The skyscrapers clawed into the metropolitan sky. The foggy, grey heavens were blurring the skyline as rain poured down with no mercy onto expecting humans with umbrellas poised at the ready.
James Potter stood with many other citizens of the large, densely populated city as they waited under the unrelenting storm.
That smell of rain and asphalt mixed its fumes as he waft it in.
Rain had to be the best smell in the world.
He was standing at the crosswalk intersection waiting to cross like so many next to him. Everyone had an umbrella out and the bird's eye view from overhead would have only shown opened umbrellas that draped people's heads. Miniature octagons and circles that seemingly connected with those next to it, forming a honeycomb sort of structure.
The traffic lights were still allowing the vehicles to go. They had the right of way right now. The pedestrians on foot were second in priority and next in line.
James looked back down at his notebook he was reading to kill time until the lights turned red. It contained all of the Quidditch plays and strategies he used and theorized back in his days at school. James Potter was an aspiring Quidditch player hoping to go professional. He had a successful career back in school but it just wasn't enough and he thought he'd try a little harder. There would be tryouts held next month for the national team. He would make it no matter what.
If he didn't, then he had no idea what else he would do. There wasn't anything else he wanted to do with his life if he couldn't get this.
Some people are born to be teachers, doctors, mothers or fathers and other professions.
Well. James Potter was born for this.
Red light.
The cars halted while some drivers kept going.
Some interpreted yellow as 'go faster' so they could beat the red light signal and continue gunning it down the street devoid of police.
James felt the crowd in front of him move onto the wet asphalt and held his umbrella tighter as he walked across the street.
"Wow it sure is raining really hard today isn't it!?" A feminine voice said somewhat loudly beside him.
It broke him out of his thoughts and constant worry.
He immediately felt a nudge in his sides.
A young woman had run up next to him and leaned into him to cower under his umbrella, as if sharing it.
He didn't know her.
An unfamiliar stranger.
Then again he didn't know anyone in this new, stranger of a town. He just moved here last week. James never forgot a face. Names? Sure he might let them slip but faces are easily engraved into his memory.
So he was confident he didn't know her.
"Thanks! You're a really nice guy!"
To be quite honest he really didn't offer his umbrella to her...
Or say a word.
"My name is..."
Her voice drifted out of his mind. He really didn't care. James was more preoccupied with his day's agenda. He had tryouts to attend and then try to find a job somewhere to make ends meet and keep a roof over his head.
Though deep in his heart he knew he will be a professional athlete living off his million dollar contract complete with the guaranteed signing bonus someday.
But that day is not today.
Everyone started somewhere in their career and he would have to get a temporary job.
"So, you are...?"
Shit.
He completely forgot about her.
"Err, James."
"Just James?" She egged on with a crafty smile.
"James Potter."
"What are you up to James? You want to go grab some coffee or something?"
Wow. This woman didn't waste any time at all...
Her aggressive style threw him off balance. He always admired forward thinking, direct-to-the-point women, but something about her didn't merit his admiration.
It turned him off to be quite frank.
"Actually, I have to go to work-" James lied, being unemployed as he presently is.
"Oh yeah. Sure. Me too. Well, see you around then James."
They had reached the long crossing and she broke off from him and disappeared into the crowd leaving James contemplating why she asked if she had to go to work as well.
In reality, she scared the shit out of him. She could pass off as a rapist or serial killer. Pretty young, nice woman but demanding and heavily upfront.
Strange woman...
~~~------
Back when James was reading his play formations and notes under the rain, a woman was lost in her own work studies as well.
Lily Evans was standing, like James, under her umbrella with a book in her hands.
She read her foreign book with deep interest. Lily had moved here recently as well and found work as a translator for a book publishing company. Using her masterful understanding of multiple languages, she basically rewrote popular foreign books into other languages to share great literature and make it available to everyone.
But she didn't want to do this forever. It was just a stepping stone until she could write her own novels...
For now, admiring the work of others was merely a step in the right direction.
For both Lily and James, their greatest fear in life was being a "nobody" working a dead-end job. Call it ambition. Call it obsessive insanity, but whatever you name it, they were poised to go beyond that.
Many people in the world are not satisfied with their mundane lives as they pulled 9 to 5s...
Why fit in?
Lily took a moment from reading and looked around her.
Everyone had that gloomy, lost expression. Machines and slaves to their 9 to 5s. People in suits, with bored looks on their face and a suitcase in one hand and an umbrella in the other.
Mundane.
Simple.
Just plain boring...
Another day. Another dollar.
She wasn't an elitist jerk but above average wouldn't be too awful.
Lily put her book back into her bag as she stepped in the big office building.
Her workplace. The book publishing company she is working for is housed here on the 37th floor.
Stepping into the elevator, she whipped out her translated writings she spent endless nights doing.
It was finally done and she felt a sense of accomplishment. Her first major work assignment completed.
It was a translation manuscript of a popular German horror novel. The company had finally acquired the intellectual property and rights to republish it in translated English. It was so popular that sequels and prequels and even spinoffs were derived from the original-
...Original?
Oh fuck...
Fuck. Oh shit. No way. No no no! It can't be.
She couldn't have!
Did her boss want her to translate the original version? Or was it the second volume!? The sequel perhaps!?
Oh no...
This is all bad!
Nah. Maybe he was doing volume 2 and Lily the original? Maybe her conscience was just toying with her worries.
Then why didn't she feel so comfortable...
~~~------
"Who is number 12 up there? Not too shabby."
"That would be Potter. Hmm. James Potter."
Two men were below conversing with each other at the team tryouts and one of them was going through a clipboard that held all the participants information.
"Graduated from Hogwarts, blah blah. Let's see. Captain of his house. Won the school championship twice. Played seeker and chaser. Coach says he was a terrible beater and below average goalie though. Captain for two years. Still not bad."
"Sign him on for the practice squad. We'll see him next week for practice. Make sure it's not just a lucky day for him. Let's see how consistent he is."
~~~
With practice wrapped up. James changed in the locker room and took a quick shower.
He couldn't help but take in the scenery.
His locker was a temporary one. He wasn't even guaranteed it. His locker could be stripped away from him any day should he do horrible at a team session. All the way on the other side. Segregated from the lockers on the other end. Those lockers belonged to the veterans. The people that have already earned a spot on the prestigious national team.
Names were engraved into them. Brady. Marshall. Moss. Holmes. Bailey. Lewis.
All stars and considered by the country as living treasures.
Would James make it so that he would have a locker on "that" side of the room? All the practices and drills were taking a toll on him mentally. It was draining his will.
Or is this all a stupid dream?
A silly, impossible dream he was chasing!? When he should be out in a decent university working on a degree and major, preparing for life ahead by picking up valuable skills and a degree in...
Something?
A lot of kids growing up want to play Quidditch professionally.
What the fuck made him so different than the rest?
Is he the 0.01% of the demographic that actually would make it?
It took James one look at his own locker than back before he shook off his own doubts. The weight of his insecurities was lifted off his shoulders immediately.
How?
It was simple. It was because he knew he was better than all those guys over there. Not to be cocky or arrogant but he just knew. All he needed was an opportunity to showcase it...
He held his chin up high and glanced at the clock.
8:21 p.m.
He was hungry and sure there was nothing in the fridge back home.
Not really feeling the usual late night fast food or quick junk food of a meal, he decided he'd make a stop at the local grocery store before they closed.
But before he left the team's locker room, a big sign just above the doorway caught his eye.
A logo. The team's motto was emblazoned in bold, extremely visible dark green and black team colors just above the doorway. Designed to make sure those that entered and left would read it every time.
Leaving a lasting impression.
'No excuses. Leave nothing.'
Four simple words with a simple connotation. To do better, to be the best.
He slung his bag over his shoulder. Took in the motto one last time before leaving and calling it a day.
~~~------
"Your dog ate it?"
Lily shook her head.
"Left it on the subway?"
Lily shook her head.
"Forgot it on a taxi?"
Lily shook her head.
"Then what?"
Mustering up the courage, she spoke.
"Did you translate volume 1? Or 2?"
"Which one did YOU do!?" Lily's boss said with heavy frustration.
He didn't seem 'that' mad, just somewhat...disappointed?
"Did you do 1 or 2?" Lily reversed the question onto her superior.
"I did 1, did you do the second volume!?"
"First or second?" Lily kept saying dully.
"Goddamnit. I told you I was going to do the original volume and that you would do the sequel! Or did you want to compare our translation!? Is yours better than mine!? Do we need two of them!?"
Sighing, her boss sat back down and dialed on his phone a few numbers before finally pushing a bright red button for the speaker function.
"Susan. When's the deadline on the German horror series sequels?" He said calmly.
"2 weeks." She said dully.
"We still have some time. Take this back and do the correct version this time, Rose."
"Lily." She corrected. She always had the feeling he never caught her name.
At least he got somewhat close.
Flower names...
"Whatever." He said still looking at the translations as he waved her off on her way.
"I can't." She whispered pleadingly. "Last time I read it, I was scared so bad I couldn't sleep for days!"
"Then I hope you are ready to go look for another job." He grumbled without looking up at her.
Lily returned to her lonely cubicle...
Fuck her life...
~~~------
James wandered out into the main lobby of the huge training facility that was magically enchanted to be hidden away from Muggles, yet still under their nose. He dug his hands into his pockets and left. Passing the various trophies and commendations. The one that caught his eye the most was the world championships. Huge silver cups that were situated in the middle of the lobby.
It had been almost 20 some odd years since they last won a world championship.
This year would end the drought, if James gets on the team...
He was sure of it.
He pushed the door open and walked onto the main street. Back into the crowded, muggle world.
Back on the crowded streets where bumping into others was common. Noise, a given. Solitude, rare.
And pickpockets, everywhere...
"Hey. Just got off?"
James spun around and almost knocked her down with his elbow.
Her again?
"Err- yeah." James squeaked meekly.
"Going home?"
"Yeah." James said even more terrified.
James remembered how most females in his life were nice and made him feel comfortable...
But not this Medusa...
Who is this woman!? It was like she was stalking him all day!
"Can I give you a ride home?"
"Err-"
Usually he just walked the 20 or so blocks back to his apartment over the act of just simply apparating. With no car and unknowledgeable in the city's bus and subway routes, the one hour walk should acquaint him quickly.
Besides, the cardio workout was a plus.
"You don't even know where I live." James laughed.
James Potter always preferred the long way home.
"Oh comm'on! It's on the way!"
"What?" He said in disbelief.
London is a big city...
Feeling lazy and sore from the day's work, he generously accepted albeit wearingly.
~~~-----
The sky seemed to darken but stopped raining. Yet the chilling cold was still there. The hungering cold was biting into his skin. The convertible's fog lights pierced the dense fog like sword to flesh. The high beams of passing cars left his retina begging for them to dim their lights down. The high beams lit up the forward path while cars ahead of them guided their approach like an airport runway.
"So where is it?" She said through gritted teeth that held a cigarette.
She quickly lit it and puffed out a waft of smoke. James noticed the professionalism in how fast she lit it and inhaled. It wasn't her first rodeo.
James turned to look at the cause of his coughing...
"You shouldn't smoke. It's bad for you. There's nothing good in it. Bad breath, respiratory problems and-"
"-Aren't you a good guy. Must have been a boy scout." She said, completely throwing his caution astray and cutting him off in the midst of his medical advice.
"...Cancer sticks." James mumbled.
"Is this Greenhaven drive?" She said, completely oblivious to what he just uttered.
"Damn. I don't know. I just moved here a week ago. Everything looks so unfamiliar."
"It's all right." Her voice was in a soothing tone, yet he was still paranoid.
She placed a stray hand onto his thigh but continued driving as if nothing happened.
James panicked.
He clutched his gym bag closer to his chest in fear.
"Here I am! Right here! Stop!" He lied. He didn't know where the hell he was. But it was a good answer for the moment.
She symbolized everything he hated in the females of his generation. Promiscuous, wild and with no self dignity. The ones who tried too hard to look attractive. The useless eye makeup that only made them look worse. Club-hopping on weekdays and binge drinking every day. The ones who pulled off the innocent look to get what they wanted. Predators disguised as housewives.
James couldn't believe he would have to pick a wife out of this bunch...
She pulled over to the curb.
"Thanks for the lift." James said, still clutching his training bag closely to his chest.
"Which one is it? I'll walk you up."
She squeezed his thigh tightly.
That was the last straw.
He never had been molested like this before...
James saw her lick her lips and wink flirtatiously before bailing for it. He opened the door and fled.
With his large gym bag held to his chest, his athletic legs propelled him down the street. The loud convertible's exhaust was clearly audible as it revved up.
He knew she was driving down the block chasing him.
James lost track of where he was.
But at his current speed, he was sure he could outrun her with his feet versus her 4 wheels.
As soon as he rounded the corner on the block, he spun on the spot and apparated to the roof of the building overlooking below.
Panting heavily, he summed up the courage and looked down at the red convertible she drove. The one he was just in only a few short minutes ago.
She stopped after rounding the corner and got out of the car. She looked shocked. He just barely disappeared around the corner and she was on his tail seconds after. Yet he was gone down the empty dark street.
Mysterious...
"Where'd he go?" He could hear her say to herself.
Still frightened, he caught his breath before turning around and teleporting back home. It was better than trying to find his way back in the unfamiliar darkness especially with that wild woman chasing him around.
How was he going to sleep tonight?
"The plague crept up on unsuspecting victims without mercy. From every hole and crack. The faucet sink, cracks underneath the doors, even the toilet was an entrance for his undead minions. The undead disease crippled it's victims immediately as their free will was abolished into ravaging zombie-like abominations..."
Lily came to a slow halt in her reading.
It was just a book. Just a simple, fake, fictional story written to entertain others.
Yet, she stood up from her comfortable armchair and placed a blanket underneath the door, plugging it up.
A maniac, crackling laugh echoed from the walls.
She had to calm down. It was all fake. She was sure there was no post apocalyptic disaster going down outside her windows. People weren't turning into brainless zombies from some floating germs...
Or isn't that what they would want her to think...!!?
Panicking wildly, she was slowly losing it. Before she knew it, she was plugging up the faucet with paper rolls. Shutting the toilet seat and putting weight on top of it to prevent the ghosts from opening it.
Yet the noise was still flooding into her room.
A sick laugh only the insane could muster up.
She dove under her sheets and wrapped it around her.
What she didn't know was that James was in the other room adjacent to her's watching a horror film.
Only a thin wall separated them...
Two lovers destined to never meet. Yet always so close, yet so far.
~~~-------
James had the day off and decided to do what he didn't have the chance to do the other night.
He went grocery shopping.
He didn't use a shopping cart or even a hand basket. He wasn't planning on buying much. Then again, he didn't even have much money to spend.
James had finally found a job. He found work at a construction area where muggles were working on constructing some sort of large shopping mall or something. It was going to be tough manual labor but he didn't mind, it was basically just a gym workout every day at work. It would help his Quidditch training. There wasn't even much of an interview. James simply showed up to inquire about openings and the foreman saw a young, well-built strong guy and signed him on.
At least it wasn't a desk job. He loathed one; being stuck in a cubicle all day would drive him nuts from boredom.
There would also be a massive, lucrative bonus from the agency if the project was finished ahead of schedule.
James would just pull off some magic here and there to get things done...
All in all, he was somewhat celebrating his new job.
Indulging himself, he made sure to stop at the liquor aisle. His favorite aisle, in all honesty...
The large supermarket was crowded yet he was alone in that long aisle.
He didn't know what he wanted. But there wasn't anything else to do for the rest of the day so he made sure to make a good choice.
A brand caught his eye. It was an infusion of multiple flavors. Vodka and vanilla? There were other flavors from the same brand with other stuff such as grape or pomegranate mixed into it.
"That stuff is nasty." A kind, feminine voice advised.
James had his hands on a bottle of rum that was premixed with raspberry. He never considered buying it. But James only picked it up off the shelf out of sheer curiosity.
"Raspberry? Really?" James argued.
He was lonely. He couldn't lie. He had no friends and hadn't had a full, civil conversation with any being in weeks since coming to this new town.
So he played devil's advocate...
She had medium length dark red hair that touched her shoulders. She was pretty, well-dressed and young. Like him, she was alone but probably not lonely and of a loser as he was at the moment. She dressed casually like James as if off work as well. Though she was more attuned to the weather than James.
He only wore some old, faded baggy jeans a size or two too big for him around his beltless waist that contrasted his rather tight white v-neck shirt that hinted at his athletic physique underneath it all. A necklace was very visible around his neck due to his low cut collar.
Where as she actually wore a thin sweater. It was the kind of long sleeve where it reached down to her hand and covered half of her palm.
James always found that it was cute when girls gripped onto them out of nervousness.
James had the weirdest fetishes...
"It tastes like cough medicine actually."
"Hmm, I could see that."
"You should try this."
She stood next to him and reached up to the top shelf and tried to grab a bottle which held bluish contents with a sapphire color.
"Shit." She mumbled.
Although she was a little taller than the average woman, she wasn't tall as James or the top shelf and accidently knocked a few bottles down.
With reflexes as fast as lightning, he somehow managed to snatch the three bottles out of midair with 1 in his left hand and the other against his chest with his right. Luckily, the third one just seemingly fell into his arms.
"Wow. Nice reflexes."
To be honest, he was more shocked at her swearing then the falling liquor bottles overhead.
She gave off that impression of a nice, wholesome, respectable woman yet had a bit of a wild side that kept him beside her.
Who wanted to meet a perfect person anyway?
Perfection is boring.
Flaws kept things real. Showed that they were still human and made things that much more appealing and exciting.
He placed the bottles back up in their appropriate spots.
"Well. That was the highlight of my day." James said jokingly.
"Oops. Well, yeah. You want the blue one."
He had the feeling she was embarrassed and was trying to flee the scene.
"Okay. I'll try it tonight. Thanks for the tip."
"No problem."
And just like that. She was gone.
Wow. It must be his lucky day. It's not every day an attractive woman rolls up next to him to start a conversation.
James couldn't help but steal a glance at her as she had her back turned and he kept staring until she rounded the corner to the next aisle before looking back up at the blue bottle of booze.
Beautiful women were never wrong.
Or at least that's what his dad always preached.
James Potter took it and turned the opposite way and continued browsing.
He didn't know it but after she disappeared and he looked away, she returned and was eyeing him from down the aisle.
It was weird. Scary as those novels even...
Lily held back a smile but grinned foolishly to herself as she watched him take heed of her advice and pick the one she recommended.
He was captivating...
They clicked. That was why she backpedaled to sneak one last glance back at him. She was half hoping he would look back but he had his back turned and was walking in the opposite direction.
If he looked back...
...that mean he is interested...
...Right?
Two lonely young people in a new city...
She had been isolated from people for a while now. She found the people at work to be dull bookworms. No friends or family at this city and not really wanting to go to a bar or a club to socialize all by her lonesome self.
Perhaps that was why they clicked so well together.
It was strange how a store for groceries and other bare daily necessities could be better for meeting new people than bars and clubs.
Perhaps due to it not being full of alcoholics and whores...
She mindlessly wandered over to the frozen ice cream. She was craving these cold goodies.
So many flavors...
Ranging from the ever plain yet delicious strawberry, vanilla and chocolate to the medium flair of rocky road or mint chocolate chip and cookie dough to the just plain bizarre combinations of candy bars thrown into a mix along with various nuts.
As she contemplated her sweet tasting future, a voice knocked her out off her stupor.
"You don't want those." He said.
Him again...
"Whaa-?"
"Nooo! Think of the calories!" He almost yelled in dramatic horror.
Lily hoped that this guy wasn't an actor by profession.
His shitty acting wouldn't win him an award in anything...
She only chuckled at his remark.
"So you're calling me fat?" Lily said sarcastically.
"Nah. I wasn't implying that. You look fine. You could afford the calories."
She didn't know why, but she was blushing at his compliment.
She could say the same about him...
"You too."
His toned physique was masked behind his thin shirt.
She was flirting back! What was wrong with her!? Oh well. It was harmless with this stranger.
He is cute...
"So what's good?" James mentioned.
"I don't know."
"So you only give advice on booze? You are such a raging alcoholic." He remarked.
Lily laughed genuinely.
It had also been a while since someone made her laugh.
This guy was different. He was funny and always had something interesting to say.
There was a wild, fun-loving attitude to him. He could probably call her a slut to her face and she'd just laugh it off as a joke.
"You can never go wrong with chocolate." James declared as he opened it up and grabbed a quart of plain chocolate.
"Hey! That was the last one."
"You snooze, you lose. Sometimes in life you don't get what you want."
Lily laughed again. There he goes again...
He was just throwing out random proverbs into the air.
"What kind of frozen dinners do they got?" James said as he moved down the aisle.
She didn't know why but she followed him to take a look. She didn't know this guy but he seemed like a decent person.
His humor and unique personality drew her close.
She looked up at him.
His face was scrunched up in concentration at the meals.
He looked like a fun guy to just hang out with.
His messy, soft black hair was untamed and she wanted to just touch it, maybe even run a hand through it. His eyes lit up when he laughed. His laugh, infectious. His chuckle was like a short cough. His frame, well built. Even his fashion sense was attractive. It was nice to see a guy not really care how he looks yet still manage to look handsome.
She only just met this guy less than 10 minutes ago but she felt herself turning red at the look he gave her when a smile would slowly creep up on his face as he looked at her as she droned on with her speech.
He gave her a look as if truly fascinated and interested by everything she had to say. She knew he took in every word. He wasn't like most people who do not listen but merely waited for their turn to speak.
He was hanging on her every word.
Not many people would give her that much attention.
Sometimes the look would make her shy and she'd glance down and around but only felt his gaze penetrate deeper into her.
It sure was strange how a stranger gave her more attention than anyone else in her life.
It wasn't right.
But it was okay.
Should be awkward for an unknown guy to be able to captivate her so quickly...
She doesn't even know his name...
Nor did he know hers.
"Do I want one cheese? Or two?" James said gazing at the microwaveable pizzas.
He lifted both hands and as if weighing his many options, tilted them up and down like a scale.
"Maybe even 6 cheeses?"
Lily doubted they put that many cheeses into a single pizza.
After a few more exchange of comments, Lily broke off from him and went to the check stands to pay while he said he was still shopping.
The line was long. It was rush hour. Everybody was off work and Lily was at the end of the line that was 7 deep with a lady at the counter who was digging through her purse for her money while simultaneously handling her two small children.
Lily didn't mind the wait; she would simply go home and have nothing to do anyway. Life was uneventful and lame.
Work. Sleep. Eat. Write. Work.
Dull and mundane.
Like everyone else in a line at the grocery store, the tabloids and celebrity magazines caught her eye. Some always had titles and captions that were just hilarious to her.
That was how they sold them...
"'100 ways to please your man.' What the-" A man said in awe without finishing his line.
Oh god...
It was him again.
He read the title of a women's magazine from behind her. Apparently, he found them hilarious as well.
"There are not 100 ways. That list is 3 things long."
"And that would be...?" Lily questioned him. He always had witty things to say.
"Get him a beer. Make him a sandwich ....and don't talk so much."
This guy was too much. He was like a comedian. What an interesting guy to be around...
Lily placed her items down as the cashier rang them up and James had struck up a conversation with the cashier while Lily waited.
"How's it going, big guy?" James said.
"It's 'going' all right..." The young cashier said with laced emphasis.
He was a young guy. Probably going to school as he worked here to pay for his education.
"I feel ya'." James agreed.
The cashier looked tired from the days' work. Mindless work over ceaseless hours.
"How are the customers treating you? Hope they aren't being jerks."
This guy kept amazing Lily.
He actually cared about the poor cashier. The one most people didn't talk to. But he knew they were humans also.
A nice guy with a good heart and a sense of humor.
"Another day, another dollar. How about you, man? What's going on?" The cashier replied back, now more warmly after seeing someone actually cared to genuinely ask about how he was doing.
"It's all right. Working too hard for too little.". James answered back.
"You too, huh?"
James merely laughed along with the teen.
"That will be $26.21 for you, ma'am."
"Here, ring these up too for me, man."
"Sure."
James laid down his few items. Ice cream. Vodka. A loaf of bread with some peanut butter and a frozen pizza.
As the cashier rung it up, Lily didn't know what was going on but before she knew it, this mysterious yet handsome stranger was paying for her groceries along with his own.
"Look at all this junk dude. I got like all hangover food." James joked. "I really don't need all crap."
The cashier laughed it up again.
Lily could see that this guy had made his shift a little more easier. She grabbed her bags and as she watched the cashier take the next customers orders, he was more radiant and happy...
"Hey, thanks for that. You really didn't have to-" Lily said.
"No problem, I didn't want to hold back his line any farther with another order."
"Oh." She didn't really buy it...
"Well, see you around."
And with that. He was gone. This time she wouldn't see him again inside the store.
Lily looked into her bag and found the bottle of vodka.
His vodka.
It must have been replaced and not kept separate from their different orders.
Or perhaps in a rush, the cashier assumed they were together and just piled them together in the bag.
He must of had a somewhat crappy workday from his conversation and he wouldn't even have this bottle of liquid relaxation to ease the night...
~~~------
Lily was in the shower half an hour later.
Still thinking about that guy.
She didn't even catch his name.
Then again, he didn't get hers.
Most men would pay for another woman's groceries as a way to strike up a conversation and get her phone number.
He didn't get either.
What a generous guy...
...Or downright fool...
...maybe even socially inept?
She massaged the shampoo harder into her hair, as if trying to stimulate her mind into thinking harder.
He was unpredictable. Why would someone do that? Didn't get a name or any way to contact her.
He sure was cute. If he did for some reason ask for her number, Lily would have given it. It would be fun to hang out with him again.
Mostly due to the fact she had no friends in this town of course!
Not because she found him compelling.
Or that he was hot.
Nor the fact he was her type.
Not at all!
And definitely not because she was lonely.
Then why did she go to bed still thinking of him?
~~~------
Both of them wanted desperately to run into each other again.
James realized the next morning how foolish he was for not asking for her number.
Or at least get her fucking name!
Wow, he was such a loser...
Fuck. My. Life...
They both spent the next two weeks trying to find each other.
But fate was playing games with them.
A perfect couple, star-crossed lovers fated to not meet up again.
They both knew it was silly. But in those lost days, they kept an eye out for each other.
Yet, fate intervened.
When one of them walked into that same grocery store in hopes of running into each other, the other would be in the checkout lane about to leave.
One would be preparing to board the downtown subway train to work, and the other would just get off. James would visit the mall on the weekends, Lily was on the escalator just next to him going up as he went down to the next floor. On the bus? James would be in the front reading his architectural plans while Lily would be too busy working on her translations. At work, they both unknowingly had their companies and businesses in the same building as James visited the architectural office while Lily translated novels.
Both were unaware at how close they always were. Grazing each other but never touching. Always passing each other in the world yet never given the chance to meet.
When one turned left, the other would turn right...
Every night when they slept, that same, thin wall divided them like a bridge. Their beds just a few feet away yet seemingly worlds apart to them.
There were 'only' a couple odd million people in this metropolis. It wouldn't be that hard, right?
Fat chance...
For a short while they were together and nothing was wrong.
Now they were each sold separately.
~~~-----
Another day, another dollar.
James was taking the tram again instead of magically aparating since he needed to learn the whereabouts of the city. In case that creepy rapist of a woman just randomly rolled up on him again.
This was his stop.
There was a billboard in front of him. He read it every time he came here. He couldn't help it, it was just there for the whole world to see.
It wasn't an advertisement nor a public service announcement urging you to go out to vote or anything like that.
Not even an ad purposely convincing you to try a new product.
It was just a proverb. A sentence of wisdom passed along from generations to generations.
He read it again, but this time. On this very day, he finally understood what it meant.
"Life is full of coincidences. Even parallel lines may one day cross."
~Anonymous
Before this day, he thought it just meant that crazy shit happened.
That was it.
Weird shit happens, so what? What else is new?
Other times he didn't get it. If parallel lines cross over, then it was a perpendicular line!
But no, it meant something else.
...Things that were destined to stay apart may someday cross paths.
Fate intertwined?
If only that pretty redhead from the grocery store would just wander back into his parallel line then...
It was like he and her were the parallel lines that were always apart.
~~~~~-----
Upon reaching the 4th floor of his apartment building, James stopped at the stairs.
Somebody was banging on a door.
He already knew who it was...
"RENT WAS DUE LAST WEEK!" His landlord said as the man continued banging on his door.
James' wouldn't get paid till tomorrow so he tried his best to avoid his landlord for a week.
He had to stall for time.
The landlord must have given up because footsteps were coming away and the man was cussing.
"Fucking kids nowadays. I'll never rent out to these punks again."
He didn't know it but Lily was in the same predicament as her vicious lady of a landlord pounded her door in and swearing madly.
~~~---//-
James stopped at his local and now favorite bakery and coffee shop.
He hated coffee, it was bitter and just plain disgusting. Unless you diluted it with milk and sugar. Then it sort of tasted like a bitter mutation of hot chocolate.
Which was what he did on the rare occasions he felt compelled to get a coffee.
Coffee was like gasoline to him. In an unfueling way.
Both smell good, yet not desirable when drunk.
But he only went there every day for their croissants which had to be the best in town. He would usually get them in the morning to start off his day. To him, it was like how coffee is to others. The unincluded caffeine that drove him through the day.
Yes, he was hopelessly addicted to it.
The owner was an older, matronly woman who often fed her customers free bread and coffee out of sheer care and generosity. Not to give them free samples, but just being nice.
Something only a mother could do.
Like when he played with his friends during his childhood and his friend's mothers would bring you into the house and sit you down and 'want' to feed you.
'Now you sit down and grab something to eat.' They would say...
It was a motherly thing.
Moms had it embedded in their DNA. It was in their loving nature.
Perhaps that was why business was always so good there.
After the owner had hooked him on the bread, he always insisted on paying.
James sat in his usual, lonely spot by the front door window looking at the people who crossed his path.
The people to his right were ridiculously loud.
Then again...
The guy next to him had a girl in his arms.
It seemed some guys had all the luck. James was alone after work and only had dreams and imagination to accompany him. Alone in the crowd again.
He could see their reflection in the mirror. They were having a fabulous time enjoying each other's company. James was disgusted after a moment. More with himself but placed the blame on them.
Their excitement and mood only pissed him off.
Depression. Loneliness. And frustrated anger enraged him.
He had taken out his papers and planned on looking them over but instead packed up immediately and hustled out.
Leaving with his daily piece, he took his architectural plans and went to the park just a few blocks from his apartment.
He tried to find somewhere to sit but the park was loud. It was Friday and everyone spent the after-work and school hours here relaxing. He strode over to a part of the park that was abandoned. It was no longer cared for.
There was a large fountain that no longer had water coming out and lay only half dry with a few feet of water left. Benches that were in utter disarray that you could no longer sit on them. Weeds and grass had grown wildly, as if a jungle that required a machete to navigate. This section was designated to be removed and overhauled for something else. There were construction signs around the area.
It was the perfect place. Nice and quiet.
In a strange way, it captured all of his feelings as he wandered around the circular fountain in a large circle on its edges.
He felt lonely, depressed, alone and bored yet it held silence, hope, happiness, laughter from the children nearby and reminiscent memories.
Like a mixture of good and bad, a bittersweet aura lingered in this heavily forsaken place.
He read over his notes and studied them. Wow, these deadlines were ridiculous. No wonder they would get incentives if it was completed on time. No muggles would ever be able to achieve this timeline.
It was as if the agency inserted those incentives to get the employees to bust their ass all in the hopes of reaching it. Corporate only expected it's workers to finish it slightly earlier but never to exceed the date that was designated.
But James needed the bonus. He wasn't sure how long this job would last. The bonus should last him until this year's training camps for Quidditch.
That's all he needed.
He would just need to spend more time- No. 'Magic' was what he needed. It has been so hard lately to sneak out his wand to magically put together parts of the project. So many workers.
...Not if he came in early...
That gave him an idea.
He could show up early to work and start early. Getting more done with his wand in an a few minutes then in a week's work.
Some of his co-workers had families to feed and support. Children to send to good yet expensive universities.
Why not help them out a little with the bonus money?
It was a win-win situation as far as he was concerned...
Looking away from his notes, he glanced up automatically.
His sixth sense made him turn to the direction. He felt someone watching him. Like when he knew the driver in the car next him was ogling at his way.
A redhead was walking the circular path he was.
Watching him.
She was pretty...
By his male-derived calculations, she spent way too much time focused on him.
Attractive. He didn't see her face but knew from her frame and dress code that she'd be a nice looking girl. It must be his lucky day for a young woman of that caliber to be checking him out.
She was no longer looking at him but was now dreamily looking at her footsteps. But he was confident that she had eyes for him moments ago.
With a scarf wrapped around her neck and flowing dark red...
Wait a min-
THAT WAS HER!
It had been a while since he last seen her yet he remembered her perfectly.
She felt him watching her and looked up from staring at her shoes and gave him a quick shy smile before looking back down.
Feeling awkward, he looked back down as well, minding his own business.
He sat down on the edge of the now defunct fountain's rim and took out his notes.
He looked back behind him over his shoulder and saw that she had sat directly across from him with her back turned.
It was awkward. He wanted for so many sleepless nights to meet her again. Yet now, given a chance by fate, he didn't know what to do.
Opportunity wasn't just knocking.
It was trying to bulldoze his door in.
He was too preoccupied with trying to find her that he never gave a thought at how best to approach her again.
'Oh hi, I'm that guy from the grocery store. So how are you?'
Lame.
'Remember me from the-'
Ehh, stupid.
The situation was uncomfortable. He didn't even know her name.
What if she didn't feel the same way? Maybe she didn't want to talk to him again and that's why she chose to sit so far away.
Perhaps she would remember him as that annoying, condescending asshole from the store.
Oh wow, he really was such a loser.
Scaring off people he didn't even know.
Or did she feel the same as him and found it unsettling too?
They just shared a few moments and conversations, a lot of people do that. James had spoken to many strangers before and never seen them since.
What was so different about this one?
Fuck life...
Things were so confusing. Movies made things look so easy. A movie character would have just mobbed his way to her and automatically incited a conversation.
Reality is such a bitch.
James took a bite out of his croissant and returned to his blueprints.
He turned around once more.
Just one last glance...
She was eating an apple. Reading some book with a stack of papers next to her. The wind was growing. Without warning, the breeze swept up her papers and tossed them into the half filled fountain.
Why didn't she put some paper weight on them?
"Miss." He said in his normal tone.
She didn't hear him.
"Excuse me! Ma'am! HEY!" He yelled.
She looked back blankly. As if wondering what he could possibly want.
James pointed a finger down at the water.
Her papers were floating all over the fountain.
She jumped instantly like finished bread in a toaster.
"Oh no. No. These are due tomorrow. Shit!"
She leaned over on her knees and reached over into the water to grab those closest.
Half of her cherished literary work was floating out of reach. They hovered on top of the water but in the middle of the fountain out of grasp.
Someone would have to brave the murky waters and step into the very center core to reach them.
James thought he might as well be a gentleman and help out.
Time to man up...
He took off his shoes, socks and rolled up his pants to his knees before stepping into the mossy, unclean, cold water. He began scooping up her papers that seemed very important to her.
"Here." James said, offering her a substantial amount of the drenched paperwork, though some still remained submerged.
"Oh thank you, thanks. You are a lifesaver!"
She moved over to his side of the fountain where his blueprints and clothing lay on the edge. Dangerously...
She leaned over the barrier divide to accept her papers from him but clumsily kicked over his own work into the water...
"Sorry! Sorry! Let me get them! I'll get them. It's my fault!
Fuck.
Unlike her, he noticed the mistake and placed his apartment keys as paper weight on top of his papers.
Maybe he should have placed them on the ground, he never accounted on her knocking them into the fray.
Everything was so awkward.
Nothing was working out.
It was like a bad Disney movie. A romantic story with massive potential gone bad.
A nightmarish scenario. Because the only thing that makes nightmares so bad is that every decision you make just happens to be the wrong one.
Case in point here...
He wanted a way to break the ice and strike up a conversation with her obviously but not at the expense of his work.
"No it's all right. I'm already wet. I'll get it."
The redhead stood timidly holding onto soaked papers as she watched him wade through the dirty, abandoned water to redeem her mistake.
"Sorry." She said in a low enough tone that he didn't even catch it.
It wasn't that she didn't want to help, because she did but she instead chose to watch his reaction, judging if he was angry or not.
Perhaps that was what shocked her. He was expressionless. His poker face unfaltering. He could have made a raise bet for all his chips to put himself all in on a stone cold bluff knowing he was drawing dead without any emotion.
No remorse or flinch in his every move.
"I'll lay them over here so they dry." Lily said after he finished clearing out the pond of paper.
"All right, I'll be right back."
She watched him walk away and wondered curiously.
Where was he going?
He couldn't possibly be leaving his papers here with her?
Not that she cared or anything for a stranger but a word with him would be nice.
She took a seat on the grass. She had laid out the wet papers in a large circular patch under the sun to let it dry and took a seat in the middle of the circle.
This could actually work then.
At first it seemed embarrassing. With her clumsy self and all...
But it would probably work out in some mysterious way.
Things have a way of playing itself out in the end. Like puzzles magically falling together.
"You can read these?"
He came back.
From behind her, sleeves rolled back and taking a knee to peek over at her papers.
"Mein brenn, wherst. What is this-?"
"It's a poem. In German."
The handsome stranger kept looking at the papers as if he stared enough, he would be able to somehow translate the foreign tongue.
"Here, I'll read some of it for you." Lily said.
They still weren't sure how they were able to break the ice, but in the future, the past always seems irrelevant.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
Any stranger walking by would automatically assume they were just another loving, young couple spending time at the park. Sitting close, he was in awe at her poetry of rhythmic words as he read some of the works he was literate at.
"You must be a really good poet to write up something like this." He clapped in lone applause with false bravado after her demonstration.
"If only I did. It's actually written by someone else, a very famous poet. I just happened to translate it at work." Lily said semi-dully.
"Well. Then you are a pretty good translator then." He joked.
Lily laughed all the same. He hadn't lost his boyish humor or charm since they last met.
"Why thank you." She accepted with glee.
"We got off on the wrong start didn't we?"
She knew exactly what he meant.
When she remained silent but with an understanding look, he leapt up from the bench and extended a hand in introduction.
"James Potter, my hobbies are going to the park and diving into fountains to scoop up poetry for women." He said, inciting an embarrassed laugh from her.
He was such a goofball...
"Lily Evans..."
She didn't know what else to say. She had no witty intro.
Lily wanted to be interesting for him. Not to be another boring girl with a pretty face that had nothing to contribute to the conversation.
"Lily, you say? Why, that is a lovely name." He said semi-sarcastically.
~~~~~~~~-------
The day couldn't be possibly more perfect.
He found a nice, yet independent young woman to share the day with.
The type of girl you could bring home to introduce to your parents.
Even his crazy mother would approve...
"Its fine, forget it." James said with a faulting laugh.
She was still apologizing for knocking his papers into the fountain.
"I'm just so clumsy and sometimes forget what I'm doing. My mom used to tell me that I would forget my head if it wasn't screwed on."
James gave off another laugh of a cough as he choked on his coffee.
"No, I'm serious. That's what she told me."
She placed her hand over his to steady him. To back her point. To reinforce her story.
To touch him.
James automatically noted how she was as warm as the coffee he held in his other hand...
James used to think girls like her were extinct.
His generation was full of promiscuity and idiots.
Yet, here he was spending a nice, peaceful, blissful afternoon at the coffee shop with the perfect woman.
Lily Evans IS the kind of girl he could take home to meet his parents.
If only he could say the same about most of the chicks his friends somehow hooked up with.
"So, what are you up to later?" Lily asked.
She leaned over the table stared into his eyes with peaked interest.
"Nothing." He said nonchalantly.
"You want to go for a tour around town."
"Sure. It'd be nice to see the sights. Been too busy with work anyway. I just moved out here not even a week ago."
"You're kidding!" Lily exclaimed.
"Nope. Still haven't settled into my apartment yet. I mean, this is how I live right now. Mattress, empty refrigerator and a television."
What were the chances?
He was practically describing her life as well.
Then again, he did give off the impression of a lost, stray dog just wandering around.
Could he be just as lonely as her?
A thunderclap reverberated through the sky.
The heavens had melted and unloaded the liquid material onto those less fortunate.
Lily and James both sat outside enjoying the once perfectly clear weather but mainly due to no vacant seats inside.
They both couldn't believe it as they stared at the sky with disapproving and unbelieving eyes.
Why now?
Fate was so cruel.
The people around them in the other chairs and tables immediately jumped up and ran under roofs and ceilings.
Lily and James remained seated and unshaped by mother nature while others ran as if from a raging bull.
James' eyes fluttered shut as he still looked upwards. He didn't mind the rain. It was a pleasant surprise.
"Hey." She breathed as she watched him with utmost interest and fascination.
The water rolled from his hairline down to his strong neck. It trickled onto his cute nose and his hair was now somewhat more calmer and respectable looking as it was now matted to his head. Strands were literally glued down to his forehead while odd ends remained to defy gravity.
But she still preferred the wilder, untamed look.
James opened his eyes but lost them to her as he caught her inquiring gaze.
"What?" He breathed back in a whisper.
"Let's go."
She wore a mischievous smile that radiated like sunshine and he found himself enamored.
He stood up and took off his fleece sweatshirt and offered it to her.
She was currently underdressed for the weather. Her thin, single shirt alone would get her sick from the cold.
"Thanks." She muttered as James helped slide the sleeves for her.
What a nice guy...
Zipping it up, he added a finishing touch as he pulled the hood over her head.
She looked beautiful in anything it seemed.
Someone like her had to have a boyfriend...
They walked down to the corner intersection of the street block and awaited the traffic lights.
"Aren't you cold?" Lily pondered.
"Nah. I'm good." James said smoothly.
She felt guilty for accepting his jacket. She quickly noticed how underdressed he really was without it. He had on an even thinner white shirt that he wore assuming it wouldn't rain and the fact he didn't really bother with laundry yet. It was now so drenched she could see his muscles operate as his shirt clenched itself onto him.
She stepped closer to him and leaned into his frame. Her hand wrapped around his waist as she tried to keep him somewhat heated with her body temperature.
It was the least she could do.
Then again, a reason to get closer didn't hurt.
James looked down at her but only saw his hood that draped Lily head. How lucky was he?
His luck had changed exponentially in the past few hours.
He was one of those blokes who sat all alone at the tables eating by his lonesome as he watched other men with female companions.
Now, he had someone to commiserate with.
It was a strange sight as they both watched people scrambling around as if poison was falling down. No one had an umbrella because no one expected this weather.
Especially the ever-so-trustworthy weatherman. Who never lies...
People pulled their shirts over their heads. Briefcases and newspapers on top of their heads.
Lily and James must have been the calmest people in the town at the moment.
It was just some water after all...
Strange sight.
Massive panic over such trivial matters only caused fear in what would happen if something truly devastating actually occurred.
People were jaywalking. Doing whatever it took to go from point A to B in the fastest amount of time.
Only Lily and James stood patiently waiting for the lights.
But across the street on the other side, another couple was just as patient as them.
Fuck.
Lily and James both turned around and turned their backs to that couple across the street.
"I gotta' go! That's my landlord!" Lily said aloud.
"Mine too!" James echoed.
What were the odds that they both owed rent and their landlords happened to be...dating?
But neither Lily and James gave it too much thought.
Lily reached into her pocket and ripped a piece of paper and shoved it into James hand with a simple command.
"Give me your number."
They wrote down their phone numbers and exchanged them.
"I'll call you!" Lily shouted before taking off.
James watched her leave...
If she looks back that means she is interested...
Sure enough, he got the message as she spun around and gave him a happy and quick wave.
"POTTER! Is that you!?" His landlord roared louder than the revving car engines next to him.
Oh shit!
James took off running.
He was running faster than the rain fell. At that moment he felt he could keep this pace for another century.
The rain no longer crashed into him. Instead, he was now the one running dead on into the rain.
Life was too good right now.
~~~~
She closed her door and leaned back into it.
There would be nothing left to fate this time around. She could just call him up now. No more looking out for him.
Lily panicked for a bit as she fumbled around her various pockets.
Where was the sliver of paper that was now the most important thing in her life now!??!?
She swore she pocketed it!
Her wet fingers patted herself down in desperation.
Her fingers finally felt it and a wave of relief washed over her.
Lily pulled it out and glanced at it.
The 7 digits were smeared.
Unreadable.
Just smirched black ink that smeared everywhere.
No....
It can't be.
Fate was such an asshole...
Staring at it she wandered over to her bed and sat down, never removing her eyes from the numbers that were now more important in her life than her social security number.
Lily picked up her phone and tried to make out the numbers.
233...7...03....9? Was that it?
"Hello. Thank you for calling Gambler Anonymous where if your betting is getting out of hand-"
Lily slammed the phone back down.
Definitely not a 9 for the last number...
Maybe a 6?
"Thank you for calling the teenage suicide prevention hotline-"
Lily placed it on her desk by her phone and gave up for now. Maybe it would be easier to decipher after it dried up like a prune.
And how desperate is she for trying to call back immediately?
3 day wait rule?
Lily pulled the drenched hooded sweatshirt that belonged to James a
little tighter around her.
Common sense dictated she should remove it or she'd get sick but for some reason she figured against it.
She could practically smell his scent infused with the smell of rain.
That James Potter guy smelled fantastic.
Lily got up and undressed to go take a shower with a secure thought in that James would surely call her back soon since he probably took better care of his piece of paper than she did.
But unbeknownst to her, James couldn't decipher the numerals either.
And they never would figure out what the numbers really were.
Or the fact that they lived right next door to each other.....
Fate was too cruel.
It left her to believe that happy endings were all lies to unfinished stories.
This is almost 3 months of on and off work. The story is based on one of my favorite romantic [comedy] movie "Turn Left, Turn Right." You can watch it on youtube with english subtitles, i believe.
Hope to get back on writing Final Heaven but that may not happen until the semester ends for me in mid Dec