Chapter Text
Missed call from New Number
Missed call from New Number
Missed call from New Number
New Number: guess I have to do this here since you apparently aren’t answering your phone
New Number: WTF was that????
New Number: I already know that you’re going to say I’m overreacting
New Number: but I don’t even care rn
New Number: you do this and then ignore me?
New Number: I can’t believe this
New Number: actually I can
New Number: you didn’t bother sticking around but jsyk EVERYTHING is gone
New Number: I don’t know what you’re telling yourself I did to deserve this but
New Number: whatever
New Number: at first I wanted you to say sorry but I don’t even know if I care anymore
Me: Ummm…
Me: I’m really sorry about whoever wronged you at such an ungodly hour when they should be sleeping
Me: But I’m pretty sure you have the wrong number
New Number: ???
Me: At least I’m assuming so
Me: I don’t recall any acts of wrongdoing on my part in the past 24 hours
New Number: is this some kind of prank?
New Number: you've had the same number since you were 15
Me: 14 actually
Me: But that is beside the point
Me: I solemnly swear to you, wrong number, that this is not a prank of mine
Me: You have honestly texted the wrong number and not whoever you’re looking for
New Number: OH MY GOD
New Number: just checked the number
New Number: I am so sorry
New Number: I was angry (obviously) and must have typed it wrong
New Number: I'm so sorry
New Number: wait did I wake you??
New Number: omg nvm
New Number: I'm sorry again
New Number: I'll leave you alone
New Number: have a good night!
Me: No, no, no
Me: Don’t go now
Me: I’m invested now
Me: I need to know who this person is and what exactly they did to you to piss you off so bad
New Number: don't want to let you down, but it's probably not that interesting
New Number: just my sister
Me: No offense, wrong number, but with as much fire you just spat at me through text???
Me: I doubt it’s not interesting
New Number: okay
New Number: do you want the short story or the long one?
Me: Loooong
Me: I’m awake and I have my popcorn
Me: Take me to pettyville
New Number: omg pettyville
New Number: maybe that's where she should move with her fiance
New Number: but I'll back up
Me: Excellent
Me: I love a good backstory
New Number: I don't exactly get along with my sister
New Number: but she came to visit today
New Number: and things were kind of going okay? sort of??
New Number: but then she got mad (like she always does) and “dropped” my phone in my water glass
Me: Wtf??
New Number: thank you!!!
New Number: she said it was an accident but how is that an accident???
Me: Yeah, no
Me: That’s definitely not an accident
Me: An accident is when you misjudge your landing whilst parkouring through the kitchen and your mother has to take you to the ER
New Number: okay that sounds like a story
Me: Not dunking your sister’s phone in a glass of water
New Number: ty ty
New Number: anyway a big fight and nearly getting kicked out of the restaurant later
New Number: she finally leaves and I get a chance to look at the damage
New Number: nothing worked so I had to go to the store to get a new one and couldn't transfer anything and I don't even know how to use this one I got
Me: Omg I would be furious
Me: Figuring out new phones is the worst
New Number: right??
New Number: so I made myself a strong margarita and tried to figure it out
New Number: then I somehow convinced myself to let her have it but needed some courage sooooo
New Number: I drank a second margarita
New Number: and that's how you had me blowing up your phone at midnight
Me: My gosh
New Number: sorry about that btw
New Number: and this whole nonsense
New Number: is that interesting enough?
Me: Riveting
Me: You know what though, wrong number?
Me: I’m beginning to think fate has brought us together
New Number: fate? or my sister?
Me: Why not both?
Me: It sounds like what you need is a prankster
Me: And I just so happen to be in such a line of work
New Number: oh really?
New Number: go on
Me: Ok ok
Me: So while I agree that your sister deserves your angry texts, she’s probably expecting that
Me: It’s what she wants...right?
New Number: tbh waking her up was also a goal
New Number: but you have a point
New Number: you think i should ghost her?
Me: No, I think you should fight fire with fire
Me: Or more specifically
Me: Jello
New Number: jello?
New Number: wait
New Number: you think I should put her phone in jello?
New Number: like in the office?
Me: That’s exactly what I’m suggesting
Me: She put your phone in water
Me: Steal her phone and put it in jello
Me: Also the office is a good show, don’t laugh
New Number: parks and rec is better
Me: I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that for the sake of our new friendship, wrong number
New Number: okay let me think
New Number: first I have to convince her to come back, then I have to get the phone away from her somehow
New Number: but if I back up her stuff first...
Me: I can practically see the wheels turning in your head
Me: Can you invite her over for a breakfast truce? Then snatch it while she isn’t looking?
New Number: yes!
New Number: you’re a genius
New Number: I’ll invite her to brunch
New Number: she LOVES brunch
New Number: then I attack???
Me: THEN YOU ATTACK
New Number: lol okay
New Number: ugh I better go to bed
New Number: have to wake up early to get to the store and buy some jello 0:)
New Number: … is it weird if I save your number?
New Number: I only have like 3 contacts rn
Me: Not at all
Me: I’m an accomplice to your scheme now
Me: I expect a full report tomorrow
New Number: I’ll keep you posted
New Number: might take a few days to convince her but I’m going to do it
New Number: hold me to that
Me: Will do
Me: Talk to you later then?
New Number: number saved (:
--
She had been right to set a few alarms.
Staying up later than usual was probably a mistake. It was already going to make waking up on time more difficult.
To add to that, Lily could be a pretty deep sleeper. Since freshman year, when she shared a small room and bunk bed with her best friend, she had gotten used to the particular jingle of her alarm. By the third week of class, the alarm from the bed below hers didn’t make her stir. While other people - most people, admittedly - would have heard and woken to another alarm, she wouldn’t wake unless it was the right tune for her.
So having a different alarm from a new phone this morning was a minor disaster.
“Get. Up. Evans.”
Each word was punctuated with a perfectly targeted pillow hit.
Lily groaned and tried to bat away the offending pillow. “What?”
“Get up.”
Rolling over, Lily saw her roommate with a pillow and early morning death glare. Mary managed to look a little threatening, even with her tousled bed head and faded Class Of t-shirt. “Turn off your freaking alarm. Some of us don’t have early morning classes for a reason.”
“My what?” Lily mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eye.
“Your alarm. It’s been going off for like ten minutes.” Mary pointed past Lily to the heating and cooling unit she used as her bedside table. On top of it, her shiny new phone vibrated along with the unfamiliar melody that was, apparently, supposed to wake her.
“Oh, fu-” Lily grabbed the phone and poked it into silence. “Sorry.”
Mary hummed a testy response. She hugged the pillow to her chest and turned to the door. “You’re lucky I like you.”
“I know, I know,” Lily answered. “I’ll buy you coffee later to make up for it. And I’ll play around with the alarms so it doesn’t happen again.” She started to click though the alarm app to find her options. “I’m not used to the new one and -”
With a jolt, she noticed the time.
Lily jumped out of bed and threw her comforter back, startling Mary in the process. “I’m late. I have to run somewhere before class. Do I have time?”
Her roommate had lived with her long enough to know when to make herself scarce. It also gave her an easy exit to go back to sleep until she had to wake up for her own classes.
In a whirlwind, Lily found a dress in her closet and tugged on her reliable pair of black flats. She quickly packed up her laptop and notebooks while brushing her teeth. There wasn’t time for breakfast, but she might be able to find something at the store.
“See you later!” she called behind her, closing their front door. In a gesture that was a few seconds too late to be helpful, Lily ensured that she had the keys for her apartment in the front pocket of her backpack.
Partway down the street, her phone vibrated again. This time, it wasn’t an alarm.
Parks and Rec: Rise and shine, wrong number!
Me: why are you also up at this hour???
Parks and Rec: Jogging
Parks and Rec: Or finishing up at least
Me: you woke up early to RUN?
Me: I almost slept through my alarm
Parks and Rec: I wake up early every morning to run
Parks and Rec: Have since high school
Me: sounds healthy
Me: but oh god at what cost?
Parks and Rec: The cost of being dashingly fit
She already missed her alarm, but Lily fell into another Millennial stereotype when she looked down at her phone as she walked. While tapping out her response with her thumbs, she had to backspace a few times to make up for the difference between this keyboard and her old one.
Me: (draft) I’m on my way to grab the jello but
Lily came up short when she bumped into another person, a hand catching her. The phone nearly flew out of her hand. Thankfully, she caught it, since she wasn’t sure her bank account could take the hit of a second new phone in two days.
“Whoa there,” the voice attached to the hand said. “You okay?”
“Sorry. I didn’t -”
She looked up from the luckily uncracked screen of her phone. Then, she had to tilt her chin back farther to meet the other person’s eyes. They were hidden behind a thick pair of glasses frames but still quite alert for this time of day. They were also incredibly hazel, a swirl of several colors in one, and Lily thought to herself that hazel was a truly underappreciated shade.
She blinked a few times, trying to ground herself.
Instead of steadying her, the dull sparks from the place where his hand was touching her arm made her legs a little shaky. What was happening to her? “Thanks,” she said quietly. Lily withdrew her arm to hold the phone closer to her. “Sorry again. Got distracted.”
“It’s alright. No worries,” he said kindly. His head tilted slightly. “Hey, aren’t you in my Bio class?”
That was probably why his mussed hair looked so familiar. With that context, she could picture him in the seat a row back from her in their Bio section. She also remembered Mary’s pointed comments about her potentially being a little distracted in Biology when she met Lily after class one day.
"Yeah, I think so," Lily answered. "I was actually hoping to grab something before class, but I'm not off to the best start."
“Well, if you slip in a few minutes late, I doubt Binns will notice,” he said, his lips twitching. “Honestly, I don’t think he even knows who is in the class.”
Lily felt her own lips follow his into a smile. "Maybe you could save me a seat."
“Of course. As long as you don’t mind sitting in the back.”
"I think I can handle that for one lecture." Her phone buzzed, reminding her that the shrinking time before class was passing quickly. She shifted on her feet and put a hand on the strap of her bag. "See you there?"
“See you there,” he confirmed, taking a few steps back and saluting her.
Without moving, Lily watched him go. When he turned suddenly back toward her a few feet later, she hoped he was too far away to notice her blush at being caught.
“Hey!” he called, his voice carrying to her. “What’s your name, by the way?”
"Evans," she answered. Then, shaking her head, she added, "Lily Evans." She brushed some loose hair behind her ear a little self consciously. "Who will I be sitting next to?"
“James Potter,” he said. She could tell he was grinning, so bright that she could see it even with the distance between them. “Nice to meet you.”
"I'll see you soon, James." It was something of a promise and call to action for herself. She had to run to the store at the end of the road, find a little box of Jello mix, and get to class before it was too late.
She couldn't let someone else take her seat.
--
“Not another word.”
“I haven’t said anything!”
“You’ve been cackling for the past twenty minutes!”
“Oh, I have not.”
“You laughed the whole way home! You haven’t stopped laughing since we left class!”
“You’re being dramatic. Has anyone ever told you that?”
James rolled his eyes, turning to give his best friend a deadpan expression as he unlocked the door. He was met by another series of poorly repressed snorts as Sirius broke down into laughter… again.
Honestly, he really ought to take better care of who he allowed to be in his inner circle. He didn’t realize that he was subjecting himself to being mocked for all eternity by entering into a lifetime of friendship with Sirius Black.
Damn their blood pact they made at age eleven.
“Sirius…”
“I just - I can’t help it!”
“Fine,” huffed James. “You can stay outside until you collect yourself, then.”
Sirius’ well placed foot was the only thing that stopped James from slamming the door in his face. James didn’t have to look at him to know that Sirius propped himself against the wall for support as he continued to laugh. He chucked his keys down on the counter with a huff.
“You pay me to switch seats for the morning so you could sit next to some girl. You beg me to do this for you,” said Sirius through his laughter. “Then you can’t even speak to her!”
“It’s Bio, Sirius. Not dinner,” argued James for what felt like the thousandth time. “How am I supposed to talk to her in class? We’re supposed to be paying attention!”
“Pass notes or something,” countered Sirius, wiping away his tears. “Not just sit there, staring straight ahead like she’s not there. I’m not sure you even blinked the whole time.”
James groaned, tugging at his hair. “She’s pretty, Sirius. She’s so pretty that it makes me stupid! I don’t know what to say to her! It’s a miracle that I even managed to make small talk with her before class.”
“It will be another miracle if she talks to you again after this morning.”
“What if she thinks I hate her? What if this was my one chance and I blew it? God, why couldn’t I think to ask her for tutoring or something? I could have said that I’m rubbish at Bio.”
“You are rubbish at Bio,” said Sirius, yawning. Apparently laughing himself silly over James’ stupidity left him tired. “It’s not too late to tell her that.”
“I’m not that bad at it,” muttered James. He was, though. “I’m just better at other things.”
“God, you sound like Mia. That’s something she’s actually told you before, isn’t it?”
“Shut up about my mother. At least she believes in me.”
“Not after I tell her about this.”
“Don’t you dare,” hissed James, jabbing a finger in his direction. “Don’t you mention a word of this to Mum.”
“I’ll take hush money in the form of McDonald’s.”
“I already paid you today!”
“That was for switching seats,” Sirius argued. “This is for my silence.”
“Fine,” growled James. “What does this say about you as my best mate? All this bribery?”
“It says you’re a bit of a chump. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for my afternoon nap. These early morning classes are really taking it out of me. When I wake up, I expect a ten piece nugget. Don’t forget the Coke!”
James opened his mouth to protest, but Sirius had already retreated to his bedroom, leaving James to slump sadly onto the couch. He stared blankly at the television. He wasn’t even sure Netflix could solve his depression at this point.
Why couldn’t he just talk to her?
He felt so confident after running into Lily at the end of his morning jog. He learned her name! He had spent so long wondering who she was and what her name could possibly be that it must have completely fried his brain once he finally knew it.
That was the only explanation.
Or, one of them, at least.
The other being that he was a walking disaster.
Both were probably true.
Sighing, James pulled out his phone. His conversation with the wrong number from last night was still open. Before he realized what he was doing, he found his fingers typing.
Me: I’ve had such a weird day, wrong number
Me: How has your day been?
Into the Unknown: had to appease my roommate with some coffee but it’s all right
Into the Unknown: what’s up?
His lips twitched down at his phone. This felt easy.
Me: Just one of those days where you feel awkward and want the earth to open up and swallow you whole
Me: You ever have those?
Into the Unknown: omg have you been reading my 8th grade diary???
Into the Unknown: I think I wrote that exact phrase every other day
Me: I knew you got me
Into the Unknown: btw do you think a phone can survive in the refrigerator for a few hours?
Me: Ehh, who cares about the phone? She destroyed yours.
Me: An eye for an eye. A phone for a phone.
Into the Unknown: I feel weird about destroying it
Into the Unknown: can I uninstall guilt?
Me: Ha, I don’t think guilt works that way
Me: But how awesome would it be if it did?
Me: Very important question - What flavor jello did you get?
Into the Unknown: cherry
Into the Unknown: my sister hates cherry flavor
Me: Oooo I love the flavor of petty
Me: Nice going
Into the Unknown: why was your day weird?
Into the Unknown: unless you don’t want to talk about it
Me: It’s just…
Me: Without going into too much detail, it’s about a girl
Into the Unknown: we haven’t actually established this yet but *fun fact* I’m a girl
Into the Unknown: maybe I can help?
Into the Unknown: unless you don’t want to talk about it!
Into the Unknown: this isn’t exactly cracking a cold one with the boys
Into the Unknown: or chatting with your girl friends
Into the Unknown: or whatever
Into the Unknown: ignore me if you want
Me: A cold one with the boys?? Really??
Me: How did you guess that I’m a disaster of a male
Into the Unknown: tbh I mostly said it for the meme
Into the Unknown: I can try to help regardless of the gender of your disaster
Into the Unknown: though I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think
Me: Oh I’m sure it’s much worse
Me: It’s bad enough for me to owe my best mate hush money so he doesn’t tell my mum what an embarrassment I am
Into the Unknown: did you say something to her?
Me: No, that’s the thing
Me: I can’t talk to her
Me: I don’t know how
Me: She makes me nervous
Into the Unknown: then it can’t be that bad
Into the Unknown: stg some guys set the bar so low
Into the Unknown: what about her makes you nervous?
Me: Do I sound like a jerk if I say it’s because she’s pretty? Bc she’s so pretty
Me: But it’s more than that
Me: I can tell she’s kind and smart
Me: It’s like… have you ever met a person and just wanted to get to know them better? Like something in you is drawn to them?
Into the Unknown: you don’t sound like a jerk
Into the Unknown: you sound like you have a crush
Me: Crushes are so painful
Into the Unknown: guess I should check this before giving too much advice
Into the Unknown: are you in high school?
Me: No I’m in college
Me: WAIT
Me: Are YOU in high school?
Into the Unknown: no, I'm in college too
Into the Unknown: so okay
Into the Unknown: you have a crush on a girl
Me: A very pretty, unattainable girl
Into the Unknown: unattainable?
Into the Unknown: okay first step might be making sure you're not putting her on some impossible pedestal
Into the Unknown: have you ever talked to her?
Me: … I have said a few words
Me: I asked her for her name and I told her mine
Into the Unknown: okay progress!
Into the Unknown: maybe she wants to get to know you too
Into the Unknown: are you going to see her again?
Me: Yeah we have class together
Me: But it’s just the one and it’s super hard to talk in class
Me: Especially when said class is your worst subject and you need to be paying attention or you’ll fail
Into the Unknown: valid. a crush is not worth failing a class!
Into the Unknown: sounds like you need to find a way to talk after class and see if she wants to get to know you too
Into the Unknown: is she good at this class?
Me: She answers questions in class
Me: And laughs at the corny science jokes I don’t get
Into the Unknown: aw she's a nerd
Into the Unknown: you can ask her about the class
Me: Yeah that’s a good idea
Me: Hey thanks
Me: My best mate just made fun of me for choking in front of her
Into the Unknown: that's kind of what best friends are for
Into the Unknown: mine attacked me with a pillow this morning
Me: Jesus maybe we need new friends lol
Me: I really appreciate the honest help, you know?
Into the Unknown: idk how much I helped but I can try
Into the Unknown: give her a chance to get to know you
Into the Unknown: maybe you even make her a little nervous too
Me: HA
Me: I siriusly doubt that
Me: thanks again though, wrong number
Into the Unknown: you never know!
Into the Unknown: let me know how it goes
Me: Will do
Me: ttyl, I owe my best mate some McDonald’s
Me: (long story)
Into the Unknown: okay fine I’ll do some homework
Into the Unknown: have a milkshake for me