AN: Happy Sunday! I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Don't forget to drink some water today

Enjoy

Luckily, the swelling in Lily's ankle went down enough in the following hours to dim her own concern and to allow her to put enough weight on it to get up the stairs. Her mum wrapped it for her and then gave her another dose of Motrin.

She looked out her window to see if James' light was on, but his room was dark.

Her phone was still in rice in the kitchen, so she wrote a note that said 'goodnight,' and she almost made the dot above the 'i' a heart. She taped it up to the window so he would see it if he looked toward her room, and then carefully got into bed. After the eventful evening, she fell asleep rather quickly.

The sun decided that it was going to be out in full force after last night's storm, which Lily wasn't mad about, but she did give it an annoyed look as she pulled herself out of bed. She gingerly tested her ankle, and when it hardly twinged, she stood up.

She turned toward her window and saw that her note was gone. She frowned and found it on the floor under her bed.

Perfect. Now her and James hadn't communicated at all since he got out of her mum's car.

She slowly made her way downstairs to collect her phone. Of course, it was dry, but now the battery had died, so she plugged it in to her mum's charger that she left in the kitchen and started making breakfast.

"Just because your ankle feels better doesn't mean that you should be on your feet," Rose said as she came into the kitchen. "Why are you up so early?" She took over at the stove for Lily who limped over to where her phone was and turned it on.

"The sun woke me up and then I couldn't fall back asleep."

Before her phone could load, there was a knock on the door. She looked over at her mum, who shrugged and made to go and answer it.

"No, I'll get it." Lily said.

"Alright, but then you're sitting down!" Rose called after her as she hobbled toward the door.

She pulled it open and was relieved to see that she was right. "James," She tucked her hair back behind her ears and smiled. "I haven't gotten my phone to turn on yet-"

"I'll pay for a new one," His hand jumped to his hair. "I am so sorry about yesterday." His eyes darted down to her ankle and she shrugged.

"It's fine, and my phone is fine too." She stood up straighter and pointed her injured foot toward him, wanting him to understand that it really didn't hurt anymore. "Better me than you, right?"

"No, not right." He looked miserable. "Don't say that, I feel horrible. Nothing went right yesterday and I got you injured."

"Mum only wrapped it as a precaution." Lily shook her head. "Please don't feel bad, alright? I'm fine and I still got to eat some really good bread yesterday."

He gave her something that looked like a smile but made her feel more nervous than anything.

"Do you want to join us for breakfast?"

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, thank you though. I just came over to drop these off. You left them in my car and it looks like she'll be in the shop for a while." He held out her bag and her jacket.

"Oh," She reached out and took them.

"I've got a meeting with my manager in a few minutes."

"Okay," She nodded, leaning forward on her tiptoes. "Well, I'll talk to you later then?"

"Right," He nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Have a good breakfast. I'm really sorry about your ankle." He turned to leave and Lily reached out for his wrist.

Her fingers curled around nothing though and he continued to walk off her porch.

She bit the tip of her tongue and willed him to turn around and see her standing there with her hand still reaching out for him. But he didn't look back.

And then he had disappeared back into his house.

Leaving her standing on her porch with her stomach tying itself in knots.

She closed the door and slowly walked back into the kitchen with her jacket and her bag. She put them on the counter and turned toward her phone.

"Lily?" Her mum spoke softly.

Her phone was on now, and she had messages and missed calls from both Marlene and Mary, she even had a message from Sirius.

But there was nothing from James.

Maybe her phone was still loading everything. Maybe it just hadn't come through yet.

Her mum was setting the table now and Lily clicked on Sirius' message.

Sirius: I heard that James broke your ankle with his piss poor planning skill. He's allergic to elderberries if you want to get some revenge

His message didn't seem out of the ordinary, but it had also been sent yesterday.

She clicked her phone off and joined her mum at the table.

"I think James has decided that he doesn't want to see me anymore." Lily said as she sat down, pulling the pancakes toward her only to look at them sorrowfully. She didn't really want to eat pancakes anymore.

"He couldn't have-"

"He just gave me my stuff back and then left." Lily interrupted. "He just left. And he-" She didn't know how to explain it. "Do you think he took last night as some kind of sign? I mean, his car broke, then we got rained out, then I twisted my ankle and our phones were soaked."

"You said that you had a nice time before the rain came."

"I did have a nice time." Lily said quietly.

That afternoon, she went back to the library. She didn't really want to go anywhere except next door so she could try and get James to talk to her, but she'd told Ms. McGonagall that she would come back to see Ms. Sprout. And she wanted to go and see the librarians!

There was the possibility that she was misreading things where James was concerned as well. He still hadn't texted her, but she also hadn't texted him. Though that might have been for fear that he wouldn't return her text, or more accurately, how he would return her text. Because she knew that if she texted him, he would answer her, but she didn't want his answer to be polite and short like it had been when they'd spoken on the porch.

She drove down to the library and parked in the spot that she'd always used to park in, and waited for the nostalgia to take place of her anxiety.

It took a minute, until Ms. Sprout was in sight for the anxiety to step aside, but soon she was being wrapped in one of the warmest hugs she'd ever received and inhaling the smell of books and industrial carpet.

"Oh, Lily," Pomona squeezed her tightly to her chest. "It is so good to see you, pet!" She pulled back, holding onto Lily's shoulders so she could look at her. "You've grown into such a lovely young woman, hasn't she, Minny?"

Ms. McGonagall was sitting behind the desk, smiling at the two of them over the tops of her glasses. "Yes, she has. I'll go and put the kettle on."

"Wonderful," Lily leaned into Pomona's side and the older woman gave her another hug. She'd always been warm and affectionate and it had always come with no strings attached.

Ms. Sprout walked with her around the library, showing her all the new plants that she'd put into the new spaces that Ms. McGonagall had put in. "I just don't have the head for all this new technology." She said, waving her hands at the new computers. "How am I supposed to be a good librarian when I can't help the patrons use the computers? When I can't even figure out how to use the fancy new light switches we have?" She laughed and then pointed out another plant before Lily could jump to her defense.

They circled back around to the front desk and Ms. McGonagall had already pulled her up a chair and set out three teacups.

Soon they were all sitting and sipping tea, and it was like she had stepped back in time, but better. Unlike the diner, this place had changed, and it didn't make her sad to see the changes either. The librarians that she'd looked up to so much were still here, but the building that she had spent so much of her time in was changing for the better. Changing in a way that would make sure that it continued to be a safe and welcoming space for kids in the future.

"This is all so exciting," Lily said, looking back over her shoulder at all the changes.

"You don't miss the stodgy old carpet?" Ms. Sprout laughed.

"Or the brick computers? Is that what you used to call them?"

"I believe so."

Lily smiled at them and set her teacup down. "I'm very excited to see what you two come up with next."

"Well," Ms. McGonagall shrugged a shoulder, only slightly. "I told you, Pomona and I do feel a bit out of our depths. We'll probably have to hire someone to come in and help with all the new stuff."

"Yes," Ms. Sprout nodded, "I wouldn't know the first thing about setting up a writing workshop or getting an author to show up."

Lily had coordinated both of those things through her internship last summer, but she didn't think that Ms. Sprout was looking for advice just then. "Well, I'm still very excited. I'll be at every new event."

Ms. Sprout gave Ms. McGonagall a look, and she shook her head, pressing her lips together. "We already talked about this," McGonagall said.

"I know we did, but I still think we should talk to Lily about it."

"Talk to Lily about what?" Lily asked, looking back and forth between the two women. This wasn't new, they had always had conversations with one another while in front of others. Ms. McGonagall had told her that they got away with it because they were old and no one was going to call them out on it. Lily had enjoyed calling them out on it ever since.

They both turned back toward her with wide eyes.

"She'll say no if she doesn't want to." Sprout said, still looking at Lily.

"Well fine then, go ahead. But you don't have to if you don't want to," Lily was pretty sure that this was said to her.

"We want to offer the job to you." Ms. Sprout clapped her hands together in excitement.

Lily already had her brows raised, but she felt them go up a bit higher. "The job?"

And then Ms. McGonagall jumped in and started explaining in more detail what she had started to tell Lily about yesterday. They needed someone to help coordinate and run all the new events that they wanted to start. Someone tech savvy who could help with website content and social media accounts. They needed someone who knew how to speak to authors and their agents to get them to come do readings or writer's workshops.

It was a pretty big job once Ms. McGonagall had laid it all out, a lot more than what Lily had assumed they were looking for yesterday. Yesterday she hadn't really thought about the job at all, she had been so focused on her upcoming date with James.

And now, she wasn't sure what to think.

"Like we said," Ms. Sprout smiled after Ms. McGonagall had finished explaining. "You can say no, but I really hope you'll consider it. I know that we're not a publishing house, but we would so love the opportunity to work with you and learn from you in all these new areas. We want all this new stuff to succeed, and I really think that you're the right person for the job! Who else loves books and this library as much as you do?"

"Apart from Pomona and I of course," Ms. McGonagall smiled. "And it's not just your love of books, but your love of sharing books and stories that we think would make you perfect for the job."

"But again, feel free to say no. We're not trying to pressure you into anything by buttering you up with tea and smiles." They were both looking at her now, waiting for her to say something.

She took a deep breath through her nose and smiled at the both of them. "Thank you both for the offer. I'll definitely consider it. It sounds a lot different than I thought it was when we talked yesterday. I have a few interviews lined up, one tomorrow." She nodded at McGonagall. "I'm very interested." She said honestly. She'd worked in her college library, but that was just checking out books and putting them away, this was an entirely different job that she hadn't yet considered.

They chatted for a little while longer before Lily left the library.

She felt slightly better than she had earlier, but once she was back in her car, the anxiety from her weird interaction with James, and the fact that he still hadn't texted her yet today, had her stomach back in knots.

She picked up dinner from a Chinese place nearby, feeling like she needed a break from Hopper's, and then went back home, turning over the idea of just knocking on James' door and forcing him to eat with her. Even if he didn't answer the door, she wasn't really afraid of what Mia or Monty would think anymore. They knew that she fancied James, and so they would let her in.

Unless James told them not to. Though why would he have done that? She felt like she was spiraling and she knew that the only way she was going to get her brain to shut up was to talk to James.

But instead of knocking on his door when she got home, she decided to text Sirius instead.

Lily: Is James not-breaking up with me?

Sirius: What's with the hyphen?

Lily: You and Benjy called me his not-girlfriend. Is he not-breaking up with me?

Sirius: Why the hell would he dump you?

Lily: Sirius.

Sirius: Lily.

Sirius: Was the date really as bad as he made it sound?

Lily: No! We had a great time!

Lily: And I didn't break my ankle!

Sirius: He did tell me that you broke your ankle, tho I figured he was being dramatic

Lily: He gave me my shit back and hasn't texted me all day. And said that he didn't want to hang out.

Lily: Can you just say something like, 'I know James better than you do, everything is fine'?

Sirius: I can talk to him I guess

Lily: That's not what I wanted you to say!

Lily: That makes me nervous!

Sirius: You have no reason to be nervous.

Sirius: I mean, if he is trying to dump you, you can just reject the dumping

Lily: I don't think that's how it works

Sirius: Okay but it would work with James

Sirius: He's here with me

Sirius: You should really just text him

Lily: What if he ignores me tho?

Sirius: The boy doesn't know how to do that, Lily. Trust me.

Lily chewed on her lip and tapped her fingers against her phone. She tried to remember exactly what James had said that morning.

She knew Sirius was right. The only way to find anything out was if she talked to James.

Lily: How did your meeting go? Are you having buyer's remorse?

Rose walked in through the garage door and raised her brows when she saw Lily sitting at the kitchen table with her knees tucked under her chin.

"What are you doing home?"

"I just got back from the library. I got us dinner."

"I would have thought you'd be with James."

"Hard to do that when he's avoiding me." Lily muttered, though she supposed she was only assuming that he was avoiding her based on how he had acted that morning. Maybe something else had put him in a weird mood. Maybe he was just sad about his car and stressed about talking to his manager. Maybe she was being a bit dense for assuming that it had anything to do with her.

Her phone vibrated.

James: It went well. No remorse. He's glad I finally made a choice.

Lily bit her tongue.

"Are you texting him?"

"Trying to." Lily muttered. Did James always use that much punctuation? He definitely didn't normally make his sentences so short.

Lily: Great!

Lily: Should we get some ice cream later?

Lily: I've gotten quite used to seeing you every day

She clicked her phone off so she wouldn't have to watch the little dots appear. Her mum had gotten plates out of the cupboard and sat down across from Lily. She handed her a plate and Lily took it. She filled it with food as she waited for James to reply.

She started humming nervously as she took a bite of her spring roll.

"Did you get to see Pomona?"

"I did," Lily nodded. "I had tea with the both of them. They actually offered me a job."

"They did?" Rose grinned. "Better than the diner, right?"

Lily bit the inside of her cheek. "No, they offered me a real job, not something temporary. Remember how I told you that they're upgrading everything? They want to hire someone to help them with all that entails. Making reading groups, scheduling classes, bringing authors in to read from their books. They want someone to help the library be more engaged with the community."

"Oh?" She sounded more excited now. "Well that sounds right up your alley, yes?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded, and then her phone vibrated. "I just can't think about it because I'm too busy being stupid over a boy." She huffed, picking up her phone.

James: I've got plans with the lads tonight, but I'm sure we'll see each other tomorrow

Lily: Are you trying to blow me o-

She deleted the text before she sent it. And then she typed out a few other variations of the same thing. She thought about texting Sirius again to say that she was right. She typed out 'remember how you told me to be direct so that people didn't get confused?' and then she deleted that too.

Lily: Have fun!

She put her phone back down and looked over to the counter, where the flowers he'd gotten her yesterday were still looking fresh and lovely and perfect.

"Did you ask him if something was wrong?" Rose asked.

"No." Lily shook her head. "Because if I ask him, then he might say yes." She rubbed her palms over her face. "Anyway, about the job. I think I'd really like to work in the library, especially with Ms. Sprout and Ms. McGonagall. I'm still going to go to the interviews that I have lined up, but we'll see."

Rose nodded. "I'd be glad to have you around longer."

"And it would help me build up my resume." Lily grinned. "And yes, we have to get through our pirate movies."

"Much more important than a resume." Rose chuckled. "You know that boy is besotted with you, right? Whatever is going on, it's fixable."

Lily shrugged. "We'll see."

Sirius: Things good now?

Lily: Trust me, he says.

Sirius: So, no

Lily: He texted me in four word sentences with so much punctuation!

Sirius: I honestly think he's just stressed out

Lily: Then he should tell me that

Lily: Do you all actually have plans tonight? Or is he blowing me off?

Sirius: We do have plans

Lily: Promise?

Sirius: Promise.

Lily: Thanks for checking in

Sirius: Benjy said that I had to as part of my apology than never happened

Lily: Well, then thank Benjy for me

Lily: He's kind of great

Sirius: Kind of

Sirius: So are you

Lily: You're alright

Sirius: I'll take it