"Look to your left, that is it. Now place your hand on your right hip. Give me a little more pout. Can we put a fan here? Great. Just keep it there." Xavier Roman is one of Country's finest photographers.
All the celebs wanted him to take part in their promotional shoots and obeyed his orders without saying a word. It was as if they were afraid of him.
But to Katie, he is just Xavier , a red-haired eccentric boy from high school who has been beaten up by assholes. The child tells lame jokes and mocks them. He was also the kid who stuck with Katie in every humbling moment of her high school life. And without Xavier, Katie would not have had her big break from modeling.
"Thank you all," he said to applause, he motioned to his team to pack up.
Katie relaxed and stopped sucking on her stomach.
"Hey, have you heard of mixers tonight?" Xavier asked Katie as her group takes down the lights.
"Yes, I will be there. Are you going?" Katie asked.
The idea of having a friendly face at the front desk boosted her morale exponentially.
Xavier shrugged.
"Zabelle invited me, it would be rude not to go," he said, showing off his outfit.
Katie smiled.
"That's right, I forgot you two are Roommates," she nudged him jokingly.
There was a blush on Xavier 's round cheeks, same to the red in his hair.
"Well, do you want to come? I will introduce you to Zabelle. I heard she's looking for the next cover girl for the magazine."
Katie 's breath caught in her chest as she tried her best to hide the high-pitched scream. Being on the cover of Zabelle magazine is a career opportunity. What every new model dreams of.
Then she remembered her promise to Shae and her heart tightened.
"I can't. I help the caterers." Xavier looked him straight in.
"And?" he said, raising his eyebrows like two wriggling red caterpillars.
"One of the waiters? You'll be there and it's perfect. I will come find you and introduce you to Zabelle." Katie gaped at him.
The idea of dressing up as a waitress on her first meeting with Zabelle made her stomach tighten.
What if Zabelle remembered Katie from the event that ended in disaster? She shook her head and waved her hand vigorously to reinforce her answer.
"No, I'm fine. Not this time." She decided that one day the stars would alligned and she would be at a bartender, wearing a ravishing evening gown and dazzled the room.
Afterwards, Zabelle begged Xavier to be introduced. A small smile spread across Katie 's face at the thought.
"Disappointed. Don't you think it's time you do something to show off?"
Katie glanced at the cloth draped over her shoulders and pinned in the back that looked like some kind of dress and stared at Xavier.
"What do you think that is?" she raised her hand and asked.
Xavier shook his head.
"Ah, but this is your comfort zone, you are with me. My crew. No one will refuse you."
"Hey," Katie interjected.
"What does that mean?" Xavier avoided her gaze and puffed her cheeks.
"Nothing, nothing." He waved and fiddled with the camera's dials.
"No, tell me. What do you mean by refusal?" Katie nudged him and Xavier got mad.
Finally, he looked at her.
"I know I promised never to talk about it. But…prom night." Katie 's cheeks burn and her throat tightened.
He didn't have to say more. Fifteen years had passed since the prom, but the memory was still etched in his mind. Katie can easily remember every little detail of the night.
From her sequined mermaid dress scratched her arm. Leave the smell of the fog machine on the stage. Just thinking about it, she could feel the music reverberating in her eardrums and the vibrations beneath her feet.
Tonight, should have been a dream. Carlo Stew, the most popular guy in school, is her date. And despite everything, she was elected prom queen.
When it was announced, she couldn't even believe it. Carlo pushed her chocolate brown hair back, smiled at her, and held out her hand.
Katie picked up her dress and slid onto the dance floor feeling like a million dollars.
There was silence and a sea of wide eyes as they made their way onto the stage.
After Mrs. Sell, put the crown on her head and returned with a bouquet of red roses, Carlo grabbed the microphone and pointed it at Katie rudely.
"The prom queen is here," he shouted.
The whole room burst into laughter.
Confused, Katie waved her hand. Give her the best impression of a beauty contest winner.
"Look at her. She thinks she really is the prom queen," someone shouted.
More laughter.
Katie looked at Carlo, who had pulled out his phone in front of her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her stomach tightening.
"You think I really want to take you to the prom? I asked everyone to vote for you so I can bring you here and show you what a real loser you are! Smile in front of the camera, honey. It goes into the directory."
Katie tries to run away, but her heel gets caught in the hem of her dress and she runs down the stage and falls face down on the ground.
"Losers! Losers! Losers!" Katie closed her eyes and shivered as the song echoed in her head.
"Why are you talking about this?" she said in a deadly whisper.
Xavier touched her arm; Katie opened her eyes to see an apologetic look on her face.
"Katie, you know I love you. I'll always support you. But one day you have to steal the nest. I can't always work with you. What are you going to do next?" His warm voice calmed Katie and she sighed.
"Living in a roadside box?" she suggested with a smirk.
"I don't want to see you sad and lonely," Xavier said.
Katie giggled.
"I won't. We have this treaty, remember? If neither of us had found love by the age of thirty-five, we would have married."
Suddenly Katie realized that there were only a few years left.
Feeling sick again.
"About that. I'm moving to Paris," Xavier said bluntly.
Katie gasped as she blinked, at a loss for words. Xavier became a lasting fixture in her life. After graduating from high school, they entered the same university. Then Xavier 's wealthy uncle got her to work for several companies, and Xavier was able to bring Katie to his gig. Since then, the two have worked together.
"Let me do this for you, before I go," Xavier said, taking her hand. Katie tried to hold back her tears.
"I'm fine. It's late and I have to prepare for tonight." She pulled her hand out and squeezed it in front of her chest. "See you tonight."
Xavier 's sympathetic stare followed Katie as she walked away.