Milk And Cardamom | S. Brown ✔

[27]

Lucas had finally taken Dora's advice and asked Steph out on a date though he had not expected that she would say yes. So as the two walked together to Aparo Park, deep down he was trying to make himself believe that the girl he had wanted to ask out for so long but couldn't was finally going on a date with him.

It was not his fault that he was always uncertain around people, always uncertain of the fact whether they would want to spend time with him or not.

It had been engrained into his brain from an early age that he was worthless, all thanks to the way Deathstroke had mercilessly ruined his childhood. Such that even after ten years of receiving love and affection from George, Camille and Dora, he could still not accept that he was worth it.

"Have you ever asked someone else on a date before?" Steph's question shook him out of his thoughts.

"If you count the High School Homecoming dance as a date then yes," he replied.

It had been not exactly a date though, he remembered, he had almost ditched the dance until Marie Whittaker had offered to go with him. She was the only daughter of George's friend and lawyer Daniel Whittaker and the two had met often on Sunday brunches and other business galas where they had occasionally tagged along with their parents.

He asked just in attempts of keeping the conversation going, "have you ever been asked out on a date other than this one?"

Her reply was almost immediate, "yes. I had been in a relationship actually, but it didn't end well."

Silence engulfed the two after that though Luke refrained from probing further. He knew some things were better left unasked. And by the way Steph's smile had vanished upon recalling that clearly indicated that she would never want him to bring that up again.

They had reached Aparo Park at last and it was quite a wonderful sight with all its lush greenery and flowers. Steph's features that had morphed into a slightly pensive look from that earlier question, eased back into a delighted smile.

"You were right, this park is perfect for photography," Steph remarked, looking in awe at all the colorful blooms and pleasant atmosphere. 

Pure laughter echoed around them as the children in the park were having a great time on the swings and the flowers in the park danced with the light breeze.

"Hey look, there's an Azalea bed over there," Luke remarked, pointing to the beautiful flowers in front, "try capturing it as a background and frame this roundabout in the foreground."

Stephanie focused the lens of the camera and pressed the shutter, taking out the photograph that had developed shortly after. "Looks pretty."

"Not bad," he added, examining the photo in her hands. The roundabout was focused in the center and the azalea bed was hidden behind it. He decided to share a tip on improving the picture because that was the reason they were there in the first place, "Steph, do you know about the Rule of Thirds?"

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, "the rule of what?

"Thirds, here I will show you," he came behind her, gesturing her to position her camera again, "when you frame a scene, you usually put the focus on the center, right?"

"Yeah."

"Have you ever tried keeping the focus a little off centered?"

She thought for a while, "not really."

His hands gently brushed against her as he set the position of the camera. A dash of pink crossed his face but luckily she was focusing on the scene in front of her and hadn't noticed it, "now look through the lens. Divide the frame into three parts visually and put the main focus on either part except the center."