Jily Oneshots (pt2)

Upside Down

On the night they were supposed to go out together, Lily stood in her room, examining herself in front of the mirror, examining herself. Her stylist created an outfit specifically to look like Lily had picked it out herself- they wanted this to seem like an accident, of course, no one needed to know it was all carefully planned. The levels of subterfuge were already getting ridiculous, and she was only on the first date.

Date. Lily's nose wrinkled at the thought. Well, her stylist had certainly done a good job. She looked just like someone fun and flirty. Only, of course, it would be hard to be fun and flirty with James Potter and a whole pack of cameras there.

A car horn from outside her house broke her bitter thoughts, and she quickly grabbed her purse and went down to meet her security team.

James Potter was waiting in the backseat of the car. He looked- surprisingly not bad, in an outfit that was just beyond casual. Lily raised an impressed eyebrow as she climbed in. His stylist clearly knew her work.

"Hey." said James

Lily sat down, smoothing her skirt over her legs. "Hi."

She pulled on her seatbelt as the car began moving, and turned to look out the window. For a moment, the only noise was the radio.

James cleared his throat. "I see you brought closed-toed shoes this time."

Lily turned, giving him a blank stare.

"Because- that one time-" He coughed, looking away. "Never mind."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want you to puke on them again." Lily said. "I would hope you wouldn't do that tonight."

James met her eyes, smiling. "Nope, I'll stick to water, just for you."

Lily raised her eyebrows. Was he...flirting?

"Whatever." she said, looking out the window again, but it didn't sound quite as venomous as she'd hoped.

They didn't speak again until they were closer to the restaurant. James cleared his throat a second time. "We're probably gonna have to walk together inside." he said. "Not holding hands or anything, nothing that obvious, but we have to look a little like a couple."

"I know." said Lily. "I've been a star longer than you, you know."

"Right." James ran a hand through his hair. "I just figure, I've been in more publicity relationships than you have."

Lily arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course, we're a boy band, everyone's obsessed with our relationships." said James. "We've got to stir the pot a bit or else they'll never be satisfied. But you-" He gestured towards her. "I don't know, I've never gotten the impression that your relationships were anything but genuine. You're too classy for that."

"Hmm." Lily said. She straightened her outfit again, glancing out the window as the entrance of the restaurant. "Well...thank you. So, what, you want us walking close together?"

"And exchanging a few looks." James said. "It would help if you could try and hide how much you hate me, you know."

Lily met his eyes. As the car slowed to a stop, she sighed. "They were really nice shoes."

"I told my team to send a replacement!"

"If they did, I never got them." Lily said. She grabbed the car door handle. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." James said, shifting over, and together they left the car.

The walk into the restaurant was uneventful. They received a few stares, as always, but the press wasn't expected until their walk out. And if some of the patrons alerted the tabloids that Lily Evans and James Potter were dining together there, then all for the better, according to the management.