Through the Lens of Love

Chapter one

Fletcher sat at the edge of the cafeteria, conversation humming all around him, his gaze fixed on the entrance. They had only been back in college two weeks and he once again picked up this old habit.
His heart thudded in his chest as his eyes darted towards the door every few seconds. He was waiting, as usual, for a glimpse of someone.

Mia.

Mia was all Fletcher's mind could focus on. The kind of person who could walk into a room and make it feel like the sun had just risen.
Short, sandy-colored curls framed Mia perfectly, resting just below the eye's it highlighted cheekbones and the curve of a smile. But it was those eyes, dark honey in color, that had captured Fletcher's attention from the moment he first saw them in their photography class last year. They were deep, expressive, and seemed to hold a world of stories just waiting to be told.

It was the beginning of their second year studying photography at college, and Fletcher had promised himself that he wouldn't let his feelings get in the way. But the more he saw Mia, the more he admired Mia's passion for photography, the harder it became to ignore the pull he felt.

Mia had thoughts about Fletcher too, thoughts kept tucked away in the back of the mind. That's were Mia wished to keep them. It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment feelings had started to grow, but it was somewhere in the second semester of their first year. Maybe it was the way Fletcher always seemed so focused during lectures, brow furrowed in concentration, or the way Fletcher treated the camera like an extension of the body, capturing moments that took Mia's breath away. Whatever it was, it had sparked something in Mia that couldn't quite be ignored, though trying had become a frequent habit.

Mia had always been close to an older brother, Dean. Dean had been a rock ever since they were kids, always looking out for Mia, even more so after their parents had moved away. When Dean got an apartment, it only made sense for Mia to move in when college began. They had a routine that worked-Dean was the protective older brother, and Mia was the independent younger sibling who loved nothing more than to spend hours with a camera, capturing the world.

Despite the closeness of their living arrangement, Mia hadn't told Dean about the growing feelings for Fletcher. It wasn't that there was any lack of trust, but more that Mia didn't quite know what to do with those feelings personally. It seemed easier to pretend they weren't there. To focus on studies and ignore the fluttering in the chest whenever Fletcher was around.

As the new academic year began, Mia and Fletcher found themselves sharing nearly all their classes again. It was impossible to avoid each other, not that either of them really wanted to. They spoke occasionally, short exchanges about assignments or shared jokes about their professors, but they had never gone beyond that surface level of friendship.

All that changed when they were paired for a project in their documentary photography class. The assignment was simple in theory-capture the essence of a place through a series of photographs-but the execution was far more complex. The place they chose had to be meaningful, the photos had to tell a story, and they had to work together to make it happen.