Landslide: Before (Book 1) (GirlxGirl / lesbian/ LGBTQ)

Chapter Sixteen

Summary: the one where with the date

SIXTEEN

I was sitting on in the on the grass in the courtyard during lunch with a camera slung around my neck. My back was pressed against a tree as I scanned my surroundings. A few groups of upperclassmen were sitting at the picnic tables eating lunch. Carmilla and Aurora didn't have the same lunch as me today. I was left on my own today. Just me and my camera. Grayson had been teaching me techniques after school this week. We had been spending a lot of time together because of it. He was fun to be around, and was definitely a nice break from all the girls friends that I had. It was just us, our cameras, and a good time. Day after day we'd take photos of sports team, clubs, and candids of our schoolmates.

I lifted my camera up to my eye and snapped quick pictures of people milling around and laughing with their friends. The carefree moment between friends captured for a lifetime. Through the lense of my camera, I continued to scan the courtyard, taking random pictures of the nature around me. My camera landed on a lonely redhead reading a book not too far away from my spot. Violet's back was pressed against the brick wall of the school, her hair cascading over her right shoulder as her head tilted to read the pages of the book resting against her knee. One hand turned the page as another mindlessly twirled a strand of hair around her finger. I pressed the button on my camera and listened to the shutter. The image of Violet appeared on the small screen and I smiled.

I hadn't seen Violet since I dropped her off at her house on Saturday, which was several days ago. She hadn't shown up to work in those days, which left me working alone much like I had all summer. It was weird, actually. Not having Violet by my side was something I wasn't particularly used to.

A shadow fell over me causing me to look away from Violet. Grayson stood above me with a grin on his face, "Hey there, Emery." A smile graced my face that matched his.

"Hey, Grayson," I said to him. He took a seat next to me on the grass, our bodies so close our shoulders and legs were flush against each other.

"Did I interrupt your workflow?" He leaned back on his hands and flipped his hair out of his eyes.

"Oh, no, I was just taking random pictures," I said.

"Yeah? Are you enjoying being a silent creep, like me?" A laugh bubbled up and slid out between my lips.

"Loving it," I chuckled, "you've taught me well." Grayson smiled broadly at me. We fell into a comfortable silence, the early fall breeze blowing through the courtyard shaking the leaves and leaving a slight chill in the air. I placed my camera in my backpack realizing the bell signaling the end of lunch was about to ring. As I gathered up my things, I snuck a glance at Violet who was still lost in the book on her lap. She looked so content and worry free, which wasn't a look that she often wore. I wanted to walk over to her and talk to her, ask her where she had been, but my better judgment told me she wanted to be left alone.

"Emery?" Grayson's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"What?"

"I was asking if you, uh, wanted to go get pizza with me? Tonight?" He ran his fingers through his hair, smiling shyly at me.

"Oh, yeah, sure," I said to him. "What time?" We were walking side by side, his strides were shortened so I could keep up. Both of us had class in the same direction so we were headed toward the lower entrance, which meant passing by Violet.

"I can pick you up at seven?" Grayson asked just as Violet came into earshot. She didn't look up. Did she even realize lunch was over? I thought.

"Seven sounds great," I said to him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Violet's head shoot up and watched us walk by. I shot her a smile, but I didn't stop, even though I wanted to talk to her. She seemed absorbed in her world until that moment, and I didn't want to abandon Grayson. So, I kept walking, talking with Grayson about photography, and feeling excited that I was going to hang with him tonight. It was interesting how quickly we became friends, especially since it was so difficult with Violet.