Work Text:
Listen Here: http://8tracks.com/twrarepairexchange/cold-hands-warm-hearts/
Cold Hands, Warm Hearts
Two years have passed since Beacon Hills High alumni Allison Argent graduated and swept off to France to study abroad. While her time in 'the city of love' was full of incredible people and beautiful sights, sitting in classrooms and mingling with distant family had overtime lost the shiny novelty it once held. The French Argent branch proved difficult to connect with; their chin-high and hardheartedness to kindness causing tension and argument often. After a large falling out concerning Victoria's choice in suicide at the hands of their outdated code, Allison packed her bags and decided to fly back to her home in Beacon Hills.
Failure, for Isaac Lahey, had never been an option. Through school, straight A's were expected. Through work, punctuality and perfection were a hard must. Failure to meet his father's standards in these areas were met with extreme abuse and beratement. After quietly graduating from Beacon Hills High, Isaac continued his work at the graveyard upon his father's wishes, as well as taking a day job at a local Starbucks to keep his daylight hours busy. More time at work, meant less time at home. His world was rocked at the unexpected and sudden passing of his father one year after graduation; on his own, he had no fathomable clue as how to handle the real world.
Everything changed the morning Allison pushed through the coffee house doors and stepped up to Isaac's counter. A sense of stirring whirled within Allison's stomach as a light aching grasped at Isaac's own. He stumbled through asking for her order and made a special note of just how pink her cheek's had turned, and the cold temperature of her skin as he handed off her drink. Isaac would spend the next few weeks thinking of nothing but the electricity he felt in his veins. And Allison would do the same.
1. Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - The Four Seasons/Frankie Valli
lyrics: Pardon the way that I stare
There's nothing else to compare
The sight of you leaves me weak
There are no words left to speak
You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you
explanation: Allison and Isaac seeing one another for the first time inside of the coffee shop. This is a union song meant for the both of them and their initial sighting of one another.
2. Hello, I Love You - The Doors
lyrics: Hello
Won't you tell me your name?
She's walking down the street
Blind to every eye she meets
Do you think you'll be the guy
To make the queen of the angels sigh?
She holds her head so high
Like a statue in the sky
Her arms are wicked, and her legs are long
When she moves my brain screams out this song
Sidewalk crouches at her feet
Like a dog that begs for something sweet
Do you hope to make her see, you fool?
Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel?
explanation: Isaac's internal thought process the first time he saw Allison walk up to his counter. She is someone regal and someone to be in awe of; Isaac recognizes her strength and power at first sight. He questions himself; is he good enough? Is he interesting enough? Could someone like him ever end up with a girl like her?
3. I Saw Him Standing There - Tiffany
lyrics: When I saw him standing there
Well, he looked at me
And I, I could see that before too long
I'd fall in love with him
When I saw him standing there
Well, my heart went boom
As I crossed the room
explanation: Allison's internal though process the first time she saw Isaac standing behind the register. Tall, dark, and handsome with a dash of oddity that she could not quite put her finger on. There had only been one other boy who had made her mouth go dry and her cheeks bloom red, though the one standing behind the counter struck a much different cord within her.
4. Little Numbers - Boy
lyrics: Looking at the cars that drive on by
While spring is making promises outside
Red cars are quite rare I realize
Then I wonder which colour you would like
Seven little numbers
Baby, they could be a start
Seven little numbers
Woo-oh, oh-oh, all the pretty things that we could be
Woo-oh, oh-oh, I feel you in every heart beat
Woo-oh, oh-oh, forever in a dream that could come true
These numbers could be lucky for you
explanation: Isaac spends his days wondering when he will next see Allison. He keeps a careful eye out, peeking over his shoulder at every customer pulling up to the Drive-Thru window and studying the vehicles parking in front of the glass storefront. Two weeks later she returns to the shop, a smile on her face for the boy behind the register. This time, she notices, a phone number is written on the side of her cup.
5. Bloom - The Paper Kites
lyrics: In the morning when I wake
And the sun is coming through,
Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness,
And you fill my head with you.
Oh, you fill my head with pieces
Of a song I can't get out.
Can I be close to you?
explanation: Allison is unable to get thoughts of Isaac out of her head. On her nightstand is the coffee cup with seven little numbers scrawled across it in messy script; handwriting she desperately wants to know the owner of. Later that evening, she decides to text her tall dark barista and asks him to meet her for dinner. With shaky hands and a wide grin, he texts back a 'yes'.
6. Hold Me - Fleetwood Mac
lyrics: I'm just around the corner
If you got a minute to spare
I'll be waitin' for you
If you ever wanna be there
Hold me, hold me, hold me
explanation: Allison and Isaac's mutual feelings for the other. They have both experienced loss and the cruelties of life; while on scales of similar to vastly different, they both know pain, fear, and loneliness. It has been some time for Allison since she has had someone there to hold her hand. Isaac has never felt the tender touch of someone who truly cared. Together, they ache to mend the other and to be held in return.
7. First Time - Lifehouse
lyrics: Looking at you,
Holding my breath,
I'm taking a chance,
Letting you inside.
We're crashing
Into the unknown
We're lost in this
But it feels like home
explanation: Allison's feelings for Isaac have grown by the day and she can't, nor does she want to, stop the deep affections rapidly rising for him. She recognizes something inside of him that mirrors herself; a strength she needed to rediscover, and the ability to open her heart once more. It's difficult for her to open up romantically and emotionally again to someone, but she wants to let Isaac in and share herself with him. She has no idea what letting someone in again will feel like or the events that will take place afterwards, but she wants to find out.
8. First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes
lyrics: I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don't know where I am
I don't know where I've been
But I know where I want to go
And so I thought I'd let you know
That these things take forever
I especially am slow
But I realize that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home
explanation: While Isaac has never been in a relationship and is scared of navigating unfamiliar waters, his feelings for Allison continue to pull him closer to her. Each passing day brings a deeper sense of connection and care; he wants to be there for her, to be her support and crying shoulder, her ear to listen to and someone to heal her wounds. He is slow to truly connect with people and to open up fully, but he realizes that he needs her to help him. This song covers a date night that ended with Allison and Isaac together in his home.
9. Morning Lullabies - Ingrid Michaelson
lyrics: As you breathe sunday air
I became your pillow
You let me smooth your hair
I will sing you morning lullabies
You are beautiful, and peaceful this way
I will watch you heal
I will watch you heal with me
I will sing you morning lullabies
You are beautiful, and peaceful this way
I know you have to close your eyes on everyone
Let me help you, I'll sing you to sleep
With morning lullabies
explanation: The morning after physical encounter, Allison wakes first. Isaac's bare skin brushing hers pulls a smile to her lips; watching his sleeping body with a still and gentle ease. She thinks, as she finger combs his hair, that she wants nothing more than to be the person who brings him peace and easiness. She is ready to let him in, as slowly as his pace allows. Isaac thinks, when he finally stirs, that he will do anything to keep her here with him like this.
10. Falling In Love At a Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg
lyrics: I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop
I love so much
All of the while I never knew
it was you
Yes there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you.
explanation: Allison and Isaac both realizing that they are, indeed, in love with one another; and all thanks to the old coffee shop that brought them together in a way neither believed possible. A lonely boy and a terrified girl joining as one to lick the other's wounds and help heal while growing separately and together. Nothing will ever be the same, and they wouldn't have it any other way.