One day can be perfectly ordinary and the next can be perfectly extraordinary. Just one person can change the way someone looks at the world completely, making one see the extraordinary in the ordinary and the ordinary in the extraordinary. More often than not, that person is not who one would expect to barge into one's life so rudely and demand attention, but it is all for the best.
I fit right into the crowd at Starbucks with my grey beanie, floral button-up shirt, tight black jeans, and forest green TOMS. My eccentric (yet not eye-burning) outfit was actually pretty tame among the other students at the art school I attended. College was pretty cool. Lots of freedom, liberation from my parents, new experiences. My champagne-colored iPhone was settled nicely in my hand as I received my complicated drink order and headed off to class at a leisurely pace. Since I was a photography major, I had my camera bag hanging on my shoulder as I drew toward the quad, where class would be taking place that day. I arrived just in time and saw my classmates already sitting in a circle around the teacher, who was reviewing his notes before class and checking his watch. When I sat down next to my best friend, Marco Bott, he gave me a bright smile as a greeting. Soon after, though, the teacher cleared his throat before speaking.
"Alright, class. Today is the last day of our nature photography focus. Take as many quality photos of the scenery as you can for the students over at computer design to reference. At the end of class today, we're going to come back together and I will assign you a partner for the long-awaited human photography unit. The reason I assigned your partners instead of letting you pick them like usual was to get you used to not necessarily knowing your models or coworkers very well, because you will probably experience that in your careers as professional photographers. Nevertheless, you should work on your ability to tap into your model's strengths and take some good photos. Now get snapping and come back in an hour!"
I went off to my designated area and snapped some different angles of cattails and water lilies in the pond area. My mind was elsewhere, though. All I could think about was who my partner would be. I prayed to every deity I knew of to get Marco, because I wasn't particularly friendly with anyone else and, due to my abrasive personality, most people didn't seem to like me very much.
When the time finally came for us to return to our circle and find out who we would be working with, my heart was pounding out of my chest. I was in such a daze that I didn't even pay attention to the teacher's announcements of the partnerships. Once most people had cleared out of the area to consult with their partners about the plans, I realized my mistake and cursed myself for being so stupid. Luckily, my partner seemed to have found me. Unfortunately, it was the only person in the class I knew of with an actual rooted dislike for me, as opposed to a simple neutrality. I groaned as I stood up and was forced to look into those angry, blue-green eyes.
"Eren."
"Horse-face," he growled.
"Let's just get this over with quickly so we can go back to keeping our distance," I reasoned calmly.
"Fine," he muttered, looking at me expectantly. I soon realized that he expected me to pitch an idea, but I couldn't because I wasn't listening. I blushed from embarrassment because of this and he realized my predicament. "We're supposed to come up a portfolio of pictures to use in an ad campaign. The subject of the ad was assigned to each pair so everyone would have different pictures. We're supposed to come up with a concept and take the photos this week and then work with visual design next week to make a finished project. We're being graded on quality of the pictures and the concept and they're just being graded on the quality of their work because we're taking the lead on this one," he explained with a bored tone. I was grateful that he didn't embarrass me further, though, so I briefly reconsidered our mutual disdain and distrust, but quickly cast those silly, foolish thoughts away.
"Okay, so what's our project on?"
"Um… Well, it's uh…," he stuttered, cheeks suddenly brightening with a light pink blush.
"Spit it out, you little shit," I ordered impatiently.
"Underwear. It's underwear."
"Well shit," I breathed.
"That's what I was thinking."
Information We Can Share So Far:
-Photography classes are kept small to ensure each student gets enough individual attention.
-The first photography class had to be cut short due to a fight between students Jean Kirstein and Eren Jaeger.
Eren was an okay model, but I think we both knew that he wasn't really that comfortable modeling in only his Hanes, especially for me. I sighed and waved a hand to signal a pause.
"Let's take five, Jaeger," my voice resonated through the cramped, light grey shooting room. I set my camera down on my stool and grabbed my coffee, taking sip and trying to think of ways to turn things around. Eren grabbed his dark washed jeans from the floor and put them on. The sound of him fiddling with his belt annoyed me a little, and I wondered why he was getting dressed. Did he want to call it a day?
"Kirstein," he began and I turned to face him, eyebrows furrowed quizzically.
"What?" I snapped, though I really was curious about what he had to say.
"You should try to model for this shoot."
"Are you crazy? We agreed I wouldn't have to get in front of the camera, dickface. Or don't you remember?"
"I know, but I think we both need this grade." He had a point. If I didn't bring my grade up soon, I wouldn't pass the class and then what kind of photo major would I be? A shitty one, obviously.
So I considered it. I really didn't want to model half-naked, and I had my reasons for not wanting to. But at some point I would have to cut my losses and just do it, because I could see where Eren was coming from. I would have to put some effort into the project too if I wanted to get a good grade on this, nevermind Eren's situation. So I sighed.
"Fine," I replied, though I was incredibly nervous about what I was about to do.
Information We Can Share So Far:
-Jean has a number of tattoos - a bird of prey on his right bicep, a tribal lion on his left pectoral, and a tribal sun on his left shoulder – and piercings – two cartilage piercings on his right ear, snakebite piercings, a right nipple piercing, and a right eyebrow piercing.
-Eren has no body modifications (yet).
I wasn't sure I particularly wanted Eren to see me half naked, even though I was pretty sure he was straight so it wasn't like he would be drooling and making me feel weird or anything. It's just…I think it's hard to maintain a professional relationship after someone has seen so much of me and I've seen so much of them.
Even so, I decided to suck it up and get undressed. So I shed my crimson-colored vest, kicked off my black boots and socks, and paused when I found my hands at the hem of my black tee. Was I really sure of this? Did I really want to pose in front of the camera? It was already too late to back out, though, so I was forced to gulp and remove my shirt. As soon as I tossed it onto the pile, I felt Eren's gaze hot on my skin and everything was silent except for the beating out my heart, loud and fast.
"Holy shit, Jean," he breathed.
"What the fuck is your problem?" I snarled, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze.
"There's no problem, dude. No problem at all. Your body was made for the camera." I noticed he didn't say 'no homo'. Did I dangerously misjudge him? Was he secretly one of those pervy gays who was only a photo major to see nude pictures of people? Gross! I felt a shudder go through my body and I reached for my shirt again, but a hand gripping my forearm stopped me. I looked up at the owner of the hand defiantly.
"What is your deal?"
"Calm down, bro. Can't take a compliment?"
"Not from you, creep."
"I'm not a creep!" he shouted.
I straightened up so we were nose to nose, though I was a bit taller than Eren was. "Oh? Then what are you?"
"I'm me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I care about who I am and stay true to it. I speak my mind. And I want to kiss you."
"You don't have the balls," I spat, narrowing my eyes.
"Is that a challenge, Kirstein?" he whispered in a tone that almost made me melt from the heat of our skin touching.
"You bet your ass it is."
"You mean your ass," he breathed into my ear before he ran kisses along my neck and finally on my lips. Our lips were locked for a while before I broke the kiss with a playful grin.
"You know, it's really not fair that you're wearing more clothes than me."
"I'll fix that right up, horse face," he answered in that same low tone that I loved, even though I was only just getting to know this side of Eren. He took off his shirt slowly and I could see each muscle moving as he slid out of it easily.
"Let's call it a day and get back to shooting tomorrow, hm?" I suggested, which he confirmed with a passionate kiss. I was glad we'd locked the door at the start of our shoot because I was not going to let this stupid shit get away without finishing what he'd started.
