Disclaimer: I do not own:
Harry Potter
The Spill Canvas
Or "Staplegunned"
I simply enjoy them all and weave them all together to form this fic for the enjoyment of others and myself.
A/N: I suggest you go find the lyrics on plyrics.com and go download the song off of limewire or something right this instant so you can understand it. Otherwise, it'll be nice but it won't be as good. Don't worry, it'll still be here once you're done doing those two things. Trust me, it's for you own good. I'm only telling you this because I love you all so much.
I have nothing against the French or Chinese. Or any other nationality. Promise.
"Staplegunned" by The Spill Canvas
"I don't see why we had to stay in a bloody hotel," James grumbled as he and Sirius dragged their suitcases behind them into the hotel lobby. "I happen to know that Remus' aunt has plenty of room for all of us while we're here."
Sirius shrugged. "It's beyond me, mate."
"There's the front desk," James pointed out and made his way towards it with Sirius following behind him.
"Good morning, sir. Welcome to the Hilton. Are you checking in?" the lady behind the desk greeted him.
"Yes," James answered. "It should be under James Potter."
"Ah…yes, here you are," the lady said as she scanned her computer screen. "I'm sorry sir, but your room isn't ready yet."
"It isn't ready yet? How long will it take?" James asked her.
"Oh, I'm not sure, sir. It shouldn't take too long, Mr. Potter," the lady replied.
"Alright then," James said. He grabbed his suitcase handle and rolled it across the lobby to a little sitting area. He sat down on one end of a comfortable-looking sofa and let his suitcase on the floor next to him. Sirius sat down in a chair next to him.
"Why, exactly, are we here? Why did Remus insist that we come half-way across the world to this dreary place only to wait in a hotel lobby for a room that isn't ready?" Sirius asked.
"To see a show," James answered dryly. He wasn't too happy at being there either.
"And there are no shows in England?"
"Exactly. I think something's going on," James said.
"Like what?" Sirius inquired.
"I don't know yet," James replied.
They sat in silence for awhile, simply watching the people come and go. James looked out of one of the large glass windows that faced the dirty street. A taxi pulled up to the front of the hotel. The driver got out and started to unload the packages from the trunk.
James watched the cab door open. A woman stepped out. She was dressed all in black. The woman's hair blew in the wind, and it shone once the few streams of sunlight hit it. She had red auburn hair. James was instantly reminded of someone he once knew, a certain Lily Evans that he had chased after for years at Hogwarts' before they finally became friends in their 7th and last year there. They were never terribly close, and a few weeks after their departure from school, distance and time proved too much and their friendship disintegrated. For a few moments he allowed himself to hope that it was her, but he knew it wasn't. The lady had black sunglasses covering her eyes so he couldn't be positively sure either way. James mentally scolded himself. He always found himself hoping it was Lily whenever he saw a red-headed person in a crowd of people, only to be disappointed. Still, he was intrigued by this woman in black and he watched her enter the hotel. She walked to the front desk with an air of purpose about her with her large black suitcase trailing behind her.
"D'you think the room is done?" Sirius asked.
"I dunno. I'll go check," James said and crossed the lobby to the desk where the same lady was open that he had talked to earlier. The woman in black was on his right, just a few meters away from him talking to another staff member that was checking her computer.
"Hello Mr. Potter," the lady said. "Your room has just been finished. It's 737, here's the keys," she said as she handed two keys to him.
James thanked her and stepped to the side of the desk, motioning Sirius over. The lady in black crossed in front of James, to get to the elevator where she pressed the button and waited. James headed towards the elevator and Sirius met him there.
"We're room 737, try not to forget that," James said. A few others joined them at the entrance to the elevator, waiting for it to come down.
"I won't. Besides, it only happened once," Sirius reminded him.
"Yes, but it was a horrible time," James said. "The security had to bring you back. I'm surprised they didn't kick us out."
"They can't kick you out of a hotel," Sirius said.
"Yes they can," James told him.
"Can they really?" Sirius asked, fully curious now.
"Yes, Sirius."
"How?"
The elevator doors opened and they waited for the people to exit before the little group of people that had been waiting entered it. James and Sirius were forced into the back corner of the elevator. James skimmed the crowed. The lady in black was at the front of the elevator. He could jus see the back of her head around a rather large lady's hat that partially blocked his view.
"They tell you that you have to leave, and you must or they would probably call security and force you out," James explained.
"So, do they actually just dump you out on the street?"
"Yes."
"How do you know all this?" Sirius asked him.
"I saw it once," James said, staring at the woman in black. She turned her neck and looked at the person behind her. Her sunglasses were pushed up onto her head, holding back her hair. She had green eyes. "When I was in Italy with my parents, ages ago. We had to stay at a, um, normal hotel because the other one was full." James couldn't help but noticed she looked almost exactly like James pictured Lily Evans looking like after he hadn't seen her for so long. "A man was running around the hotel, he had too much to drink, and I saw him get kicked out. It wasn't too pretty." The elevator stopped at the fourth floor and the woman got off, alone. The doors slid shut and he only caught a glimpse of her walking down the hallway to her room. The elevator started upwards once again.
"I'd like to see that. That'd be really entertaining," Sirius said.
"I suppose," James agreed. The elevator stopped at another floor before theirs. When they reached the seventh floor, they made their way out of the elevator. "This way," James said after reading the little sign pointing towards the 730s. He walked down the carpeted hallway until they reached room 737. James slid the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door. The door opened to reveal a nice-looking room. It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it had a relatively tasteful décor. Sirius immediately flopped down on one of the beds.
"I think I'm going to take a nap," Sirius said.
"Alright. I'm going to go explore the hotel some more. I think there's some kind of pool somewhere."
"Really? If you find it let me know then," Sirius said closing his eyes.
"I'll leave the other key on the dresser in case you need it," James said, placing the key on the dresser.
"Ok Prongs. Have fun."
"Right. 'Bye Padfoot," James said as he walked out and closed the door behind him. He walked down the hallway back to the elevators. He pressed the button with the arrow pointing downward. There was a little chime and the doors to the second elevator slid open. He stepped inside the empty elevator and pressed the first button at the bottom for the lobby level. It slid down the shaft and opened its doors once it reached the lobby, allowing James to step out and slowly make his way towards the front desk. Prolonging his reaching there as long as possible so he could rack his brain for a credible excuse for what he was about to do. Before he could think of one that would work, he reached the front desk.
"Hello again Mr. Potter," the same lady greeted him from behind the desk, her smile barely wavering. "Is everything satisfactory? Is there anything I can help you with perhaps?"
"No, everything's fine," James replied. He paused for a moment as he decided on an excuse. She waited expectantly. "I was wondering if you could tell me who, exactly, that woman was that checked in earlier? She was dressed all in black."
"I'm sorry sir, we're not supposed to release any of that information."
"Please?" James asked again. "She was dressed all in black."
"Sir, you do realize that you're in New York City? Everyone dresses in black here, take a look around."
James was taken aback for a moment, but he looked over his shoulder nonetheless. There was children running around, dressed mainly in black with some splashes of navy blue. Adults were standing around, some arriving, leaving, and relaxing in varying shades of black. Only a few people wore colours other than black, but none daring to cross into the lighter shades. It was true. James turned back to the lady with a little shame that he had failed to notice this. "I'm sorry I didn't realize that. She was red-headed with green eyes. I think she might be an old friend that I haven't seen in awhile, but I do not want to go up to a perfect stranger and greet them as a friend, that would be terribly embarrassing. Could you just give me her name?"
The lady thought it over for a moment. It was clearly against her job to do so, but she sighed and replied, "Green eyes and red-headed. It must be Lily Evans."
"Lily Evans?" James asked in astonishment. "Are you sure?"
The lady nodded, but checked her computer anyways. "Yes it's her. Do you know her?"
James nodded. "I went to school with her."
"Really? Where? She doesn't say much to us when she stays her, which she does often because of her job. I know she travels a lot."
"A private boarding school in Britain," James answered. "Thank you."
The lady nodded and started to shuffle the papers that laid on her desk.
James turned around and traveled back to the elevator. Lily Evans was in the same hotel. And she was on the fourth floor. Three away from his. He waited with the small group at the elevator and got on with the crowd.
"Which floor?" the older man asked him from next to the panel.
"The main level, please," James replied. He was the first to get off. He traveled down the various corridors and hallways. He found the pool, weight room, gift shops, the two restaurant, the bar, and conference rooms. James grew bored with simply walking around, and he could see from the few windows that faced the street that it was growing dark. The taxis lit up their signs as well as the stores with their neon signs. He found the elevator, which was deserted and rode it up to the seventh floor. He got off and walked to the room. He slid the key into the hole and unlocked it. Sirius hadn't moved from his position. James used the bathroom and changed. he slid underneath the covers of the second bed and closed his eyes, wondering if he was brave enough to face her again.
James woke up the next morning to find Sirius standing at the edge of his bed. "Finally, you're awake," Sirius said.
James grunted in response and turned over, hiding his eyes from the light.
"Wake up," Sirius demanded, shaking James awake.
"Fine, fine. I'm getting up," James mumbled. He threw the covers off to the side and got out of bed. He groggily made his way to the bathroom and took a shower. When he was dressed and ready to go, Sirius turned off the TV and threw the remote on the bed and bounded to the door like a little child. "Do you have a key?" James asked him.
"No, grab one," Sirius replied, stepping out of their room.
James rolled his eyes and took a key from the dresser and shoved it into his pocket. He followed Sirius down to the elevators. "Where are we going?"
"To get something to eat, of course. I'm starving!" Sirius replied.
"Good. Me too. There's a restaurant on the main level. D'you want to eat there?"
"Sure," Sirius said. "As long as they have pancakes. And eggs." Sirius got into the elevator with James behind him and pushed the main floor button. "And bacon. I haven't had that in forever. Remember at Hogwarts, we would always fight over the last piece?"
James chuckled, "But then a whole new plate always appeared. I remember."
"Here we are!" Sirius announced as the elevator chimed and opened its doors. "Where is it?"
"This way," James said, walking down a spacious hallway richly decorated with paintings. "Here it is, and they're serving breakfast."
"Hello, party of two?" a hostess greeted them.
"Yes," James answered. She showed them to a table next to a large window that overlooked the busy street a level below.
"Look how busy it is down there," Sirius said once they were seated.
"Yeah, it is New York City."
"What? We're in New York?" Sirius asked, clearly astonished by the look on his face.
James laughed at his friend, "Of course we are. Where did you think we were?"
"I thought we were in Chicago!" Sirius exclaimed, earning a disapproving look from two businessmen at one table and a woman sitting with her family a few tables away.
"No, Sirius. We're in New York."
"How did that happen?"
"How did what happen? This is where we're supposed to be."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Positively sure? I really don't think we're supposed to be here. I think we're supposed to be in Chicago."
"Sirius, I'm sure we're supposed to be here. Were you listening at all when Remus was explaining it all to us?" James asked him, looking up from his menu the hostess had given him.
Sirius didn't reply for a moment. Then with a sheepish look he admitted, "No."
"Well there you go. That's why then."
"Hello, I'm Mandy. I'll be you waitress. Can I get you anything to drink?" a very pretty waitress asked them as she appeared at their table.
"Coffee," Sirius said immediately.
"No coffee for you, Sirius. You'll be running all around the city with that caffeine," he said. Sirius scowled and crossed his arms. "Do you have orange juice?" he asked Mandy.
"Of course," she replied.
"Then we'll both have a glass of orange juice," James told her.
"Ok, I'll be right back with your drinks," she said and disappeared from the side of their table.
"She's pretty," Sirius said, watching her walk away.
"Forget her. Guess who's here," James said, leaning towards him and resting his forearms on the table as if to share a secret.
"Who?" Sirius asked.
"Guess. You'll never guess," James said.
"Remus?" Sirius asked.
"Nope, guess again."
"Peter?"
James shook his head no.
"Your mum?"
Another no.
"Dumbledore?"
No again.
"Angela, that girl you dated before. Oh wait, please don't tell me Diane followed me all the way here!" Sirius said worriedly, looking around the restaurant for any signs of her.
James laughed, "No, not her. Besides, if she would be anywhere, it'd be in Chicago."
Sirius scowled again, "Not my fault I thought he said Chicago. Can't let anything go."
"No, really. Lily Evans is staying here."
A look of shock took over Sirius' features. "Lily Evans? Here? Are you sure? I haven't seen her in forever, have you? How do you know she's here?"
"She's here. I saw her yesterday, and I asked the lady at the front desk if it was her, and it was."
Mandy reappeared at their table and set their orange juice down in front of them. She whipped out her notepad and pen. "What can I get you to eat?" she asked, looking at James first, pen ready to write.
"Ah, I'll have eggs over easy with bacon, please," he said.
"And for you?" she asked, her gaze shifting to Sirius.
"I'll have the breakfast platter."
"How would you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled, please," Sirius said. Mandy nodded and went to place their order with the cook.
Sirius whistled. "Lily Evans. Here. Wow. Have you talked to her yet?"
"No, she doesn't even know we're here."
"Oh, stalking her again?" Sirius chuckled.
James scoffed, "That was so third year."
"But are you going to talk to her? What are you going to do?"
James shrugged, "I don't know. Do you think she wants to see me?"
"I don't know about you, but I know she wants to see me. I know it was me she had a crush on. That's why she rejected you, sorry mate."
"Very funny, Sirius. But as I remember, you were too busy getting off with Eva to even know what was going on with Lily and I."
"Hey! I resent that. We were just snogging."
James sent Sirius a look.
"Ok, ok, and maybe just a little shagging…"
James snorted, "More than a little. You were always all over one another whenever I looked at you. Why did you guys break up anyways? You never said. And that other time I asked you threw that shoe at my head, so I don't even want to hear it."
Sirius shrugged, "End of school, end of fun. We both had different things to do. Like you and Lily."
The conversation drifted to other topics and their food arrived. Sirius' food took up most of the table and more than one plate. The food disappeared within the first five minutes of its arrival and they stayed and talked for about ten more minutes.
"I'm going upstairs to grab another shirt, this one's got something on it," Sirius said pushing his chair away from the table and standing up.
"Syrup? Alright, I'm going to go pay," James said and handed the key to Sirius. Sirius nodded and left.
Once James had paid, he waited patiently for an elevator that would take him upstairs. He knew Sirius. Even though he had to just get another shirt, the process of putting it on would mess up his hair, and he would have to fix it for ten minutes. The elevator doors slid open and James stepped inside the seeming empty elevator. When he turned to face the panel of floors and buttons he saw he wasn't alone. He was face to face with none other than Lily Evans.
Lily gasped. "James?"
"Lily? Is it really you?" he asked, astonished he was finally face to face with her.
Lily squealed and threw her arms around him, giving him a huge hug. It felt so good to have Lily in his arms that James was reluctant to pull away. They stared into each others' eyes for a moment before Lily broke the silence.
"So, how are you?" she asked him, sizing him up. She hadn't seen him in forever.
"Good, good. How are you?" James replied. It felt so good to see her again.
"I'm good," she said with a dazzling smile.
James could barely restrain himself from kissing her right there. "That's good. What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for work. Why are you here? I never pictured seeing you in New York City," Lily replied.
"I'm here with Sirius because Remus wanted us to see this show or something."
"Sirius is here?"
"Yeah, upstairs. How long are you staying?"
"Oh, only for a couple more days. I've got a conference tomorrow, which is really why I'm here. Oh, this is my floor," Lily said, noticing that the elevator chimed to signal that it had arrived at the fourth floor. "I'll see you around, James," she said stepping out of the elevator. She smiled and walked away from the elevator, only glancing back once.
The doors slid shut, obscuring James' view of Lily. He couldn't believe it. Did he really just talk to Lily Evans? She looked just as amazing as ever. The elevator couldn't go fast enough to the seventh floor, and as soon as the doors slid open, James shot out and dashed into the room eager to tell Sirius.
"Sirius?" James called out, entering the room.
"Yeah?" Sirius called back.
James followed his voice to the bathroom where Sirius was staring into the mirror and running his fingers through his hair. Typical. "Guess who I just saw!" James exclaimed.
"Lily," Sirius said, putting more gel into his hair.
"I did," James said.
"Really?" Sirius asked, astonished, and turned to look at his friend.
"In the elevator. She recognized me, Padfoot! She's still so beautiful. I can't believe it. I talked to Lily Evans. I haven't seen her in over a year or so…"
"And you're still in love with her? Just one look can send you back into shock I see. What did she say?"
"The usual. How are you? Why are you here? Etcetera."
"Are you going to meet up with her again?" Sirius asked.
James shook his head. "I don't know. I hope so."
"Let's go walk around the city," Sirius said.
"Let's go," James agreed. The two made it through the hotel without another Lily sighting and emerged onto the cramped sidewalks of New York City. They walked down the sidewalks, making fun of the various people that passed them. "What's going on up there?" James asked Sirius, pointing ahead to a huge mass of people with the streets blocked off and tents set up in the middle of the street.
"I don't know, let's go find out," Sirius said and dragged his friend the two blocks and across the police barricade.
"You want massage?" a Chinese man asked them as he looked up at them eagerly, beckoning them to come visit him at his little tent with a strange-looking chair in front of him.
"Uh, no," James said quickly and passed the stand.
"Prongs look, they have French Creeps!" Sirius exclaimed pointing to a sign.
"No, those are French crêpes. It's food," James explained.
"Food! Even better," Sirius said and was at the front of the line ordering a crêpe. James shook his head and waited for Sirius. "Mmm, this is really good!" Sirius said after he found James with his half-eaten crêpe in his hand. "Here, try some," Sirius told James and shoved it into his hands.
James reluctantly took a bite, but found it was quite good. "That is good. Thanks Padfoot," he said and quickly tried to escape with the crêpe.
"Hey! Wait that's my creep!" Sirius exclaimed, earning quite a few looks from the people around him. He caught up to James and grabbed the crêpe. "Aw, it's almost all gone!"
"Sorry. Go buy another one. Look, there's another crêpe stand up there," James tried to cheer him.
"Alright."
"Buy me one too."
"Ok, two creeps," Sirius said heading off to the next crêpe stand.
"That's not how you pronounce them!" James called after him.
Sirius just shrugged and ordered two more creeps from the man at the crêpe stand. After Sirius had gotten his crêpes, they wandered down the length of the line of tents, avoiding the Chinese who so desperately wanted to give them massages. After finally reaching the exit, they strolled around New York searching for a place to eat. They found a McDonald's with a second floor and ate there, overlooking the street.
"Should we head back to the hotel?" James asked Sirius.
Sirius shrugged. "I guess so…when exactly are we seeing this play?"
"Two days, I think. It's a matinee, Remus said," James told him.
"What is it about?" Sirius asked him as they stood up and walked down the steps and outside onto the street.
"I've no idea," James replied.
"Well, what's it called then?"
"I don't know. I don't remember."
"What?! You mean you don't know what we're here to see!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Apparently neither do you," James retorted.
"You've got to write to Remus and get this all sorted out. That's the only reason we're here."
"Wait, why do I have to do it? Why don't you write to Remus and sort it out?"
"Because," Sirius explained, "that's not my area of expertise."
"Oh?" James asked, raising his eyebrows, "and may I ask what is?"
"Getting us to our hotel. And look what a great job I did! We're here!" Sirius said as the doorman opened the large glass door to allow them entrance.
"Wonderful job Sirius," James said sarcastically, "since it was so hard and such."
"I know," Sirius replied, choosing to ignore James' sarcasm.
When the two arrived at their room, they flopped onto their beds, fully clothed.
"So you're owling Remus then?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah," James replied. "'Night Sirius."
"Good-night James."
James closed his eyes and fell asleep, dreaming of a certain red-headed girl.
"James, James," someone said as they shook him awake. "C'mon Prongsie, I'm hungry."
James groaned and turned over.
"Please get up Prongsie. I'm starving."
"You're always starving," James muttered, not bothering to open up his eyes.
"Will you go get me some breakfast. Maybe that Mickey place that we went to yesterday?" Sirius begged.
"What?" James asked, sitting up. "Go get you? You're not going?"
"Why would I when you'll go for me?"
"Bloody hell, Padfoot you're a pain in my arse."
"I know, but you still love me," Sirius said with a grin. "If you get the food I'll write to Moony."
"Alright," James agreed and got dressed. "What do you want from there?"
"Anything," Sirius said as he pulled out his writing supplies from his suitcase.
"Ok. Bye then," James replied and walked out. He walked to McDonald's without seeing Lily, not even once. He ordered about half the menu, paid the man, got his food and started on his way back to the hotel, not in a good mood. The lobby seemed too bright, and he made his way to the elevator. He waited for it and hoped it would be empty so he wouldn't have to deal with any annoying muggles. When the door slid open, he found out his wish wasn't granted.
"Hey Lily," James said with a smile as her eyes met his and he stepped inside the elevator.
"Hi James," she replied with a smile too.
"You look nice," James complimented.
"Thanks," Lily said as she smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress. "This conference could mean the difference between more traveling or a desk job."
"You'll be fine, Lily. You always do great," James reassured her.
Lily smiled at him nervously. An uncomfortable silence ensued. Lily didn't know how to reply to James' remark.
The elevator chimed to signal the current floor. "Well, this is it. See you around, James," she said as she stepped out of the elevator and down the hallway towards her meeting.
James watched her walk away, feeling stupid. He should've asked her to dinner or something. The elevator doors started to slide shut and James pressed the button that sent them back to the sides. He dashed out of the elevator and ran in Lily's direction. "Lily!" he called out once she was in his view. She spun around and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear while she waited for him to catch up. "I was…uh, wondering if you wanted to do something later tonight?"
"Sure. Listen, I've really got to go, but my room number is 423. Call me later then."
"Alright, good luck Lil," James said.
She smiled at him and walked into the conference room. James leaned against the wall. She said yes.
James made his way back to the elevators and up to the room. James found Sirius flipping through the channels. He took out a breakfast sandwich and threw the bag at Sirius which he caught and opened eagerly. "I've got a date with Lily Evans."
"What?" Sirius asked, pausing to look up from his bag of food.
"That's right. Tonight. I have to call her room, number 423 later about specifics."
"That's great Prongs. No wonder this thing is half-cold," Sirius complained, shaking his sandwich in James' direction.
"Shut up."
The two spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon experiencing the joys of American Muggle television. They only dared to venture out for lunch at the hotel restaurant. James kept glancing at the clock between the two beds on the nightstand. It finally read 5:00pm.
"D'you think she's out of her meeting?" James asked Sirius.
"Who? Lily?"
"Duh. Who else Padfoot? Really."
"I think so."
James moved to the head of the bed and picked up the phone. He pressed the pound key and dialed Lily's room number. It rang once. What if she doesn't answer? It rang twice What if she changed her mind?
"Hello?" Lily's voice came from the receiver.
"Hi Lily, it's James."
"Oh, hi James. Listen, I know a great place to go to tonight. I know you'll love it."
"Ok…how about eight?"
"Sure, that's good."
"Alright. I'll get you at eight then."
"Ok, 'bye James."
"Bye Lily," James said and waited until he heard the click from her phone hanging up before he placed his back on the holder. "I've got a date with Lily Evans."
"Shhh. This woman is finding out she's adopted!" Sirius explained, fully engaged in a soap opera.
"Sorry Paddy if my real life is more important that that girl's fake one," James said sarcastically.
"No Monica! Come back!" Sirius moaned and cradled his head in his hands. "You fool!"
James rolled his eyes and took a shower. With his very limited wardrobe, he put on black pants and a dressier shirt. He went into the bathroom and placed himself in front of the mirror. He tried to tame his hair with a comb, then a brush, but nothing worked. James tried to plaster his unruly hair to his head with water but it did work any better either.
Sirius appeared in the doorway. "Look mate, your hair won't stay down. Let it go. She knows how it is. Go already, it's almost eight."
"Do I look alright?" James asked.
Sirius nodded. "You look fine. Take a key and go. But if you're going to do anything, do it in her room. I don't need to hear that crap."
James grinned, "Thanks Paddy. I'll see you later." He grabbed a key and headed out of the door. He was in front of Lily's door in no time. He knocked softly and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
The door opened to reveal Lily Evans in another black dress. It wasn't fancy, but it fit her perfectly. Her hair was down and she was clutching a small black purse.
James could only stare at her before he managed to say, "You look beautiful Lil"
Lily blushed, "Thank you." He took her arm and led her through the hotel. As soon as they were outside on the crowded street, he realized he didn't know where they were going.
"Uh, Lily? Where exactly are we going?" James asked her.
"You'll see."
"As long as they don't have crêpes there."
"Why?"
"Because Sirius will kill me for eating some without him. We had some yesterday at that huge market thing. We just walked right through the barricades they had up and into a different multi-national world."
Lily looked at him in shock. "You just walked right past the barricade? To the street fair?"
"The street fair? Yeah, why?" James asked her nervously.
"That's for members only! You have to pay at either end to get in!" Lily exclaimed.
James looked at her in shock. "Oh no. We're not going tot get arrested or anything, are we?"
Lily started to laugh from the concerned expression on James' face.
"What's so funny?" he asked her, clearly upset on not being in on the joke.
"You," she managed to say. "You don't have to pay to get into the street fair."
"I can't believe you!" James said, but after a few seconds he laughed along with Lily. The two turned onto Times Square.
"Come on, it's this way," Lily said as she took James' hand and led him down the sidewalk. They arrived at their destination and Lily pulled the door open and pulled James inside. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting rather than the bright neon signs of New York City that assaulted their eyes before.
"Hello, welcome to Planet Hollywood. How many in your party tonight?" the hostess greeted them with a smile.
"Two," Lily replied.
"Two?" the hostess repeated grabbing two menus from her little stand. "Follow me," she said and led them in between rows of tables and booths to a little table for two near a wall. "Your waitress will be with you shortly," she informed them and went back to her post by the door.
James pulled out a chair for Lily. She smiled as she sat down in the chair. James sat across from her. "What is this place?" he asked, looking at all the strange things around him.
"This is Planet Hollywood. It's home to some of the most well-known pieces of movie memorabilia ever," Lily told him.
"What do you mean?" he asked her, wishing she would elaborate.
"All the stuff in those display cases are from movies. You can just get up and look around at all the stuff they have."
"Hello, I'm Denise and I'll be your server tonight," a girl said as she appeared at the side of their table. "What can I get for you to drink?"
James suddenly realized that he couldn't very well order a butterbeer in this muggle establishment. They'd think him crazy. He shot Lily a look for help.
"Uh, we'll both have Cokes," Lily said quickly.
"Two Cokes? Ok, I'll be right back with them," Denise said and left them alone.
"Do you know what you're getting to eat?" Lily asked James while she scanned her menu.
"I'm not sure. What are you getting?"
"A cheeseburger and French fries, they have the best burgers here."
"French fries?" James asked. "The French fried what now?"
Lily laughed at him again. "French fries are chips. Except, here they're called French fries."
"Why?"
"I'm not sure actually. Some say that the French didn't even invent them."
"Here you go," Denise said as she place a Coke in front of them. She whipped out her notepad and held her pen poised, ready to take orders. "What can I get you to eat?" she looked at Lily expectantly, she was obviously the one in charge of this dinner.
"We'll both have the cheeseburger and French fries."
"Is that it?" Denise asked.
"Yes."
"Ok, your food will be done shortly."
"So," Lily said as she turned to face James, "why are you in New York?"
"Remus sent us over here to see some show."
"Remus? What show? A Broadway one?"
James shrugged, "I've no idea what we're seeing."
Lily laughed at that, "You came all the way here to see a show, but you don't know what it's called?"
"Basically, yeah. How long are you staying here, Lil?"
"Tomorrow at noon I leave for Spain."
"Spain? What exactly do you do?"
"I work for the International Department of Experimental Charms. I travel and make sure there are no new dangerous charms worldwide and such. What about you?"
James shrugged again, "I'm not sure what I want to do yet. I haven't made up my mind."
"Do you still live with Sirius and Remus?"
"Of course. We lived together at Hogwarts for so many years. I couldn't live without them around now."
"Come on, I'll show you around," Lily said.
He followed her around to the various display cases listening as Lily explained what everything was until they saw that their food had arrived. They talked about school and past memories until they had no more food or drink, nothing to elongate their time together. James paid for their dinner and they walked back to the hotel hand-in-hand. He walked Lily to her hotel door.
"I had fun tonight James."
"Me too," he agreed, moving closer to her. He leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her while James' arms went around her waist. James pushed her back against her hotel door, eliminating any space between the two. They kissed each other with passion and hunger, knowing at that moment only the other could ever fulfill it. She ran her fingers through his hair and he moaned. He kissed her neck, moving lower ever time. Suddenly she was out of his grasp and her hotel door was open.
"Goodnight James," Lily said before she closed the door, narrowly missing James' nose that he removed at the last second. All James could do was stare at the door. He didn't know whether he should be happy or upset so he made his way back to his hotel room in a trance.
"I kissed Lily Evans," he announced to the room as soon as the door was firmly shut behind him.
"That's great Prongs," Sirius said looking up from a letter he held in his hands. "And I've got some news too."
"What is it?" James asked as he changed into more comfortable clothing.
"Remus' aunt told us the wrong date. The show is next month. We came all the way out here for nothing."
"No," James said, not sure if Sirius was joking or not.
"I'm being serious," Sirius said with a smile.
James snorted. "That's not possible."
"But it really is next month."
"Well, maybe it wasn't all for nothing. I did get a date with Lily Evans."
"So how did it go?"
"It was good. We went to this Planet Hollywood place. Did you know the French made French fries?" James asked Sirius.
"Why do they have so much French food here?"
James shrugged, "I dunno. I guess they don't like their own food or something." James crawled into bed and Sirius did the same. James turned off the lamp on the nightstand.
They laid in silence for a few moments be fore Sirius asked, "Is she still a good kisser?"
"Yes," James answered. "A bloody good one."
"D'you want to go for breakfast tomorrow morning? At that place McDonald's place again? That thing was amazing."
"Sure. Should we ask Lily to go?"
"If you want."
"I do."
"Alright then Prongs," Sirius said and rolled over, as if to say their conversation was done.
The two slept rather peacefully. Until, that is, the growling of Sirius' stomach woke them up around seven-thirty the next morning.
"Would you shut up Padfoot," James complained as a particularly loud growl was heard from Sirius' bed.
"S'not my fault," Sirius mumbled. "I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry."
Sirius didn't respond.
James sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"So we're going to breakfast now?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Yes, Paddy," James responded, clearly agitated.
Sirius grinned at this news and hopped out of bed to get ready. "Are you calling Lily?" he asked from the bathroom.
James groaned. "I don't wanna."
"Oh don't be such a baby," Sirius scolded, sticking his head out of the bathroom. "Just do it."
"Yes mummy," James teased and moved towards the phone. He picked it up and dialed Lily's number half-hoping she wouldn't answer.
"Hello?" Lily asked from the other end.
"Hi Lily, it's James."
"Hi James. What are you doing up so early?"
"We're going to breakfast, and we were wondering if you'd like to come with."
"Of course. Where are you going?"
"Ah, to this one place we found. Will you be ready in ten minutes?"
"Sure."
"Ok then, we'll be at your door in ten minutes."
"Bye James."
"Bye Lil," James said and hung up the phone.
"Now was that so hard?" Sirius teased as he strode out of the bathroom.
"Terribly. I hope I never have to do it again," James replied as he sent a pillow towards Sirius' head.
Sirius stuck his tongue out at him as James walked into the bathroom to get ready.
"Hurry up Prongs," Sirius called out after James had spent a couple minutes in the bathroom.
"Well sorry if I had to get ready," James said sarcastically as he came out. "Are you ready now?"
"Of course! I've been ready for the last ten minutes."
"It hasn't been that long."
"Well it felt like it. It felt like hours to my poor stomach," Sirius said wrapping his arms around his middle to contain his hunger.
"Let's go get Lily."
"Lily, Lily, Lily," Sirius sang as he left their hotel room and made his way towards the elevators so he would be the first to press the button.
James shook his head and grinned as he caught up to him. The elevator doors opened and they got in.
"The only bad thing is that these go so much slower," Sirius complained.
"It's fine Sirius. Press floor four."
"Floor four, Lily's floor!" Sirius said happily as he pressed the button.
"I bet she's going to wish you hadn't come along after five minutes."
"Nonsense. Everyone knows that it's always been me that she fancies," Sirius retorted.
"What? That's a load of bull."
"Oh is it?" Sirius taunted as the doors slid open. "Well, we'll just have to go and ask Miss Lily herself," Sirius said as he stepped out. He looked down either end of the hallway.
James smirked. "Her room's this way," he said as he strode down the right side of the hallway.
"I knew that," Sirius replied and caught up with James.
James knocked on her door.
"Can I ask her?" Sirius begged.
"Ask me what?" Lily inquired as she opened the door, shooting an inquisitive look at James.
"Nothing," James replied hastily. "Are you ready?"
"Of course," Lily said and the three headed off to breakfast together.
During the course of breakfast, the three talked about everything, except the possibility of James and Lily again. James couldn't help but to stare at her as she laughed at something Sirius said. Whenever she caught him staring she smiled one of her little smile, as if it were their little secret. Once they were done, they walked around the streets until Lily deemed it time for her to return back to her hotel room so she could grab her bags to catch her plane. Sirius and James went with her to her room. Lily brought out her suitcases and set them on the floor.
"Well," Sirius said. "I'm going to go. I think my show is on again. Good-bye Lily, don't be a stranger now," he said as he placed a kiss on her cheek.
Lily smiled, "Good-bye Sirius."
He left the two alone.
James picked up one of Lily's suitcases. "Let me help you."
"I can get them by myself, you know," Lily replied indignantly as she grabbed the handle to her other suitcase.
"I know, I just want to help you," he told her.
Lily nodded and they made their way down to the lobby. They stood and looked at each other for a moment, then Lily turned to leave but James grabbed her wrist. He slid his hand down to her hand. Strangely, he felt a few raised lines at her wrist. He looked down, but he couldn't see that anything was there.
"Well, I guess this is good-bye," Lily said quietly as she stepped closer to him.
"I guess so," James replied. He leaned down to kiss her, but she quickly moved away.
"Good-bye James," Lily said as she grabbed her two suitcases and walked away from him, leaving him to watch her as she left again.
A/N: This story is my baby. I love it. It's [will be] a bunch of one-shots that just so happen to form a story. I don't think I've ever see a story quite like this one will be. Hopefully it'll be unique.
Random Facts: On the band trip we went on in May, I stayed in room 737. Coincidentally, my crush (at that time) stayed on the fourth floor. We were also threatened so that we would behave and not be thrown out. I have never seen anyone be thrown out of a hotel, sadly. NYC's street fairs are amazing. And I did make fun of the French crêpes too. Sorry. Planet Hollywood is one of the coolest places to eat ever!!! So basically, all of their experiences in NYC, I lived 'em.
Sooo….you know what happens now! You get to review and tell me what you think of it! (and if you have any suggestions for songs, lemme know!)