Find The Beauty Within

Seeing Her Again

Normani's POV

    "A good photograph is knowing where to stand." -Ansel Adams.

"Allyson Brooke Hernandez! Where is my camera?" I yelled, tearing through the house in order to find the object I treasured more than my own life.

I heard Ally chuckle before she revealed herself. "Chill, Mani! You give that thing more attention than you give me," she pouted.

"But it's the Canon EOS 5DS," I respond, matching her pout. "It's got Dual Digit 6 processors and a 50MP CMOS sensor... 5ps continuos shooting, I mean can you blame me? And that's not even the half of it."

"I don't even know what any of that meant," Ally told me with a roll of her eyes.

I exaggerated my pout, much like always, just because I was desperate to get what I wanted. I looked down at her through long lashes, praying that my puppy-dog eyes worked better in that moment than they ever had before.

She lasted longer than I thought, but she finally caved, pulling the camera case out from under her bed.

"You hid it under there?" I screeched.

"Mani, chill. It was in the case."

I sighed, brushing the dust off of my case. "Since you're being a rude ass today, you're buying lunch."

"Wings?" Ally questioned, already slipping on her jacket.

"You know it," I winked, following the older girl out of our apartment. Ally placed herself in the driver's seat, me following in the passenger's side, and we were off.

    "God, I missed this place," I sighed contently as we walked through the doors of Wingstop.

    Ally took her place beside me, rolling her eyes and she let out a huff. "Mani, we ate here on Friday... It's Tuesday."

    "It's been a long few days for me," I mumble, causing the cashier to chuckle.

    My best friend and I ordered our wings and moved to get our drinks in the meantime. As I filled my cup, the bell chimed and I heard an unfamiliar voice saying the name I had been desperate to hear.

    "Dinah cheer up, you love Wingstop!" a green-eyed girl said as she shook my favorite blonde's shoulders.

    Once again, my breath hitched as I took in the sight of Dinah in all her glory. She was beautiful, insanely so, and my heart raced as I looked at her. Even in something simple like a long sleeved shirt, and ripped jeans, the blonde was absolutely stunning.

    "Dinah," I called out. "It's nice to see you again."

    The tanned girl turned to me with wide eyes, looking as nervous and shocked as I felt. Of course I told her that I'd see her around, but it was never a sure thing, so that fact that I was seeing her again made me happy beyond my wildest dreams. "Hey, stranger."

    "Normani," I told her. "Name's Normani."

    "Normani," she repeated, testing my name out on her tongue. Hearing her say my name was more fulfilling than hearing anyone else say it.

    I nodded. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

    The two girls beside Dinah The Goddess were watching me with wide eyes. The pale one with the green eyes was just as beautiful as Dinah, and the other tanned girl with brown eyes. The two were relatively close in height, and had amazing bodies as well, but they weren't the tall blonde in the center... The tall blonde that had unknowingly captured my attention from the moment I met her.

"Lauren and Camila," she motioned to the taller one before the shorter girl. "My best friends."

I nodded, grinning at the girls. "Nice to meet you both. This little ball of sunshine here is Ally, my best friend."

"That's her?" Ally squealed. "The girl you-"

I clapped my hand over the short girl's mouth, chuckling nervously as Dinah eyed me skeptically. The day I had gotten back from the beach, I had been talking about Dinah non stop. The girl was on my mind consistently since meeting her at the beach two whole weeks prior. Part of me felt as though I'd never see her again, but there she stood, looking as gorgeous as ever despite the dark circles that were beneath her eyes.

"C-can I talk to you about something, Normani?" Dinah asked, and my eyes found Ally's, silently asking if it was okay. She gave me the smallest of nods, moving to engulf Camila and Lauren in a conversation as if they had been friends for years.

    I smiled at the sight before following Dinah to an empty table, where we slipped into seats opposite of one another. All my confidence was gone the minute I realized how close, but far we were to one another. She was close enough for me to see how warm her eyes looked. "W-what's up?" I stuttered.

    "How are you?" she asked genuinely. "Last time I saw you I was a bit rude and I wanted to apologize for that."

    I shook my head. "Don't. I was too forward. But I'm good, and yourself?"

    She smiled widely, causing two dimples to appear just under her eyes, and my heart swooned at the sight. "A lot better now."

    "Well, I'm really happy to hear that," I said honestly. "So is that what you wanted to talk about?"

    "N-not exactly," she explained with a shake of her head. Dinah The Goddess began playing with her fingers looking nervous again. "I-I just...um..."

    I waited for her to speak again, but it was silent. Her hands began to tremble, and I noticed her breathing had gotten shallow. "Are you okay?" I asked.

    She responded by pulling out an inhaler, shaking and taking a deep breath. She repeated the action twice more for good measure before nodding. Her face was beat red as she ducked her head away from me in embarrassment.

    "Can I take you out?" I blurted out.

    Her wide eyes found mine. "Y-you want to take me out?"

    "I do," I confirmed.

    "O-okay."

    I grinned widely, releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding. Dinah The Goddess had agreed to go out with me...Normani Kordei Hamilton, the biggest loner there was. She was a goddess, flawless and amazing, and I wasn't worthy of her, but I was going to take my chances.

    I was going to take Dinah out on the best date of her life.

    A/N: How are you guys liking this so far? Let us know! 😋
               -Simba 🦁