6
"Lils, I am so sorry," Owen said, hugging her.
Lily knew she should be fuming with Owen for arguing with Tad like he had, but she was so distraught by her almost break-up that she didn't feel capable of feeling anything else.
She buried her head into Owen's t-shirted chest and cried. He had that signature piney, musky scent that Lily only associated with him, and it brought her some sense of comfort as she soaked his shirt with her tears. She felt his large hand come to rest on the back of her head, playing soothingly with a few strands of her red hair.
"Lily," James asked, and she pulled away from Owen to look at both of her brothers. "I'm sorry…"
"No you're not," she said, trying to grin good-naturedly but failing. "None of you are—you all hate Tad."
"But we love you," Albus said, setting his butter beer down on the coffee table and reaching out to pat his sister on the shoulder. "We don't like him, and we don't want you to date him, but we are sorry that you're hurt."
"I know… Thanks." She looked around and sighed. "Do you guys care if I just call it a night? I think I could use a little bit of sleep."
"Sure, Lily," James said. "I should probably get home before Andria gets too worried anyway."
Lily hugged each of them and sent them on their way. She quickly cleaned up the apartment and then changed into some pyjamas. Just as she was settling down into her covers, she heard a knock at her front door. She sighed—she had had one too many knocks at her door today. She reluctantly swung her legs off of the bed and went to the doorway.
She swung open the wooden door and was surprised to see Owen, standing in his flannel pyjama pants and a t-shirt, holding a brown-paper market bag.
"Hi," he said, grinning.
"Hi."
"I know you said you wanted to get some sleep, but you've had a rough day, and I thought I'd bring over the remedies."
Lily grabbed his arm and pulled him into her flat. "You're my best friend, Owen—you don't have to explain why you're here."
"But you want to know what's in the bag, right?" Owen's grin widened in amusement.
"Of course!"
He stepped into the kitchen and set the bag on the table. Lily laughed as he pulled out a bottle of her favourite muggle wine—white zinfandel—and a pint of her favourite muggle ice cream—cherry vanilla.
"Owen, you are the best."
"But, wait, you haven't seen the best part, Lils!" He reached into the bottom of the bag and pulled out a muggle DVD.
"Mary Poppins! Owen, you aren't just the best—you're an angel!"
"I had to make a special trip, but I think it'll be worth it. You still have your muggle TV set, don't you?"
Lily nodded. "It's set up in my room. Go ahead and put the movie in, and I'll grab two spoons and two wine glasses!"
Lily licked her spoon gluttonously. In just under an hour, she and Owen had already devoured the pint of cherry vanilla ice cream and were half way through the bottle of wine. They were lounging comfortably on her bed—she was sinking into the pillows behind her and Owen was lying on his side, facing her, his head propped up on his elbow.
"I love this movie—thank you so much for bringing it over, Owen."
He swallowed his sip of wine and nodded. "No problem … I've missed this—you know, the two of us, hanging out."
She looked up into his golden eyes and smiled. "Me, too. I've missed having you around."
"I guess we're going to remedy that problem—at least for a few weeks." He grinned. "You're going to love it, Lils. Just wait until you get in the field and you get to actually work with the creatures… And the rest of the crew—you're going to love them."
"I'm sure I will."
Lily supposed Owen could sense her anxiety.
"Don't be nervous, Lils. And don't worry about Tad either, all right?"
She nodded, but bit her lip apprehensively.
"Lily, he has a few weeks to figure out what he wants and so do you. Let yourself experience a few weeks without him and without worrying about him. You can come back after training and figure out all of that." Owen grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
She smiled more genuinely. "Yeah, you're right. In a few weeks, he could totally resolve everything and things could be okay."
Owen nodded, made a strange expression, and looked back to the TV. Lily wasn't sure why he was being so awkward all of a sudden, but she shrugged it off and sat up to take another sip of wine.
Lily woke up to find herself sprawled across the wrong side of the bed. She tried to sit up but felt a dizzying sensation hit her.
"Shit," she cursed, trying to lie back down. Then she remembered what happened the night before—the wine, the ice cream, the movie… talking with Owen… Where was Owen?
"Hey, Lils," he said, strolling into the bedroom.
The first thing Lily noticed was that Owen was not wearing his shirt. Then she noticed how incredibly fit and muscular he was. And then she was confused that she noticed it in the first place—she must still be drunk from the night before.
"I brought coffee," he offered, smiling genuinely. "Cream and sugar for me, just cream for you."
She sat up slowly, trying not to make herself dizzy again and smiled at him, taking the mug from his extended hand. "Thanks… So what time did we fall asleep last night?"
Owen shrugged and sat down next to her on the bed. "Who knows? It was really late… The last thing I remember is throwing away the empty wine bottle."
"And that's probably why we don't remember," she joked. "Thanks for the coffee."
"Sure… I added some hangover solution in it, so your head should feel better in a few minutes."
Lily was silently relieved. "Who said I had a hangover?"
Owen laughed. "I heard your cursing in here this morning."
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe just a little…"
A/N: I do not own Mary Poppins, I just love it. :)
