Paris, Probably

chapter one

ONCE AGAIN

Take a gander at the song on the side to set the mood (this is going to be a regular thing so you should just get used to me forcing my taste in music on you)

Alright, so this chapter went under a lot of construction, because I originally started it with a flashback to before Nell left for Paris, but then I didn't like the way it flowed into the next part, so I just cut the whole scene out. This chapter is short, but most of the chapters will be about this length so that I can post more often. Thanks to everyone for the support on the intro, it means the world to me! xx Beth

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chapter one - un cafe au lait

"So Washington, eh?" Quentin props his arm up on the back of his chair as he talks. "What made you want to leave the beautiful 'Evergreen State'?"

"Nothing made me want to leave." Nell takes a sip of her warm, silky tea. "But there was no reason to stay, either."

Quentin nods, as if understanding her deeper meaning completely.

Just then, the bell of the cafe tinkles and a young man in glasses rushes in, the same young man that Quentin and Nell had seen through the window of the small shop an hour earlier.

"Well, look who it is," Quentin leans in and whispers.

Struggling to find some coins in his pocket with his large fingers, the young man with the glasses looks absolutely flustered. He bites his lip and furrows his eyebrows together as he stuffs his hand deeper into his pocket.

Finally retrieving the proper amount of change, the man slams the coins down on the counter and says, "Un café au lait." He then glances around, whispers something to the barista, then scurries over to a seat by the window.

"Don't know what his deal is," Quentin comments, then takes a big bite of his pain au chocolat. "But it looks like he just asked the barista to smuggle him some drugs."

"Oh, please." Nell rolls her eyes, just as the bell above the door chimes a second time.

In walks the other half of Nell's "perfect Parisian couple", the girl from the shop, now hugging the maroon book to her chest as she trots into the queue.

Nell gasps and points excitedly at the girl. "It's her! Oh Quentin, they're both at the same cafe. Fate really is a beautiful thing, isn't it?" She sighs and slides down in her chair.

"It's just a coincidence. Calm down, Matchmaker." Quentin smirks to himself, a chuckle about to slip from his lips.

"I can't help it, it's like they came straight out of an old movie or something." Nell looks back from the girl standing in line reading her book, to the gentleman by the window glancing down at his full mug of hot coffee.

When the girl with the book walks up to the counter, the barista slides a cup towards her before she even has the chance to order. Confused, the girl asks the barista something in French.

Like a camera lens slowly starting to come into focus, Nell begins to realize what's going on.

The barista nonchalantly nods in the direction of the boy by the window, and the taken aback girl turns her head to look at him. Not looking up from his cup, the boy awkwardly takes a large swig, only to burn his tongue and make his eyes water as he tries to swallow. The girl stifles a giggle with her hand. After thanking the barista and taking the cup in her free hand, the girl makes her way towards the boy as he tries to compose himself.

"He bought her a tea!" Nell explains to Quentin, taking quick glances at the table behind her without trying to seem too nosy.

"You should really stop watching them, you know." Quentin finishes off his pastry, then turns his head to look outside.

Pulling her hopeful eyes away from the young couple, Nell follows his gaze and tries to find what Quentin is looking at out the window. "How did you know?"

"How did I know what?"

"When you pointed them out in the window of that shop, you knew they were going to end up together, somehow. Sure, you didn't get as carried away with their love story as I did, but I wouldn't have noticed them if you hadn't pointed out the way he was looking at her."

Quentin shrugs. "Just observant, I suppose."

"You don't seem like the type of person that would notice such specific details," Nell presses, not looking away from him.

"And you don't seem like the type of girl to drop everything and run away to Paris."

At that second, Nell's tiny spoon drops into her teacup, clink. Quentin finally lets out the laugh he's been holding in all day, hahahaha. And the Perfect Parisian Couple leave the cafe together, arms touching and eyes not meeting anything but each other's, as the bell over the door chimes for the third time in ten minutes, tah-ting.