The Twilight Twenty-Five (thetwilight25 dot com)
Prompt: #14
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse
Characters: Leah Clearwater, Paul Lahote
Rating: T
Word Count: 423
Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts
She flipped through the stacks of dusty old vinyl, not looking for anything in particular, just looking. That was the best way to find the hidden gems amongst the stacks and stacks of old scratched records that nobody wanted. Every few weeks, Leah found herself inside Jive Time Records waiting for something to speak to her. It had become sort of a routine since she'd moved to Seattle a few years ago.
She picked up a Nina Simone LP, flipping it over to see the track listing, and putting it back. If it didn't have Love Me or Leave Me on it, she wasn't interested. She retrieved her coffee cup from where she'd parked it on the floor safely away from the records and made her way to the racks in the window.
"Leah?"
She looked to the door where a man stood silhouetted by the sun filtering in behind him.
"Paul?" She asked disbelievingly. His face became clear as he walked to ward her and out of the light; it was one she hadn't seen in years. She walked forward to meet him and after a split second of hesitation on both parts, she reached out and drew him in for a hug. "Holy shit. What are you doing here?"
"I was just walking past and I saw you in the window. I had to stop and see if it was actually you," He explained. He held her by the shoulders at arm's length, examining her carefully, like he didn't believe she was actually real.
"No. What are you doing here: in Seattle?" Leah stepped back out of Paul's grip, feeling the overwhelming flood of her past crushing down on her from his too-hot hands.
"Oh! Right," he laughed, shaking his head. "Rachel and I live over in Capitol Hill. Do you live around here?" Paul asked.
Leah nodded absently "Yeah." She marveled at how relaxed and almost happy he looked. The Paul she had known back in La Push had a permanent scowl on his face.
"I was just on my way to get the rug rats from day care, but we should totally get together and catch up," he said, pulling a business card from his wallet and passing it to Leah. She took it, studying the logo and title there.
"Yeah, we should do that," she agreed. "I guess lots has changed since I left, huh?" She mused to herself and smiled back as Paul clapped a hand on her shoulder and grinned at her before turning to leave.