Work Text:
snap, snap, snap
The only sounds surrounding you was the sound of the camera shutter on your Nikon N90s and Sidney´s giggles. She looked beautiful in her red sundress with white flowers, it had short sleeves, some button details, ruffles at the bottom and was cut just above the knee. As usual her brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail with her bangs covering her forehead. But honestly when didn't she look beautiful? Sidney´s beauty was so natural, so effortless. Everything about her was. She was effervescent and down to earth and oozed a calming aura, making everyone around her feel safe and at peace - at least that was the effect she had on you. It was one of your favourite qualities about her.
It was a beautiful spring day. The grass was green and the flowers around you were bursting with colour. The sky was a beautiful blue, almost devoid of clouds. The sun rays hitting you would've been unbearable if it wasn't for the calm summerbreeze. It was one of those perfect days, where the whole world just felt like a better place than normal. A day where everything seems like it will fall into place. A day you want to spend sitting outside in the grass and eating perfectly ripe strawberries. The ones that taste like the sweetest sensation and that paint your lips the most gorgeous red.
“Stop moving!” You tried to reprimand her, but it held no merit as you couldn't contain your laughter either.
She's so adorable.
Sidney had agreed to be the model for some pictures you had to take for your elective. It was a photography class and today was the perfect day for a photoshoot. She was your muse, of course she didn't know that so normally most of the photos you took of her were when she wasn't looking towards the camera. Not in a stalker way, just in a way where you photograph your friends when a shot is too gorgeous to miss. Of course you saw her as more than a friend and in your eyes every shot of Sidney was too gorgeous to miss.
You had brought her out to a beautiful field not too far outside of Woodsboro. You had been there for an hour so far, you had tried to get Sidney to do some poses but she kept moving and giggling - not being able to take it seriously. She was too charming for you to ever get annoyed at her for it though. That was what it was always like for you with her. No matter what she did, even if it was something that normally would´ve annoyed you to bits had it been anyone else, you were never able to get mad at her.
“Sorry” she giggled, leaning forward and gripping her stomach in an attempt to calm her laughter. After taking a few breaths to calm down, she gripped one side of her dress with her hand and stretched her hand out so the skirt of the dress was pulled out. She then stretched the foot at that side out too, whilst her head was turned to the side, her profile facing the camera. You held up your camera once again, adjusting the settings so you were framing the shot just right and to avoid the pictures becoming overexposed. Suddenly an eastern-tailed blue butterfly landed on Sidney´s index finger, on the hand that wasn't pulling her dress out. Sidney stood perfectly still as the butterfly flapped its wings. You quickly snapped a few shots before the butterfly flew away. Perfect.
“I think we got it” You beamed at her before running towards her.
“Finally!” She laughed, wiping some sweat from her forehead “I don´t think I´m cut out for this modeling business”
I think you were perfect.
“So what do we do now?” She queried, tilting her head to the side in wonder when looking at you.
“Well, I brought us some food, so if you want I could go get the basket from the back of my car and we can have a picnic?” You suggested, blood rushing to your face and your heart beating so loudly you could feel it in your ears.
“That sounds great!” She jumped with joy and clapped her hands excitedly.
You turned around in the direction of your car and headed off with an extra spring in your step. Your heart was beating faster and faster the closer you got to your car and you had to remind yourself that this wasn´t a date. She was simply a friend who had agreed to help you out with some school work and afterwards she had gotten hungry and accepted your offer to eat something, nothing more. You unlocked your car and opened one of the back doors, where the picnic basket was placed a bit hidden on the floor. You had brought it just in case she´d be up for it. In the event that she'd find it weird and question you about it, you were planning on telling her that you brought it as a thank you for her help with your photography class portfolio. And knowing her, sweet and innocent Sidney, she´d believe you and see it as nothing more than a friendly gesture.
Your crush on Sidney had started in freshman year. Of course everyone in Woodsboro knew each other, so you had grown up alongside her but you hadn't known her very well at that point. You had always thought she seemed kind but you never quite had the guts to actually approach her and befriend her. That was until you started high school together and the teacher had placed you next to her in math. You were quite skilled in the subject, as was Sidney. But there was one particularly hard question you had struggled with in class once, Sidney having noticed your unintelligible rambling had turned towards you with a hushed voice asking what was up. When you explained the situation she was more than happy to help and afterwards she told you that if you ever needed help with another math question you could ask her. So you had. You pretended to be much worse at math than you actually were and got her to help you with even the simplest equations. From there your friendship had bloomed and she had even introduced you to some of her friends. The one you´d grown the closest to was Tatum, later on you´d even confessed your crush on Sidney to her. She had been more than excited and was now rooting for the two of you to get together.
Whenever you would work together with Sidney in math she´d move her desk and chair closer to yours so she could properly explain it to you and see if you were understanding her. Once her shoulder had brushed against yours and she had tucked back some of her hair that had fallen in her face while her eyes found yours - it had left you completely breathless. And from then on your crush along with your friendship had only grown. You couldn't help but notice how your heart fluttered whenever she hugged you close and buried her head in your neck, her hugs were soft and your nose would take note of her sweet scent - she smelled like bubblegum and peach. In those moments you had to bury your blush in your shoulder. If you walked next to her while she chatted with her friends you almost combusted if her fingers brushed against yours. Spending time with her was different from spending time with anyone else you'd ever met. She was different.
You picked up the dark brown wicker basket and hooked it on your arm in the typical little red riding hood fashion before ducking out of your car. On the top of the basket was a folded picnic blanket for the two of you to sit on and beneath it was some plastic glasses and cutlery, a sparkling cider, different sorts of fruits that you had cut and shaped into cubes, brownies sprinkled with powdered sugar that you had baked the night before and an assortment of other goodies. You shut the door and locked the car, giving the handle one extra tug just to make sure it was properly locked, before heading back to Sidney. As you approached her she had a mischievous grin plastered on her face, she was shifting the weight between her legs and her hands were hidden behind her back. You gave her an inquiring look, a small smile tugging at your lips, while you pulled the blanket out of the basket and shook it so it folded out before you placed it on the ground. You plopped down on the blanket, carefully placing the basket in the middle of the blanket and started packing out everything you could fit on the blanket whilst still reserving a seat for Sidney. After you were done you turned to look at her, she was still standing with her hands behind her back facing you. She slowly walked towards you before pulling her hands forward, a giggle bubbling out of her. She held her hands in front of you and in them was a flower crown made from the daisies that grew around you.
“What do you think?” she beamed.
“I love it” you replied, your heart feeling like it was about to leap out of your throat and your hands starting to shake. She excitedly placed it on your head, her smile more beautiful and remarkable than you had ever seen it. Was this happening? Were you dreaming? A dream would explain why you felt so weightless. Suddenly you spotted something a little further away from the two of you and got an idea. You leaped up from the blanket and headed towards it, careful to run in a way that wouldn't make the flower crown fall off.
“Where are you going?” Sidney shouted after you with a bubbly giggle.
You slowed down and crouched, eyeing the wild orange daylily before ripping off most of it´s stem. It was glowing and the colour was vibrating. You carefully held it in your palm, slowly walking back to Sidney, making sure not to crush it. She had sat down on the blanket now. “It's only right that we both have some flowers in our hair” you explained before tucking it behind her ear.
“Oh” she said with a small smile, looking away from you. Was she blushing?
You decided to not give it too much thought and sat down in your previously discarded place on the blanket. A silence grew between the two of you. After a while you decided to pick up the conversation again, this time focusing on something completely different than the thing that had just happened. You cleared your throat before suggesting that the two of you should start eating the food before it got attacked by ants. You mentally cursed because of your strange phrasing but Sidney agreed and the two of you delved in. You mostly focused on the fruit and the treats seeing as Sidney seemed to favor the strawberries. After some eating you remembered the camera hanging around your neck.
“Do you want to see how the pictures turned out?” You asked, shuffling closer to her.
“I don´t know if I dare, '' she replied with a nervous laugh, looking skeptically towards the camera.
“Come on, look how beautiful you look!” You turned the camera towards her so she could see the photos as you slowly flicked through them. You loved them all even the ones where she couldn't hold the poses due to her not being able to contain her laughter. Especially those ones.
“You think I'm beautiful?” She suddenly asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and pulling you out of your thoughts.
This was it. You could either play it off as a friendly compliment or put all cards on the table and tell her how you felt, how she brightened your days and that all you seemed to be able to think about lately was her. You didn 't know if it was how she looked today with her strawberry red stained lips, or how here in the field everything seemed to line up perfectly, like it was all a fantasy and none of this was actually real and therefore wouldn´t have any consequences, but you decided on the latter.
“Sid, I don´t just think that you´re beautiful. I think you´re the most beautiful person I've ever laid eyes on” Your eyes held hers to show her how genuine you were “I hope that doesn't make this weird for you” you broke the eye contact and rather let your eyes fall to the ground, not being able to hold her gaze in the event that she´d reject you. She was silent for what felt like forever before speaking up slowly.
“I don't think that's weird, I think it's wonderful”. Your eyes flew to her face just in time to catch the breathtaking smile that sprouted on her lips. “Uhm ca-can I kiss you?” She asked, now feeling shy.
“Yes” you replied, it was a breathless, silent ´yes´ but Sidney heard it. She slowly leaned forward, her eyes flicking between your eyes and your lips trying to gauge if you really wanted this. You closed your eyes and waited. The wait felt like a million years but when her soft lips finally pressed against yours it was all worth it. You slowly started moving against her lips, your right hand finding her face to cradle it and your left settling on her hip. Kissing Sidney was like nothing you had ever felt before, it was heavenly. She was slow and deliberate. Each kiss was painted with pining and relief.
The two of you spent the rest of the day talking, laughing, enjoying your own little safe haven. You fed each other food and traced each other’s cheeks. You admired her and memorized her, every line and every freckle. She left kisses on every part of your face. She was the cool breeze on a hot summer's day, the shelter in the rain, the eye of the storm.
As you laid there looking up at the sky, your fingers intertwined with hers, your thoughts drifted back to the taste of her lips.
They tasted like strawberries.