Chapter 4
chapter four
lily
Lily looked herself over in the mirror, turning around as her braids slipped over her shoulders and hung low on her back. She looked okay, Lily guessed. She didn’t really like the way her bra squished her back and how her hips and stomach were lined with stretch marks and scars and freckles and how her neck looked when she turned her head. Nothing a baggy t-shirt can’t fix, Lily thought to herself bitterly.
She slipped on a shirt and pulled on jeans that made her feel like she could barely breathe, and put on some brown mascara while making a face that looked like she was an eighty year old woman on her deathbed (Lily had to make terrible faces in order to put on mascara correctly—didn’t everyone?).
“Lily, did you take my jacket?” came her sister Petunia’s shrill voice from downstairs.
“I haven’t touched your jacket!” Lily shouted back. She thought she heard Petunia scoff, and rolled her eyes.
“Sure, so then why is it gone?” Petunia yelled.
“I don’t fucking know!”
“Lily! Watch your damn language!” her mother called (sounding like she didn’t really care).
“I’m going to see Remus!” Lily said loudly to no one in particular, and heard vague noises of consent from her parents and bitter muttering from Petunia.
She laced up her boots and closed the door behind her. It was still stupidly hot outside, but she didn’t have to walk very far to get to Remus’s—and she wasn’t really worried about not being welcome. Remus’s parents had made it clear she could come over anytime someone was home. She even had her own spare key.
Lily scurried from shadow to shadow, glaring at the sun all the way to Remus’s house. She stepped up the porch and unlocked the door with the key in her back pocket. The house was quiet, but Remus’s car was still in the driveway, even if his parents weren’t there, so she wasn’t too worried about it. Lily took off her shoes and coat and thought she might just go watch Brooklyn 99 on her phone in the living room in case Remus was taking a nap.
She pulled up Netflix on her phone, padding into the living room only to be met with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black making out on the couch.
“Ew!” Lily shrieked, covering her face. “What the fuck?!” She took her hands off her eyes and glared at the two of them. Remus was redder than she’d ever seen him and Sirius was looking obnoxiously pleased with himself.
“Why didn’t you say something when you got here?” Remus asked hopelessly, putting his head in his hands and looking terribly embarrassed.
“I thought you were asleep! And I certainly didn’t expect to see… this!”
“Calm down, Evans,” Sirius said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Fine, whatever,” Lily said, sinking into a chair across from them. “I knew it, though. I freaking knew there was something weird about the way you two were acting.” She gave the two boys a look, who were sitting as far apart from each other as they could and pointedly avoiding Lily’s gaze.
“Aaaanyway,” Sirius clapped his hands and stood up. “I’m going to leave.” He awkwardly nods to Lily and walks very quickly out the door. Remus and Lily are left sitting in silence.
“...Sorry for making your boyfriend leave.” Lily said, actually feeling a little sorry.
“He’s not… well… it’s fine.” Remus waved a hand at her.
“How long has that been going on?” Lilt asked, leaning forward on her elbows, full gossip mode engaged.
Remus flushed again, and threw a pillow at Lily’s face. She batted it away, laughing. “No, seriously—haha—siriusly—”
“Stoooop!” Remus groans, burying his face in the couch. “I’ve heard that joke so many goddamn times in the past four years and if you start saying it I might actually throw myself into the ocean.” Lily cackled with laughter.
“I’m going to keep mocking you until you tell me,” Lily giggled. She wouldn’t have kept pushing it if it weren’t so obvious he actually wanted to tell her—he was clearly trying to hold back a smile and was flapping his hands a little.
“Fine,” Remus said. “We’ve been together since year twelve—kinda. I don’t know that I have an actual date for you. It was weird and relationship-y for a while before that. But yeah.” He smiled down at his hands. Lily grinned at him.
“Awww,” Lily teased. “Sirius Black, though?”
Remus throws up his hands. “I know! I don’t know how this happened!”
For whatever reason, this was the funniest thing either of them had ever heard. They both couldn’t stop laughing for a good ten minutes. Remus wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, “Okay, but anyway, the trip.”
Lily nods, still breathless. “The trip. Okay, so basically I’ve compiled a list of places we can go to or drive through and it may or may not have taken me far too long but anyway here it is.” She pulled a small map and piece of wrinkled paper out of her back jeans pocket and handed it to Remus, who glanced at it for a few seconds before nodding.
“Yeah, I trust you’ve got it figured out. Did you want any help with planning?” Remus asked, looking at Lily. She waved a hand at him.
“Nah, I think I got it. It’s just driving, right? And I was thinking we could stay in campsites or sleep in the van in some places so I don’t think we’ll have to worry about hotel rooms. And I was envisioning this being more of a scenic thing so we won’t have to worry about getting tickets for a lot of things—unless there’s something you really want to see?” She looked at him, and he shook his head. “Okay, sweet.”
In actuality, Lily was extremely nervous about the entire thing, but she didn’t need to transfer that stress onto anyone else. She walked over and flopped onto the couch next to Remus, exhaling. The soft thrum of rain against the roof started up, and Lily laughed a little, thinking of how warm it had been just a few minutes earlier.
“Wanna watch Steven Universe?”
Lily was suddenly reminded why Remus was her best friend.
~~~
3:14
You
Oh, I don’t have any pets. I’ve always wanted a fat cat though
Like, one of those ones that look like their faces are squished
3:15
Mary
omg, i know exactly what you’re talking about
and i’ve been feeding a stray kitty for a few years
her name is minnie <3
[Image]
3:16
You
OMG
SHE’S BEAUTIFUL
I’ll have to meet her sometime!!
3:17
Mary
you definitely will :D
chapter four
mary
Mary had just barely stepped out the door of her and her mother’s apartment when it started to rain.
“Fuck.” She looked up at the grey sky, where clouds were slowly darkening and the rain was steadily getting heavier. She pulled her hood over her hair, mumbling various obscenities and shivering a little as the wind got chillier. She couldn’t go back inside, though, because she had to check into her job at the cafe a few blocks away from her and request a few weeks off for the trip with Lily.
She hurried down the sidewalk, weaving through the crowds of grumpy people who were just starting to put up their umbrellas. They were all dressed in various shades of grey, and beside them Mary felt like a butterfly among ants. Different, but out of place.
Mary almost slipped in a puddle, but caught herself on a bike rack. This was shaping up to be a great day. Not.
Mary opened the cafe door and shuffled her Mary Janes (which were a joke gift from Marlene from a few birthdays ago) on the doormat. “Hey, Sal.” she said, waving to the bespectacled Korean guy behind the counter.
“Hey, Mary. I don’t think it’s your shift right now? Although I could be wrong.”
“No, you’re right. I just wanted to talk to Gracie for a few minutes?”
“Yeah, sure.” Sal nodded to the employee door beside him. Mary hurried over and opened the door, glancing around for their manager. Gracie had a full head of grey hair (some of which she let Mary dye pink a few months ago) and was like a grandmother to Mary. She let Mary and Sal stay behind and have tea with her after their shifts, and her pockets always seemed to be full of biscuits.
“Mary? Is that you, love?” Gracie called from the break room.
“Hi, Gracie,” Mary smiled at her, sitting down across from the old woman at a table. “Sorry, I just wanted to ask a bit of a favor.”
“Course, love, what’s up?” Gracie asked, eyes crinkling.
Mary suddenly felt terrible about asking this. “Um… well… I just wanted to know if I could potentially get a few weeks off this summer?”
Gracie laughed a little. “Oh, I think so. It depends on when you’re going to be gone. I can get my grandkids to come sub in for you, but they’re going to be on vacation for a bit.”
“Uhh… do you mind if I text my friend real quick to confirm the date?” Mary asked, and Gracie gave her a thumbs up.
2:43
You
heyyy sorry to bug you
i just wanted to check the dates of the trip
2:45
Lily Evans
Oh no problem at all!
I was thinking the 20th to the 6th?
2:45
You
thanks so much!
2:46
Lily Evans
Ofc <3
Mary smiled at her phone for a moment, before turning it off and shoving it back into her pocket.
“My friend says July 20th to August 6th,” Mary said, and Gracie grabbed her calender from where it was on the desk behind her.
“You’re in luck, love,” Gracie smiled at her. “My grandbabies aren’t going to be gone until mid August.” Mary had to actively try not to bounce in excitement. She grinned from ear to ear, standing up and hugging Gracie.
“Thank you so much!” Mary stepped back, flushing a little.
Gracie winked at her. “Have fun with your friend.”
Mary couldn’t stop smiling as she waved goodbye to Sal and walked back into the rain. Her mood wasn’t even dampened by the thought that she had to bring this up to her mother at some point during the next few days. She even would have skipped if she didn’t think it would get her strange looks from the passerbys around her. Mary had the sudden urge to text Lily again, and opened her phone. She paused, as the raindrops blurred the screen and realized she had no idea what she wanted to say.
Mary rolled her eyes at herself and decided it was time to go home before she had even more strange, cold-induced thoughts the longer she stood in the rain.
As she stepped up to her front porch and wished she had a cup of cocoa to warm her up, she almost tripped yet again—but this time over a fluffy furball curled up on the doormat.
Mary cooed, petting the cat on her tiny forehead. The little stray had been visiting Mary in the evenings for years now—before, she used to sit on the doorstep and mewl until Mary came out with scraps of food from dinner. Now, though, Mary had built a cat flap into the back door and there was a bowl of cat food permanently set in the kitchen. The little cat (who Mary affectionately named her Minerva for her strangely intelligent big eyes) came and went whenever she pleased.
Mary scooped Minne into her arms and brought her inside, wiping her damp fur with her jacket. Mary’s mother was gone. She wasn’t super worried about it—her mother was gone pretty frequently. She pulled out her phone and took a picture of Minnie’s dumb little sleeping face, before sending a text to Lily.
3:12
You
do you have any pets?
i don’t
i mean, not technically
3:14
Lily Evans
Oh, I don’t have any pets. I’ve always wanted a fat cat though
Like, one of those ones that look like their faces are squished
Mary smiled. She could definitely envision Lily sitting in a poofy armchair reading a book with a giant fluffy cat asleep on her lap. Maybe Lily would steeple her fingers under her chin or pet the cat and laugh evilly. Mary giggled at the thought.
3:15
You
omg, i know exactly what you’re talking about
and i’ve been feeding a stray kitty for a few years
her name is minnie <3
[Image]
3:16
Lily Evans
OMG
SHE’S BEAUTIFUL
I’ll have to meet her sometime!!
3:17
You
you definitely will :D
her name is short for minerva
3:17
Lily Evans
That’s the coolest name I’ve ever heard!
Like, Minerva as in the Roman name for Athena?
3:18
You
yeah! i wasn’t sure if you’d get the reference lol
i had an INTENSE percy jackson phase as a preteen
3:19
Lily Evans
Me toooo!!
Annabeth was my idol
3:20
You
no seriously!!
i love that series lol
3:21
Lily Evans
Just another thing we have in common I guess :)