Mutual

9 - Photos

Dylan continued going to the photography club meetings.He hasn't contributed too much, but he seems to enjoy it well enough. It's not like all of the members always have to participate. Sometimes, some of them just want to sit back and take it all in silently.

But today, when the group was sharing their work with each other, he quietly piped in and said that he had some images of his own to show.

Everyone got excited because he has never shown his work before, and they just liked looking at and critiquing each other's photos. It was different from being in an art class. It was more laid back and casual, as it wasn't being graded, and there were no parameters. They were free to create as they wanted without judgement.

Dylan's photos, which were quite different from Alana's, consisted mainly of people. Alana supposed that went along with the whole journalism thing. Some contained various people around the school's campus. Others were candids or portraits of Anastasia and his friends. And then, she saw one of herself.

She studied it for a moment. She was looking away from the camera, which duh, she didn't even realize he took a picture of her until now. She was sitting in her usual spot on the loveseat. If she had to guess based on her expression, it looked like she was most likely talking to her sister. Overall, it was a nice photo. The framing and composition were great, and the subject stood out in a good way.

"When did you take this?" She leaned over to ask Dylan quietly.

He shrugged. "One day when I was over. I don't know."

"It's...really nice." She felt a bit awkward commenting about a photo of herself, but she couldn't deny that it was shot well.

"Thanks." Alana swore she saw him flush a little at the compliment. And she definitely didn't find that cute. "I think the subject can really make the picture."

It was Alana's turn to blush. "I've always thought that it's how the photographer captures the subject that makes a good photo great."

"We can agree to disagree," he said with a small smile.

Was that...flirting? Alana questioned mentally.

She didn't mean for it to come out that way. She just genuinely thought what she expressed. But in context, it felt like it may have been flirty.

But no, of course it wasn't flirting. She wasn't interested in him, and he's dating someone already. And that someone just happens to be her sister. So, no, they weren't flirting. They were just talking about his photos and photography in general.

Except, Alana wasn't sure how much she believed that. But she would deal with that some other time, preferably when she was alone and not in public.

For now, her focus should be on the photography club and everyone's pictures.

Alana was the last one to present her work today. Sometimes they went around in a circle. Other times they did things popcorn style. They mixed it up each week to keep things fun and light to help it from feeling too mundane.

She had some pictures she took when she went out for a walk one day. There were textures and landscapes and close-ups of objects.

"Oh, wow, Lana," Sheila showed a print to everyone in the circle. "This one is beautiful. I think you should consider it for the exhibition."

They were still working on getting that set up, but at this point, it was a matter of when, not if.

Alana looked at the photo and realized it was one she took of a crumpled can laying on the side of the road. She had stopped in her tracks when she came across it and wound up taking quite a few pictures from different angles in an attempt to capture it the way she wanted to. Based on the club's reactions, she guessed that she found the right angle after all.

"I guess it is the photographer that makes the photo," Dylan said under his breath, just loud enough for Alana to hear.

Okay, Alana thought, that was definitely flirting.

She felt her cheeks warm, and she hated herself for it. "I told you," she said, trying to seem unbothered and nonchalant.

Oh, my god, I'm screwed, she told herself.