DISCLAIMER: I am not J.K Rowling. She would never come up with an idea like this.

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Rent.

Loft. Three bedrooms. One half bath, large kitchen.

$1050 a month.

Roommate. Female.

If interested, call, 555-0034, or go to:

Vista Housing, floor eleven, apartment 295.

James Potter looked up from the board, a small smile on his face. In the sunlight, his hazel eyes were reflected by the sun, his round glasses helping in the process. His messy black hair was standing up in every direction, giving him a slightly disheveled look. His wide shoulders took up a lot of the small space in the small bus stop, and the woman next to him was looking very annoyed at having to share the small space with him.

But despite the evil looks the woman was giving him, he smiled as he said, "Yes! It's the perfect place! And right on my way!" He finished his exclamation with a very hearty punch in the air, and the woman next to him gave him a very dirty look.

She was a short, dirty blonde with thick framed glasses. She had very pretty teal eyes, yet the way that they were directed towards James was less than friendly. She was slightly chubby, and the oversized green sweater that she was wearing wasn't exactly figure flattering. On her winter jacket, there was a nametag that read, Hi! I'm Melissa!

"Dear Lord," She muttered under her breath. She had a deep, melodic voice, and James thought that it was vaguely familiar, yet he didn't know where to place it. "Can it get much worse that this?"

James chose to ignore this comment as he looked out the glass doors of the bus stop. There was a slight dusting of snow on the ground, and as a few flakes fell onto it from the sky, James was very thankful that he was inside a little glass cubical instead of outside; it was below zero, and he was only wearing a leather jacket and a turtle neck.

Remind me again why I decided to move to Illinois, he told himself as he took out a pair of black gloves. His long fingers were freezing, and he berated himself for not putting them on sooner; the woman next to him -Melissa, he supposed- was looking at him with scorn in her eyes, and a little smile played on her full lips.

James sighed as he slipped the gloves on, his fingers instantly starting to warm up in the leather. He was starting to miss the rain -yet predictable- weather of England, and yet again he wondered why he decided to move to the States; it was a beastly place to live, and Chicago had to be the worst place in the entire country.

"Life sucks," he said aloud, startling himself and the woman.

She was fumbling around in her purse, and once she heard him say that, she looked up, cigarettes and a lighter in hand. Her eyes were very expressive, and in their depths James saw cynical laughter and amusement. "Oh really?" She asked him as she put a cigarette to her mouth and lit it. "And you're only just finding this out....?"

And that's another thing about Chicagoans, James added as Melissa looked out the glass window to her right, totally ignoring him after that rude outburst. They're all extremely rude. And as if to prove this fact, the woman blew out smoke, half of it going into his eyes.

The rest of the wait for the bus continued on in the way, James and Melissa both staring out into the windows, lost in their own thoughts, Melissa occasionally puffing smoke into the air. After a couple minutes in which James got used to the silence again, he heard the unmistakable sound of a bus stopping.

The sound brought a little grimace to his face, and next to him, Melissa got up from the cold metal seat and picked up her bag, putting her cigarette out in the process. She practically ran out of the little glass box, not giving James another look.

Time to move from one cold place to another, James thought as he picked up his messenger bag from off of the ground, dusting the snow that managed to get on it once Melissa had opened up the door. He put it around his shoulders as he walked out the bus stop just like Melissa had not moments before.

****

Vista Housing was a large, tall red brick building with a pointed roof and red shingles. There was a doorman standing outside the door, looking very upset at having to stand outside in the snow. He looked over his shoulder at the foyer of the building, and James, from the inside of the bus, could tell that he wanted to be inside more than anything.

And it's not like I can blame him, James amended. My butt's frozen right now, and I'm not even outside. Suddenly, the bus gave a great lurch, and it took a couple minutes from James to realize that it had come to a stop. Quickly, as not to get stopped on the bus and miss his drop off (he had done this a few weeks before, and it wasn't a pleasant experience), he grabbed his bag for the second time that day and headed out of the bus.

The first thing that James became aware of was the sudden cold as he stepped off of the bus, snow flying into his face. James shook his head, getting the snow out of his hair, and walked towards the building, a determined look on his face. If there was one thing that he had learned from all of the apartment hunting that he had done, was that if you walked purposely towards the doors, that you most likely wouldn't get stopped.

That wasn't what happened this time, though.

"Excuse me, sir," the doorman said, stopping James mid-walk. He shoved his hands into his red, ankle length coat, trying to get some heat against all the cold. "Guests aren't allowed in the Vista without the owners' consent. I'm going to have to talk to the person that you are here to see."

James looked over his shoulder at the man, assessing him, all the while sighing for what seemed like the millionth time that day. The doorman was of medium build with dark hair and ever darker eyes. He had a bored expression on his plain face, as if he had to go through this conversation every day, at many different times.

"Uh..." James said unintelligently, pushing his hair out of his face. "Well, I'm here to look at a loft that's for rent. It's number..." His words drifted off as he dung into his messenger bag. The doorman looked restless and James took out the yellow flyer from his bag, a triumphant smile on his face. "It's number 295, floor eleven," he finished, handing the man the flyer.

In return, the smaller man looked at it for a few seconds before giving James a dirty look. A little offended by the glare, James looked on as the doorman strode a few feet over to a buzzer that hung on the wall. He pressed a button towards the bottom, and spoke clearly, sounding almost clipped, "Miss Evans?"

He waited a few seconds, and was just about to speak again, if his opening mouth was any indication, when there was a buzz back, and a feminine voice answered back, "Yes, Antony?"

There was another buzz as the doorman -Antony- held down on it again. After a few seconds, he spoke into the receiver again. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but there is someone here about the loft. Should I send them up?"

The next buzz came back in less than a few seconds, and this time, the woman sounded hurried and excited. "Oh, yes, Antony. Everything's fine up here. Send 'em up!"

"Alright, Miss Evans," Antony replied, pressing down the buzzer. Once he was done, he walked back over towards James, looking sullen; James rather got the impression that he hadn't wanted him to be let up. "Well, she says to let you up," he said, even though James already knew that. "So...."

"Yea..." James said, nodding his head. He fidgeted with his bag, tightening the strap. "So I guess I'll be going then." Seeing the doorman nod his head, James walked into the glass door, looking back at Antony as he did so. He saw that Antony was glaring at him, yet once he saw James look at him, he swirled around, looking embarrassed.

Ok, then, James thought slowly, shaking his head. He took off his gloves, flexing his fingers once they were off; it was much warmer in the building, and James was very happy to be out of the cold. Spotting the elevator, James strode towards it, completely oblivious to the stares that many of the female staff were shooting him.

Once he was inside the elevator, James pressed the eleventh button, smiling as it lit up. As the elevator rose up from the ground, James looked around the elevator, wondering how on Earth it could look better than his entire apartment. There was light blue paint on the walls, and a matching seat along the wall. The entire ceiling was done in glass, and as he looked up, he saw his reflection.

James knew that he was an attractive man, what with the height (six foot two), and the handsome and chiseled face. But seeing it reflected in those mirrors, he was suddenly hit with the notion that he was too common for this place, that he was too normal. He was still looking up when the doors opened, reviving him of his thoughts.

Well, James thought as he walked out of the elevator and down the hall. He was in front of the door that said 295 in brass letters before he knew it, and he suddenly found himself nervous. Here goes nothing. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

He waited.

He was just raising his hand to knock again when the door flew open, revealing a beautiful young woman. She was short, with long, curly red hair and bright green eyes. Her face was oval shaped, with pleasant features, and at the moment, there was a large smile on her face. She had a nice figure, and the denim skirt and green sweater that she wore showed it off nicely.

"Hello!" She said brightly, opening up the door more to accommodate him. He nodded his head towards her as he walked into the room, smiling as he did so. Once he was inside, she turned towards him and as him very politely, "So, you must be the person here to see the loft?"

"Yea," James said, shifting his weight onto his right foot. He noticed that she too had an English accent, and he wondered why she moved here from England as well. "I am." He indicated towards the couch in front of him, noticing it's plush cushions. "You don't mind if I take off my coat, do you? It's a little stiffy in here..."

Lily was looking at him oddly, perhaps wondering about his accent as well. There weren't a lot of English people in the States, and when one came across another, there tended to be a few questions. And even though James could tell that she wanted to ask him something, she only nodded her head, clearing her mind of such thoughts that were only too evident on her face. "Yea, sure. I don't care." She tilted her head, and then stuck out here hand. "I'm Lily, by the way. Lily Evans."

James took her hand in his and shook it, noting how warm her fingers were. He finished shaking it and then proceeded to zip off his jacket, taking his messenger bag off before hand. James noted to roving look that Lily gave him once he was done, yet he chose to ignore it; he got enough of it practically everyday. "James Potter, pleasure to meet you."

Underneath his leather jacket, James was wearing a black, ribbed turtle neck that showed off his muscles. He was also wearing a pair of black jeans and black boots, and everything complimented his black hair and hazel eyes. Around his neck, he wore a golden chain with a ring at the bottom. James thought he looked presentable, but the look that Lily was giving him made him think that he looked a little... well, weird, was the only word for it.

After an awkward silence, Lily raised her head to James, her bright green eyes expressionless. She coughed before saying, "I'm going to be blunt with you, Mr. Potter." She looked at him, waiting for him to say something. When he nodded for her to continue, she sighed and said, "I don't think that you are going to become my new roommate." She stared at him. "I don't think that I would feel comfortable with a male roommate; too many complications."

Taken aback, James could only say the first thing that came to mind. After all, this was the best apartment that he had found yet, and he wasn't going to give it up for anything.

"Well, I guess it's good that I'm gay then, isn't it?"

The only problem was, of course, that he wasn't.

****

Well, what did you think? I thought it was weird, but maybe that's because I came up with the idea at one o'clock in the morning. Who knows?

Anyhoo, I think that this is the first fic out there like this, and I hope I did it justice. And for those of you that think that this is just plain stupid, remember, this is FAN FICTION, and that, of course, Lily and James will get together.... In the end. But not before many funny things happen along the way.

So, yea. There ya go. A freaky chapter... for a freaky fic.

Peace out then, and all that good stuff.

Melly Mel-Mel (First of the Geeks)