Taking Pictures of Your Heart

[Leobear13]

Connor walked into his studio, tired from the previous night's shitty amount of rest. Last night had been one of those nights, the one where he got very little sleep and the sleep he did get was haunted by dreams or memories from when he was in high school. He had graduated when he was sixteen, and now he was was twenty-two. A yawn escaped his mouth, stretching his lips into an O just as his assistant walked in.

"You better set up, the model you'll be shooting with will be here in less than a half hour."

Connor nodded and went into the bathroom, and set his glasses on the counter. His reflection held bleary and tired blue-gray eyes and his brown hair was more of a mess than usual. Turning the faucet on full blast with cold water, he splashed his, something that always wakes him. After drying his face, he put his glasses back on and by the time he stepped out the bathroom, his assistant stood there with a steaming cup of coffee for him.

"Thank you Lucy, I really need this." He took a sip and smiled at Lucy, who happened to be one of his few friends from high school. He had hired her because she had needed a job and he needed someone he trusted to be his assistant. It worked out perfectly.

"So this model, he'll be here soon, correct?" he asked as he brushed past her and into the studio to start setting things up.

Connor

 

[TeaCup]

Mason let out a small groan as he heard the familiar beeping his alarm made. Was it already morning time? The beeping continued for a few moments before suddenly stopping. Thinking he was in the clear, Mason's body relaxed, only to be blinded by a burst of sunshine streaming into his room. "Your alarm is going off." A voice said sweetly. Hazel eyes slowly peaking open, he watched the other young man walk out of the room. Who was he again?

Not bothering to think too hard about that question, Mason crawled out of bed and into the shower. It was the first day of his new big modeling campaign and he knew he shouldn't have gone out to the club the night before. He had only planned on having a few drinks and then heading home, but the adorable black haired boy seemed to think otherwise and somehow they had danced the night away and then spent the rest of the night playing under his covers. He was paying for it this morning.

He had his shower and got ready, wearing a casual outfit. He stood at 6'3 and his morning exercise routine had blessed him with a beautiful body. He had sandy blonde hair that fell in a shaggy-yet-wonderfully-styled way. He was a cute model, which was probably how he managed to have a new boy in his bed each night. Or he was just really good at talking his way into getting what he wants. Or maybe a bit of both.

"Sorry I can't stick around." Mason poured himself a coffee in his to go mug and walked towards the door. "Just make sure you'll call me sometime!" The other boy said, seeming to have made himself comfortable with a plate of food in front of him. Mason gave a small nod and then left his apartment, glad he kept anything valuable of his hidden or locked up. He didn't have time this morning to try and kick the guy out. He would have to let himself out.

No more than half an hour later, Mason's car pulled up to the studio he would be spending plenty of time in the next few weeks. He was excited about having another big gig; he lived for modeling. It had been his dream since he was a teen. Right on time, he walked in and looked around. He saw what seemed to be an assistant of some sort and thought she looked strangely familiar. "Hey there. I'm Mason, the model for today. Am I at the right place?" He said with his infamous charmer smile.

 

[Leobear13]

Connor was crouched over some of his equipment, pulling out one of his cameras and a tripod. He situated the tripod about where it would need to stand and set the camera that was his hand back in his bag. He went over to the side of the room, pulling a heavy fan over, knowing that it would be useful. Back arched slightly and hands stretched in the air, nearly touching the ceiling since he was 6'4", nearly a foot taller then when he had graduated high school. After strectching, he looked around, thinking about what he still needed to do when he heard someone talking to Lucy. Mason... the name rang a bell, but he didn't really care all that much. Once again, he crouched over his bag.

"Come on in, I'm back here getting things set up," Connor yelled from his spot. He pawed around in his bag, looking at the different lenses and thought about what one to use first, what effect they wanted and what the first pose the model would be posed in.

(So you know what his glasses look like. ^.^

)

 

[TeaCup]

After a short chat with the assistant, Mason looked around with a smile. He felt like a giddy school girl, just over all very excited to be back in the modeling world. It wasn't like he had ever stopped, but he enjoyed longer gigs much more. One day shoots were always so stressful, because there was a deadline and way too many things to do. When you had weeks to get the perfect shot, you could relax and let yourself have fun with it.

He walked into a room where he assumed he would be doing the pictures. There was a large backdrop and several big, industrial lights. He smiled and walked over to the photographer. His heart suddenly beat quicker when his eyes looked over the man. He looked exactly like… No, it couldn't be. Looking away, he glanced over the set. "I'm Mason." He said, and then was quickly called over to hair, makeup and wardrobe. He tried on several outfits before the stylists agreed, and then the hair dresser did a few things to avoid static and obvious fly-aways in the photos. All while this was going on, Mason had his eyes on the photographer, not even trying to be subtle about it. He looked like a carbon copy of his high school sweetheart; only older and even more handsome.

When he was finally done, Mason walked back to the backdrop and gave a small smile. It was almost crazy how similar the man looked. "I don't think I got your name." He said slowly, holding out his hand. If he dared to say Connor… Well, Mason would have a different opinion on this shoot. The two had ended on an extremely sour note back in high school and working with him would just be awkward, to say the least.

 

[Leobear13]

Connor attached one of the lenses, the one that was best for macro shots. It would be the best lens for the portrait picture the client wanted of the model. He smiled slightly, content and went to the table in the corner where his coffee sat and set down the camera for the time being. His eyes turned toward where the model, Mason, had headed to get ready and he switched from sipping on his coffee to gulping it. When Mason walked over to the backdrop, Connor's eyebrows raised and surprise sparkled brightly in his eyes. Now he knew why he had thought the name Mason sounded familiar it had been the same Mason that had been in high school with, the one who had been his high school sweetheart. Part of him said the shoot would be awkward while the other insisted it would be interesting. Perhaps, it would be both.

As he gulped the last drop of coffee down, he sat the cup down and changed it for his camera. He walked over closer to the backdrop and stared at Mason for a moment. He closed the distance between them, shaking Mason's hand firmly, a small, polite smile on his lips. For a moment, Connor debated whether he should give Mason his name or not considering what they had been once upon a time. More often than not, when he had those restless nights because of nightmares, Mason had been a star in them.

"I'm simply Mr. Wayne," he said at the last moment. He had decided to give his name, but instead decided to sound professional and give his surname, the one that had changed since high school. shortly after he was eighteen, he changed his surname to that of his grandmother who had pretty much raised him through childhood. Only a small group of people ever even knew that he wanted to change his surname, but he couldn't remember if Mason had been one of those.

Once he dropped Mason's hand, he backed up slightly, staring at Mason for a moment.

"Think about when you had your first love, that first kiss, and when you first said you loved someone," he said, trying to get a slight embarrassed, but slight look of thoughtfulness and love. Connor had become a famous photographer for his ability to get emotions across peoples faces, which he was quite good at.

 

[TeaCup]

Would it be awkward to ask if this was his old high school love? Mason had lost all of his excitement for this shoot. His stomach was in a large knot; reliving every memory from high school like a movie playing in his mind, going in extra slow motion. Mason had been a dick. There was no other word to describe his actions. Connor had been his first for everything; first date, first kiss, first sexual partner and, most definitely, his first love. The two would often talk about their future and how they couldn't imagine a life without one another. That is, until Mason became friends with a new kid, Eric. He introduced him to alcohol and partying, which led to becoming promiscuous. Mason ended their relationship in an extremely harsh way. He never actually ended it; he just began to get more and more distant until they stopped talking. Mason tried to tell himself that it was for the better and wasn't his fault, but no matter how much he told himself… He knew that was nothing but a complete asshole move.

Replaying their relationship, the model spaced out for a moment. He blinked a few times and noticed he had been staring at the man, who wanted to be known as Mr. Wayne. If he hadn't been in such a state, Mason probably would have made a joke about him being batman, but that didn't even come to mind. His mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of Connor.

He inhaled and then slowly exhaled. "Sorry." He said, giving a sheepish smile. He then walked to the backdrop and prepared for the photo shoot. He would have to push those thoughts away; he couldn't have his past sabotage this great opportunity for him. It was harder to push the thoughts away than usual, maybe because a Connor- look alike was staring back at him through the camera lens. He managed to get through the shoot but knew it wasn't his best. He needed a drink, and quick. Before he would reward himself with one, though, he wanted to know more about this familiar man.

"So have you lived here your whole life?" He hovered near the photographer as he began to put things away. So many emotions filled Mason when he looked over the man. Even if it wasn't Connor, he wouldn't mind jumping his bones and just imagining it was him.

 

[Leobear13]

Connor hadn't expected the look he had gotten from Mason, but in a photographer's perspective, it was a great look and he shot a couple photos, while biting the inside of his lip. He wondered if Mason actually thought about his first which of course was him or if he didn't. It was incredibly hard for him to not think about the things that went on in high school, the emotions he had felt for Mason and he had to keep reminding himself that that was in the past and currently he was in the present. Nothing from back then mattered. If anything, Connor should be grateful for what happened because if things had continued in high school, he might not have put his all into photography like he did as soon as he graduated. He still would have went into photography and tried to make it big, but he wouldn't have given it as much time, motivation and as much as his heart. For a moment, he busied himself with his camera, making look as though he was concentrating on messing with it. A lump was in his throat and he had to force it back.

Somehow, Connor managed to force a smile and nod when Mason apologized. "It's no problem." His eyes shifted from his camera back to Mason as he focused the lens on Mason. No matter the emotions Connor was feeling, he needed to suck it up because this was his career and he loved it. All Mason was, was a little unexpected bump along the road. Just an unexpected bump...​ He thought to himself a few times. By far, Connor was not an alcoholic or someone who drank often, but he was also already starting to think about hitting one of the bars with Lucy. If he could talk to anyone, it was Lucy. And Lucy would probably have something to say, and a way to make him feel better. Knowing her, it would probably be a threat to kick his ass if he didn't cheer up. The thought of her telling him that, the same thing she had told him after Mason had left him, made his fake smile turn genuine.

"Hm, my whole life? Well, I lived in Ohio when I was young then moved here and have been here since," he said as he walked over to his camera bag and packed the lenses and camera body into it. Connor knew not to say too much or describe too much or otherwise, his identity would be know. But did it really matter? It might be nice for him to just tell Mason who he was. Through telling him, he may be able to find out what went wrong and get that closure he's been needing so badly after all those years. Just the thought brought tears to the back of his eyes and he had to blink them back quickly. Overly sensitive... It was something many people had told him he was and he had to agree. "What about you, have you lived here your whole life?" he finally asked, frustrated when his voice wavered the slightest. Damn emotions... Damn Mason...

 

[TeaCup]

Mason didn't know what to think; he was torn in two. Part of him wanted to just run out of the studio and go to the closet bar. The time had passed quickly during the photo shoot and it was almost late enough for him to have a few drinks at a bar without looking desperate, not that he really cared what the bartender would think. The other part of him was urging Mason to do the complete opposite and stick around. Maybe he could try and get to know the man better.

"I've been here my entire life, born and raised." He said with a smile. Mason continued to ask questions but nothing really gave much up on the mysterious photographer. By the end of their conversation, he still felt like he knew nothing about the other boy. It was frustrating to say the least. "Well I'll see you next week, alright?" They had been making small talk for a while now and Mason was feeling dejected. He said a quick goodbye and made his way to the studio exit. That was when he noticed the assistant, Lucy. He silently walked over and whispered to her, asking her to somehow get this Mr. Wayne to go to the Lotus Nightclub tonight. He then left in a hurry. There was just something making Mason feel an uncontrollable need to get to know him more.

A few hours later, Mason entered the club. After the shoot, he had gone home and almost instantly cracked open a beer. His nerves were sky-high and his mind was going at a mile a minute. He needed to calm down or he would probably be at risk for a heart attack. The second he walked into the club, he walked right to the bar and ordered himself an extra strong drink. It wasn't until after he had downed the beverage that he got the courage to look around the place, hoping he would spot his mysterious photographer. No man had ever made him feel this way; nervous and little to no confidence in himself.