Hi everyone,

This idea has been kicking around in my head for a while. I'm a little nervous about posting because it's my first time trying wolfstar but hopefully I'll pick it up as I go along.

This fic will likely be 4 chapters long and will follow our 4 fav characters to California, Paris and New York, if all goes to plan. There will be a lot of character development as it moves along.

I've set the first chapter in a fictional town because I wanted to base it on a place I once lived.

Rating will likely change at some stage.

Thank you all for reading!

SP7

There were few things in Lily Evan's life that annoyed her more than her white socks. The stupid white ankle socks that she was forced to wear everyday, folded down neatly over her Mary-Jane button pumps, were itchy, blinding and worst of all, frilly.

It didn't help that they were forever paired with some monstrosity of a full circle skirt, collared blouse, cardigan and a Juliette cap, always in some hideous pastel colour like lilac or powder blue. She looked, and felt, like the powder puffs that Petunia perpetually threw against her face as though they held the secret to eternal youth.

It wasn't Lily's fault. At sixteen, her mother still picked out and bought all of her clothes. Lily had tried to change this a few months ago but made a mistake by initially suggesting a pair of trousers. After that, her mother had decided she couldn't be trusted with clothing decisions and everything returned to normal.

"Itchy socks?" Remus queried knowingly, appearing out of nowhere from behind the counter and setting down a plate of steaming food in front of Mr Brent who was four stools away from Lily.

"How did you know?" Lily returned, slamming her textbook closed as she gave up on homework for the day. She usually managed to get a lot done at the soda shop every day after school – with Remus's encouragement - but today, for some reason, she couldn't concentrate.

"Your face looks like thunder," Remus advised sagely, moving towards her slowly, "that's how Lily looks when her socks are itching."

Lily laughed lightly. Really, it wasn't so surprising that Remus knew her facial expressions so well. He was the boy next door, or rather, the boy across the road, and her closest friend for 12 years.

"As soon as I graduate, I'm burning all of these socks," Lily told him forcefully, leaning on her elbows and fully meaning every word.

"Can I be there to see your mother's face?" Remus asked wryly, starting to wipe down the counter. "Hey, at least you don't have to wear this stupid outfit," he went on when Lily's face did not improve, gesturing to his all-white outfit, replete with sparing red stripes, red bow tie and paper hat. "It's great having to hear about it constantly from that lot," he said, his head jerking towards the booth at the end of the shop which was occupied, as it always was, by the football crowd. Lucius Malfoy and his friends were the Kings of their school and they never let Remus forget it.

Belmont was a small, stuffy town in the Midwest. It was a fine place to grow up in, but like any town, it treated those who were rich, white and good-looking with a special reverence. Everyone went to church on a Sunday and if you were absent, it was noted and remarked upon by a group of middle-aged women, who seemed to know everyone's business and who unofficially protected the town's morality.

Lily's mother was one of these women. And their family had the appearance, at least, of having some money, so they were treated with a respect that wasn't reserved for anyone who didn't have money or who looked different. Lily couldn't understand this and it drove her insane to have her mother or others treat Remus as though he was a 'charity project'. The Lupin's lived on the same street as them and just because his mother worked, it did not mean that he deserved the derision thrown his way.

"I would say 'ignore them' but I know it's not easy," she whispered, leaning in to him.

"Is he still bothering you?"

Lily nodded, "he keeps asking me about prom," she said, rolling her eyes, "even though he's taking 'Cissa."

Remus let out a long, exasperated sigh and then leant on the counter thoughtfully. "None of this will matter in Paris," he breathed, giving her his shy grin that she had always loved.

"Agreed," Lily replied, letting her hand fall on top of his.

Paris had been a long held dream of Remus and Lily's. It had probably originated on a day when Petunia was being particularly horrible or her mother particularly fussy and Lily had escaped to Remus's house to find some solace. In that time, they'd agreed that when high school was done, they'd run away to Paris together. There had never been any more to the plan than that, but when Belmont was smallest or after a day when Remus had endured nothing but taunting and cruel jokes from Lucius and his ilk, they'd fantasise about Paris and how no one would care if Lily wore trousers and Remus grew his hair long and a moustache on his face.

A couple of times Lily had nearly brought up what she knew was an inevitable part of the plan: marriage.

Lily wasn't like her mother but she still knew, and cared, what everyone would think about an unmarried girl running off with a young man to Paris. She maybe wasn't brought up in the thirties like her mother and times had moved on a little by 1960 but Lily didn't want to be 'that girl' to her parents and friends. She didn't want to give her mother heart failure or for her father to never look her in the eye again. And she knew that Remus wouldn't want that for her either. In fact, he was her greatest shield against Lucius's advances. Most of the town thought they were together, and even if they weren't, Lily had always assumed it was only a matter of time before they were.

A couple of times it had bothered her that she hadn't experienced the often-talked about 'butterflies' when she looked at or talked to Remus. But, she knew him. And she knew he would be good to her, as opposed to some of the other girls in her class who would end up marrying men who might hit them.

Most of all, when Lily thought about marriage, she could only stomach it by imagining Remus as her husband. And so, if she could avoid the inevitable semi-forced arrangement with another reputable boy that her parents approved of by marrying Remus, she would happily do it. And she wouldn't have to have a man take care of her: they would take care of each other.

"Do you want a coke?" Remus asked, withdrawing his hand and again interrupting her daydreams.

"Yes," Lily sighed, moving back to her stool and books. "Maybe that'll make this assignment more bearable."

"I'll get that, Lupin," a voice said out of nowhere, making them both jump. Slicking back his blindingly blond hair with one hand, Lucius reached into the pocket of his football jacket to find some change.

"There's no need, Lucius," Lily protested as delicately as she could. "I can pay for myself."

"A girl as beautiful as that should never pay for her own drinks, am I right Lupin?" Lucius said, ignoring Lily and talking directly to Remus.

Without another word, Lucius threw down six cents and walked out of the shop, his fellow footballers following behind him.

Choosing to ignore the rage she felt at the high-handed way in which he insisted on dealing with her, Lily took a deep breath and instead turned to Remus, "that wasn't so bad."

"He's only nice to me when you're here," Remus advised gruffly, passing her the glass bottle and removing the change from the counter. "Thinks it'll get him further with you, I suppose."

"Well then he's even more ridiculous than we thought," Lily retorted, wondering whether to refuse the drink as a sign of protest. "He's the last guy I'd ever go out with."

"I'm sure he'll be devastated to hear it," Remus said lightly, smirking as Lily glared at him, "now are you going to finish that English essay? I'm working every afternoon this week and will need to copy your answers or Mason will kill me."

"You're wasting your education, Mr Lupin," Lily said in her best impression of their English teacher. "And sure, that's fine. Want to come over for dinner tomorrow night? We can go over notes and watch Petunia make herself pretty for Vernon the vile."

Remus grinned at her. "What would Thursday nights be without Mrs Evans' cottage pie and Petunia's preening?"

"Remus is coming over for dinner tomorrow night," Lily announced to her mother as she stepped in the door later that day. "That okay, mom?" She called, throwing off her despised lilac hat and reaching down to unbutton her shoes.

"Why do you insist on bringing that boy into the house?" Petunia hissed as she appeared beside Lily in the hall. "Are you trying to embarrass us to death?"

"Only you," Lily simpered, brushing past her sister into the kitchen. "Mom?"

"She's not in, you idiot," Petunia replied instead, following her. "She has her book club Wednesdays, remember?"

"Fine, I'll ask her when she gets in."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry, she'll say yes, like she always does," Petunia moaned, throwing herself down at the kitchen table.

Ignoring her, Lily went straight to the fridge to find something to eat.

"Your relationship with that boy is ridiculous," Petunia went on, now peering into a handheld mirror. "I'm going to speak to mom about it."

"What on earth are you talking about now?"

"How you two pretend you're just friends when you're obviously not," she said knowingly, running her finger along her eyebrows. "Mom still lets him into your bedroom because she thinks he hasn't seen you without your slip on."

"He hasn't," Lily spat, trying not to be goaded as she knew that was exactly what Petunia wanted.

"Well, if that's true, it's even more tragic," Petunia batted back sharply, "what's so wrong with you that he hasn't even tried anything?"

Slamming the fridge door shut, Lily knew she had to get out of the same room as her sister before she did anything stupid. She stalked to the hall to try to escape to her room but Petunia followed.

"Face it, ginger," she continued cruelly, following her up the stairs. "There is no happy ending for you here. Either you're so completely unlovable that even the town loser won't have you or you'll end up like Amy Cline and be sent away to one of those homes."

Lily made it to her room just in time to banish Petunia from her sights with the door, which she slammed shut. Frustrated, furious and needing an outlet, Lily did what she always did when feeling like this: she grabbed her pillow and screamed into it as loudly as she could.

Lily screamed for minutes on end, the sound rattling around her ears and bouncing off the cushion. She screamed until her voice gave out and the tears of anger streamed down her face and into the soft fabric of the pillow. When she had finished, she lay there, face red and buried into her bed; exhausted and achy.

No one could push her buttons like Petunia could. And, more often than not, it was nothing to do with Petunia. It was the constant reminder that Petunia represented: that Lily would soon follow in her life path two years later. When she'd graduated from high school, Lily would leave education for good. Maybe, if she was very persuasive, she could get her parents to allow her to attend a secretarial school or a typing class. She'd have to lie and say it would be the best way to meet a good husband – if she got a job as an assistant or secretary. Either way, even if she achieved this, once she was married, Lily would still have to leave her job. As Petunia announced daily, after that, she'd have children and then her whole life would be dedicated to raising them and keeping the home.

Lily hated this life path. She despised the thought of it. Plenty of girls in her class looked forward to it, talked about it constantly and couldn't wait to leave school to start a family. And Lily was happy for them – she could see the thought brought them genuine pleasure and why shouldn't they pursue that life?

Only she couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Why she didn't want that.

Paris, she reminded herself daily. Paris.

Every time Petunia goaded her, she went to Paris in her head. Remus would take her to Paris and there, they'd find their own definition of marriage.

As Lily lay, trying to recover her breath, she briefly wondered if Amy Cline had ever screamed into her pillow like this, before she was sent away. Amy had been a perfectly nice girl in their year at school – in most of Lily's classes too – before she had gotten 'into trouble'. No one knew who the father was, only that he refused to marry her, and so Amy had been sent away to be pregnant in private, until the baby was born. If the baby was adopted, Amy would probably return to school although Lily couldn't understand why she would want to. Amy Cline was now a cautionary tale that parents told their children to ward them off having sex.

No one wanted their daughter to be the next Amy.

"Why aren't you going to college again?"

They were on Lily's bed on Thursday night: Lily lying down with her feet in the air, toying idly with a book she had half-started, as Remus poured over her essay from his seated position at the end of the bed.

"How many reasons do you want?" Lily replied blandly, "my parents can't afford it, even if they could, they're not going to spend on all that money on me going to college when I could just get married…"

"If they ever read any of your essays they'd see how smart you are," Remus said, giving her a small smile. "You should be going to college, Lily."

"What'd happen to Paris if I did?" Lily asked absentmindedly , trying to ignore her own thoughts on the matter, knowing that no matter how much she might wish to continue her education, it was not a possibility.

Remus's eyes drifted back to the pages in front of him as he chose not to answer her.

"Remus?" Lily asked, after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm?"

"Where do you think Amy Cline is?"

"No idea," Remus murmured, giving Lily the impression that he wasn't really paying any attention to her.

"…Petunia thinks she's in a home somewhere," she went on, not really sure why she was talking about this.

Remus finally put down the papers to consider this for a moment. "My mom says that's where she is too," he replied finally, his voice low with the sadness of the topic. "I don't really know what to believe. That could just be gossip."

"Yeah," Lily agreed quietly, letting her legs drift back to the bed with a soft thump. "Wherever she is, I hope she's happy."

Remus nodded in agreement. "They shouldn't have sent her away."

"Sending people away is what this town does to kids who misbehave," Lily observed ruefully, looking down at her mint green cardigan and playing with the leaf shaped buttons.

"Why were you thinking about Amy?" Remus asked, looking at his knees.

Lily shrugged, "no reason really. Just Petunia being horrible again."

"Ah," he acknowledged, turning back to the papers and picking up a pencil.

Silence descended again as Lily desperately tried to push Petunia's words from her mind but found that she couldn't. If Paris was ever to happen, she would have to talk to Remus about marriage. She would have to tell him how she felt.

"We're…" she started, before stopping herself abruptly, suddenly scared of continuing despite her inward resolve.

Remus looked at her expectantly causing Lily to sit up properly, her knees parallel with his. She took a deep breath.

"I…we…I mean, we're going to prom together, aren't we?" Lily finally managed, feeling incredibly pathetic and knowing that a blush was creeping into her cheeks.

"Of course," Remus replied after a short blink. "We agreed that months ago."

"Okay," Lily nodded, with a half-smile, not able to look him in the eyes.

"Lily, what's wrong?" He asked, putting her essay to one side and grabbing her hand.

"It's nothing," she dismissed, allowing her fingers to lace through his although one look at his face and she knew she wouldn't get away with ignoring the issue.

"Tell me," he encouraged softly, giving her hand a quick squeeze.

"Petunia says we're weird," she blurted out indelicately, insides cringing when Remus's forehead crinkled.

"Of course she does," he laughed a little, "Petunia thinks anyone who reads books is weird. That's nothing new."

"No, I mean our…relationship," Lily managed, feeling her face grow warm.

"Oh," Remus said, the smile falling from his face as he immediately looked away again.

"Yeah, I mean, we're just friends, aren't we?" She pressed on, hating her own voice for shaking, "but then…then we don't date anyone else, we're going to prom together…we hold hands," she said, gesturing to their still clasped hands between them.

"We do," he acknowledged quietly, finally looking her in the eyes. His muted green eyes looked into her vivid ones and Lily's heart started to thump against her chest. He watched her for several endless moments, during which Lily could barely breathe or speak or think. She felt completely stuck in that moment – unable to do anything until he told her what he was thinking.

Finally, he seemed to decide something as she saw a shaky resolve come into his face.

Lily quickly became aware of their proximity, of how clammy her hands were against his and how her head swam as Remus moved in closer, surprising Lily completely.

With his eyes low, Remus pressed his lips lightly against hers. Her eyes slammed shut as their lips met and in her head flew thoughts of how she had no idea what she was supposed to do in this moment. No one had told her how to do this. Lily had just assumed the boy would know what to do but Remus seemed as lost as she was: not moving, stilled completely against her. It was shaky and awkward and nothing like the kisses Lily had seen in the movies. She was just about to move her other hand and place it on his knee, when suddenly, Remus was no longer kissing her.

In a matter of seconds, Remus pulled away from her and had crossed to the other side of her bedroom, hands clenched at his side.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," he breathed, voice wavering with obvious emotion. "I'm sorry," he said again in quick succession, not looking at her.

Lily was stunned into silence as she watched Remus, now so far away from her. She felt the tears pool in her eyes involuntarily and the hot rush of embarrassment completely overwhelm her. All the times she had imagined Remus kissing her had never ended like this. Never in her imagination had he been so unattracted to her that he could barely look at her afterwards.

"Was it something I…" she started, desperate to speak, to hear his reasons, to hear why he had ran away. She was unable to help her voice sounding small and high. It was also thick with tears and she knew that that, more than anything, caused Remus to turn around. He had never been able to deal with her tears – even as children, the only time she had ever seen him angry was when Petunia made her cry.

"No, no, it's not you, I promise," he said, his own tears now gathering in his eyes, startling Lily still more, "It's me – it's my fault. I'm so sorry, Lily."

Lily felt sick as she looked at him and guilt flooded her for even bringing the subject up: Remus was pale and shaking and shifty – he could barely look her in the eye, his own eyes instead directed constantly to the ceiling to try and stem the tide of tears.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Lily sniffed, wishing she could go back in time to this morning, when Remus was just her best friend and this had never happened. "You don't have to be sorry for not liking me, Remus," she tried pathetically, "that's not your fault."

"Shit, Lily," he let out, wiping at his eyes and starting to pace a bit. "I don't…it's not…I mean, look at you," he said, now sounding almost angry. "If I…I'd be mad if I…" He stopped and started again, "if this was fair, there isn't anyway I wouldn't…"

He stopped speaking, seemingly stalled in the middle of the room, lost in whatever thoughts were controlling him.

"I'm sorry...I don't understand," Lily started quietly, looking down at her own fidgeting hands, only looking up when Remus came to her with effort, sitting down on the bed beside her and grasping her hands with his own, "you're beautiful, Lily," he whispered, voice shaking with sincerity. "I'd have to be insane not to…"

Here he broke off again. Lily felt a nausea rising in her as she took in his gaunt appearance and bloodshot eyes. Something was wrong. Something was bothering her friend much more than what they were currently talking about.

"Fuck," he hissed, letting his head fall forward over their hands as his tears started in earnest.

"Remus," she whispered, holding onto his hands tightly, "what's wrong?"

When he briefly looked at her only to look away again quickly, she pulled at his hands again. "Are you…in trouble?" It crossed Lily's mind briefly that maybe Remus was Amy Cline's unknown boyfriend. Maybe this was why he was reacting this way.

He shook his head, "no…not yet," he said with a wry, dull laugh.

"Tell me," Lily pressed gently, "whatever it is, we'll deal with it…together."

She watched his face change, as though he thought he might talk to her and then back again to the same pale, frightened grimace. The sickness in her squirmed and grew as she watched her friend in obvious distress: never before had she seen him like this and it scared Lily. Remus, who was always so calm and collected, now sat in front of her completely changed.

"Please, Remus," she continued, barely keeping her composure, "nothing could be that bad."

Here he let out a derisive laugh, "I promise you it could be."

"Okay, well, whatever it…" she said as steadily as she could, stopping abruptly when Remus exhaled heavily.

She held her breath, waiting for him to go on.

After several moments in silence with their hands clasped, he spoke.

"I don't…" he started, barely audible, before stopping to take another deep breath. Lily squeezed his hands to show she was there. "I don't like you because I don't…"

"You don't…what Remus?"

Again, he looked her in the eyes but seemed unable to sustain this position. His face again dropped to the floor.

"…I don't like girls."

He said it slowly, purposefully and as quietly as he could.

"You don't…" Lily replied, her thoughts running a mile a minute, "I don't understand. If you don't like girls then who…"

Their eyes met as Lily finally understood what he was trying to tell her.

She now knew what he meant. She had heard of what he meant from her mother, who had never brought it up in a complimentary way. She had heard of it in Church, with all kinds of harsh and terrifying words following it. She had seen brief snippets from the newspapers of scandals and prosecutions in the rest of America. She had never heard of it in Belmont.

"Oh," she said, feeling frozen and unable to do anything about it. Her mind was completely blank yet trying to understand what she had just heard.

Remus still wasn't looking at her and his hands started to shake again just as he withdrew them from her, "yeah."

When Lily didn't reply, Remus spoke again, "please say something, Lily. Please."

"I…I don't…" she tried, momentarily about to speak when she looked at him again and saw the blind fear in face. "I don't know what to say," she finally managed, still feeling utterly unable to think.

Remus gave a curt nod, "I'll understand if you never want to see me again," he said shakily through his fingers. "Just please, don't say anything to anyone…my parents, Lily…I'd…"

"Never see you again?" Lily interjected incredulously, finally finding her words. "Why on earth would I…"

Here he looked at her so disbelievingly that her words faded away.

"Because it's illegal, Lily," he stated in a harsh whisper, his bloodshot eyes finding hers again. The silence echoed around them until he spoke again: "How I feel…think…it's all a crime," he breathed, rubbing at his face. "They put people like me in jail." He paused and the meaning of his words sank in. "I shouldn't have told you…I only did because feeling like this and having no one to talk to about it, is driving me insane…"

Lily couldn't bear to see Remus like this: she didn't know what she thought about what he had just told her – she had heard from so many people in her life that homosexuality was wrong – but then this was Remus. Her best friend who she cared for more than her own sister. She had known him her whole life and never had she known sweeter, kinder boy. For someone to put him in jail for how he felt? How could that be right? Remus wasn't a criminal.

As she thought this through, she knew she didn't care what anyone else thought: Remus wasn't illegal. And he didn't deserve to be punished for this.

"…walking around like this, trying to pretend that I'm like everyone in our school, it's exhausting. I'm so paranoid that someone will find out or will report me to the police, even though…even though, I've never…"

"You've never?"

"You're the first person I've kissed, Lily," he said thickly, the tears in his eyes finally catching up to his voice, "you're probably the last."

"The last?"

"I see all of these newspaper articles, about the people they imprison, because they're like me. For just…for just being this way. I have to go to Church every week and listen to how I'm an abomination. How is this fair?" He asked insistently, "how is it fair that they can call you a criminal for how you just are?"

"It isn't," she said quietly, still knowing that she hadn't fully grasped all the implications of what he had said.

"That's why…that's why I…"

"…want to go to Paris," Lily finished, finally realising how this plan existed in Remus's head. He nodded firmly, wiping at his nose again. "No one will care in Paris."

"Do you think…"

"I thought when we went we would be married," she admitted clumsily, now taking her turn to avoid his eyes.

Remus seemed to consider this for moment, taking so long that Lily was forced to look up for an answer.

"I'm sorry," he said again, sounding small, "I didn't know you thought that. But you deserve real love, Lily. I can't marry you just so we can escape."

Lily again found herself with no way to respond to this: her plan had been to marry Remus for so long that to suddenly be without that surety was incomprehensible to her. So, she said what she knew to be true:

"You deserve real love, too," she whispered, finding herself moving towards Remus for a hug at the same moment he moved towards her.

"All the times I've imagined telling someone," he said into her hair, "…I never thought you'd react like this. I thought you would throw me out of your house."

Lily grasped him more tightly, feeling the thin wool jumper that was so him…so Remus. The tears pooled in her eyes again, "never," she said, "you will always have someone in me."

They held each other silently, until Remus spoke again.

"Could we tell your parents we're eloping?"

Deciding she would think about this later, Lily chose the easiest answer and nodded, "that might work."

"It's nearly two years away," he replied, voice still shaking a bit. "I wish we could leave now…right away. If someone finds out…"

And as Remus spoke, an idea presented itself in Lily's head suddenly – so vivid and right that immediately it seemed like the only thing to do. The only way they could survive another two years in Belmont and both escape to Paris in the end.

"We should be together here," Lily told him, her fingers slipping into his as they ended their hug. "Everyone thinks we're together already. We can just pretend until we graduate and no one will have to know anything."

They started holding hands in public. Every so often, Remus would give her a quick kiss on the cheek. When he did it in front of their school friends, Lily knew he was doing it to keep up appearances. When he did it in private, she knew he was saying he cared.

Their new 'relationship' was still finding it's feet but her girlfriends were delighted. Petunia was, of course, disgusted and complained at great length to their parents that Lily was disgracing the family. Her parents said little but she knew deep down they hoped she would marry someone wealthier eventually.

Other than their newfound public displays of affection, not much else changed between Remus and Lily. They didn't speak again of what he had told her often but talked at length about Paris and how they would get there. How they might convince their parents they were eloping. Remus even found a city map in the school library and they pinpointed the areas they might live in, noting as well all the places they wanted to visit; the foods they wished to eat and the sights they wanted to see.

They were pouring over the map three weeks later, after school in the soda shop, when a young man strode in. Tall, with long black hair and a leather jacket, Lily immediately knew that he wasn't from Belmont. No one in Belmont even owned a leather jacket.

"Bathroom," he said abruptly to Remus across the counter, interrupting their conversation with clearly no reservations about doing so.

"It's for customers only," Remus replied politely, despite the rudeness of the interruption, as the customer rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

"Fucking hell," he said under his breath, although still audible enough that it caused Lily and Remus to balk. Reaching into the pockets of his jackets, he hunted around for some change before slamming a few coins down on the counter. "Gimme whatever you have that's cheap."

Pulling up a bottle of coca-cola from the underside of the counter, Remus uncapped it and placed it down gently. "Bathrooms are in the back."

Taking a quick swig of coke, the boy nodded, slammed the bottle down and strode past Lily.

"Weird," Lily observed, inwardly disliking the boy, as Remus nodded in agreement, both watching him leave their sights. They were about to go back to the map when the door to the shop opened again.

This time another boy, also in a leather jacket but with shorter, messier black hair, appeared at the counter.

"Bathrooms are for customers only," Remus advised pre-emptively, causing the boy to smile.

"Cool," he grinned, grabbing the coke and taking a long drink. "Sirius bought this right?" He queried, after setting the bottle down.

"Who?"

"Sirius," the boy replied, still grinning happily. "Tall, lanky, sort of looks like Vincent Price but more like a vampire."

"Eh…yes, that's his coke," Remus said, laughing a little.

"Great," he said, sitting down at one of the stools by the counter, still cradling the bottle. The boy continued to drink, looking around and taking in the shop. After a look over his shoulder, his gaze fell on Lily. "Hi," he said cheerfully, causing Lily to look up from the map.

"Hi," she replied, in a definitely less cheerful voice. The boy was looking at her very intently, half a smile ghosting around his mouth. As she looked back, Lily took in his unfathomably messy hair: this was the type of hair her father disapproved of. Any time Jerry Lee Lewis appeared on the television, her father would tut, shake his head and say 'somebody should give that boy a haircut.' The boy in the soda shop made Jerry Lee Lewis look like their Minister. Lily briefly wondered if he had ever brushed his hair and if so, how there weren't more brushes stuck in it.

After a few minutes of analysing him, Lily realised they had been staring at each other for several moments. The half-smile on his face had developed into a full blown grin and he was now doing his best to tangle his hair even more.

"Nice hat," he observed cheekily, now looking at Lily in such a way that made her break out in a blush. Boys in Belmont did not look at girls that way.

"Nice hair," she countered pettily, not particularly enjoying his attention and so looking back to the map. She shot a quick upwards glance at Remus to see a small smile quirking his lips as he wiped down the counter.

"Thanks," he replied happily, hand drifting to his hair once more as he obviously didn't get Lily's meaning. "Whilst we're complimenting each other, I really like your…"

"Clearly, you don't understand sarcasm…" Lily cut in disinterestedly.

"I did, I just chose to ignore it."

"…your hair is ridiculous. Haven't you ever heard of a brush?"

"Brushes and I don't get along," he advised, slipping off the stool, coke in hand as he walked towards her. "Besides, why would I want to tame this?" he said, gesturing grandly towards his head before sliding onto the stool beside her.

Lily snorted, before remembering that that was unladylike and correcting herself.

"I was going to say I like your eyes," he continued in a voice Lily imagined caused other girls to swoon, as she met his eyes again. She briefly noted his soft hazel ones and found herself involuntarily thinking she wasn't the only one with nice eyes. "I've never seen ones like 'em."

"I'm sure that line works on girls in whatever dumb city you come from," Lily replied acidly, looking back down at the map, "but I've heard it before. You're not as original as you think you are."

"Eh, that would be New York," the boy retorted, finally sounding as irritated as Lily wanted him to be. "And who put too much starch in your socks this morning?"

"I don't really care about your opinions on any of what I'm wearing," Lily said as evenly as she could, inwardly noting that she had no idea why she disliked this boy as much as she did. He was the sort of boy everyone would refer to as 'cool'. Him and his friend. If he went to their school, he'd probably be the kind to smoke during recess, start fights with Lucius and his football hooligans and top it all off by picking on Remus and making fun of her for wanting to get good grades.

The boy looked like he was about to respond but Remus got there before him.

"Alright, why don't you just leave her alone?" he suggested, sounding polite as Remus always did.

The boys head jerked upwards, "you're her boyfriend then?" He queried sarcastically.

"Yes, I am," Remus replied calmly and for a moment, Lily almost believed that he was.

Again, the boy opened his mouth to respond, when there was a bark of laughter from behind them and all three of them turned their heads. The boy Lily knew to be Sirius had returned from the bathroom and looked to be greatly amused by what Remus had just said.

Sirius looked at them all briefly and then turned his gaze to Remus, a large grin playing about his mouth.

"Her boyfriend?" He asked pointedly, eyes dancing with light as they fixed determinately on the boy behind the counter.

Expecting the same smooth answer to come from Remus, Lily looked back to see the composure slip from his expression: his face paled and something changed behind his eyes.

When he didn't respond after a few moments, Lily took the opportunity instead, "yes," she spat, unable to help how put out she sounded.

Sirius's eyes eventually locked on hers and he analysed her with the same intense look.

"Really?" He drawled slowly, sauntering towards her. His eventual proximity caused Lily to sit up straight.

Neither Remus or Lily said anything, his eyes directed to the ground, hers towards him, desperately hoping he'd intervene. Finally, Remus looked up, only he didn't look at Lily. She followed his gaze as it locked on Sirius and something passed between them.

Lily was about to say something, if only to break the maddening, unbearable silence dominating the four of them when a fifth voice spoke, startling all of them.

"I take it you two losers are the owners of those grody motorcycles out front," Lucius asserted, appearing in the doorway of the shop with his two usual football buddies flanking him on either side.

Lily watched as Sirius turned his attention from Remus. The same mischievous grin now appeared on both boy's faces as they regarded Lucius. Tension flooded Lily again: she'd seen Lucius fight, both on and off the field – nothing good ever came of it. But these two boys had an air of recklessness about them. As though they didn't care if they got hit or not.

"He doesn't like our AJS's, Sirius," the messy-haired boy observed, swivelling round in the stool to fully face the footballers, his elbows leaning back on the counter. "At least that's what I think he meant. Grody? What's that?"

"I think it's a small-town hick substitute for English," Sirius replied cooly, examining his fingernails. "But you have to give him credit, it's probably only a couple of months since he stopped grunting and came out of the cave."

The two behind Lucius immediately went to move towards the counter, violence obviously their objective. However, Lucius's hands shot out, stopping them both in their tracks.

"No fighting in front of the lady," he ordered, eyes still fixed on Sirius.

"They really do think you're made of porcelain, don't they?" The boy whispered teasingly to Lily, leaning in close to her ear. Lily looked at him once more, feeling the anger flush in her cheeks and hating how delighted he looked at the reaction she gave him. She hadn't scrapped since she was a child: her fighting had always been a great source of anguish for her mother who tried everything from charm schools to church to get her to stop. Eventually, Lily realised that life was easier if you just kept you head down and ignored the bitchy or riling comments, much to her mother's delight. But right in that moment, Lily wanted nothing more to take that boy outside, pull him to the ground and pour dust and sand all over his stupid, handsome, free face, the way she used to before she remembered she was supposed to be a girl.

"Don't speak to her," Lucius bit out, now coming closer to try to tower over the boy. "Don't say another word to her and go outside. Now."

Another bark of laughter followed from Sirius, who immediately responded by removing his leather jacket, stripping down to only a white, somewhat filthy tank top.

"No!" Lily interjected, her better senses getting ahold of her. This boy, Sirius…something strange had happened between him and Remus and God knows what he would say to Lucius in the heat of a fight. She needed to get one group of boys away from the other somehow. "No, Lucius," she went on, standing up and pressing her hand to his chest. "You can't fight them, please."

Lucius looked a little taken aback by her attitude and so she pressed ahead with the only reason that made sense to her.

"Remus could lose his job if you fight here," she stressed, looking up into his eyes with a gaze she knew had worked before. "Please, don't put him in that position."

She watched as Lucius's face softened a bit and he let out a deep sigh.

"Alright," he relented, jaw still set. "You two, get out of here," he commanded, "and leave Lily alone."

"Such a pity," Sirius sighed, beginning to put his jacket back on again. Thankfully, Lucius ignored the comment.

"We'll have the usual, Lupin," he continued, directing his friends to their customary booth at the back of the diner. "And you need to get better at sticking up for your girl," he fired as a parting shot, giving both boys one last stern look before following his teammates.

"Lily?" The boy to her right said when the four were alone again, his voice again tinged with that perpetual bemusement he seemed to forever sport.

"What?" She growled, now more irritated by his presence than ever.

"James," he grinned, ruffling his hair again before sliding off the stool, watching her again for a moment before he next spoke. "What do you think, Sirius? Fancy sticking around here for a bit?"

"Definitely," Sirius replied meaningfully, and Lily's stomach lurched as she watched his eyes connect with Remus's again. His eyes stayed locked on him as both boys made their way towards the door. They kicked it open and the sun came streaming into the diner, blinding both Remus and Lily. "I have some sights I want to see."

It was about eight o'clock later that night when Lily finally allowed herself to remember the events of that afternoon in the soda shop and to reflect on what had happened. She knew instinctively that if she even so much as though about James and his ridiculous hair before she finished her homework, her chances of getting anything done were shot.

Lying on her bed, legs in the air again, Lily regarded her perfectly starched socks as they hung above her, feet wavering slightly with the weight of gravity. If Lily had been honest with James, she would have told him that it was her mother who put too much starch in her socks that morning. It was her mother that had picked out the powder blue skirt, cardigan and white blouse that no doubt made her look very 'small-town hick' to him too. The hat that he was so bemused by was at least one that she had purchased herself (although her mother's approval had been sought before it even so much as touched her head.)

That boy's mother probably didn't pick out his clothes. If she did, she did a very poor job of making him presentable. The leather jacket, white tee-shirt and jeans combination was all very cool but it was about as tidy as his hair.

But, he was free. She knew that as soon as she looked at his face. He had the air of someone who only made decisions with concern for himself. That arrogant, self-assured expression that stained his face, as though it was the only one he was capable of, told Lily that this boy was totally in control of his own life. Answerable to nothing and no one.

It infuriated Lily. How dare this boy be so free and unburdened when no one else was? When everyone else had to put up with responsibilities and 'proper roles' and rules.

Mostly, it infuriated Lily how jealous of him she was. She wanted to hate him and yet, she wanted to be him, more than anything.

Of course, if she was him, she'd have to put up with that ridiculous friend of his.

'Sirius'. What sort of name was that? Clearly, his parents didn't care too much about him either. And the way he had looked at Remus. Like he could communicate with him without speaking. And it had worked. Remus had spoken back, silently. In 12 years of friendship, not once had Lily achieved that with Remus.

Apparently, she was jealous of Sirius too.

"Lily!"

Lily sat up as she was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of her mother calling up the stairs.

"Yes?"

"Remus is here. He's coming upstairs. Remember to leave the door open, you two."

"Fine," she called back, thinking maybe they could discuss what happened today as she took a moment to make sure her skirt was sitting properly, instead of up around her thighs.

"Hey," Lily started as the door opened, expecting to see Remus enter in his usual jumper and shirt. Instead, she was surprised when he came in still wearing his soda shop uniform. "Why aren't you changed?" She asked, suddenly not caring about the question when she took in his face.

Remus looked…utterly beside himself. But somehow not upset. He was pale but his eyes were bright and alive. There was sweat about his brow as though he had been moving quickly and even in her room, he couldn't keep still.

He looked at her, a stare so incomprehensible that Lily wasn't even sure that he had heard her question.

"Remus, what's wrong?" She asked, knowing before he said anything that this had something to do with the boys on motorcycles.

"I don't know," he shrugged and she couldn't tell if he sounded unhappy or excited. It seemed to be somewhere in between. "I don't know if something is wrong," he went on, going to her desk and sitting in the chair steadily.

"What happened?" She insisted, already ready to abandon her rule against scrapping, as she went to the door and closed it as quietly as she could.

He gave her the same sickly, exhilarated look, "Sirius," he breathed, the corners of his mouth looking like they might quirk into a smile.

"What did he do?" Lily asked quietly, trying to keep her temper under control.

"He came by the shop again…after everyone had left, at closing time," Remus told her, his voice now soft with only the slightest hint of a waver. "I was outside, taking the trash around the back when I heard the motorcycle." He let out a little laugh, "that thing is so loud. It's like he's determined everyone knows he's coming."

Remus stopped, seeming to contemplate this last sentence but Lily's impatience did not have time for him to reminisce at leisure.

"What did he want?" She probed gently.

"To see me," he said, again sounding pleased against his will. "He came by to see me."

"And?"

"And he wanted to apologise," he recalled, looking down at his hands, "for what happened earlier. For how he behaved."

"Yeah, well, I'd think so," Lily inserted brutally. "Him and that stupid friend of his nearly starting a brawl at the shop," she spat, "I suppose I have to give him credit for apologising."

"Yeah," Remus agreed breathlessly. "He was different this time."

"In what way?" She asked, frowning and feeling like she still wasn't getting near to what was causing Remus to act so strangely.

"He was nice," he replied with a small shrug. "He asked about work…school," he continued with a little smile. "They're from New York. Going to California, I think."

"Why?"

"He didn't say. I think he's running from something," he told her, "but he didn't say what."

"Okay, so you guys talked and he apologised and then what?" Lily pressed ahead.

Remus eyes dropped again and the paleness returned to his face. She couldn't see his gaze but she would bet it was the same exhilarated look filling his eyes once more.

"And then he kissed me," he said softly, and Lily saw the smallest hint of happiness flit across his features.

REVIEW