#evanlily

Here you go ml <3

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“One large flat white, please.” A quiet, sombre voice ordered.

Evan perked up, recognising the voice but not the order. He snapped out of his reveries and looked at the customer, his eyes quizzical. It was the same girl he saw every time he took a weekday morning shift. In fact, he started purposely taking those shifts just to see her. Usually, she was joyful, smiling, and her voice melodic — almost singsong. Seeing this mysterious girl in such despair seemed to make her even more intriguing.

Wordlessly, he made the ordered drink, eyes glancing occasionally between the flat white and the girl who ordered it. There was a despondent look in her eyes, her lips quirked into a slight frown. It looked as if she hadn't smiled in some time, and Evan made it his mission to figure out why this usually cheery redhead was so miserable. He gave her the coffee and watched her like a hawk; seeing if she was going to stay in the café or leave. Usually, from Evan's recollection, she would stay in the café for a while, but he wondered if her new disposition would cause her to leave early. Perhaps she wanted to keep her human interaction to a minimal.

During this silent consideration, the curious customer sat in the corner by herself, staring down at the Christmas-decorated cup Evan had given her. It was around halfway through his shift anyway (the girl had arrived much later than usual), so he decided to take his break. Shirking the work apron he had to wear, Evan slowly stalked towards the miserable young woman. His movements were awkward, like he'd never walked towards another person in his life. Eyes wide, staring at her as if he was trying to decipher her soul. He hadn't been spotted until he sat down opposite her, his gaunt complexion haunting the girl in front of him.

The sound of a throat clearing made Lily perk her head up, her brows creasing. It took her a second, but she recognised the boy in front of her, the worker at the coffee shop she was in just now. He had even given her her coffee this morning. What was he doing here? Was there something wrong? Her frown deepened as she watched the employee, tilting her head slightly.

“Is there something wrong?” Lily asked tentatively, watching the dark eyes staring at her. The man cleared his throat, looking down and then back at her, his eyes almost disappearing behind his eye bags.

“No. Not with me. Is there something wrong with you?” Evan asked bluntly, leaning in slightly as he hunched over the table. His breath hit Lily's face from their proximity. It smelled minty — uncomfortably so. As if he'd spent his entire life brushing his teeth without eating a single thing.

Lily shuddered, pulling away slightly. The forwardness of this stranger being too much for her to start spilling her guts. She crossed her arms, looking between the cup and the man. “I'm sorry. Who are you?”

A stiffness overcame Evan's body. He suddenly realised that perhaps not all of the people he had started watching were watching him, too. Perhaps there wasn't this bond shared between them that he initially thought. Perhaps it was a bit strange for him to sit down in front of her and expect answers for all his queries. Either way, he had to introduce himself now. “I'm Evan. Evan Rosier. And you…?”

“Lily Evans,” she answered with a slightly raised eyebrows, “Nice to meet you, Evan Rosier.”

Evan nodded, letting out a soft chuckle. He didn't really feel like laughing, he just assumed that's what people did when funny coincidences like this popped up. Besides, the eyebrow raise from the girl — or Lily, as he had just found out — was the closest to positive expression she had given since entering the establishment. Maybe she had found humour in his first and her last name being so similar. He would have to probe further to find out.

“Nice to meet you too, Lily Evans. Now will you tell me what's wrong?” He uttered softly, trying to coax Lily into speaking. It truly wasn't his place to ask, but he didn't care. Something inside him deeply needed to know why she hadn't ordered her usual vanilla latte.

Lily sighed and her eyes fluttered shut, unfurling her arms to awkwardly fiddle with her coffee cup. She shook her head and her eyes opened slowly, looking at Evan wearily.

“It's just… I've had a really awful week. I got passed up for a promotion, Christmas is at my sister and her husband's this year, and there's this New Years thing I'm going to with colleagues. This is the third year in a row I haven't brought a date and you would not believe how often that is brought up at work. I can't take another night of passive aggressiveness from everyone there with their partners. They always go on and on about how sad it is that I have nobody to kiss at midnight.” She explained, her frown deepening as her explanation turned into a rant. Just remembering how annoying her coworkers were.

Evan also began to frown, less from sympathy and more from his mind whirring with possible solutions. He didn't quite understand why he was so invested in Lily's troubles, but he knew he felt strongly enough to want to help her. After a few seconds, it seemed obvious what the solution was. He swallowed and spoke.

“I could go with you to your New Years party”

“What?”

“I could go with you. That way people won't make fun of you for not having a date.”

“Really? But… we don't know each other. Won't that be an issue?”

“We can just bullshit it.”

Lily looked pensive, mulling over Evan's words and the potential consequence. The frown lightened, but her brow deepened further. She stayed silent, staring down at the lid of her flat white.

“Listen, I'm just making an offer. You don't have to take it, but if you want to, it's there.” He continued, resting his hands on the varnished wood of the table.

There was silence for a few seconds, then a nod, then a response. “Okay, if you're up for it. Thanks, Evan. I'll give you my number and text you the details later, alright?”

Evan nodded before looking at his watch. His break was just about up. He lifted himself slowly from the seat and gave an awkward goodbye to her, shuffling back towards the door to the break room.

“Hey, wait! How did you know I was upset?” Lily asked, stopping Evan in his tracks. He turned around to face her, seeing the curiosity that brought light to the eyes that were so melancholic before.

socially isolated cuties

essentially evanlily to me is what could happen if lily wound up with the “slytherin” friend group (including but not limited to: dorcas, reg, barty, evan)

i think the others would still be cautious and maybe hold off from letting lily in entirely, but evan-curious to a fault-rosier, has no such apprehensions. the others eventually follow his lead and become more welcoming to lily, but that initial connection between lily and evan is what gets me

lily feeling singled out by the universe with no idea where to go or what to make of her life, and then there’s evan who seems to have all the answers; not given on a silver platter by any means because lily finds evan confusing and temperamental but evan is also so loyal (and loving, no one talks about it, but he’s very doting towards his friends)

they disappear for hours together, evan will ramble, finding lily interesting to talk to; lily’s in awe with evan and the things he shows her and tells her about