by Chie (Chierafied) on archiveofourown.org
The talk show host flashed him a big smile and leaned forward in his chair. “You, Mr Potter, are showbiz royalty, aren’t you?”
The corner of James’ lip curled up and he relaxed in his armchair, crossing his feet at the ankles. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. We can’t choose our families but I’ve been very lucky in mine. They’ve never been anything but supportive.”
“The Potter name of course is well-known due to Potter Productions, founded by your grandfather and currently spearheaded by your father,” the host explained for the audience’s benefit.
“That’s true,” James agreed with a wry smile.
“And your mother has had an illustrious career and is a household name to everyone in the UK and beyond! A model, an actress… and in recent years she’s even ventured into screenwriting.”
This time the grin came bright and easy, lighting James’ hazel eyes behind his glasses. “My mum has more talent in her little finger than I possess in my entire body. But I hope she’s managed to pass some spark of that down to me.”
“I’d say that’s more than a spark that you’ve inherited, Mr Potter. Your own career has been very successful, especially for one so young.”
“Thank you so much. I’ve been very lucky.”
“I’m sure it hasn’t all been just luck! You’ve been a superhero and a soldier. You’ve been a spy and the lord of a manor. You’ve even portrayed the anti-hero with grey morals in your latest film.” The host punctuated his speech with wide gestures, giving his words emphasis, keeping the audience engaged.
“Yes, I’ve had very varied roles in my career, which has been a lot of fun,” James replied truthfully.
“And now you might be conquering new territory. You’re being considered for the male lead in a rom-com!”
“I am, yes. It’s a role I’m super excited about and really hope to get.”
“Really?” The host’s eyebrow quirked up. “Even after your action roles in the past?”
Being a great actor, James managed not to scowl at the question. “Especially after the action roles. Love In The Spotlight is a brilliant novel and I’d be very grateful for the opportunity to bring its movie adaptation to life. And the fact that the male lead is an actor only makes it more interesting to me.”
“You’ve actually read the original novel?” There was a note of surprise in the host’s voice, which James couldn’t help but resent a little.
“Of course I have,” he replied, both emphatic and matter-of-fact. “Reading is a great way to pass the time and I really enjoy romance novels. Given the current state our world is in, I think we all could do with a little more happily ever afters.”
“That is very true. And Love In The Spotlight ’s movie adaptation has been much anticipated. The book has taken the whole world by storm, cementing Lily Evans’ spot as UK’s romance queen. Now, Mr Potter…” The host lowered his voice into a conspiratorial register. “There’s been a rumour going around that your mother might actually be helping Miss Evans adapt the novel into a movie script.”
James shook his head. “I can’t confirm or deny anything as it’s all still very much in the works… But Mum would be delighted to take part. She’s a long-time fan of Miss Evans’ writing. I actually discovered her books thanks to Mum.”
“And you, Mr Potter? Are you a fan of Lily Evans?”
“I’m utterly in love with Lily Evans.” Oh no. That hadn’t come out right. James blushed. “Er, her work, I mean. She is a fantastic writer.”
The talk show host chuckled, his eyes gleaming. “That she is, definitely one of the top celebrities in the writing world today! Now let’s go back and talk a bit more about your last movie…”
James swallowed a sigh of relief, thankful that the host hadn’t called attention to his faux pas . He plastered a confident smile on his lips, nodded at the host and shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair, fully believing he’d got away with it.
The video clip of James Potter’s talk show appearance had gone viral and Marlene McKinnon was having the time of her life.
“Let’s watch it again,” she enthused, already clicking to replay the video.
“Must we?” Lily murmured in defeat.
“Oh yes. We definitely have to. Just look at him. Blushing! Isn’t that adorable?”
“I think we should give the poor man a break. It was obviously just a slip of the tongue.”
“Oh, I’ll tell you where James Potter would like to slip his tongue…” Marlene wagged her eyebrows.
“Marls! Stop!” Lily choked out a laugh.
“You stop, Lily!”
“Stop what?”
“Trying to play it so cool.” Marlene shook her finger at her. “I can read between the lines, you know. And I’ve read Love In The Spotlight multiple times. I can tell who you based Parker on.”
Lily became fascinated with her fingernails, suddenly. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Marlene snorted. “I’m sure you don’t. Neither will anyone else if Potter gets the role. And he will get it, it’s basically tailor-made for him, after all.”
“It’s up to the casting director.” Lily shrugged, still avoiding Marlene’s gaze.
Marlene rolled her eyes. “Uhhuh. As if you have no say in the decision yourself. As if they could pick anyone else to play Parker.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Lily waved her hand impatiently, ready to put this whole conversation to an end.
But Marlene had other ideas.
“Sure we will.” She leaned closer to the laptop, clicked on the video to replay it again.
Lily groaned.
Marlene scrolled down. “Have you seen the comment section?”
“Of course I haven’t,” Lily scoffed. “Never go into the comment section on Youtube, it’s one of the basic tenets of survival.”
“Well, just so you know, because of his romantic and public love confession, people now think you’re dating. Or that if you aren’t, you should be.”
“What?” The word came out a little too close to a squeak for Lily’s comfort. She cleared her throat. “You can’t be serious.”
Marlene unplugged the laptop and shoved it towards Lily. “See for yourself.”
Lily did. Amongst the trolls and the disappointed denials from James Potters’ lovesick fans, there were countless comments cheering them on.
‘OMG WAIT ARE THEY DATING??? IS LILY EVANS ACTUALLY DATING JAMES POTTER??? WERE THEY ALREADY DATING WHEN SHE WROTE LOVE IN THE SPOTLIGHT??? I HAVE QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERS!!!”
‘This is so sweet and they would make such a lovely couple. I hope Lily sees this and gets in touch with James!’
‘Potter and Evans? Huh. I think I like the sound of that.’
‘Make POTTEREVANS happen 2021!!!’
“This is… quite mad,” Lily said weakly. From the heat that had risen to her cheeks, she knew she was blushing even without the confirmation of Marlene’s gleeful snickers.
“You heard them, girl. Go get your man.”
“Leave it be, Marlene.”
“You know you want to.” Marlene grinned, setting the laptop down.
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know what I want.”
It was only partially a lie. Lily Evans’ feelings were in a dreadful muddle and the Youtube commentary had only added to the overwhelming nature of the situation. As did the reporters clamouring for comments on Potter’s sorry slip. Her agent had rung her a little before Marlene had arrived, and let Lily know all about it. In a panic, she’d told her agent that she had no comment.
But Marlene had been right. There was one thing Lily wanted. What she’d been wanting for a few years now. Her romance hero Parker in Love In The Spotlight had been modelled after a certain someone Lily’d had her eye on. Although she never would have imagined he would read the book. That he would enjoy it. That had Lily’s heart in much worse disarray than the accidental love confession did.
Maybe the old saying was correct after all. Truth was stranger than fiction.
Lily had not slept well last night. Her brain had been too busy, her thoughts too giddy, her stomach too heavy with the tangle of anxiety and anticipation. In the end, around three am, she’d given up completely and got up to get her laptop. Propped up in bed, her fingers had flown over the keyboard, hammering out the next chapter or two of her current novel draft.
She’d got up before dawn, eaten a hearty breakfast. Though her nerves were dancing close to the surface, they couldn’t dent her appetite. Very few things could. She’d drank three cups of tea, none of which had managed to calm her down. She’d spent close to an hour dithering in front of her wardrobe and overthinking what to wear today. She’d spent even more time in front of the mirror, trying to get her hair just right, using makeup to mask the signs of her sleepless night, to emphasise her best features. Finishing up with the famous red lipstick she was never seen without.
Lily felt more sure of herself when she was all dressed up and looking her best. In the pit of her stomach, something still skittered madly about. No helping that, Lily decided, even as her phone rang.
“Hi.”
“Hey Lily, it’s me! I’m parked by the street.”
“I’ll be right down. Thanks!”
Lily hung up. Grabbed her bag, pulled on her coat, put on her boots, wrapped her scarf around her neck. And, before she hurried out of the door, checked herself in the mirror one last time.
Then she was off, rushing out to meet Mary.
She saw the familiar car parked by the street, called out a hullo as she slid into the passenger seat.
“Hi, Lily,” Mary greeted her warmly. “How are we feeling today? Excited?”
“Excited, nervous, giddy, gobsmacked… Need I go on?”
Mary laughed, pulling out to the street. “No, I’ll skip out the thesaurus today. How’s the book?”
“Coming along. I got two new chapters done last night.” Lily shrugged.
Mary slanted her a glance. “Uhhuh. And how much sleep did you get?”
“Not much.”
“Love, I’m telling you this both as your agent as your friend – getting progress done on the book is great, but what you need to prioritise most of all is yourself and your own well-being.”
“Yes, mum,” Lily mumbled with an eye roll.
It may not have been the first time Mary had deemed fit to give her that particular lecture. Professional writers might be working on a schedule, but inspiration still struck at will and often at the most inconvenient of times. Lily’d had cause to pull several all-nighters during her career.
They chatted about work for a while more. Mary liked to run through schedules to remind Lily of any necessary appointments. Then they moved over to personal stuff, did the whole dance about asking after each other’s families.
And then Mary brought up the video.
“Maybe you should get James Potter as you publicist,” she joked with a cheerful smile. “You’ve been getting so much press after he mentioned you in that talk show.”
Lily held back her wince, though her hands did ball into fists in her lap. “I can see why people got so crazy about it but I feel so sorry for him, everyone can see he just stumbled over his words.”
“You’re right, but people see what they want to see,” Mary replied. “And most of them are excited about the possibility of a romance.”
“There is no romance,” Lily said.
“No, of course not,” Mary agreed. Her gaze briefly darted to Lily again. “But as you know yourself, romance sells very well and the mere possibility of it is enough of a lure.”
As someone who made a living writing and selling romance to the masses, Lily couldn’t disagree. And she did understand the allure. It was just… this was personal, and had the other party been anyone else than James Potter, she would have been highly amused by the entire situation.
But because it was James Potter, Lily wanted to squirm and escape the insane butterflies in her belly.
Mary’s voice jolted Lily out of her thoughts. “It should be interesting today, right? Meeting him.”
“Interesting is putting it mildly,” Lily said, swallowing a sigh. Her fingers tapped against her knee. “I hope it won’t be too awkward.”
“It’ll be splendid,” Mary reassured her. “I’m sure everything will go great!”
Lily wasn’t as sure, but she hoped Mary was right.
Soon enough, they were pulling up at the studio. There, they were first greeted by a production assistant, who brought them over to one of the producers, eager to show them around. After exchanging pleasantries and small talk, the grand tour began.
They visited the costume department first. Mary oohed and aahed over the racks of clothing the room was filled with, while Lily chatted with the costume designer, fascinated to hear about her process and where she’d drawn inspiration for the costume choices. Next, they visited some of the empty sets, standing at the ready. It was absolutely bonkers and totally brilliant having Parker’s living room come to life before Lily’s very eyes. To be able to stride across the ‘room’. It was so lovely and overwhelming that for a fleeting second, tears threatened to well up before Lily managed to wrangle them down.
They made a couple more stops during the tour, chatted with the various people working behind the scenes to make sure the movie happened. It really drove home how much effort and work went into this kind of production, putting faces to those gazillion names most people skipped through when the ending credits rolled.
And then, finally, the producer brought them to the set where they were just starting to film the scene. Lily nodded at the cameramen, the sound and light technicians. She shook hands with the director. As she settled down to observe, Lily’s attention was drawn to the two actors ready at their marks on the set dressed to look like Evie’s tiny flat.
An assistant was tugging at Evie’s costume, making sure it looked just perfect for the camera, while the actress wearing it stood perfectly still and at ease with the fussing. On the sofa, James Potter lounged. His legs were carelessly spread and he had one arm slung across the backrest. His dark hair was tousled, his head tilted back to show off that strong jaw. The white button-up shirt was gaping, the top two buttons open to reveal a delicious expanse of skin.
Lily’s throat went dry. In her stomach, the fluttering stirred with renewed enthusiasm. She hugged herself because her fingers were trembling, her arms suddenly covered with goosebumps.
He was here. James Potter in the flesh, in the same room she was standing in. Except, he wasn’t really just James Potter anymore. He was her hero. Every inch of him, embodying Parker .
Lily hugged herself tighter, as the breath caught in her lungs. Her heart beat a loud staccato in her ears as she teetered dangerously close to an actual swoon.
And then the director called for places, following this up with a firm "Action!"
James Potter was a professional. As he had been lounging on the sofa on the set, waiting to hear the cue that they’d begin filming the scene, he’d willed away the world beyond the limits of the set. He shut out the lights and the boom mics and the cameras and the sheer number of staff working on the film. To him – to Parker – only the small flat and Evie – his costar – existed. The camera assistant’s voice penetrated James’ little bubble, calling out the scene number and the number of the take, before using the clapperboard. The sharp sound rang in the silence of the room and James tensed in anticipation.
Then, the director called action, and James slipped away as Parker took over.
James’ bubble stayed intact, until, after the fourth take, the director called the scene a wrap. Parker faded away, back to the background and James Potter emerged to a world full of cameras, noise and people.
He saw her then, even before the producer made his enthusiastic announcement that today they had a special guest visiting the set.
She stood to the side, the curls of her long, dark red hair flowing over her shoulders, her lips an enticing shade of red and curved up in a faint smile, her green eyes bright and brimming. She was wearing a top that was something feminine and flowy and trousers with a skinny fit that encased her lovely long legs to perfection. The room suddenly felt a little too hot as James’ heart tripped.
He hadn’t, actually, had any kind of a celebrity crush on Lily Evans, when he’d made the unfortunate fumble over his words on telly. He’d respected her, of course. Greatly admired her talent. But it was her writing that he’d been in love with, the worlds she’d built and the characters she’d created; the romance she’d so brilliantly crafted that had made his heart ache.
However, after his little mishap in the talk show, after seeing all the responses and reactions from the viewers, after all the varied comments on the internet and the social media, after all that speculation from his fans… James hadn’t been able to stop speculating himself.
And now, though he’d long been a fan of her work, he was more intrigued by the woman behind the books than the novels themselves.
Lily Evans turned her head. From across the room, their eyes met.
The woman, who, in this very moment, took James’ breath away.
He was moving over even before the producer had the chance to beckon him. Dimly, he was aware of the attention in the room shifting to him, could imagine the smiles, knowing looks, the whispers. After all, so many people now seemed to have a vested interest in his and Lily Evans’ relationship.
Not that there was any relationship between them.
Yet.
She was beautiful. He’d always known that, but it hadn’t really struck him until he’d seen her here, in person. Having read her books, he knew she had both a brilliant brain and a wicked sense of humour. To him, Lily Evans seemed like the perfect woman. He really hoped that he wouldn’t be proven wrong in the next twenty seconds or so.
James Potter stopped. Held out his hand. Flashed a crooked grin. And hoped he wasn’t blushing as brightly as he worried he might be.
“Hello, Miss Evans. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Her fingers trembled slightly before they settled around his hand in a warm, determined grip and gave it a good strong shake.
“Hello, Mr Potter. I’m glad to finally meet you, too.”
Reluctantly, he let go of her hand “Whew. That’s a relief to hear. You’d have every right to be annoyed with me. Or feel all bloody awkward.”
Lily Evans laughed and James decided it was the loveliest sound in the whole wide world. “Perhaps,” she agreed, her pretty green eyes twinkling, “but I suppose I should level the playing field and make a confession of my own.”
James’ heart leapt as his eyebrows shot up. “Oh? I’m all ears, Miss Evans.”
She leaned closer, lowered her sweet voice into an enticing whisper. “I am a fan of your work, too, Mr Potter.”
James’ smile bloomed, bright and brilliant. “I’m honoured, Miss Evans. And ridiculously flattered. And also somewhat relieved.”
Lily raised a single eyebrow, as if in a challenge. “Why relieved?”
“Because…” James grasped her hand and brought it to his lips, his gaze locked on hers. “I’m hoping this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Her cheeks flushed as he brushed a brief kiss against the soft skin at the back of her hand.
“I’d utterly love that,” she replied, her eyes warm and teasing.
James laughed and let go of her hand. For now.
“Good,” he told her, the single word full of promise.