Stephenie Meyer owns all TWILIGHT characters.
The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25[dot]com
Prompt: 14 – i41[dot]tinypic[dot]com/2hpnddw[dot]jpg
Pen name: IngenueFic
Characters: Bella, Edward, Jacob
Rating: PG
All prompts can be found here:
www[dot]thetwilight25[dot]com/round-five/prompts/
The tiny bell above the door rings as someone walks in. Bella ignores the sound and continues clicking on the photos on her iMac. She pauses on one, a young girl facing the camera though her body is turned to the right. In a sleeveless dress, her chin meets the curve of her shoulder. It should be a cute photograph but Bella can't stand the tension in the girl's arm.
"Hey, Bells," Jake calls as he walks toward the back office. "I have your iced coffee – French vanilla, light and sweet."
Bella smiles her thanks to her assistant and reaches out for the cup. "What's next on my schedule?"
Faintly, she hears Jake flip through the black book at the corner of her desk. Her appointments are on the computers, a synced calendar between her own in the back office and the front iMac that Jake uses, but she likes having a physical book with handwritten names.
"Headshots for an Edward Cullen," he says after a minute or two. "Has he come in before?"
"Um," Bella draws out the syllable, trying to figure out why the name sounds so familiar. "Oh! No. He called about a month ago, said he needed new photos for his bio."
"His bio?" Jake cleans up the area a little bit. While Bella is meticulous in the studio itself, her desk is prone to scattered papers and folders full of samples for her clients. "What bio?"
"He's some actor on Broadway," she explains absently. She's still trying to find a better photograph of this girl but there's something off with all of them. There are more than enough to show her and she knows the girl will be happy with them but she was hoping to find a new addition to her portfolio or website.
More shuffling sounds and Bella glances up to see Jake filling out the forms she likes to keep for clients. "Recommended?"
"By Alice Brandon," she says before looking back to the layout of photos on her screen.
Jake pauses and can't help the smile from forming on his lips. "The little dancer?"
"Head out of the gutter, Jacob," Bella quips quickly.
The tiny bell above the door rings again. A few moments pass and then a questioning, "Hello?"
"Go do your job," Bella instructs Jake but there's a teasing smile on her face. "I'll be out in just a sec."
When she walks out to the main portion of her studio, she pauses briefly to stare at the young man standing by the front counter. He's tall, broad-shouldered, slender but muscled. Bella's mouth twists slightly when she sees the tangled mop of hair at his head but her clients are always told to come in ready for photographing so if that's how he wants his hair to look, that's how it will stay.
"Edward?" she calls his name as she walks forward. The low heels of the cowboy boots she has on clicks against the hardwood floor. "I'm Bella Swan. How are you today?"
"Hello," he says. His voice is soft, smooth. "I'm doing well, thank you." He puts the pen down on top of the questionnaire he's filling out – one that Bella will keep in a folder just in case he becomes a returning client – and reaches out to grasp the hand she holds out. His grip is strong and firm; it eludes confidence and power. "Thank you for agreeing to this session. Alice told me how busy you get, especially around this time."
Bella can't help but smile at his manners. She's met more than one actor who barely knew how to say hello and thank you.
"I had the opening," she says flippantly. Her eyes move up and down his body critically. He's wearing a pair of jeans that are fashionably torn in some areas and a black tee shirt with the Jack Daniels logo splashed across the front. "Is that what you're wearing?" she asks dubiously.
The chuckle he lets out is warm and almost inviting. "No, of course not." He waves a hand toward a rack by the door. Bella has it set there for those clients who want more than one look. Hanging on it now is a dark gray garment bag, RALPH LAUREN printed across the front. "I brought something to change into. I was running errands earlier and didn't want to look disheveled."
"Disheveled?" Jake snorts. "Who says that?"
"Jacob," Bella says his name sharply. As much as she agrees that the word isn't one often used in conversation, she doesn't want Edward to think they're rude.
Edward, though, just laughs again. "I know, I know. My dad says it a lot. That and preposterous. I tend to use them too." He grins at both Bella and Jake. "Is there somewhere I can change?"
"Jake," Bella gives him instructions just by saying his name.
As her assistant leads Edward to the medium-sized bathroom in the loft, she walks over to a locked closet. After fishing the key out of her boot, she opens the door and studies the cameras that sit on their shelves. She's not exactly sure what type of look Edward would like but she knows what will work with his look. While he was talking earlier, she had studied the lines of his face and the form of his body.
"He said he'd be out in a few minutes," Jake says breezily as he returns to Bella's side. "Which backdrop are you thinking?"
Bella reaches out and grabs two of her cameras, loving the weight of them in her hands. She hands one to Jake whose heart beats double-time just like it does every time he holds one of her expensive cameras. She reaches for another one and Jake makes a surprised sound.
"What?" she asks him while she shuts the closet door with her foot and walks to a long table set by the windows.
"You're using film for him?"
It's rare for her to use film now, at least for her work. As much as she loves sequestering herself in a dark room, it takes longer than necessary and she can't do as much editing for her clients as they'd like. Edward, she believes, wouldn't mind.
"Just a few shots," she replies. "I want to see how they turn out."
The sound of footsteps interrupts the conversation. Bella turns and can't help but smile in approval when she sees Edward wearing a pair of fitted trousers – black with faint white pinstripes – and a white button-down. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and the top few buttons are undone, giving him a casual look that doesn't scream out, Slob!
"Much better," she tells him with a smile.
"Hey, I know how to clean up." He steps closer. "So, where should I go?"
Bella stares at him, glances at Jake, and then narrows her eyes at the series of backdrops against the far wall. She repeats her looks until she lets out a sigh. "You're not opposed to the outdoors, are you?"
"Uh, no?"
"Bells?"
"Jake, can you set up the balcony? One chair by the corner so the light is behind me and going down on him. I want everything else cleared."
Jake nods and heads to the balcony. The sound of furniture scraping on concrete is sharp but Bella ignores it and sets up her cameras. After a few minutes, she motions for Edward to follow her and she sets him up on the chair.
"Headshots only, yes?" she confirms.
"Yeah?" Edward's knee bounces up and down, up and down. "I mean, that's what I need. I wasn't sure if there would be time for more."
Bella nods. "We'll start with headshots and see how much of the hour is left. Okay?"
"Okay, sure."
"Great." She moves to stand a few feet away from him and brings the camera up to her eye. She takes a few test shots and nods after fiddling with the settings a bit more. "I want natural, Edward. I don't want the 'serious and broody' face that so many actors think make a headshot. Smiles are good. Trust me."
The first smile he gives her is clearly what Bella calls 'the actor smile to fans.' It's the one any actor gives someone who squeals in his or her face or the one any actor would give to a member of the press. Lowering the camera, Bella reaches out and tugs down on Edward's chin. The smile disappears.
"What makes you happy?" she asks.
"What do you mean?"
"What makes you smile and forget the problems of your life exist?" she prods him.
He thinks for a moment. "My siblings," he answers with a note of finality. "They remind me who I am."
Bella lifts the camera back up to her eye and focuses the lens. "I want you to think about them. When's the last time you saw them?" She sees Edward about to answer and stops him quickly. "No, no, don't tell me. Just think about the last time you saw them. What were you guys doing? What were you feeling?"
Edward's brows furrow for a second and then they smooth out. The last time he saw Rosalie, she'd just given birth to a son. He had visited her in the hospital and kissed her forehead right before she'd handed him his new nephew.
She doesn't think he realizes it but Bella watches as Edward's face loosens up and starts shining. There's a sparkle in his eyes as he remembers whatever it is he's remembering. The corners of his mouth move upward in a soft smile. With the midday sun lighting his face naturally, he looks beautiful, almost ethereal.
Click.
"Perfect," she murmurs.
Thank you to oOza for the beta work.