Paparazzi Girl

2. Run Away

Stella stopped as the hotel doors shut close. She inhaled deeply, trying to bring her breathing back to a normal rate. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of Xavier running away from his screaming fans. She took pictures of the whole incident, although her camera had almost slipped out of her hand in the process.

She watched as the fans frowned, yelled in disagreement and some even cried because of their failure to meet Xavier. To touch him, feel him. At first, when she started her job, when she first heard she was going to be one of Xavier's paparazzi, she almost freaked out. I mean, come on - meeting him is any girl's dream. He really inspired her. She just loved his work - loved the movies he acted in and all the charity work he took on.

Plus, looking at him wasn't a chore either.

After catching her breath at last, she trotted to her blue Nissan and got in. Now she had to bring the pictures in to her boss, see how much money she could make off of the pictures she had taken. She sighed at the thought of letting him get a hold of the pictures. It was like letting go of a secret, a secret that she could only hold onto for a few hours at a time.

She wouldn't even have this job if her dad hadn't been one before he -

It hurt to think about it.

Before he died.

He always talked about how proud he would be if she did the same as him, if she followed in his footsteps. She took it as his dying wish and she couldn't let him down. She wanted him to look down and be proud of her. That's all she wanted, practically all she needed. It was a yearning she satisfied every time she went to work.

She drove out of the parking lot and into the street. Riding through the open road, she passed through a couple of empty streets until she saw the building she worked in. PapCo. This was like a second home for her. She hopped out of the car, taking her time to look at the incredible building in front of her. She never got tired of looking at it. She walked towards the door and entered the elevator that was just about to close.

"Thanks," she told the guy that had held the elevator door for her. She'd never seen him there, and she practically knew everyone, so she assumed he was a new employee in the building.

Freckles and a bow tie. Cute. Good combination. Good for an authentic photograph, maybe in front of a green scenery.

She got to her floor and walked out, taking one last glance at freckles. He slightly smiled. Authentic and cute, she thought again. She could already hear the keyboards being tapped on and the papers being filed. Her eyes roamed through the people there, looking for Isabelle.

Isabelle was her favorite co-worker there. She had a beautiful soul. With grey hairs that mixed with her naturally mocha brown hair, Stella couldn't think of anyone who had aged as beautiful as Isabelle. She had little wrinkles around her face, very few for her age but she still had them. She was about fifty and more dedicated than anyone else she knew. Stella loved her like a grandma, like family. She was always there for her and she just absolutely appreciated everything she had done for her. A beautiful soul indeed.

Her eyes finally spotted her talking to Jessica, a girl with dark purple hair that represented a dull lavender sheet that had been washed too many times. Jessica was nice, but only to a select group. She had a reputation of being sloppy with who she chose to be nice to and who she chose to make miserable. Rebellious.

Stella excitedly galloped towards Isabelle, hugging her the moment her arms could reach her.

"Oh, dear! Oh, Stella! Don't scare me like that!" She exclaimed as she put a wrinkled hand over her heart as if she were having a heart attack.