Hide and seek (editing)

39.

Austin's Pov:

I walk up feeling the empty space beside me. So I get up and smiled from the memory of last night.

I look for her in every corner of my room and she's nowhere to be found. So I go for a quick shower, wear my most comfortable shirt and gone to the secret room inside my room bringing my camera with me.

I look around and glance at every masterpiece in it. Every picture and every paintings has a story only me knows. I love painting. It's a secret only me, my mom and my dad knows. But my photography talent wasn't a secret. It's actually a habit.

And my most favorite shots that I have is a picture of a girl that I love for almost half of my life. She's my favourite subject. Wherever she is, I'm there. Taking every moment that I can collect. I capture every smile, laugh and even her sneezed whenever she's around. And my camera loves her the most.

I am almost a stalker. But she's too innocent that she didn't notice it.

I look at the picture I captured the first time I saw her. I am only just ten years old then. I am on the second floor balcony, playing with my new camera that dad bought me. I saw her in the garden outside the company building my parents own. She's hopping just like the joyful kid that she is. She maybe realized that someone is watching her, so she look up and saw me. She look at me and smiled at me. She's so pretty from afar. Then she look back at the butterfly that she's watching, that's when I take a picture of her the first time.

She's at the company almost everyday and I always saw her at the garden playing alone.

Then the shooting of the kids magazine begins. And she's there as one of us. And I realized that she doesn't remember seeing me the day I first saw her.

We've become close friends. We're always playing at the company garden. And I am so happy whenever I saw her.

Her slanted chinky hazel brown eyes is the most beautiful part of her. It is like a star that twinkles whenever she smiles. And because we're not the only child model there. She's also close to others. And it makes me angry sometimes. It's as if someone is taking away my toy.

But we remain friends until I realized that my simple crush turned into liking her. And because the feeling is new to me and I am in denial at the beginning, I start avoiding her. But I still take a picture of her when she doesn't know it. As you will notice, almost all of her picture here are stolen shots.

I heard her father doesn't like her modelling because of her grades. So when I didn't see her everyday anymore I also stop modelling too, except for some occasion that our company badly needed an extra.

She enrolled to my school when she turned 7th grade, under our scholarship program. I was on my 8th grade back then.

She starts having new friend. And of all people around. Why'd she choose to have a guy best friend? That's why I always glaring at them. At least when their together it's not just always the two of them. She gained one more girl friend.

I saw her grow. I captured her grow for eight long years. She has grown to a very beautiful lady like she is right now.

Until she became very noticeable by everyone. Specially with the boys. But sometimes jealousy is eating me and it makes me immature. I sometimes do slight bullying to those who shows interest to her. Thank God she's not interested to any of them.

You'll probably ask why I didn't do anything to pursue her. But let me just tell you, I grew up pampered by my mom and chased by the girls, even in my childhood. I don't want to sound cocky and proud. But I never pursued anyone in my life. So I don't even know how will I even ask her out or to even come near her.

When she was hit by a ball that Gab throw at the cafeteria, I almost wanted to kill him. She painted in front of me. And I almost panic if not for those student around us.

But then I captured the nearest picture of her I ever shot. She's sleeping on the clinics bed with a tiny bruised forehead. That's when Gab know that she's that girl my mom is talking about.

My family knows that I have a crush on her. Even the servants knows it. And I asked them not to tell anyone. That's why when I got angry on our company's year end party coz almost all the teenage boys asking to dance her. She announced to our employees, a no dancing policy for teenagers.

Maybe it's kinda obsession, I have an album of her yearly attendance.

Last post year end party, held a month ago. No dancing teenies anymore. But it saddened me that the party bores her. So when my father ask me to entertain her. I grab the chance to go near her and volunteered to bring her to Gab's party.

That party is one of the happiest day of my life. I've got to kiss her and touch her. And I like the feeling so much. It's more than lust. It gives me courage to confess to her before highschool ends. And I just realized what a big idiot I am for letting eight years of our life passed by without even attempting to pursue her.

I drive her home. And I'm about to confess my feelings for her, but she shut me up by telling me to forget what happened to us. I felt so shock and bitter. But more than mad, I felt so sad. It was the first time for me to attempt to confess to her. To have a courage on pursuing someone. But she rejected me already without even hearing what I have to say.

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Xoxo 💋