Chapter Three

When Kayla crept into Lily's room, Pepper-Up potion in hand, Lily was still sound asleep. Kayla tiptoed to her bed; she was snuggled under a fake fur blanket (Lily loved animals dearly) and gently snoring. In the corner, Lily's cat Mewmew was napping in the steady stream of sunlight hitting her dresser.

Kayla sat down on the edge of her bed before tapping Lily on the shoulder. "Hey. Lily. Wake up."

She inhaled sharply and poked an eye open. Then promptly shut it. "Kaylaaaaa."

"I have something to cheer you up." Lily opened an eye again to see Kayla shaking the jar of Pepper-Up in front of her.

"I hate that stuff."

"You always say that, and then feel better."

Lily paused, screwing her eyes shut tightly. Kayla was sure she was starting to feel the intense drumming in her head. She'd seen Lily through many hangovers in Hogwarts, and fewer recently. She knew the best thing to do was to be patient and not talk too much. She uncorked the potion and placed in front of Lily's nose.

Lily sighed. "Thank you."

"It was no trouble."

"You must have been hung over too," Lily said in a small voice. "I roped you into being my drinking buddy."

Kayla thought of Al, peering at her like she was transparent. "Sure."

"You're always too nice to me," she said, sitting up and holding the jar in her hands. She ran a hand through her long red hair and sighed again. "I owe you an apology."

"We had some fun last night," Kayla assured her, smiling. It was starting to feel a little hollow. "You're going through something tough. I'm going to be here for you."

"For Kevin," Lily clarified, "because… well, you know." She gave the potion a sniff and winced. She held her nose to down it as quickly as possible, but still spluttered in the end.

Lily would never outright say it, but Kayla knew what she meant.

He left you for me.

Kayla took the jar from her. "Kevin's stupid," she said loudly as Lily's ears began to whistle and smoke. "That's what people do. They make you trust them just for them to stab you in the back."

Lily suddenly threw her arms around Kayla and held her tightly. "I will never let a man come between us again. Or let you do that thing you do and forgive me when I date him."

"Lily…"

"You're too nice," Lily repeated, voice muffled into Kayla's hoodie. "That doesn't do well in England. Or anywhere, for that matter."

"I'm doing just fine." Kayla's words felt like they were echoing around her mind, over and over. "I honestly didn't like him that much."

"Then you're much smarter than me." When Lily let go, her eyes were red and wet. She wiped them hastily; she was never one for tears. Dramatics? Sure. But Lily had two older brothers, and she hated crying. Especially over boys.

"Come with me," Lily said, all signs of her hangover suddenly disappearing in her determination. She shoved her bedspread away and got up, searching around her room. "I'm taking you to lunch. You took a day off as well, didn't you?"

"Oh, it's alright –"

"I just have to feed Mewmew," Lily said, throwing on her own hoodie and going to the dresser for her socks. "Then we are having brunch in our jammies."

"It's nearly half past one…"

"Lunch," she corrected, sitting down and pulling on grey socks. "And coffee."

"Hugo made some –"

"You know what Hugo told me?" Lily said suddenly, turning and facing Kayla. "Something about this huge poetry slam opportunity and how he wants you to do it."

Kayla groaned and let herself fall face-first into Lily's sheets. "No."

"And you have to do it," Lily continued, scooting on the bed closer to Kayla. "You never do anything for yourself. But you encouraged Hugo to do comedy night once, remember? Now he does it every week. And people actually laugh."

"No."

"That was you," Lily said determinedly. She poked Kayla's back. "You know what I think?"

"I don't want to know," she groaned into the fuzzy blanket. It was rather comfortable.

"You need to take a few more chances. Be a little selfish. Put yourself out there." Lily couldn't see, but Kayla was rolling her eyes. "I'm serious, Kayla. I know it sounds like cliché bullshit, but I just feel like you should be happy."

"I am happy," Kayla said forcefully, turning around to look at Lily.

She only shrugged. "And I need to be more like you."

"Like me?"

"Yes!" Lily's eyes were shining again. "You're so kind. Independent. And you give, much more than you should." Kayla could only stare at her.

Lily had completely lost her marbles.

She nudged Kayla with her shoulder. "Lunch. On me. Please."

"As long," Kayla told her slowly, "as we do not have to keep talking about this."

"Deal."

It was around dinnertime that Kayla had a few moments to herself. She'd been chatting with Lily for a couple of hours at lunch before they went to Florean's for ice cream, where they talked for longer. It was a bit like Lily needed a distraction from her breakup, but perhaps she'd missed Kayla. Lily tended to be absorbed in her relationships.

Lily eventually went back to their flat to get ready for the movie marathon, and Kayla thought she would grab popcorn and drinks for the night. Instead, she found herself walking past Rosa Lee Teabag's.

And then up to the window, to peer inside.

And then inside the café.

There was a small line up of wizards and witches of all ages, waiting to sign up on a piece of paper and the end of the coffee bar. A stage was set up in the far side of the room and a couple of floating lights beamed down on it, lighting one lone wooden stool. Kayla felt a tapping on her shoulder and turned around.

"Hello," said a cheery young lady with blonde hair and shiny white teeth, approaching Kayla. She was wearing a stripped pink apron and was looking expectantly at her. "Are you here to sign up? There are a few spots left!"

"Uh…" Kayla eyes had gone wide. She'd just spotted Peter Blott, a famous poet, behind the woman. Kayla owned all his books. And she was still in her pyjama bottoms.

"Uh, no," she eventually answered, shaking her head. "I just wanted coffee."

"Oh, of course," she said, still smiling and gesturing to the register. "I hope you can stay for some of the show. It is starting in about five minutes."

"I might…" Kayla trailed off as the lady went off to speak to a couple that had just come in. Kayla inwardly cursed herself as she went to order a foamy latte; it was well past six o'clock, and she was going to be up all night.

Five minutes later, as Kayla was adding cinnamon to her coffee as the small crowd was gathering around the stage. She noticed a very diverse group of people; a couple of men that were a bit older, roughed up with scars; a woman with sleeked hair and lipstick beyond the outline of her lips; a young man, dressed entirely in black and kept his hood up; a man with greying hair in fancy dress robes; a girl who couldn't have been more than thirteen, nervously fumbling with her notes; a couple talking animatedly and excitedly with each other; another man who was standing instead of sitting at a table, notes in hand, shaking his hand and jumping around.

And of course, a girl with messy brown hair and purple unicorn pyjamas.

Her heart was pounding as she sat down, and she noticed her teacup trembling from her hands. She figured the coffee wouldn't help, but she already paid for it. Her eyes found Peter Blott sitting off to the stage at his own table, no notes prepared but a large glass of water at the ready. He was speaking to a nervous lady who kept nodding her head.

Kayla wondered if she would ever be able to just walk up to someone like that.

The show started and the lights dimmed. There was a silencer put on the coffee grinder and the same blonde lady who had asked Kayla if she would sign up came up onto stage. The lady pointed to her throat with her wand. "Sonorous."

"Welcome to the first of our weekly Spring Poetry Slam!" She told the crowd, her voice much louder now. "Today we have Peter Blott as our guest speaker, who will perform a few of his own words at the end."

There was a round of applause at this. Peter Blott was grinning.

"I will remind all our newcomers," the lady continued, "to respect the poet's space as they read. It often becomes emotionally charged, and we will not be shouting anything but snaps and whistles of encouragement."

Something inside Kayla softened. Or maybe it was just the hot coffee.

"Without further ado, I would like to welcome our first speaker of the night!" The old man in fancy emerald dress robes stood, and people began to clap and cheer.

Kayla stared down at her half-finished latte, feeling like the room had suddenly become quite small. As though the spotlight had turned on her, even though it hadn't. Her cheeks were burning and her heart was thumping in her ears.

She hadn't even signed up, and she was in hell.

It wasn't long before Kayla was abandoning her coffee and tiptoeing out of the café.

After a very long, hot shower, Kayla was starting to feel the knot inside her belly slowly untangle itself. She stepped out to the living room afterwards, feeling a little bit of calm after the shock at the café. She stepped into the kitchen to see Lily, dancing and singing along to a song on the radio.

"Kayla!" she called when she saw her, and pulled her into the kitchen. "Dance with me!"

"Feeling better?" Kayla asked, starting to grin. Her energy was infectious.

"Of course!" Lily winked and twirled around. "I'm about to have a movie night with my best mates. We're going to gorge ourselves on popcorn. I'm not going to wake up with a hangover tomorrow because we're playing Quidditch!"

"Quidditch solves everything!" Kayla cheered. She cranked up the volume, and they swayed to the music as they set out Butterbeer, bowls of popcorn and pumpkin pasties. When Rose and Scorpius entered the flat, they encountered Lily and Kayla belting along to the Wireless at the top of their lungs.

"Is the singing required?" Scorpius said wearily, setting down a plate of nachos onto the coffee table. "We have to work at shift at St. Mungo's after this." Rose and Scorpius both worked as Healers-in-Training at the local hospital.

"Don't be a prat," Rose told him, nudging his shoulder and grinning at the girls, moving to hug Lily. "We've got loads of time to start a movie."

"How long are they?" Scorpius joked, throwing off his leather jacket. He and Rose planted down onto the loveseat on the side of the television, grabbing the bowl of popcorn. "So where's Hugo?"

"Hugo had to work," Kayla explained, grabbing the remote control. She and Lily had settled down on the couch and were flipping through movies.

"Al should be coming," Lily said absent-mindedly. "What about You've Got Mail?" Kayla raised an eyebrow at her; she knew Lily was good at avoiding her feelings, but she didn't think she would watch one of her favourite romantic movies after a breakup.

"That one's old," Rose complained.

"It's a classic!"

"Nothing sappy," Scorpius put in, eyeing the bottles of Butterbeer wistfully.

"It's not sappy," Lily protested, and Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"What about a documentary?" Rose asked, lighting up. She was a bit of a history nut, and the previous movie night, had forced them to watch a gruelling documentary on the guns used in the American Civil War.

Wizards didn't even use guns.

"No," Lily and Scorpius chorused.

"There's this new movie from BBC," Kayla said, scrolling through titles on the television with the remote. "It's about a this man who gets trapped in Britain 1940's and gets drafted in the war. He runs away and falls in love…"

"That sounds perfect," Scorpius said quickly, sitting back and putting his arm around Rose. "Can we watch that?

Rose stuck her tongue out at him, but smiled. "Fine."

Lily pulled down the shades as they started up the movie. It was one of Kayla's favourite times with her friends. She loved many muggle things, and movies were something she'd introduced long ago, when she and Lily were still very young. Kayla's mother was been muggle-born and wanted Kayla to regularly experience muggle life outside of the wizarding world. She loved magic, but Lily and Hugo would agree that films were one of the best muggle inventions.

The movie was about ten minutes in when Al poked his head in, mouthing, "Sorry!" He closed the door behind him and sat down beside Kayla on the couch, wiggling out of his coat. Kayla passed him a bowl of popcorn.

"Thanks," he whispered, smiling at her. Al's hair was damp and wild, as though he'd just gotten out of the shower, and he smelled like fresh soap. He was wearing a dark sweater that defined his broad shoulders. She was suddenly glad it was dark, because her cheeks were burning; she'd never thought Al was attractive before.

She was very aware of him beside her, trying not to watch him in her peripheral vision for the next minute or so. Every shift he made was distracting; grabbing a drink from the table, munching on popcorn or putting his feet up on an ottoman. Kayla had never paid attention before – why now?

Maybe it was the day before, when he stayed to take care of Lily, and he was being sweet to her. It could have been his when he was talking about how he didn't want to be single forever – different from many of the men Kayla encountered. Perhaps it was that morning, when she swore he could see right through her.

Kayla started determinedly at the screen, taking a quiet breath in to stop feeling so self-conscious. She was being silly. It was just Al. She'd never even thought of him as anything but Lily's older brother. And likely, he probably thought she was interested in Kevin.

Which, of course, she wasn't.

"Ugh," Rose said suddenly, narrowing her eyes at the television. "This guy is a doctor? He's dumb as shit."

"What's a doctor?" Scorpius asked.

"It's like a healer," Rose explained, still looking darkly at the main character. "How's he going to serve in a war? He's probably too busy working out to ever treat anyone."

"What war?" Al asked, confused.

"The movie description said he gets stuck in World War II," Rose said, "Though they haven't gotten there yet." Kayla noticed she and Scorpius were holding hands. Her engagement ring glinted every once in a while in the light from the television.

"Hey," Al whispered to Kayla, poking her in the arm. She didn't look at him, and she could practically hear him thinking how weird she was being. "Pass a pumpkin pasty?"

Okay Kayla, she thought, reaching to the other side of the table for a pasty. It's okay. It's just Al. You've been hanging out with him for years. Just because he looks kind of cute tonight isn't reason to freak out. She handed him the cake, and he smiled at her again. She felt her heartbeat speed up and she quickly looked back at the screen.

Smooth.

She managed to focus on the story and relax a little when the movie progressed into 1942. The movie itself was incredible, even if she didn't know that much about the muggle wars, and she found herself slowly engrossed in it.

The rest of the night went on normally, as long as she didn't look at Al too much. Lily fell asleep on Kayla's shoulder and Scorpius and Rose bickered when the doctor was handling wounds and debated the correct method of treatment. All they needed was Hugo to laugh at all the inappropriate spots.

When the movie ended (and Kayla had to swipe away a few tears), Rose waved her wand to lighten the room. Lily woke up with a start.

"What happened?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Movie's ended," Scorpius said, looking at Rose. "I guess we have to head to our shift now."

"I thought it was a marathon," Al asked, frowning. "You're not staying?"

"You guys can continue," Rose told them while she and Scorpius pulled their coats on. She sighed as Al stood up and hugged his cousin. "I know, we never see you guys anymore. Our schedule is mad."

"Sure you can't stay for one more drink?" Kayla asked sadly as she hugged them goodbye. "Lily didn't even see the end of the movie."

"Hey!" She felt a poke in the back as an indignant Lily protested. "He goes back to his own time and leaves his girl. It's heartbreaking. I got the gist."

"I love how sensitive you are," Kayla replied sarcastically, and Lily laughed.

"Quidditch tomorrow," Lily said sternly to Rose and Scorpius as she hugged them. "Ten o'clock. You're not allowed to miss that."

"Of course we won't!" Rose said, looking scandalized. Scorpius just rolled his eyes; he never thought Quidditch was all that important, especially their amateur games between friends.

After they left, the apartment felt immediately quieter, but Lily plopped back onto the couch and grabbed the remote. "Okay, now we're watching You've Got Mail."

"Is that one of those romance movies you like so much?" Al asked, sitting down and opening another bottle of beer. "Or is it an old one?"

"It's both," Kayla said, sitting down as well. She was trying not to look at him too much, or too little, and it was resulting in her looking back and forth from the television to Al rapidly. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice. "I'm fine with it, Lily."

Lily cheered and started the movie, dimming the lights with her wand. Kayla had also seen this movie numerous times and secretly loved it. Al had also seen this movie – well, the first ten minutes before he'd run away each time.

"And so it begins," he muttered darkly, sinking back into the couch cushions.

Twenty minutes later, Lily had fallen asleep again while hugging the armrest and Al was asking way too many questions.

"So it's like they're owling each other," Al whispered to Kayla, "except they do it through these… weird plastic boxes that look like televisions."

"Computers," she corrected.

"And instead of writing it down like normal human beings, they just wave their fingers and it appears on the screen."

"They're typing," Kayla pointed out, smiling at the idea at the characters were waving their fingers in mid-air. "My mum has one of these. It's like an old typewriter but connected to the computer."

"Typewriters were invented ages ago, weren't they?" Al said crossly, rubbing his eyes. "Why invent another one…"

Kayla shrugged. "I like owls."

"They're very efficient. And if we had those box things, Scorpius would definitely be sending me way too many notes throughout the day."

"Would he?" Kayla asked, surprised. Al nodded. "But he's usually so quiet in person."

"We send owls all the time when he's working a long shift," Al told her, shifting so he was sitting up straight on the couch. "He's extremely talkative in writing."

"Interesting…" Kayla smiled. "It's interesting how people act in front of different people. Like these two characters supposedly hate each other, but get along in writing."

"What's up with these two writing anonymously, anyway?" He whispered loudly, gesturing to the screen. "Seems like a sure way to get murdered."

"It is not!" Kayla protested, slightly distracted by his breath on her skin. Had he gotten closer, somehow? "Isn't it nice to know that there's a random person out there who just wants to hear what you have to say?"

"No, because they'll just use it to get into your house at night."

"So cynical."

"Just realistic," he insisted. "These two are just in a story. I only like to owl people I know."

"Like Scorpius."

"He can get annoying."

"Ohhh." Kayla smirked at him. "Just your mum, then."

"Oi!" He elbowed her gently, and she giggled. And then inwardly groaned – since when did Kayla giggle? Al was turning slightly pink in the low light of the television. "You're just a huge romantic, I think."

"No…" she said slowly. He was raising her eyebrows, and blush rose to her cheeks as well. "Okay, maybe just a little."

"A little."

"Don't tell Hugo, he'll never live it down that I admitted it."

Al snorted, but was quiet for a moment. The movie went on, and Kayla tried to fixate on the movie's Christmas lights and pretty snow. And not his shoulder against hers, or how he felt warm and smelled really nice.

"I was thinking of setting Hugo up," Al whispered slowly, glancing at Kayla. "I have a friend who's really nice, from Hogwarts. She wouldn't look down on his job."

Kayla perked up. Hugo seemed very sad about his dating prospects the day before, and though he was forever the optimistic one of their group, she could tell he was reaching the end of his patience when it came to girls. "Who are you thinking?"

"Gemma Thomas," he said. "I mean, she was in my year, so she'd be a year older than him, but she's hilarious and not really into the traditional path of doing things."

"Traditional path," Kayla echoed.

"Yeah." He was looking her, and she was fixated on the screen. "You know. Get married, have kids, work until you die."

"That wouldn't be Hugo," she said, thinking about a possible trajectory of Hugo's life. "He'll probably quit his job and do comedy all over the world."

"Exactly." He was still looking at her, almost too closely. "So… should I do it?"

"Of course!" Kayla said. "Why not? I remember Gemma, she's sweet."

"Okay." Al leaned back into his seat, looking satisfied for some reason. "Right, I'll invite her for drinks after Quidditch. She'll meet him then."

Kayla didn't say anything, but her breath caught a little when he positioned his arm around the back of her side of the couch. She glanced at him, but he was watching the movie again.

He was very warm.

They fell back into the lull of the movie, and then all they could hear was Lily's quiet snores and the characters on the screen. Kayla's heart was beating a little loudly in her chest, but in a good way. If there was such a thing. She really liked the ease of their conversation.

"Oh, now he knows who she is," Al whispered after some time. "And he's being a prat, now…"

"He's a bit of a prat in the entire movie."

"True." Al drained the last of his beer. "I liked her bookshop, it's a shame it closed down."

"Exactly," Kayla said, smiling at him. "I like that we don't have huge corporations. We can have Obscurus Books down the road and never worry it will close down one day."

"We have some chains," Al pointed out. "Like Rosa Lee, there's one in Hogsmeade."

"They have excellent coffee."

Al suddenly chuckled, and Kayla realized he was looking at Lily. He nodded to her. "She's asleep."

"She slept through the whole movie, practically."

"She loves sleep."

"Yeah." It was starting to rain and the droplets were hitting the window noisily. Kayla shut the slightly open window with her wand. "Maybe we should get to sleep soon. The movie is almost over."

"Maybe," he said gently. Kayla made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His eyes were dark and soft, and she couldn't breathe all of a sudden. "We could have another drink."

"Umm." She looked back at the movie. "Tea?"

"Sure."

Kayla started to get up, which woke Lily. "Is the movie over?" she asked sleepily, closing her eyes again.

"Almost," Al said, glancing at Kayla and back to Lily. "You can go to bed if you want."

"Mmm…" Lily hummed, and without opening her eyes, dragged herself to her room. Kayla followed her halfway, turning into kitchen to fill the kettle with water. As she set it down onto the stove, she heard Al behind her.

Kayla cleared her throat. "We have some nice teas," she told him, turning to the cabinet beside the stove and opening it. "Lavender, chamomile, lemon…"

"Any is fine. What's your favourite?"

"Erm…" Kayla rooted through the different teas to find the tea bags. "Peppermint. With ginger."

"I like Earl Grey, but it'll keep me awake." He crossed his arms against his chest and leaned back against the counter. "Let's have yours."

"Earl Grey," Kayla teased shyly, grinning at him. "How old are you, sixty?"

"Oi," Al protested, seemingly caught off guard. His ears were turning red. "It goes well with the crossword."

"So you're sixty-five."

"Approximately." He was chuckling now. "Has anyone told you that you're very charming?"

It was Kayla's turn to be caught off guard. The kitchen walls felt as though they were closing in. "What?"

"I'm just saying." His face was a little pink, but he was smirking. He stepped a tiny bit closer. "There is no other way to someone's heart than to call them an old man."

"I wasn't aware." Kayla's eyes drew to his dark messy hair, wishing she could run her hands through the strands. Her heart felt like it was hammering into her throat. "I thought it was through offering them tea."

His face softened into a smile. "It's actually through wearing unicorns on their pants."

"Oh, god…" Kayla moaned, breaking his gaze and turning to the slowly bubbling water on the stove. She really wished she hadn't gone through Diagon Alley in her pyjamas. "So embarrassing."

"You were so pleasant this morning," he teased.

"Shut it." She turned off the stove with her wand and began to fill two grey mugs with the boiling water. "I regret everything."

"I thought they were cute," he said. Kayla snuck a look at him, and he was watching her carefully.

"I suppose that's why I bought them," she said. The raindrops hitting the kitchen window were matching the drumming of her heart and his closeness was warm and terrifying. She hardly ever looked people in the eyes, but he wouldn't move his gaze and his green eyes were rather nice to look at.

She was sure he knew how nervous she was feeling. Perhaps he wasn't directly aware that she hadn't seriously dated anyone since her two-year relationship at Hogwarts and it had been far too long since she'd been with someone, but it was probably written all over her face.

And probably the reason she really, really wanted him right now.

"Erm." She cleared her throat and looked away. "We should drink our tea, it's getting cold…"

Al didn't move his gaze. "You're nervous."

Kayla sputtered. "No, no, I think –"

"That's okay," he said gently. He moved her hair behind her ear, and his fingers brushed her cheek softly. "Let's go out."

She found herself drawn to his eyes again. He was smiling.

"Yeah," she found herself saying, inexplicably, because she also felt like running and hiding under her covers. "Yeah, okay. If Lily doesn't mind."

"Lily won't care," Al told her, finally breaking eye contact to pay attention to their tea. He dropped the tea bag into her mug, than his. "Maybe we can watch the rest of the movie?"

"Sure."

"I kind of liked it," he said sheepishly. He held out his hand for her and she took it, finally feeling something inside calm down, finally feeling something other than nervous and shaky.

Finally feeling excited.