Through the Lens

Chapter 4

The last time Lydia saw Abel was during the meeting, which was extremely awkward for them all. She had tried to make sense of the reason why Abel had her pictures combined in his journal. Could it be that he misses her? Or because he's over her and is ready to be platonic with her? She remembers rushing out of his office just in time for the end of the meeting.

She greeted Natasha with a smile that didn't reach her eyes and threw a tight lipped smile towards Abel. She walked out of the studio into the car afterwards which left everyone secretly confused.

Now it's the first day of the shoot and she listens carefully or pretends to listen to whatever Reuben is saying to her. She can't help but be distracted by the man setting up the studio few feets away from her.

"Do you understand?" Reuben asks her seeing that her attention is divided.

"Uhmm...Yeah?" She says with an uncertain look on her face. Obviously she hadn't been listening to him speak.

"I'm sorry Ben, I just have a lot on my mind. Could you recap please?" She asks him with the best puppy look she could summon up.

"Fine." Reuben says trying so hard not show his frustration.

"I said you'll be working with these clothes for now, choose the ones most comfortable with you and wear. If you feel unomfortable, just let me know. Alright? " he says directing his look towards Abel when he mentioned the word 'unconfortable'. Lydia follows his eyes and realizes that Reuben has his stare at Abel.

She can't help but wonder if Abel had done anything to offend Reuben. As if being beckoned on, Abel looks towards them. Lydia's first reaction would have been pretending not to be staring at him but her brown eyes can't seem to leave his blue eyes. She throws a smile towards him and Abel throws a nod , Abel confused as to why they were staring at him smiles back at Lydia and throws back a nod at Reuben's grim face.

"You're ready?" Reuben asks Lydia who still has her eyes on Abel.

"Yeah sure" she says finally taking her eyes off him.

As if on cue, Natasha literally bounced towards them to ask for their readiness with which they both gave her an affirmative nod.

Lydia changes to one of the dresses in the dressing room with the help of Natasha and prepares to return to the studio. Before she exits the room, Natasha asks out of nowhere breaking the silence.

"Can I ask you a question?" Natasha says biting her lips almost like she's nervous.

"Sure, please go ahead" Lydia says giving Natasha her full attention

"Uhm, I don't know if this is my business but is there something going on between you and Abel? I've noticed the tension between you too is so strong and you have both been awkward with each other." Natasha pours out her mind looking towards Lydia to get her genuine response. Four months ago, a fast rising fashion designer had come to them to sign a contract with them. She requests them to help search for a model that would represent her brand well and give her the best.

Natasha had been given the task of compiling models. She narrowed the models down to three, in which Lydia is part. She presents the list to Abel and immediately Abel sees her picture, he made his decision immediately. Left to Natasha, Lydia would have been her pick too because there's something about her that speaks class.

Abel chooses whom he works with specially, he doesn't work with just anyone. So when he picked Lydia as the model, Natasha didn't expect tension to be there that early in the shoot.

"Well, I don't know what Abel told you but I'm just just going to state it in a way you'd understand. Abel and I used to know ourselves in college...we dated for a little bit of time, that's the reason for thr tension." Lydia replies almost forcing the words out of her mouth. She doesn't have to know rhe details.

"But I promise you things are now platonic between us. I mean we hadn't seen ourselves in years that's the cause of the tension. But we have both moved on." Lydia quickly adds to it offering Natasha a smile even though it didn't come from her heart.

"But..." Natasha obviously has more things to say but is cut short by Reuben who opens the door of the changing room.

"Here you are, Abel is ready for you." Reuben tells Lydia who stands up immediately as she isn't ready to continue the conversation with Natasha. Lydia looks towards her and smile slightly before walking out of the door following Reuben. Natasha takes a deep breath and follows suit.

Apparently, Reuben had eavesdropped on their conversation and can't get rid of the jealousy that has risen in his chest. He picked up his phone and sends a text to an old friend who's also a private investigator.

Reuben: "Hello Josh, I need a favor from you. Could you get me any information on "Abel Phillips?"

Josh: "How urgent?

Reuben: "Like this evening urgent"

Josh: "Alright, on it"

Reuben puts his phone away at the back of his pocket and glances towards Abel who's already giving directions to Lydia on how to pose. He sucked in his teeth as Abel approaches Lydia to adjust a part of her cloth. He hates the fact that he hasn't even been given room to express his emotions even though he knows what's going to be the end of it; rejection.

After hours of trying on new clothes and poses. Natasha drags Reuben out to get lunch for them all.

Now it's Abel and Lydia left at the studio. Abel sits behind the laptop scrolling through the pictures he had taken and Lydia stands behind his shoulder checking out the pictures. She knew Abel was a good photographer, but this was on another level.

"Wow, these are nice!" She can't help but blurt out in amazement and move closer to check them from a closer view. At this point, Lydia has her head close to Abel's. Abel could feel her breath on him and warmth radiating through her body.

When Lydia realizes the position they were both in, she turns her head slowly to take a look at Abel who was already doing the same. As soon as their eyes met, they couldn't move. They stare deep into each other's soul and automatically, their body reels in towards one another and in that moment when their lips are about to meet, the studio door opens and they flew in different direction.

Reuben walks in and notices the awkwardness in the studio. They are both flushed and when he opened his mouth to ask what the matter was, an email notification from Josh pops up on his phone. When he opens the email and goes through it, he feels a sinking feeling in his stomach and looks from Abel to Lydia who were already staring at

him wondering what the issue is.