loosing game | daniel seavey

chapter fifteen

Today I was meeting the boy's photographer friend at their photo shoot. They insisted so came since I had been thinking about going into it. And they needed help with their outfits so they thought I'd help some.

The photo shoot was in this small, empty warehouse type building. The only thing that really filled the room was the backdrops, the camera equipment, and then the back rooms that were used as dressing rooms. Corbyn stood next to someone, looking at the camera in front of them. I walked quietly behind Corbyn and poked his sides, making him jump in the air.

"Malia, you scared me!" Corbyn laughed and held his hand over his heart. He pulled me into the circle and put his hand on my shoulder. "Caspary, this is Malia."

"Hey, it's nice to meet you," He smiled and stuck his hand out. I shook his hand and smiled back at him. "And you can call me Zack. The boys just find it easier to call me any form of my last name because of Zach."

"I'm pretty sure I've heard 'Casberry' throwback around once or twice." I laughed as Caspary put the camera on the tripod.

We then began talking about all things photography. I told him how I'd always been interested, and since I don't really have anything to do now, it was the best time to pursue it. Caspary taught me all the basics and everything about the lighting while the boys were starting to get here, even agreeing to meet again so he could teach me more. I was then pulled away by Jack to help him choose his first outfit.

"I want something that screams 'Jack Avery'," Jack said while spreading both his hands as if the words were a rainbow. I shook my head and laughed while skimming through his clothes. A pair of white overalls caught my eye almost instantly. I pair it with an orange and grey tie dye shirt. He had already had his mind set on wearing these blue and white checkered vans regardless of what he was wearing, so J left that up to him.

"This," I held the outfit out for him. His eyes went wide.

"How are you so good at this?" Jack said and took the outfit. He ran off to change. I scanned through the other clothes to see what else could've been an option. The sound of the door opening made me turn around. Thankfully, it was Daniel.

"Thank God you're here," Daniel walked in frantically. We had talked, but it had been almost three weeks since I had last seen him. He looked healthier since he stopped drinking. "Does this look okay?"

He wore a black and white stripped button up shirt with a pair of black cropped pants. His hair was done nicely and his skin was glowing. I was speechless. He rocked it so effortlessly. The only thing that could've possibly needed fixed was the fact that had the buttons done up all the way to the top, making it look a little awkward.

"Here," I said and walked over to him. I unbuttoned the top three buttons, revealing his chest a little bit. I readjusted the collar and pushed a little piece of hair out of his face. I could feel him tense up a bit underneath my touch. I let out a light breath and laid my hand on his chest. I looked up at his face, his blue eyes already starring down at me. "Perfect."

Daniel smiled with a light pink tint growing on his face. Jack yelled something from the bathroom, making us both jump away from each other. He walked out of the dressing room with a frustrated look.

"I can't readjust the size of these straps." He huffed like a child. I laughed and then him around and helped him. Once he was all ready, Caspary called his name.

"H-hey, Malia?" Daniel's shaky voice stopped me from walking out of the room. I turnt around and looked at him. "Thanks for helping me with my outfit."

"You're welcome, Daniel." I smiled at him. He smiled back and scratched the back of his neck.

"I hate to ask this, but a-are we okay?" The fact he had said 'we' made me nervous. Of course I know he meant it as friends but it made me think back to our conversation from that night.

"Of course, why wouldn't we be?" I walked over to him. He shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't know, I just feel like there's something between us still." The way Daniel was now talking made me choke up. I looked down and saw his hand shaking nervously. I hesitatingly took it into mine.

"How about you come over after the shoot? We can have a movie marathon and order take out?" I suggested with a shrug of my shoulder. Daniel's face lightened up a bit. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Yea, I think I can make that work." He laughed lightly and swung our hands. I could tell he was still nervous. I decided to push down all my nerves. I reached up and kissed his cheek gently. His face grew red and he tried to hold back a smile.

"Now, I think you have a photo shoot to get back to." I patted his chest and sent him on his way. Once Daniel left, I sorted out outfits for the other boys. I was lost in my mind that I hadn't notice Corbyn walk in.

"So what was that about?" He stood next to me and picked up a t-shirt that laid on a table.

"What was what?" I asked and pulled out a pair of black jeans for Zach. It was hard to find something unique for Zach to wear, since literally everything on his rack was black.

"That thing with Daniel? I saw you kiss his cheek," Corbyn snickered and nudged me with his elbow. I looked up at him and playfully rolled my eyes.

"Do you think Zach can wear one of your shirts? All of this black is gonna drive me insane." I tried avoiding the conversation the best I could.

"So there is something going on?" Corbyn blocked me when I tried to walk away. I knew Corbyn wasn't going to let it go until I told him. I leaned against the table and shrugged.

"If I'm gonna be honest I don't know what's going on. I like him but he's just so hard to read sometimes." I sighed as Corbyn sat beside me.

"Well, it's worth something, Daniel stopped drinking for you. He told me when you walked away from him the last night he drank, something like reality hit him and he couldn't bare to see you so upset like that again. He's changing for you, Malia." Corbyn's words hit me harder than I thought they would. He's changing for you, repeated in my mind almost a million times before I could comprehend what to say next.

"I'm just hoping I'm not another one of his girls." I sighed and crossed my arms. Corbyn's arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me closer into a hug. I instantly relaxed in his arms.

"Trust me. You aren't."