picture this //h.s. au//

Chapter 1

I wake up to the smell of smoke permeating the apartment, the fire alarm that only works part of the time screeching almost as loudly as Connor is.

"Lavender, how do I turn this damn thing off?" he yells from the kitchen. I sigh and hoist myself out of bed, shuffling through the tiny hallway to our equally tiny kicthen. I take one look at the destruction around him and start to laugh.

"Trying to cook again?" I ask, giggling. His miffed expression confirms my suspicion and my smile widens.

"Don't make fun, just...fix this!" he says, gesturing to our kitchen-turned-war zone. I shake my head and grab the broom leaning against the counter and give the alarm a sound whack with the handle. The blaring dies off after a few moments and I turn to face Connor.

"All better," I say, patting his arm. "But for future reference, I think you should let me cook and I'll let you make the coffee." He gives me a resigned smile, thanks me, and ambles over to the cabinet where we keep the instant coffee. "So," I begin as I push hideously burnt pieces of toast into a trash bag, "Are you giving up your dream of performing and becoming a cook instead?" I turn around to see his reaction just in time for him to flick a bit of burnt egg into my face with a sour expression.

"Cute," he replies, "but no. You know I would never give up the theater." He says this with a rather dreamy expression that I usually reserve for large slices of cake and Zac Efron.

I laugh, "Don't I know it. Hey speaking of the theater shouldn't you be at class right now? It's already 9:30." Connor was still attending school while I had graduated the previous year. We would have graduated around the same time but he ended up switching his major from psychology to drama in his second year. I had met him at a local coffee shop my first year where he was slaving over a psych textbook and I was trying to find inspiration for my new portfolio assignment.

As soon as I'd walked in he'd caught my eye and I knew I had to photograph him. He was all pale skin, dark hair, and sharp angles- the perfect model for my shots. I'd asked him- albeit rather awkwardly- if he'd mind if I took some photos and he'd agreed. We became fast friends and ended up moving in together soon after. We weren't in a physical relationship by any means- Connor is asexual- but we get along so well we decided it'd just make sense to share an apartment.

Connor's horrified gasp breaks me out of my reverie and I glance up to see him scurrying around the kitchen, simultaneously trying to clean up and gather his things. "I'm gonna be so late!" he groans.

I laugh and wave him away, "I'll take care of this, you just get off to class, okay?" He begins to protest but I cut him off, "It's really fine, Marlene said I wouldn't have to be in until 10:30 today, I'll have plenty of time to get cleaned up."

He smiles, "You really are a life saver, Lavender. I'll probably be back late tonight, Dylan said something about wanting to hang out. Thanks again!" With that he rushes out of the door, closing it gently so it won't fall over. It's only happened a handful of times, but it's never fun trying to get it reattached. I survey the mess around me, chuckling lightly.

Connor's always a bit of a tornado, running around constantly, forgetting things, spilling things, and breaking things. I shuffle around the tiny kitchen cleaning up the breakfast disaster while keeping my eyes on the clock. I want to make sure I have ample time to get ready today. Yesterday I got up so late that I ended up wearing my slippers to work. Marlene described it as a "bold choice" and I had to agree.

With the kitchen finally somewhat presentable, I head to my room to get changed. I choose a sweatshirt that smells mostly clean and pull on some jeans with some suspicious crust near the botom of the left pantleg. I tug on some boots and grab my bag and head out the door. I shiver a bit in the chilly autumn wind, mourning the loss of the lovely summer days already. I hop on my bike and head down the the film development shop and studio where I work. The studio aspect of the shop has long dissolved into display cases featuring lenses and tripods, but once in a while we'll have someone come in for professional photos.

By the time I get to the shop , my cheeks are chapped, my ears are burning, and my nose is running. God I hate the cold, I think as I chain my bike up outside and pull on the door. It doesn't open. "That's weird," I mutter to myself, tugging harder. It still dosn't budge. I fish around in my bag for the keys to the store, which I've never even used seeing as Marlene's always there.

After a few minutes of fumbling around with my numb fingers, I get the door open and step inside, flicking the fluorescent lights on. I get behind the counter, tugging off my jacket and hanging up my bag. I survey the counter, looking for a note from Marlene but come up with nothing. I'm about to head to her office to see if she's left a memo for me there, but the door opens with a little "ding".

I turn around, putting on my best customer service smile. "Good morning, welcome to Picture This. How can I help you?"

"Erm, are you Lavender?" The man says. He's tall, quite thin, with chocolate waves and deep green eyes. His voice has a soft foreign lilt- English maybe. I can see the edges of tattoos spiraling around his wrists and collarbones. He wears dark jeans and a large black jacket with the collar of a flannel peeking out the top. I'm honestly a bit intimidated by him, even more so now because he's looking for me.

I smile nervously, "Um yes, that's me. Can I help you with something?" I ask, retreating farther behind the counter to put some solid distance between us. I really try not to judge people on their appearances but as handsome as this man is, I can't help but be a little wary. His eyes follow my movements closely, a wry smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, I think you can. I'm Marlene's nephew. She's ill currently and asked me to fill in while she's re-cooperating. She said she called you?" he says, trailing off. I blink in surprise. I'd known she'd been feeling a bit under the weather lately, but I didn't know it was bad enough for her to have to stay home. The first shaky tendrils of worry begin to curl uncomfortably in my stomach.

"Oh, yeah she probably did," I say, wringing my hands. "See, my landlord cut off my land line because I wasn't getting the bills in on time so-"

"Yeah, okay," he says, coldly cutting me off. "Anyway, I'm going to head to the back office to manage some things." I follow him, miffed at being cut off and more than a little suspicious.

"Well, sir, I'm sorry, but I really need to hear this from Marlene herself. See I can't really be letting people just waltz in there," I say, quite proud at how strong my voice sounds. He turns around, tossing a shiny white iPhone at me.

"There," he says, "Call her if you want. I don't care." His expression is sour, and I feel my face pinching a bit to mirror it. I quickly tap her number into the phone and hit call, noticing that the device recognizes the number as "Aunt Marlene." My face heats up as I hold the phone up to my ear.

"Harry? Is something wrong?" Marlene's voice says in my ear. So his name is Harry. I vaguely remembered looking at photos of toddler Harry when I'd first started working here, but last I'd heard he was back in Cheshire trying to get his own photography business off the ground.

I cough a bit awkwardly and reply, "Oh um no, sorry, this is Lavender. Harry said you called me to notify that he would be filling in while you're out but my phone's...broken," I say, not wanting to let her know that my paycheck doesn't exactly cover all of my expenses.

"Oh, Lavender! I did leave a voice mail but you wouldn't have gotten it then. Yes, sorry, he is going to be filling in for me. Doctors say I have a nasty case of mono, but don't worry your pretty little head about it. I'll be up and at 'em soon enough." I smile, Marlene's can-do attitude always puts me in a better mood.

"Okay then, feel better, I'll miss you here at the shop," I say.

"I'll miss you too! Oh and don't mind Harry, he's a bit grumpy because- well because. Anyway, have a nice day dear!"

"You too," I say, then hang up. I look around to give the phone back to Harry, but he's already locked himself up in Marlene's office. I sigh and lean back against the counter. This was going to be an experience.

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A/N: I'm super excited to be getting this story started, I'm already loving writing it! Let me know if you like it or if you see any mistakes. Vote and comment please! Thank you xx.