the photographer. [zdh]

twenty-five

i stepped out of the portland international airport for the first time, only to have a blast of icy-cool air hit my face. wincing, i rubbed my stinging eyes and looked in the direction of a group of four standing at the side, looking out for someone.

turning behind to ask the boys for directions, daniel pointed at the group. "they're there."

as we walked towards them, i distinctly made out the figures to be keri, jeff, chris and anna.

mother, father, brother, sister.

we were almost standing in front of them when anna turned to face us. her eyes lit up as they landed on me. "leah?"

anna laughed as she enveloped me in a hug, and only let me go after a long moment. next to approach me was keri.

"i'm so sorry for everything, and welcome to the family," she whispered as she hugged me tightly. then it was jeff and chris.

"i hope you're more normal than that one," chris commented as he pointed at anna.

i smirked as i turned to face him. "considering we're twins, i think you'll just have twice the amount of anna. so, no, i don't think i'm different."

chris laughed as he turned away to greet the rest of the boys, as jeff smiled at me. "well, kiddo, i know this is sudden, but you've got your own room, should you ever want to come and stay with us when you aren't in in california or on tour. i've heard that you got a house of your own in dallas -- your foster parents called us -- and i know you might not want to, but, well, it's there."

tears threatened to spill as i hugged my real father tightly for the first time. "this is sudden, but thank you."

"hey!" anna called from the roadside. "i've got a taxi, and you'd better come in if you don't want to walk home!"

**

stepping into the seavey house for the first time was cool.

stepping into my new room for the first time was surreal.

but it was getting to know the house that was difficult.

every time i was introduced to a new room or area of the house, i couldn't help but wonder. what would it have been like to grow up here? would i still be a photographer? would i want to start a beauty and fashion youtube channel like anna? would i just be a regular teen, only known because my brother was the famous daniel james seavey?

each time these unpleasant thoughts invaded my brain, i would struggle to push them away. but no matter how much i told myself that i couldn't have controlled my future no matter what i did, the possibility was still there.

i fell asleep that night with an uneasy pit forming at the bottom of my stomach.

**

the next morning, i woke up to the sound of rain. a heavy downpour outside. and sadly, my bed was right below the skylight.

the view was nice when it wasn't raining. now, i could hardly see even the sky outside.

as i looked around my attic bedroom properly for the first time -- yesterday i'd only slept inside without taking note of my surroundings -- i appreciated the taste in decor and fine eye for details that the person who picked out my furniture clearly had. i suspected it was anna.

the room was mainly white, with a sloping roof, and designed to fit my tumblr aesthetic. the bed had a white wooden frame and was queen-sized, and the pillow and quilt were comfy. i had plants hanging from the ceiling near one of the windows and also on the floor. my wardrobe was white too, and there was a plain white wall where i planned to hang pictures i'd taken and also some polaroids, along with fairy lights that could easily be bought at ikea, i hoped. there was also a drybox to store my cameras, which i appreciated greatly. a door led me to the bathroom that daniel and i shared, his room being directly next to mine.

a soft knock on that bathroom door brought me back to reality.

"daniel?" i called. the door opened and there stood the man himself.

"leah?" he mocked me. i rolled my eyes and patted the space next to me, gesturing for him to sit down. daniel complied immediately, sinking down onto the soft bed.

"how are you settling in?" he questioned me.

i answered him smoothly and told him the way i envisoned my room to end up looking like, and our heated discussion over whether or not having gucci slides was advisable or not -- no, i didn't know how the conversation got there -- was interrupted by another knock, but this time on the main door to my room.

"breakfast!" keri called.

**

one week in portland, oregon passed in a blur, and all too soon, the boys and i had to return to california to kick off the next leg of the invitation tour in europe. i carefully packed my camera in my backpack as i stood up from the bed.

"i think that's it," i muttered, surveying my room to make sure i hadn't left anything out.

anna smiled at me from the doorframe where she was standing. "i'll miss you."

i hugged my twin sister. "i will too, and this week has been really enjoyable with you."

it was true. i'd learnt to put aside all my 'what if?' questions after a talk with wise old grandpa jonah.

"bye, leah," anna handed me a package as i set foot out of the house.
"open this when you have a fashion emergency."

grinning, i nodded. as keri and jeff hugged me goodbye, they stepped back as daniel, tyler, anna, and chris attacked me in a tight hug. i heard the sound of a camera shutter as corbyn took a picture. "the first of the seavey kids together," he commented, smiling.

zach, daniel, tyler, jonah, jack, eben, corbyn and i got into the car that would take us to the airport. i looked back at the house one last time as we drove away.

"i'm happy for you," zach whispered in my ear.

i turned to look at him.

"you know what? i'm happy for me too."

✎

a/n pretend the seaveys still live in portland, the herrons still live in dallas, the avery/stanfords still live in susquehanna, etc etc