A/N: Hey guys! So the Indie Camp Rock awards are starting up again. And I was asked to spread the word about nominations. They ask that you nominate authors and stories that you think deserve more notice than what they've got. So, I wouldn't nominate those stories out there that have 200 and some reviews. From what I understand the Indie CR Awards are for the underdogs and the unconventional pairings.
So check out the categories here and nominate here:
indiecrawards(dot)wufoo(dot)com(slash)forms(slash)nominatons-for-the-indie-camp-rock-awards
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www(dot)wix(dot)com(slash)indiecrawards(slash)main
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Go nominate away! I have! I actually plan on doing some more nominating very soon!
Happy reading!
angellwings
The Photoshoot
By angellwings
Ella gulped and took a deep breath as she knocked on the door in front of her. The door cracked open and she was met with a smile from Nate.
"Yes?" He asked with a smirk.
"Care to let me in, Mr. Gray? I have your clothes for your photoshoot."
He quirked an eye brow at her. "Are you the designer? Because we only have one demand. We demand that the designer, herself, brings us the clothes."
Ella laughed softly and rolled her eyes. "Why yes, I do happen to be the designer. Now, may I come in?"
He smiled at her and opened the door wider. "Please do."
"You know, Nathaniel, you're a bit of a dork," Ella said with a grin.
"But…I'm adorable, right?" Nate asked with a grin.
"Only slightly," Ella said with a soft smile.
"There she is!" Jason said loudly. "The star of the day."
Jason wrapped his arms around Ella and lifted her off the ground in a crushing hug.
"Good to see you too, Jase," Ella said with a chuckle.
"So," Shane asked as Jason put her down. "How does it feel to go from stylist to designer?"
"Pretty terrifying. It's possible that everyone will hate my clothes," Ella told them as she took a deep breath. "But that's a chance I've got to take, I guess."
Nate rolled his eyes. "No one will hate your clothes, and anyone who does is an idiot."
Ella smiled at Nate in amusement. "I appreciate that."
"It's the truth, Ells," Nate said with a nod.
She blushed and continued to smile. She cleared her throat before hanging up the garment bag in her hands and unzipping it. "Alright, I have your outfits in here. There are three suits. One charcoal, one black, and one navy. Shane you're wearing the charcoal, Jason you're wearing the black, and Nate you're wearing the navy. Before you ask, yes those thin things are ties. These suits are vintage inspired so just roll with it, please. Okay, now I have to go give the girls their outfits. If you need any help with the pieces then find a wardrobe assistant and they'll contact me on the walkie. Are we good?"
"We're good," Jason said with a nod.
"No, worries, Ella," Nate said with a smirk. He put both of his hands on her shoulders. "This shoot is going to be perfect. Your clothes are perfect. Just try and enjoy it."
She took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, you're totally right." She smiled at the guys and waved as she left. "I'll see you out on set."
Shane and Jason gave Nate knowing looks once she was gone.
"Dude," Shane said with a pointed glance. "Are you ever going to tell her you love her?"
"I—I'm just waiting for the right moment," Nate said with a sigh. "I'll tell her after the shoot…when I know she'll be in a great mood."
"Let's hope no one asks her out between now and then," Jason said as he gave Nate a warning glance. "Be careful, man. Don't let this go on too long."
"Okay, girls," Ella said as she entered the girls dressing room and found Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Peggy waiting on her. "I have your clothes. Lots of lace, floral prints, and pearls. But trust me none of this stuff is frumpy. Short skirts, tight tops, and zippers. It's like Madonna meets June Cleaver."
Caitlyn squinted at her. "That's sort of a creepy image."
Ella laughed. "Don't tell me that. I don't want to think about my clothes being creepy."
"Don't listen to her, Ella," Mitchie said with a chuckle. "I'm sure your clothes are amazing."
"I hope so," Ella said as she glanced down at her watch. "I need to go have a last minute chat with the photographer. Moira should be here in a minute to help you with your individual pieces. The bodices are sort of tight."
Ella left just as Moira walked in. Moira hung up the garment bag in her hand.
"Did you bring it?" Peggy asked.
"Yes, I did. Ella's favorite of the outfits in her sizes," Moira said with a smirk. "You guys are brilliant."
Caitlyn shrugged. "We know."
"Hi, Josiah?" Ella asked as she hesitantly approached the tall and scruffy photographer. He turned and smiled pleasantly at her.
"Hello, are you Ella?" He asked as he shook her hand.
She nodded. "I am."
"You're a lot…cuter than I imagined," He said with a small smile.
"Um, thank you? Are you trying to say that my voice doesn't match my face?" Ella asked as she tilted her head slightly.
"No, I'm just used to designers not really being that attractive," He told her honestly. "Anyway, should I tell you about the concept and the set?"
"Definitely," Ella said with a nod.
He put a hand on the small of her back and led her to the small, basic set. "Based on the sketches you sent me I decided to keep it simple. We've got a slate background and white vintage sixties couch and arm chair set. With a stainless steel coffee table and floor lamp. Just something simple and sort of cold to really make your clothes stand out. What do you think?"
Ella smiled and nodded. "I love it. It goes with the style of the clothes and yet still manages to keep the clothes the most important thing. It's perfect."
Josiah breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, I'm glad you like it."
Ella chuckled. "I don't just like it. I love it." Her walkie suddenly beeped and she hesitantly excused herself from Josiah to answer it. "What's up?"
"There's a problem with Nate's wardrobe. They told me you said to walkie you if anything came up," Her secondary assistant said with a sigh.
"Right, I'm on my way. Be there in a flash," Ella said as she turned and headed for Connect Three's dressing room. She knocked on the door and Nate opened it and let her in. She glanced at him curiously. "What's the problem?"
"I don't have a tie," Nate said. "And this shirt…is weird. It has a high collar."
Ella chuckled. "Nate, that is not a high collar. Have you even seen Pride & Prejudice? Those guys wore high collars."
"Well, whatever. I look like a reverend," Nate said as he glanced skeptically at his reflection in the mirror.
Ella rolled her eyes. "You do not."
"Why don't I have a tie? Shane and Jason have ties."
"You don't wear ties with this kind of shirt," Ella said with a chuckle. "Why are you being such a pouty baby?"
"I'm just not sure this looks good on me," Nate said with a grimace.
"Well, for starters, you're not wearing all the pieces. Where's your vest?" Ella asked.
"There's a vest?"
"Oh, Nathaniel," Ella said with a teasing grin as she searched through the garment bag. "Have I taught you nothing? Ah-ha!" She held up the vest victoriously. "Take off the jacket."
"Oh," Nate said with a smirk. "Are you just gonna start demanding that I take my clothes off now?"
Ella blushed bright red before she glared at him playfully. "If you take off anything other than the jacket I will hurt you."
He chuckled and grinned at her as he handed her his jacket. "Relax, Ells. I was just kidding."
She tossed him the vest. "Put that on, funny man."
He put on the vest and buttoned it. Ella paused and smiled at him in approval. She held out the jacket for him to put his arms in the sleeves and he did so. She helped him with the jacket and smoothed out the wrinkles. She walked around to the front of him and straightened the collar of the jacket. She dared to reach up smooth out the sides of his hair. His hair had already been styled but a few fly-aways were sticking out. She caught his eye and her face flushed at their close proximity.
She suddenly cleared her throat and stepped back. She gave him a slow appraising look before smiling at him again. "You look very handsome, Nate. Really. This suit looks wonderful on you."
"You're sure?"
"I'd be willing to be seen publicly with you," Ella said with a wink. "No doubt."
"Ella, I—can we talk?" Nate asked.
Ella's eyebrows rose curiously. "Sure, what about?"
"Well, for a long time now, I've—" Nate cut himself off as Ella's walkie beeped again. She groaned and gave him an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, Nate. Can we do this later?" Ella asked pleadingly.
"Um, yeah, sure. I guess," Nate said with a sigh.
"I really do want to finish this though, but that's probably Josiah. He should be ready to start the shoot by now," Ella told him. "We'll talk after all of this is over, okay?"
Nate's brow furrowed. "Josiah?"
"The photographer," Ella said quickly as she headed for the door. "I'll see you out there. I really have to go."
The door closed behind her and Nate huffed. He really hoped this photo shoot ended quickly.
Ella walked back out onto the set and found the girls waiting while Josiah set up his camera. Ella looked over the outfits and the accessories and made sure everything was in place. Ella smiled at them.
"You guys look awesome," She said before she turned to Moira. "You did a great job."
"Alright," Caitlyn said. "How's this gonna go?"
"I told Josiah that I wanted individual shots of all the outfits, and I think he wants to pair the girls and the guys up for a few photos. Before you even start, Caitlyn, I told him to pair you with Jason or else he would suffer great pain. And, Mitch, you and Shane are the hot public couple so I'm sure he'll put the two of you together," Ella explained.
"So, that means I'm with Nate?" Peggy asked.
Ella tensed before she spoke. "Yes, Peggy. You'll probably be paired up with Nate. He should be ready to start anytime."
"Okay, ladies," Josiah said as he approached them and smile politely. "I think I want to start with Ms. Torres, here, and then Ms. Gellar and finally Ms. Dupree. And then I'll do the individual shots of the guys. Once the individual shots are done we'll worry about pairing people up. So, Ms. Torres if you'll find a spot on set, please?"
Mitchie nodded and headed for the white, gray, and steel living room set up.
"Moira," Ella said. "Make sure the outfits stay perfect. I'm going to go check on the guys."
Ella walked off and as soon as she was out of earshot Caitlyn got Josiah's attention. He looked at her expectantly.
"We were hoping that at the end of the shoot you'd be willing to photograph Ella," Caitlyn said. "We snuck in an outfit for her, but we wanted it to be a surprise. Are you game?"
Josiah grinned and nodded. "I'm game. She looks like she deserves to be in the spotlight a little."
Ella knocked on their door and Shane answered. He huffed at her.
"Why doesn't Nate have to wear a tie?" He asked.
"What?" Ella asked. "Let me in, Shane."
He opened the door wider. "Why is Nate the one that doesn't have to wear a tie? I hate ties, and he actually likes them. Why couldn't I be the one without a tie?"
Ella rolled her eyes at him. "Oh my God, are we really having this discussion? Now?" Ella took a step back from Shane. "Just shut up and let me look at you."
She looked him up and down and then smiled in approval. "Good, very good. You look great, Shane. Quit complaining. Oh, and if you want to watch Mitchie take her photos you better get out there. Josiah picked her to go first."
Shane's eyes widened and he turned to rush out the door. Before he left he turned back to Ella. "Thanks, Ella. You're the best."
"Yeah, yeah," Ella said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Just go."
Ella walked further into the room and found Jason trying to straighten his tie. He merely appeared to be making it even messier.
"Jason, stop," Ella said with a chuckle. He jumped and found her face in the mirror.
"I can't get it to look right," Jason said with a sigh.
Ella smiled kindly at him. "Here, let me." He turned around as she approached. She unknotted and re-knotted his tie with swift hands and straightened it. "There. You're all set. Do me a favor?"
"What's that?"
"Don't let Caitlyn rip this one, okay? It's sort of important that it stays in one piece."
Jason blushed and cleared his throat. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises."
Ella laughed softly. "I understand. Now go. Go find Cait and be adorable."
She lightly shoved Jason to the door and he smiled at her before sprinting off. She looked around the room expecting to see Nate somewhere, but couldn't find him. Her brow furrowed. "Nate? Where are you? You're kind of supposed to be on set now. Nate?"
She suddenly felt a hand on her waist and she let out a small yelp. She spun around to see Nate smirking at her. "Hi."
"That was not funny, Nate," Ella said as she smacked his shoulder. "You scared me to death."
He chuckled at her and kept his hands on her waist. "Sorry."
The air around them changed and he leaned toward her slowly. If he didn't have time to say what he wanted to say then maybe he could just show her. Just as he was about to close the distance between them the door to the dressing room was shoved open by Moira.
"Oh my God, sorry!" Moira said frantically. "I should have knocked, but they need Nate on set now. Caitlyn's almost done with her shoot."
Ella blushed and smiled softly at Nate before she nodded to Moira. "Right, we're both heading that way now."
She looped her arm through his and they followed Moira to the set. They arrived just as Josiah was placing Peggy on the set.
"Josiah said that Shane's next followed by Jason and then Nate," Mitchie told them from her spot next to Shane.
"In the mean time," Caitlyn said with a smirk. "Moira's going to help you get ready."
Ella's brow furrowed. "Me? I'm not in this shoot."
Nate grinned at her. "The girls have decided that you should be."
"They what?" Ella asked. "No, no way."
Moira chuckled and grabbed Ella's arm. "Come on, people need to see this designer. Betsey Johnson and Vera Wang don't shy away from pictures."
"Yeah, well, they're Betsey Johnson and Vera Wang. They have a reason not to shy away," Ella grumbled as she was pulled toward the girl's dressing room.
While every one else took their pictures Ella dressed and then visited hair and make up. By the time Moira dragged her back to the set the last "couple" was taking their photos. From the set where Nate was posing with Peggy he could see Ella as she came back out. He smiled slowly. She looked beautiful.
She was wearing a floral printed bodice with a white three-quarter length sleeved shrug and a short pink frilled lace skirt. She was wearing pink satin pumps on her feet and a long layered pearl necklace around her neck. Her hair was pulled back and there were two white fabric roses pinned in the back. Her bangs weren't pinned back and still fell across the sides of her face.
Apparently, he wasn't the only who noticed her. Josiah hadn't snapped a single picture since Ella stepped onto the set.
Peggy cleared her throat. "Josiah? Are we finished?"
He shook himself and turned back to them. "Um…yes. Yes, we're done. I'll take some shots of Ella and then we'll do some group shots of everyone together."
"Oh God," Ella said with a nervous laugh. "Shots of me? Really? Is this necessary?"
"Yes, Ella," Caitlyn said with a chuckle. "It's necessary."
Caitlyn shoved Ella toward the set. Nate squeezed her arms gently as he passed her and gave her a reassuring smile. She blushed and smiled at him in return.
"Okay, Ella," Josiah said. "I want you to sit in the arm chair and face me."
She took a nervous breath and nodded. She sat down and instinctively tucked one leg behind the other in a very lady like fashion. Josiah chuckled at her.
"You're sitting like some sort of princess," Josiah said with a small smile.
"She is a princess," Nate said teasingly. "Always has been."
Ella glared at Nate playfully. "Don't make me call you 'Professor.' You hate it and you know I'll do it."
Josiah smirked at her. "Just try and relax a little. Have fun with it. You're a very attractive woman, Ella. You shouldn't be afraid to, you know, be a little sexy."
Ella blushed and bit her bottom lip. "I'm not sure what you mean."
Nate glanced apprehensively at Josiah. "Neither am I."
Mitchie put a hand on Nate's shoulder and gave him a silencing look before she whispered, "Chill out, Nate. He's just doing his job."
"Are we sure that's what he's doing?" Nate asked her in a worried whisper.
"Well, first," Josiah said as he handed his camera to his assistant and approached Ella. "I'd lose the shrug." He motioned for Ella to turn around and he helped her take the shrug off.
"And second?" Ella asked curiously.
"I'd only let your bangs fall onto one side of your face. It gives you that Lana Turner look," Josiah said with a wink. "You know who Lana Turner is, right?"
"Of course, I do," Ella said with a nod and a smile. "She was an old Hollywood fashion icon. I have to know who she is."
Josiah reached out and gently tucked one side of her bangs behind her ear. "There, much better." Josiah placed a hand on Ella's bare shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "You'll be great. Just…relax. This is gonna be fun, okay?"
Nate glared at Josiah and tried not to make any biting sarcastic remarks. But this guy clearly had a thing for Ella.
Ella nodded and smiled nervously at him. "Okay."
"Now, have seat, but don't cross your legs at the ankles. Angle your legs to the right a bit and then look at me. We'll try that first," Josiah said with a nod. She instinctively folded her hands. And Josiah chuckled again. "Don't fold your hands. You're turning into the princess again."
She blushed and laughed. "Right, sorry. No princess."
"Well, unless you want to be Princess Leia in the gold bikini. I'd be okay with that kind of princess," Josiah said with a wink.
Ella laughed. "Oh no, no gold bikinis for me. That's not exactly couture."
Nate huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. They were flirting. The two of them were actually flirting.
"So," Ella said. "What do you suggest I do with my hands?"
Josiah smirked. "That's a dangerous question."
Ella smiled shyly at him and chuckled. "Wow, not what I meant."
"I know," He said with another wink as he took his camera back from his assistant. He snapped a few pictures. "I just like the way your blush photographs. Try resting your chin in your left hand and propping your elbow on your knee. And rest your other arm on your thigh."
She did as he asked and then looked up at him hopefully.
"Good, now give me one of those soft shy smiles of yours," Josiah asked as he started snapping pictures again. "You know, I know you're a designer but you could really be a model."
Nate glared between the two of them and scoffed before he spoke up in a harsh tone. "She's too short."
Both Ella and Josiah turned to look at him. Ella glared angrily at him.
"Gee, thanks, Nate. Way to ruin a compliment," Ella said with a huff. "You know what, Josiah, I appreciate this, but I think we're done. I'm just…not in the mood for this anymore."
"Wait," Josiah said. "We don't have to do the individual shots anymore if you don't want to. Just don't leave until we get the group shots, please?"
Ella glared at Nate one last time before she nodded at Josiah. "Fine."
Caitlyn elbowed Nate violently. He winced and glared at her. She glared at him in return. "You're a jerk, Nathaniel. You just completely ruined this for her."
"He was hitting on her," Nate said in a hushed sneer. "Was I just supposed to stand here and watch that?"
"Yes, you were," Caitlyn said as she rolled her eyes. "She watches girls hit on you all the time. And she doesn't say anything because she knows that the two of you aren't actually dating. Someone's too chicken to actually ask her out."
"Hey," Nate said defensively. "I tried to ask her out earlier but we got interrupted by that guy."
"God, Nate," Caitlyn said as she rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself, and fix this."
"Okay," Josiah said. "Everyone to the set. Ella, you stay where you are in that arm chair. That's perfect. We'll have everyone else stand."
Nate sighed regretfully and quickly took a spot next to wear Ella was sitting. He whispered to her as everyone took their positions. "Ella…"
She ignored him as best she could until he spoke a bit louder and tapped her shoulder.
"Ella…"
She turned sharply on him. "What?"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"No, you shouldn't have."
"Are we still gonna talk after this?" Nate asked nervously.
"I don't really want to talk to you, Professor," Ella said as she turned back around to face the camera.
He winced and continued in a whisper "Okay, I get that you're mad at me, and you should be. But I…we had a moment earlier today, right? Well, two, I think. Or was a wrong?"
"You're not wrong," Ella said with a sigh. "But you…you know I'm insecure about my height, don't you?"
"And you think I'm not insecure about mine?" Nate asked.
"I know you are, but I didn't tease you about your height," She said in a louder voice. "And besides, nothing was happening. I was just talking."
"You may have been talking, but he was flirting," Nate said sternly as he raised his voice as well
"So? God, I barely know him!" Ella exclaimed. "Nothing was going to happen."
"Um, guys?" Josiah asked as he cleared his throat. "We still have photos to take."
"Then let's take them and get out of here," Ella snapped. "Everybody smile, dammit."
The group went silent and Josiah took several more photos. "Okay, we're done for the day. We can all go home."
Ella stood up and turned to Nate. She stomped toward him and backed him up against the wall. She stabbed his chest with her finger.
"I hope you're happy with yourself, Nathaniel. You ruined this. You ruined everything," She sneered before she spun around and walked briskly back to the girls' dressing room. He quickly jogged after her.
"Ella! Ella, stop! Please!" Nate yelled. She paused just as she reached for the door knob. "I'm sorry, can we…can we please talk?"
She gulped and turned around to face him. "This was supposed to be a fun day, Nate. You know, fun? You do know that word, right?"
He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. I didn't mean to be a jerk. I just couldn't stop myself. Watching him with you was killing me."
"Nate, I—" She paused mid sentence. "What?"
"It was killing me, Ella. He was flirting with you and touching you and tucking your hair behind your ear and…I thought I was going to lose you to him. I haven't asked you out yet, and I was afraid he would before I could."
She smiled softly at him. "Nate, you forgot about one thing."
"What's that?" He asked.
"Me. He might have asked me out, but…I wouldn't have said yes. I would've waited for you," Ella told him honestly.
"Really?" He asked with a smile.
She nodded. "Nate, I've been waiting for you. For a very long time now. A few more hours would have been no big deal."
"Can you forgive me for ruining this for you? I never meant to," Nate told her as he laced his fingers through hers.
"Yes," Ella said hesitantly. "I can. But…don't do anything like this ever again. It hurt, Nate."
He brought the back of her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly. "Then maybe I should kiss it and make it better?"
Ella grinned and chuckled at him. "Kiss what? I'm not physically hurt."
"When all else fails I'm told a kiss on the lips usually makes anything better," Nate said with a smirk.
Ella gave him an amused look and shrugged. "It's worth a shot, I guess."
Nate smiled and closed the distance between them. He softly covered her lips with his own. Her hands traveled up his shoulders and then slipped under the collar of his jacket. He deepened the kiss and pulled her tighter against him. They pulled apart and Ella smiled him.
"Oh yes, that certainly helped," Ella said as she sighed happily and rested her head against his shoulder.
Suddenly, Jason came sprinting by. He paused by Ella hesitantly. She looked up and quirked at brow at him.
"What happened, Jase?" Ella asked with a worried sigh.
"Um," Jason said with a gulp. "Caitlyn ripped the tie."
Ella chuckled and winked at Nate. "And that's why you're not wearing one." She turned to Jason. "You'd better give me that tie before you change. That way it doesn't get lost."
"Hey, Ella?" Nate asked as she and Jason walked away.
She turned around to face him expectantly. "Yes?"
"I'm taking you to dinner tonight," Nate told her with a smile.
She chuckled and smiled brightly. "I was counting on it."