Chapter Text
I guess, in a way to describe how I viewed life before I met her, was monochrome. Colors were bleak and blurred into each other; if someone were to ask me for my favorite color I would shrug it off, saying there would be too many to choose from.
I have had moments where I would find that the things around me grew colorful, and my eyes would perceive new fleeting shades that my mind couldn't quite grasp yet. Maybe that's why I came to Bauer with a camera in hand, wanting to finally be able to capture each hue so they'd never escape me again. But that was then. Now it's all turned gray again.
I stand in some nearby park as I sigh and I contemplate on why I took photography in the first place, the photos on my camera were all painfully dull. The photos' main subject was confusing to pinpoint and colors wouldn’t contrast with each other. I raise my camera once more hoping for a different result. However your same old birds, squirrels, clouds, and leaves were all the same. Directing my lens towards supervising parents or rambunctious kids playing tag didn’t work any better. At that point I should’ve just walked away with mediocre results in hand and accepted defeat, but I didn’t.
Instead, I looked up to see something brand new before my eyes. A girl around my age sat herself down on a bench right next to me. The sun bounced off her blonde hair turning it into a halo. Its light captured her every angle perfectly. Her watercolor blue eyes were such a unique and deep shade, one that I had never seen before. She was ethereal , an angel sent from above.
I couldn’t help but continue to stare, and before I could realize what I was doing, I clumsily fumbled at my camera and snapped a photo. Shoot. The camera clicked, and the girl was already stomping towards me before I could take a single step to apologize.
“Excuse me,” the lady said with an eyebrow raised, “Did you just take a photo of me?” her tone clearly undignified as she crossed her arms.
“I-I’m sorry” I sputtered, holding the camera up, in all honesty I found it pretty impressive that she managed to hear the camera's shutter from all the way here. “I can delete the photo if that's what you want, I apologize again, it was a spur of the moment, and you were really pretty and I-” I choked on my words a bit, realizing I was running out of air. I breathed in and out as I looked at her again, “It was just, everything was perfect in that moment, I didn’t mean to make anything weird or creepy–”
“–And you definitely did a wonderful job at that!” The girl snapped, crossing her arms defensively. Her height was around mine, although she was slightly shorter than me if you didn’t include her heels. Yet despite that it was as if she was the one looking down on me, I tried to dart my eyes away from her but I couldn’t help as my gaze was glued to her.
“Like I said before, I humbly apologize,” I slightly bowed, as my eyes stared at the ground, “If you want I can go buy you an apology coffee or a tea?”
“Like I would go get a coffee with someone like you, ” she scoffed, and although rude she did have a point, “I better not see you near me again!” By the time I raised my head back up the girl was walking away. I looked back at my camera with the photo still on the screen, sighing in defeat.
. . .
“So, you’re telling me you took a photo of Claire François and you’re still standing here?” my roommate, Misha, asked incredulously. She was sitting on the sofa looking through my camera as I was making tea.
Misha’s been one of my close friends since Euclid, and the both of us eventually moved together for her to take on music production and me to take photography, since we both coincidentally ended up applying for the same school.
“Claire François? So, that's her name,” I said as I poured the tea into mugs, handing Misha one as I plopped down next to her on the sofa.
“You seriously don’t know who she is?”
“I do, it’s just I never put a face to the name,” I replied, “but it sure was a pretty one,” I added on with a wide grin. I looked towards Misha, who seemed concerned in more ways than one.
“Rae,” she sighed, “Don’t do anything rash.” She continued to elegantly drink her tea, despite it being a disproportionately big mug. I could only stare at her with confusion.
“What?” I replied, placing my mug on the coffee table as I looked towards Misha.
“You can’t seriously like her. ”
“How could I not?” I responded almost instantly, “Her eyes, the way she would scold me…”
“ Rae. ”
“What!”
“She's just, so… pompous –not to mention you barely know her.”
“But I could get to know her.”
“But you really shouldn’t.”
“But–”
“–Rae, look. I care for you. Just… Please don’t do anything that’ll get yourself hurt.”
“I’ll be okay, but– thank you, Misha.”
“Anytime.”
. . .
I was groaning in boredom as the line barely budged, I was waiting in line at a fairly busy coffee shop. It wasn’t all that shocking that it was full, considering it was morning, but it didn’t make it any less painful, even if I wasn’t in any rush in particular.
I looked down towards the strings of a gift bag in my hand, as I mindlessly fidgeted with them. I heard the cafe doorbell chime as I turned to see it was Claire, as she entered and we made eye contact, I tried giving her a small wave, her reaction?
She left the cafe.
Yikes… my last impression really wasn’t good. Still, I owed her an apology drink, that was the least I could do. Giving up my place in the line, I rushed out the door.
“ Wait! ” I shouted, yet Claire kept on moving, continuing to quicken her pace as I tried to catch up over and over for the past five minutes. Eventually I caught up to her as I grabbed Claire’s wrist. “Please, listen to me–” I gasped for breath, “–I know saying sorry back then wasn’t enough, but now I want you to listen to me. I was sorry then, and I’m still sorry now. Let me make it up to you?”
Claire’s face was turned away from me the whole time, despite my words. “You’re so obnoxious,” Claire huffed, raising her chin aloofly, “You know that?”
“Well… you wouldn’t be the first!” I said, flashing her a grin, “Just, let me buy you a coffee or whatever you’d like as an apology?”
“Fine. I need one after this anyways,” Claire sighed, aggressively yanking her wrist away from my hand as she walked her way back to the cafe while also keeping a very generous distance away from me.
We arrived at the cafe, it had cleared up a little since. I tried making small talk but all I was given in return were side-eyes and quiet scoffs. As we finally had gotten our orders, Claire thanked the employees as she started exiting the cafe.
“Hold on!” I exclaimed, this time I didn’t have to chase her for five minutes as she turned towards me.
“What is it now?” She groaned, rolling her eyes as she gave me a cold glare. Her icy blue stare sent shivers down my spine, briefly freezing my heart.
“Here,” I said, handing her a tiny red gift bag, “It’s an additional apology on top of the coffee.”
Claire took the bag as she sputtered incredulously, “You prepared this beforehand? Y-you didn’t even know if you’d see me again!”
“I know, so I brought it everywhere with me, in case I did.” I replied, shrugging it off like it wasn’t a big deal.
“I– Buh– What –” she stuttered, fumbling for words. It was adorable . Eventually, she seemed to have given up trying to formulate a proper sentence, and wordlessly sped out of the cafe, head down.
. . .
Claire's POV
She’s utterly stupid , is what I kept repeating to myself in my head, holding onto that equally as stupid bag as I was heading my way back home, my hand fidgeting with the bag's string.
The nerve of her to just take a photo of me! Does she go around violating strangers of their right to privacy like that daily? I just wanted to empty my mind and maybe get some assignments done while enjoying some peaceful scenery, but the only thing infesting my mind is that stupid camera shutter sound.
As I arrived at my apartment I set the bag aside on the table as I sat down on the couch glaring at it. The urge to open the bag was tempting, but throwing away the bag now is equally as tempting.
A few minutes passed by as I gave up, snatching the bag and checking the things that girl had given me: a handmade bracelet, some candy, and.. a note.
Rae Taylor, I felt nearly hysterical at the nerve of her for writing such a preposterous note. I held the note and crumpled it to a ball. To think that she would assume I would text her! The audacity! I sighed as I put the crumpled note back in its bag, standing up and leaving to finish the rest of my day.