AN: So I'm not dead. It goes without saying that I shamelessly lied in my last update and told you guys this one wasn't going to take as long. Turns out, having a real job sucks. It takes away your time, energy, dreams, hopes, etc. Anyway, I just want to offer you all a big, fat thank you for being so patient! Honestly, you've all been so lovely and supportive and if it hadn't been for you, I would have left this a oneshot.

Also, I created a blog for updates about this fic. That can be found at saywhenfic dot tumblr dot com so come on over and say hello :)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited the last two!

Lily

It was raining the Wednesday when she saw him again.

Lily woke up, dazedly taking in the grayish light filtering through her window and thinking to herself that it was the middle of the night instead of eight in the morning. The blaring screech of her alarm only minutes after she decided to go back to sleep told her otherwise. After talking herself into leaving the pleasant warmth of her bed, Lily took a shower and checked her phone while her hair dried. She froze when it alerted her of five missed calls and several new messages, all from the same number. Stomach clenching horribly, she deleted all of them without opening a single one. Belatedly, she scolded herself for the way her pulse picked up as if seeing them there was a shock. It shouldn't have been since he had been calling her without fail for the past week.

Just then, she could hear the apartment's landline ringing through the closed door of her bedroom.

Dorcas answered it on the fourth ring.

Lily stood very still, straining her hearing with all her might. All she managed to hear through the walls, however, was the indistinct mumbling of conversation. The soft click of the phone going back on the receiver assured her the conversation was soon over, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. At least her roommate didn't sound angry or agitated when answering the call.

"Good morning, Lils," Dorcas greeted her cheerfully as she entered the kitchen ten minutes later.

"Morning, Cas," Lily replied, trying her best to match her tone. She was sure she was overreacting, but still, she had to ask. "Was that the phone ringing earlier?"

"Yeah, it was Benjy," Dorcas said, picking up that morning's newspaper. She missed the way Lily's shoulders relaxed at once. "He's offered to buy the part he needs to fix the front door for us on his way to class since Mr. Filch won't do anything about it."

"That's nice of him," she commented absently, still feeling relief course through her. Considerably relaxed, she picked up the cup of tea Dorcas had made for hear and took a sip, watching the rain lash against the glass of the tiny window.

"Yeah, I figured there wasn't much sense in paying someone for something minor like that." Glancing up at her friend, she added, "I told him he could come over in the afternoon after your last class is out. Is that alright?"

Lily frowned. "I won't be here after class. I've got—" she paused, sparking Dorcas's interest even more. "I've got some studying to do."

Dorcas narrowed her eyes slightly. "Studying? Where?"

"The cafeteria," Lily hedged, taking a sip of her tea.

Understanding crossed her roommate's face. "Ah," she said brightly, a knowing smile curling her lips. "Studying the incredible figure of that pretty car crash bloke?"

"You're spending far too much time with Marlene," Lily observed, her face growing hot despite her efforts to deflect the subject.

Dorcas merely shrugged, taking no offense. "Well, can I tell Benjy to come over after your date with pretty car crash bloke, then?"

"Yes," she replied, adding quickly, "And it is not a date. The only thing you got right in that sentence is the fact that he's a bloke."

"And that he's pretty," quipped Dorcas, pressing her lips to the rim of her teacup in an effort to hide her smile.

"And we didn't exactly crash," Lily went on, ignoring her friend. "I'm only going to study for a bit in the cafeteria and he'll be there because he seems to like the place a lot."

"The place is not what he likes," the other replied, her voice practically singsong. "I saw the way he looked at you the other day."

Lily shot her a glare that was meant to finalize the pointless conversation, but she was certain the effect was entirely ruined by the blush that was undoubtedly coloring her face.

Dorcas merely laughed. "Anyway, Marlene finally has Friday off from training, so I invited her for dinner."

Lily nodded. "Sounds brilliant."

"I can cook then if you don't mind making something tonight."

"I don't mind," the redhead said, "I should be back with plenty of time to make something."

"Unless your date goes exceedingly well. In which case, I'll see you in the morning?"

"You're impossible," Lily announced at that, setting her cup of tea down on the counter. "Just tell Benjy to come over Friday too for dinner and he can fix the lock then."

"Ah," started her friend without missing a beat. "So tell Benjy not to come over tonight since your date might run late, then?"

Lily sent her a look that was meant to silence her but was only successful in making her friend laugh. And with that, Lily was out of the apartment before any conversation on the subject could arise.

She was almost late to class again because of the traffic the rain generated. It didn't help that she was forced to park her car at the farthest lot, several blocks away from campus. Hair and clothes damp from the fierce drizzle, Lily couldn't help but glare enviously at the shiny cars parked right in front of the school, those whose owners could afford priority parking spaces.

At least sloshing through the rain had efficiently driven the calls from her mind.

After her literature class at noon, she walked into the cafeteria, shivering from the harsh cold that accompanied the rain. At first, she expected him not to be there. Perhaps he had grown bored of her repeated mood swings the other day, maybe even met someone else he could ensnare with his charm. But he was there, sitting at the exact same table, two cups of coffee in front of him. His black hair was wet from the rain, sticking at odd angles just like the first time they met. He looked around every so often, perhaps wondering if she was going to show.

Lily felt a small smile dawn on her face before she could stop it.

His eyes met hers just as she reached the table and he jolted momentarily, as though he was about to stand up. Lily wondered if he was going to pull her chair out for her, but she sat down before she could find out. His hand shot up straight into his hair as he said, "All right, Evans?"

"You're here," was the reply as she shrugged off her jacket.

"'Course I am," he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Just like I am on a daily basis." He seemed to think better of it and added, "Not since I met you. I know we established your opinion of me as a stalker but I actually frequent this place a lot. It's not as daft as the library and they've got food. Two winning combinations is my book. It would be the perfect place if it served alcohol, but no amount of wishful thinking is going to accomplish that, sadly," he pushed one of the cups across the table for her. "Anyway, I got you the tea I owed you from the other day."

"Has anyone told you before that you ramble an awful lot?" Lily asked, taking a seat in the chair across from him, pulling the hot mug closer to her. "Or do they never have the chance to get a word in?"

James grinned despite the color tingeing his cheeks. He opened to his mouth to respond, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he said, "No one's pointed it out before, actually."

She got the feeling he wasn't being entirely truthful, particularly in the way he suddenly seemed to become interested in the thick droplets of rain plopping against the glass beside them. Just as she was about to point it out, her eyes fell on one of the books in the pile in front of him. One of them looked strikingly familiar. "You're taking the Chaucer course?" she asked, surprised.

His attention back on her, he flashed her a crooked smile. Lily felt her stomach swoop slightly at that but she remained as expressionless as possible, waiting for his reply. "No need to sound so surprised, Evans." She felt her cheeks flare in embarrassment and his grin grew wider at the sight. "But yeah, I'm taking that class. It's all right."

"All right?" Lily repeated with incredulity. "It's one of the best classes in the department! I've been waiting to get into it for ages."

She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw something akin to guilt flash briefly on his face. "Er… yeah?" His hand shot up to his hair and Lily's eyes couldn't help but follow it. "S'not that great, to be honest. So you're not really missing much." Lily arched a skeptical eyebrow and he laughed. "All right, fine. It's actually quite brilliant. I was lying just then to make you feel better. And not to be conceited, but I'm very good at it, too. Top of the class, as a matter of fact."

Despite herself, she felt a pang of jealousy. Before she could stop herself, she remembered the identification card he had showed her the previous day and couldn't help but bitterly make the connection.

"How modest of you," she said dryly and James grinned. "So what other courses are you taking? I've never seen you in any of mine before."

James shifted in his seat. "That's the only lit one I'm taking. It's more of an elective."

Lily's eyes moved to his books again, this time paying particular attention to the titles on the spines. "Let me guess," she said after registering that the rest were accounting, management, and finance textbooks. "Business Administration?"

"More like undecided," he corrected quickly, seeming displeased by her assertion. "I'm only taking all of those to get my parents off my back. They're under this mad delusion that they get to tell me what classes to take just because they are paying for my school."

Lily tilted her head, looking at him curiously. "If you hate the classes so much, then you should just…stop taking them."

"What, just drop them? In the middle of the term?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Not right now. I meant when you choose your classes for next semester, choose the ones that you actually want to take. If your parents don't want to pay for them, then you can pay for them yourself."

James gave out a humorless laugh. "I haven't got any money outside of the family income," he admitted.

"Then get a job, take out a loan, get yourself into debt like everyone else."

James laughed. "Even I'm not that brave, Evans," he said, taking a drink from his cup. "And besides, I don't actually need school for what I want to do."

"Which is?"

"Football," he announced proudly. "In fact, classes are holding me back from practice. I'd be loads better if I could only spend all that time on the field instead of lecture."

"That's a bit obsessive, don't you think?" James only shrugged. "And you're wrong, by the way."

"About what?"

"About it all," she said. "You could be brave enough for something you want badly enough."

James considered that quietly. His brow furrowed his brow slightly at the grimace on Lily's face.

"What?" he asked her.

"That sounded disgustingly cliche," she realized with a shudder. "Forget I said that."

James, however, laughed. "That was bloody good advice," he assured her.

Still unconvinced, Lily decided to go on. "You do need school to have a shot at making it into a proper football team. They'd never keep you on this school's team if you dropped all your classes."

"All right, all right," he said with a chuckle. "I promise I won't leave my classes, no matter how unnecessary they are."

"Good," she said, satisfied. "It'd be a terrible waste of money if you did."

"That wouldn't be such a problem for me," he assured her.

A pang of disappointment stabbed at her.

Just when she had recovered enough to answer, a furious buzzing interrupted what promised to be a passionate reply. Startled for only a fraction of a second, she realized it was her phone alerting her of an new text message. Flipping her phone open, she read:

Lily, please.

The same wave of nausea washed over her and very hastily, she snapped the phone shut. All pretense of a smile vanished from James's face at the sight of her expression.

"What is it?" When she didn't immediately reply, he tried again, sounding more concerned. "Evans, are you okay?"

Lily glanced up at him. "What? Yes, I'm fine," she replied, waving a dismissive hand and stuffing her phone back in her bag. "Wrong number." He opened his mouth to protest but she was faster to say, "What was I saying before?"

James searched her face for only a few seconds before, with a serious expression, he answered, "You were just reliving the bitter disappointment of when the handsome stranger who almost crashed your car did not immediately ask you on a-" He never finished his sentence because Lily flung a balled up napkin his way. James chuckled, catching it effortlessly in his hand.

"Prat," she responded, earning her a wink from him.

"Speaking of wrong numbers, though," he started, unfolding the napkin she had thrown his way, sliding it across to table towards her. "You shouldn't write one on this napkin right here. You should write your own."

Lily only stared down at it before saying, "God, that was an awful line."

"You're right. I'm not very good at that sort of thing. I'm lucky I'm incredibly good-looking."

"Yeah, you are," she replied without thinking. When she realized how he would interpret that, she hastily amended, "I meant lucky. You are lucky."

James arched an eyebrow, the humor etched on his expression making his eyes brighter and his face far more handsome. "I see," he said slowly, smirk never faltering. "Even with that spectacular recovery, Evans, you are still admitting I am incredibly good-looking."

"I-" she started sharply, unable to think of something clever to say. "Stop changing the subject."

James raised his hands in surrender, smile still in place. Ignoring it, Lily went on, "I was saying before, if your parents refuse to pay for your football career, you could always seek out a scholarship. There's loads out there for sports. And it your marks are as impressive as you said they were, finding one should be fairly easy."

"A scholarship?" he repeated, all humor vanishing from his face. "Dad would hate that. He'd think it some sort of charity."

This time the disappointment pierced her as surely as if it were a knife.

"He's just... difficult about these things," he went on, unaware of how her expression had twisted. "He'd never let me be here on scholarship if he'd got more than enough money to pay for tuition. Especially considering the general attitude people have about scholarship students at a school like this."

"There is nothing vile about having talent and deserving to go to a good school for it," she shot back, her voice quivering as she managed to maintain control of it.

"That doesn't stop people from being tossers about—"

"There's nothing wrong with having to depend on a scholarship," Lily interrupted with a furious edge to her voice that was unmistakable.

James looked at her in surprise. "I didn't say—" he began, but stopped at the sight of Lily reaching for her purse again. "Are you leaving?"

"This was a mistake," she said, stuffing her phone into her bag.

"What was?" he asked, mirroring her and standing from his seat.

"I should have known something like this would happen when I saw the crest on your school card the other day," she said, digging through her purse for her wallet.

"What?"

"The crest that gives you priority in this school because your father has made several generous donations?" she replied, looking up at him, her voice far more vicious than she intended. Already, she could feel the regret that would assault her later on for saying it. "That's how you got into the Chaucer class without having to wait ages like the rest of us."

James made no reply. Several students in the neighboring tables were beginning to stare.

"I'm sick of everyone with money in this school acting as if it's a crime to be poor,"she muttered, slapping a note on the table in front of him.

"Evans, I didn't say that, okay? Relax," he replied, completely flabbergasted. Eying the note with confusion, he added. "And what's that?"

"It's money, Potter," Lily snapped back impatiently.

James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm not that thick. I meant what is it for?"

"For the coffee," she replied dryly, gathering her things.

"There's no need to pay me back," he returned.

"I am perfectly capable of paying-" she started passionately, but he cut in.

"I know you are. I just wanted to do something nice for you, Evans."

Exhaling a sharp breath, turned to leave. "Just take the money, Potter."

"Hang on, Evans," James said, his tone dripping with frustration. He moved to follow her but Lily paused, not exactly meeting his eye but instead watching the students file in and out of the automatic doors. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "I'm really trying here, Evans."

This prompted her to look at him. "Why?" she asked quietly. "Why are you trying this hard?"

"Because, even if you're impossible to figure out, you made an impression on me the other day," he admitted without thinking it twice.

"You don't—"

"What? Know you?" he finished for her. "That is exactly what I was trying to do." When the redhead said nothing to that, looking stubbornly at the floor instead, he added, "But maybe it was all a waste of time."

This time, it was James who hastily picked up his books from the table.

"For the record, though, I'm not the one who's prejudiced, Evans."

The words sliced her like a knife, but by the time she looked up, he had gone.

AN: Sorry this might have been a bit dull with the class talk. Also, I pinky promise the next one won't take months! It is almost completed as a matter of fact. The phone call business will be explained in the next one :)

As always, thank you for reading and for your lovely reviews!

—Bree

EDIT: Me again! (Dec. 31, 2014). You don't wanna know the things I had to do in this edit...