Atlanta strolled leisurely into the kitchen. Herry was on a date so it almost had food in it. She grabbed a soda and turned to the lounge to catch up on some much needed chill time. Little did she know, the lounge was occupied.
"Ok...What's going on here?" she asked, estranged to her surroundings. A black drop had been set up on one wall with Theresa opposite buried beneath a mound of photographic equipment. In front of the black sheet were an uncomfortable Jay, irritated Archie, withdrawn Odie and half naked Neil. All dressed in white shirts and black trousers, with the exception of Neil who's shirt seemed to have mysteriously disappeared, Atlanta worried that a uniform had been enforced over the short time she'd been in the shower.
"Photography project." Was the blunt reply from Theresa, bending down to look at the screen of the camera, before causing another flash from a weird umbrella light thing. The light caused a shocked expression on Archie, Odie and Jay's faces but Neil chose a subtle roar and claw pose, which only added to the confusion.
"Ok..." Atlanta sheepishly stepped over to one of the arm chairs just behind Theresa and sat sideways into it, casually drinking and watching the boys', failing at hiding a cheery grin.
"Could you guys look anymore out of place?" Atlanta laughed, almost spilling her drink down her top.
"Ha! I hope you spill that!" Archie replied, increasing the annoyance in his expression, while shifting awkwardly, corresponding to Theresa's vague muted instructions through the use of random hand movements.
"Come on! You standing there like I just told you to swim for gold and Neil's there going all safari on your asses!" Atlanta replied, giving a little growl of her own at the end.
"I do apologise I like to add a bit of passion to my art. I am, of course, a professional." Neil defended, not looking away from the camera but keeping a serious blank expression. This however, caused almost everyone in the room to giggle.
"Guys! I need to get this done!" Theresa looked up and pleaded. "We've been totally busy kicking butt recently that I almost forgot I have to hand in my sample photos on Wednesday!"
"Well, you'd get it done a lot quicker if the guys were actually comfortable in their own skin! Well all but Neil...and I guess Jay is used to wearing shirts but he won't be comfortable until all his team are!" Atlanta explained, standing to face her photographic friend.
"You make them comfortable then!" Theresa ordered, growing a discontented scowl on her face and sank back into the chair Atlanta had just vacated, arms and legs crossed.
"Ummm..." She looked to her upset friend then at the boys again. Thinking for a moment, she made her decision. "...Ok. Why not? How hard can it be?...Ummm...Archie undo your buttons."
"What?" He looked shocked now staring at his friend with a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me kind of look.
"Archie, you've got a killer six-pack. Time to show the world!" Sheepishly he revealed his pale toned chest. "...Ok well now you look more uncomfortable..." She thought verbally, absentmindedly staring at his chest. His cheeks shot to a blushing pink, as Jay raised one arm from its crossed position to cover his large grin.
"Ummm...that's it!..." She shot out of the room at lightning speed but returned almost as fast as soon as she went through the door. "I'll be five seconds...and Neil, put your shirt back on!" He frowned and stepped back to reach behind the sofa to reveal where he had thrown his shirt earlier. Throwing it over his arms he neglected to button it up, most likely in a failed attempt to try and look more ripped than Archie. This was met by unimpressed glances from his friends. Atlanta sped back into the room but this time with two white pieces of material. No sooner than running into the room she thrust each into the faces of Archie and Odie.
"Put them on under and Jay, tuck in your shirt and pull up the sleeves to your elbows."
"Atlanta, this is the top that got stretched in the wash. I was going to throw it out." Archie held up the baggy vest top, mainly to try and cover his chest a bit move to try and reduce the blushing.
"I know, put it on...trust me", he looked at her, now with her hand resting on his arm and she looked right back into his eyes, before giving him a wink. He sighed then pulled off his short sleeved shirt to throw the vest on.
"Is this what you meant Atlanta?" Odie asked from the other side of the boys. He now had a long sleeve top on under his short sleeved shirt.
"Umm.. Yeah" She looked and thought for a moment. "Undo one or two buttons from the top and bottom and cross you arms." He did so swiftly. "Ok now give a whole, badass, Daddy-Cool look." He stood puzzled for a moment before tilting his head up and to the side, looking down through his glasses. "Perfect. You're sorted." She turned to Neil who had turned to his own reflection in his hand mirror, aimlessly checking his perfect teeth. "...Neil, do your buttons up."
"Atlanta! I look way better with my chest out!"
"I don't think that's the kind of look Terri's going for."
"But..."
"No buts! Now I want at least seven of those buttons done up, now!"
"One button"
"Six."
"Two?"
"Five."
"Two and a half?"
"Neil how can you...ergh! Four and that's final!" He thought for a second and chose to not aggravate the beast any longer.
"Deal." He announced and began buttoning from the middle, maintaining viewable muscle from above and below.
"Atlanta, I told you this was too baggy!" Archie held out the bottom of his vest top to emphasis his point. Atlanta sighed a turned, feeling for a second like she was in charge of group of school kids.
"Archie, stop being a baby and tuck it in!" He blushed again.
"What? Should I live the room or..." Hinting towards herself and Theresa, who was now clutching a cushion to her stomach and watching with interest.
"Man up Arch! Jay was happy to undo his belt, with his girlfriend in the room!"
"With good reason..." Muttered Neil, looking down at his shirt.
"I'm surprised she didn't get up to help like she usually does!" Odie murmured under his breath to Neil, still with his arms crossed.
"Odie!" Theresa shouted, clutching the cushion tighter, staring in shock at her friends.
"It's not like he's hiding anything she hasn't seen before under that belt..."Atlanta joined in, sending the room into fits of laughter.
"Atlanta!" Proclaimed a crimson Theresa, now burying her face into the cushion, and sinking deeper into the chair. Jay simply chuckled along with everyone else through his wide grin he was trying to hide by pretending to focus entirely on retying his belt. Once the fits had concluded, Atlanta took a step back to admire her work. With Odie on the end with Jay slightly behind to the left of him, with his hands naturally in his pockets, she stepped forward to rearrange Neil's pose of seductively holding his little finger to his lips while standing sideways looking into the camera, to him holding his belt buckle with one hand and taking a step back to just forward of Jay. She then turned to Archie, who was humbling with his buttons on the end.
"Archie, don't do them up..." She walked over and whipped the shirt open again. "...and there's a reason I chose this shirt..." she placed a hand on his chest, and felt him gulp back a breath. She slide the fabric down a bit to reveal the top of his perfectly toned chest, but continued to slide her hand down innocently, to under his waistband to tuck in the top further. "The idea is to tease the audience a bit but make you still feel comfortable."
"...is that what the young kids are calling it nowadays..." Odie whispered to Neil, too quiet for Atlanta to hear. Turning away innocently, too naive to notice the stunned expression on Archie's face, she looked back to admire her work but then stepped forward to Archie to lead him back again and tilt him to the side.
"Mouth closed." She ordered, pushing his chin up lightly with the side of her finger, before stepping back, still with a blank look on his face. Thinking for a moment she crossed her arms. "Archie look at the camera and go for more alluring than vacant." He looked at her quizzically. "...you know, do that mysterious and sexy look you do when you're annoyed." He looked slightly taken aback for a moment before Neil cut in.
"Atlanta, did you just ask Archie to look...sexy?"
"Yeah, mysterious is hot, right Theresa?" She asked without turning.
"Oh Gods, the amount of James Bond related fantasies I've had..." She said dreamily, turning in the seat to sit sideways as Atlanta was before, with her legs dangling over the armrest, cushion now back down at her stomach as she stared aimlessly at the ceiling.
"Dude, you taking notes?" Odie muttered to Jay, who simply smiled in a sly, oh yeah kind of way.
"But you actually said he looks sexy when he's annoyed, which seems to be one of your favourite pastimes..." Atlanta sighed before butting in.
"Neil, don't you get it get it? Odie's doing the whole I'll help you with a lot more than homework look, Jay seems to have developed this sneaky smile he gets after a good night with Theresa..."
"Hey!" She butt in, in defence. Atlanta ignored her.
"...you're doing a try too hard look and Arch is the bad-boy of the group!" The boys looked around at each other and shrugged it off.
"I still don't get what you want me to do!" Archie complained, throwing his hands in the air and landing them roughly at his sides. Atlanta suddenly dashed into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water.
"Theresa get ready." Her friend stood and prepared the camera on its tripod. "Archie, if you don't pose right I'll throw water at you."
"Atlanta! That's..." He scowled, but interrupted by Atlanta.
"That's it! Look at the camera!" She pointed and as Archie went to respond the flash went off and distracted him. Atlanta continued to dab her fingers in the water and flick them in his direction, giggling as the flash went off one after the other, capturing Archie's sexy expression.
After a few more photos, splashes, giggles and slight changes of positions, Theresa finally looked up from the camera.
"Thanks guys, that's a wrap!" Atlanta continued throwing water, a little bit more now than before, this time getting a lot on Archie's shirt and chest.
"Oh I am so gonna get you for this!" He announced, as she thrust the half empty glass into Odie's hands, partially splashing Neil.
"Hey!" Neil shouted after them as Archie disappeared through the door and up the stairs to the second floor landing, chasing after the giggling teenager. As Neil ran back to his room to change and Odie went to return the glass to the kitchen, Theresa bent down to collect some wires in her hands, beginning to tidy up. Standing up, she jumped at the touch of Jay's chest on her back, and the feel of his cheek rubbing down against her neck. Her heart fluttered.
"So...Bond..."
This story was influenced by an awesome piece of fan art that I'm not able to link on here but on Deviant Art it is titled 'Titans in White' by *dustbudde 8P
