—"WHO set me up".
"No one set you up".
"C'mon Navia! You can tell me. Be a bro not a foe", Y/n pleaded with the woman who was placing the finishing touches onto Y/n's face.
"The producers just thought a collaboration would be a good idea since you two have been the talk of the town as of late, that's all", she said in honesty, dusting off the excess powder on the model's face. "No one's plotting your downfall or anything".
Well it sure felt like it.
"I'm sure it'll just be a one time thing", she looked at the woman through the mirror and fixed her hair. If there was one thing Navia was good at, it was putting Y/n's mind at ease.
"I'll take your word for it Navia", Y/n responded, a faint smile on her face.
The model made her way out of the changing rooms and she really wished she didn't.
In fact she wanted to hop back into the car and zoom home.
The black suit that was crisp like a banknote. Not a single crease could be seen. The red tie that was pin straight against his chest.
All in all Y/n thought he looked quite ugly really.
She grimaced.
"Can you at least pretend you can tolerate the guy?", Navia creeped up behind her and gave her a little nudge, urging her to get onto the set.
As Wriothesley was conversing with a few of the crew members, he noticed Y/n from his peripheral vision.
He folded his arms. "I just knew we'd meet again", he spoke in amusement.
Y/n's frown was even deeper at this point and she dismissed his silly statement. If he knew that then why didn't he pursue a career in fortune telling or something so she could live a peaceful life without a 6 foot idiot trying to steal her spotlight??
"How did you know it was me that day?", she asked out of curiosity and caution.
"See I get this feeling when I'm around someone I think I know or recognise", he placed a hand on his chin. "It's hard to describe".
"That's really strange", first it was predicting the future and now it was conjectures? Unbelievable.
He huffed out a laugh, waving his hand much like a window wiper. "Im just kidding".
Oh she bet he thought he was a damn comedian with that one. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
Wriothesley let out a boyish chuckle before sitting down on the black velvet chair placed in the centre of the set, legs a width apart and back against the cushion comfortably.
With that, it was time to start the shoot and Y/n hoped that among all of Wriothesley's strangeness, was the power to speed up the time, cause she could really do with that right now.
"Now Y/n, place your hands here, lean a bit forward and we'll go from there", the director instructed.
The woman took a deep breath in and out again.
"Try not to choke me to death now", Wriothesley uttered so she was the only one who heard him.
She scoffed. "No promises".
He was much too burly for that and besides she knew better than to try and strangle a pro boxer. It was like setting herself up for failure.
Y/n's eyes glanced over to Navia who was behind the crewmen, biting on her fingernails nervously. "Play nice, please!", she mouthed to which the model slumped her shoulders.
As ordered by the director, Y/n stood behind the chair Wriothesley was sat on and leaned down so her face was close to his. She slung her arms over his shoulders and let her eyes fall dead centre of the camera lens.
The crew members continuously brushed off Wriothesley's suit to make sure it was nice and sharp, others fixed the bottom of Y/n's dress so it was splayed nicely against the ground. It was the star of the shot after all, Wriothesley's suit being the secondary focus.
"Now I need you to look at Y/n's eyes while she looks at the camera".
If that sentence wasn't enough to make Y/n cry her eyes out, then the fact that he had all intentions of doing it was.
Once all the crewmen were out of the shot, lights started to flash.
There was only one problem...
The pair of cerulean eyes distracting her.
Not that they were attractive or anything, of course not. But it was the fact that he was doing it at all.
Scratch that, there was actually two problems.
He wasn't looking at her eyes at all.
"My eyes are up here, Your Grace".
"And that's where i'm looking".
"Liar", she stated under her breath. His eyes were glued to her lips the entire time.
Who could blame him? The rouge colour of her lipstick against their primarily black clothing made it pretty hard to miss.
"Liar~", she drawled out in a sing-song voice, her lips pursed into a straight line shortly after.
Wriothesley focused his gaze onto the camera as the director demanded to create variance between shots. He was in his own thoughts. This woman who had her arms wrapped around him seemed to have a secret vendetta against him for reasons unbeknownst to him. He thought:
"Do you hate me or something?", he asked plainly.
"Hate is a strong word Wriothesley", she stood back up in preparation for the next round of pictures and removed her hands from his shoulders.
"But not strong enough", she thought.
Y/n had to say, this was the longest shoot she'd ever experienced in her life. But once it was time for her individual shots, she felt like she could finally breathe again. After all, sharing the spotlight was never her strong suit.
Wriothesley watched attentively as Y/n positioned herself in front of the camera, perched on the ground with her arms framing her face in different poses. It all came so natural to her. The man was simply awestruck by her every move. So poise and graceful. If anyone deserved the title of 'Your Grace', it was her.
She was able to capture the attention of every single person there, including the camera itself. He was spellbound by her modelling skills and undeniable allure.
Did his heart skip a beat just now or did he just imagine it...?
He hoped it was the latter.
"ALRIGHT THATS A WRAP FOR TODAY! WELL DONE EVERYBODY", the booming voice of the director made Wriothesley jump a little. His voice was always unnecessarily loud and he didn't appreciate it one bit.
Y/n stretched her arms out and let out a hefty groan, walking off the set towards Navia who coincidentally was standing close to Wriothesley.
"Can we go home now? I'm exhausted", she pleaded.
"Right after I speak to the director", Navia nodded her head. "And thank you for not murdering anyone today", she then directed her glance to Wriothesley. "And i'm glad to see your head is still attached to your body".
Wriothesley blinked in confusion. He opted not to pry any further. He didn't think he'd like what he'd hear if he did...
Navia hurried along to have a quick word with the director which left Y/n and Wriothesley. Without another word, Y/n intended to go back to the dressing rooms. She missed her warm and cozy sweater dress.
Until someone decided to flap their gums..
"Y/n, can I interest you in te—".
"No".
She didn't even know what he was gonna say, give the guy a chance!
"Wait, it's not just any tea, it's tea made by me", Wriothesley used the most dramatic hand gestures to emphasise his words. Her hatred for tea was just so uncalled for and he simply had to get her to come to the other side.
"All this talk of tea is making me mad", to the point where 'tea' was starting to sound like a made up word with how often she was hearing it.
"C'mon, think of it as an apology", he didn't know what he did that he was apologising for, but the constant gloom that loomed over her whenever his name was mentioned was kinda deprecating.
"Why are you so obsessed with tea?".
"Why're you not?".
"Because i'm normal".
"We'll see how normal you are after having my tea".
Y/n rolled her eyes. I mean seriously! He's talking as if he's gonna be the one harvesting the tea leaves from the tea tree he grew by himself. So dramatic.
Y/n sucked in a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips in defeat. "Alright, I accept your poor attempt at an apology", she lied.
A thought popped up in her mind while she was conversing with the man.
She would use this chance to steal his dog.
She remembered seeing a collage of photos of him and his absolutely adorable dog a while back and she thought: she must have that dog all for herself.
Her plan was foolproof really.
She would 'accidentally' spill tea on herself then excuse herself to go to the bathroom. On her way, she'd pick up the dog and speed out the door. It was as simple as abc really.
"I can assure you, it'll make you feel young again", Wriothesley voiced playfully.
"So you're saying i'm old?! You're the one with grey hairs on your head not me", she crossed her arms.
"Now you're just putting words in my mouth!", Wriothesley never in his life thought women could be so difficult. Or was it just her?
Albeit not being in earshot of their conversation, Navia chuckled at the way they were arguing almost like an old married couple.
She would never say that out loud though. She didn't think she'd live to see the light of day again if she did.
A/N: make sure to vote and have a great day/ peaceful night <33
Word count: 1684 words
Date: 9/11/23
(D/M/Y)