Title: Painted Blind

Summary: It was true, he was hardly attractive in any way and truly, incredibly different from anyone that Tess had ever set her eyes on before. A Tess/Brown drabble.

Genre: Romance

Characters: Tess and Brown

Pairing: Tess/Brown

Warnings: Age difference

Notes: This is my first Camp Rock fic. But then again, I've never been inspired enough to write one. Now I am. I hope you like it!

Dedication: This story is dedicated to Ellie (s i l v e r a u r o r a) who taught me many invaluable things about writing. Love you!

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,

and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

HELENA (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Tess had never thought that she'd feel this way about anyone. Especially someone so...old. It was true, he was hardly attractive in any way and truly, incredibly different from anyone that Tess had ever set her eyes on before.

For Tess, it all started with his smile. It was a beautiful thing which, in Tess' opinion, cancelled out all of his existing flaws. When he smiled, everyone smiled back, and how could that not be attractive? Even if he was old.

He had hardly paid her any special attention, and that made her attraction to him grow all the more. He didn't care if she was Tess Tyler. He didn't care about her name or her status. He didn't want anything from her and that was what made him stand out.

Her dreams were filled with an entanglement of blonde hair, ecstatic sighs and flailing limbs. It was all she had wanted for a very long time, but she would never be able to have this dream become a reality.

Or could she? She was Tess Tyler, after all. Whether he cared about that or not. She was beautiful and ambitious and smart and...

Confident?

Tess usually exuberated confident, but today she could hardly breathe without shaking. Deep breaths, Tyler. Deep breaths, She coached herself.

Finally, she spotted him. Sitting on the docks. Mindlessly strumming a guitar. Tess had always loved watching him play. It was one of the few moments when he was totally relaxed. Indeed, the guitar could instantly calm him down. He was a musician, after all.

Tess sighed. What was the use denying it? She had definitely fallen for him. But he would never feel that way for her. No boy had ever been an obstacle for her, but this was a man. A man who deserved more than she could give.

She allowed a single tear to escape her eye, biting the rest back to where they came from. What was the use? Tess could not approach him without making herself seem a fool.

She dared a step closer. She could not even begin to fathom the ocean of feelings that were spilling over her at this moment.

She was practically a child. He was practically a senior. And she loved him more than she would care to admit.

One deep breath...then she called his name, and froze.