The Butterfly Effect

Chapter 17

Sighing all over again this afternoon, Scarlett couldn't get her mind off of Harley's conversation with Joey a few days ago. All this time, she thought what they had was special. She thought their feelings were mutual. But the truth was he did all this just for the sake of his photography contest. Their times together would be over along with the end of the contest.

The thought of canceling this agreement to be Harley's photo model had popped up in her head, but she knew it would let him down. Seeing him all excited with the whole contest thing made her not have the heart to do so. It was stressing for Scarlett that she still cared about him while he didn't at all. So today, all she wanted to do was just to finish this thing as soon as possible, so she could stay away from him. Maybe if he wasn't around, she could forget everything about him.

"Okay, Scar, I want to take a picture of you with this foliage as the background," Harley explained with a camera hanging around his neck.

Scarlett looked around. They were currently in Central Park and she had never really explored this side of the park since she came to New York a few months ago. The yellow and red leaves on the trees and bushes created a magnificent view by the stunning lake.

"It's beautiful," she said, admiring the view in front of her.

With the breeze blowing his curls, he faced her. "Yes, it is."

"And a bit cold," she added as she buried her hands deeper into her jacket pocket to warm herself.

"Let's finish this soon, so we could get some hot coffee after this."

Scarlett shot him a quick agitated smile. "I- I don't think I'm ready to do this, Harley."

Harley looked into her eyes. "Scar, we're all never ready to do something new, but in the end all we have to do is just to do it anyway. So, now, just follow my lead, okay?"

Looking down because her face already went vermilion, she said, "But, I- I can't smile."

"You don't have to smile, Scar." His eyes travelled around, trying to find an idea. "Oh, how about this? You walk straight, turn around and twirl your dress casually when I call you then continue walking after that. Like this." He copied what he had just said into actions and just by that, she bet he could get himself a job as a runway model. He should just submit a portrait of himself for the contest.

"Uh, okay." Trying to keep the idea in mind, Scarlett did like what he had instructed her.

"No, no, Scar. Um, it looks so..." Harley stared at his camera LCD and dissatisfaction clearly showed on his face. "I don't think it's a good idea. How about you... Oh, you sit here and throw or blow the fallen leaves. I think with a little laughter would be nice."

"O- okay."

She got down, collected some leaves on the ground and attempted to pose. It wasn't easy especially with her nervousness on the surface. She couldn't even imagine how her face looked like right now. She must look awful.

"Scar, the thing you did with the leaves, it looked... unnatural." Harley sighed. "But you're improving, that's good. Don't be nervous, okay?"

Scarlett just nodded weakly without saying anything, knowing he just sugarcoated the truth.

"Okay, good. Let's try again."

After doing the same pose but tried harder to be more confident, she didn't feel there was any difference with the previous one.

"Scar, what can make you less nervous?" he asked patiently. "Or, maybe you want to do the pose you're comfortable with?"

"No, I don't know how to pose," she replied unexcitedly as she looked down. "I'm sorry."