Capturing Them

Chapter Seventy Five

Chapter Seventy Five
Sang

We gather together in the family room and I hook my laptop up, bring up the slide show and press play. The music I put to the slide show starts playing, I've Had The Time Of My Life from Dirty Dancing, also known to be by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. When I originally put the slide show together, I had no plans to put music with it but then Gabriel suggested I should. I didn't know at first what song to choose. I wanted to let them know, without saying words, that I've literally had the best time today, and my feelings for them are real and deep. I'm not ready to talk about those feelings yet, not as I try to figure out this new chapter of my life but I wanted them to know.

So I jumped from song to song on Spotify, trying to find the right one. There were many that were fitting, many I could have chosen from, but this was the one that felt right.

I move quickly to get away from standing beside the Tv, sitting down onto the couch that Victor and Brandon are sharing. I plop down in between them, folding my arms over my chest as one by one, photos come up on to the screen. While making the slide show, and with the knowledge that everyone would be seeing the photos, I made a conscious decision to not put any photos on that were too intimate, like kissing, for example. Or those precious few seconds where I felt they were our moments and don't need to be shared.

I know that most of them were there, but I felt these were different. These are moments in time, frozen, forever captured. All of them are, but those more intimate ones aren't to be shared in front of the group. If Brandon wants to show Corey the photos I've not put into the slideshow, then they can. Same goes for everyone else. It's up to them what they do with them, who they show them too if they feel the need.

Just like once I get home I'll be printing my favourites and putting them into my photo album. I may even have to go to the mall to get some frames so I can have some on display within my little studio.

The song continues on, the photos change, completely at random, not in any particular order. There's me on Gabriel's back, both of us covered in pink and orange paint, laughing. There's myself and Mr Blackbourne, my back to his chest, my eyes looking at the camera, his gaze focused on me. Sean and I throwing flour at each other. Me and Kota sitting on the floor, me between his legs, both of us facing the Tv, controllers in hand. So many photos, so many to choose from, so many picture perfect moments I can go back and look at.

They're photos I won't ever get bored of seeing. I'll examine every photo, picking out the details, spend hours trying to figure out what they're thinking, trying to remember what I was thinking. I'll stare at them for so long, they'll be ingrained into my memory, just like how I'll always remember this day, today.

The song comes to an end and the last photo comes up. It's a picture of me, covered in paint in colours they chose. I'm smiling so wide, my eyes shining so bright, I was almost blinded by it when I first saw the photo. I couldn't believe that it was me, that it was the same girl who was secretly miserable and going through the motions of life a few weeks ago. I look so happy, so carefree, so...

I can't say love. Because that's not right. I'm not there yet, I don't think so anyway. I care so much for them, I want to be around them all the time, I miss them when they're not close. I search them out if I know they are close. Their touch sends butterflies to my heart, they make my stomach flip in the best way with a smile. Every little thing they do has me falling just that little bit harder for them.

No, I'm not in love, not yet, but it's happening. I'm powerless to stop it. Not that I would want to stop it even if I could, even if they do already have the power to break me. It's all happened so fast, yet I wouldn't change it, not for a second.