You look so beautiful in this light
Your silhouette over me,
The way it brings out the blue in your eyes
Is the Tenerife Sea

- TENERIFE SEA

*******************************

I could click your picture everyday,
But it won't do you any justice baby.

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BRAYDON'S P.O.V.

I fucking hate Tuesdays.

It reminded me of how far the weekend is, and how I need to tolerate my high school for another couple of days. I woke up with a sour mood today, not that I wake up feeling peachy everyday, no. On normal days, I'm just neutral. It was just the way I was- Liana keeps telling me to cheer up, to look at things from a different light, a new perspective.

The thing is, that is her perspective.

I'd rather stay behind the lens, and look at things from my light. The way I see it, they look far more appealing. The real is ugly, but when you capture it, it may look beautiful- even with its flaws. I'm not a pessimist, far from it. I just look at things from a realist's point of view. Photography is what keeps me driven, it's a part of me that I cherish the most. A part that only my close ones know of.

When I heard about the Fleur Cup, I thought nothing of it. No excitement bubbled inside of me, not a hint of inquisitiveness bothered me, not even a slight interest was shown by me.

Until I heard about the prize.

The fact that there are chances of the best pictures being published in 'Readers Digest' is what caught my attention. The platform is amazing for me to showcase my talent, and it's also great for my portfolio. There's no doubt that I will do my undergrad in photography, I also happen to know that I can't get the exposure I need if I stay here, so I'm going to apply to Yale amongst others.

"You know you've been zoning out a lot, lately."

I looked at Liana, who seemed to have a smirk on her face. I rolled my eyes at her, of course her mind will swivel around all the wrong things.

"I don't daydream, Liana. You do it enough for the two of us."

Hands resting on her waist, Liana narrowed her eyes into slits, shooting daggers at me. She never really liked my bluntness, it was a trait of hers that amused me.

"I do not."

"Do too."

"Do not Bray."

"Do too Li."

"You're an infuriating pig."

"You're saying that because you can't handle the truth."

Liana's new arm candy, Dan was all she ever thought of lately. It was sickening to see him lounging on the couch all day, and as though that was not enough, Liana's wistful eyes and ghostly smiles were enough to support my argument.

"I'm just going to pretend that you don't exist, and go to class now."

I shook my head at her retreating figure, she's a hot headed one. I proceeded to fetch my books from my locker and started towards my homeroom, when a shoulder bumped against mine. My eyes met Talon, in all his peppy glory and sickening smile. That buffoon.

"Hello babe, how you doin'?"

"Get your hands off me."

"C'mon darling, I promise it was just a one time thing. I would never do that to you again."

"That's what she said, didn't she?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, and immediately took his hand off my shoulder. I smirked at his kiddish reaction, of course he's still hung up on that. It's been over a year since that incident, and he still can't get over it.

"Wasn't funny, Grey." He mumbled.

I simply rolled my eyes, and propped down on the seat beside him. Tapping my fingers against the desk, I glanced towards my teacher, who gave me a disapproving look.

Bite me, Jenkins.

"As you all know, you've been assigned partners for the Fleur Cup. From today, the competition officially begins, so I request all the partners to be seated together for the next one month."

My jaw hardened and from my peripheral vision, I could notice someone digging deep holes into my head.

"Well, at least one of us enjoy their partners company." Talon smirked, looking at me with squinted eyes.

I hardened my gaze while he scurried away to sit with his partner, some AP Chem girl I haven't heard of before.

"Glad to see you enthusiastic about this."

Damn you, Colours.

Arabella rolled her eyes and murmured something incoherently, taking out her planner and settling down next to me. I on the other hand was not bothered by her presence. It's not like I despised her, I was just indifferent. I preferred the solitary life, team projects and assignments were never my forte. It didn't help my case when I got paired up with the most vibrant girl in school, Arabella personified all things bright. She shone like the light while I was content being the shadow of the dark, it was just how it was. And I preferred it that way.

"... Braydon?"

I jerked myself back and stared at her bright blue eyes. I never noticed a person's eyes so intently before, it was never of relevance to me. But Arabellas eyes were blue like the sea, the kind of blue that drowns you and pulls you towards itself. It's the kind of blue that is dangerous, the one that is alluring yet terrifying.

"I'm sorry, what?"

She sighed and continued, " I wanted to know if you'd like to see my pictures? I was going to click a few today, if you want I could send them to you."

"Uh, I am not sure if that-"

"Okay students, now that you are all settled. I would like to make a few announcements. First, until the last day of the competition, all participants will be expected to work together. To make sure you follow this rule, the school has assigned you a time slot of 8-10 a.m. Every Friday, where you will be expected to go out with your partners to click pictures. Second, there's a field trip being organized next Friday. It'll be an overnight trip of three days and two nights in the state itself for the exploration of the wild, as well as flora and fauna. This is a great opportunity for all to click pictures, so please be there. Consent forms from the parents need to be given latest by Monday."

Mr. Jenkins continued to talk about the guidelines and rules for the trip, an event that I was not anticipating. At all. If there was something that I dreaded, it had to be human interaction. Socializing with people was a fruitless affair, it was redundant and a waste of ones time and energy. It was also an act of pretense - a despicable trait present in humans.

My thought process was broken by Arabella poking me from the side, it was something I expected of her. Childish, as always. I glanced at her with a bored expression and quirked my eyebrow.

"You'll do it, right? The picture clicking session on Fridays?"

Her question irked me, but I maintained my composure, I knew it would be pointless trying to explain my reason. She was like any other person I knew of; judgmental and prejudiced. So instead of mustering a cold and hard reply, all I gave her was a monosyllabic word.

"Yeah."

"That easy, huh? I thought you weren't interested in the competition."

Her eyes narrowed into slits, as if she tried to analyze my intentions. The funny thing is, none of her actions affected me, they didn't arise any emotion of rage in me, nor did I see the need to snap at her. As I said before, it was meaningless. She could try and figure me out all she wants, there was nothing she would get out of me. It's a hollow action, of which she will eventually get tired.

"That's none of your business."

She wore a weary look and hesitated before sputtering out, "I want to win this."

I raised my eyebrows, startled by her confession. So this is why she was so desperate the other day? But why?

"That makes two of us." I muttered, hoping that she would not hear.

Her expression changed into that of bewilderment, she must have not thought about me wanting this as much as her. Little, did she know that I needed it just as much.

"Really?"

"Yes, Colours."

I looked at Arabella, who seemed immersed in her own thoughts. In a moment, her eyes sparkled and she looked at me with a determined look.

"Will you work with me in a civil manner?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just answer the question, Grey."

"I just told you I want to win this too. I don't have a choice, do I?" I mumbled irritably.

"Good, because we are going to be the best."

I didn't think that the two of us would ever agree on anything, yet, in that very moment looking at Arabella's determined smile and bright blue eyes, I couldn't help but nod.

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Hey People,
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this, I have never written from a guy's perspective before, so this was new.

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Love,
S

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