Remus couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the person working at the counter of the new coffee shop down the street.

James freaking Potter.

No, Remus didn't hate the guy, he was just kind of shocked that he'd forgotten about him. They'd been the best of friends in high school, but separated ways upon entering collage. It was hard to keep in touch considering that Remus had wound up going to a college several states away. He and Sirius had gone to the same college, while he had gotten accepted to a different one, one that centered around getting a teaching degree. Sirius and James perused a career in business and marketing. Their other friend... they hadn't spoken for a while either.

Remus had been looking for a job for a while, since he hadn't found anywhere that would take him because of his... condition.

It was something he didn't enjoy telling people about. Remus had an incurable disease that, if he wasn't careful, could give to another person. He didn't enjoy being in the company of others for fear of harming them.

Remus had a number of special conditions, caused a very long time ago, when he was a child. Asthma, a skin condition, kidney disease, another liver disease... possibly more. All of which were unable to be cured. It made it harder for him at apply to jobs since he couldn't work in food joints or restaurants. But he figured that asking James Potter would be worth a shot.

"Remus? Is—is it really you?" James asked, his eyes wide with shock and happiness.
"Yes," he smiled, "It's really me James."

He suddenly felt arms embracing him and Remus found a grin tugging at his lips. James must've reached over the table to hug him.

"Of course you can work here." James finally said, "What happened to you anyway? We never saw you after high school."

Remus blushed, not wanting to admit that it was for his health conditions. But James and the rest of his closest friends had known about his conditions. Maybe they forgot, he thought.

"Uh, extra studies. I went abroad." he answered, trying his best to keep his voice from shaking.
"Oh." His old friend didn't sound convinced.

Remus wasn't shocked that James had hired them soon after talking about what had happened in the years past. Sirius embraced him with a hug. They laughed and chatted about old times, regarding the many pranks they pulled in their years of schooling. To this day, Remus still wondered how they got accepted anywhere.

Evening rush came around, and Remus was working behind the counter, making coffees as James and occasionally Sirius took orders and talked with their usual customers.

Remus felt a little awkward as he watched Sirius flirt with a few of the ladies and had received numbers from the majority of them. He glanced outside the large shop window, feeling somewhat content in that moment.

The lights in their city flickered on, shining brightly. The streets were alive with color as people breezed by, trying to get home after the long day. Customers chatted in the shop as they sipped their drinks and eat their cookies and cakes. The little cafe was alight with people, lights, and the warm scents of coffee and baked goods. Remus found himself falling in love with it moment after moment. It was such a calm and wonderful environment.

Remus was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when James asked him for a regular coffee. Sirius beat him to it, and he made the coffee quickly, handing it to James in one smooth, fluid motion. They high-fived afterward.

The crowd of customers had begun to cease, and it was almost closing time. James announced that they had someone else that would be working with them. Peter Pettigrew. A short and stout man with light hair and blue eyes. A bit on the chubby side if you asked Remus. He seemed like a jumpy person, but Remus wasn't going to hold that against him.

Maybe shaking hands was a bit overdramatic, but it was the respectful and polite thing to do. And that's what he did. He tried to smile, but his stomach began to hurt. Remus pushed the feeling down.

The group had worked out a schedule. Remus and Peter taking shop nights every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and on weekends. They'd take shop mornings on Tuesday and Thursdays. James and Sirius had the rest of the days. They usually got morning because they worked much better together and more quickly. Nights weren't as busy as mornings.

After saying goodbye and taking a few pastries which would make up the majority of his dinner, Remus found himself making his way to a small bookshop that was only a block away instead of going to be a ratty old apartment. Remus didn't want to go to his apartment most nights. It only served as a reminder of how useless he was and couldn't even afford much furniture because he'd been useless enough to only find a job that barely paid him anything. Now that he worked at the coffee shop with his old and new friends, maybe he'd be able to afford an actual bed frame. He'd been sleeping on a mattress and blankets. He was able to afford groceries, but really only ever so often.

He'd been looking for a job for quite some time, and had been unsuccessful. Once people found about his condition, that immediately refused him. He couldn't travel elsewhere, so he was stuck here.

Remus never went to a bookshop to buy anything, just to browse the shelves. He liked to see what new books were in store, what classics that were on sale. He picked up a simple copy of Anne of Green Gables and flipped through it before setting the book back down. He looked through some books that contained poems by Edgar Allen Poe and quite the number of plays by William Shakespeare. He spotted a few Jane Austen novels before bumping into someone.

"Sorry." he muttered.
"No, it's my fault." came a feminine voice, "I wasn't looking where I was walking."

He looked up to meet the eyes of a young woman with dark red haired and bright green eyes that focused on him and seemed to study him. She looked so familiar... but from where?

"Remus?" she asked, a suspicious tone in her voice.
"Lily?" he questioned in return.
"Oh my God, it's really you!"

Yeah okay, so I'm back because I've got eight chapters prewritten and kinda just wanna get the ball rolling. You're all probably tired to hearing me speak (or type something)

Just to note, I think this story will take place in America, namely New York, because it's where I live but I'm trying to make it so it was really take place anywhere that has a coffee shop and a bookshop.

Question of the day:
To my newer readers, what's your Hogwarts house?

I'm a Hufflepuff and proud! 💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤

-Abby