Hey all, I'm back!
Here is my new one-shot, featuring... Seth!
One again many thanks to the wonderful ajtotheeds for pushing me to finish this and beta'ing it for me!
Seth sat at the little bistro, repeatedly checking his watch and glancing down the street. She said she usually took lunch at three the last time they had chatted. Add a few minutes to that for chatting as she gathered her things and left the shop, and she still should have arrived ten minutes ago if she was going to show. Sighing, Seth leaned back in the uncomfortable metal chair and scolded himself. "She's not coming, you stupid over-romantic git. Get over it."
Next to him, two older ladies turned towards him. The one sitting closest rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "Waiting for a special young lady?" She looked up and down the street before turning back to him.
"Yes. But she's not coming." He shook his head and sighed again.
"Who is she?" The second lady shifted her chair around the table to sit closer to Seth's table.
"She's… just a girl I have a crush on. I mean… she's not just a girl, she's sweet and funny… and so cute." He blushed as he spilled his guts to these two strangers.
"What happened? By the way, my name is Heather, this is Samantha."
"Seth, nice to meet you." Smiling at the two women, Seth waved the waitress over. "Would you two sweet young ladies like something to drink?"
"Tea, black, thank you." Heather answered as she turned her chair more towards Seth's table.
"The same, please." Samantha said with a smile.
"Make that three."
"So, young man. Entertain two old ladies with a story?" Heather requested with a wave of her hand.
"It's not much of a story." Seth laughed as Samantha snorted a very unladylike snort and raised an eyebrow.
"We'll be the judge of that. What happened?"
"Hmmm… where should I start?" Leaning back, Seth closed his eyes and stretched out his legs.
"Start like all great fairy tales start. Once upon a time." Samantha giggled.
"Alright. Well, once upon a time…"
~X~
Elsie worked at the Mon Petit Bijou, a little eclectic jewelry shop on the corner across the square from where Seth met his mom most every Sunday to relax and catch up on their lives. Seth first met her one Sunday when she struggled to open the door of the coffee shop; her hands busy balancing four cups of coffee on a tray and several bags of pastries.
"Shoot!" Elsie exclaimed as two pastry bags slipped from her fingers.
Seth and his mother, Sue, sat at the table nearest the door, giving Seth a chance to spin around and catch the bags before they hit the ground. "Here." Offering up the bags, he looked up and smiled.
"Umm…" Trying to shift the load in her hands, Elsie blushed and glanced from Seth to the bags and back again. "I hate to be a bother, but… well I have to go all the way over there and I didn't know I would have so much." With a shaking hand, she tried to point and almost lost the coffee in her hands in the process.
With a smile, Seth plucked the tray of coffee from her hands and offered back the bags. "Lead the way, miss." From behind him, Seth could hear his mom's quiet laughter. He obediently followed a total stranger across the small square, his eyes taking in the sight before him.
She wasn't very tall, five foot five at the most, but wore heels to give her a little extra height. Those heels accented her bare legs, which his eyes followed up to a floral skirt swirling around her knees. A light purple top topped off her outfit and showed off her shoulder length light blonde hair. Seth wondered what color her eyes were.
When they reached the small shop, Seth strode ahead and opened the door for her.
"Thank you." Seth watched her walk inside, noticing that her eyes were a light blue, almost grey, and her cheeks flushed red under his gaze. "Right this way." She whispered and motioned him to follow her behind a counter and into a cozy break room. Once inside, Seth set down the coffee on the table, took some of the bags from her hands to set down as well, and turned to flash another smile. They both sat down and leaned back, Elsie picking up a cup and taking a sip. "Thanks again…" she looked up at him and smiled shyly. "I... um… my name is…"
"Coffee!" Seth bit back a growl as a young man wearing Birkenstocks, jeans, and a tie-dyed polo burst into the room and reached over Seth's shoulder for a cup from the tray. "Thanks for the sustenance, Elsie, you rock!" With his other hand, he reached over Seth again for a pastry bag. Seth could smell patchouli incense clinging to the man's clothes and wrinkled his nose. Who would use that awful stuff… it smelled horrible, he thought, apparently this guy, he answered himself.
"Anyway…" Seth murmured and tried not to be rude. "My name's Seth… it's nice to meet you, Elsie." Two more of her coworkers walked into the break room; grabbing coffee cups, pastry bags, and making Seth wonder who was minding the shop.
"Thanks for your help, Seth… maybe I'll see you around." For sure, Seth thought as he smiled at her. He had hoped the room would clear out after everyone had their coffee, but no such luck.
"Yeah, sure." With a nod, he stood and wove his way through the three people standing between him and the door before turning and waving at her. She waved back and smiled again before taking a sip of her coffee and turning to talk to Patchouli Boy. Seth sighed and walked out of the shop, returning to the table at the bistro where his mom sat and waited for him.
"So…?" Sue asked as Seth sat back down and picked up his mug again.
"So…? What? I just helped her bring her stuff over." Seth tried to play it off lightly, but he was already thinking about stopping by to see Elsie in a few days.
"Bullshit. I know you, you're my son. That smile on your face isn't helping either." Seth blushed as his mom rolled her eyes. "You didn't… did you?"
He knew what she was asking, even though she would never say it aloud. "No, mom, I didn't."
"Oh, okay. Just checking." Sue finished off her cup of coffee and the bite of scone left on Seth's plate. "We should go, you have to work soon and I promised Embry's mom I would help in the shop doing inventory tonight."
"Shit, Jake will have a fit if I'm late again." Seth groaned and walked with his mom back to her car for the fifteen-minute drive back to La Push from Forks.
"Just… don't break the speed limit, or Charlie will be pissed." Chuckling, Sue tossed her keys at her son and slipped into the passenger side of the car.
"Yeah yeah." He kept his speed to the limit, just barely, and hopped out of the car as soon as it was in front of the house and turned off. Jake was going to take a chunk out his hide for sure this time. "Later, mom!" Seth ran through the house, dropping off his things, before grabbing a pair of shorts and sprinting for the woods.
Two days later, Seth stopped into the coffee shop in Forks and ordered up his usual large Shot-In-The-Dark. He subtly sniffed the air and turned to see Elsie in line just two people back.
"Hey, Elsie." He chuckled as she looked up, a grin on her face.
"Seth! Hi!" She bounced on her feet a little and waved.
"That'll be $3.24, sir." The barista sounded impatient, but it wasn't that busy. Seth sighed and turned back to him.
"Hold on." Seth turned back around again and waved Elsie up next to him. The two women between them scowled and tapped their feet impatiently. "Hey Elsie, what's your poison?"
"Large white mocha, extra shot, no whip." She replied and stepped out of line to walk up to him.
"Got that?" Seth asked the man behind the counter.
"Yup, that'll make it… $7.64"
Seth pulled out a ten-dollar bill and handed it to the barista before stepping out of line.
"You didn't have to do that." Elsie chided him as they walked to the end of the counter to retrieve the drinks. Seth could see her checking him out of the corner of his eye… it made him smile.
"Eh, let a guy by a girl a drink. I'm assuming you're not here to buy for your coworkers this time?"
"Nope, I'm just heading to work now. They can get their own caffeine fix today." Elsie accepted her drink from the girl at the end of the counter and sipped it, a smile forming on her lips as she waited for Seth to grab his drink before walking outside.
They walked together across the square, chatted, and Seth once again opened the door for Elsie. The smell of patchouli hit his nose the moment he opened it. Damn, Patchouli Boy is here, he groaned in his head. Halfway to the break room, Seth's phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He fished it out as he walked, opening it to see a text from his mom.
*Embry just ran through, Jake's sounding an S.O.S. "Get your furry butt in gear."*
"Shit… sorry Elsie, I have to go." Seth thanked his ability to chug hot liquids as he tossed back two-thirds of his coffee in one long drink.
"So soon?" He noted as he turned away that she sounded disappointed.
"Sorry, yeah. Job emergency." He looked around for a place to throw his cup, but she took it out of his hand and surprised him by standing up on her tiptoes and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Stop by again, soon, k?" Smiling at her words, Seth noted that Patchouli Boy was now glaring in their direction.
"You bet, tomorrow. Sorry, gotta go." Grinning, Seth took off out the door and jumped into his mom's car to head back to La Push.
A week later, Seth found himself back at the coffee shop. If her schedule was consistent, Elsie should be walking in soon. He hated having to miss a week of seeing her, but that last S.O.S. had been a nasty one, taking him out for five days before he was up to moving again.
When she didn't show at the coffee shop, Seth walked across the square to Mon Petit Bijou. Inside, Patchouli Boy stood behind the counter and raised one of his eyebrows.
"Well well… he finally shows his face." He scoffed and walked towards Seth.
"What does that mean?" Seth asked, trying not to growl at the fop in front of him.
"Elsie has been moping around here, waiting for your sorry ass to show. You promised her you'd be here." Now that he was face to face with the guy, Seth read his name tag.
"Listen, Bryan. I'm sorry; I literally could not make it here for the last week. Can you tell me when Elsie works again?" Man… he was going to have to rely on this guy to get back on Elsie's good side, and he didn't like that.
"Well… I might be able to give her a note when she comes in next." Bryan walked back to the counter and picked up a pad of store stationary and a pen. "Or not." Seth heard him whisper the last part under his breath.
"When does she come in next?" Seth asked, keeping his tone from sounding demanding.
"Tomorrow, after noon." Shoot, Seth had to work all day again; he'd have to try for another day.
Seth carefully wrote out a note to Elsie, asking her to meet him at the Bistro next to the coffee shop in two days during her lunch break. After he folded it in half and handed it to Bryan, Seth thanked him and walked slowly out of the shop.
~X~
"And now, I'm waiting for her to show." Seth admitted with a sigh. "I hope she's not too mad at me. I didn't mean to stand her up." He closed his eyes and sat for a moment wishing he had been able to tell Jake to fuck off when that S.O.S came through, but he couldn't let him down.
Heather touched his arm lightly again. "I'm sure she'll be here. It sounds like she likes you, dear."
"I hope so. I mean, I hope she shows up… and I hope she likes me." Seth blushed lightly and opened his eyes.
"She does." Elsie's voice whispered from behind him.
Holy shit, Seth thought as he tilted his head back to see Elsie, twin tears rolling down her cheeks and leaning against the wall of the bistro.
"Elsie!" Seth sprang to his feet, spun around, and scooped her up into his arms.
She giggled as he spun her around and around. Seth could hear Samantha and Heather laughing as well.
"Seth… Seth… put me down!" Elsie begged as she giggled. He did as she asked, setting her down and slipping an arm around her waist as he turned to smile down at her.
"Hi grandma!" Elsie squealed as she took two steps and leaned in to hug Heather.
"Grandma?" Seth murmured.
"Seth, this is my grandma, Heather. I didn't know you two knew each other." Elsie smiled and sat on the empty chair next to Samantha.
"We… only met today." He admitted and sat back down himself. He wished that Elsie wasn't sitting so far away. Taking a risk, he hooked her chair with his foot and pulled it towards his while reaching out to catch her around the shoulders. She jumped a little in her chair, but leaned back against him when they were next to each other.
"I'm glad. Actually, grandma called me to meet her today just before my lunch." Elsie admitted as she turned to rest her face against his shoulder. "I almost didn't get your note… Bryan says he left it on the fridge, but it fell off. Cindy found it on the floor half under the fridge and gave it to me as I was leaving." As she talked, Elsie pulled a very wrinkled and dirty note from her purse. There was no way just falling to the floor had caused all that damage.
Seth sighed and leaned in closer. "I'm just glad you're here." Leaning forward, he kissed her lightly on the lips and tried not to chuckle as Samantha and Heather let out a chorus of 'awww's.
After a light lunch, Seth and Elsie gave Heather and Samantha hugs, and promised to get together again soon.
"Walk me to work?" Elsie requested, slipping her hand into Seth's as they walked away.
"Of course." Seth tugged her closer and laughed as she giggled. The door to the shop was propped open since it was such a nice today, so they stumbled in together as they continued to laugh.
Once inside, Seth stopped Elsie and wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her in for a kiss. Her soft lips felt like heaven on his own, making him forget that they were standing in the middle of her workplace.
"Way to go Elsie!" One of the girls walked out of the break room and squealed. When Seth pulled away and gave her one last hug before letting go, he saw Bryan, a.k.a Patchouli Boy, sulking off into the break room and slamming the door behind him.
Elsie giggled again. "I think Bryan's jealous." She whispered.
"Patchouli Boy? Yeah, he's jealous." Seth answered.
"Patchouli Boy?" She exclaimed. "I love it! He did always smell kinda funky."
Disclaimer - Twilight... yeah, not mine. Though I wish I could 'claim' Embry. :)
If you have me on alert, you'll be the first to know when my NEXT one-shot is up! The wolf featured... PAUL!
Also, check out my first one-shot, Sunset Surprise, with Jake.
Please Review!