A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoy!
When Lily dreamed, she rarely remembered the pictures her sleep conjured. And if she did, she could only grasp whispers, slight strokes of something, a place or a person, a thought or a word, but nothing substantial. Yet, on a particularly clear night, where the stars brightly twinkled in the sky and Lily fell asleep clutching a strange, old book to her chest; she dreamt an amazing, fantastical dream.
It was of magic blue boxes and stars seen up close, swirling galaxies and times far beyond her imagination. It was of a wonder-eyed boy with a knack for running, and of amazing places she could not hope to ever see in person. When Lily opened her eyes, her mind grew frustrated with herself. Why would she ruin that perfect dream, she demanded of herself. Why would she ever leave that beautiful place?
But as she slowly came back to reality and left her unruly frustration behind, real, plausible frustration replaced that. That silly boy. Running off like that, like she was some terrible monster. And she had even begun to like him, in those few moments they had been talking. There was something about his soft, intelligent tone, something about his unbridled excitement that flashed through his eyes until he masked it with cool indifference, like when she recognized his name. And then his strange departure. There was something more to it than just what she sensed. He surely hadn't just run away simply because. She had seen a flash, a flash of worry and genuine fear, a spark of terrible realization and even more terrible acceptance before he darted off.
And Lily was determined to make him explain himself.
By ten o'clock she was ready for her self-imposed mission. She had her scarf wrapped around her neck, she was wearing her favorite blue coat, and she had her bag packed. In it was a book, in case she got bored on her search, a package of cookies to entice Coelus into spilling his secrets, a tape recorder to secretly record his answers and then- she didn't know, maybe she'd somehow use them against him or, as she secretly knew she would eventually do, just play them so it wouldn't be so silent and lonely in her room when everyone in her house went out.
The final, most crucial item in her bag, however, was Coelus's book. She had poured over it all night, growing more and more upset with each page. It was such an aggravating, stupid book.
There was not a single word in it.
She examined it from cover to back and there was nothing. She was beginning to think she'd imagined the word 'physics' on the cover. Because all that filled the book were a bunch of stupid circles. Pretty? Sure. Elegant? Definitely. Interesting? To an extent. Yet surely it was a kid book, a wordless collection of pretty pictures to entertain the fickle minds of young children.
And Lily had no patience for children's books.
Lily's plan, however fallible, was simple. Return to the spot she saw Coelus at yesterday and wait about until he possibly showed up. At the time, her plan seemed foolproof to her. It was only until she arrived on the playground and saw him sitting on that same bench did she realize just how improbable the whole situation really was.
Lily was quite surprised when she found herself wanting to run to reach Coelus, who had his nose buried in another book. Today, quite similar to yesterday, he was wearing khaki pants and a white, long-sleeved, button-up shirt, tied off with a red bowtie. An utterly ridiculous bow tie. Lily was all but astounded.
She, in fact, did end up running over, coming to a stop, breathless form the run, in front of him. Thankfully, today, he was reading a perfectly normal, English textbook on Trigonometry.
"You're wearing a bow tie." She blurted. He looked up from his book slowly, his eyes, when they met hers, looking bemused slightly.
"Yes, well, bow ties are-"He began, but Lily found herself unable to hold back.
"Ridiculous. Sorry. That was rude. But it looks ridiculous." She muttered, sitting down next to him. This was all new to her, the whole 'conversation' thing. After his untimely exit yesterday were they supposed to carry on like that never happened and they were the best of friends?
"That's funny. That's what everyone seems to think. I wore it as an inside joke, of sorts." Coelus muttered sadly, wistfully almost, as he closed his book. "I have a proposition." he said suddenly, staring Lily straight in the eyes. She felt locked in place with his knowledgeable gaze upon her.
"Yesterday, I ran away." There he stated it, Lily thought, relaxing. It was no longer just hanging in the air between them like a musty coat.
"Perhaps I should not have. But the thing is, I think it will happen again." He paused, giving Lily just enough time to realize how much he spoke like a grown-up. "You see, Lily, I think I like to talk. Quite a bit, probably, when the right person is listening. However my mouth tends to run, leaving reason behind in the dust. So when reason finally catches up, because reason has a nasty habit of being quite determined, the only feasible reaction I have left is to physically run away. Because Lily, to be terribly honest, I should not be here at all. But I simply do not think I can stay away." he finished with a little smile, a hesitant offering of friendship, a vulnerable presentation of his pride.
Lily smiled in return and didn't even have to think about it. A friend? An intelligent friend? A soft-spoken, seemingly kind, intelligent friend? There was no way she could say no.
"I would very much like to be your friend, if you're offering." Lily ventured. Coelus nodded and Lily saw that wondrous excitement flood back into his starry eyes.
"Then I believe I have something of yours to return." Lily announced, revealing with a flourish Coelus's book of circles.
The look of immense relief and joy that invaded his face made Lily wonder what exactly she had missed among the pretty circles, and whether or not something in her life had ever made her as happy as Coelus seemed to be. As she passed over the book, she realized with a bitter-sweet twinge that she was certain nothing ever had.
A/N: So, I guess this didn't really go anywhere in this chapter, but it'll go somewhere soon, hopefully. If you can find the time, please review. It makes me do my happy dance :)