Connor's POV
The wind whipped at my hair, making it look like I'd just stepped out of a failed, scientific experiment.
Nothing could faze me, though. I was already supposed to meet Zoe two minutes ago.
I power-walked the last 20 metres, before I turned the corner and saw Zoe with a worried look on her face.
"There you are!" She sighed, waving at me. "Why are you late?"
"I'm not that late." I rolled my eyes. "Only a couple minutes."
"A couple minutes could be the difference between Alfie thinking I'm punctual or not. He's probably already inside, getting impatient or whatever." She fretted.
"Relax, Zoe." I comforted her. "You go in there, and you show Alfie how amazing you are, okay?"
She nodded, nervously. "Okay. I'll call you if I need anything."
"Okay, cool." I smiled. "I'll just hang out around here. Don't stress out too much."
"I'll try." She bit her lip. "See you later."
"Bye. Have fun." I grinned, watching her as she walked into the cafe.
I turned around and wandered around the block. The wind was still extremely chilly and strong, making me shiver. After walking around for what seemed like ages, I managed to find a small bench to sit on. Because the bench was situated behind a tall building, I was far from the reach of the cold wind.
I looked up, and immediately felt my jaw drop.
Straight ahead of me was a small lake, with cherry blossoms surrounding it. I tried getting over the fact that I'd happened to stumble across one of the few places in the States that actually had cherry blossoms.
"How have I never been here before?" I whispered to myself, amazed by its beauty.
It was like a scene from a book. The petals from the trees were blown off and floated gracefully, before landing lightly on the surface of the lake. The petals were a beautiful, pink colour that I could've stared at all day. The lake itself was shiny and mirrored the blue sky.
I couldn't believe my eyes. I gasped, remembering I'd brought my camera along, to save myself from dying of boredom. Without a second of hesitation, I removed the case from my camera, and leaned forward.
My finger hovered over the shutter button, as I waited for the lense to focus. After I got the result I wanted, my finger lowered and I got a couple shots of the beautiful sight in front of me.
A few seconds later, I felt the presence of someone next to me, but I chose to ignore it, not wanting to mess up the position I was in. I was slightly annoyed at the fact that I had been put off and distracted, but it was a public bench, after all.
I heard a bit of rustling next to me, followed by soft humming. Sighing, I tried to concentrate on taking a couple more photos, when something struck me.
I knew the song the person was humming. It was Alessia.
Sitting up straight, I turned to face the person for the first time, which made me do a double take.
"Holy shit, Troye." I said, loudly.
"What?" He asked, confused.
"Why didn't you say anything? You scared me." I frowned.
"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you or anything." He explained.
"Oh." I said, simply. "Well, thanks, I guess."
There was an awkward silence, neither of us knowing what to say.
"Can I see?" He asked, gesturing to my camera that was resting on my lap.
"Um, yeah, sure." I hesitated, before handing it to him.
I watched as he flipped through my photos. Before I knew it, I was full-on staring. Stripped of his usual smirk and arrogant gaze, he looked exactly like the boy I'd seen on his Instagram. Vulnerable. Young. Beautiful.
His eyes looked especially blue, and I could see all the specks and twinkles in his iris. My eyes drifted down to the birthmark under his eye, and it was so much more prominent than I'd originally thought. I'd never been able to admire him from this close before, and I felt as if my eyes had been opened to something different.
"Wow."
I blinked and concentrated on what he was saying. "What?"
"They're really good." He commented, grinning at me.
"Really?" I smiled slightly.
"Why do you look so surprised? It's the best I've ever seen. You're better than the professionals." He praised.
"Thanks." I blushed. "I just-I-"
"What?" He raised his eyebrows at me, concerned.
"No snide comments? No cocky looks? Pathetic pick-up lines?" I blurted out.
"Nice to know that that's all you think of me." He laughed, but it wasn't condescending in any way.
"Can you really blame me?" I asked.
"Good point." He chuckled. "But seriously though, you're an amazing photographer."
I bit my lip. "Thank you."
"I feel like no one tells you that enough." He said, seeing my expression.
My eyes shot up to his, and I realised he was right. "I guess."
"Well, looks like I'm just going to have to be the one to tell you constantly, then." He sighed, playfully. "You're an amazing photographer."
I laughed. "I don't even know what to say."
"You don't need to say anything." He smiled, sincerely.
And that smile unlocked a small, selfish part of me. I was kind of glad Tyler, Joe, and Caspar were too busy to join me, because it meant that I could see the rare, genuine Troye. And I had him all to myself.
"You zone out a lot, don't you?" He asked, handing back my camera.
"What?" I said, snapping out of my thoughts. "Oh, yeah."
"What do you think about?" He asked, interested.
"Oh, nothing much." I shrugged, not wanting to tell him the truth. "Just some things."
"Like what?" He fiddled with the hem of his sweater.
"I usually think of what could be. Like the future, and things that I want to happen, but probably never will." I replied.
He nodded, and I was scared he was about to judge me.
I don't know what I was so worried about.
He grinned. "I think a lot, too."
"You do?" I asked hopefully.
"Yeah, but I tend to think about the present more." He stated. "Because I don't want to regret anything in my life."
"Oh, so that's why you..." I trailed off, slowly. That's why you sleep with everyone.
"Why I what?" He asked.
"Nothing, nothing." I mumbled.
He hummed in response. "So, apart from photography, what else are you good at?"
We kept talking for a while, and it felt so natural. Halfway through our conversation about Alessia Cara, I realised not many people were able to see Troye like this - open and real. We had a lot more in common than I'd originally imagined, and every time he smiled, I could just see the happiness and passion seeping through. And, in a way, it made me feel happy, too. If he continued to show this side of him to me, I could definitely imagine us being friends in the future.
We were interrupted when my phone vibrated, telling me that Zoe was done and probably already waiting for me.
"I need to go, sorry." I said to Troye, standing up.
"Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled.
"See you. Bye." I replied, before walking away.
I hurried back to the cafe, where I spotted Zoe standing by herself.
"Zoe!" I called.
She turned around, with a huge grin on her face. "Connor!"
"How was it?" I asked, walking over to her and giving her a big hug.
"Oh my God. He's so amazing." She gushed, wrapping her arms around me. "It really was actually a date and we talked and laughed and he is just the most beautiful person ever. I don't know what I was so worried about."
I laughed, as we began walking back to campus. "So I'm assuming you had a good time?"
Her eyes widened. "I had an amazing time."
"That's good." I nodded.
"I just can't wipe the grin off my face. I'm so happy." She beamed. "Let me tell you everything..."
I smiled, and it wasn't just because Zoe was happy.
I smiled, because for the first time in six months, I felt butterflies in my stomach.
And I kind of liked it.
~~~
Okay so I wasn't planning on updating so soon but I wrote this chapter last night and I really really don't like it. I just feel like it's not the best writing I could do, and I just wanted to post it because it was really frustrating me and I wanted it out of the way. But I probably will come back and rewrite it another day :)
Also don't expect another update from me any time soonish (within the next 5 or so days) because I've posted like 4 times in the past 5 days and I need to write this other fic I just started (which may be posted soon but don't expect it within the next month)
- see you guys next chapter -