Jily Oneshots (pt2)

when the stars fall

by jilyss on archiveofourown.org

It’s a friday night, and James is sitting on the couch, head twisted awkwardly in the pillows, but he’s too tired to move it. Sirius, Remus and Peter had all left earlier to a frat party, but James had opted to stay home in favor of the stack of law school homework that waited for him. Instead, he lay on the couch, nursing a bottle of wine, and trying to get his eyes to remain open. He’s empty, tired and cold.
James took another sip as he closed his twitter and immediately reopened it again. Unsurprisingly, nothing new appeared on the screen, and he quickly closed it again. He thumbed through instagram again, and seconds later, closed the app. He looked over his apps he almost never used - Health, Notes, Stocks, Tinder - which Sirius and Remus had signed him up for the other night when they had decided he couldn’t spend college just doing homework.
He clicks, silently rolling his eyes as he glances through the pictures they put on his profile. Nothing attractive, he notes, grinning at the pictures. One of him playing soccer, one of him playing dance dance revolution, and one of him, shirtless on the beach. He switches to the pictures of his matches. He swipes right on a few but mostly just to see what would happen. Mostly, he swipes left out of boredom. He’s not interested in a relationship right now, or even a few hookups.
That is, until Lily Evans, in all her glory, appears on his screen. The first picture was her, leaning against a fence that overlooked the ocean. She was wearing sunglasses, and her hair was flying behind her. The thing he noticed first though, was her bright smile. He smirked at the account. There was no way it could be the real Lily Evans - the incredibly famous, talented actress with more than 70 million followers on instagram (not that James knew that).
As James looked closer at the pictures, they all seemed to be genuine. He opened up a browser on his phone and tried to look for the pictures on the profile. When he couldn’t find them, he figured that either a fan had done a great job at choosing pictures from the deep internet, or it was the real Lily Evans. The bio was simple, and mentioned nothing about her celebrity status.
James thumbed through the pictures again. It was definitely Lily Evans in the pictures, but he still didn’t believe it was actually her. He shrugs, takes a long sip of wine, and swipes right.
A heart pops up, and a text message box appears. His eyes widen - that meant the fan behind the account swiped right on him too. He turns off his phone and gets up slowly. He’s sure the account is just a catfish, but part of him also wants to believe it really is her.
He opens a new carton of milk and pours himself a bowl of cereal, and sits down next to his law books and notes. Opening his textbook, he pulls out a pencil, intent on forgetting about the fake Lily Evans. He gets about five minutes in before his phone pings from his pocket, and he pulls it out, heart thumping ever so slightly. It’s the fake Lily Evans and all she’s sent is a simple message.

Lily Evans: free this friday?

He smirks at the direct message. It’s not a very good line, he thinks. He wonders if the wine is getting to him as his heart picks up ever so slightly, and he can feel his face turning red. From the wine, he tells himself. He quickly types out a reply.

James Potter: who's asking - lily evans or a fan?”
Lily Evans: lily evans
Lily Evans: the one and only
James Potter: ill believe it when i see it
Lily Evans: im free friday night ;)

James pauses before he can type anything else. He knows he should ignore the winky face at the end of her last message, but he can’t shake the feeling that this might actually be her. He doesn’t want to get pranked by someone, but he’s also had just slightly too much wine, and should have never opened tinder when he was this tired in the first place. Rational thinking on low energy is not James Potter’s strong suit.

James Potter: i can meet you at hayden’s on the corner of 185th and 196th at 7?
Lily Evans: sounds good! see ya friday :)

James takes another gulp of wine just as Sirius barrels through the door, roaring at something Remus had said, back home early. James puts his glass down and quickly shuts his phone off, trying to pretend like he’s studying. But his eyes are too tired, and with a drunk Sirius singing behind him, James gives up, and goes to bed.

XXX

The next evening, after a full day of classes and studying, James quickly drops off his papers and heads to the shower. Even more tired if possible, he can’t remember the last time he had time to take a real shower - and if its actually is the Lily Evans, he doesn’t want to look like a slob.
He puts on a decent shirt, runs a hand through his hair, grabs his wallet, shouting at Sirius that he’ll be back in “a few minutes”.
He’s not sure what to expect, and above all else, he does not want to be pranked and show up on one of those reality tv shows. Sirius would never let him live it down. So when he arrives, he waits until its 7:03 to walk in.
There’s a redhead, sitting with her back to the door at one of the far booths. He points at her to the waiter, and walks over. He approaches her cautiously, heart pounding in his chest.
“Lily?”
An automatic smile comes to her face as she turns, but as she recognizes him, it turns into a genuine smile. She has stars in her eyes, her hair, on her cheeks.
“You must be James.” He smiles and slides into the seat across from her.
“Sorry I’m a little late. My friends signed me up for tinder a while ago. And if I’m honest, I wasn’t sure you would actually show up.”
“Sorry?” She tilts her head and he has to stop himself from staring at her eyes, glistening in the dim light. “If you’re just here to meet me and take a picture, that’s fine, but - “
He holds up his hands quickly. “No, no, I promise I’m not - I promise I’m here for the right reasons.”
She seems a little bit hesitant now, and without the stars in her smile, he can feel the warmth leaving him, seeping out through his skin. James sticks out his hand and runs another hand through the wave of his hair. “Let’s start over. I’m James Potter. I’m in law school right now at UCLA.”
A smile touches her lips, and James can feel himself slowly forget everything else except for her. The voices from the next booth, and the gentle clinking of silverware seem to melt into nothing. She reaches for his hand, shaking it firmly, her touch sending sparks through him. He can feel the stars spread up his arm, down his torso. “I’m Lily Evans. I have a degree in nursing, but I’m also an actress.”
James grins at her and she returns it. “Nice to meet you.”
Later, he walks her home, taking back roads to avoid attention. She laughs at the stories he tells, spinning gold with his words. He laughs at her overly large sunglasses hiding the stars shining in her eyes. Already she begins to fall in love with his cocky smile, his loud laugh, his easy manner. Already James has fallen in love with her bright eyes, and the way her nose scrunches when she smiles. Already the stars shimmer in her eyes, and they are burning in his. Already, the stars have fallen.