Chapter Text
“No, Sirius, you can’t— James, stop! You can’t cuddle on the tattoo beds!” Lily yelled exasperatedly. If a customer walked in and saw the current state of her new tattoo parlor, they would probably call the cops.
“Oh, come on Lils! We aren’t even open yet!” James yelled back, still holding Sirius on the tattoo bed. Sirius looked at her pleadingly. Lily rolled her eyes, wondering how she got stuck with these idiots for friends.
—
Lily’s old tattoo parlor— it was a dingy little spot in a terrible neighborhood— barely even had room to walk around. But people still came for Lily. She was great at what she did and she had a certain talent for making people feel comfortable. It also helped that all of her friends were extremely attractive and also some of the biggest flirts in the city.
Lily had started from nothing. She barely graduated from secondary school, she never had much money, and her parents couldn’t give two shits about her. The one thing that she did have was talent. Her art was beautiful and emotional. So, when she was offered a tattoo apprentice gig by a man named Fleamont Potter, she was ecstatic.
Fleamont and his wife, Euphemia, practically raised Lily. She was 18, jobless, and in despair, but Monty and Effie gave her reason. Gave her something to work towards. Monty taught her everything she knew about tattooing, while Effie taught her how to run her business and build her clientele. Their son, James, quickly became Lily’s best friend. He was always there when she needed a shoulder to cry on, but was also always there when she wanted to get wasted on a random Wednesday night. Potters, she noted, were notoriously dependable.
By the time Lily turned 20, she had opened her tattoo parlor and business was steady. She had a good number of clients and although money was scarce, she rarely had to worry about whether or not she would be eating that night. But most importantly, she finally had a family. Effie and Monty quickly became parental figures to her and James’ friends quickly became her own. For the first time in her life, she was loved. She had something to live for.
—
“Fine, we’ll get to work,” James said, pulling Sirius up from the tattoo bed. Lily beamed at them. Sirius quickly bounded over to their record player, eager to pick the record for that morning. Lily hoped he would finally pick a Taylor Swift record, but deep down she knew that he would never.
“Ha! You’re so bad!” Lily heard Mary yell. She glanced over to Mary and was alarmed when she saw that she and Remus were playing darts with piercing needles. Was she the only one with any common sense?
“Mary! Remus! Those are decorations. Not targets,” Lily screeched, running over to take the needles away from them before any more damage could be done. Remus shrugged.
“Sorry, Lil. I told Mary it was a bad idea but she made it into a challenge and, well— you know me,” Remus said while walking away, probably going to join his boyfriend in picking that morning's record.
Mary smiled sweetly at Lily. “Why have dart boards as decorations? I mean, seriously. Dart boards? Around us? You’re just asking for trouble at that point.”
Lily sighed. “It’s for the aesthetic, Mary. You wouldn’t get it.” Lily picked up the needle that Mary and Remus were using and straightened up the dart board.
Mary was leaning up against the tattoo chair, a mischievous look in her eye. Her gaze followed Lily like she was waiting for her to sit down so she could say something.
“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh… it’s nothing. Have you seen the girl next door?” Mary asked, smirking.
“What? What girl next door?” Lily asked, genuinely confused.
“Well… I did some Instagram stalking. Her name is Pandora. Pandora Rosier. She’s pretty, just your type. I know you like blondes,” Mary said innocently. Lily rolled her eyes.
“Mary, you know I don’t need a relationship right now. I’ve worked too hard for it to all be messed up. Relationships are more trouble than they’re worth,” Lily said, scoffing.
Mary threw her hands up in surrender. “Hey, I know how you feel. I’m just saying… maybe it doesn’t have to be a… relationship. You work too hard, Lily,” Mary suggested.
“Oh my God, Mary, you’re ridiculous. I’m not fucking the girl next door,” Lily asserted loudly.
“What? Who are you fucking?” Sirius yelled from the other side of the room, stopping his search for a good morning record. Lily threw her hands up in defeat. She was going to kill Mary.
“She’s not fucking anyone, Sirius,” Mary said, “I’m trying to convince her, though.” Sirius jogged across the room excitedly. He sat down on the tattoo chair Mary was leaning on, holding his head up with his hands.
“So? Who’s the girl you guys are plotting on?” Sirius asked, grinning. Lily groaned.
“There isn’t a lucky girl. Mary is just ridiculous. We open in 5 minutes, get to work guys,” she insisted. Sirius and Mary sighed but went to complete their tasks for the day.
Lily flipped the open sign to say open. She heard Remus yell “Aha!” and about 30 seconds later the parlor was filled with the sound of “Five Years” by David Bowie. Lily rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that morning. Would it kill Remus and Sirius to listen to modern music for a day?
She heard the sound of James and Sirius quietly conversing while cleaning their piercing needles for the day. Mary and Remus were sanitizing the tattoo beds. Lily heard the comforting sound of the doorbell ringing and the sound of the door opening as their first customer of the day walked in. All was well.
—
By the time lunch rolled around, everyone was exhausted. Lily had been running around keeping everyone in check. James and Sirius had both done an absurd number of piercings— Lily had no idea how they managed it. Mary and Remus were busy with their clients, both slightly sweating. Lily figured that the least she could do was grab lunch for everyone.
“Okay team, what are we thinking about for lunch?” Lily said, clapping her hands.
“Fuck, I don’t know,” James said dejectedly, leaning up against a wall and catching his first break of the day. Lily knew it had been a rough day if James didn’t know what to eat for lunch. He was always the first one to request a certain restaurant.
“How about that little Italian place a few doors down?” Remus suggested lightly, eyes still focused on his client’s arm. Thankfully, his client’s tattoo was almost done.
Lily, who was hungry and tired, thanked Remus for his suggestion and headed to the restaurant. If they all didn’t eat soon, they might just wither away into dust.
When Lily arrived at the restaurant, she was greeted by a hostess and proceeded to place an order for carry-out. The restaurant was cute— long green curtains hung on the walls and the lighting was orange and cozy. It smelled good there, too. But one look at the total on her receipt and Lily decided that that was the first and last time they would be eating there. She sighed and took out her phone, waiting patiently for her order.
About a minute after she sat down, someone approached her. The first thing she noted was the long, hippie-esque cotton skirt this girl was wearing. It might just be the coolest skirt Lily had ever seen. Then, to make the outfit even better, the girl was wearing a Taylor Swift “Long Live” shirt with what could be hundreds of necklaces. Her blonde hair was done up in two space buns and Lily just had to take a moment to catch her breath before saying:
“Can I help you?”
She internally cursed herself. That came out all wrong. There was no way she just asked this cool-as-hell girl if she could help her. This cannot be happening.
But the girl, clearly not offended, just smiled. It was a warm, understanding smile. “Hi. Are you Lily?” she asked.
“You… uh–” Lily cleared her throat. “You know me?”
The girl laughed. “Yeah. I’m your neighbor,” she says, holding her hand out. Lily takes it and shakes it slowly, confused. What does she mean she’s her neighbor?
“Sorry… What's your name again?” Lily asks, embarrassed.
“Pandora. Pandora Rosier. I own the crystal shop next door to your parlor,” she said, still smiling that pretty smile. Lily tried not to think about how mystical her name is. Pandora Rosier. She swore she’d heard that name before. She realized that they were still shaking hands, so she awkwardly dropped hers before Pandora had the chance to do it first.
“Oh, yeah! Nice to meet you, Pandora. I’m Lily, Lily Evans. I mean— you already know that, but,” she stumbled over her words, fully aware of her face turning beet red.
“Yeah, it’s great to finally meet you,” Pandora said, grabbing a few boxes of food. “Well, I have to head back. If you ever want to stop by, feel free. You’re always welcome.” She soundlessly disappeared behind the door, and Lily let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding.
When her senses finally came back to her about a minute later, Lily realized where she’d heard Pandora’s name before. From Mary, that morning. Oh no. She is so fucked.