Beginner's Luck ▪︎ Dixie D'amelio/You

13. flower dust

Madison.

I thought that slightly flirting would get (Y/N) to open up more. But she seemed to know my game, and worse: she was playing it.

Every time I mentioned her life before she came to play on the soccer team, she found a very smooth way to change the subject. Although I admired her ways, it only made me more certain that she was hiding something.

I wasn't too interested in what she was hiding. But when Dixie and Claudia doubted me, I felt like I needed to prove something. I had always been too competitive, no matter what it took, but I didn't think (Y/N)'s secret would be that big of a deal. Maybe a weird hobby? An allergy?

"So, we just need to take the pictures?" (Y/N)'s voice took me from my thoughts.

"And them write about them, it's not gonna take long, I promise." I responded as I prepped my camera.

"Ok then." The other girl replied, but didn't move to touch the flowers on my mother's garden. In fact, she seemed a bit far away from them.

"So, can you move the flowers a little bit?" I asked, looking at the first flowers through the camera visor.

"Uhm, actually... can I take the pictures?" She questioned, making me raise an eyebrow.

"Sure. Are you allergic to flowers or something?" I responded as I handed her the camera.

"You got me." She chuckled as she wrapped her hands around the camera.

"That's cute." I mumbled. (Y/N) smiled and looked at me.

"It's not that cute once the flowers get me." The soccer player replied, her eyes locked into mine boldly. I sighed and looked away for a second. She did have a way looking into people's eyes.

"Have you ever used an actual camera?" I asked.

"Not really." (Y/N) responded.

"Well, I already set it up, you just need to focus on the flowers and hit this button." I explained, pointing at the shutter button.

"Seems easy enough." She shrugged. I smiled and went to move the flowers, making sure that she'd get a clear shot. She put her eyes on the visor and started moving the lenses, apparently trying to focus on the plants. After a couple seconds, I wondered if she was having trouble focusing.

"Need help?" I chuckled.

"It's harder than I thought." (Y/N) admitted. I got up and put my hands on top of hers as she held the lenses, almost taking her by surprise.

"The key is to move slowly." I said in a lower tone, my lips almost touching her ear as I moved my hands on top of hers, adjusting the lenses. I felt her skin shiver slightly and held in a smile.

"Like this." I mumbled, watching as the flowers appeared perfectly focused on the visor.

"I like that." She commented, turning to look at me. And again, our eyes met and she shamelessly didn't look away.

"Focus on the flowers." I demanded, a smile on my face as I stared back at her, she chuckled and turned back.

"I assume I can press the button now?" She asked.

"I don't like that angle, hold on." I responded, letting her go and putting my hands on the flower again, moving it slightly.

"Better, right?" I asked as she finally hit the button and took the pictures.

"I suppose." (Y/N) shrugged.

After she took the photos, I got up to look at the result. It still wasn't exactly what I'd pictured. But, after all, it was just a school project.

"That's good enough." I said.

"You're a perfectionist." She looked at me, making me smirk.

"I just like things done right." I replied.

"I'm not judging." She said, rubbing her eyes.

"You're not very much into photography, are you?" I asked.

"I am, I just never had time to learn it." The player responded.

"What did you spend your time on before coming here?" I questioned.

"I just played soccer and took care of my little sister." She explained.

"You have a little sister? I didn't know that." I said, making her smile.

"Yeah, I do." She said.

"Do you miss her?" I questioned.

"Everyday." (Y/N) smiled, rubbing her eyes again. I looked at her and noticed tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry, I..."

"No, no, I think I got... flower dust inside my eyes." The other girl interrupted me, rubbing her eyes vigorously.

"Flower dust?" I giggled.

"Yeah, it definitely got into my eyes." She complained, even more tears rushing down as her eyes went red.

"What do you take when you have a reaction?" I asked, starting to worry, but still finding the term flower dust very funny.

"Do you have some eyedrops? They help." (Y/N) asked.

"I'll go get them." I replied.

When I returned to the backyard, she was still rubbing her eyes, that looked puffy, her nose was starting to get red too.

"Stop touching your eyes!" I grabbed her hands, making her look at me. She blinked repeatedly, seeming bothered.

"Open your eyes, I'll drop them in." I asked, she nodded and tilted her head back, keeping her eyes open. I let a couple drops inside her eyes and hoped she wouldn't get worse.

After a while, the tears stopped coming down her face, even though her nose was still pretty red.

"Do you feel better?" I asked, analyzing her face carefully.

"A little, I might need to buy some medicine." She told me.

"I feel bad." I pouted, the polen had probably come from my hands.

"At least you still look cute. I look like a mess." She winked, making me laugh. She smiled, her red eyes still watching me. Looking at her, I sighed. Even with her eyes red and wet, I still felt something else. Along with the rush of her eyes thoroughly trying to figure me out, I felt my own skin burn as she looked at me.

"You don't look like a mess to me." I found myself saying, feeling surprised at my own words. She looked into my eyes, almost softly. I noticed my heart beating against my chest, maybe it had been for a while. I took a deep breath as the weird feeling filled me. It was both something I knew and completely unknown, a strong, almost crushing rush that overwhelmed me.

Suddenly, the feeling turned into fear.

"I think we have everything we need. Do you need a ride home?."