Lily zoomed around the shop, placing items down gently and as carefully as she could. The scavenger hunt had to be perfect. It was the first big event she'd held at the bookshop and everything just had to run smoothly.

She hear the bell of the door tinkled lightly and her head swerved around to see who came in. She saw two familiar heads of curly blond hair and messy jet black hair. Lily heard their giggles and laughs from across the room. Marlene and James.

She had her arm wrapped around his, as if they were an older medieval couple attending a ball. Lily smiled then felt a twinge of pain in her chest. She pushed down at the feeling, trying to make herself happy that Marlene and James had, she supposed, gotten together. She grinned at them.

"Marlene! James! What are you doing here?" she yelled, waving at them.
"Well, we came to see your event. But it's strangely quiet." Marlene answered, looking around the shop.
"Oh everyone's upstairs except for Remus and I. Tonks and Charlie are reading to the children and their parents."
"You want us to help out?" James asked.
"Oh no, there's no need to." she replied, "We've just finished."

Lily felt sort of uncomfortable standing around Marlene and James, who seemed to look perfect together. With their contrasting looks and personalities, they seemed absolutely perfect. She sighed, as she told them to head upstairs.

The event had went well, but seemed to have dragged on as ally watched James mercilessly flirting with Marlene. Lily wasn't going to be surprised if they went out on a date. She felt a pang hurt her heart as she saw them together.

No, no, no, she scolded herself, you're not in love with him. You're dating Severus and he loves you. James loves Marlene. There's nothing you can do about it.

Lily forced herself to wave a goodbye to them as they left hand in hand. She felt a hand on her shoulder, squeezing in a sibling sort of way.

"I suppose, now you know how I feel." Remus said, grinning sadly.
Lily sighed, "I guess now I do."

~oOo~

It was a rainy Wednesday evening in which Remus and Peter were working the evening shift. James was at home, reading his books and catching up with old friends. Thanksgiving was soon approaching. Tomorrow in fact. And James was pretty excited to celebrate with his family.

Because he was Asian, they included other sorts of foods. Palabok, dumplings, and much more. His mother being half Filipino and Chinese made most of the difference. His father was British, but preferred the Asian foods is mother often cooked.

He'd been dating Marlene for about three weeks now, and his mother was one of the first to know. She was excited to meet the girl, and James had promised to bring her over for Thanksgiving, if her parents didn't mind.

Weeks had passed since the bookshop event and Halloween party, and James hadn't seen Lily since. Sirius still worked with him at the shop, and James wanted to ask if he'd spend Thanksgiving with his family. Remus and Peter were with them pretty often, as they usually were going to arcades and things along those lines. (No, they were not too old to play air hockey at the neighborhood arcade.)

James had felt a little heartbroken that Lily hadn't come to the shop for a while. And whenever she did, she hardly stopped to chat. James hadn't the faintest clue why, but it still stung. He missed her dearly. You can't think about her, he chastised himself, you're in love with Marlene and Lily's in love with Snape.

He and Marlene had gone on dates before. And he didn't mind admitting that she wasn't his first girlfriend. He was the neighborhood heartbreaker, a title he earned without shame. Although his parents though he could be better, it was a reputation he liked. People whispered about him. "Fleamont Potter's son, I heard he's a player," they'd say. And James reveled in it.

James's good looks and seemingly cool attitude made people flock to him. )Of course, when his mother and father walked by, the attitude faltered and he soon became their loving and adoring son.)

James was once with this girl he might've been more serious with, had she not been cheating on him with another guy. It hurt his heart, and James had one last thing to turn to relationship wise—heartbreaking.

He usually felt something flutter in his chest whenever he thought about Marlene, but that flutter had faded just a bit. Just a bit.

James had soon gotten bored of the book he was reading. He glanced at his phone. About 3 missed texts from old friends, but he didn't want to really talk to anyone expect one person for the moment. He texted Lily.

Hey Lily! What's up?

James hadn't gotten a response until a good twenty minutes later. He must've fallen asleep because his eyes fluttered open as he felt his phone vibrate, and he picked it up, glancing at the message he'd received. James squinted at the screen wondering where his glasses were. He'd found them moments after, on the top of his head.

Hey James, I'm good. You?

James paused before replying. What was he going to say? He didn't know if she still wanted help with organizing her bookshop. Should he ask?

He looked at the message he was going to send.

So you want to meet sometime and we can discuss organizing the bookshop?

He thought it looked stupid but didn't know what to say. She'd replied pretty quickly that time.

Yeah, I can come to your house right now. I'll pass your building in a few minutes.

Okay, great! See you soon.

See you, James.

James sighed happily and triumphantly. He cleaned up His apartment as he waited for the doorbell to ring. He put away the several books that sat on his desk in his two bedroom apartment. (The guest room was for his parents.)

James heard the doorbell ring, jumping at the sound. He hurried down the stairs, gripping his keys in his hands. He swung open the door, a smile on his face. He heard drops of rain fall and hit the pavement with a splash. Then James left someone jump into his arms, gripping his sleeves tightly. James's stomach sunk and his breath hitched.

Lily.