A/N: This is going to be littered with That Thing You Do references. If you've never seen the film. Go. Now!

Chapter One

Lily Evans hates Tuesdays.

She got her very first period on a Tuesday. She had once broken her arm on a Tuesday.

And her boyfriend of the past seven years, the one she had been living with, had just broken up with her. On a fucking Tuesday.

But it's the Wednesday after the dreaded Tuesday when Lily stumbles into a coffee shop, clutching in her hand a cutout from yesterday's paper with an ad in it looking for a roommate. Lily could clearly tell from the wording of the ad that the people who had placed it were a bunch of boys. Possibly men, but Lily couldn't imagine men using the words "solemnly swear" in an ad a total of three times. Nonetheless, she had called anyway, and the voice on the other line sounded deep enough. As if the other person had gone through some sort of puberty. And she's out of options frankly. The flat is in a safe part of town, and the only thing that awaits her back in Cokeworth is her sister who wants as little to do with Lily as possible.

He had given her only his name - James Potter - and the address of where he worked so they could meet up first and chat a bit. It's a little shop called Spill The Beans, and when Lily enters a bell dings. It's dimly lit, the smell is nearly intoxicating, but it's the man - and he clearly, clearly is a man- behind the counter that makes Lily stop in her tracks.

There is no way she can be roommates with him. He's too fucking fit for that sort of thing. He's the type of bloke who Lily would attempt to go back to his flat as a sexual conquest. He's the type of bloke who Lily would want to take home to introduce to her mother (God rest her soul). He's the type of bloke that temporary makes her forget about her dick of a ex-boyfriend.

He's not the type of bloke she wants to be flatmates with.

But before she can turn out the door and bolt he lifts his eyes - which Lily notices are impossibly hazel- and spots her there. They widen for such a brief moment that Lily wonders if she imagined the movement, before his features form into a grin, and Lily's done for.

"You must be Lily Evans," he says. His voice is smooth and deep, and Lily thinks she could drown in it. "James Potter, at your service."

Lily blinks. "Fuck me."

"What?"

"What?"

"Did you just-"

"Lily!" She practically shouts her own name at him, and it echos off the walls of the shop. He starts for a short moment before smirking at her, and it's only the fact that Lily is curious about the way his smirk would feel against the curve of her own lips that keeps her from getting irritated. "I'm Lily. Lily Evans."

"Why don't you have a seat, Evans?" He gestures towards a small table near the window, and moves from behind the counter. His barista uniform should be illegal. It's unfairly tight, and Lily has ample view of his biceps which makes her wonder what it would be like to squeeze them. "I would offer you coffee, but you mentioned over the phone that you hate it."

"Fucking bean water," she says, scrunching her nose up, and then she flushes at her own bluntness. "I mean- I'm sorry. I'm not normally this - frazzled."

"Long day?"

"Long past two days," says Lily. She pauses for a moment, biting the nail of her thumb, and gazing out the window. "Do you ever just hate a day? Like, all the bad things in the world happen to you on a particular day? Tuesdays are those days for me. I've never woken up on a Tuesday and been like, 'thank god it's Tuesday.' Do you know why?"

James shook his head, the grin still tugging on his lips.

"Because Tuesday is the day that the world decides it's just going to fucking shit all over Lily Evans. This Tuesday - yesterday - my boyfriend of seven years, who I've been living with for five of those years, decides to dump me. And I know you just met me so you can't understand the full scope of this tragedy. But he was in a band. A fucking drummer. It was like I was Faye from That Thing You Do - have you seen that movie?"

"Yes, but doesn't she end up with the drummer?"

"That's besides the point. Nathan - my ex- is the Jimmy in that movie except I didn't get to dump him like Faye dumped Jimmy in an awesome 'shame on me for kissing you with my eyes closed so tight' dialogue. No, not only did he dump me, but he's been cheating on me."

"So now you're looking for your Shades?"

"If anything I'm looking for my Guy, because Guy is so much more than just Shades. You take the shades off, and you get the Guy behind them," says Lily. She notices for the first time that he's wearing glasses. "But not right now. Right now, I'm focusing on me, because I lost a bit of me while I was with Nathan."

"That's awful, Evans." He's slouching back casually in his chair, and though his tone is earnest, it's the way his eyes are sparkling at her that catches her off guard. "It's awful that all of that happened to you on a Tuesday, but today is Wednesday."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Not at all. I'm simply saying, if the universe does truly hate you on Tuesdays, Wednesdays must act as some sort of silver lining. Don't you think?"

"I'm not sure I'm following-"

"Tuesday your bastard of an ex-boyfriend decides to dump you. Frankly, it's going to be the worst mistake of his life, because I can't imagine him doing any better than you. Jimmy never could have done better than Faye in my opinion. But then Wednesday morning - today - you call me, who happens to be in dire need of a roommate, and the tables are turned in your favor."

"My...favor?"

"Lily Evans, I promise to never do you wrong. As a roommate."

Lily leans forward in her chair, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she examines the man across from her. Living with him would be a horrible, horrible mistake. Living in such confined spaces with someone she's clearly attracted to while she's trying to get over some other guy would be very unwise indeed. She's already wondering what he would look like if he took off his glasses, and stared down her Jimmy of an ex like Guy did.

And yet…

"You really want to live with me? Frazzled mess and all?"

"I'll have you know I'm quite good at sorting out messes."

"What about your roommate? Won't he want to meet me first?"

"Sirius won't mind. So long as you pay your rent. The flat is technically mine anyway."

"Okay."

"Yeah?" She wonders if he grins in his sleep. "Let's do this."

He offers her his hand, and the moment she takes it she knows why his hair appears to be sticking out in every direction imaginable. Because he has lightening coursing through him, and it crosses his fingertips and courses through her skin, and she wonders how she's ever supposed be satisfied touching anything else.

Living with James Potter isn't all that bad. So long as Lily takes major precautions to avoid him a majority of the time. Which is what she's been doing for the first week of her new life at the flat. She leaves for work fairly early in the morning, and so does he, which proves to be the most difficult thing to work around.

She caught him leaving the loo in nothing but a towel one morning, and it took an extra long shower to get the image out of her mind. He's unfairly fit, unfairly tall, and Lily wonders what it would be like to climb him.

But more than that, he makes her laugh, and she's just coming off a devastating breakup, and should be listening to Taylor Swift songs while drinking wine and crying alone in her room. Not laughing at some story a bloke she barely knows is telling her to the point tears are streaming down her cheeks. She should be burning pictures of Nathan or cutting his face out of them at least. She should be laying awake at night heartbroken over Nathan. Not unable to sleep because she accidentally touched James Potter's arm when they crossed paths in the hallway, and went the rest of the day feeling like she'd been struck by lightning.

Her closest friend, Mary, thinks she's absolutely mad for moving in with two boys she doesn't know. She thinks she's mad about Lily's That Thing You Do references, and no guy could ever match up to Guy Patterson. But James Potter could. Or at least he's a close second. She also thinks she's lying about how fit James Potter is, and demands proof.

And Lily is mad, because she's trying to figure out a way to take Potter's picture without him knowing so she can send it to Mary. She's got the camera app open on her phone, and is sitting at the bar watching Potter cook, waiting for the right moment to snap a picture. And it's as though James knows what her plan is, because he's still in his stupidly tight barista shirt, and the sleeves are rolled up as he's chopping up an onion for whatever it is that he's cooking, and Lily has the perfect shot of his biceps.

And, hell, she might even make this photo her background after sending it to Mary because it's perfect.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Except it's not perfect. Which she discovers as she snaps the photo, and the fucking flash goes off. James' head swivels quickly in her direction, and Lily shrieks, throwing her phone across the room as though it's scalded her hand.

They stare at one another for a long moment before James raises an eyebrow at her.

"Did you just-"

"No."

"- take my picture?"

"Do you know what I just remembered? There's a really important press release that I forgot to do for the hospital. So I better get on that. Right now."

"Evans-"

"So, I'm just going to be in my room. Probably all night."

Lily side steps to where her phone collided with the wall, and James never once takes his eyes off of her. He's got the beginnings of another grin blossoming, and Lily wants to smack it off his face. Or maybe snog it off. She's not really sure. Probably a mixture of both. She wants to knock his glasses off of his face, and then crash their lips together until she feels the lightning down to her toes. She bends down and snatches up her phone - relieved and surprised it's not shattered to pieces- and darts to the safety of her room. She slams the door shut behind her, and lets her head bang roughly against the wood.

She's in fucking trouble, but she glances down at her phone - which has the most perfect shot of James Potter- and thinks that maybe it's worth it.

She forwards the picture to Mary, and it takes less than thirty seconds for her phone to light up with an incoming call.

Feeling as though she's bloody sixteen again, and chatting to Mary about her boy problems, Lily hides herself away in her closet, shutting the door tightly, before answering.

"Hello?"

"Shut up!" Mary is shouting so loudly that Lily has to hold the phone away from her ear. There's the sound of music and chatter and Lily suspects she's out drinking. "Shut up, shut up, shut up."

"I told you," hisses Lily. "I fucking told you."

"I thought you were lying, or just incredibly blind. But, fuck me, he is fit, isn't he?"

"He's so fit. He's so fit I want to cry. The other day I actually did start crying about it! I was thinking of Nathan at first and listening to Red, and then all of a sudden I was thinking of James, and his stupid biceps. I just full out started sobbing."

"God Lily-"

"I want him to do unspeakable things to me. I want to do unspeakable things to him. I want to be underneath him, with him hovering just a bit above me where I have to raise myself up to kiss him, because he's the type of guy you cross distances for to kiss."

Mary snorts and then chokes on what Lily assumes is whatever she's drinking.

"Where are you?" asks Mary. "You're whispering."

"Oh, I'm only in my fucking closet because when I tried to take that picture for you the fucking flash went off!"

"Why the fuck are you in your closet?" Mary's laughing, and soon Lily is too though she has to bury her face in her legs to muffle it. "How old are you, Lily?"

"Apparently young enough to still be having boy problems, but too old to know how to properly take a picture on my smartphone."

"What are you going to do? Jesus, no wonder you're not spiraling in a post-breakup funk. How could you with that fit fucking boy around?"

"I have no idea, Mary," groans Lily. "I'm probably never going to be able to leave my closet after this. I'm going to have to send in all the press releases from my laptop. I'm supposed to help with planning that Gala next month, and I guess it will just have to take place in my fucking closet."

"Don't be so dramatic. Who hasn't taken a picture with the flash going off?"

"It's more than that! It's just - okay, you know how I hate coffee."

"Yes, because you're insane."

"Liking coffee isn't an argument for one's mental health!"

"God, you're such a nerd. Anyway, go on."

"I used to hate the smell of coffee. Fucking hated it. But then he comes home smelling like that coffee shop every damn day - which, by the way, he owns - and I just want to drag him into my bedroom. It's the most intoxicating thing."

"Maybe you need to get it out of your system?"

"I can't get it out of my system! He's my roommate, Mary! He's not some one night stand I'm never going to see again. I would see him again. The next day. In my flat."

"Well you're going to have to do something, because you're absolutely smitten with this guy."

"I'm not smitten."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm fucked!"

"I think the problem is that you aren't fucked. If we're being honest here."

Lily is nearly about to reply that Mary is the worst best mate she could possibly have when there's a knock outside her closet door, and she freezes.

"Um, Mary?" she says softly. "I've got to go."

"What do you mean-"

But Lily disconnects the call, and her closet door opens before she can reach the handle, and of course James Fucking Potter is standing on the other side. He's got one hand on the doorknob, and the other one in his pocket of his jeans which he must have changed into at some point after the photo incident, and Lily wonders if it's insane to try to snap another picture. Even his jeans look unfairly attractive on him.

"What are you doing in your closet?" His head is cocked to one side, and Lily suspects he's trying very hard not to smirk down at her. "Can't be comfortable."

"I had to make a phone call," she says lamely.

"Are you avoiding me?" He's so blunt that it almost cuts her, but his tone isn't harsh. Rather it's teasing. "Because I'd rather you didn't."

"No, no. Of course not."

His eyes dart over her, and she's biting her lower lip so hard she's surprised she doesn't draw blood. He licks his lips before being unable to fight his smirk any longer, and offers her a hand which she takes.

"Let's go to dinner," he says, hoisting her up. "Sirius is out, and I sort of burnt what I was trying to cook."

"Just- just us?"

"Of course," he says. "I mean, since you're not avoiding me and all. My treat."

Lily blinks up at him. She estimates she's about six inches shorter than he is. "Where do you want to go?"

"There's this pizza place I'm quite smitten with."

Lily isn't sure how much James heard of her conversation with Mary, but she isn't about to ask him. Instead, she chooses to sit across from him and squirm awkwardly while he stares right back at her. The pizza place is crowded, and they haven't seen their waitress since they placed their order, and Lily has sucked her drink down to the bottom where all that remains is the last little bit of crushed ice.

"I dated this girl - her name was Cindy - for two years." James speaks so suddenly that Lily jumps. This time, though, he's not looking at her. He's looking out the window, and Lily wonders how far away his memories are taking him. "I thought she was the one. We met at University."

"Was she a good kisser?" Lily isn't sure why she asked such a question. She really doesn't want to know the answer.

He nods slowly. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" she teases.

"It wouldn't be... proper of me to say any more than that."

"Hmmm," hums Lily. "Well, what happened between you two?"

"There wasn't some big blow up or falling out. It was more of...while I was thinking she was the one, she met the one, and it turns it that he wasn't me."

"Oh, that's awful."

"It was at the time, but now I sort of understand."

"Do you?"

"It's sort of like that Van Halen song, Love Walks In. Love, literally love, that is. When you know, you know. Everything changes, and with Cindy- nothing changed. Everything sort of just stayed the same. Even after we split."

Lily wants to ask if he had felt that feeling yet. If it had happened after Cindy. If he had ever experienced that sort of contact that it takes to change your life, like Van Halen sang about. Because she understands what that feels like. Even if the timing seems all wrong. But their pizza arrives before she could get her throat to unstick, and the moment is gone.

"All of that is to say, I regretted being hung up over her for so long. Especially when she was so happy," he says, putting a slice of pizza on her plate. "There was a lot I missed out on because of it, but you seem to be doing much better than I did. I listened to River on repeat for like a week."

Lily ponders over what he said for a moment. She certainly feels out of control, and as though she can't get her feet on solid ground. But not over Nathan. And it's almost a relief to not feel that way over him. As if, though her feet are unsteady, she still has the ability to breathe. As though James Potter has given her air, and the ability to fly.

"You know what I do regret the most?" She blinks down at her plate. "It's not the way we broke up, or even the fact that he did it first. It's the fact that he has my fucking cat. He refused to let me take him."

"That bastard has your cat?" He sounds so outraged that Lily nearly giggles. She knows it's real because his eyes aren't pulled upwards. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Because I saw you in your towel that one time and you busted my brain, she thinks.

"Because there's nothing I can do about it," she says aloud instead. "Which sucks because I'm the one who adopted him. Nathan didn't even want him."

"Lily Evans," says James, leaning in across the table, and Lily thinks he has a flare for dramatics. "There is always something you can do about it if you've got enough nerve."

"Be quite! You're going to get us caught. Heavens, Evans. Haven't you ever done this before?"

"Have I ever sat outside the bushes of my old house, waiting for my ex-boyfriend to go to sleep, so that we can sneak in through the front window that I know he'll leave unlocked, because I don't live with him anymore so I can steal my cat back? Sorry, no. This is my first time!"

James grins at her and even though it's dark, his grin is far too bright for her to look at. He's going to either kill her with his charm, or get her arrested for breaking and entering. She isn't sure which one she prefers at the moment.

"Surely he's in bed by now," says James. "The lights have been out for ages. Try the window."

Lily does as she's told, letting out a relieved breath she isn't aware of holding when the window raises up. In and out. That was all she had to do. It would be simple, easy, no big deal-

"In you go," says Potter, lifting her up and shoving her through the window. Any other time she would have been impressed with the ease at which he lifted her, but today she's crashing onto the floor, possibly dislocating her shoulder, and she feels rather cross instead.

"Fuck me," she groans into the floor.

There's movement next to her, and Lily turns to see Potter standing over top of her. Hands in his pockets and grinning. "Do you mean it this time?"

Perhaps it's the fact that the floor has knocked some sense into her, or the fact that he's arrogant enough to bring up her blunder from when they first met. Either way, Lily snatches the pillow off the chair next to her and repeatedly beats him over the head with it.

"Fuck!" he hisses, shielding his head. "I was joking, Evans! Christ!"

"Shut up!"

"You're beating the shit out of me with a pillow, and you want me -"

"No! I mean, shut up, I hear something!"

Lily ceases her attack, and the pair of them stand stock still for a brief moment. Lily is certain she heard a shuffle of movement during Potter's cries, but isn't sure if it's Nathan or -

"Conrad!" Her fat ginger cat has lumbered out from whatever spot he was resting in, and is sitting at her feet. His green eyes blink up at her unimpressed, but Lily scoops him up and begins to cry. "Oh, Conrad!"

"Christ, he's fat," says James, petting him behind the ears while Lily buries her nose in his fluff. "That was easier than expected. Do you think he can fit through the window?"

"Shut up," says Lily, but she gives James a grateful smile.

"What about the car? Do you reckon we ought to take the bus instead?"

"Tell the silly boy it's mostly fluff, Conrad."

"That's not fluff. That is the fattest damn cat I've ever seen."

Before Lily can retort, there's a light shining from upstairs, and the familiar sounds of Nathan stumbling about. Something crashes, sounds as though it's shattered, and Lily hopes it's the ugly vase his mother gave them for Christmas last year.

"Right then," says Potter, grabbing her around the waist before she had any time to react. "Hold on to that fat fluff. He'll soften your fall."

"What-"

Lily is shoved through a window for the second time in her life, clutching her cat tightly to her chest, and muffling a squeal into his fur. She lands on her back, Conrad squirming against her, and Lily thinks fleetingly that she's thankful she trimmed his claws the day before the breakup.

And then there's a pair of Converse shoes in her line of vision, and Lily peers up at James face. Head cocked, eyebrows raised, as if he wonders what she could possibly doing on the ground.

"Well don't just lay there," he grins down at her. "Run, Evans!"