Friend's Daughter (Sebastian Stan Story)

Chapter 76

July 2025

Ever since Willow had Aaliyah she had taken less and less jobs. She used to always be working, always being wanted by magazines, designers, and movie studios. She was a sought after photographer and really loved what she did but since having kids, she had found herself wanting to spend less time working and more time with them. Maybe once they were both in school she would take on more but for now her only really busy time of the year was New York Fashion Week. This didn't mean that she stopped taking picture the rest of the year though. Her subject did change however. Now she found that her camera's memory card was filled with photos of her family instead of models.

Willow had been wanting to do a photoshoot with Aaliyah for a while now. The little girl being incredibly photogenic and was always so ready when the camera pointed at her. She had finally planned a day to take her out to get some good shots of her. She had spent most of the morning getting her ready and packing a few extra outfits for her to change into. Aaliyah knew that her mom was a professional photographer so she was beyond excited that she was going to spend the day taking pictures of her. They didn't know how long it would take so it was decided that Sebastian would stay home with Athena.

The car ride to their destination was a blast. Per Aaliyah's request they jammed out to the Coco soundtrack, sining every lyric to every song. When they got to their shooting location, Willow already knew the perfect spot. While shooting with backgrounds and props was fun, Willow much preferred to let the models shine through on their own, with only the help of clothes. She led them to a office building that was seemingly empty. It was a fairly boring building, the walls and floor both a plain cement gray with a small set of stairs on the side.

They started off taking some photos on the steps. Willow took some time explaining to Aaliyah what to do. Aaliyah had never been photographed like this, only ever really taking fun pictures at home or the park. But now she was going to model and even though she was only four years old, Aaliyah was determined to do the best she could. She wanted her mom to be proud of her.

"Lia, are you ready?" Aaliyah eagerly nodded before she started posing for the camera. Aaliyah was an absolute natural. "Okay Lia can you move one of your feet a little bit to the front," she said trying to instruct her on different poses. "Yes perfect! You don't have to look at me okay. Look anywhere you want." Willow was shocked at how little directing Aaliyah really needed. She was born to be in front of the camera.

When they finished on the steps they moved to just a plain wall. "Okay Lia just sit on the ground and do your thing." That's all Willow needed to say for Aaliyah to kill it. Aaliyah was loving it so much and didn't want it to end.

"Can we do more mommy?"

"Well I do have two more outfits for you. How about we drive around and find some new places?" Aaliyah loved the idea and began pulling her mom towards the car so they could get going.

Willow wanted to keep the gray backgrounds but went for something not as plain as a wall and stairs. She did find two parking lots that did seem a little boring but gave more dimension to the photographs. Lucky for Willow, Aaliyah's hair was super easy to work with, so it gave them the freedom to do different styles. To no surprise, Aaliyah did great. She slowly became more comfortable after each outfit change. By the last look, Aaliyah was absolutely owning it.

Aaliyah couldn't wait to tell her dad about her day. She had the best time and couldn't wait to do it again. As soon as they walked into their house, Aaliyah ran in to find Sebastian, "Daddy! Daddy!" she said jumped in excitement once she saw him in the living room. She jumped onto his lap and began telling him all about her day. "We took so many pictures and mommy is so good and we did four outfits and I did different poses and mommy says I'm a natural," she said in one long breath. She was so excited and wanted her dad to know just how much.