Hello again!

This one-shot is sort of my interpretation of how Will and Jem could meet one another in my modern AU world. There's not any romance in this one, because I didn't think it would be very realistic to put romance in a story about their first time meeting each other, but I had fun writing it anyway. This one's a little longer than the first two because I got sort of carried away with the dialogue. :)

Hope you enjoy!

As always-I really appreciate your feedback, so please hit the review button and tell me what you think of my fic so far!

- Plerfstacks :)

Will hadn't really given a thought to the small music shop about a half mile away from his apartment before right that very moment. He'd never been one for sitting alone for hours on end and learning how to manipulate a hunk of wood or metal so it made the right noise. The small shop had just been a part of the scenery in the city where Will lived. Now, however, it provided refuge from the whirling wind and snow around him, and he didn't think twice before ducking inside.

"Hello," a soft voice said from somewhere to Will's left. He turned and was surprised to see a very attractive young man who looked about his own age. The man was extremely pale, with striking gray eyes and a mop of soft silver hair, despite the fact that he didn't seem old enough for it.

"Hi," Will replied, trying not to stare.

"Do you need help finding anything?" the man, whom Will had decided was an employee at the shop, asked.

"Oh, uh, no," Will replied. "No thanks, I mean. I just… I needed to get out of the snow. I don't have a car, see, and I was trying to get back to my apartment, but it was snowing too hard, and—" He cut himself off, aware that he was rambling. The shop employee nodded, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here. We don't get a lot of customers nowadays, so I don't think there'll be anyone else for a while."

Was it just Will, or did this mysterious young man have a slight blush creeping up his face?

"Oh," Will remembered suddenly. "I'm Will, by the way."

"Jem," the shop employee replied. "Pleased to meet you."

"You too," Will said. He paused for a second, unsure where to go from there.

"Well, if we're going to be stuck here together for the next few hours, let's get to know each other better," Jem decided. "Do you want me to go first?"

"Sure," Will agreed. "Go ahead."

"Let's see," Jem murmured. "Well, I work here, as you can probably tell. I'm one of four employees in this entire establishment, including the manager, so we're a pretty small business. I mostly sit at the register all day, but I also give violin lessons."

"You play violin?" Will asked. Jem nodded shyly.

"I dabble," he replied modestly.

"Can you show me?" Will requested. Jem hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Sure. I'll go get it, if you'll wait here."

Jem disappeared behind a display case housing a cello, and returned moments later holding a highly polished, chestnut colored violin.

"What are you going to play?" Will asked, intrigued.

"I don't know," Jem replied. "I'll come up with something."

Will watched as Jem lifted the instrument and tucked it under his chin. He placed the bow delicately on the strings of the violin and began to play; he moved his arm back and forth sporadically with an intense energy that Will had never seen before. Will was completely spellbound by the performance and the passion that Jem obviously had for his music. When he finished, Will grinned and clapped for him.

"That was brilliant," he said, quite honestly. Jem blushed.

"Thank you," he replied, removing the violin from under his chin and holding it at his side.

"You really are good," Will went on. "Why are you working at a tiny music shop in the middle of the city when you could be playing in an orchestra?"

"I've never wanted to play in an orchestra," Jem responded. "I'm happy the way I am, just working here and playing music on the side."

"That's fine," Will said, not wanting to press him any further, as he'd just met him. Jem nodded.

"So, what about you?" he asked suddenly.

"What about me?" Will asked, confused.

"We've been talking about me the whole time. What about you?" Jem clarified.

"Oh," Will said. "Uh, well, there isn't much to tell. I live on my own in an apartment a half mile or so from here, and I take classes to become a lawyer. I've currently got a job at the grocery store down the street from here, working the register. That's pretty much it, I guess."

Jem nodded.

"Do you like your job?" he asked. Will hesitated before shaking his head.

"No," he answered, slightly sheepish. "I don't really. But, you know, I need to eat, and I get an employee discount at the store I work at. Besides, someday I'll have a job that I enjoy and pay the bills with."

"Hm," Jem said thoughtfully. Will braced himself for a lecture, the same one that his mother liked to give him whenever he talked about his job. You'll never be happy in life unless you like what you do for a living, Will. But, rather than scolding Will, Jem didn't question him. Instead, he looked out the window at the snow outside.

"I think the storm's letting up," he observed. "You can probably make it home now if you need to leave."

Will discovered then that he didn't want to leave. Here was this guy, this mysterious, quiet young man who seemed to be genuinely interested in Will's life, and Will had liked talking with him for the past forty-five minutes or so.

"If it's all right with you, I think I'll stay a little longer," Will said. "My legs just finished thawing, and I don't want to go running around in the snow again."

Will wasn't sure, but Jem's face seemed to light up slightly when he said that.

"Of course it's all right with me," he responded. "You can stay as long as you like. It's nice to have some company for a change."

Will stayed in Jem's music shop for at least two more hours. Jem gave him a detailed tour of the place, showing him all the different things that they had on display, and then Will convinced him to play his violin again. After about ten minutes of this, Will decided that he'd overstayed his welcome.

"I think I'll head out now," he told Jem. "Thanks so much for letting me stay here. I might've frozen solid out there trying to get to my apartment building."

"Any time," Jem said, smiling. "Oh, wait, one more thing." He took a receipt out of his pocket and scribbled a phone number on it. "You can reach me at that number if you want to come over again."

"Is that the store's number?" Will asked, taking the paper from Jem.

"No," Jem replied simply. "Now shoo. Back to your apartment."

Will grinned, pocketing the slip of paper with the phone number and making a mental note to call it later.