22: Fall in Leaves, Fall in Trouble

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"Wait, I'm supposed to change out here? In the open?" Peter looked around, blinking at the endless flow of tall redwoods whose branches stretched far overheard, letting in only a few the rays of the waking sun. There were nothing but trees as far as the eye could see, just a forest brimming with an overflow of nature untouched by the ever-growing and forever-expanding real estate market. It was nice to be immersed in a world like this but he couldn't quite grasp the idea of changing clothes outside a specifically designated area. Bathrooms and changing rooms existed for a reason.

Sure, he had done it before, back when Colin was preparing his portfolio. But that had been him and Colin alone. Here, there were others. Like Samantha who was picking out the clothes he was supposed to wear from the rack they had set up. Like Liam taking shots of the other models who had somehow switched clothes without him noticing.

"Welcome to the model life." Sam smiled, tossing him a pair of knit pants. "Go behind that tree over there." The lady nodded in the direction of a huge redwood before handing Peter a navy blue corduroy jacket and a black tank top, following with a pair of chunky black boots.

The forest floor was littered with dragon-flame red leaves that crackled under the weight of the boots Peter slipped on. Of all the articles of clothing he was required to wear, it was the easiest to get into. He took off his shirt, tucking it in between his bent knees along with the jacket.

A breeze swirled by, letting leaves and dew rain down on him as he hurriedly pushed his hands through the arm holes of the black clothing. It had drizzled that morning-- pouring down pregnant drops of water, heavier than summer rain-- and a chill still hung in the air. Peter shivered, slipping on the top and layering it with the jacket before more goosebumps could rise on his skin.

The voices of Liam directing the other models on how to pose and Samantha telling everyone to get in place were drowned out by the sounds of the forest. Birds chirped and the wind howled and the autumn-infested leaves took a graceful bow as they landed lightly on the forest floor.

Peter felt his lungs expand beneath his ribs as he took in the scent of the crisp fall air. It smelled of rain and sun, sodden and light, both accentuating the scents of the forest.

"You changed yet, Peter?" Sam's voice.

"Yes." Peter straightened the jacket and satisfied, he walked over to the small clearing where the equipment for the shoot had been arranged.

"Sweet," Sam eyed him, her blue eyes reflecting her pleasure. "Go stand there."

It was a log she pointed to; an uprooted tree. The green of the moss that slithered over the dead-yet-alive wood stood out in the mix of reds and yellows and oranges. It felt slippery under the boots and it took Peter a few seconds to balance himself on the rotting redwood. Once he was sure he wouldn't fall, he looked towards Liam who stood with the camera.

"Walk towards me." Liam scratched his scruffy beard as he stepped back, lifting the camera. He took a couple of shots before he instucted Peter to get down. This was the second time Peter was having a shoot with him and he knew the drill by now. Do what Liam says without hesitation. Don't get him mad, mad Liam isn't pretty. It was easy to follow those rules, he'd try his best not to start any drama.

He was handed more clothes: a light grey puffer jacket, high tops, trousers with a tartan design. Again, he went to the giant tree. Again, he changed. Again, he felt a little more of the forest, before he made his appearance to the waiting photographer.

"You look good in everything," he heard someone whisper. It wasn't Samantha or Liam so he whipped his head, eyes searching for the person who owned the voice which seemed to ring a bell.

There she stood, arms crossed, a beige beanie pulled over her short, blonde hair. She gave the Asian a little wave before she shifted to the direction from where her name was being called: Dakota? Dakota, you have everything yet?

Liam snapped his fingers to draw Peter's attention. He was told to smile, run a hand through his hair, look into the distance with that far-off expression high people manage to obtain when they space out. He did all those and after a few minutes of trying different angles and poses, he was told to wait for two other models to join him.

They took group photos, each of them shuffling positions at regular intervals and alternating facial expressions that ranged from fierce and bold to meek and sullen. They also had another change of wardrobe halfway through, and Peter emerged from his new-found changing tree, in a long, brown leather coat layered on a blue button-down shirt, tucked into black jeans.

They wrapped that session up and we're separated into groups once more. Dakota was in his, and they ended up modeling another set of clothes from the Brooks Brothers fall line.

He stood behind Dakota with his hands tucked in the pockets of his coat, eyes fixated on the shiny lens of Liam's camera.

"Lower your head a bit." Peter obeyed without hesitation.

"Shift more to the right." Peter obeyed without hesitation.

"You, left hand around her waist. Dakota, lean towards him. Head on his shoulder, eyes on me." Liam pointed two fingers at them, then at himself.

This was the only part where it took more than a millisecond to pose. The slight time frame of uneasiness wasn't lost on his blonde counterpart and she spoke out, voice low. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Peter whispered back. His hand snaked around her waist, something he'd done before. In the car. When they had kissed.

The missing pieces of the puzzle were coming together and he realised why things felt strange with her now. It became clear as day when he was staring down at Dakota, whose hands now clung to his shoulder, and her emerald-green eyes gazed back. Her eyes squinted when she smiled at him, head drawing closer to his.

"Beautiful," Liam commented as he crouched and aimed the lens of his camera up. "Couple more shots and you two lay down on the leaf pile over there."

It was more a carpet than a pile but that didn't really matter to Peter. The leaves crackled under his weight as his back met the forest floor, the same way fire embers did. In a short while, Dakota lay next to him. Her beanie was gone and small leaves strayed into her golden locks.

As they waited for Liam to get ready, Peter let his eyes follow a trail of ants marching towards a tiny hole in a small mound on the ground, his hands clasped over his chest. He was glad the ants were moving away instead of towards him, he and insects had a bad history.

"Peter..." He turned, eyes falling on Dakota's face. She licked her lips and reached for his hand. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Peter nodded and the leaves under him expressed their feeble protests with a crunch. "I'm just thinking about how all this feels- unreal."

"I feel the same way sometimes. Like, I never imagined I'd ever see my face on anything expect my social media pages, and probably my mom's Facebook." She broke out in laughter just as Liam returned with a different camera, the other one shoved onto a compartment in his bag.

"If you guys keep making my work this easy I might do more shoots with you. You're not problematic and the camera loves you," he added, standing over the pair. "You make a great duo."

"Hear that?" Dakota beamed as she nudged Peter with her elbow. "We make a great duo."

°

It was in a matter of days-- two, to be exact-- that Peter started receiving calls and texts surrounding his most recent gig: The Autumn Line shoot. Some of his friends from college were the first ones to prompt him about seeing his face on the Brooks Brothers page.

After the first few notifications, his phone became flooded with emails from random people and institutions, asking if he was interested in being the face of a new promo. He had been advised not to answer such messages. The only thing he could do was to steer them towards Phenomodel Management and they'd take care of the rest.

Direct messages on his Instagram abounded as people started questioning whether he and Dakota were dating. Some backed up their claims with theories connecting the incident at Chase's party, where both of them appeared in the numerous videos, and speculated that they had gone together. He simply ignored those texts and was debating on whether to clear the air of all the rumors that had started spreading like wildfire, or to stay quiet and let the matter wear itself out. After all, all the buzz increased publicity and they'd eventually find someone with a more interesting life that they could analyse piece by piece.

Still, it bothered him not knowing what Dakota thought about the matter, so he decided to call her. She picked up on the second ring, laughing at something before greeting Peter with a casual, "Hey, Pikachu."

"Hi," Peter replied. "I guess you're busy, I'll call back later."

"No, no," she brushed it off with a giggle that had Peter questioning who it was directed at. "Go ahead," Dakota added.

"Well," Peter started, "did Colin tell you anything about me... and him?"

"Anything like what?" Dakota asked with her breezy voice. The line went slack as her voice faded, as if she had lowered the phone. It rang out clear after a while as she spoke again. "Is it about the work? Do you want to quit? I'm sure you've made a lot of money now, so maybe you're moving out of his apartment. It's also fine if you take a break, since the school will be starting soon."

From her questions, it was obvious Dakota was clueless regarding the current situation Peter and Colin were in. It's not like they were in a relationship-- they hadn't even brought up the topic for discussion. They simply let anything that would happen, happen. As long as they were both on board with it, no doubt.

"It's nothing like that," Peter laughed. It sounded forced in his ears, but he was sure Dakota didn't notice, she was distracted by something on her end. From the sound of it, she was ordering food, and the voice that spoke occasionally in the background suggested she had company.

"What's it like then?" She asked right after another beat of muffled speech to her counterpart.

"I'll tell you soon, don't worry. I don't want to interrupt your lunch."

He ended the call even though Dakota agreed that they'd talk later with a lot of reluctance.

His phone started vibrating as soon as he set it on the couch and it went right back into his hand. 'Poison Ivy' filled the upper part of the screen.

"Wait, so you're a model? Peter when did you plan on telling me?"

"Actually, I never planned on letting you know. I knew you'd find out eventually but I didn't know it would be this fast."

"I wasn't the one who found it," she clarified. "It was Lei. He called me and told me he saw someone who looks exactly like you in this magazine. Sent a picture and everything." Her voice was high-pitched and screechy.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I was beginning to like that guy--"

"It wasn't just him though. Dad called too, said he received a call from aunt Eliza saying something about you being famous."

Peter wasn't sure he was what you'd classify as 'famous,' but this days, anyone with over a thousand followers on Instagram considered themselves an influencer. "She's such a nosey bitch."

"I know," Ivy scoffed. "But you didn't hear that from me."

"Right. You still have that 'model daughter' image to keep up. Must suck." He received a laugh.

"Almost as much as dad asking for your new phone number while sounding like he was gonna murder you," Ivy responded with a voice that seemed to fall lower and lower after each word.

"What?" Peter yelled, unconsciously gripping onto his iPhone a bit too tightly. "What do you mean almost? That option isn't even in the competition. It's on a while category of its own."

"He thinks you dropped out of college. And he's very mad."

"Well, I couldn't care less since you didn't give him my number." Peter shrugged even though Ivy couldn't possibly see him. He fell back in his bed, grabbing his guitar by the headstock and dropping it in his lap.

There was no sound from his sister's end. The only indication that she was still there was the sound of her hitched breaths.

"Ivy. You didn't give it to him, right? Tell me you didn't." Peter's fingers rubbed at his temple as he leaned back.

"I can't hear-- the line is... bye." Peter could hear a giggle follow the last uttered word.

Then she was gone. Shit.

No one had to tell Peter that he should be expecting a call from his dad anytime soon, he knew that all on his own. He only hoped it wouldn't come as early as he dreaded.

~~

Thank you for 13k reads!!! I'm also super glad to announce that 'Straight as they come, kinda' won 1st place Lgbtq category of the Books Got Talent Awards, hosted by BooksGotTalent with a perfect score of 100/100!!

I was also interviewed. You can find and read the whole thing in the 'Red Carpet' interviews book which is up on their profile!

What do you think of what is happening so far? Are y'all as scared of Peter's coming confrontation with his dad as I am?

Special mentions: nonbinary-witch for all their comments! taetae_holmes for adding to their reading lists and Bluebell43 and ZulfaauSumaila for all the votes!

NaNoWriMo is also fast-approaching! If you still haven't read the posted chapters of my book 'Shades of Ecstasy' you can check it out on my profile and drop a vote of a comment. All your support is appreciated♡♡

Thank you for reading and if you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to turn that star bright orange☆

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