Written for QLFC Round 12
Team: Wigtown Wanderers
Position: Beater 2
Prompt: Write a NON-ROMANTIC story about JAMES AND LILY
Addittional Prompts: 1. (word): control, 3. (word): radiant
Words: 1049

Thank you to Liza, Emily, Firefly, and Rachel for betaing!

I will be there in five minutes, my dove! Wait for me!

Lily grinned as she looked down at the bright text message flashing across her phone. Biting her tongue to keep from laughing, as she was in a public place, she sent a quick reply and shoved her books into her bag. After making sure that she had left nothing at the table, she walked out of the library and towards the cafe she and James were supposed to meet in.

As she walked, Lily hunched in on herself against the autumn chill and wished that she'd agreed to let Remus knit her a cardigan; she hadn't wanted to overwork him and was now facing frostbite… still, what was done was done and she had a warm cafe to get to.

She arrived there six minutes later, yet James was running late and she considered ordering her food without him. After a minute of thinking—during which he hadn't shown up—she decided not to as it would interrupt their routine.

Just when Lily again considered beginning their meal by herself, James ran into the cafe. His hat and scarf were askew and the jumper that he'd gotten from Remus was on backwards. He looked around, searching for her, trying to tame his out-of-control appearance and almost dropping his backpack in the process.

Lily took pity on him and walked over, not bothering trying to hide her laughter. "Took you long enough!"

"I apologize, most beautiful lady in all the seven realms, but I was unavoidably detained!" In his usual dramatic manner, James complimented her like a knight would a princess and took a deep bow. The movement caused his half-opened backpack to crash to the floor, sending books and papers flying.

He slumped over, quickly gathering them up and shoving them into the backpack. Then, standing up, he followed Lily to the line at the counter. "Sorry I'm so late. Got a bit detained."

"Yeah, I can see that!" Lily giggled, pointing to the space just above the jumper's neckline. "You've got a hickey! So who's the lucky girl?" She pretended to lean on her hand and fluttered her eyelashes.

James turned away from her with a mock-frown, sticking his nose into the air. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. Besides, this gentleman didn't kiss, so there's nothing to tell."

"Ri-i-ight," Lily drawled.

"Really!"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious!"

"I believe you."

"No, you don't." James pouted.

"I do."

"Don't."

"Do—"

"Are you going to order something or have a domestic?" the man behind the counter asked loudly with an annoyed expression.

Lily blushed. "Sorry."

"I'll have a grande extra hot soy with extra foam, split shot with a half squirt of sugar-free vanilla and a half squirt of sugar-free cinnamon, a half packet of splenda… oh, and put that in a venti cup and fill up extra room with extra whipped cream with caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top." James grinned at the man. The man stared back. James grinned wider. "And she'll have a small hot chocolate, no whipped cream."

The man shot James another dirty look but went to fulfill the order as Lily ushered him out of the way of the other customers. "Are you serious?"

"What?"

"'I'll have a grande extra hot soy with extra foam, split shot with a half squirt of sugar-free vanilla and a half squirt of sugar-free cinnamon, a half packet of splenda… oh, and put that in a venti cup and fill up extra room with extra whipped cream with caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top'," she mocked. "James, I know that you're the only son of beyond-wealthy socialites, but isn't that a bit too much?"

"Probably." He shrugged. "But it's a good day."

"So you did kiss someone!"

James sighed and shook his head in defeat. "Yeah."

"Who is she?"

"Well…" James looked down in an unusually nervous gesture and was just about to answer but was saved from doing so by someone calling out their drinks.

"So?" Lily asked again as they sat down.

"Well…" James looked down at his drink. "She's not exactly a… a she."

"You mean…"

"Yup."

"And this is…"

"Yup."

"Who is it?" Lily watched as James opened his mouth to answer but was once again interrupted, this time by his phone pinging. "Is it him?"

"Yeah." James, now that the hard part he hadn't even been prepared for was done with, looked sheepish. "I told him I'd only be a bit. Lily, I'm so sorry, I know this is our our time, but this is all so new—kind of—and I—"

"Go on," she giggled, pretending to shoo him away. "Go be with lover-boy! I'll be here next week, you can tell me all about him then."

James's face split into a radiant smile, showing off his perfect teeth and to-die-for dimples (in his opinion, at least). "Lily, darling, you're a gem! No, you're more: you're my gem!"

"Go on, Romeo!" She waved her hand in the direction of the door. "Don't keep him waiting!"

James didn't need telling a third time and was out the door in seconds, slamming it shut and receiving a too-late angry look from the man behind the counter.

Lily shook her head to herself and sipped at her hot chocolate. "Looks like it's just you and me now, eh?" she asked the pompous drink James had ordered but not drunk.

It, obviously, gave no answer.

"Yup." Lily tapped her foot and looked around before looking back at the drink. She was just about to continue talking to it—because why not?—when she noticed something. "Oh, hello!"

It was James's mobile.

It would have been so easy to just reach across the table and open it, to see who the last person who texted James was…

"Oh, there you are!" James's shout broke Lily out of her thoughts. "Sorry, Lil, left my phone."

He grabbed it off the table and ran out of the cafe once more. When the door slammed shut behind him, Lily's phone pinged. She stared at the text with wide eyes.

So, yeah, I like cock now. Regulus's cock, to be more specific. We've decided we're going to elope in Las Vegas. Goodbye forever, my beautiful princess!