Lily smiled up at him. "Okay. Oh, actually, I did want to ask you something, now that I think of it."
Severus hid his feelings well - too well. However, Lily did not attempt to hide hers at all. She flirted with him on a regular basis, but he did not seem to pick up on it or flirt back. Sometimes it was a little discouraging, and she did not know whether he did not like it or if he just didn't understand her clues.
Perhaps he was afraid of having that kind of relationship with her. It would have been understandable. Maybe he did not want to ruin such a good friendship. And Lily did have to admit it: if Severus dated her, he would catch all new levels of hell from James and his lot. Though she'd do her best to protect him from that, she knew she couldn't keep him away from them forever. They'd go after him at a time when she couldn't be there, like when she was in class or something.
Still, she had to try. Lily thought it was a good chance that he just wasn't understanding what she was trying to do.
"I think I'm going to Hogsmeade on Friday. Would you like to go? Just you and me," she promised, knowing he would like it best that way.