Imperfectly Beautiful

My eyes shot open as I jumped up from the bed, instantly glancing over at the clock. I couldn’t get her out of my head. It had been an entire week since the art show, and I still couldn’t get her hazel eyes or long blonde hair out of my mind. That picture Harmony had taken, the picture I still didn’t know the name of, clouded every single fiber of my mind. When Camilla smiled, I saw the smile of Peyton. When I snapped a picture of something, I imagined the Canon resting in Peyton’s lap. I barely knew this girl, yet I was infatuated with every detail of that picture.

“Another bad dream?” Camilla sat up next to me, running her hand across the length of my bare chest. I glanced over at her and nodded my head, praying she wouldn’t question my racing heart that was thumping through my skin. Settling back down next to her, I pulled Camilla toward me. “Do you want to tell me about it?” My cheeks flushed at the idea of telling Camilla about my dreams of Peyton, the photographer I had officially met once.

“It’s dumb, don’t worry about it.” I mumbled, removing my arm from around her shoulders. “I’m just going to go for a walk, okay?”

I stood up from the bed and stepped into my jeans that were next to the bed. Pulling a white t-shirt over my head, I glanced back at Camilla, who was staring at me uncertainly.

“Do you realize what time it is?” She questioned, holding the alarm clock closer to her face. The blue light from the timepiece accentuated her facial features and I felt the itch to grab my camera that was on the counter next to me. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’ll be back.” I assured her, slowly opening the already ajar door. I grabbed a jacket that was thrown over the coat rack next to our apartment door. Slipping my hands through it’s sleeves, I nudged the door shut behind me, staring at the empty hallway that greeted me. The lights from the ceiling caused me to squint slightly as I walked toward the elevator, where I punched the button a few times, telling it to bring me down to the lobby.

* * *

Four-thirty in the morning wasn’t exactly the best time to be walking the streets of Texas, since rarely were there any shops open to walk into. A few stop and shops along with gas stations, but besides that…the city seemed abandoned.

Something about the night inspired me though. Back when my brothers and I were writing songs, I would frequently sneak out of our house just to watch the stars above me for an idea to pop into my head. The same thing occurred now, but with photography.

I had made sure to grab my camera and it’s bag before I walked out of the apartment and it was now slung around my left shoulder, swinging back and forth behind me. A few people who were mumbling on their cell phones or being dragged sleepily by their dogs passed by me, but I had my attention set on one thing in front of me, and nothing could break that concentration.

Nothing, at least, besides the flash of a Rupture uniform I saw out of the corner of my eye. The person had their back toward me, but I could see the few strands of blonde hair that fell through the black cap that was pulled over her head.

She was standing in front of a for sale sign that was in an old antique shop. I felt my hands clam up as I paused behind her, seeing her gorgeous eyes through the reflection of the shops window.

“Hi.” I said quietly, causing her eyes to jump up from the sign and into the window. She settled down slightly when she saw me standing behind her and turned around.

“Hey…Joe, right?” My stomach dropped when I realized she hadn’t been thinking about me like I had been thinking about her. She wasn’t even sure of my name.
“Yeah.” I said quietly, quickly thinking of something to say. “So what are you doing out at four-thirty in the morning?” I asked, walking next to her. She glanced over at me with a shy smile.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you the same thing? I have work.” She informed me, letting her eyes fall back onto the sign in front of her.

“I couldn’t sleep.” I told her quietly. Dreaming about you . She nodded sympathetically and glanced down the empty sidewalk.

“It happens.” She looked up at me slowly and nodded toward a small coffee shop that was next to us.

“So what time do you work?” I asked, shoving my hands into my front pockets.
“Not until five.” She said absentmindedly, glancing back over at me.

“Do you want to go get a coffee or something?” I asked her, glancing through my hair and down at her small figure. Camilla’s gentle facial structure entered my thoughts, but it was overpowered with the large smile on Peyton’s face in the picture. A similar smile played onto her lips now, and she nodded her head slightly.

“Sure.” We glanced at each other quickly and fell into step down the sidewalk, silently looking around at dark shop windows.

“So Harmony said you two wanted to open a studio when you finish school?” I tried to start a conversation as the quietness turned awkward. Peyton glanced up at me and laughed shortly.

“Harmony says a lot of things.” She mumbled, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “I mean, it would be nice to run our own business someday, but we would be coming from nothing. Becoming successful from nothing doesn’t happen that often.” I opened the door to a small coffee shop about a block away from Rupture.

“I think you two can do it.” I said faithfully, walking in behind Peyton to the back of the small line next to the register. A businessman finished telling the cashier his order as we approached.

“So what about you?” Peyton asked later that night as soon as we sat down at our table. “Do you think your going to pursue photography?”

I laughed slightly and set my coffee cup down. “Most definitely not.” She gave me a disapproving look and I cleared my throat. “I would love to, don’t get me wrong.” I paused and set down the cup. “My girlfriend isn’t the most supportive person about it…that’s all.”

“Isn’t it your choice?” Peyton asked suddenly, crossing her arms over her chest. I glanced at her for a few seconds and nodded my head, glancing down at the table.

“I guess, but…I will do whatever it takes to make her happy.” I glanced up from the counter and looked at Peyton. “You know?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess.” She didn’t seem to convinced, but I left it at that.
“So, if you don’t think you and Harmony will have a studio some day, why were you looking at that building for sale?” Peyton smirked at this.

“Like I said,” She poured another sugar packet into her coffee. “it would be nice.” She glanced at the watch that was strapped around her wrist and perked up in her seat. “I have to be at work in fifteen minutes.”

I nodded my head and drank the last sip of my coffee, standing up from my chair. Peyton followed me and threw her cup into the trash can.

“Thank you for the coffee.” She said quickly as we exited the shop. I nodded my head. “Thank you for having it with me.” She glanced up at me and smiled.

The sun was just beginning to rise as Peyton looked up at me that morning. It was one of those moments you remember, years from the moment it happened, that instantly makes you smile. It was like the memory I had now, when my brothers and I played our first sold out show. All we could do was smile when we couldn’t see the back of that venue.

I looked down at Peyton and wondered if she knew of my brothers and I. If she did, she definitely didn’t act like it.

“I should get going.” She said quietly. I focused back down at her and nodded my head, watching silently as she started to turn away from me.

“Hey Peyton?” She turned back around and glanced at me through the shining sun. “Yeah?”

“Do you think you would want to hang out with me again sometime?” She smirked slightly and shrugged her shoulders.
“What about your girlfriend?” I considered her question. What about Camilla? What would she say? Or more importantly…what would she do?

“What about her?” I asked her back, my stomach fluttering as Peyton sighed in front of me.

“I get off at three.”