“Just like that?” James asked with a hint of surprise and Lily smiled a small smile.
“No, it wasn’t that easy. I got a sort of rude awakening,” She replied and flashes of screams, blood, and power started running through her mind. She shook her head with a shudder. James looked like he wanted to push the topic but thankfully he didn’t.
“So what do you do now,” James asked.
“Well since I couldn’t be a guardian and it didn’t exactly fit with the changes I’ve been making I went lab geek again,” she added with a smile, forcing herself to focus on the good.
“A lab geek? They have lab geeks?” James asked with a smirk and she narrowed her eyes at him in a playful glare. “But how is being a guardian not fit in whatever changes you are made?” She sighed, but that was something she wasn’t ready to talk about yet. She really didn’t even like talking to her shrink about it.
“That’s a subject I really don’t want to talk about right now okay,” she stated and he gave her a small smile with a nod.
“Alright, we don’t have to talk about it. I do have another question though how come we never met sooner? I was Tony’s best friend and you were Lacy’s. I went over to their house all the time but yet we never met.” James asked and Lily laughed, at his choice of change of subject. This one, she didn’t mind talking about.
“First because, besides the Roberts, I avoided all werewolves and Sandy knew this. I would always call her house before I came over to make sure that neither Tony nor Lacy had other friends over or if I were at their house she’d warn me if friends were coming over. Secondly, you all go to that werewolf exclusive private school while I had to go to the public school,” she explained.
“Still find it kind of curious that we never crossed paths,” James said, sounding amused.
“One of life’s little mysteries,” Lily explained with a smile and he returned it.
“Wonder if we met as kids if we would have been friends,” James mused out loud.
“I doubt it,” Lily said with an evil smile.
“Why?” he asked, looking almost offended.
“I didn’t like werewolves first and I didn’t like cocky boys second,” she teased and he actually laughed.
“Yeah your probably right… I was a bit too cocky for my own good at that age,” James stated and Lily nodded, her smile growing. This was nice. Maybe they could actually make good friends. She honestly hoped so, Lily really could use some more names on her friends list. They talked about little non-important things but made her realize just how little she knew about James and how little he knew her too, of course.
A. J. slept for an hour and a half until he finally woke up and James prepared everyone a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She hoped that it was just a quick fix and not the demonstration of the extent of his culinary skills. A. J. would need to eat balanced meals not just quick fixes. Maybe she should teach him a few things before leaving. “What do you say,” Lily told A. J. when James handed him his sandwich.
With his mouth impossibly full A. J. muffled a messy thank you. Lily scowled and James bursting out laughing. “James it’s not funny! That is very rude A. J. and you could end up choking. Don’t ever talk with your mouth full!” She scolded him, but the little boy was too busy imitating James laughter. Thankfully James was adult enough to realize his mistake and stopped laughing.
“Sorry Lily,” James said. “Listen to your mom A. J.,” he told his son with a bad attempt at a “dad” voice. It took all she had to keep from laughing herself. The toddler nodded exaggeratedly his head once more and went to chewing his food much to her surprise.
“Oh, so now you listen to him?” Lily playfully scolded A. J. and the boy smiled up at her looking like a mirror image of James. “Traitor,” she mumbled with a hint of a smile.
“It’s only natural, everyone likes me… except you,” James told her and she smiled.
“That’s all in the past,” she told him with a wave. “I actually think your kind of tolerable,” she teased him and he laughed.
“I’m kind of tolerable?” He repeated with a grin. “I think I can live with that,” he teased back and handed her a sandwich. When their little snack was finished, James surprised her, by putting on some movies for them to watch. He actually had some kid stuff, including her favorite the Rescuers.
It was nearly eight by the time they had gone back to the Roberts’s house. Lily had to admit, she enjoyed herself. Oddly it was probably the most fun she had in a long time. She stood out on the porch as James got ready to leave. “Thanks, for today, A. J. really enjoyed himself,” she told him, feeling it was important to let him know that he’d done a good thing today.
“No problem Lily. I enjoyed spending time with him,” he told her giving her a smile. “I would definitely like to do this again.” Only with A. J. or with me too? The question suddenly popped into her head unasked for. Oh do stop that Lily, she scolded herself.
“I think A. J. would like that too,” Lily replied back. James just stood there for a moment, looking at her and it made her a little nervous.