Canon | (Harry Styles AU)

[fifty seven]

"This is really personal I don't think you want me to look at this," I stammer, quickly shutting the folder.

"If it makes you uncomfortable you don't have to," She quickly takes it back.

"It's not that I'm uncomfortable, it's just..I hardly know you and I don't want you to feel weird about sharing something so intimate.."

"That's exactly it. You don't know me,"She smiles,"It's just..it's easier when strangers critic my work. Strangers have a way of being honest without even trying."

I soak in her words for a moment, finding truth in them. I had never saw things that way. I had always been massively secretive so if I ever asked for a second opinion it was usually from Zayn. He was an artist and he always had a way of knowing what I meant because he knew me and he knew where I was coming from. But maybe that's not the right way..maybe having someone who's a complete stranger is what you need to come in with fresh eyes and say the complete truth.

I give her a smile, reaching out my hand for the folder which she hands to me hesitantly again.

I open it with a new found attitude toward her work. It wasn't about me and comparing this to my work..it was about what could be seen through the eyes of someone else.

I gently flip through each photo, transporting myself to a mindset I wasn't familiar with-disappointment with ones self to the point of self hate. I mean sure, everyone had their moments..everyone had their insecurities. Take that and multiply it by a hundred..this was that self hate that just didn't seem to go away.

It was evident, it was the story she was telling. The angles, the coloring..you could feel the pain. There was so much more to the beautiful blank face covered in tiny scratches while her delicate skin with fragile bones poking out, was covered in large cuts.

But with each photo I turned to next, I felt the story become more and more positive, but then sadly digress. It was like taking two steps forward, and three back. If Gigi wasn't sitting here beside me with healed scars and a healthy body Id expect this story to have a sad ending.

But it doesn't.

The very last photos show more than just her in the frame..she's not alone anymore and she's not hiding like she was in the early shots. It's such a beautiful story I really can't help but to compare it to my own. This was moving, and it definitely made me feel.

"So.."Gigi clutching her hands together asks slowly,"What do you think?"

"It was good,"I pathetically say, knowing that 'good' wasn't even close to covering her work.

I guess failing at being subtle while asking how she created something so powerful the remainder of the period made up for it.

"Don't forget to bring your portfolio tomorrow," Gigi reminds me. Gathering her things after the bell rings.

"I'll make sure I do," I say, and she laughs just as Blake awkwardly approaches.

"Right well, see you tomorrow," I rush to say, slinging my backpack on, giving Blake a forced small smile  before I make my rushed exited rather than continuing on with questions.

"Alright, see you," She smiles warmly her face contorting in a look of confusion for my sudden need to hurry out the door. 

Without the distraction of my favorite subject, my mind instantly reverts back to Jo.

I rush off the schools campus, allowing the campus security near the gate to look over my schedule to prove that I did in fact have a modified schedule allowing me to leave early.