#senem writes

“You’re really warm.” and

“Come back to bed. Please” for jily pls??

I am laughing at for jily like I'm capable of writing for anything else. I promise you, even if it is about two unrelated characters, I'll find a way to make it about jily

Also finally put the drabbles on ao3 as promised so you can read this there as well

Fretting over Lily Evans was nothing new for James, but this time might’ve put him to his early grave after all.

He touches her forehead discreetly, trying not to disturb her sleep. She went in and out of her slumber all night, giving him a scare half the time with her nonsensical mumblings. He doesn’t recall when exactly he fell asleep too, not long ago according to the rising sun, but that’s how he finds himself next to her now.

Blinking his eyes woozily, he gives himself permission for a moment of bliss before jumping into action, pretending they are lying side by side not because she is burning like a furnace, but like he always wakes up next to Lily, this hair tickling his shoulder not unusual.

He can only guess what prompted her to call him last night. A bitter part of him thinks it’s because she knew he would come running, no questions asked. It’s hard to ignore that part when that was exactly what he did, probably before he even hung up the phone. There is, of course, always the chance that it was the side effect of her running fever. One should not underestimate it, he learned that firsthand all through the night.

The pretense falls apart when he feels Lily’s skin, panic rising inside him all over again. He has spent the whole night trying to make sure her temperature didn’t pass 40 degrees, hand ready over his phone for the minute it did. It feels like it has risen again, her cheeks flaming bright to prove his insight right.

“Aren’t you gonna kiss my forehead?”

She startles him, with the question or her half open eyes smiling dozily at him, he doesn’t know.

“Why would I take advantage of the ill, Evans?”

Her smile gets softer, fonder. “That’s how my mom used to take my temperature.”

He’s never been able to say no to that smile.

She closes her eyes with the kiss, looking content and peaceful, not at all like the bedridden patient she is supposed to be. He lingers one second longer than necessary.

He has forgotten the purpose of the act until she looks at him expectantly, waiting for his verdict.

“You’re really warm.”

She doesn’t care for his furrowed brows or less than satisfactory explanation when she snuggles into him, purring, “Thank you, so are you.”

“That was not a compliment, Evans.” He tries to hide the fact his breath hitches when she burrows her face in his neck. “That means I am doing something very, very wrong. Are you sure you don’t want me to call anybody else?”

Her hold on him tightens even further if possible. She sounds like a petulant child when she whines her refusal. He can imagine, and feel, her pout.

He tries to untangle himself from her, but she looks so offended by his actions that he feels the need to explain himself. “I need to wet these rags again, and you need to eat some breakfast so you can take your antipyretics.”

She opens her mouth to say something, another refusal going by her displeased expression, but he jumps from the bed before she can tempt her more.

He goes to the bathroom first, thinking maybe some cool water would do him good too. She is already asleep by the time he comes back, hand reaching out to where he once laid on the bed. He places the damp clothes on her forehead with a grin, letting it take over his face while she is not able to see it. The pills he found when he rummaged through her medicine cabinet are put on her nightstand, waiting for his arrival with some food.

Preparing some eggs and toast helps him gather himself a little more, the habitual routine putting his brain on autopilot. The morning feels like something out of James’ dreams with Lily cuddling him in the bed and him making her breakfast, he finds it necessary to remind himself the true nature of the situation as he fills a glass of water for her.

She is awake when he enters the room, following his motions silently as he puts the plate on her side too. He is just about to sit on the chair by her bedside when she stops him with a hand on his arm.

“I promise I’ll eat something in a minute. Can you just… come back to bed? Please?”

His will already weakened since he woke up, he finds that it crumbles completely when he hears her voice so weak, tone so pleading. He lays down on his previous place without saying anything, her head finding his shoulder immediately.

A small hand traces patterns on his chest, nails tickling the heart underneath with every swoop. They could probably live in that relaxed bubble forever if the question nagging inside him just hadn’t popped out unexpectedly.

“Why did you call me yesterday, Lily?”

The finger drawing flowers, stars, and initials never stops its movement. “Because I had a high fever, and I didn’t want to go to the ER.”

“No. I mean, why did you call me?”

He holds his breath in anticipation of her answer, and she stills momentarily too before shaking out of her stupor. “I wanted to be with you.” Her voice sounds so small. “I always want to be with you, you know that.”

There is relief ballooning inside him with her words, mixed with something he dares not name. He hums softly as a response, neither denying nor confirming her assumption.

“We can stay in bed for one more minute, then I’m gonna make you eat that breakfast, Evans.”

“Two, because you just took advantage of a sick person’s honesty and I deserve it.”

“Deal.”

You really chose violence with this one anon, and I respect that energy. Some James x OC at the beginning, but I guess that's to be expected for this prompt no? 🙂🙃

“–that’s when Hooch decided to blow the whistle, can you believe it?”

Shit, it was time for him to say something back, James realized too late.

“No way.” He tried to recall anything from the past 15 minutes.” You think she did it on purpose?”

His lucky remark earned him approximately ten more minutes as Elaine started to chatter excitedly about it.

It’s not like he wasn’t having any fun on this date, really, he was. He was just having a small concentration problem.

He gave himself permission to steal one more look to the table at the corner.

“–and I think she really has it out for me. But I guess you’re McGonagall’s favorite so you wouldn’t know, would you?”

He had no idea how the conversation came here from Quidditch. “Can you please repeat that again in Sirius’ vicinity too?” He needed to start paying more attention. “I think hearing it from someone other than me can finally make him accept the truth.”

Elaine’s eyes brightened instantly with the prospect, a giggle falling from her lips.

There. She was pretty, too.

Of course, James knew that when he accepted a date for the Hogsmeade weekend, he was just too busy spending the time in between comparing her, something he knew he ought not to do.

But now, sitting in a corner booth with seemingly no distractions, he could finally say that yes, she was pretty.

He tried to overcome the urge to correct that statement when he saw a flash of green eyes again. She truly wasn’t making his job easy.

“It’s probably because you’re the Gryffindor captain. I heard she was also a Quidditch fanatic back in the day herself.”

“She still is. You might want to try your chance next time by mentioning you have an upcoming match too”–not that he thought it would work–“as long as it’s not against Gryffindor.”

And they had a lot in common too, something he should be grateful for. They were both Quidditch players in their house teams, although she was a seeker, and they were both fans of Puddlemere. He racked his brains to find more common ground - something not Quidditch related. It was very hard to think when he could feel a pair of blazing eyes on him. He gave in to the temptation again.

“I don’t know how you do it James, managing both being the captain and the Head Boy.”

Was that firewhiskey in front of Lily at 2 bloody pm?

“Yeah, I have a pretty good team and an amazing Head Girl by my side thankfully.”

He saw the redheaded witch get up from her seat and walk towards the toilets.

“Hey, mind if I leave you alone for a moment to go to the loo?” He didn’t wait for an answer before adding, “And I’ll bring some fresh butterbeer on my way back.”

There was no time to spare a glance back to the confused girl as he followed Lily’s hurried steps.

He just managed to stop her with a hand on her arm before she opened the door. “What the hell was that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” sputtered Lily, two bright spots on her cheeks betraying her feigned ignorance.

At least that’s what he thought before he remembered her new day drinking habits.

“I mean what are you doing here, at a table by yourself, drinking firewhiskey all alone?” and watching me, he’d wanted to add, but he didn’t think neither of them were ready for that to be said yet.

She visibly flinched before his eyes. “I didn’t know… I wouldn’t have come if I– “a shaky breath before finally whispering, “I thought you’d be at Madam Puddifoot’s.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

But apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

“And what are you doing here?” she bit out. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a date right now?”

The flush on her cheeks spread below her neck, a glint in her eye warning him on his answer, but she wasn’t the only person in this narrow corridor with anger simmering in their blood.

“You can’t just do this, Lily. Not when I– Why did you wait until I moved on?”

The minute he said it he wanted to take it back as he watched helplessly all the fire dying from the girl in front of her, what was once bright becoming dull with pain.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to– “She looked lost for words as she struggled to croak out, “I’ll just… go now.”

Something finally snapped into action inside James when he saw her moving to do just that. He realized with a start he was still holding her arm, noticed by her as well when she couldn’t go more than a step away. He decided to take advantage of that to put both his hands on Lily’s shoulders, a move she seemed ready to object before he cut her off.

“Look, Lily.” He tightened his hold on her shoulders once to show her he wasn’t letting go. “I’m now gonna go to the bar to buy one more butterbeer and take that to my date. We’ll probably wait until she finishes her drink to leave, and after that I’ll walk her to her common room because, unfortunately, I have excellent manners.”

She looked willing to be anywhere but there, her eyes shifting all over the place with desperate need to flee.

He paid it no mind. “Then I’m gonna find you and ask you out for the next Hogsmeade weekend.” She finally stopped moving around, standing stock still between his arms. He took a deep breath to compose himself before continuing,“But for this to happen I need you to leave my line of vision before I give up on being a gentleman, okay?”

The light that went out before was back, burning stronger than ever in her eyes. “And if I said, ‘fuck being a gentleman’?”

His face twisted in pain, voice coming out hoarse when he answered, “My mother would be very disappointed in me, but I suppose I could make it work.”

“Go back to your date, James.” There was a smile on her face for the first time since he saw her in Three Broomsticks. “I’ll leave as soon as my drink is finished.”

He couldn’t imagine going back to speaking with Elaine now, under Lily’s watchful gaze, and he guessed she saw that in his face too when she felt the need to add, “I’ll sit on the other side of the table.”

He dragged his hands away from her shoulders slowly, stopping briefly to give her hands a squeeze. There was a lightness to his steps as he walked to the bar.

Thank you so much for the prompt Lauren <33 I've missed parties and flirting so much so I've decided to make that everybody's problem 🥰🥰

Lily can feel the music pulsing all over her as she stands in the middle of the common room. Her heartbeat still hasn’t calmed down after dancing for two hours straight and she swears it’s pounding in her chest simultaneously with the rhythm.

When she attempts to drink from the cup in her hand, which she miraculously still hasn’t spilled, she finds it empty. That explains the lack of clumsiness on her part, she thinks, or the fact that her whole body is throbbing like something red, raw, and alive.

The sweat is making frizzy curls stick to the skin around her neck, and it suddenly feels too hot among all these people she can hardly breathe. Escaping seems like a good idea now, to get away from this stifling air and maybe to get a drink for her parched throat.

It takes a moment for her to locate the makeshift bar but when she does, she finds herself buzzing for a whole different reason with a mouth drier than before.

It really is not fair on her addled brain for him to look this good.

She imagines herself now looking thirsty on another level, but she can’t find it within her to care as she drinks in James’ relaxed posture from afar. He is slouching against the table with a loose grip on his bottle and she admires the easy smile on his lips, so different from the intensity of it just mere hours ago. She notes with desperation he’d also changed from his Quidditch robes, which she can’t decide whether is better or worse.

His arm flexes under the t-shirt as he ruffles his hair.

Worse, then. Definitely worse.

She could try to reason with herself about how she was already going there anyway and how James has no effect on the speed of her steps. But she’s not fooling anyone, least of all herself, not with this much alcohol in her system and want in her blood.

“Now why are you not dancing at your own victory party, captain?”

He doesn’t look startled to see her beside him. “I think you’ve danced enough for both of us out there, Evans.

“I would’ve danced more if you were there with me too.”

The sad thing is, she doesn’t even get nervous about making these remarks anymore. The excitement to see whether he’d flirt back has faded away after her first few tries, his obliviousness to Lily’s all pitiful attempts now just a game for the girls to see how far she can take it.

“It’s not like I was miserable over here,” he chuckles. “I was just… enjoying the ambiance.”

“Is that what they call it now? Watching pretty girls dance from afar?” She adds a hair twirl for emphasis. Marlene would be proud of her.

He laughs wholeheartedly at this, a little too much if you ask her. She tries not to take offence.

“Guess I just needed a moment to take it all in. It’s the last year, y'know, trying to burn the good memories into my brain.”

She is certainly aware it’s the last year, thank you very much. The reminder prompts her to face him as she leans on the table like he does, debating whether a hair flip would be too much.

Ah, what the hell, she had passed too much two weeks ago.

“I’m sure we can make better memories than skulking in the corner of a crowded room and what? Drinking butterbeer?” She finds enough courage in herself to touch his arm as she adds the next part, “Well, no wonder you aren’t on the dance floor with me if that’s how you’re celebrating.”

“I think you have also drunk enough for both of us, Evans.”

“Nonsense.” She turns to face the various booze bottles and starts to add some firewhiskey in her cup to prove her point, a delayed mission on her part. “We wouldn’t be standing here talking if that was the case.”

Which is why she completely misses his face when he teasingly asks, “Are you flirting with me, Evans?”

She stops pouring the firewhiskey.

“What gave it away, Potter?”

The words alone could be considered a part of their usual bantering if it wasn’t for her deadpan voice. When she finally turns her head to gauge his reaction, she can see him trying to decide whether to laugh it off or panic as his joking question has now turned into something much more. She decides to press on.

“Was it the hair twirling? Cause I’m pretty sure I’ve been doing that for at least three weeks now.”

No answer. She isn’t sure he’s even breathing at the moment.

“No? Asking you to dance then? Something I’ve done at the last party too and got rejected again I must remind you.”

She knows it’s irrational for her to be angry at him about this, but it’s been too damn long, she has endured too much teasing, and she just wants to understand what has changed. James Potter stopped making sense to her a while ago.

“Guess not. Oh, it was touching you, right? Though, I’ve been doing that since almost the year’s started. Would be a real dark horse if that was the one.”

He gulps painfully, she really does feel sorry for him for a split second.

“It was probably the alcohol,” he chokes out at last.

“What? You only fancy me when I’m drunk or something, is that it?”

“Not– not your alcohol,” he stammers quickly. “My alcohol.”

Maybe Lily has drunk enough for the night. She definitely won’t admit he was right or that she can’t understand a word he’s saying though.

He apparently sees it anyway. “I don’t think I could accept you were flirting with me when I was sober, Evans. I still have a hard time believing it now.”

She gets a sudden calculating look in her eyes. “How far gone are you, Potter?”

“Alcohol-wise or you-wise?”

“Oh, now he flirts back,” she grumbles, the blush she feels rising in her cheeks ruining the disgruntled effect she’s going for. “How much of this will you be remembering tomorrow?”

“I don’t think I’ll be forgetting any of this till the day I die, Evans.”

“Good.” She stands up straight abruptly. “There is a chance I won’t have a clear memory of this moment.”

He wants to object to this vehemently, she can tell, but she doesn’t let him. “Knowing myself, I’ll probably be doing all of these in the foreseeable future too.”

“Which part,” he quips back.

“All of it. So you better get your act together.” She fixes some invisible wrinkles on her blouse before taking her cup back from the table. “I want you to bring your A game tomorrow.”

Hope you don't mind I used this prompt to write a second part to this one. There was a concerning amount of distress over it and I am nothing if not a compulsive people pleaser

Happy mf birthday to my bestie, my other brain cell @clare-with-no-i words cannot express how much I adore you. Hope you'll enjoy the custody of our shared brain cell for your birthday as a gift <333

He tried not to feel guilty about the loud noises his feet were making as he ran through empty hallways, an act that went against his every instinct as a Marauder. He just needed to remind himself that he was not hiding from an authority who’s about to catch him this time, rather running towards it actually.

In his haste he forgot to bring his cloak too, though what good it would do to him in this scenario was dubious. Maybe it could’ve helped with a sneak attack, but it wasn’t like they were expecting him now anyway. Occasional ghosts and portraits seeing a pair of feet run around in Hogwarts would be amusing perhaps, if he was in the mood for it.

He clutched the map in his hand tighter. He couldn’t dare to take another look at it in fear of losing time. When he first announced he was up to no good today, it was certainly not because it was a Thursday. Sirius had actually seen to that, making sure that the map was always in the hands of another Marauder every Thursday patrol, without asking for James’ input of course. Today was a fluke, his first one to be exact.

For @efkgirldetective ‘s second week of summer of jily 🌊🌊🌊 with some minor wolfstar thrown in there

swimming with friends + today we're younger than we're ever gonna be (✨vibes✨)

Lily didn’t think they would actually do it.

Sure, it was a fun concept to joke about with your friends, but that’s all it was supposed to be — a dare everybody laughs at but does not try to execute.

She tries to gauge whether it’s too late to chicken out without losing her dignity. She can hear clothes hitting the sand as they’re thrown over carelessly between laughter.

Welp. No turning back now.

She realizes her mistake when she’s the only one left standing with clothes on.

“Well, c’mon Evans. This was your brilliant plan.”

“A plan that made me reevaluate all my previous assessments of you. Who knew Evans had it in her?” She can’t see his face in the dark, but she knows Sirius just winked at her.

She pathetically tries one more time to bring them back from this terrible decision. “You know, I’m starting to think this isn’t such a good idea after all.”

“Ah, come off it Lily,” Marlene yells from… somewhere. “What? You can talk the talk but won’t strip for the walk?”

“It’s not the skinny-dipping part that’s the problem,” she insists unconvincingly, “it’s the night part. The water is probably freezing right now.”

“I’m happy to do this with you again in the morning, Evans.” She tries to resist the usual urge of looking at James when he talks. “But if that’s your only excuse, the water is just fine.”

Peter helpfully flicks some water to Lily to prove James’ point.

Damn it. The water is actually rather nice.

Feeling ganged up on, she sighs deeply to show her displeasure with the turn of events, and starts to work on her clothes quickly. She won’t give them the satisfaction of turning her back while doing it though or acknowledge Mary’s loud whoop – which she shouted in the wrong direction.

Finally out of her last piece of clothing, she grabs the closest hand she can find, and tugs on it once before running into the water.

The loud splashing they make alerts the others to their new location. One by one they come into the sea, sometimes with shrieks and sometimes with swears.

Her companion laughs when the last two dark figures dip into the water as well, it was Remus after all, and turns to her general direction. “I gotta hand it to you, Lily. You’re really committed to cause maximum damage to James’ brain.”

Before Lily can answer him, they are interrupted by Sirius’ loud bellowing, “Wherefore art thou, Moony? Tell that red headed wench it’s not nice to steal my boyfriend for herself.”

“Tell it to the wench yourself,” Lily shouts back before realizing her mistake. Now located by the others, loud splashes fill her ear from everywhere as they all swim to their direction. She makes an honorable attempt to escape with Remus before giving up, not feeling ready for a swimming race with five people on their tail.

James and Sirius are the first ones to reach them, because of course they are, and she leaves Remus to his boyfriend before Sirius starts yelling more Shakespeare quotes. She is just about to swim towards Mary and Marlene to meet them halfway when a hand on her ankle stops her.

“You’re not cruel enough to leave me alone with them when they are naked, are you Evans?”

“Hate to break it to you but I’m very much naked as well, Potter,” she grins cheekily.

“Oh, believe me, I’m aware of that.”

She curses the new moon once more for although providing a very nice opportunity to look at the stars, doesn’t let her see James’ expression.

She can hear the girls catching up to them slowly with Peter not far behind. “Let me save you then, Potter. Are you up for a little swimming?”

Not waiting for his answer, which she can only guess is an enthusiastic nod, she starts to swim away from the upcoming party, knowing he’ll follow.

They are careful not to go deeper, only sideways, until they leave their friends’ earshot. With an unspoken agreement they stop, Lily finally allowing herself to gaze at the sky. She assumes that’s what James is doing too until he interrupts her thoughts.

“I’d hoped it would be brighter.”

She doesn’t answer him, her silence prompting James to explain himself. “The starlight, I mean. Don’t get me wrong, it's beautiful, but it’s not the scenery I want to be looking at right now.”

“Yeah, it’s jarring not to see your face when you’re speaking. Who knows how idiotic you actually look right now?”

James takes her right hand without speaking, bringing it to the edge of his brow. She doesn’t understand what he’s doing until he passes it over the slight lines of his forehead – he's letting her feel his facial expression.

Emboldened by his explicit permission, she lets her fingers rake through the hairs that have stuck on his forehead with water, combing them back with care. She follows the line of his brows, paying special attention to smooth the furrow in between. Her fingers fall dawn to his nose next, and it feels like his breathing had stopped a long time ago. She lovingly touches the cheekbones, wiping drops of water from them slowly. Careful not to skip a line, she trails the arch until she reaches his jaw, feeling it tense and ripple beneath her hand. When her thumb finally touches his lips, she finds them slightly open, just like how she envisioned, and she swears neither of them are breathing in that moment.

But Lily doesn’t want to stop there. She didn’t get James naked to touch his face. She lowers her hand.

If he had stopped breathing before, he certainly starts back when he gasps as her hand passes over his neck. She adds her other hand to grip both of his shoulders, their feet touching every once in a while as they try to stay afloat by just kicking them back and forward. That’s when she realizes James is not using his arms either, standing stock still, afraid to move.

Feeling bolder than ever, she glides her hand until she reaches his, placing it somewhere above her waist, sliding it upwards to encourage him. He practically chokes.

She goes back to outlining his collarbones with her fingers, feeling him shiver underneath her. Or is that her shivering when he slightly caresses the skin over her ribs? She doesn’t know where she ends and he starts under the water.

Which is why she doesn’t react immediately when she feels something touching her foot. A head emerges out of the sea, causing both of them to splash apart. She doesn’t see who it is, but the devilish voice tells her it’s Mary soon enough.

“Oi, lovebirds, pack it up. We’re going back to the house, and we’re leaving no man behind.”

More splashing comes behind Mary, causing all heads to turn that way. “Peter and I lost the water fight, pulling the metaphorical short stick in a sense.”

Peter finally reaches them, and they wait for him to stop his wheezing. “Sirius wanted me to tell you that he and Remus have dibs on the shower first because they are a superior couple who can keep it in their pants while swimming with friends.” An uncomfortable beat. “His words.”

This is slightly longer than usual and it doesn't even have a happy ending, oops? I presume you knew what you were doing when you sent me an angsty prompt ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And a happy birthday to @mppmaraudergirl !!! Hope you'll enjoy this unrequited pining dumpster fire queen :) I only wish it was set in 6th year to complete the set 🔥🗑❤️‍🔥

The dim light from the embers was trying to illuminate the Heads’ Office as he feasted his eyes on her. He thought about rekindling the fire to see her more clearly. Would she believe him if he said he was cold in April?

Just the fact they needed more light to see —her face in his case and the parchment in front of her for Lily’s— was enough proof that they’d been here for hours now, paying the price for not doing this in the last two weeks.

He tried not to think about why they were unable to do so, the first weeks of April a black blur in his mind he’d rather not visit.

Lily’s silhouette was a good distraction from his unwanted thoughts, he turned his focus back to it. He was just about to suggest adding more logs to the fireplace, weather be damned, when he realized Lily had been talking to him for a while now.

“—tried putting her with Bones last month but he said he will land himself in the hospital wing on patrol days if we ever pair them again, so we need a new partner for her.”

“How about Selwyn?”

“No, she's a half-blood, we can’t risk it.

“Fenwick?”

Lily looked thoughtful for a moment. “Fenwick could work.”

Happy that he had thwarted the danger, he went back to his favorite pastime.

Week 5 on @efkgirldetective 's Summer of Jily (technically not set in summer but in may?? surely that's forgivable)💫💫💫

stargazing + I've got plenty of affection / I'd be glad to show you some time

on ao3

It turned out there weren’t that many people who took Divination in her Astronomy class.

She was, somewhere deep in her mind, aware of this fact but the implications of it didn’t hit her until she was paired with her partner for this joint project. All that was left for Lily now was to scowl deep as she craned her neck, eyes crinkling with the effort.

There were many reasons Lily Evans wished she was anywhere but the Astronomy Tower tonight, number one being the late hour. Last she checked, it was very close to curfew, and sure they got permission from both of their professors for this, but that didn’t stop a gnawing worry growing inside her belly. And as a prefect –she still loved reminding herself that– wasn’t she supposed to be a little alert now anyway? Surely, these nerves were normal.

The warm May night was doing nothing to quell these concerns either, just serving as a mocking reminder of how close they were to the OWLs. She tried to console herself by seeing this as an exam prep too, empty star charts laying at the ground, but she would really prefer it if this certain homework was done solo at least.

And that brought her to the heart of the issue: the boy next to him. She had to admit, more than half of her anxieties right now were caused by him, a confession he would never hear from her lips though. An indignant huff escaped her with the thought.

“Stop hogging the telescope, Evans. Do you see Venus or not?”

third week on @efkgirldetective 's summer of jily 🎡🎡🎡

carnival +we’re getting good at this

Warning for throwing up bcs its a rite of passage and we're goin traditional in this bitch

James retches one more time in the bushes.

He can feel a hesitant hand tapping his back methodically between his dry heaves, too awkward to be comforting. He hopes he didn’t get his vomit on their shoes, that would only make things more uncomfortable for both of them.

Children’s screams thrum in his head as he straightens up. He is afraid to make a sudden move in fear of upsetting his stomach once again, trying not to look down in case he sees what he ate today on the ground.

The owner of the hand clears their throat slightly, prompting him to face the music. An apology is already formed on the tip of his tongue before he turns his back, eyes squeezing shut to save him from some of the embarrassment.

“I am so sorry that you had to witness this.”

He opens his eyes when he hears a snort, the face in front of him belonging to a girl around his age, looking conflicted between being grossed out or amused (which is fair). “Don’t worry, you are certainly not the first person puking his guts out I’ve seen today.”

She hands him a bottle of water with some napkins. “Is that what you do then? Do you go around helping out nauseated blokes? Not that I don’t appreciate it, really, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but I didn’t come to help you.” His confusion must be reading off from his face because she explains herself. “You just appeared out of nowhere behind my stall and started gagging.”

The said stall in question is visible behind her, now that he’s taken the time to look at anywhere beyond the beautiful girl. He curses his luck for the thoughtless hurling location, mortification rising inside him with the thoughts of his earlier actions.

“I– I’ll help you clean it up. Here, I’ll pay for the water and the napkins too.”

She waves his offered money away, a mischievous smile appearing on her face. “So, what finally did you in? Was it the gallopers? The teacups? Or did you just eat one too many fried items?”

He grimaces. “Nothing of the sort. Just some good ole sympathetic vomiting.”

“Piss off.” She looks deadly serious. “You’re aware you’re in a fair, right?

“I wasn’t expecting this much,” he mumbles pathetically, a flush rising under his neck at her stare.

“Well, don’t turn your back right now then.”

His face blanches when he hears the voices coming from behind him. She looks far too happy by his misery.

“I don’t know what you’re so giddy about. It’ll be both of our problems if I have another go at it right now.”

“Pretty sure I didn’t agree to that.”

“Nonsense, we’re a team now.”

Her eyes glint merrily, foretelling the smile that’s coming. “I want a refund. Where are your friends so you can become their problem?”

“Oh, they betrayed me a long time ago. Something about ferris wheels being for couples only, and nobody liking a third wheel.”

“That’s a nice sob story.” She’s positively gleeful now. “Too bad you had already ruined all your chances in the first five minutes, or I would’ve felt sad for you.”

“I think I’m still pitiful enough. Wouldn’t that at least get me your name?”

“You’re lucky I’m in a giving mood today.” He swallows the joke rising to his lips with her retort. “It’s Lily. You can try to work your way up to a number too, but I can’t promise any more generosity.”

Before he can answer her, a customer appears. The little boy looks like he is on a sugar high with no chance to come down, hands and mouth sticky with something pink. Lily fills the paper bag good naturedly with his choice of sweets, smile never leaving her face. She is smart enough to not take the money from his hand directly though and waits for him to place it on the stall instead.

The smile turns devious when she faces him. “Don’t I get to hear your name too? I already know you’re a miserable third wheel who ate too many chips today.”

“See, normally I would’ve kept it a mystery, but I’m afraid of what kind of nickname you can come up with these two facts.” She opens her mouth to tell him exactly what she came up with, but he cuts her off quickly. “It’s James. And I will get that number.”

“Cocky words for a guy who first got the name with pity.”

“Well thankfully, being pathetic is not my only characteristic.”

“Yes, I can see being dramatic is right up there too.”

James wants to answer her, he really does, but he makes the mistake of looking above Lily’s shoulder. He can see the little boy who just bought candies from Lily crouching down, holding his knees, making those wretched sounds. Bile rises up in his throat.

“Fuck, not again, James. Do you have to sympathize with every child you see?” She is fast enough to hand him a plastic bag this time.

His voice comes out muffled with his head in the bag. “I think we’re getting good at this.”

The soothing hand stops its up and down motion to thump him on the back.