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Lily was nervously setting up and adjusting her booth which was lined with amigurumi stuffed animals. She’s spent countless days with aching hands to get everything she’d wanted to prepare. Today was her first time trying her luck at a market and her crocheted items lined the table.
Many people walked by, a few stopped to look at things but no one had bought anything for the first hour and a half. And it was hard to not grow immediately discouraged. Perhaps she should have waited until she had improved a bit more. She’d only been crocheting for about a year and while her items were cute, maybe they weren’t at a quality to justify buying. But she was already here and would at least stick out the next couple of hours.
She sighed, deciding to adjust the items as if that may bring in a customer. And was startled when the plan seemed to work.
“Hi!”
Lily turned around to find a very handsome man. He was tall with messy brown curls. He looked at her with large brown eyes behind circular golden-framed glasses that contrasted well against his dark skin.
“Did you make all of these?” He asked, looking through the table.
“Yes. And I’ve got the wrist aches to prove it,” she told him with a small laugh.
He laughed too but his was dripping with nerves. “I bet. I really like this guy,” he said as he picked up a crocheted deer. “Does he have a name?”
Lily shook her head. “That’s for you to decide.”
The man studied the stuffed animal seriously before declaring its name. “Prongs,” he told her with a smile. “Yes, he’s definitely a Prongs. How much for my deer friend?”
“£30.”
He shuffled for his wallet, pulling out £40 and telling her to keep the change. Lily thanked him profusely as she packaged up her first sale which he took excitedly before lingering at her booth for a moment and then getting on his way.
It was hardly ten minutes later that the man returned, this time with someone else.
He smiled at her as he approached. “I was showing off Prongs to my friend and he needed to come by and take a look at the table for himself.”
The other man, a tall man with brown hair and a cozy looking sweater despite the warm weather, perused the table and occasionally looked between her and his friend with a smile. He cleared his throat as he did so.
“I’m James by the way,” the handsome man introduced himself. “And this is Remus.”
“Lily,” she said, extending her hand out.
The man smiled at her.
Remus picked up a crocheted black dog. “Oh, Sirius would like him. Wouldn’t he?”
James nodded.
The tall man sighed. “So Lily, how long have you been crocheting?”
“A year.”
“Really? Only year? Well, this is all very impressive, right James?”
“What? Yeah. Really impressive,” he agreed with wide eyes and a dumb look about him.
“Thank you!” she told them.
There was a long pause. Remus rolled his eyes. “Well, I would love to buy this little guy. Jamie, you have the money?”
James blinked and scrambled to grab his wallet from his pocket.
Remus tucked the stuffed dog under his arm and left, once again complimenting her table. James lingered awkwardly before rushing to follow Remus.
It was maybe fifteen minutes later when Lily looked up to see James coming back with a different man. A short, chubby man with sandy hair. He gave her a small smile and quiet hello as he looked at the table.
“Peter got jealous of our cute animals,” James explained with a grin.
“Well if you just continue to bring all your friends I’ll be sold out in no time.”
Pete snorted. “He might just,” he said under his breath as he picked up a small crocheted rat. He held onto it as he continued to look through everything on the table.
“Have you had a lot of customers today?” James asked.
Lily shook her head. “Only you and your friends. You were actually my first customer ever which seemed to be the best possible option considering you keep bringing people.”
“I was your first customer? That’s so… personal,” he said. Lily thought his cheeks must hurt from the constant smiling because it was also a contagious smile and her own face started to ache.
Peter nudged James with the crocheted rat to show him the price and James once again pulled out his wallet, handing the money to Lily. Peter was quick to scurry off afterwards, rat in hand.
Lily was thinking about stepping to the side to look at the other tables when she saw James being dragged back her way. He was being pulled along by a shorter man with pale skin and dark hair who was holding the black dog she’d sold earlier.
“Sirius! I will! I promise!” James told the man as he tried to break free of his grip but soon enough they were at her table.
“Hi, James,” Lily said with a confused but curious tone.
“Lily! How are you?” He said as if she hadn’t seen him get dragged over.
“I’m good. What’s up?” She looked between the two men.
“Sirius wanted to see the table,” James explained.
“Jamie, you’ve run out of friends to bring to the table. Please just ask her out already.”
James delivered a swift kick to Sirius’ shin. “My god, Sirius. I was getting there!”
Lily couldn’t help but laugh and James turned back to her with a hopeful look. “Is that a yes?”
“I’m sorry. A yes to what?” she asked with a smirk as she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, writing down her number.
“Lily, would you like to go out some time?”
She handed him the paper. “How many people were you going to drag over here before you asked me out?”
“I was definitely about to bribe some strangers.” He pocketed the phone number with the promise to plan an amazing date.
At the end of the day, Lily packed up the items that she hadn’t sold. She didn’t sell as much as she had hoped but her first market booth with definitely a success.