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She got home as per usual at five thirty that night, stopping by at Mr. Kim's place next door after smelling homemade kimchi, and had dinner with her neighbour, a very kind old retired university professor, and incredible cook. She informed the older man about the shift in her lovelife, a topic Mr. Kim found much delight, and many chances to offer advice, with, and listened with a smile as he expounded all the ways her and Harvey had never been right for one another. Lily also listened to the advice the much older man offered about Scorpius, even if she disregarded the bulk of it. She doubted her lover-turned-semi-boyfriend would want to hear an ultimatum to marry her or have nothing more to do with her.

By the time she unlocked her front door properly, and went into her apartment, she was in a much better mood than before she'd eaten, especially when she'd returned home earlier that morning to an empty apartment, noticeably free of any blond, sexy men. Good old Mr. Kim and his food. It was always a good time having dinner with the old man, and she enjoyed his quick wit and sharp tongue after a long workday.

She got changed and was just picking up her cell to phone Scorpius, wondering if he was free that evening when there was a knock at her door. A slow smile lit her face when she opened the door to find her best friend Daphne on the other side, holding a plastic shopping bag that looked heavy in one hand, a paper bag moulded to the shape of a wine bottle in the other. "Daph!" she said, opening the door wider, but then her smile dropped. "Uh oh."

Because upon seeing Lily, and the redhead's pleased greeting, the other woman's face had crumpled, leaving her looking sad and miserable. "I need sympathy, because men are awful, and the only use they have is their sex drives and the thing in their pants medical science and sex shops haven't been able to properly substitute yet," Daphne said, and Lily pulled her best friend into a hug.

"C'mon in, darling," she cooed, knowing what her bestie needed was a sympathetic, nurturing night of wine and junk food, because she smacked of being screwed over in her love life. The signs were still fresh in memory after Lily had seen them in her own reflection not so long ago. "What are you getting on your pizza, doll?" the redhead asked reaching for her phone as Daphne wilted onto the couch.

"Extra pepperoni, onions, and double cheese," she sighed, pulling the wine out of the paper bag, and plonking the plastic bag atop Lily's coffee table. The redhead grimaced. Extra pepperoni, onions, and double cheese was the official heartbreak order, and even as the redhead tapped out the number for her favourite pizza place, she went to fetch wine glasses and spoons for the tub of triple chocolate ice cream Daphne was cracking open.

"I want all the details, girl," Lily said, then placed her order quickly for delivery. Extra large pizza, all Daphne's favourite toppings, and a side order of french fries, for Lily herself. She gave out her address, was told her order would arrive in approximately thirty minutes, and joined her bestie on the couch to eat ice cream and commiserate.

To Lily's surprise, Daphne handed her her cellphone, a sleek, black, ultra high tech and top of the line model, and the redhead looked down at her friend's last text messages with her boy toy. "He dumped me through a text," Daphne sighed, pouring them generous glasses of wine. Lily, who was reading the message, scowled. "Apparently I'm nothing more than a good lay," she said, and Lily hugged her friend close, even as Daphne's blue eyes sparkled with tears. "And to think, I spent two whole months trying to prove to that dick that I'm not a whore, even if I slept with two of his friends before him, and even told that sexy guy at the car wash I was taken, when I bet he'd have given me a way better night than fucking Kevin!"

"He's a loser," Lily said firmly, handing the cell phone back. "A loser, and an idiot, and an absolute fucking pig for thinking you're only good for a great lay." The redhead pushed the wine glass into Daphne's hand, even as she sipped from her own. "You're gorgeous, and smart, and he's obviously just insecure with himself, honey."

Daphne smiled sadly, then gulped some wine down. "True as that may be, girl, I'm still single and lonely."

Lily pulled her friend into a hug again. "You might be alone, for now, Daph, but you're not going to be lonely. If I know you, which I like to think I do after all these years, you'll find a good dick within the week."

Daphne sighed. "Honestly, though, Lils? The worst part is, I thought maybe, this time around, I'd found a decent man with a good dick. One to settle down with. I mean, he was obviously flawed, and obviously I can do so much better, blah blah blah, but Kevin was…" She sighed again. "I thought he might be worth giving up the revolving door of dicks." The redhead blinked. Sure, she'd know her bestie had fallen hard for her as of now ex, but Lily hadn't ever thought Daphne wanted to 'settle down'. "I know, plot twist, right?" Daphne said, draining her wine glass. "But I kind of want a real, honest to God relationship. Not another hook up, or one night stand, or even a fling. I want stability, and long-term, and maybe kind of permanent."

Lily refilled her wine. "You know what that means," she murmured, arching a brow.

"I know. You're rubbing off on me, girl. And I'm getting old. Ew."

Lily laughed, even as there was a knock at the door, and rolled her eyes. Figures. They say thirty minutes, and twenty minutes later the pizza shows up. "You're not getting old, Daph. You're finally maturing," the redhead said over her shoulder as she grabbed up her purse

"I don't want to be mature. I just want to come home to the same great lay every night, and know that in the morning, I won't be sneaking out or trying to convince some troglodyte to get the hell out of my flat."

"Let me rephrase; you're becoming sexually mature," the redhead said, and opened the door she hadn't bothered locking after Daphne's arrival. For a beat she was confused as to why Scorpius was standing there, instead of some teenaged pizza delivery kid, and then she smiled, because he looked surprised. "Oh shit, you're not my pizza," she said, even as she moved to throw her arms around his neck and pull him down to kiss him in greeting.

"Not tonight," he said, and then looked over Lily's shoulder to where his cousin sat, looking limp and sad, on Lily's couch. "Uh oh, I hope I'm not-"

"Er," Lily said, even as Daphne looked round, saw her best friend hugging her latest male interest, and burst into tears.

"Fuck, this isn't fair!" the darker haired woman whined. "You got dumped by your loser boyfriend and didn't even have to go looking for a good rebound!"

"Thanks, Daphne," Scorpius said and then looked at Lily, pointedly removing his hands from where they'd automatically gone around her waist. "I'm thinking I should go," he murmured. Lily frowned, wanting Scorpius to stay, and then had a brilliant idea.

"Is your friend Milos still single?" she asked innocently.

"I suppose so," Scorpius replied, and even as blond eyebrows pulled together in confusion, Lily grinned.

"Invite him to dinner," she said, and kissed him far too briefly once more. Scorpius was still confused about why she cared if fucking Milos of all people was single, but Daphne, who he noticed was drinking from her wineglass like it was water, and she had yet to quench her thirst, seemed to understand what Lily was playing at.

"Not happening, Lily," she said firmly.

The redhead instantly turned and pouted at her best friend, going back to the couch to sit with her, leaving Scorpius standing in the still-open doorway. "Why not?" she cajoled. "I've met this guy. He seems sweet. And he makes pancakes, apparently, if he sleeps over." Lily could tell for the tiniest beat Daphne was sorely tempted, but the dark haired woman simply shook her head.

"Oh for God's sake, Scorpius, just come in," she said, rolling her eyes as her older cousin, the one she'd secretly, as a kid, thought was unbearably cool and strived to emulate, shuffled in, closing the door behind himself and pointedly throwing the lock. Then Daphne looked at Lily, and the redhead stared steadily back at her best friend. "I don't think I'm up for some random just staying over," she murmured, looking away.

"But Scorpius can vouch for him!" the redhead declared. "He knows him, I swear." She glanced up at the tall blond who'd moved to hover at the side of the sofa where she was seated. "Come sit, Scorpius, and tell Daph all the wonderful things about Milos. Don't you think they'd be cute together? Or that Milos would at least good rebound material after some shitty asshole decided to dump Daph through a text?"

"Lily!" Daphne hissed, glaring. The redheaded woman simply sighed.

"So what? It happened. It just goes to show how much of a lying, sneaky coward that bastard is," Lily replied.

The blond sat, but didn't look thrilled by the conversation, mostly because he wasn't. Did he want a guy he knew personally having a go with his little cousin? Not particularly. And if it did have to happen, he wanted absolutely no part in it, let alone convincing his cousin to go on a first date with the bastard. "Some dude dumped you through a text?" he asked, pulling a face as he regarded his cousin.

Daphne glared back with surprising venom for a woman who was supposedly heartbroken. "Yeah, by some idiot who also thinks I was kind of a shit girlfriend but a really good lay, so I," she looked at the redhead, drawing a shaky breath, "what was it Lils? Oh yes. I 'lasted longer than I should've regardless'."

Scorpius instantly felt bad and even though part of him wanted to jump up and simply run from Lily's apartment and the situation, he remained seated and tried to think of what the right thing to say might be. "Do you want me to beat the crap out of him?" was the first thing he could think of that wasn't able to be construed as rude, and to his undying relief, his cousin went from almost in tears to laughing.

"I'm going to say no," Daphne finally managed to say, wiping her eyes and sighing, "even though part of me really wants to say yes, because I'm willing to bet you'd actually do it." Her gaze slid to Lily. "This is all your fault."

Hazel eyes rolled. "Puh-lease. If anything, it's Kevin's fault. And come on, Daph. Scorpius and I will even go on a double with you, just in case it's awful and awkward."

Scorpius, who was about to protest this business of double dating, which he personally thought cheesy, and lame, and far more awkward than even his worst first date, fell silent when Lily elbowed him hard and glanced pointedly at his cousin. Daphne seemed to be mulling it over, which was also far from ideal to Scorpius, but he knew his chances of getting any that night, or in the near future, rested on making Lily happy, which meant making Daphne, and probably Milos, very happy. So he bit the figurative bullet, huffed out a sigh, and added pointedly, "I'll even pay."

Daphne smirked, but shook her head, huffing out a sigh. "No," she finally said. "At least, not tonight. Ask me again in a week when I'm desperate," she added at Lily's crestfallen look.

The redhead pouted, then moved to sit next to her friend, leaving Scorpius alone and feeling distinctly nervous as she murmured something in the darker haired woman's ear. Daphne looked shocked, then smirked over at Scorpius, who felt truly uneasy now, knowing he was at the mercy of not only the woman who intrigued him and suspended his common sense far more than was healthy he was sure, but the cousin he knew could be devious. "So what do you think?" Lily asked, grinning and casting Scorpius a smug look that had his cock twitching in his pants.

Daphne grinned, clinked her refilled wineglass against lily's, and said easily, "I think I'd have to be a fool not to say yes after that," she murmured.

Scorpius opened his mouth to ask what Lily had told her, feeling slightly embarrassed, because he was certain it would appeal to Daph's baser instincts, which Scorpius already knew were a lot looser than his own. He almost blushed, hoping Lily hadn't promised Milos would do anything he couldn't guarantee, or that Scorpius himself had done to Lily. Surely even women don't go into that much detail when they talk about sex...right? Before he could say word, however, there was a knock at the door and Lily jumped up, grabbing her purse, to answer it.

"That's definitely our pizza," she said easily, and swung the door open wide, smiling widely at the delivery kid, but as Scorpius glanced round, and saw Lily's smile fall abruptly from her face, he felt his stomach drop in time. "Oh God," the redhead whispered, knees buckling as she stared at whatever was at the door.

Scorpius was up and moving to her even as Daphne said, "Lils, what the hell-?" The blond stopped dead as Lily sank to the floor before her door, hazel and dark grey gazes both pinned on what sat on Lily's doorstep. Daphne joined them in the next moment, even as Scorpius dropped into a crouch and let Lily bury her face in his shoulder as she turned away from the grizzly sight that she'd opened her door to. "Holy shit," Daphne breathed, blue eyes wide, still standing and looking shocked beyond reason.

"Lily," Scorpius said, even as he felt tears beginning to soak into his shirt, the lovely redhead's arms tight around his shoulders. "Lily, do you know who could've-?" he asked gently, even as Lily nodded against his neck.

"There's only one person who would think that's funny," Daphne said soberly, biting her lower lip when Scorpius looked up at her. And then, softer, and far more timid sounding asked, "It's not real is it?"

Scorpius shook his head. He highly doubted it was real, anyway. But still, leaving a fake, very bloody, and entirely gruesome human heart with a knife stabbed through it on someone's doorstep hinted at much deeper emotional issues than a twisted sense of humour. "Lily," Scorpius murmured, trying to pull back so Lily would look at him, even as she clung with surprising strength. "Lily, honey, it's not real," he said, hoping his calm, collected presence would soothe her, even as he felt her starting to lose control.

"He said I might as well have stabbed him in the heart," she whispered, eyes still clenched shut, face averted down as she pulled back from Scorpius. "Harvey," she whispered, eyes red rimmed and puffy from crying. "When we split, after I found out about him fucking that stupid waitress, when I texted him the next day to come and get his shit." Her lower lip wobbled, and Lily pointedly didn't look toward her door. "He said…" she trailed off then swallowed thickly, unable to look Scorpius in the eye, knowing those stormy grey depths would probably be judging her. "He said he didn't think we'd really just be over like that. Said he thought we shouldn't give up. And then, when I said no, he said I might as well have stabbed him in the heart."

Scorpius, who'd gone almost unnaturally still, stood up. "I have to make a call," he said stiffly, and stepped out, carefully closing Lily's front door.

"Harvey's fucked, Lily," Daphne said firmly, helping her friend to stand, wrapping an arm around both of the redhead's shoulders. "Absolutely fucked in the head, just like we both knew the second he cheated on you." She squeezed Lily tight. "But he's just trying to play games, hoping you'll come back to him I bet. I'm sure when he realizes you're so beyond over him, Harvey will fuck off."

Lily nodded mutely, eyes darting back to her closed front door, heart heavy. Sure, she knew it was just a sick, twisted joke, but for a moment, when she'd seen it, Lily had feared the very worst. That maybe Harvey, a man she loathed to be sure, but still wished no ill on, even if he deserved it, had done something stupid and crazy. For a second, when she'd looked at that goddamn plastic, fake-blood covered heart, she'd thought it might have been his, that Harvey had offed himself, and it was all her fault. And now, she was positive, Scorpius was wondering if she was worth all the headaches that came with being with her while in the midst of her psycho ex boyfriend attempting to ruin her life, and she braced herself internally for the idea Scorpius wasn't coming back at all. That he'd simply run for the hills at the first chance.

She wouldn't blame him. If he had some crazy ex girlfriend pulling the same kind of shit, no matter how much she found herself liking Scorpius more and more, in every way, she'd probably peace out too. Which only made Lily's eyes fill with tears again, because she felt irrationally safe with the tall, ripped blond man, and he'd been so great thus far, it would hurt twice as bad if he left her too.

To her surprise, Scorpius stepped back in a few minutes later, after Lily's wineglass had been topped up and her mouth fell open as Scorpius came in, bearing their pizza and fries, and grinning. "Hey," he said easily, sitting almost gingerly down beside the redhead, whose lower lip was trembling again. And he knew just what would both distract her and cheer her up. "You still up for that double, honey? Because Milos is free tonight, and, quote 'more than ready' to take your bestie and my baby cousin out for dinner, even if she chooses to skip pancakes tomorrow morning."

Daphne blushed, but Lily felt herself starting to smile slowly, then set her wine down to hug the massive blond. He hadn't questioned her, or babied her, and simply gave her something better to focus on than her self doubt and fear that came from Harvey twisted little prank. "You're awesome," she breathed, and let out a long, shaky breath. "Thank you, Scorpius."

The blond simply smiled, hoping he'd made the right decision, and leaned in to kiss her chastely. "You're welcome."

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