by Bob_The_Other_Zombie on archiveofourown.org
"You've got to be kidding." Lily folded her arms, giving an unamused look to her publicity team.
They exchanged glances, before returning their stares to her. "No." said her manager. "This is not a joke. It's common practice in the business when things are starting to get a bit slow, and-"
"Things aren't starting to get a bit slow!" Lily protested. "There's no need for this!"
"Lily..." her publicist said.
Unfortunately, it was true. Lily's first three albums had been huge hits, rocketing her to international fame. Her most recent one, however, had practically tanked for all but her most loyal fans. It was humiliating, and frustrating- she just wasn't inspired to write anymore. Her first album had been written during high school, as she went through all of the normal adolescent changes, and her next two were written as her world expanded and her fame grew. But lately, her life had settled into a rhythm of album-tour-publicity, and she suddenly couldn't come up with any good song ideas. It didn't help that she had the pressure of a reputation as a great songwriter to maintain, or that management was encouraging her to stick to certain marketable topics.
"Is this about the next album?" she asked. "Do you want to give me a reason to write love songs, or something?"
They exchanged glances. "No, Lily." her publicist said. "We just think you could use the publicity right now. We've got to keep you in the public eye, or else your career may never recover."
Lily folded her arms, leaning back in her chair. Her career was certainly important to her, and she'd definitely seen too many articles speculating that this last album was the start of her fade into obscurity.
"This will give you more artistic freedom." said her manager gently. "Once we get you back to where you were two albums ago, you'll be able to write whatever you want. Look at Adele, she could write a song about grocery shopping and it'd still be a hit."
And that was certainly true as well. But... "Why does it have to be him?"
"The Marauders are the biggest band in the world right now, we're lucky they're agreeing to a relationship stunt-"
"Why not any of the other Marauders then, why-"
Her manager extended three fingers, ticking them off as she spoke. "Sirius is trying to maintain his image a partier, Remus has all those gay rumors so you'll come off as a beard, and Peter isn't nearly as famous as the other three. It's got to be James."
Lily groaned. Her few memories of James were not pleasant- they'd met once before, at a VMA afterparty a few years ago, where he'd hit on her and then promptly thrown up all over her shoes. She'd stayed away from the Marauders ever since. They seemed like the typical boy band stars- entitled, irresponsible, and immature.
"It won't be that bad." said her manager. "Just a few public outings together, maybe some coy answers to interviewers and a little Twitter interaction. We just want to stir up buzz around you so you don't get completely forgotten."
"Fine." said Lily. "Just...no kissing, all right?"
Their first 'public outing' was a few weeks later, after everyone's manager had called everyone else's manager and all the legal protections had been set up so no one could be sued. James had attended a few of the same legal meetings as Lily, but they hadn't really interacted. For the most part, James had been quiet, focused on the terms of their agreement. And, well, okay, he had tried to introduce himself once, but Lily had ignored him. Just because they were about to get along in public didn't mean she had to talk to him in private, too.
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.
They were seated quickly in a corner near the back. Lily smoothed her skirt over her legs again, glancing around the room. This was where she really had to sell it- already they were attracting a lot of gazes from around the room.
"You could try not looking so nervous." James muttered, picking up his menu.
Lily immediately smiled at him, placing her head on one hand. "Fine, James. Let's be in love. Let's act like a close couple, even though we've spoken once before tonight, and you were completely drunk. I'm surprised you even remember it."
"I told you." James said, smiling back at her, although his voice was tight. "I asked my people to send you a new pair of shoes with an apology."
Lily laughed, placing her hand on James's shoulder. "You couldn't just...send them yourself?"
James's eyes flicked down to her hand and back up at her face. "Everyone is terrible when they first get famous. That was our first major award-"
"Hmm." Lily said, smiling down at her menu. "Have you ever had the fish here? I've heard it's wonderful."
"Lily..."
"Smile, remember?" Lily said. "We've got to look like we like each other."
James sighed, and returned to his menu, smiling. "So, tell me what got you into music."
Lily looked up at him. "What?"
"Well, we've got to make conversation, don't we?" James said, turning the page. "We can't just sit here silently, then we'd look fake."
"All right." Lily rested her elbows on the table. "Let's talk, then."
Her publicist called her the next night while she was cooking dinner. "What did you do?"
"What?" Lily asked, leaning her phone against her shoulder while she stirred the rice she was making. "What are people saying?"
"Well...nothing."
Lily replaced the lid on the rice pot and shifted the phone to her other shoulder. "It hasn't even been twenty-four hours."
"Yes, but this is James Potter." said her publicist. "When he and Ellie Goulding went out once, it was all over the tabloids by that night. Were there tabloids there?"
"Yeah, I think. It was hard to tell." Lily leaned against the counter. "There were a lot of photographers."
"Then what..." There was silence, and then the sounds of typing on a keyboard. "Well, there's the problem. Have you seen any of the articles?"
"No?"
"Well, nobody could get a good shot of you two!" said her publicist. "Seriously, neither of you look happy to be there."
"What?" Lily asked. "We were smiling, we were standing close-"
"Yeah, but you can still tell." said her publicist. "It looks like a business dinner, of course no one cares about that. They're speculating that you're going to write a song together. Which is still publicity, but-"
Lily sighed, pushing her hair away from her face. "I'm sorry, we just don't get along! Does it have to be him?"
"Yes, it does." said her publicist. "Look, I wasn't going to tell you this, but- this wasn't our idea. His team contacted our team, actually."
"What?"
"It's not that surprising. He's dated much more obscure people before."
"But why would they want to initiate that?" Lily asked. "He doesn't need the publicity."
"Maybe they're trying to clean up James's image a bit." said her publicist. "He hasn't been clubbing with Sirius nearly as much this year. But that's why it has to be him, we're lucky that someone as famous as him would want to do this with you. We'll just have to try again, and this time, look a bit more friendly-"
As her publicist rattled on about body language and physical contact, Lily stared at the stove, lost in thought. For all the publicist's explanations, it still didn't make sense. Why would James Potter want a PR relationship with her?
She took a separate car to their next "date". The idea was that James would come in, wait for a few minutes (to ensure he and his mystery date were in the spotlight), and then Lily would arrive, hug him, and join him for dinner. They'd chosen a much more romantic restaurant, too, some French place with flowers everywhere.
Lily felt a bit self-conscious as she walked in. She'd gotten used to the stares over the years, but the weight of expectation was obvious this time. Her outfit was also much nicer this time, designed to make it completely obvious how much of a date this was. She smiled at James as she approached his table, and his eyes went wide.
For a moment, he and the rest of the restaurant stared, as Lily waited for him to initiate the hug. Finally, he approached her, wrapping his arms around her.
"Took you a moment." she muttered into his neck.
James laughed as though she'd said something hilarious and pulled away. "Wasn't expecting you to look so nice, is all."
"Right." said Lily. "Because you've never seen me wear anything nice before."
James grinned. "Not while sober maybe." He pulled back her chair for her, surprising Lily into a snort.
"You're certainly getting into this." she said, picking up her menu and smiling at him.
James sat down across from her, smiling back. "Well, we can't look like a business transaction, can we?"
Lily placed her hand on the table. "Sure. Take my hand." James clasped his hand loosely onto Lily's. "But you don't have to do that."
"What do you mean?"
"The whole-" Lily made a face. "Holding doors, pulling back chairs sort of thing. I wouldn't let my boyfriends do that. Just makes me feel I'm being babied."
James held her gaze. "Good to know."
Lily smiled, genuinely this time, and looked back down at her menu. "So." she said.
"So."
"Um...how did you get into music?"
"What?" James asked, smirking. "We made a documentary about this, you never watched it?"
Lily laughed, and they continued to make small talk until their meal arrived.
An hour later, Lily pushed the last chunk of cheesecake around on her plate, eyeing James. She was alarmed to find that she'd actually had a good time with him. Of course, he had a well-earned reputation for charming women without any feeling behind it, but...he was much more genuine than she'd ever thought he could be. Most people in the business seemed at least a little fake, everyone liked to keep some parts of themselves private. But James...Lily didn't detect a hint of fakeness about the way he was acting.
That was only a testament to how good he was at it, though. This was a fake relationship, after all.
"Why did you agree to do this?" she asked, spiking the cheesecake piece on her fork.
"What?" James said.
"This whole- dating thing." Lily bit into it, watching him. "You don't need the publicity."
"Oh." James said, blinking. "Well, I dunno. Your management team contacted mine and-"
Lily raised her eyebrows. "They told me your team came to us."
James looked down at his plate. "All right, did not realize they told you that."
"Yeah." Lily set her fork down and leaned forward. "So, what was it? Got tired of Remus's mystery sexuality and Sirius's sex scandals dominating the Internet? Needed a little attention?"
"Okay, first of all, the press doesn't know shit about Remus and Sirius, and second of all, no." James frowned. "Is that who you think I am?"
"You're a celebrity, James." said Lily. "It's who we all are. I mean, I'm doing this as a publicity stunt, I'm no better."
James's frown deepened, and he stared down at the table. "It's not about that."
"Then what?" Lily asked. "What are your noble intentions for this publicity stunt?"
James met her eyes again. "I like your music."
"What?"
"I like your music." said James. "I've heard what the press were saying about you, and I wanted to help out. You're really talented, you deserve all the publicity you can get."
For a moment, Lily was struck speechless. "You couldn't have just- promoted my album during an interview or something?" she said at last.
James shook his head and leaned forward, lowering his voice. "No, that would look like soulless corporate work, unless we'd established a public friendship first. And I knew that would never happen, because I puked on your shoes, so I figured- this."
Lily felt as though she'd had the wind knocked out of her. She couldn't seem to come up with any coherent response. "But-"
"Excuse me?"
Lily and James looked up- two teenage girls were standing there, phones in hand.
James immediately smiled, the smile Lily recognized from most of his promotional photos. "Hello, ladies, how can we help you?"
The girl who'd spoken eyes widened, and both girls giggled. "You're James Potter." said the other girl. "And you're Lily Evans."
James and Lily traded glances, and James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Lily blinked, looking back at the fans and smiling. "Uh- yeah, that's us." She felt herself blushing, and inwardly cursed. "What- what can we do for you?"
"Would you mind taking a picture?" asked the first girl. "Just a selfie with us, and then we'll leave you alone to your...dinner." She exchanged glances with the other girl, and giggled.
"Sure thing." James said. "Lily, c'mere." He pulled Lily closer to him, pressing his cheek against hers. The girls positioned themselves so they were all in the picture, and pressed the button a few times. As she smiled wide, Lily felt suddenly giddy with his closeness. Clearly, it had been too long since her last relationship.
"Great, thank you so much." said the first girl, lowering the camera. "Seriously, thank you."
"Not a problem." James said, and waved as they walked away.
"Well." said Lily.
"Well."
"That worked out nicely."
"Yeah, it did." James stood and offered his hand to her. "Ready to go?"
Lily took his hand, pulling herself up. "Sure. Time to go face the real cameras."
James leaned in close, and for a moment, Lily thought he was about to- well, breach the expectations of their contract, but instead, he whispered into her ear. "The girls are still taking pictures of us. This'll be all over Twitter by morning."
Lily stepped back, laughing. The room felt too hot, the skin of James's hand in hers electric, and she could already tell she was blushing. Again. "They won't think it's a business dinner this time." she murmured.
"Yeah." James said. "Nice acting, by the way. I would almost think you're actually into me."
Lily smiled down at the floor. "Same goes for you."
"Yeah, well." He turned towards the entrance, pulling away.
Lily grabbed his hand again, and James turned back, raising his eyes.
Lily shrugged. "It'll help." she mouthed.
They left the restaurant hand-in-hand, and Lily didn't need her publicist to tell her they looked like a couple this time.
James Potter @the_fake_jp
Me and the boys decided to try some skateboarding 2day.
Lily lay in bed, staring at the tweet on her phone. The attached picture was of an elaborate-looking, crudely fashioned skateboard jump- evidently, the Marauders were trying to jump a rather expensive-looking car in their driveway. Peter was standing in front of the makeshift jump, holding a skateboard with one hand and giving a thumbs-up with the other, while Remus and Sirius were off to one side, mouths open in laughter. All in all, it looked exactly like the usual idiotic Marauder antics that had made Lily think James was spoiled in the first place. So, the question- to reply, or not to reply?
On the one hand, her management had indeed recommended some Twitter interaction to cement their relationship. They'd been making headlines over the past few weeks with several more outings together (their selfie had been everywhere for a few days). Lily had even been photographed attending a Marauder benefit concert. She hadn't expected to enjoy it as much as she did, but the music was pure fun, the fans were all enthused to be there, and watching James onstage was hilarious- his stage persona was quite different from the person she'd been fake-dating. Plus, she'd been able to meet the other Marauders backstage afterwards. They were a good group. A little wild, but not the brats she'd expected them to be.
And, okay, maybe she'd enjoyed watching James grinding against a mic stand in too-tight clothing. She couldn't help it, he had a good team of stylists.
On the other hand, though...they'd been keeping their interactions carefully surface-level since James had admitted to liking her music. They hadn't been fighting, either. It was like they had a mutual agreement to make this as easy as possible on the other person.
Twitter felt a bit too personal. But it wasn't all that personal, was it?
Lily sighed, and typed.
Lily Evans @ lilys_evans
@the_fake_jp Don't hurt yourself.
She placed the phone on her bedside table and rolled out of bed. Just before she reached the bathroom, though, it buzzed.
James Potter @the_fake_jp
@lilys_evans Worried about me evans?
Lily snorted.
Lily Evans @ lilys_evans
@the_fake_jp Worried about your car. That's expensive $$$ If you don't want it, I'll take it
She set it down again, but it buzzed almost immediately.
James Potter @the_fake_jp
@lilys_evans Sure if you want it come and get it ;) im free today.
Lily's cheeks reddened. Her phone buzzed repeatedly as his tweet was retweeted. Some of their fans sounded near hysterics over his blatant flirting. After a moment, she picked it up again. This was ridiculous.
Lily Evans @lilys_evans
@the_fake_jp Cheeky.
James Potter @the_fake_jp
@lilys_evans <3
Their next date was their last date before the Marauders left for tour. Lily was surprised to realize that she was actually dreading saying goodbye to James for a while- she'd gotten used to these nice dinners with him, used to his sense of humor and the interesting conversations they'd had. Lily hadn't dated since things had gotten a bit too invasive with her last ex. Even this it wasn't real, it was nice to feel like she had a romantic life again.
"What are you thinking about?" asked James, and Lily realized she'd been staring down at the table.
She laughed. "Just- it's going to be weird not seeing each other for a while, isn't it?"
"Yeah." said James. "Well, you know, they did talk about flying me back-"
Lily shook her head. "No, no, that's not necessary. You're already going to be flying so much, you're going to be exhausted from travelling."
James grinned. "Well...thanks." He reached out his hand over the table, and Lily took it. For a moment, they smiled at each other.
Lily's heart began fluttering, and she looked down again.
"You know, I never thought we'd end up like this." James said, twirling a few noodles around his fork.
"Like what?"
James grinned at her, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "Like- amicable. Puking on someone's shoes isn't the greatest first impression."
"Well, as you said, everyone's a bit terrible when they first become famous." Lily said. "You know, I used to have this horrible haircut my first album-"
"I do know."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah, I was a fan of yours before the Marauders got big, actually." James lifted the pasta to his lips. "Used to drive Sirius crazy by listening to your music all the time. Why do you think I approached you at the VMA afterparty? I spent the whole evening seeing you in that dress, and-"
Lily burst out laughing. "And you puked on me?"
"Wait, I'm being serious!" James said through a mouthful of pasta.
Lily laughed harder. "Oh my God, that is hilarious. This whole time I thought you were being a rude asshole, but you were actually just a nervous fan-"
James grinned, taking her other hand. "Okay, I can see why you might think it was funny, but it was actually the worst moment of my life, so-"
"Oh my God!" Lily said, cracking up all over again. "I can't believe this! James Potter, international superstar, incredibly talented musician, was such a fan of my music that he threw up on my shoes-"
"I couldn't help it!" James said, chuckling. "I was a teenage boy, and you're incredibly pretty. And talented."
Lily's laughter trailed off at the sincerity in his tone."You're not so bad yourself, you know." she said after a moment.
James grinned wickedly. "Oh, really?"
"No, I'm not talking about your looks, you dick, obviously neither of us would look this way without a lot of help." She glanced down at their hands, clasped together on the table. "Your music is better than I thought it would be."
"Well, thanks." James said dryly.
"I meant that as a compliment." said Lily. "Boy bands get a bad rap, you know that. But you guys really do try, it's not just about whatever will sell."
"I don't know about that." said James. "We get a lot of writing help."
"Just take the compliment." Lily muttered.
"I will if you will." said James, smirking.
Lily smirked back, and her heart beat faster. What was happening to her?
The drive home wasn't nearly as long as Lily wanted it to be. She was overly conscious of the time running out, and how long it would be before they would see each other in person again. James seemed like he was aware, too, judging by the almost desperate way he kept the conversation going. Finally, they stopped outside of Lily's apartment.
"Well." Lily said, staring out the window. "I guess this is it."
"Yeah." James said. "It'll only be a few months."
Lily smiled, looking down at her lap. "Yeah, of course. And there's always Twitter."
James laughed. "I know they want us to use social media more. And- maybe you can come to more of our shows?"
"Hopefully." Lily said, shrugging. "I'm going to be busy working on my fifth album, actually. Got a lot of writing to do."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, yeah." Lily nodded. "Well...good luck." She smiled at him and exited the car.
As she walked up her front steps, she heard the car door opening and closing, and footsteps behind her. Lily turned, and was met with his arms around her. She hugged him back tightly.
"I'll miss you." she said as she pulled away. "For whatever reason.
"Yeah, same." James said. "I..." He licked his lips.
"Yes?" Lily asked, slowly becoming aware of how close they were still standing, and how their arms were still wrapped around each other.
And, um. This felt a little too close. Especially when she had no idea how either of them felt-
"Lily, I..."
Lily took a step back, letting go of him, and looked down at the ground. For a moment, neither said anything.
"I'll miss you, too." James finished lamely.
Lily folded her arms. "Yeah."
"Um...bye."
Lily looked up, smiling at him. "Bye, James."
James smiled back, although it was closer to his press smile than she'd seen in weeks. He gave a little wave, and returned to his car, leaving Lily alone outside of her house, heart still pounding.
She groaned, passing her hands over her face, suddenly feeling cold. What had just happened? For a moment, it seemed like James was going to-
But no, he didn't feel that way. Did he? They were just faking it, and sure, he'd like her a few years ago, but he'd dated dozens of girls since then.
Lily groaned again and hurried indoors before anyone could see her.
The next few weeks, Lily found herself unable to think of a single line of music. It wasn't for lack of trying- she worked every day, spending hours writing and rewriting, but nothing was worthwhile, nothing would save her career. The articles about her and James had corresponded to some new fans and a spike in album sales, but she still had to have a really good fifth album to keep those fans, and as it was, she had nothing.
And in between writing, Lily spent more time than she'd like to admit thinking about James. Originally, it started out as watching a few of his recent interviews to see if he'd been asked about her (because she'd certainly been asked about him a fair few times), but one thing led to another and she found herself searching for the Marauders' documentary on Netflix. It was bizarre, seeing him like this, how different and how similar he was from the James she knew. But the James she knew wasn't exactly the truth, either, was he?
Finally, her tedium was broken with a phone call from her manager. "We need to meet with you right away." he said.
Lily straightened up in her chair, knocking a few balled-up sheets of paper off her desk. "What?"
"Can you come in tomorrow?"
Once again, she sat in front of her entire publicity team. This time, however, the atmosphere was a lot less tense.
"What is it, what's going on?" Lily said. "I'm working on the songs, I'll make the deadline, I promise-"
"Not that." said the manager. He nodded, smiling at Lily's publicist.
"The publicity team of the Marauders has contacted us." said Lily's publicist. "They want to terminate our agreement."
Lily's mouth fell open. "What?"
"And we are inclined to let them." said the publicist. She grinned. "We think we've made our point by now, your sales are up again, you've been back in the news-"
"But- no!" Lily said loudly. They stared, and she clasped her hands together, looking down at her lap. "If we- if we break up, the fans I've gained from him will hate me, I'll lose fans-"
"It'll be mutual, of course." said the publicist. "All the usual lines, you just couldn't handle the distance, you both needed time to work on your own projects, there'll be no ill will-"
"But- why?" Lily said. "Why do they want to end it now?"
Her team exchanged glances, smiles fading. "No idea." said her manager. "Guess they figured, with the tour starting, he doesn't have time for you anymore."
Lily sat back in her chair, gripping the arms tightly. She'd thought James had been enjoying it as much as she had, she'd thought he was going to kiss her-
"I have to admit, I thought you'd be happy about this." said her publicist. "You didn't ever seem excited about the idea of this whole thing."
"I...I don't know, I guess I am." said Lily, but she didn't feel happy. She felt...betrayed, almost. Abandoned. Dumped. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"
After the meeting, the songs flowed out of her like water, songs about heartbreak, and attraction, and betrayal, and in the midst of it, Lily realized, that somehow she'd ended up liking James without her knowing it.
Not that it mattered, of course.
She finished writing her album over the next few days. It was good, good enough to sell and get her career back on track. Her confidence in it only grew as she began recording, and eventually releasing, singles.
She didn't see James again, though. The Marauders ended their tour, and moved to talk and award shows as they worked on their next album. Lily watched their interviews, even though seeing James's smile felt like a knife to her chest. She was curious, in spite of herself, what he would say- would he keep up the act and pretend to be sad? Or was he so relieved to be rid of her that he would act cheerful about the breakup?
She waited for some kind of sign, but was dismayed to find that she wasn't mentioned in a single interview. It wasn't just that James wasn't talking about her, none of the interviewers asked him anything about his love life. His breakups usually got much more media attention than this. Had they forgotten her so quickly?
"And we've got time for one more audience question for Lily Evans, who wants to go?" asked the talk show host. She grinned toothily, looking out at the audience, and Lily followed her gaze. "Yes, how about you over there, in the purple coat?"
The girl's eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the mic when one of the talk show staff handed it to her. "Um, hi." she said.
"Hi." Lily said back, smiling, and the audience laughed.
"Um, I, um, I was just wondering if-" The girl's eyes flicked down to the floor and back up at Lily. "If any of the songs you wrote were- based on anybody?"
"Yes, that is a great question." said the host, turning her grin on Lily.
Lily laughed along with the audience. "Well, you know, all of the songs take a little from my life experiences, in some ways-"
"But that's not what she's talking about, is it?" asked the host. "You know, we're all a little curious about a certain black-haired boy you've been seeing-"
The audience cheered.
Lily shook her head, keeping a well-practiced smile on her face. "Not seeing anymore, actually. We've broken up."
"Well, yes, everyone knows that." said the host. "But why all the silence? Why all the secrets? Why isn't anyone allowed to ask him about you?"
Lily laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't know anything about that." she said. "It was an amicable split, perhaps he simply wants to keep the attention on their next album instead-"
"If it was amicable, then why did you write an album of breakup songs about it?"
Lily licked her lips. The host's grin was almost feral. How had she gotten approval to ask these questions? "I wouldn't call it an album of breakup songs, I think that diminishes the work that's been put into it. I don't focus my musical career around the men in my life, you know."
That earned her some applause from the audience. Her smile widened.
The talk show host, however, was unfazed. She leaned back in her seat. "Then what about James's song?"
"What?" Lily asked.
The talk show host grinned again, with an air of victory. "Oh, you haven't seen it yet?"
Lily shook his head. "I didn't realize they had released any singles yet."
"Oh, it's not a single." said the host. "Someone leaked the lyrics to one of their new songs on the Internet, and the title is- get this- Red."
"What, it's not about the sea, is it?" Lily asked, to the amusement of the audience.
"You really haven't seen it?" The host arched an eyebrow. "You should take a look. Looks like their next album is going to be similar to your own."
For a moment, Lily's brow furrowed, and then she remembered how many cameras were on her. She sat up straighter, crossing her legs. "Well, I can't speak for the Marauders, but my music is never specifically based on anyone..."
As soon as she was home, she raced to her computer, searching for "marauders lyrics leak". The first result was "Red". She clicked on it, heart in her throat.
It wasn't about the Red Sea- it was about a redhaired girl, with a beautiful singing voice, who he'd liked for a long time. It was everything she'd thought had been faked about her relationship, condensed into three catchy verses and a chorus.
Lily passed a trembling hand over her face, and then stood, grabbed her guitar case, and hurried out, phone already pressed to her ear.
Lily had never been more upset than her security detail was a careful driver. She was tense the whole ride over, like a wire stretched taut, drumming her fingers on her guitar case and running over the words and chords to the song in her mind. It was the first song she's written after they'd 'broken up', and the most personal one. Lily just hoped he would like it.
As soon as they reached James's house and made it through his security system, Lily was out of the car and running, guitar slung over her back.
She banged on the door. "James! Open up!"
The door swung wide to reveal not James, but Sirius. He leaned against the doorframe, looking unimpressed. "Lily Evans."
"Hi. Lily said. "Um...I'm here to talk to James, is he at home?"
Sirius shrugged. "I dunno." He turned and called up the stairs. "Hey, Peter; is James here?"
"Who's at the door?" James yelled from further upstairs. Lily moved to go inside, but Sirius blocked her path.
"Peter, James isn't home, right?" he called.
Peter emerged from the hall at the top of the stairs. His eyes widened when he saw Lily. "Uh...yeah. James isn't here."
"Sirius, who is it?" shouted James again. "Peter?"
"Please, I have to see him." said Lily as Peter walked down the stairs and joined Sirius at the door. "I need to-"
Remus appeared at the top of the stairs. "James wants to know what's going on." he said.
Sirius shrugged. "Well, he's not home, and there's no one at the door, so there's nothing going on, right?"
"Right." Peter said, folding his arms. "It was just a random stalker."
"Wait, hold on." Remus descended the stairs. "Lily, why are you here?"
Lily glanced between all of them nervously. "Well, I found his song lyrics online-"
"So you're here to break his heart again in person, are you?" Sirius asked. "Tell him exactly how not interested you are in him?"
Lily gaped. "No, of course not. What are you talking about? I'm not not interested in him at all."
The three men traded glances, and stepped away from the doorway. Lily walked inside cautiously.
"Seriously, guys, what is going-"
Lily looked up- James was standing next at the top of the stairs, goggling at her. When she met his eyes, he folded his arms. "Lily."
"James." she said.
"What are you doing here?"
"I..." Lily stepped further in, taking the guitar case off her back. "I saw your song."
"What song?" asked James.
"Your lyrics." said Lily. "Red, it got leaked online somehow-"
Peter smirked at Sirius and Remus.
James paled. "Oh, that wasn't about anyone, really..."
"Yes, it was." said Sirius.
"It was about Lily." added Peter.
Remus nodded. "James, hear her out:"
"Would you all bugger off?" James snapped. His three bandmates shrugged and shuffled back upstairs. James slowly walked downstairs, stopping a few feet in front of Lily.
"So." he said.
"So."
James folded his arms. "I guess you know. Big secret, I never stopped having feelings for you. My celebrity crush turned into a real one once I got to know you better. And you're probably here to tell me to leave you alone-"
"No, that's not what I'm here for at all." said Lily, picking up her guitar.
James followed the movement with his eyes. "Are you- what are you-"
"Have you heard anything off my new album?"
James shook his head. "Figured it would be too painful."
"Well, you should listen to it." Lily said. "Because it's basically dedicated to you." She positioned her fingers on the frets.
"What?" James said, mouth falling open.
"God, stop acting so surprised!" Lily said. "I thought you knew, you had to know! You were the one who called the whole stunt off-"
"Because you pulled away when I tried to kiss you!" said James. "Because you weren't interested, you were just faking it, and you realized it had gone too far-"
Lily felt a smile growing on her face. "I thought that's what you were doing!"
"Are you serious?" James said, running through his hair. "Are you-" He began laughing. "Are we both that stupid?"
"Apparently." Lily said, grinning. She put down her guitar. "Come here. Let's fix this, why don't we." She pulled James down towards her and pressed her lips against his.
They kissed for a long moment. James ran a hand up Lily's spine, and she rested one hand on the back of his neck. When they finally pulled apart, Lily felt giddy again, the same way she had when they'd first held hands. James, however, was smirking in a way that Lily did not like at all.
"Wait, were you gonna play me a song?" he asked.
Lily's smile faltered at his teasing tone. "Maybe?"
"Oh, you totally were!" James said. "You were going to go all eighties movie on me and play me a song!"
Lily crossed her arms. "Well, now I don't want to."
James just grinned, raising his eyebrows.
"Fine." she said, picking up her guitar again. "Special live performance of my next single, just for you. This one is officially titled Upside Down, but I like to call it...Rude Drunk Bastard Is Actually Pretty Great Guy."
And, with James looking on, Lily slung the guitar strap around her shoulder, and began playing.