candid | Zayn AU (Completed)

1 | her

The first time I saw her, god, she was a gorgeous goddess. With her silky dark hair cascading effortlessly down to her waist. Her brown eyes that always glistened with joy and she always plastered a friendly, charming look. She makes everyone's head turn at she's always the star without even trying.

But how could a beauty like her notice someone like me? I just sit in the back of the room in hopes to pass this last school year with barely anyone to talk to. I was practically dubbed as the muted freak being a creep with his camera.

Some people just don't get why I take candid shots of random people. Some take it as a creepy habit of mine, but for me, when people don't know their photos are being taken, they show the purest of all emotions. No coating of lies of forced emotion. Just pure ones. I tend to preserve those times and a photo will make it last long enough.

It fascinates me in a way that people wouldn't understand.

And I'm afraid she'll think the same once I started talking to her or even look at her direction.

She's a transferee and we were told she needs someone to show her around, make her feel welcome. I was about to volunteer, but my opportunity to know her vanished when my anxiety acted up. It whispered to me in a chilling tone, 'you're going to fuuucck uuuuuup.' I remained quiet at the back of the class until someone voluntereed instead, making me mentally slam my head against the wall.

Mayson showed her around the school, telling her this and that, explaining pretty much everything. And here I sit in the cafeteria alone in my table at the far corner, away from everybody else like always. The tray of food pushed aside as a book rests on my hand and with my camera dangling around my neck. My eyes scanned each scribbled words on the book when my attention was caught by something from the corner of my eyes.

There she is, standing next Mayson. Her head cocked to the side, a brow raised and a playful smile plastered on her lips. Mayson's probably warning her about the food here, or gore food as we call.

After she nodded, she followed Mayson on a table along with other group of girls who automatically welcomed her.

Her smile is contagious. So friendly and warm. Not forced or fake. It'll make you smile even if you're having a bad day.

I settled the book down and reached for my camera. I aimed it at her as sneaky as I could be. I just have to time it right. Take a shot of that perfect moment when her emotions are in it's purest form.

She started to laugh.

Click

I brought down my camera below the table, in case someone thinks of this wrongly, as always. Checking the photo, I smiled. I was satisfied to see the photo and I looked up back to her.

She's looking at me.

Now is not the right time to have an anxiety.

You fuuuuucked uuuupp.

I nervously smiled back, but she had already looked away. Nice one, Zayn. I was debating with myself that it took me long enough to even smile back.

I guess I already made a fool out of myself. Picking up the book and taking the camera, I stood up and left the cafeteria. I have three more classes before I'm officially done for the day.

But she's in my art class.

I sit in the back and she sit two seats in front of me. Her raven locks faced me that bounced everytime she moves. I barely paid attention that time to our current lesson, her simple movement distracted me.

And then we painted. Paint our feelings into the canvas and transform it into an abstract art, that's what the teacher told us to do. I didn't understood mine, I just randomly dip the brush to different colors and painted the canvas. Because I couldn't explain what I feel. The teacher started explaining his interpretation towards it and not once did I listened until he moved on to another student.

My art is simply unkown. He just exaggerated it.

I told you I get distracted by her.

School has ended that day and I walked home like I usually prefer to do. My only company is music as I eventually reached my home, my man cave. Such a nerd thing for me to call.

Entering my comfort bubble, I went straight to the darkroom to process her photo. I jogged set of stairs and walked a little further to the end of the hallway. Opening the door, the shades of red and black surrounded my sight.

I don't know how long I've stayed there, but I just stared at the drying photo that hangs in the air. Not creepily, more in a fascinated, adoring way.

She's indeed a beauty. A natural beauty. I don't know why I'm so looped to her when she barely noticed me and I haven't spoken a single word to her. Her brown eyes, sunkissed skin. I even heard she had an Asian background. It's nice to see the school getting diversed.

Sighing as I rubbed my face with my palm, I left the darkroom. My eyes took its time to adjust at the sudden light, but I know the twists and turns of this house and I walked in a slow pace with my eyes barely opened towards the other end of the hallway where I opened the close door.

I call this my art room. It's just an empty room back then, now I turned it into something that expressed me. But I left one wall unpainted. It's just blanked with white color. I've always thought I could save that for something if I ever get that kind of inspiration.

Then it striked me.

I run back to the other side of the hallway and grabbed her photo that was dry enough to touch. I jogged back to my art room and there I grabbed a black yarn, nailed it to each corner of the emtpy wall and hanged her photo there.

It felt like it was meant to be there.

It wasn't my idea to bukid a shrine for her, but she's a form of art. And I'm making art for a human art.

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Note that this is a short story so some chapters won't be longer than 800 words? Yeah, probably.

But I do hope you enjoy this one! Leave a vote because you want to, not because you're forced to do so. You can leave some comments that may help me improve the way I write because I'm just a filipino trying to write in english or you just simply wanna say Hi. Share this with your friends! Because why not.

See yah in the next one.