Jily Oneshots (pt2)

can you play me a melody

by eemolu on archiveofourown.org

James didn’t think he’d ever been this tired. Not in a haven’t slept, can’t keep his eyes open kind of way. He’d taken his A-levels and pulled plenty of all-nighters revising, not to mention the shows and parties and afterparties that led basically into the next day’s show. No, James was tired in the bone-deep, soul aching way. The kind of tired that screamed I can’t do this anymore, the kind that people in James’ line of work called “uninspired.” They prescribed the usual: sex, drugs, think about how many people would kill to have what you have and then get over yourself. The problem was, he’d tried all that, and it hadn’t worked.

Lily wasn’t tired. If anybody asked, she’d described herself as content, but that wasn’t really true. She was dormant, quietly absorbed in the monotony of her daily life until something came along and took her out of it. People always thought it would happen soon; anyone with eyes and ears could tell Lily had the kind of spark that would take her far. But she never allowed herself to be taken and instead kept working, half asleep, playing at happy.

And then Lily met James and James met Lily.

By all rights Cokeworth shouldn’t have been as big a festival as it was. The town was run down, in the middle of nowhere, and boasted no claim to fame other than the aforementioned festival every summer. But that was why people loved it. It seemed uncorrupted, just for the art, the place so many musicians had found their first big break waiting for them among the weeds. At least, it seemed that way to tourists. To anyone actually from Cokeworth, the festival was more about making money that would last them through the off season. The people who flooded in were a necessary evil. And so our two protagonists were already opposed.

This particular year, there were a lot more teenage girls and sullen parents looking for places to stay in Cokeworth. They told anyone who would listen: James Potter is going to be at the festival. We’re here for James Potter.

Lily’s parents smiled and nodded and handed these girls the food they had ordered. Usually it was Lily on the floor taking orders but she worked the festival and had the week off. As much as all of it was commercial and frustrating, the pull of the music meant Lily had never been able to stay away, and playing music locally during the off season meant she knew most of the organizers well enough to get good work, important work.

So that’s how we set our stage. James, in town to perform and so tired he was winking out of sight. Lily, waiting in the wings to be woken up.

James was ushered into his hotel room by four people. He only knew three of them, but that was normal. He’d long since given up on getting to know all the people that were hired to keep his image afloat. Most of the time he focused on staying upright until someone put an instrument in his hands and told him to perform.

“Were you listening?” Addie snapped at him. James wondered, like he always did, how she didn’t cut herself when she tapped her lip with those long red nails. “We need to start thinking next album now that we’re in the final leg of your tour.”

“This is the festival circuit,” James said. Why else would they be in Cokeworth?

Addie gave him the look that meant he was being stupid, but at least she refrained from her long-suffering sigh. “We talked about this. We’re considering it the last leg of your tour. Hometown boy can’t resist a chance to see his fans again after traveling the world, and aren’t these festivals just the perfect opportunity?”