Kawaii-Cherri: Their flirting is adorable and there's a later scene that just makes me go pink! Also, it's gonna get soo fantasy heavy, honestly, it's been a while since I've written anything like it and I'm looking forward to your reactions! I'm doing some serious editing atm, need to fix the flow of things.

Chapter nine: Failing to be modern.

'A little to your left,' Elspeth said as she adjusted the frame width. Haley had come over to her farm to take some pictures for her portfolio. The weather was clear with a slight breeze and thankfully, it hadn't rained in a couple of days so the usual farm mud that normally covered someone within being out in a couple of minutes had completely dried up. Haley had been incredibly excited to begin this project and had been waiting for the warmer weather to take advantage. Her online profile was making good interest and head stead and she had been sent some sponsored clothing to create a shoot with; knowing that she was from a rural area, the clothing was hardy and used for the outdoors.

'Like this?' Haley replied, as she twisted her body to the left as Elspeth had asked. She was posing on the bench that was built next to Elspeth's lake and there were ducks on the water and a couple of chickens by her feet. Elspeth was surprised but Hayley didn't seem bothered by the animals at all, even when they scratched up grime and dust.

Elspeth nodded and held up her fingers, counting down from three. On the third finger she watched Hayley breathe in and hold her pose as the camera clicked several times. After a minute and once the camera had stopped, Hayley ran over and leaned down to look at the laptop that was connected. 'Oooh, I love that one,' Elspeth said as Hayley clicked through the pictures. 'That one shows off the boots really nicely, what with your leg extended,' she motions to the pose.

'I see what you mean,' Hayley said as she scrutinized the photos. There was an expression on her face that meant she wasn't satisfied. The clothing was certainly beautiful and suited the outdoor life but Hayley thought it was missing something. 'It's… nice,' she said with a sigh and shrugged her shoulders. 'But it still looks… I don't know… fake,' Hayley muttered. 'I'm just not satisfied. Thanks though, Elspeth. I know you've really tried,' she said not wanting Elspeth to think she was ungrateful for her help.

'Maybe it's because it looks too clean?' Elspeth suggested. 'I mean you are posing and the clothing looks like it's come off the rack. No wonder it looks like you're just against a bluescreen,' she points out.

Hayley looked at her with a raised brow. 'What? So, you think I should actually… get in and about with the dirt?' She said pulling a slight face at the thought. 'It does make sense though, I mean. They're made for the rural scene. I probably should use them for what they're made for. Have you got any like, farm chores to do?'

Elspeth smirked and gave her a look. 'Oh, Hayley. You have no idea,' she giggles. 'Come on, let's set up your camera to take candid shots or whatever you wanna call it, and get to work.' The rest of the morning flew past with Hayley's help, though Elspeth wasn't sure if her friend was helping or hindering. Dressed in a hoodie and jeans, Elspeth was comfortable working throughout the day next to the model she called a best friend, who, to Elspeth's surprise, worked hard regardless of the task.

Once all the work had been done, they had packed up all of Hayley's gear and retired to Elspeth's house where they were currently eating some lunch. Elspeth was sitting on the sofa with Buddy's head across her knees, chomping on a sandwich that they had made when they got in. Haley was sitting to the left of her in the armchair with her computer on her lap. Hayley picked up her lemonade and took a sip, 'oh, these are… these are great! Elspeth! Some of these are amazing!' She squeals as she clicks through her collection.

Buddy huffed in his sleep and twitched, making Elspeth smile as she stroked his head. 'Yeah? You managed to get some usable ones?' She asked, feeling happy that Hayley was feeling perky and bright about their endeavours. Hayley nods enthusiastically and turns her laptop around so that Elspeth could see the current photo she was talking about. It was of Hayley and Elspeth lifting alfalfa; they were laughing at one another as it had scattered into the air and into their hair. The clothing that Hayley wore looked perfect for the setting and it showed the versatility of the cloth.

'I know this one has you in it but would you mind if I uploaded it?' Hayley asked as she bounced her knees in excitement. 'I mean I need to do some slight editing of the lighting and things but I think it'll be really amazing,' she said, excitedly.

Elspeth tilted her head and gave Hayley a soft smile, 'yeah, I don't mind. Though, could you tag the farm profile in it? Could drum up some business?'

Hayley nodded, 'oh, of course! Elspeth, that was never a question. Of course I'll tag you in it. With this picture though you're bound to get a lot of DMs. They'll probably want to sponsor you as well, look how frigging cute you are here!' She said grinning at the screen. Hayley took a moment to eat the rest of her sandwich and have some more lemonade before giving Elspeth a sly look. 'Speaking of photos…' she began. 'I have some rather interesting ones on my phone from the other week.'

Raising a brow, Elspeth looked at her best friend. 'What are you on about?' She asked, confused.

'Oh… I just caught a couple of moments on camera that's all,' Hayley said as she began to click on files to find the evidence. 'Between you and a certain someone-'

Elspeth's mouthful of lemonade went across the room as she sprayed it in shock. She coughed and held her hand over her mouth, waking up Buddy who grumbled about the disturbance and got up, loping off through the doggy door. Clearing her throat, she looked at Hayley, 'what… what do you mean?' She asked, feeling her anxiety rise. 'Show me!'

Hayley leaned on the armchair, balancing her head on her palm. 'Oh, no. You've got to tell me what's going on with you two, first,' she said with a grin, watching Elspeth like a hawk.

'There's nothing going on, we just text and things that's all,' Elspeth replied.

'Uh huh. Gimme your phone,' Hayley said, bluntly, as she held out her hand.

'What?'

'Don't worry, I'm not going to send anything or read your messages,' Hayley said in reassurance. Elspeth gave her a confused look again and pulled out her phone from her hoodie, passing it over. Hayley unlocked it and clicked on a couple of things. 'Oh… would you look at that. Call records,' she said with a cheeky smile seeing Elspeth's face drain of colour. 'Last night, two hours… Bazz,' she reads. Elspeth leaned over to grab her phone back but Hayley held it out of reach. 'Oh, and yesterday morning, also an hour. The day before that… almost five hours on the phone in total,' she said. 'With someone also called…. Bazz,' she teased. 'I wonder who that could possibly be?'

Finally, Elspeth grabbed her phone from Hayley. 'We're just talking that's all!' She protested.

'Sweetie, you and I talk on a daily basis, this is something else,' Hayley said with a smile as Elspeth put her phone away, her face red. 'I wonder what I would discover if I did actually read your messages to one another-'

'It's nothing, Hayley,' Elspeth said softly. 'Look, what with Sebastian's… preferences… talking is pretty much all we can do. I mean, the whole thing about touch is complicated,' she mumbles and Hayley wears a sad smile. 'I like him, Hayley. A lot,' she whispers. 'Things are just different than a normal relationship. Not that what we have is a relationship,' she adds.

Hayley shook her head, 'look, Elspeth. I'm glad you're interested in someone. Even if he's a little… strange in certain aspects,' she said softly as she reached over and took Elspeth's hand in comfort. 'I truly believe that this whole, germ aversion thing-' Elspeth didn't correct her, it wasn't important at the moment, '-will one day just be a thing of the past,' she said. 'Do you think he's interested in you?'

'I think he is,' Elspeth admitted. 'But, he's like, reluctant. I don't think he holds out hope that there could be anything between us because of this whole aversion thing. So, I'm happy at least being his friend. I'd rather have that than nothing.'

There was a couple of clicks on the keyboard and Hayley turned the laptop around once more. It was a photo of when Sebastian helped Elspeth down from the pool table. He was looking deep into her eyes and his hand was tight on her waist. His expression made the caterpillars in Elspeth's stomach evolve into full blown butterflies. Hayley gave Elspeth a serious look, 'sweetie. Nobody looks at someone in this way just to keep them a friend. He looks like he wants to worship and devour you at the same time,' she giggles. Elspeth's face went bright red and she bit her lip as she stifled her own laugh. 'Believe me, the boy is head over heels for you,' she adds. 'In such a short time as well! I mean, what? It's been a couple of weeks?'

'Well, I've obviously been here for over a year-'

'Yeah, but apparently when you put your mind to something, nothing gets in your way. You were determined to get to know him and wham, bam, thank you, ma'am; he's like a puppy on your leash. Enamoured,' Hayley teases.

'Stop it,' Elspeth laughs and rolls her eyes, batting Hayley with her hand. 'Speaking of people who put their mind to things… how are you and Alex?' She asks in a desperate attempt to make a conversation change.

Hayley sighs and closes her laptop, 'something tells me that we would fail the Bechdel test,' she mutters.

'Huh?' Elspeth replied.

'Y'know, women who only talk about men and shit,' Hayley explains, Elspeth realises what she was talking about and nods with a laugh. 'Anyway… the thing is with Alex is that… I don't know… maybe I'm just being shallow. I don't want people thinking that I'm with him just because of his looks. He concentrates on his athleticism and clothing; I don't want to say he's… uneducated, but sometimes he can come across as a little… y'know…'

Elspeth nodded again. 'I know what you mean, Hayley. The thing is, I think he's smart in a different way. He might not be like, academic smart but he's got a fair amount of, what's the word I'm looking for, street smart? Also, he's like, sweet. He would care for and adore you,' Elspeth said, not really knowing if she was making things better or worse. 'Anyway, what does it matter if the reason you get together at first is because you're attracted to him? Most people get together on looks and then personality keeps them together.'

They begin to clear up from lunch and Hayley thinks things over, 'y'know what?' Hayley said as she picked up the plates. 'You're right. Why should I care if people think I'm being shallow? Just because he's a bit of a himbo, doesn't mean that it won't become anything,' she said as she followed Elspeth to the kitchen.

'That's my girl,' Elspeth said giving her a smirk. She begins to fill the sink in order to wash up and Hayley spots some of the magazines and samples that Robin had left behind. She inquires as to what they were and Elspeth glances over, her arms covered in bubbles. 'Oh! I'm having some tiling done and thinking about changing the splashback to the oven. Also, there's a few floor samples in there, I've got a bit of extra money so I'm redecorating before winter,' she muses. 'I've got a new spice rack to put up and I want an area over there to be able to dry flowers and garlic bulbs.'

'Wow! You're going full on cottage-core, aren't you?' Hayley smiles. 'You've gotta let me do some sort of fantasy shoot in here one day. Ooooh! I was also thinking that we do some sort of like, mermaid, water nymph shoot out on your lake,' she said, clapping her hands; like she always did when she was excited. 'What do you think? Please, say yes! This sort of stuff is so popular!'

Elspeth grins and nods, scrubbing a plate. 'Of course, Hayley. You know I don't mind. The whole mermaid thing sounds interesting, imagine what the others would look like if they were merpeople?'

'Well, we can take inspiration from that mermaid that comes around in the Night market! I need to ask her where she gets her makeup done. I'm sure Emily can whip up some sort of tail thing, even if it's a fabric one,' Hayley says as she thinks about the possibilities. 'I'm sure that actress uses a silicon one but they're so expensive and I wouldn't want to invest in that unless it was a promotional or something,'

'I didn't get to see her performance last year; I'm hoping to catch it this year. I've heard that her show is amazing,' Elspeth said. 'It's something to look forward to,' she smiles and finishes the washing up, wringing her hands free of bubbles. 'I can do some concept sketches if you want? I used to dabble in drawing. I mean, they're not great-'

'Oh my, Yoba! That would be amazing!' Hayley squeals in delight. 'Oooh, I want to be some sort of tropical fish!'

'I'll have to do some research but sure, I'll find something for you,' Elspeth smiles. 'This is gonna be fun.'

Be well. Stay safe!