Changes.
~AU/AH~ Feeling like his life is at a standstill, Paul braces himself for changes. Can the smart and sexy boy who enters his haven be just what he needs to make those changes.
*disclaimer - I don't own these characters and no copyright infringement is intended*
AN - shout out to Loopy Lou for pre-readingand to Harrytwifan for agreeing to beta for me again. your encouragement and advise is much appreciated.
chapter one
Paul POV
I need a change. Please, something has to change in my lonely existence. I mean, don't get me wrong; I love what I do. It just gets quite monotonous sometimes, so today is the day I'm making a change.
Well, I'll start tossing around ideas about making a change. Don't want to rush out all wild and crazy like. Ha, that's funny! Me, Paul Lahote, wild and crazy. Not likely. I was young and stupid once, yes, but never wild and crazy. Guess the craziest thing I ever did was when I moved away from La Push and opened this cafe/book store.
I've always loved to read, and privately I would write, but have never had the courage to share this with others. When I was younger, I wasn't exactly the studious type. Like I said earlier-young and stupid. I was led too easily, and often let my temper fly without thinking of the consequences.
I guess I behaved that way so no one could get close to me, the real me. Going through puberty is hard enough (no pun intended), but coming to accept yourself and your sexual preference at the same time-while keeping it hidden from the rest of the closed-minded people in your community-is quite difficult.
So, if most thought I was the young and ill-tempered hot head I outwardly portrayed, then so be it. I knew who I was, and back then, I was counting the days until I could escape and move far away and live the life I wanted.
For me, far away meant Park Slopes, Brooklyn in New York. Here, I'm surrounded by like minded people, culture, museums, and all forms of performing arts. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the stifling air I endured growing up.
Here, I can be me. Over the last few years, I've enjoyed learning more about myself and truly accepting who I am. I'm still unwilling to share those findings with others though.
Don't get me wrong. Since moving into this neighborhood, and starting and establishing my little business, I've been noticed by others, and even propositioned by various different people. You wouldn't believe how many people see a young, successful single man as a challenge-something to conquer. I was once offered a large sum of money to pretend be the boyfriend for a customer, a female customer at that. I didn't want anything to do with it.
For the most part, I prefer to be by myself. Me and my books, my greatest love affair.
That way, if I don't put my heart out there, it can't get damaged, broken, or abused. It's much safer to keep it here locked up every night in Unplugged.
Unplugged is my little piece of heaven. How can I describe it? Let's start from when I was that kid who kept his love of reading and books a secret from everyone. A boy who loved getting lost in the characters, their worlds and fantasies. A boy who knew, as an adult, nothing would make him happier than to be surrounded by books all day, everyday.
And that is exactly what I have done.
I've managed to acquire a silent business partner, and I opened a little cafe-slash-book store. What makes my little store different from other coffee houses in the area? First, no wi-fi; therefore, the only devices allowed on in the store are my Mac and my iPhone (on silent ,of course). All customers have to turn off phones, laptops, tablets, etc when they enter, and enjoy each other. And if they so choose, the books.
These aren't the typical mainstream books. I prefer to stock smaller publishing companies or self-published authors. Also, you can't buy the books; you can read them while on the premises, or rent them if you've found one you can't put down.
The best part about owning this business is reading and selecting all books I want to stock. There's nothing like finding a gem and helping to spread the word.
While I thoroughly love and enjoy owning and running Unplugged, I'm starting to feel life is getting a little stagnate. I need someone to share this with. It doesn't have to be the be all and end all of romances, but some spark and passion would be welcome.
Seth POV
I dislike moving. Guess it's because I haven't done it too much. Being born and raised in the one house in La Push there wasn't a reason to move. Although I always knew one day I would, as I had a love of music I knew I would move away to study it further.
I only wish it wasn't the death of my father that helped push me. He always knew I wanted more from this life than what La Push had to offer me, and encouraged me to follow my heart and dreams.
When I was accepted and offered the chance to study at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, even though it was on the other side of the country, my father couldn't have been happier or more proud of me.
It was all finalized and paid for; I would be attending the Conservatory for the next three years. My family was helping me prepare and pack when it happened. I will never forget the sound of my father falling to the ground, gasping for breathe.
My sister ran as fast as she could to get to our community's elders, and to contact the police and ambulance from the local town.
Our elders rushed to my father, but were unable to do more than pray and guide his spirit to its final resting place with our ancestors.
The medics arrived too late as well. They were only able to confirm my father had suffered cardiac arrest.
Of course, our family was distraught, so I wanted to stay with my mother and sister. We argued constantly about this over the next few days. I didn't feel right about leaving, but my mother insisted, stating it was what my father wanted, for me to leave La Push and live my dreams. She wanted me to honor his wishes.
With a heavy heart I did leave my mother, my sister ,and my little community a few days after my father was laid to rest.
So here I am, a year later, and moving again. Not as far this time. For the last year ,I had been living in a dorm room in a building close to the Conservatory. They offer these dorms only to their first year students.
As I successfully passed my first year at the Conservatory and would continuing my studies, I was required to move out of the dorms and find other accommodations.
So bottling up all my emotions of the last time I had to move, I convinced some of my dorm mates to help me move. We grabbed my stuff and set off to my new home for the next two years.
..xfsx.. Please R&R would love to hear your thoughts.
