aww, you're far too kind. but THANKS SO MUCH! so happy that you enjoyed this!

I try my best...how could I leave out the oily hair references??

haha thanks!

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, here is ch. 2!

Ch. 2 Gah!

He doesn’t want you to tell anyone…especially not James…don’t say a word! Lily thought to herself as she walked up the steps to the apartment complex that James and Sirius lived in. She was quite surprised when James had told her that they decided to live amongst the muggles, and couldn’t help but chuckle as she approached their apartment and heard loud noises coming from inside. Oh dear, what were they up to now?
She knocked softly, and heard an exclamation of joy coming from inside. The door was thrown open, and Sirius was leaning against the door frame and raising his eyebrows at her in a very handsome fashion.

“Why hello there, Lily Evans. How is my most beautiful friend doing today?” he said, his cool attitude causing Lily to burst into fits of giggles. Sirius was by far the most handsome fellow Lily knew, but he was entirely not her type. Plus, he was only teasing her.

“Oh, Sirius, my most astonishingly handsome friend, I am fine today,” she replied with a giggle. Sirius winked and took her hand in his; he then kissed it softly. Suddenly, Sirius was slammed to the ground by another man with very untidy black hair and glasses. The two wrestlled playfully for a bit. Lily stepped inside and couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

“Honestly, you two are such fools sometimes. But funny fools,” she told them, still laughing her haunting laugh. James smirked up at her from the ground and whistled.

“Lily! You look amazing today, as everyday…date tonight?” he said casually. Lily immediately stopped laughing and rolled her eyes. She walked into their small kitchen and started to take out pots and pans, preparing to cook.

“You know I’m with Sev.”

“Oh yes, that oily git,” mumbled Sirius, getting up and helping James get up as well. “Where is ole’ Snivellus?”

“Don’t call him that, Sirius! don’t be so mean!” she called to him. “…or I won’t cook for you...either of you,” she finished, a nasty smirk playing on her lips. Both of the men’s eyes widened.

“You’re bluffing!”

“You know we’d starve!”

“Well, we are living together, now, and we’re getting very serious. And I don’t want either of you two messing up my perfectly amazing relationship. You two just don’t understand Severus,” she replied, brandishing her wand around to begin the meal. James quickly glanced at Sirius, and both silently had that “best friend eye conversation.”

“Where is your old…pal…anyways?” asked James with a serious tone, walking slowly towards Lily. Lily suddenly froze. She looked as if she were thinking deeply about something.

“Work,” she muttered, and continued what she was doing.

“Got a job, did he? Teaching the dark Arts?” asked Sirius from across the room, and James raised his eyebrows. Lily scowled.

“No, of course not. But you two need to get on that. That’s why I came over, to help you look for jobs! James go get the Daily Prophet,” she ordered, adding different ingredients to a boiling pan with her wand. James sighed and went to rummage around his room for the paper. He knew something was up, especially since she had changed the subject so abruptly.

Lily sighed with relief as the subject was dropped. She knew exactly where Sev was, and she wasn’t about to tell those two. They would freak out, most likely, and would quickly blow everything out of proportion. She checked her watch…she had the night shift at St. Mungo’s tonight. She wouldn’t get to see Severus until tomorrow night…

“Okay…I want to be an auror. You know that, Lillybear,” said James as he slammed the paper down on the table. Lily waved her wand, and the food continued to cook itself without her supervision. She sat down next to James and took in that deep, earthy smell that she found so intoxicating. She shook her head and snapped out of her revelry.

“Well, I want to be a healer, but I have to start off as a night watcher. I have to walk around St. Mungo’s all night and make sure nobody…goes nuts or anything. It’s not much, but it’s a start. You should start somewhere in the ministry…preferably the Department of Magical Law Enforcement…” she muttered and started to flip through the Prophet. James did the same, as he had a month’s worth of newspapers.

“Are you opposed to a desk job?” she asked James and Sirius.

James, still flipping through the Daily Prophet, replied, “No. I need to start somewhere, like you said…” but Sirius, who was laying comfortably on the sofa, called out, “NO! I need to stretch my legs!”

Lily huffed and puffed with annoyance, her eyebrows furrowed. “Sirius Black! If you want a job and you’re going to be picky, you better come look yourself!” she snapped at him, and Sirius sat abruptly.

“Fine!” he shot back, and sauntered over to the table, running a hand through his wavy and rather long hair. James shook his own already messy hair and sighed.

“I guess I could take a look at…this,” he said as he squinted his eyes at the small newspaper print. He slid the paper over the table to Lily and pointed to the add.

HELP WANTED: Desk job, requires answering letters for Department of Magical Law Enforcement and alerting aurors when an emergency arises! Send letter to below address if interested.

Lily gave him a small smile, which he returned, and nodded. “Sounds good. Write to them right away, James,” she said, conjuring a letter and a quill. Sirius’ owl fluttered over and hooted excitedly. Sirius stroked his owl’s neck affectionately. James scribbled down something, which Lily was trying to read over his shoulder. James shivered a bit as he felt Lily’s breath on the back of his neck, her scent filling his nostrils with pure satisfaction.

“There. Send it to that address, Rocky,” James pointed to the address in the paper. The great bird flew off in a frenzy, leaving behind a few feathers. Sirius chuckled.

“Likes to make a mess, much like myself. Well, I can’t find anything, and I don’t want to work in the ministry. I would rather work with…dragons…or Hippogriffs, or anything with animals…” Sirius said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head.

“Dragons?! Are you absolutely off your rocker?” squealed Lily with shock displayed on her face, her eyes widened. “No! I won’t allow you!”

“Oh, and Lily Evans will stop me, will she?” asked Sirius with a smirk. And with that, he got up, grabbed his cloak, and was about to walk out when James called to him.

“Hey, where are you going/!?” he asked, confusion spreading across his face. Sirius’ smirk widened.

“Off. Probably that new bar that opened up in Diagon Alley. You two can meet me there later…oh, forgot, someone has work,” lashed Sirius back, his eyes glinting mischievously. He left, leaving an awkward silence between the remaining two. After about five minutes Lily jumped up.

“The food!” she shouted, and she ran to the kitchen, saving the food just in time. She fixed all the food up, placing them in separate bowls and plates. She set a plate of food in front of James and sat across from him. They ate in silence until James finished. He sat back and simply stared at Lily. Lily could feel his eyes penetrating her, and did her best to not stare back. He was making this much more awkward than it needed to be. And he was being blatantly obviously.

Finally, “Will you stop?” she snapped, rather sharply. James smiled, but he did not look away.

“You have beautiful eyes.”

“I’m leaving,” she replied harshly, her voice shaking. She stood up, but James grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t leave, Lily, please,” he said, his smile faded and his voice shrunken. This was the second time, in two days, that someone had told her that, but this situation was much different. He stared at her some more, his blue eyes digging deep inside of her, and she felt a sensation, one that she also felt with Severus, and yanked her hand away with fear. No, no, not James. She quickly grabbed her wand, shoved it in her pocket, and headed straight for the door. James touched her shoulder, and she felt a weird, fluttering sensation in her stomach.

“Lily-wait, I’m sorry!” he said, spinning her around. She shook her head. “I gotta’ go, I have work later and I need a nap. I’ll send an owl by tomorrow morning, and I’ll probably stop by tomorrow for lunch again…” she mumbled softly, her fear escalating as she exited.