Thank you everyone who took the time to write me a review! I'm happy people are enjoying the story! I am so sad it's about to end in four chapters!

CHAPTER 18: RED

They hadn't had much time to process the leak. Lily's flight was taking off at nine fifteen and they had to be on their way to the airport. Everyone piled into the rental car without a moment's notice. Lily barely had time to get dressed, let alone pack properly. Her luggage was just as messy as her hair, which she threw up into a messy bun as she got into the car.

James might've been sitting next to Lily on the way to the airport, but he might as well have been long gone. He had his right hand pressed against his face and his left hand was holding his phone to his ear. He looked stressed, lines appearing on his forehead as he talked on the phone. Lily had her hand on James' shoulder, her lip trembling as she watched James fight with his boss.

"We fell in love!" James was saying into the phone frenziedly, "I didn't plan for this to happen!"

"Fall out of it!" Moody's gruff voice was recognizable through the phone.

James fisted his free hand into his hair, "Moody, that's not how love works."

Lily let her head fall into James' shoulder because even she knew it wasn't that easy.

Trying to fall out of love was like trying to stop tumbling once you're already flying through a free fall.

Across from Lily and James, Frank was on the phone with Alice. Frank had been unexpectedly tame, especially since he was always the one telling James to stay professional around Lily. Despite the news, Frank seemed more concerned about getting Lily to the New York flat in one piece. Alice and Fletcher had taken a red-eye flight out to New York just so they could ensure Lily's flat was ready for her arrival. From what Lily could gather from Frank's conversation, now Alice and Fletcher were trying to keep the press off Lily's front doorstep.

Lily wiped her eyes unapologetically as she waited for James to get off the phone. Lily's father sat across from James and Lily. He was fiddling with his hands in his lap, clearly worried about the leaked photo. He kept looking between James and Lily, as if worried the world had already split them apart. Of everyone in the car, Lily's father had been the most supportive of the relationship and now he looked ready to fight off hordes of press just to keep them together.

Peter had texted Lily that he would call her later. Lily really didn't know if he was mad or happy about the sudden leak. Lily just knew she wasn't looking forward to that conversation, seeing as Peter didn't approve of James at all. Lily rubbed James' shoulder affectionately and leaned in to kiss his cheek. She didn't care what Peter thought; she wasn't going to let James get away.

James suddenly hung up his phone. He sighed loudly as he did so, insinuating the conversation hadn't gone well. Lily pushed slightly at James' shoulder, trying to get words out of him. James cleared his throat as he stuffed his phone into his pocket.

James' voice cracked, "I won't be coming to New York today."

"What?" Lily and her father echoed at the same time.

James looked at Lily sorrowfully, "I have to go talk to Moody face to face, I'm sorry Red."

"James, no." Lily grabbed his wrist, "I need you to come with me."

James shook his head, "I'm sorry, I don't know how to fix this other than let Moody simmer down enough that I can get more than five words in."

Lily's lip wobbled, "so you're just going to leave me?"

James bristled, "I don't have a choice!"

"You have all the choice in the world!"

Touching him, feeling him shake under her touch, Lily realized that all she ever wanted was right there in front of her. James was all she wanted, needed and cared about at that moment. She didn't care that Moody wanted him to stay in London when the only place James needed to stay in a time when the world was against them…was at Lily's side.

"I have to talk to him," James said in a softer voice, "if we want to make this work."

"He's right, Lily." Frank had hung up his own phone and interjected himself in Lily and James' argument, "he has to go talk to Moody and you have to go to New York."

Lily pouted in Frank's direction, "Moody can fly to New York if he wants to talk to James."

"I can't ask my boss to fly to New York so James can quit." Frank deadpanned, "That's not how this works."

James put a hand to Lily's face soothingly when he saw she wasn't pacified, "I'll fly in to New York on the first available flight after I'm done talking to Moody, okay?"

Lily leaned into his touch, sniffing loudly, "No, it's not okay."

James leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers, "it's okay to not be okay," he murmured, "but I need you to try and hold it together for me, love, at least for a day or two."

"James," her voice broke, "I-"

Lily's phone went off in her pocket. The ringing was loud, invasive, and Lily cried out as she pulled it out. She saw it was Peter and her mood changed from bad to worse. Lily ripped her face away from James' tender touch in order to answer the phone.

She spoke first, rather heatedly, "If you're only calling to lecture me, I don't want to hear it right now Peter."

"I'm on my way to New York," Peter ignored the venom in her tone, "you go straight to your apartment, no surprises."

"Peter!"

"I'll see you in a few hours."

"Peter!"

Lily slammed her thumb on the end call button, frustrated. She looked up to find the car was at the airport. Naturally, someone had tipped off the press that she was flying out of the local airport. Even as the car was guided around to the tarmac, cameras flashed through the windows. Everyone was trying to get a glimpse of Lily if only because her love life was now splashed across the news front page.

James kept a tight hold on her hand as they got out of the car. Lily was certain she'd have a bruised hand; he was crushing her fingers between his. They walked over to the private plane under umbrellas that Frank had brought to deflect camera lenses. By the steps, James kissed her soundly, his hands firm against her skin.

"It's going to be okay," he promised her, "I'm going to talk to Moody and then we can deal with the press later."

Lily's lower lip wobbled at him, "why couldn't people just leave us alone?"

"Because you're not in the business where leaving people alone is a norm," James wiped his thumb against her lower lip, "let them talk, Lily, we know the truth."

"It's not fair," she whispered, "we were going to tell everyone, we had a plan, and then some asshole ruined it."

"I love you, Lily." he promised against her lips, "We won't be separated long."

Lily's tears left trails down her face, "I love you so much."

Lily ripped her mouth from his, wiping her cheeks with her sleeves. Lily hugged her dad, hugged James once more and then started climbing the steps into her private jet. When she looked back, Frank was clapping James on the back and James looked apprehensive. James' eyes flashed up to meet hers for half a second and Lily felt a painful lurch in her gut.

She felt like the world around her was grey as she fell into her seat on the airplane. She missed him already and felt all alone as the cabin doors closed after Frank was on board. Lily kept her eyes downcast as the plane started rolling down the runway for take-off. Frank settled into a seat across from Lily. He had his face in his hands and he looked as puzzled as she felt. Frank's eyes traced over her tired expression and he rubbed his beard absentmindedly.

"What?" she asked after a whole minute passed and he hadn't looked away, "why are you looking at me like that?"

"You really love him." Frank said, suddenly, always the tone of surprise.

"With my whole heart." Lily cried, crossing her arms across her chest and sinking into her seat, "and we had a plan to tell everyone but—"

Frank shook his head, "I don't envy you, Evans, always having to live under a microscope."

Frank sighed loudly and looked over at the cat carrier in the seat next to him. Juniper was being surprisingly quiet despite still being locked inside. Frank flabbergasted Lily when he opened the carrier and pulled Juniper out, plopping the fat black cat on Lily's lap. Lily hugged Juniper, looking up at Frank warily.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked Frank, "You didn't want James and I together. You always told him that he was overstepping."

Frank's hard expression lessened, "Evans, I didn't want James to lose his job on a pipe dream that someone like you might actually love him."

Lily said, "is it so impossible to believe that I could love someone was fearless and selfless as James?"

"Forgive me for assuming that blokes like Roosevelt were your type." Frank sat down again, "I didn't want to see James get hurt, he's my mate."

"I love James, Frank." Lily said persuasively, "I would never hurt him."

Frank crossed his arms, "that may be, but what are you going to do when he gets reassigned? Moody will never let him stay on your team now that he knows you two are snogging behind closed doors. Glass or not."

"He's not going to get reassigned." Lily said confidently, "he's going to quit."

Frank arched an eyebrow at Lily, "he's under a twelve-month contract with Moody, Evans."

"The contract doesn't say he can't quit." Lily shot back.

"No," Frank agreed, "but it does have the provision that James has to give a month notice before quitting."

Lily stopped petting Juniper, "What does that mean?"

"It means that even if James quits this afternoon, he's still Moody's for a whole month." Frank said, "and you can bet Moody won't let him go back to being your bodyguard."

"Moody doesn't have a choice." Lily said, "because I'll march into his office myself if he even tries to send James away from me."

Frank was smart enough not to dare argue with her any further. Lily pet Juniper, her fingers sinking into the fur and digging with a kind of furious tempo that made Juniper glare up at her and meow. In order to avoid another Frank conversation, Lily got out her phone and went to the tumblr application. A part of Lily was concerned with what her fans were saying now that the news had officially broken. Before she could even open the app, she saw a text from James come through.

James Potter: I love you.

Lily texted him back without pause: come home soon

Tumblr was wild the moment she entered it. Lily didn't know what she expected, but she was immediately overwhelmed by her fans. The very first post she saw was from Carmen, who'd written an essay on Lily's behalf. Lily liked it before she even read the first paragraph. It prompted a massive relogging spree from her fans, who were looking for answers.

LilyEvans LIKED HolyCarmen: Listen everyone. I saw them together in Lake Placid. He loves her so much. He looked at her like she was the only thing he cared about and guys. LILY. Lily was glowing. She was writing lyrics on napkins and laughing into his arms. Remember, she said she was truly happy. She said she was in love. I know a lot of people are confused because Lily's team kept saying Jily wasn't real. I know you guys feel super betrayed because Lily lied to everyone about jily. I know you're all wondering when Jily happened and if Lily really did cheat on Steven. The thing is, it's none of our business. Lily doesn't owe us anything. If she wants to keep her relationship with her bodyguard private, then that's her choice. Personally, I stand with Lily because I don't think she's done anything wrong. She deserves all the happiness in the world.

LilyEvans LIKED blitheringmia: I love jily

LilyEvans REBLOGGED nobothersgiventoday: I personally think that the media should be more concerned with the fact that Lily was barefoot in November. She could've caught a cold in the greenhouse…had James Potter not been there to keep her warm lmafo…

LilyEvans LIKED MoonMonkeys: It's really sad that Lily didn't want anyone to know she was in love and it's even sadder someone took the choice to tell everyone away from her.

LilyEvans REBLOGGED RadioEyes: jily deserved better, reblog if u agree

Lily kept scrolling, going deep into the depths of tumblr. Mostly, everyone seemed to be on her side. People were trying to build proper timelines. There were edits popping up left and right of the released photographs. Lily's fans had taken the photo of the greenhouse and written her lyrics over it in fancy fonts.

magicgirlinajilyworld: can we just appreciate that James and Lily met because he saved her life? Your OTP could never.

thatsmyverb: I hope Lily Evans is having a good day and the media burns in hell

Nactivista REBLOGGED thatsmyverb: I hope James Potter is having a good day and the media burns in hell

Rissaexplainsitall REBLOGGED nactivista: I hope Sirius Black, the best man at jily's future wedding, is having and good day and the media burns in hell.

Lily laughed and screenshot the conversation between rissaexplainsitall, nactivista and thatsmyverb. She sent the screenshot to James after she exited out of the tumblr app. Once she was inside her texts, Lily started going through all 300 messages. Some of them weren't relevant, over three months old, but Lily needed the distraction. She was worried about James and she wished they were still together.

James Potter: at least your fans support us

Lily smiled at his reply and texted back: #jily forever, baby

James Potter: according to Moody, it's the number one trending tag on twitter

Lily perked up when he mentioned his boss: you talked to him already?

James Potter: for a half a millisecond, he's currently on the phone and I was sent to time out like a five-year-old. He's pissed.

Lily dragged her fingers across the screen to answer: if he even tries to send you away, I'll hop on the next plane back, I swear to god.

James loved her comment but didn't respond. Lily continued deleting old messages until her phone was clear of all names save Sirius, James and her family. Next, Lily went on her instagram and unfollowed everyone except her sister and Sirius. When she went on twitter and started deleting people on there, people took notice. Lily got back on tumblr while the plane landed.

PetalsToFish: why the hell is Lily clearing out her social media?

mischief-magicae: she unfollowed everyone except her fans on tumblr! She really does love us!

enchantedtomeetjily: imagine the album we're gonna get

Lily put her phone away and then zipped Juniper back up into the car carrier. The plane doors opened, and Frank helped Lily hide herself. Paps were outside the tarmac waiting for Lily's arrival but Frank kept Lily from the spotlights using an old umbrella.

It was a rainy New York night, a depressing mood settling around Lily's shoulders as she was driven back to her New York City apartment. She leaned her head against the window, thinking about the photograph in the papers. She still didn't understand who had seen them or followed them to the farthest corners of the garden. Lily supposed it could've been a party guest, but Petunia had gone through great lengths to make sure her guests didn't use their cell phones.

Lily sighed as the car parked in front of her apartment. Alice was standing outside, one hand on her hip holster. She was soaked, her blond hair plastered to her forehead as she came down to open Lily's door. The bright camera flashes made the rain almost blinding as Lily raced up the steps of her apartment. People were screaming for her to look their way. Frank kept the umbrella over her head and Lily covered her face with her hands.

Stumbling through her apartment door, Lily fell into the closest chair and let out a little scream. Lily had to agree with her fans, she wanted the press to burn in hell. Frank and the driver brought Lily's things in through the rain. Alice kept the cameras at bay, her gun threatening enough to keep anyone away from Lily's front door.

Lily retreated farther into the loft. She slowly tugged off her shoes, leaving them on two different sets of stairs. Her jacket joined her shoes on the floor as she stumbled headfirst into her sofa. She missed James terribly and wished he would call. Unfortunately, his end was silent.

Frank brought Lily her cat. She supposed he was trying to make her feel better, but Juniper just clawed her way out of Lily's arms to go to the bathtub in Lily's room. Frank left her alone, clearly uncomfortable. Lily didn't mind though; she'd had enough from Frank for the day.

Lily turned on the TV and suddenly she was staring at the picture of James kissing her in the glass greenhouse. E! News was reporting the story, calling Lily and James star-crossed lovers. As if their private relationship was something that the press even had the right to comment on. Lily stared at the television in despair as she realized that James had been thrust into the spotlight. She knew James hated it and she felt bad for subjecting him to the life she lived.

Lily just didn't understand who could be so cruel to take a picture and sell it to the paparazzi. Petunia's guests were old family friends for the most part. Lily knew no one in the bridal party had their phones, thanks to Petunia collecting them. Lily just couldn't figure out who'd followed them. And then she recalled that the only person who knew where she and James had gone was the same person who waved at her as he passed by her citadel on the sofa.

"Welcome back to New York, Princess." Dung said as he clambered down the staircase to the control room.

Lily launched up from her laying position, her mouth dropped open. Fletcher had been the one who heard Lily mention greenhouses. Fletcher had been the one who'd 'found' Lily when Petunia was looking for her. Fletcher had a camera phone that night because his work phone had a camera.

Lily flew up out of her seat and started stalking downstairs. Fletcher was still there, she knew he was, because she hadn't heard the front door open. Her blood boiled as she stomped down the stairs, screaming Fletcher's name like a banshee. Alice didn't look up from her computer, but Fletcher did look up and he looked guilty. Lily's fingers gripped the doorframe dangerously as she entered the room with all intents to strangle Fletcher with her bare hands.

"You!" Lily pointed at the old man, her hands shaking, "You were the only one who knew where James and I went!"

Fletcher stood up and put his hands up in defense, "what?"

"You were the only other person who heard me mention the greenhouses!" Lily screamed at the top of her lungs, "it was you!"

Fletcher's eyes darted over to Alice, who had put down her radio deliberately. Frank, who'd heard the commotion, came running. He faltered to a stop when he found Lily, red in the face, about to jump Fletcher. Alice stood up, her eyes moving in a calculated manner between Lily and Fletcher. Fletcher looked like he might piss his pants.

"Evans, you're hysterical." Fletcher said dumbly, "calm down."

"Calm down?"

Lily picked up the nearest item, a stapler, and chucked it at Fletcher who ducked. The stapler hit the opposite wall and then fell to the ground. Frank called out, launching forward to hold Lily back from grabbing the phone and chucking that too. Alice was looking around the room, as if trying to read Lily's mind and deduce what Fletcher was thinking.

"Why'd you do it?!" Lily spat at Fletcher, "why?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Princess." Fletcher sniffed, rubbing his nose.

"You sold James and I out to the papers!" Lily's tears streamed down her face, "don't deny it!"

Alice looked at Fletcher with revulsion as she comprehended what Lily was yelling about, "Fletcher, you took the picture?"

Frank spoke up behind Lily, "what the Hell is going on?"

Lily pointed at Fletcher in despair, "he's the leak!"

"No!" Fletcher saw the death-like look in Lily's eyes, "you got to believe me!"

"You were the only one around!" Lily fumed, "you're the only one who had the opportunity to see us kiss in the greenhouse!"

"I didn't see nothing!"

"Why?" Lily screamed again through her furious tears, "Why'd you have to ruin the one last good private thing in my life?! Did someone pay you? Why? Why!"

Frank put his arms around Lily, pulling her into a protective hug. He glared at Fletcher over Lily's head.

"Fletcher I swear to God-" Frank cursed, "if you fucking sold them out, I'll make sure you never get another job again!"

"I didn't do nothing!" Fletcher was sweating, "not my fault they were snogging in broad daylight!"

Alice pulled out her taser and pointed at her coworker, "Fletcher, don't test me."

Fletcher jumped away from Alice, eyeing the taser guardedly, "you won't taze me."

"I'm pregnant and running on two hours of sleep." Alice said dispassionately, "don't test me."

Fletcher looked around, realizing he was surrounded.

"I didn't bloody sell to the papers!"

"Fletcher!" Alice turned the taser on.

"Okay!" Fletcher yelped and put his hands up, as if in surrender, "okay! I took the photograph! But I didn't sell it to the paps!"

"Why'd you even take a photograph?" Alice barked at Fletcher, "I told you to leave them alone!"

"I did! I did!" he cried, "but then I got an offer I couldn't refuse! Someone offered me money if I could prove they were sleeping together!"

"Of course, they were sleeping together!" Alice snapped, "anyone with eyes could see it!"

"Wait," Lily turned her eyes to stare at Alice in wonder, "you knew James and I were together?"

"Of course, I knew." Alice said to Lily with a roll of her eyes, "did you think I was stupid?"

"See," Fletcher motioned at Alice, "everyone already knew Evans."

Frank snapped at Fletcher, "I swear to fucking god, Dung, you've really fucked up this time!"

Alice took Fletcher's wrist and twisted it and he called out in pain, "Start talking, Fletcher, who paid you?"

"He paid me! Okay!" Fletcher cried, holding up his hands in defense, "He paid me to see if they were sneaking around and they were, so he told me to get photo proof!"

Someone had actually paid Fletcher to spy on Lily and James. Lily's heart dropped to her stomach as she realized Fletcher had been a spy the whole time. He'd been waiting for the chance to catch them in the act. He'd been trying to get photos since Lake Placid.

"Who paid you?!" Alice demanded again, twisting his arm harder.

"Peter Pettigrew!"

The taser dropped from Alice's hands and Lily stepped away from Frank's grasp. Lily shook her head at Fletcher in shock. A sort of revulsion pumped through her bloodstream as she came to terms with what Fletcher had revealed.

"Peter?" Lily's mouth felt dry, "Peter paid you?"

"Very handsomely." Fletcher said, "so can you blame me? We all just want a little more—arg!"

Alice swung her wrist back and she punched Fletcher right in the face. Fletcher cried out and grasped his nose, which started bleeding immediately. Lily clutched her stomach bent over, sick to her stomach.

Alice muttered as Fletcher collapsed onto his knees, "I can't believe you let some asshole pay you to meddle in someone's private life!"

"Alice." Frank warned his wife, "not helping."

"I dunno," Alice said, shaking her wrist and glaring at Fletcher angrily, "I feel better."

Lily leaned against the nearest wall, "why would he—did I do something—why wouldn't he—Peter's my oldest friend."

Her vision burned red with fury. She stumbled and grabbed onto one of the desks. She stared at her knuckles as she realized Peter had sold her out. She felt betrayed. She felt like someone had ripped the rug out from under her and she was in a free fall with no end. Lily didn't realize she was sobbing until she could no longer breathe without taking agonizing, lung shaking breaths.

And then, as if on cue, the man of the hour walked through her front door. She saw him in the black and white cameras on the computer screen. He was wearing a hat and a grey peacoat. Lily's grip hardened and she stood up straight, marching past Frank int he doorway. Frank called after her, perplexed.

Lily met Peter Pettigrew on the staircase halfway. Peter paused on his step, looking at her and then smiling, wide. He acted as if he hadn't sold a photo to the press. He acted as if he hadn't broken her heart. He acted as if he were still managing a little girl who didn't know how to fend for herself.

"Lily!" he opened his arms wide, "welcome home!"

Lily swallowed, forcing herself to remain calm, "why'd you sell that photo to the papers."

His smile faltered, "I didn't-"

"Don't you dare lie to me." Lily stepped down, one step closer to her manager, "Fletcher told me you paid him to spy on James and I."

Peter started fiddling nervously with his peacoat buttons, "I simply asked him to see if you two were together, I knew you were hiding something from me."

"You sold it to the papers!" Lily accused, "you sold me out!"

"I did not!" Peter retorted hastily, "how dare you!"

"How dare-how da-" Lily huffed, "Peter...how dare you?!"

"Mundungus Fletcher emailed me that photo!" Peter drew out his phone and got out the email for validation, "that intern you really liked saw it and she sold it to the papers!"

Lily blinked rapidly, "What?"

"Samantha Clark sold the photograph to the paper." Peter tucked his phone in his pocket, "don't worry, I made sure she'll never get another job in this industry."

Lily pushed her fingers through her hair, "why would she do that?"

"She was bitter after I fired the intern team." Peter said, "I never planned on anyone seeing that photo, I just asked Fletcher for proof that you were sneaking around with Potter."

"Why did you need proof?" Lily cried miserably, "why couldn't you leave well enough alone?"

"I don't think he's good for you." Peter said, "you deserve someone better than him."

"There is no one better than him!" Lily said, throwing her hands up in disbelief, "James is the kindest, most thoughtful, perfect person!"

"This is for the best." He said, "you two would've never lasted. "

"Peter, how could you?" Lily stomped her foot like a child, "I am finally happy! We were going to tell everyone after Piper premiered! We wanted to do it on our terms!"

"Lily it's not a good match," Peter said forcibly, "you need to date someone famous! It'll keep you on the A-list! You need to keep your name and status relevant, maybe then you'll actually sell some albums after this disastrous year!"

"James is the only one I want!" Lily had reached the step right before Peter's, "I don't give a shit about my status or how many albums I sell. I just want to be happy. Is that so bad? To just be happy? I want a cottage in England, and I want kids! I want to sing in old pubs again and write songs on swings in my backyard! I don't want to be the Queen of pop anymore! I just want to be Lily."

Peter's watery blue eyes narrowed, "I can't just let you throw away your career for some nameless joe-shmoe off the street!"

"I just want a healthy balance Peter," Lily said, "I still want to sing and write but I also want to go home to London whenever I want. I want to be able to see my sister more. I want-"

"Okay!" Peter pressed his fingers to his temple, "I get it!"

Lily whispered, "try to see my point of view, Peter."

"Why would you want anything other than this life that I gave you?" Peter asked.

Lily's lower lip wobbled, "Peter, the man who helped me all those years ago wouldn't have paid someone to severely invade my privacy!"

"I did that because I was worried about you."

"You did it because you wanted to try and get rid of James!" Lily accused, "I know you don't like him, or approve of him, but he's not going anywhere! I love him and I will choose him, if it comes between fame or family, I will always choose family."

"You have a contract coming up and the label won't be okay with you disappearing every few months to go shag a cripple and have a bunch of babies in the English countryside!"

Lily faltered backwards, feeling as if Peter had just shot her in the gut, "get out."

Peter seemed to realize he'd fucked up before he tried to touch her, but she yanked away from him. Lily wiped her tears from her eyes with one hand and used the other to point at the door.

"Get out!" she yelled, "now, or I'll have my bodyguard remove you with Fletcher!"

Peter huffed, stomping down the stairs as he monologued, "good luck convincing the label to let you semi-retire without my backing Evans! Don't call me unless you're willing to apologize!"

He slammed the door so hard one of the picture frames on her wall dropped and shattered on the floor. Lily grabbed her hair and tugged at the roots, screaming out loud. She stomped up the stairs, looking for her phone. She called James and he picked up after the first ring.

"Peter just came by," Lily didn't even bother to say hi, "you'll never guess who gave that photo to the papers."

"Who?" James sounded tired.

"Apparently after Fletcher took it," James crushed on the other end of the phone, "and Samantha Clark got ahold of it then sold it as revenge for getting fired?"

"Samantha Clark?" James asked, "Peter's intern?"

"Yeah."

"Well," James sounded wary, "she was probably super upset she got fired but that doesn't make up for the fact Peter paid someone to take pictures of you."

"I know," Lily fell into her bed, "James, it's so bad. I told Peter I wanted to split my time between singing and living a life with you. You would've thought I suggested I start a career as a baker in Alaska! He was so mad!"

"Speaking of mad," James said, "Moody went on a forty-five minute lecture in his office and I felt like I was back in primary school."

Lily tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear, "did he take you quitting well?"

"Not really." James said, "he wants to reassign me, obviously, for the last four weeks of the contract."

"He can't do that!" Lily threw her pillow at the ground irately, "He can't just send you on another mission without me!"

"What do you want me to do Lily?" James snarled into the phone, "Like it or not, he's still my boss for the next month."

"Always a soldier, doing what you're told." she snapped bitterly, "I swear to god James, I won't make it a week without you. You-you make me feel safe."

"I can't tell Moody no," he said, "I'm still under contract."

"Fuck the contract!" Lily bellowed, "fuck Moody! Fuck Peter! Fuck everyone telling us how to live! I'm sick and tired of people telling me what to do!"

James seemed to realize he'd hit a nerve because he tried soothing her down with a softer voice, "once the month is up, we should take a long vacation to a private island."

Lily thought of his hands getting caught up in her hair somewhere with a sweet island breeze. That eased her a little bit, but she was still mad. Moody was going to try and reassign James. Lily wasn't about to let that happen. When she hung up on James, she went down to find Frank in the computer room. Alice and Fletcher had disappeared.

"Alright Lil?" Franked asked when he saw the hardness in her eyes.

"May I borrow your phone?"

"Erm," Frank motioned to the cell on the table next to him, "sure, password is 4325."

Lily opened his phone and went to contacts. She found the person she was looking for easily because he was listed under Frank's favorites. Lily hit the button to dial before she placed the phone on her ear. Frank watched, wary of Lily's cool and calm demeanor.

"Hello?" Moody's gruff voice was always super identifiable.

"Moody?"

"Yes, I'm taking it this is Miss Evans." Moody sounded unsurprised by her sudden call, "it's been a long time since Manchester, Miss Evans."

"Indeed." Lily said coolly, "I'm calling on behalf of James Potter."

"I figured."

"I want him back." she said confidently, "he's not to be reassigned for his last four weeks."

"I'm afraid I've already removed him from your team," Moody said.

"No, that's not okay," Lily said, "I want him here tomorrow."

"Miss Evans," Moody appeased, "I run a high detail security service, not a dating service."

"James is a part of my high security detail," Lily said, "without him, I don't feel safe and I paid for three bodyguards, not two."

"You have Fletcher." Moody growled, "problem solved."

"Actually," Lily said, "I fired Fletcher for you."

"You did what?" Moody barked.

"He took unsolicited photos of me in private." Lily said, "Alice walked him out herself."

There was a long pause and then Moody grumbled, "are you tellin' me Fletcher took those photographs that are causing all this drama?"

"Yes." Lily said, "which is why you're going to give me back James until James' contract is null and void next month."

"What?"

"Because Mr. Moody," Lily said, "I know you prefer to keep your prestigious reputation in Hollywood, so I'd hate for that reputation to be tarnished by a guard taking unsolicited photographs of a client."

Moody sounded aggravated on the other end of the phone, "you're a fiery one, aren't you?"

"Do we have a deal?"

"Potter has to fill out some paperwork for me tomorrow afternoon for the legal team since he's quitting," Moody said, "but after that I'll have him on a plane back to New York for the last four weeks."

"Good." Lily said, nodding her head, "pleasure doing business with you."

Lily put down the phone. Frank slowly clapped from his chair.

"That," Frank said, "was impressive."

Lily nodded curtly at him, "I told you I wasn't going to let him reassign James."

Frank shook his head, "I shouldn't have underestimated you."

As Lily walked back upstairs to take a shower, she considered that a lot of people had been underestimating her for a long time. It was time that she took back her own life and controlled her own narrative.

She should be allowed to feel and think and grow.

She should be allowed to sing what she wanted to sing.

Most importantly, she should be allowed to love who she wanted to love.