love island, multifandom ²

★ | 035. picture perfect, celebrity

"Aw, babe! Look at how pretty this is." Selena spoke, running towards the small waves and looking up at the sunset. "I knew the drive would be worth it."

[name] couldn't agree more as he walked up next to her, their hands grazing as he to looked up at the sky, feeling the sun rays heat up his skin. It was a beautiful sight to behold. The two loved going for drives to small, hidden locations where they didn't have to worry about paparazzi or fans. Here, they could just be the two of them without worrying about their picture being taken or Selena's name being screamed.

As the thought left his head, a flash went off and he snapped his eyes back open to see it was Selena who had taken the picture of him. "Come on, don't do that." He said quietly.

"I couldn't help myself. You looked gorgeous." She said and turned her phone around to try and get him to see.

"You know I don't like photos of myself. Please delete it." He begged, keeping his eyes away from the image she so desperately wanted him to see.

"But why? I don't understand it." She said with furrowed eyebrows and looked at the picture again. "Are we seeing two different things? Because I swear I'm looking at a Greek God." She teased him and grabbed onto his hips.

He faked out a laugh, his body going tense as he pulled himself away from her. "Very funny but I'm serious it. Just delete it." There was a tone of tiredness in his voice. Tiredness and desperation.

She dropped her hands from his body and analysed his face. "You've never liked getting your photo taken. This is the first one I have of you. I just... I know we've only been dating for a couple months but I know I'm falling for you and I... I just want to know why you hate pictures of yourself so much."

"It's nothing." He said quickly.

"I'm not giving up that easy. You can't change the subject with me." She said and crossed her arms stubbornly.

He sighed and turned away from her, looking out to the view again. "It's just that something happened in the past with an ex of mine and - and I don't really like talking about it. It was a bad relationship and she - she said some things that have stuck with me. I'm just being a baby."

"Hey, no, don't do that." She said and put her hands on his cheeks. "You're finally opening up to me. Don't shut down again. No matter what you say I will listen and I'm not going to judge you. You can talk to me about anything."

Her thumb was rubbing his cheek softly and she was looking at him so sincerely. "I was with my previous girlfriend for a few years. I loved her. I thought she was going to be the one I spent the rest of my life with. I didn't realise how toxic she was."

"You're eating again? Seriously?"

"I'm embarrassed to be seen with you."

"If you loved me, you would make a little more effort to look decent."

Her harsh words rang throughout his head. It was a voice he had come to hate with a passion. "I didn't use to look like this." He mumbled, glancing down at himself. "I used to be... bigger and dress differently. She hated it. She would always be on my case about the way I looked and how she wanted me to change. Insulting me about anything she could. She cut me off from my friends and family. She made me feel like I needed her and I needed to change so she would keep loving me."

Selena already felt a deep dislike for this woman and she hoped she never had the displeasure of meeting her.

"I did everything she wanted of me. I went to the gym nearly every day, lost all the weight. I threw out all my clothes and let her dress me. I spent all my free time with her." He grew angry as he remembered just how much he did for the girl who could have cared less about him. "Being at home all the time, it made me a lot more aware of where she was and who she was with. Turns out, she had met someone else while I was at the gym and she had been cheating on me with him."

Selena gasped, "you've got to be kidding me."

"It made me realise that no matter how much I did for her, no matter how much I changed. She would still be the same. She would still treat me like shit. It finally gave me the motivation to leave her." A small smile appeared on his face. "The best time I ever had with her was seeing that shocked look on her face went I dumped her and when she realised she no longer had any power over me. It felt great."

"I bet it would have."

"Anyway, I just, I still don't like having my picture taken because they just remind me of how insecure I am. I shouldn't even be feeling this way. I'm a guy. I'm supposed to be tough. Not some cry baby who gets emotional over his looks." He sat himself down on the sand.

Selena sat next to him and put her arm around his shoulder. "Don't say that. You're allowed to be upset. What she did to you wasn't right and of course it's going to leave scars. I cannot believe people like her exist. That - That - " She huffed in frustration.

It made him laugh. "Well, my life did turn around because I ended up meeting this girl who was incredible. She's funny. So talented. She even has midnight snacks with me... and she doesn't ever make me feel like I'm worthless." He turned his head to look into her eyes. "I was unhappy for a long time, Selena. I can never thank you enough for changing that for me."

His words brought tears to her eyes and she brought her hand up to wipe them away with a small laugh. "H - Hey, don't cry." He said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You haven't upset me. You've made me really happy." She said truthfully. She leaned in close to him and kissed him softly, feeling like the man in front of her was specifically made just her her. "No matter what you look like, I will still feel the same way about you. Me and you, we're in it for the long run."

Her words seemed to lift a weight off his shoulders. "That sounds like a good plan."

She rested her hand on his shoulder and wrapped both her arms around his arm, cuddling into his side as the sun began to set more. [name] glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and he felt his heart stutter. "If you, uh, want to take a photo of us. I won't make you delete it."

"Really?" She replied excitedly. There was no way he could say no to that face. He nodded his head and she got her phone back out, pointing the camera at them both as she said, "say cheese!"

He still hated looking at himself but then he looked the the left of the photo and saw his girlfriend next to him with the brightest smile and any worries he had slowly disappeared.