Imperfectly Beautiful

Camilla’s shivers became more frequent as the night went on and the sun set. I kept an arm around her shoulder as she laid close against my chest, trying to keep warm. Peyton had offered to return my shirt to her, but I refused. I could keep Camilla close to warm her up, but that wasn't an option with Peyton.

"I'm fre-freezing." Camilla trembled, and I nodded. "I know, we're going." I whispered into her hair, as we all walked down the block where the beach ended and our small Texas town began again. Peyton was a step ahead of us, her face down in her camera, reviewing a few pictures she took from the days events.

We all walked fast exchanging very few words, and I enjoyed the silence of the night. Camilla's feet stayed planted on the floor as I continued walking, which caused my arm jerk backwards and off of her bare shoulder. "Joe," Peyton and I both turned around at her voice, "Where are you going?" She asked, and I took recognition to where we were.

Camilla wrapped her arms around herself, staring anxiously at me, and her feet were at the entrance of our front walkway. I hadn't tore my vision away from Peyton the entire walk, so I didn't even realize that I walked right by our house.

"I'm going to walk Peyton home," I said from a distance, glancing back at her, who was glancing from her camera back up at me, a smile on her lips. "But, I'm freezing." Camilla whined, rubbing her arms to keep herself warm. "Go in, I'll be back in a little bit." A frown appeared on her face along with a scowl.

Peyton coughed awkwardly, "It's okay, I can walk home alone." She explained quietly, looking at me through her lashes. I shook my head and turned back to Camilla, "I'll be back, you're already so cold." She frowned and without another word she turned on her heels, slamming the front door loudly.

"I like that one." I whispered, staring over Peyton's shoulder and at her camera. She smiled and looked from my face back down to the picture. "It's okay," She commented, running her small fingers over the control buttons, and passing a few shots of Camilla and I on the shore.

"Now, I like this one." She commented as we continued to walk down the pavement. I glanced at the screen and a chuckle immediately escaped my lips. The picture was of Camilla and I again. It was obviously caught off guard, due to the fact that Camilla was glaring the opposite direction and I had an equally annoyed look on my face. "Oh yeah, it shows a lot of emotion." I joked, which caused Peyton to giggle.

"You're an amazing photographer." I smiled, as Peyton scanned over a few more shots of the ocean. "I'm nothing special." She put herself down again, which seemed to happen a lot with her. "No, really. You are." I said again, and Peyton shook her head and powered off her camera.

"Enough of my photography…" She said, glancing up at my eyes. " Lets see some of yours, mister." She joked, as she went to grab at my camera, which was slung across my shoulder.

"Yeah, lets not." I laughed nervously, but she powered up my Nikon anyway. "Oh, come on. You're probably really good." She smiled, as she went to review mode on my camera. I watched closely as she scanned over the first few pictures, and a smile immediately appeared on her face. I sighed as she stopped on one shot of the beach, which had her frame in it. She was peering through her own camera, up to her thighs in water, her hair blowing behind her.

"Now, this would be an amazing picture, if I wasn't in it." She said, looking at me and back down to my camera. I almost tripped on the end of the sidewalk, but caught myself. "Why do you say that?" I asked, staring at her as she examined the picture closer. "That's the best part of the picture." I said, after a few seconds of silence. She remained silent at my opinion, and continued onto the next few pictures. I felt my face get hot, as I realized that I didn't take too many pictures of the beach, but I took plenty of Peyton, who looked so calm and perfect in the lighting.

"Now, I like that one." I stopped her, and she raised an eyebrow at my comment. The color in the photograph was warm and Peyton was sitting in the sand, her hands supporting her weight. Her eyes were right on the camera, and that rare smile was on her face. The smile that I've only seen about three times, and once was in a photograph. The smile that showed that she had been laughing her contagious laugh. Her camera was next to her in the sand, and her jeans were rolled up slightly. Her hair was pulled away from her face, due to the wind blowing in the opposite direction.

"I look terrible." She whispered, and I shook my head. "What are you talking about?" I questioned her, and she switched the picture off the screen. She looked up at me briefly, and I studied her blue green eyes for the second time. "I do," She looked away and I laughed. "You don't look terrible." I scoffed, and she shook her head, studying one picture of Camilla.

"Yeah, sure Joe." She said sarcastically, and I just sighed to myself. "You don't look terrible, Peyton. I'm not even sure if it’s physically possible for you to look terrible. You look absolutely beautiful, in every picture there." I stopped myself, and fixed my sentence, "You look absolutely beautiful…all the time." Her eyes met mine for the second time and her cheeks were flushed, and smile was on her face.

"Thank you." She whispered, smiling up at me, still blushing. I turned away, smiling to myself. "Nobody ever told me something like that." She whispered, staring ahead of herself. "I don't see why not." I responded, and she smiled my way again.

"Thanks for walking me home." She said, taking a turn down at what I assumed to be the front of her walkway. Her house was a colonial, and it was just the right size. It had perfect landscaping along with matching shutters. I smiled at her and nodded. "No problem.", I pulled her in for a hug, sighing contently when she wrapped her arms around my torso.

"Goodnight, Peyton." I whispered before I pulled away, and she smiled. "Goodnight, Joseph." I laughed turned on my heel, walking down the small stones towards the sidewalk. I almost walked away, but Peyton's voice stopped me, "Joe, wait!" She called, and I turned around to see her pulling off my button down shirt I lent her before, I laughed and shook my head. I totally forgot about it, since it seemed to blend in perfectly with the rest of her outfit. "Keep it." I said from the side walk, smiling her way.

She laughed and nodded. "You sure?" She called, and I nodded. "Positive." I reassured her, and she smiled. "Thanks.", she turned around and opened her own front door, walking in and pausing before shutting the door. "See you soon.", her voice was barely audible, but I smiled and nodded, waving her way before walking back home the way we came, thinking about the days events.

"Sugar honey iced tea." I mumbled under my breath as I pulled my camera around from my shoulder. But, reading the white font on the lens, it read Cannon. Out clear and simple, and then it clicked. This was Peytons camera.