Lily was alone. No. Not alone. They were here too. She knelt down, in front of them, her eyes wet as she read the engravings on their tombstones. Rose and Harlow Evans, both dead within a few short years.
Her mother had been the hardest. It was hardly over two years before. It had come out of nowhere. She was just a little sick. But pneumonia had a way of sneaking up on you. Then she was gone.
And then the mess with Sev happened, as if things weren't bad enough. Her good friend Severus was there for her after her mother died. She had long suspected he was in love with her even though he maintained that wasn't the case. In a moment of weakness, she slept with him. He then changed when she didn't magically feel exactly the way he did. He wanted her to give up everything that she was and be with him.
Now he was getting married. She wondered who she was. She hoped, for both their sakes, that whoever she was, she really cared for him in the same way. She hoped that he had grown up some. Severus had a great deal of potential. He was great with computers. He could probably make a great engineer if he applied himself.
She looked at her parents graves. She had allowed herself to get distracted, forgetting why she was really there.
She wished her mother had been able to go back to Puerto Rico one last time before she died. Lily hoped to be able to go there herself someday. Maybe James would want to go. Maybe James would move away and they would break up. Dammit, she wasn't going to think about that today. She was setting aside today for them.
"I miss you," Lily said and started to cry.
The drive on Wednesday was a long one, sending them across Nebraska, Iowa and part of Illinois. When James got up Remus and Sirius were both already up, having showered and looking tired as they ate cereal.
Peter sat up front in the passenger seat as James drove across Nebraska, seeming talkative.
"I'm sorry I've seemed so down. This Maddy thing… really got to me. She… made me believe she wanted me," Peter said.
"Feel free to vent. I'm all ears," James said, turning the music down a little.
"I knew it was bullshit. I knew a girl that hot would never like me. But she said I was sweet. She said I was good in bed and told me how big my… Well, anyhow we had a good time. And she seemed to really like me. Then she would just… not call me for a week. She wouldn't say anything. She wouldn't respond to any calls or texts. And then she'd be back. Like nothing happened."
"That sucks man," James said.
"But she started to get mean as time went on. Saying… nasty things about me," Peter said.
"What sort of things?"
"Like… that I'm stupid. Or ugly. Or fat," Peter said.
"You're not fat!" James said, thinking he was a bit stocky but that was it.
"Who cares if I am? She had no right! But… I just took it. She would apologize and blame it on… whatever. Anything and everything. And then things would go fine for a while. Until she broke up with me. Like I said… no were just done. She'd… gotten whatever it was she wanted."
"Well, fuck her. You deserve better," James said.
"I'll never get with a girl as pretty as that again," Peter said lamented.
"Looks aren't everything, man. In my experience, the more you get to know someone the more beautiful they become. When I look at Lily… it's indescribable. I don't know how good looking she is or isn't but… she's the brightest thing in the universe," James said.
"Not to be weird, but I think she's pretty hot. Don't hit me?" Peter said, cringing.
James laughed.
"Relax, man. You know I'm not like that."
"True."
"You still excited about our tattoos? Have you figured out what you want?" James asked.
"Yeah, I have actually. I want a rat," Peter said.
"A rat? Why a fuckin' rat?" James said, glancing at Peter skeptically.
"Hey, I happen to like rats! They are good, sweet pets. Very smart. Don't live so long but… Anyhow, when I was twelve… my mom got me this stupid haircut with a rat tail. Kids called me Wormtail to make fun of me. But I kind of embraced it, even though I hated the haircut," Peter said.
"I got you, I got you. Embrace the weapon and make it your own. I dig it," James said.
"Yeah. That's what I did. I think I have some of the rat in me," Peter said.
"I think you're more like a teddy bear, personally," James said with a wink.
"Fuck off," Peter laughed.
"I don't meant it as an insult, Pete."
"Oh. Well… thanks," Peter said, grinning as the drive carried on.
In Omaha they stopped for food and to get their tattoos, having made an appointment in advanced. Peter got his rat, Remus got a wolf, Sirius got a big black dog and James… had found himself at a loss.
They had all settled on getting their animals with the banner that read Marauders underneath it but… James didn't really relate to any animal in particular.
But then he remembered this old wood carving his parents had of a massive stag. He had loved that thing but his mother hated it. He also remembered Lily having mentioned a fondness for deer. That settled it. A stag it was.
"Cool," Peter said with a grin.
"Yeah," James said as the four of them stood in a circle, their shirt sleeves lifted up to see their matching tattoos.
Four different artists had done them but thanks to setting them up in advance they came out looking pretty similar.
"Marauders," Remus said firmly.
"Hell, yeah," James said and they all traded fist bumps.
"I don't think we're going to make it to that Wheels O' Time Museum in Peoria before it closes," Sirius said.
"Actually, it already closed. Sorry," James called out.
"Ah well. It's been a long day," Remus said.
"Where's Pete?" James called.
"He's in the bedroom. On the phone," Sirius said.
"Didn't he already call his mom yesterday?" James said.
"It doesn't sound like he's talking to her," Sirius said.
A short while later Peter left the the bedroom cabin and Remus watched as came up to the front, taking his place next to James.
"Hey, Pete," James said.
"Hey."
"The guys say you were on the phone?" James asked, though Remus thought it wasn't any of his business.
"Yeah. I… got a call from Maddy," Peter said.
"Did you? Did you tell her off?" James said.
"No. I think we're getting back together," Peter said.
"What?" James said, sounding angry.
"You're joking, right? This is a joke. C'mon, man. Don't let her play with you like this!" James said.
Just then Peter's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and said, "It's Maddy." James yanked the phone from Peter's hands and made a motion that looked like he had tossed it out the window.
"What the fuck? What the fuck? You stupid son of a bitch," Peter shrieked, diving on James.
"Get off, Pete. I'm driving!" James growled.
"Fuck you! Fuck you, James! That was my goddamn phone. It's my goddamn life, you sack of shit!" Peter screamed, tears streaming down his face as he swatted at James.
"Get the fuck off, Pete! Let me pull over, I don't want to fucking wreck," James said.
James pulled the RV over and Peter strode back to the kitchen area where Remus and Sirius sat as James marched up to him.
"That… that wasn't cool, man. How could you do that? I can't afford to replace it!" Peter squealed.
"I'll get you a new phone. A better phone. I promise," James said, looking genuinely regretful.
"Fuck you," Peter said, shoving James.
James shoved back and Peter stumbled, falling to the floor.
"Ow! You asshole," Peter said, grabbing his back.
"I'm with, Pete, James. That wasn't cool. We should go look for it," Sirius said.
"I concur," Remus said, the atmosphere making him him anxious.
James sighed.
"You're right. Yeah. OK. Let's go look for it," James said.
They waited for clear traffic then ran across to the other side of the highway. Luckily there was still some daylight, though not a lot. Sirius and Peter went further south while James and Remus stayed further north.
"Am I a prick?" James asked.
"No. I don't think so. But… you shouldn't've done that. If Peter wants some lady to keep treating him like shit, that's his business," Remus said.
"But… that sucks? I've known Pete for a few years. He's a good guy. He's always so lonely. There's nothing I won't do for the ones I love," James said.
James had somehow chosen the most nondescript location to toss a small phone out onto. All of the foliage looked the same and the land was flat.
"I get that. You went too far though. Peter respects you. You have the rest of the summer to talk to him about his problem. You should encourage him that he has value," Remus said.
"Yeah. I know."
"What's that?" Remus said, spotting something small and black underneath a bush.
The two men crouched down as Remus swatted away dirt until he had revealed what turned out to be an old tape recorder, the sort you would carry around and hold to your mouth, with a tape still in it.
"Weird," James said, taking the tape recorder from Remus.
For a moment, Remus noticed something funny. There was… something about the way James kept looking at him. And he seemed to be moving closer as he examined the tape recorder.
"This thing is filled with dirt. Doubt the tape plays. Hope there was nothing important on it," James said, setting it down.
"Yeah," Remus said, still distracted by James's proximity.
"Anyhow… I'm sorry. About… that," James said, nudging his head back towards the RV.
"Don't apologize to me. Peter's the one owed your apology," Remus pointed out.
"Yeah. I just mean… I know things make you nervous. I'm sorry if it was upsetting," James said, reaching over and placing a hand on Remus's shoulder.
James was definitely giving him the eyes. He was licking his lips. If Remus didn't know better he thought James might try to kiss him. Surely, he was imagining things.
"Any luck?" Sirius called out.
"Nope," James said and quickly stood up.
"Nah," Remus said.
"I'm sorry, Pete," James said and walked over to him.
"I forgive you. I'm still pissed, but I'll forgive you," Peter said.
"I'll make it up to you. New phone tomorrow. And you can… call whoever you want on it and I won't say a word," James said.
"You aren't wrong. About Maddy. I shouldn't get back together with her. I'll call her tomorrow… I won't tell her to fuck off. But… I will tell her I'm… not interested anymore," Peter said.
James just nodded.
"Anything else you want. You can hit me if you want," James said, patting his cheek.
"What the fuck, dude? I'm not gonna hit you," Peter said, looking perplexed.
"No, really. It's cool. You can hit me. I won't hit you back," James said.
"Is this fuckin' Fight Club all of a sudden? I'm not going to hit you," Peter said.
James sighed and nodded.
"All right. Let's get moving," James said and they all made their way back to the RV.
Everyone piled back in and got comfortable. James sat down and and tried to start the car. It took Remus a moment to register that it wasn't starting.
"Uhhh… Guyyyss. Houston, we have a problem," James said.
"Oh god," Peter said.
"Guys, the car won't start. Fuck," James said.
"Balls," Remus said.
"Big ones," Sirius chimed in.
A couple of hours later and Remus, Sirius and Peter were standing behind the RV while James talked to the tow truck driver up front, who had been attempting to get the car starting again to no avail.
James came around back looking very disappointed.
"Bad news guys. They can fix it but… they need a part. It has to be special ordered. It'll take a couple of days for them to get it," James said.
"So… what happens now?" Sirius said.
"He'll tow us to Peoria. I'll get us a rental car for the next couple of days… and a hotel. Then we wait for the car to get fixed," James said.
"Well… at least Peoria seems like it'll be nice. There are probably worse places to get stuck," Sirius said.
"Like Wyoming. What was with that place?" Peter said.
"All of the sudden everyone is talking about Donald Trump," Lily complained.
"Right?" Dorcas said, sitting naked in bed next to Lily and playing her 3DS.
"Fuck that guy. They shouldn't be taking him so seriously. He's a joke. And a racist," Lily said as her phone chimed.
James was late tonight to text her and she had been worried. She was grateful to hear from him.
I'm an asshole. Everything is terrible :(
Oh no :(
Lily frowned at her phone, waiting for explanation.
The RV broke down. We're stuck in Peoria for two days!
What's it like?
Seems nice. We're going to look at that Wheels O' Time museum tomorrow.
Cool.
Anyhow… there's more. I sort of tossed Peter's phone out the window while I was driving.
WHAT?
I know… I know. That wasn't cool.
TO SAY THE LEAST, JAMES POTTER!
It's a long story. It was just an impulse.
That girl just keeps playing with him. I couldn't take it.
Lily groaned.
"What's up?" Dorcas asked.
"About to lecture my boyfriend on not meddling in people's personal lives and not destroying their personal property," Lily said, texting furiously.
"Yikes," Dorcas said.
"Yeah. I liked it better when they were running around naked and getting matching tattoos," Lily said.
"That's fair," Dorcas said.
The next day was Peter Pettigrew Day in Peoria as far as James was concerned. He took him anywhere and everywhere he wanted to go and bought him a shiny new iPhone.
In mid-afternoon they went to the Wheels O' Time Museum which was a bigger and more interesting version of the museum they had gone to back in Oregon, though they had no ball of string.
James was surprised by how fast the day flew by. But by the time they were back in the hotel James realized he was missing Lily terribly. He'd been so busy having fun that he hadn't stopped to think about it.
"Three more days," James told himself as plugged his phone in and attempted to get to sleep.
He had hoped the next day that they would have the RV repaired sooner than expected but instead it wasn't until that evening when he got the call. With nothing else to do that evening, the four of them went to see Jurassic World, which had just come out.
"That sucked," Sirius said.
"I loved it!" Peter said.
"It was all right," James said.
"I just don't understand why the dinosaurs didn't eat them all," Remus said.
"That sounds like a downer," James said.
"Yeah, but no one in that movie was likable. It's like… in the original film all the asshole characters get killed while the likable ones mostly live. But in this one… all the main characters are kind of assholes. Like am I the only one who thought the main lady was the villain at first?" Remus said.
"Yeah, I did," Sirius admitted.
"Me too, actually," Peter said.
"Right? But she's not. We're meant to like her and Chris Pratt. And I mean, Chris Pratt is great. He was hilarious on Parks and Rec and Star-Lord is awesome but his character in this? Meh," Remus said.
"Sirius, I didn't realize your boyfriend was a film snob," James said, nudging Remus playfully with an elbow.
"I'm not! I just know what I like and it wasn't that," Remus said.
"Fair enough. Let's go get some rest. Tomorrow the trip continues!" James shouted and they all cheered.