[BFS]Keep The Focus On

[Quinn Wiley]

The fashion show was something quite new to Quinn. No one knowing him, or even not knowing him, would think it was a subject he knew quite well. What he knew however, was how to take good photos. At least he thought he made pretty good ones. And someone must have thought it too otherwise he wouldn't have been asked to take some now.

While the models were backstage, Quinn had been there, taking pictures of this commotion. This endless activity was actually pretty exciting. Everyone was running, there was electricity in the air. He captured it all. He thought it was interesting. And with a bit of luck the newspaper would ask him for some photos. Not Zoe, not Kiara, him. It might be a small newspaper only for those at school but it was still something. And those pictures, whether Erika wanted copies of them or not, would stay with him so he could later show off his skills to the people that matter.

In the meantime, the fashion was about to start and his place was no longer backstage but up front, with his camera, to take the pictures of the models as they walked that runway. The music had not started yet and the lights were on to allow people to find their seats. It was how he noticed her. He didn't think Lucy would be the kind to pay to see a fashion show. Social events didn't seem to go well with her. But she was there. He was tempted to give her a little sign but he knew how little she cared about him. Still, the way she ran away from him during that cruise, it intrigued him. He dared not go after her, not even during the camping trip, because he feared she would lash out at him. Even now, he was not sure if getting her attention was that good of an idea. But he kept looking at her as the seats were filled up. The question was, would she see him?

[Lucy James]

Gazing over the crowd, Lucy had little interest in watching the actual fashion show. She'd simply come here to see what all the fuss was about and after some walking around, she'd quickly realized that this wasn't at all the kind of place someone like her should have been. Still though, she was lingering around. She didn't know why, but she supposed it was either boredom, or the simple lack of having anything better to do.

The commotion was drawn towards the stage, which had the brunette pulling away little by little. Her blue eyes moved over the crowd and stopped, seeing a familiar face, looking away, and looking back to make sure she'd seen the right person. An audible sigh from her face as she recognized the boy she'd met on the boat and in the art studio.

For a moment, she considered walking away, but he'd already spotted her, and she supposed it would look all the more suspicious if she walked away again.

Sighing, she pushed her way through the moving crowd, making a beeline straight towards the boy. Once she reached him, she stood by his side, blue eyes staring at the stage. "This isn't exactly the kind of thing I expected to see you at." She supposed the same could be said about her. "Are you here to take pictures?"

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn was just as surprised as Lucy to see her here. He didn’t think it was the kind of place she’d like to be. Too crowded with people that might annoy her. Then again, she was not as antisocial as he was or at least not in the same way. She drove them crazy whereas he only avoided them. Except both were here right now.

At some point, they both ended up looking at each other at the same time, making it quite clear to Quinn that she had spotted him and remembered who he was. Though he bet she would do a better job than he at pretending not to recognize the other. He tried not to focus on her though, as he would soon have to take the pictures of the models as they walked down for all to see. He personally found little interest in a fashion show. The commotion in the back was far more appealing than looking at girls, and some guys, parade in someone else’s outfits for people to see and cheer. They were just clothes. Erika still made clothes that would seem natural to wear, unlike some designers. He supposed he could at the very least give that to the girl. But if he enjoyed taking pictures so far, he understood that fashion shows might not be his favourite part of it.

He didn't really expect her to come and see him. She could just as easily pick up a seat and ignore him altogether. But she went to him. He noticed her, from the corner of his eyes, coming his way. “Yes. You won’t see me on that thing,” he told her, pointing towards the runway. Uh-uh, no way. He turned his attention on her, since it had not started yet. “I didn’t expect you here either. What is it? Your favourite victims were all here and you were bored all alone?” He wasn’t sure if he should say that. Part of him found this awfully bold of him. But he was surprised to see her here.

[Lucy James]

"Aw, really?" she spoke, adding fake disappointment to her voice. Though, she had a feeling seeing him up there would have been rather amusing. Then again, that was simply because she knew he didn't want to, and Lucy was nothing if not sadistic. She'd always been in a way and even more so as she'd hit puberty and then onward. She didn't know if it had anything to do with her past experiences or if it was simply a trait she'd always carried. She supposed it didn't matter.

Snorting at his next lines of words, Lucy's head tilted as she tossed a grin in his direction. "I wish," she began, lips puckering. "Though, I suppose it's more so a case of curiosity. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about." Now, she didn't understand why so many people wanted to go to this thing, but she supposed it was better than a few other things she could think of from the top of her head.

Rolling her shoulders, the brunette furrowed her brows slightly. She could feel the various abilities around and it tugged at the back of her mind - like an annoying buzzing of sorts. Though, it usually helped if she focused on an ability she was somewhat familiar with and in this case, that happened to be Quinn... now if only she could do that without copying the power that would be great.

[Quinn Wiley]

He looked back towards Lucy. He knew she was teasing. She couldn’t seriously expect him to be walking down that runway. She was just mocking him. A part of him was mad at this. He knew it was how she acted around everybody, or so she claimed, but he couldn’t help being upset. He was being mocked after all. He didn’t understand why she liked to do that to him so much. One moment she came and acted almost like they understood each other, that they connect in some way and the next she was doing this. Quinn already didn't understand women but this one was even worse to get.

So it was not boredom that brought her here but by her explanation he believed it kind of was. “There’s not much to see just yet. I heard they prepared all sorts of booths and activities before the show. I was backstage the whole time,” he explained. Yes, with the models, while they were changing and getting their hair and makeup done. When that thought popped in his brain, he was certain it did in hers too and that a comment would soon follow. He decided he would ignore it.

Quinn never bothered to ask Lucy’s power and he was doing his best to ignore the girl right now. She looked like she wished to be elsewhere and he did not find that surprising at all. If this look meant something else, Quinn didn’t realise it. “You can stick around if you want. You’ll get the best spot to look at the models. Just don’t distract me while I take the photos.” Erika would not like it if she had no pictures of this, he convinced himself of that. He wanted to avoid pissing the girl off.

[Lucy James]

"Ah," she replied, nodding. She hadn't looked around overly much, and she likely wouldn't. She didn't have that much interest in this whole thing. She simply had little else to do with her time. She was glad she'd met a friendly (well, friendly-ish) face here though. Despite everything, she kind of did enjoy Quinn's company. Though, he did bring up something that caused the brunette to smirk. He'd been backstage with the models? Lucky guy. At least he got some action.

Tossing Quinn a quick glance, Lucy pursed her lips. "I hardly see the point in sticking around if I can't distract or bother you," she said honestly. After all, that was the only reason she'd come over. At least, to where Quinn was standing. Now, she understood that this was apparently important to him, and she wasn't about to screw him that badly over.

She'd never openly admit to that, of course. "It's boring just standing here," she added quickly, frowning slightly as she looked out over the crowd. It wasn't like she had any interest in watching the actual show anyways.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn tried his best not to look at her after he told Lucy he had been backstage. With the models. Who changed in the many outfits for the show. He could argue there were guys too but he didn’t want to risk someone else insinuating he might be gay. Especially since she could tease him more than others, claim it was why he acted like a dead fish when she kissed him and all. No, he wanted to avoid that. He still caught her smirk though, quickly turning his attention back to his camera, pretending to clean it and check it was all in working order for when the show would start.

He was not entirely sad when she said she might just go if she couldn’t distract him. “Erika will kill me if I can’t give her pictures.” He might be exaggerating there, but the girl certainly wouldn’t have asked for some people from the photography club to join if she didn’t want some pictures taken. “The newspaper want some too and I bet the yearbook committee will ask to have a look as well,” he added although his voice lost all interest in it as he went on. To give one or two pictures to the newspaper was not to displease him but he was not sure for the yearbook. Maybe if they wrote he was the one who took the pictures. But would anyone care who took them?

“Maybe you should have volunteered to model. There was a bit of everything behind. From super excited to real divas. And some close to throwing up if they had not already,” he told her. She would have had her share of fun there. He could just see her make the divas complain even more and the nervous one get even sicker at the thought of what was to come. He nodded towards the runway. “You’d fit on there more than I do.”

[Lucy James]

She was tempted to point out just how stupid he sounded - though, she quickly decided against it. She had a feeling he wasn't particularly fond of the way she called him out. Then again, he didn't seem particularly fond of anything that had nothing to do with his camera. Each to their own, she supposed. Her head tilted slightly to the side and despite herself, Lucy offered him a meek smile. "Ah," she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She offered nothing else - in truth, she hardly saw a reason to.

The next part though, had the blue eyed girl snorting. The amused expression quickly turned into a glower though as she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "No thank you," she said, her brows furrowing. She had enough of that in her life and the last time she'd entered a stage or even something similar, it hadn't exactly ended well. She suspected Quinn didn't know that though. How could he? Only a few-- well, only three or four people knew. That was more than enough.

Her gaze lingered on the stage before she looked over at Quinn again. "I doubt it," she spoke, her voice cool. She didn't belong up there. Maybe she had once upon a time, but she didn't anymore. Never would either. She'd put that life and everything about it behind her a long time ago and she preferred it stayed buried.

[Quinn Wiley]

He didn't really know what this ‘Ah’ meant, if she was teasing him or finding it uninteresting. He looked at her. Of course, this was Lucy, she was not likely to say anything else. But he still somehow feared what she might do after saying just an ‘Ah’. Nothing. He should have expected it. Yet, he still feared she’d find it the perfect excuse to get him in trouble. Wasn’t it her kind of thing to do? Everyone or so who may have an opinion on her would say she was the devil. That seemed like a thing the devil would love to do.

He was not surprised she would laugh at his suggestion. It was sort of laughable. He shrugged though when her tone sounded exasperated at the mere thought of modelling. He didn’t really get why but he was also not the kind to ask. “I just thought that would have distracted you to see all of this,” he replied. If she didn’t want to model, he couldn’t exactly force her to. Besides, it was a little late to come to Erika and ask her if she had an outfit for her. Again, if she didn’t want to take his suggestion, he was not going to complain. She tended to push him, although not in the same way as people normally did. It was still pushing though and Quinn hated that.

He took her comment not as a way of saying he had more his place on the runway than she did but more as a way for her to say she belonged just as little as he did up there. “I still think they’d prefer to look at you than me,” he let out. He was not flirting. Was he flirting? He didn’t think he was. He just stated what he figured all thought, that she was prettier than he was. He had nice eyes but he didn’t think much of his look other than that. He wouldn’t go as far as saying he hated his body. There were parts he didn't like, like his smile or the fact he looked a lot like his mother, but it was his body and he wouldn’t change it. It was too much trouble for very little reward. He turned to face her and this time he kept his gaze on her. “You stay for the show?”

[Lucy James]

"That's one way to put it," she replied, bitter amusement shining in her eyes. She had a knack for showbiz - that much she knew. But she didn't want to go through all of that again. Maybe because she was too scared of all the feelings it would bring up. The kind of feelings she'd fought so hard for so long to keep away. The kind of feelings she had ran away from since the age of twelve. No, she wasn't going to do it. It wasn't her life anymore.

Tossing the boy a glance, Lucy furrowed her brows. "Don't say that," she spoke, her tone serious. "You have every right to be up there," she gestured towards the stage. "Just like anyone else does. If you want, you can." She suspected he was much more comfortable behind the camera though. She could actually understand that. "Besides," she continued, her expression softening. "You're not bad looking, you know," she tossed at him, her blue eyes fixated on the stage in front of her. He really wasn't. That much was obvious.

Lucy looked over at him again, their eyes meeting. "No," she said, her brows furrowing slightly. "I'm staying for you," she said simply, pulling her gaze away. It was true, after all. He was the only reason she was still here. Otherwise, she'd already be back at her dorm room.

[Quinn Wiley]

Of course, as a child star, he figured she might also want to shine once again, but his first idea was that she might have fun watching the chaos and stir it up some more. She seemed to like that. Why she loved to push people like that, he had no idea but as long as he was not the victim of her little game, he didn’t really care. And backstage, there were a lot of people ready to offer her a nice distraction, other than himself. He wondered if she would have liked it for him to take her picture. She didn’t seem to mind last time but she also found out only after it happened. He bet she would have pointed that out.

Quinn looked at her, some surprise in his eyes that he tried to blink away. Did she just say that he was handsome? Because he could swear she said something like that. Of course, he didn’t want to be up there. Never would. He didn’t like the spotlight that much. He preferred to be behind his camera. This was a safe place to be. But he cared more about the fact he could swear she just complimented him on his looks. And she did. Ok, she did not say handsome but bad looking meant more or less the same.

Quinn never thought one could think of him as good looking. Without having this many complexes over his body, he didn’t think he was one you’d notice in a crowd. At most, he liked his eyes. But his hair that curl the moment it was a little humid outside, his facial traits looking too much like his mother, his broad shoulder despite his otherwise lean figure, he didn't think they were all the extraordinary. Still, something in her tone had softened when she said he wasn’t that bad. He was not sure what he was supposed to reply to that or how he should take it.

He was surprised she wanted to stay with him when she said she found no interest in the fashion show. Maybe it was just because he suggested she could leave? She loved so much to be told what to do. “Okay, but I don’t have a seat so if you want one, you better steal a chair now,” he told her. After all, he was not here to see the show but to take pictures of it.

[Lucy James]

Looking over at him, Lucy studied his features for a moment. Those blue eyes so similar to her own, the dark hair that curled slightly and his fair skin. He was handsome, though not the kind of handsome that would make everyone turn at the street. There was a sad kind of handsome about him. He looked dark and brooding, like someone you'd expect to have an awfully dramatic past and life. Like there was a constant shadow hanging over him that made him feel dangerous - or like one of those kinds of people you were better off staying away from altogether.

Still, he was handsome nonetheless. The fact that he didn't reply made the corner of Lucy's lips tug slightly, as if there was a smile right beneath the surface threatening to appear, but couldn't quite find its way.

"I don't mind standing," she spoke, eyes turned towards the stage again. Besides, she wasn't going to stay around for long enough for that to even matter. Still, there was a part about finding a chair and actually participating in the event that didn't quite sit right with her. Sighing softly, Lucy pressed her lips together. She didn't know what surprised her the most: that he didn't seem to mind having her around, or that he hadn't told her to get lost.

He'd never seemed to be particularly fond of her, so why did he bother?

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn didn’t want to say she was beautiful. She had to know, right? Just because she pushed everyone away, didn’t mean she didn't know. Right? She was fearless and that might intimidate people but she was beautiful. And he owned a picture of her where she looked calm and peaceful and that made her perhaps even more beautiful. He couldn’t believe she didn’t know. She had to know.

No way. She knew. That matter solved, he could focus on the last minute arrangements before the show would begin. Already people were coming in and the other people working on making this happened were busy with the final touches. Quinn was surprised to feel so nervous and excited inside. He was not on that runway. Those were not his creations. Yet he shared the excitement all of those behind the stage must be going through right now. He almost didn't hear Lucy as she assured him she could stand. He turned to look at her. She was still there? Oh yeah, she said she was staying with him. He didn’t know why but that didn’t stop him from nodding his head. “You think you’ll find something you’ll like or you’re just hoping one of them stumble and fall?”

Somehow, he found his comment rude. As if he should have more consideration. She had been relatively nice today, it must be why. She did not make fun of him, she even called him handsome. More or less. So now he felt bad for this comment. He bit his lips, unable to just apologize for it but feeling like something had to be said. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad, even if watching people walk isn’t exactly exciting.”