Lily just couldn't stop replaying last night in her mind.

She hadn't meant to come off as snappish as she had, or as mean as she had sounded. Obviously he wouldn't be prancing around the hallways with mud just for the fun of it. Of course something was wrong. It had just been a terrible, no-good day at the office, and she'd just... blown up. He'd sort of been the last straw.

And then the blood incident happened.

She cringed. How ignorant and oblivious could she be? That had been so insensitive.

Obviously she had to apologize.

She pulled on a cropped brown argyle sweater and cozy pink sweatpants before going over to his apartment, a floor above hers, and ringing the doorbell. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her eyes flying open when James opened the door. He was wearing a long, baggy grey shirt and jeans. His black hair was shaggy, strands pulled down all over. Yet it still looked... surprisingly good. His expression darkened when he saw her.

He let out a sigh. "Look, Evans, if you're here about the mud, you can probably tell that I already got it cleaned-"

"No, James, that's not why I'm here."

He didn't say anything, but he raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to say sorry," she blurted out. "I realize I've been really, um, harsh on you lately, for no good reason, and like... I mean... Ugh, I don't even know what to say. I've been cold towards you and yesterday was, uh, totally uncalled for. I mean, I should've realized that obviously something was wrong. And I mean, well… I don't know. I've just been going through a kind of tough time. Work drama and all that. I mean, I know it's no excuse for being a brat, but…"

He cut her off, looking the tiniest bit amused by her rambling. "It's fine, Evans, I get it. I was being a jerk too. I shouldn't have been so mean at the mall. And yesterday, I, uh, it had been a horrible day. Something... happened, and..."

"It's okay," Lily told him, noticing the dark look that had passed by his face. "You don't have to talk about it. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry. Can we start over?"

James nodded, smiling. He really had a charming smile. It was slightly mischievous, slightly gentlemanly, slightly kind, slightly flirtatious, and just a bunch of other aspects to it. He was very alluring.

"So… that was really it," Lily said. "I'll go now."

"Why? Do you have to go somewhere?" he asked. "Or is someone waiting for you back home?"

Lily looked at him curiously. "No..."

James grinned, opening the door wide. "Then come on in."

A small smile made its way across Lily's face as she stepped over the threshold and into his apartment. There were posters all over his walls, the walls were a light blue, and it was a pretty messy place, too. Empty coke cans and chocolate wrappers were laying all over tables and floors.

"What the…" She looked over at the posters. Most of them had soccer teams, though she didn't bother looking at all the faces on the posters. She didn't know anyone who played soccer, anyway, so she wouldn't know any of them. The rest were of movies, bands, and a whole lot of other random things. "So I take it you like soccer?"

He smirked, an amusing glint in his eye. "Yeah. I love it. It's practically my life."

"Nice," she mused. "I don't follow it much. I'm not much of a soccer person."

"Well, aren't I offended," he muttered, grinning slightly. "Anyway, go on, sit down. Do you want something to drink? Eat? Anything?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Oh, and where's your sidekick?"

"My who?" he asked, looking confused.

"Your friend? The guy at the ice cream truck?"

"My… Oh! Dandy." James grinned. "He's in his room. For once. He was being a nuisance, so I threw him out."

Lily laughed. "What was he doing?"

"I have two words. Horrible. Singing."

Lily snorted.

"And this horrible stuff." James pointed at all the wrappers and cans. "That was all him."

She raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. "You're telling me that you didn't have any of that? Not even one?"

"Nope. I'm going on a diet."

She quickly scanned his body, and she came up with the conclusion that he was absolutely stupid, because he was so athletic. Why on Earth would he need to diet? But she kept quiet, not wanting to say anything.

"You sure you don't want anything to drink?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Too bad. I'm going to get you a Coke. Is that okay?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

He smiled that charming smile of his and got two Cokes from the cooler, tossing one to Lily. She leaned forward and caught it.

His eyes glinted. "Not bad."

She rolled her eyes as he walked over and sat on the sofa. He drummed his fingers along the cushions next to him. "Come on, sit."

She sat.

"So," he started, "tell me about yourself. Where do you work?"

"I'm a fashion designer."

He glanced down at her sweater. "Did you design that, then?"

"Nah, this is just from a store. But I normally only wear my company's clothes. I've got to advertise for them. I work there."

He smirked. "Yeah, figured. I need to see some of your clothes someday."

"Sure, sure. Come over anytime. Anyway, where do you work?"

He hesitated, and then replied, "I'm a stockbroker."

"Oh. Cool," she replied. "That's pretty big. Do you work on your own or as part of a firm?"

"On my own," he replied. He popped open his soda can and took a sip. "Anyway, who's Buddy?"

"What?"

"The other day you said you had to take Buddy for a walk. Is he your pet or something?"

"Yeah," she replied. "He's my puppy."

"Aww, that's cute. I've always wanted a dog."

"Well, why didn't you get one?"

He shrugged. "I'm not the most… ah… responsible. I don't think I could handle having a dog. I'd forget to feed it, take it on walks, treat it, not let it destroy my stuff… oh, dear, I'd be terrible."

She laughed, taking a sip from her soda. "You just gotta train them. It's no big deal."

"I'd train them to pull pranks on people, mind you," replied James, and she laughed.

Lily marveled at how different he was. He was easy and fun to talk to, really relaxed, and it was just a normal conversation. Almost between two friends. Was he really the same man that she'd been hating for so long? Did he have a long lost twin or something? Because she couldn't see how anyone could hate James. She must've been out of her mind, because he was just... easy.

"How long have you been in New York?" he asked her.

"For my entire life. I was born here. I grew up here. I know every nook and cranny of this place," she answered, swishing her hair out of her face. "What about you?"

"I moved here only around five years ago, but I moved into this apartment around a week ago."

"Yeah, I can tell." She rolled her eyes, remembering the music incident.

"I travel a lot, though, so I probably won't be in this apartment a lot. I'm out and about all the time."

"Why? You like traveling?"

"Well, yes, but my work demands it."

"Really?" She hadn't thought a stock broker had to travel. No, they didn't, actually. So why… She shook her head, deciding to let it rest. "Interesting. I don't travel that much. I mean, I like traveling, I've gone to the Caribbean a lot, but I'm just a… New York girl. At heart. New York is everything."

"Go Yankees."

She laughed. "Yeah. Go Yankees."

Just then, the door flew open and someone came in. He had brushed back brown hair and freckles on his face. He was wearing a blue sweater and khakis.

"Hey, Jam-"

"How the heck did you get the key to my room?" James demanded.

"Dandy gave it to me. He's quite useful," the man replied, his eyes twinkling.

James rolled his eyes. "Naturally. Stupid guy. Anyway, what brings you here, Charlie?"

"Just to visit, dude. We're friends. At least, I like to think so." He turned to Lily. "Hey. Sorry, I didn't see you."

Lily smiled. "It's cool. I'm Lily."

"Charlie." He turned to James, his eyes glinting. "You never told me you'd found a woman. Such a dashing one, I may add."

Lily didn't know what to do, so she just decided not to blush.

James rolled his eyes again. "I haven't. She's only my neighbor. Lily Evans." He threw Charlie a subtle look.

"Oh, Lily Evans!" Charlie nodded, grinning. "Yes, yes, James has talked about you."

"He has?" Lily asked. None of them were good, she was sure. They'd only gotten a decent rapport going today.

"No," James cut in, glaring at Charlie. "He's just joking. Like he always does. Don't mind him. Can you get lost, Charlie?"

"Do you really want me to leave?" he asked, smiling amusedly. He turned to Lily. "Do you want me to go?"

"Yo, Charles." James raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Hey, hey, don't interrupt. I'm talking to the lady." He turned back to Lily. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Um…"

"You're putting her on the spot, you idiot."

Lily had no clue what to do. "Um, yeah?"

"I'm so offended," he pretended to whine.

Lily blinked. "Sorry. I mean..."

He grinned, waving his hand in the air lazily. "Just messin' with you. I'll see you guys around. Oh, Lily, can I have your phone number? You look lovely today, by the way."

Lily tried hard not to blush, laughing instead, and hesitantly gave him her phone number. She didn't even know him. He grinned and left the room.

"Oy, you!" shouted James. "Gimme my keys back!"

They could hear his laughter.

James grimaced. "Sorry about that."

Lily laughed. "It's fine. He's funny."

"Yeah, he is." James cast her a strange look. "Did you want him to stay? I could call him back, if you want."

"No, I didn't mean that. I just said he's funny."

"Yeah, but if you liked him and wanted him to stay… I didn't mean to send him away. I shouldn't have without actually asking you."

Lily smiled softly. "It's fine, James. I did want him to leave, actually."

"Oh, yeah?" James laughed, the mischievous glint back in his eyes. "Looks like you're warming up to me."

"No, I'm not," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Well, I guess. I have to get to know you. Especially if we're going to be living next to each other."

James grinned. "Above and below each other, actually. I'm glad I got the top flat, though. And I'm glad you're the flat below me. I know you won't complain."

"Complain? After all that loud music you do?" Lily rolled her eyes. "No, but seriously. I'm going to complain if you pump up music again."

"I love music!"

"So do I, but people in Kentucky can't hear it when I play songs."

He smirked. "Nobody in Kentucky heard my music, Lily. Nobody else complained."

Lily sighed. "You're so annoying. I wonder how people put up with you."

"Everyone puts up with me. Everybody loves me. Your friend Marissa loves me."

She rolled her eyes. "No. My friend Marissa loves her fiance. Jake."

"Ah, this Jake. Ruins everything." James shook his head.

"Very funny."

"You do realize I'm joking, though, right? I don't have any interest in Marissa."

She raised an eyebrow. "She's pretty."

"Yeah, well… I've always been more of one for the red heads." He winked.

"Lame."

He smirked. "But seriously. I don't have any interest in Marissa."

"I can believe that… but she definitely goes crazy over you. And it's not even like you're her old friend from school or… or… or something acceptable. You're random."

"Thanks a lot."

She took a deep breath, and then sighed. "Sorry. I'm being rude. I'm just… you're very irking."

He laughed. "It's my speciality. But most of what I say is meant in a joking way. I don't mean anything to actually offend you. Most of the time."

"I know." She finished her Coke. "Uh, where do I put this?"

James held out his hand. "Give it."

She held out the Coke and he took it, their fingers brushing. His hands were warm and strong, having the air of some sort of workout or strenuous exercise that had been done recently.

He got up and went to put the Coke in the trash can, and she asked, "You work out?"

He looked up. "Well… yeah? Why?"

"Just wondering," she replied, running her hand through her hair. "You seem like the type."

He snorted. "Do I, now?"

She rolled her eyes (she did that so much around him) as he came back and plopped down on the couch.

"What degrees do you have?" Lily wondered.

He raised an eyebrow. "Degrees?"

"Yeah. Like… Bachelor's. Doctorate. Master's. What do you have?"

"I've studied until 10 o'clock."

"Huh?"

"School started at 8:30. Once 10 came around, I realized it wasn't for me and walked out."

She stared at him. He had a serious face. "What the…"

Then he burst out into laughter. "Just kidding. I've studied until 8th grade, though. No jokes this time."

Her eyes widened. "Seriously? What happened? Were you expelled?"

"Nope. I dropped out."

She could tell that the two had almost nothing in common. He'd only studied until 8th grade. She'd been to college and gotten several degrees.

How on Earth did a stock broker do that?

But how did that explain the apartment suite?

Unless he'd borrowed a loan and wasn't planning on returning it…

"Um, Lily?" he asked, waving his hand in front of her face. "Dude. Come back to life."

She blinked. "Oh. Sorry."

He grinned. "What, you think I'm stupid and want to get the heck out of here now?"

"No. That's not it. I just… am kinda shocked." Then she frowned. "Isn't it illegal to drop out of school or something?"

He smirked at her, countering her question with another. "Are you the kind of person who diligently follows rules and everything?"

"I wouldn't say I followed rules. I just did what was best for me, which was to do my work and do well on tests. That was all I cared about, honestly."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Why'd you quit school, though? Like, any particular reason?"

He frowned. "Well, you know, if you really think about it… everyone has something in life they need to get to, right. If you look deep, there's a meaning to it."

She raised an eyebrow. "You call that an answer?"

"No, you know… it was kinda just mapped out for me. It was plain, you know, I'd always just… you know…" He wiped his sleeve across his forehead. "There was just, like, no real reason for me to continue, and like, I just felt that it was enough, you know? I didn't really feel like I had to continue. There was no point."

She stared at him. It was obvious he didn't want to answer the question. That, or he was terrible at answering easy questions. She was going with the former. "Sure," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let's go with that. What did you do after you dropped out?"

The gleam in his eyes returned. "Asking about personal things in my childhood life already! Moving rather fast, don't you think?"

She rolled her eyes. "For what seems like the hundredth time, I have no interest in you."

"Okay, okay. That'll change soon, though." He grinned at her, holding out his hand. "Friends?"

She tilted her head to the side, glancing at his hand, and then back, a teasing smile on her face.

"I'll think about it."

A/N: After all that banter and stuff, here's just some sweet Jily fluff for you guys!

Random question: Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, or White Chocolate?