure and question.

* * * * * *

By the by, the title of this chapter is in homage to the brilliance of Mr. Neil Gaiman who is OFFICIALLY the only man twice my age I would be willing to have an affair with ~_~. Yup, I'm a sad one.

* * *

My Favorite Game

By: The Cardigans

* * *

I don't know what you're looking for You haven't found it baby, that's for sure You rip me up, you spread me all around In the dust of the deed of time

And this is no case of lust you see It's not a matter of you versus me It's fine the way you want to be on your own But in the end it's always me alone

I'm losing my favourite game You're losing your mind again I'm losing my baby, losing my favourite game

I only know what I've been working for Another you so I could love you more I really thought that I could take you there But my experiment is not getting us anywhere I had a vision I could turn you right A stupid mission in a lethal fight I should have seen it when my hope was new My heart is black and my body is blue

And I'm losing my favourite game You're losing your mind again I'm losing my favourite game You're losing your mind again

I'm losing my baby, losing my favourite game I'm losing my favourite game (losing my favourite) You're losing your mind again (I try) I try but you're still the same (I try) I'm losing my baby You're losing a saviour and a saint

!!