Jily Oneshots (pt2)

Movie Night

by 911weasleytwins

The first night she heard the screaming, Lily was genuinely worried about the well-being of her new next-door-neighbors.

It was an early October night, too warm to keep the windows closed, even if the dumpster three stories down did let in some unpleasant odors. Lily had moved into her friend Marlene's flat a month before, and was up late trying to knock out some final unpacking while the heat of the day wasn't seeping in.

The Irish girl had just ripped open the packing tape of a box labelled "Romantic Fiction" (one of twelve other boxes of books, all meticulously labeled according to genre) when the screaming started.

At first, it was just a single yelp coming from the apartment next to her. Someone must have stubbed their toe, or something. It's no big deal, Lily. Reassuring herself, she continued to unpack her small library of books, taking pleasure in arranging and rearranging them according to color, title, size, and author.

The next scream she heard, Lily got worried. It was again, little more than a short yelp, but it alarmed her. If I don't go check something out, am I considered an accomplice to murder? Those signs do say "If you see something, say something". Wait, that's about terrorism and racial profiling. And, anyway, I didn't see anything. So I don't have to say anything.

The third time, though, Lily just couldn't ignore it. It was getting louder every time, and after what she'd experienced living with Severus, she couldn't look past possible violence. So, armed with her father's cricket bat, she went out the door in her shorts and "Now Ladies Let's Get Information" t-shirt (from the library in Cork) to investigate the source of the commotion.

It didn't take long to figure out that the screaming was coming from the apartment next to hers-flat 305. She thumped loudly on the door, gripping the cricket bat tighter in her hands, but the screaming stopped immediately. That can't be right, Lily thought, her heart pounding fiercely. Their attacker just shut them up. There has to be another way in.

Suddenly, she remembered her open window and the fire escape just beyond it. It probably connects to the apartment next door.

With her bat in hand, she slid out her window. The frame next to hers was cracked open, with no screen impeding her way in. Bracing her hand around the bat, she steeled herself for what she needed to do.

"STOP HURTING MY NEIGHBORS!"

The short, red-haired girl practically flew in through the window, bat held aloft like a fencing foil. There was fury in her eyes; even if she didn't know her neighbors yet, she wasn't about to let them be-

As soon as her feet were firmly on the ground, Lily began to sense that something was off. There was no sign of an intruder, just four pale-faced boys with varying degrees of terror showing on their faces. One round, pudgy boy was curled up under a table, his eyes filled with fear and his hands clutched around a phone, frozen with shock. A lanky, mousy-haired boy wearing a frayed than sweater held a pillow above his head, frozen in place. A shorter, stockier boy was halfway over the couch held a remote control in a position that looked like he was about to throw it, and directly to his right, a boy with square-framed glasses and messy hair was closest to her, wearing a woman's apron and holding a spatula.

The tall, mousy-haired boy looked the short, fiery redhead up and down. "Madam, can we help you?" he asked quizzically, a hint of humor haunting his voice.

Lily looked around at the three boys, completely confused. "I heard screaming, and when you didn't answer the door, I got a little scared…"

The messy haired boy with glasses stepped forward, his face flushed with embarrassment. "We're so sorry. October is horror movie month for the lads and I, and you must have overheard us getting a little...antsy at some of the jump scares. Then, when you flew in through the window-well, that's the stuff horror films are built on. You can imagine it was a shock."