Amaranthine Devotion

XVII

Leo squinted at the laptop, frowning slightly.

"What does that even mean?" he muttered to himself. Ben walked into the small living room holding a bowl of cereal.

"How far into it are you?" He asked, a mouth full of food. Leo sighed, turning around to face his friend.

"Like half, I think."

Ben nodded. "Well Adeline is coming over soon so hurry it up."

"What does she do again?" Leo asked, hoping she could help with the small resumé he was writing.

Ben blushed before stating proudly, "She's a representative for a clothing line. I'm not sure which one. It's crazy fancy though."

The other boy nodded, puffing out his bottom lip.

"So is that why she travels a lot?"

"Yeah. She just got back from Milan."

"Nice."

Leo held his chin with his hand, reading over the words on the screen for the 10th time in 15 minutes.

"What's fucking you up?" Ben asked, leaning his hand on the back of the chair.

"They want my hopes for the job and honestly I have no idea what they are," Leo sighed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I just want to be able to take pictures," He muttered. Ben pushed him from the chair and into the floor before sitting down.

"You fucker," He mumbled under his breathe before typing fast words into the document.

"Stop it- what're you doing?" Leo asked frantically, sitting up onto his knees to see what his friend was writing. Ben grinned to himself, tapping the keys without abandon.

"Didn't you take pictures for Vogue?" He smiled mischievously. Leo's eyes widened as he pushed his friend to the side to see what he'd written.

"I'm not letting you lie to get me this job!" He yelled. Ben laughed hysterically, throwing his head back. The Brazilian boy sighed in annoyance before pulling the laptop into his lap from the floor.

"I don't want this job to be based on lies. I want it based on me so I'll know if I'm good enough," He mumbled. Ben put a hand on his friend's shoulder, giving him a small smile.

"You will, bud. I promise."

Leo made a sour face.

"I'm older than you. Don't call me bud."

The younger boy stood up with a huff.

"I was trying to be nice, ass," He rolled his eyes. Leo gave him a sloppy smile before a knock on the door rang out into the small apartment. Ben's eyes went wide as he rushed to open it.

"Ben I swear to god you basic whore living in San Fransisco it's such a terrible place to be," The woman huffed before kissing the British boy on the lips passionately. He smiled into the kiss.

"Hello to you, too, love," He mumbled, looking at her like she was the sky and stars.

Leo smiled to himself, insanely happy for his friend.

"Don't start with that sass, boy," She chuckled, walking into the apartment.

The girl had bright red hair and deep brown eyes. She wore something stylish that if you looked at too long, it made no sense.

"You must be Leo. I'm Adeline," She smiled, holding her hand out to the older boy. He took it, smiling down at her.

"Nice to meet you. Ben said you worked in a fashion company?" Leo asked. Normally he would have asked about her interests but work was the only thing he could focus on even if it wasn't his own. Luckily the redhead nodded with a smile.

"I do. I have for about a year now. Where do you work?" She asked politely, sitting gracefully on the gray couch. Leo took in a long breath, expecting the awkward question.

"Leo is in between jobs at the moment. He's trying to get this photography job that he's wanted for actual years. He's being a twat about his resume though," Ben interjected, sure that his friend would appreciate it. Adeline nodded, looking at her boyfriend fondly.

"I could help if you'd like? I read a lot of proposals and resumes for my job so I could give some tips," She tilted her head, suggesting the idea.

Leo would have turned her down except Ben immediately accepted her offer for him.

Adeline smiled and stood, taking the laptop that Ben held out for her. She read over it once with insane speed.

"Okay well first you aren't bringing much to the table. You need to present it as if you have more qualifications than anyone. Even if you've only worked at Burger King your entire life, go into every little thing that you can share," She explained, piling all her hair onto her head for a bun. Ben plopped down next to her, pulling the laptop from her.

"I have a lot of pictures but I wasn't sure if I should include them," Leo told them hesitantly.

"You idiot. Are they saved to the computer?" Ben asked, rolling his eyes. Leo nodded, messing with his hands.

"Don't feel bad, Leo. I take you've never really applied to anything this professional before?" Adeline gave a sympathetic look. Leo shook his head.

There were lots of reasons why Leo didn't feel comfortable asking for the job. When he was a kid, his parents had a lot of problems. His dad wasn't good with money and it stressed out his mom. They almost got divorced. It was a couple years of primary school Leo never asking for anything because he just wanted to make his parents happy.

He adapted to the notion and idea that he wasn't good enough for the job early on and ended up having Trixi get him the job at the coffee shop. Leo knew he shouldn't feel that way but it never stopped the feelings from taking over his brain.

Ben helped with it, making sure his best friend knew how amazing each photo looked. Everything just seemed fake to Leo, never good enough.

"These are really good," Adeline said, scrolling through the thousands of pictures. Leo blushed and looked to his feet.

"You don't have to say that," He scoffed.

"It's hopeless with him," Ben mumbled to the girl.

"What are you even talking about? These are fucking beautiful. Leo if you don't get this job, I'll hire you in a heartbeat," She told him.

Leo smiled widely, running a hand through his hair.

"Really?"

The girl nodded, eyes glued to the screen. She pointed at one and looked at Ben. He shrugged and smiled at Leo.

"You're really good," Ben mouthed to his friend. Leo rolled his eyes and looked away.