Beyond the Universe - Jily AU

4. Ice Cream Telepathy

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016, 3:30 PM

This day can't get any worse, Lily Evans thinks somberly, tying an apron around her and glumly exiting the employee break room of her job, a Häagen-Dazs ice cream shop adjacent to Hogwarts Secondary. She ties her hair into a messy low ponytail and brushes the stray strands out of her face before taking her place behind the counter of various tubs of ice cream flavors, some half empty while others are filled to the brim, waiting for an eager customer to enter.

At that moment, the door to the small shop opens, bringing with it gusts of the crisp October afternoon breeze while the ebullient voices of the new customers are carried into the building as they airily enter the shop, tilting their heads back in laughter while they do so.

"Welcome to Häagen-Dazs, what can I get-" Lily looks up from the counter to see none other than James Potter, accompanied by his three rambunctious, mischievous companions. "What can I get you?" she finishes weakly, sighing while she does so. She'd been having a shit day, starting with a broken down car in the morning, followed by a lecture from her Economics teacher and a failed test in Psychology, to name a few things, and now she finds herself dealing with the Marauders, as they called themselves.

"You work here?" Peter Pettigrew asks, his astonishment clearer than the bright blue sky on a sunny, cloudless afternoon.

"Obviously," she answers, her voice drained, though not unkind. "College isn't going to pay for itself."

"Huh, college," Sirius repeats, rolling the word on his tongue like it's a new, exotic food. "Forgot that existed. All discussion of education aside, I'll have a-"

"Rocky Road ice cream cone with two scoops?" Lily guesses, finishing his sentence with one brow arched upward.

"How'd you know?" he raises his eyebrows in awe, watching her prepare the order. "Are you a psychic, or something? Have you been stalking me, Evans?" he pretends to glare, his grey eyes intensely boring into her forehead.

"I like guessing people's orders, and I guess I must've gotten pretty good at it," she shrugs, handing him the cone. "Cookies and cream for you," she points at Peter, "and Belgian chocolate for you, correct?" she points at Remus next. "Both in a cone?"

"She is good," Peter whispers and Remus' ear, earning a nod of his head in agreement from his friend as a response. Lily feels the corners of her lips curl up to form a small smile at their compliment before busying herself with their ice cream.

"And what about you, Potter? I'm guessing maybe..." she trails off, her elbows leaning against the counter while she peers at him curiously, as if analyzing him and picking out every miniscule detail forming his personality, almost like a robot would.

James looks right back at her, a smile resting on his face accompanied by a fond glint in his eyes hidden behind his glasses. "Take your time," his smile widens, revealing his pearly white teeth. They'd made up after their small, yet intense, fight from the prior day and were back on casual speaking terms.

"You know what? You're the first customer I haven't been able to guess," she remarks, tilting her head at him with a smile to match his. "So, what'll it be then, Potter?"

"Can't come up with even one guess?" he questions, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," she pops the p in the word and lifts her elbows off the counter, never breaking eye contact with the curly haired teen.

"I'll have a scoop of vanilla in a cup, please," James requests, still grinning ever so slightly at the red haired teen, attempting to avert his eyes from the vividly purple bags circling her eyes.