"James, it's not a big deal," Remus tried to soothe his friend the next day at breakfast.

The girls had almost discovered the Marauders yesterday as they stood hidden under the invisibility cloak- all thanks to clumsy Peter. It had been James' idea to snoop on them. With honest intentions, he had insisted. The poor guy just wanted to find out if Lily might reveal what she likes about a first date in the middle of all that girl talk.

You know, for theirs one day hopefully. But from the information they had learned, James felt like that was becoming more of a dream than reality as time passed. They were already fifth years and she still hated him. Although there were times Remus thought he saw her looking at his friend curiously but they were just small blips of moments.

It had taken James a lot of willpower to not jump from under the cloak and join Jones in shaking down his Lilypad for information on who the bloke that had the audacity to steal her first kiss was.

"What does that guy have that I don't?" James asked, slumping down on the table.

"Apart from maturity?"

"Yeah?"

Remus almost felt bad for him. He sounded so sincere.

"Nothing! You're perfect Prongs. Want me to find the chap and hex him for you?" Sirius offered cheerfully. The knowledge that Kelpie Jones still hadn't had her first kiss had been the news of the day for him.

But only because he now had more information to tease her with. Not because he wanted it to be him. Certainly not. Sirius's own first kiss had been a fifth-year Gryffindor Prefect he had managed to charm to avoid getting detention for him and the boys. Dorcas had been the second. He lost track after that. However, he hadn't missed the way her eyes had stared at him in intrigue last time she caught him in the broom closet. It had been an unnecessary ego boost for him; the way she had frowned.

"And to think I had been saving my first kiss for her," James whined.

"Why don't you just kiss someone else?" Peter suggested nonchalantly through a mouthful of toast. "It's just a kiss right?" That earned him a smack right up his head from Sirius.

"That's what you get for eavesdropping on private conversations," Remus reminded his distraught friend.

"You were there too!" Sirius told him.

"I was an unwilling participant in that charade," Remus put his hands up to convey how much he wanted to distance himself from such stalker-ish behaviour.

"Shirts tucked in boys!" Benjamin Macdonald interrupted their pity party a few moments later when he passed them. He flicked his wand and without a warning, Peter's pants were a little higher, and his shirt magically tucked in. Sirius found his hair a little neater as his curls sorted themselves behind his ears in a smooth fashion.

"Show off," Sirius glared at the retreating prefect. "Who does he think he is? Calling us boys..he's not even seventeen himself," he said a little high pitched, puffing his chest.

"Careful Padfoot. Green isn't a good colour on you," Remus chuckled.

"What?" Sirius looked confused.

"How is this supposed to work if Lilypad and I aren't each other's first?" James cried out suddenly, drawing attention back to himself.

Remus sighed, "I'm surrounded by idiots."

ϟ

It was almost Christmas and the halls were decked with festive decorations. The Marauders sat in the courtyard huddled for warmth, with the map open.

"So let's go over the plan again," said James in his most serious voice.

"For the hundredth time Prongs! Getting Lily under the mistletoe isn't the most complicated scheme," said Remus. "Although a creepy one," he said to himself under his breath.

"Hey!" Prongs protested.

"It is if she keeps running away at the sight of him," Sirius agreed for once. However, that did not stop him from helping his best mate make dumb choices. In fact, he had an uncanny habit of encouraging them.

On the map, they could see Evans, Astrid and Jones approaching one of the exits where they knew there was at least one mistletoe for sure.

"You just need to be sure to walk past them at the same time. I'll try to push the other two out of the way right?" Sirius said.

"How is this NOT assault?" Remus wondered.

"Easy. We'll get Lilypad to kiss him first." Sirius sounded smug.

"BUT I'VE NEVER KISSED ANYONE! WHAT IF I'M HORRIBLE?" The realisation dawned on their leader.

"You should have thought of that before you dragged us into-" Remus' scolding was interrupted.

"Shh, they're here!" Peter said pointing at the map, their eyes darted up to see the girls coming under the archway.

James and Sirius got up immediately and strutted over the girls. Astrid was the only one who smiled at them. The other two looked as if they had eaten a booger-flavoured Bertie Botts Bean.

Coming closer right under the arch, Sirius pretended to trip over his robes, pushing Astrid and Jones out of the way.

James came to a halt in front of Lily, looking shifty.

"Evans," James squeaked nervously.

"What is it, Potter?" Lily was already losing patience. She tried to walk away but found herself stuck in place. "What did you do?! Release me!" If it was possible to kill someone with a look, that would have been it.

"Watch where you're walking Black or I'll hex a pair of glasses permanently onto your face," Kelsey said as she got bumped off a few steps away.

"I see you're chirpy as ever Jones," Sirius smiled mischievously.

"Kels!" Astrid squealed near them drawing their attention.

Kelsey stood frozen with Benjamin Macdonald a few inches from her, also stuck. It seemed that in Sirius' hurry to knock the two girls out of the way, he had accidentally pushed her into Benjamin, who the boys had missed on the map right under another mistletoe.

Dammit, Wormtail. You had one job, Sirius frowned.

"Ahh. Mistletoe," said Benji, pointing up. Sirius saw Jones blush furiously and look at her shoes.

"I guess I shouldn't keep a lady waiting. It's only polite," said Benji.

"Yeah?" she said softly, not meeting his eyes.

Sirius saw him lift her chin up gently and give her a boyish smile that visibly made her even pinker. It was at that moment that a lot of things happened.

Annoyed at Prongs for taking his time to kiss Evans and at Wormtail for his carelessness, Sirius pulled his wand from under his robes. With great force and determination, he blasted the mistletoe off the archway with a Reducto while rushing over to them.

With the mistletoe gone, Jones and the Macdonald boy were no longer held in under its spell.

"Sweet Circe James! It's not that difficult. Just kiss Evans. Like this!" Sirius pushed a confused Benjamin out of the way. He grabbed Jones' face and pulled her in.

Too stunned to respond Kelsey stood there wondering how she had gone from having the first kiss she had dreamed of to one that would give her nightmares. Probably.

But she was surprised to learn that Sirius' lips were soft and warm. She felt herself kissing him back on instinct. A dream-like feeling overtook her senses.

There was audible gasping and a few thuds of some girls fainting in the distance from shock.

"Is the world ending?"

"It's an omen!"

"Kelpie Jones is kissing Sirius Black!" someone shouted.

"Oi watch the tongue, there are first years here!" another called out.

The last one pulled her out of her reverie and she pushed him away roughly. Lips swollen, thoroughly snogged in plain view, she touched her lips and a moment later rubbed them furiously as if to eliminate all traces. She turned to see Lily and James staring at her bewildered, still stuck, and Astrid standing with a hand over her mouth in awe, cooing.

Benji had fallen to the ground when Sirius had pushed him away. He looked a little embarrassed at having been pushed so easily by a fifth-year.

"I guess I'll see you around Jones," Benji scratched the back of his head and walked away without further comment.

"Benji no! Wait," she called out after him in dismay but he didn't stop. She turned back to Sirius who was looking at her dazed. She grabbed the largest, bulkiest, heaviest, book from her bag.

"THERE! ARE-YOU-HAPPY-NOW?!" She said between smacks. "You-" the rest of that sentence was a string of the most Un-British, most improper expletives as Kelsey attacked Sirius with the book repeatedly.

Sirius didn't even budge. His lips were still tingling from kissing hers and all he could feel was the irritating drop in his stomach and he looked at her as tears started forming in her eyes. He hadn't meant to enjoy the kiss. It was supposed to have been more demonstrative in nature.

"Sorry," he whispered and Kelsey stopped, surprised that he actually apologised. Having the decency to look ashamed, he walked away towards the Quidditch Pitch silently.

Next week, at home on Christmas morning, Kelsey found the latest editions of a Spider-man comic arrive by owl. There was no signed letter other than a note with a little paw print.

The Marauders didn't bother her for the rest of the year.

ϟ