Chapter3

#Chapter3

/"Reach your hands above your head and relax your ribs/" the photographer yells out to me

I am currently doing a quick poolside photoshoot for a bathing suit brand that I decided to collaborate with.

By quick I mean two and a half hour, or until the sunset fades.

The company was kind enough to temporarily rent out a villa for the day so that my photographer and I could take photos.

They offered to take the photos for me, but I politely declined.

My personal photographer knows all of my flattering angles.

She is my best friend after all.

Beatrice Manning, or 'Bea' for short.

She and I have been best friends basically all of our lives.

She was with me before I blew up on YouTube and here she is after where I am labeled 'the most popular singer in the world'.

I actually laugh when I hear people use this sentence to describe me because I consider it far from true.

Am I an artist that is streamed worldwide?

Yes.

But that doesn't mean that I am 'the most popular singer in the world'.

In fact I know a few singers who get more streams than I do.

Anyways, moving on...

This collaboration is mainly bikinis, but I convinced them to add in a handful of intricate looking one pieces.

I am not the biggest fan of having my body on display due to...personal reasons.

I quickly move my feet into an elegant looking pose, careful not to fall into the chlorinated pool water, as I raise my hands above my head.

I allow her to take a few photos of me in this position before relaxing and bringing my hands closer towards each other.

This goes on for about a minute.

Me making slight alterations to the pose that she gave me while she snaps multiple quick shots of me.

I only stop when she brings the camera down towards her stomach and seemingly looks through the photos.

A sigh of relief exits my lips as I finally relax my arms.

/"Are we done?/" I ask her as she continues to click through the photos

The blue haired girl hums as she begins making her way towards me, her eyes never leaving her camera's screen.

It does not take her long to reach me.

As she approaches me I notice an unsatisfied look on her slim face.

Ouch.

Do I really look that bad in a bikini?

My arms instinctively wrap themselves around my exposed stomach, suddenly feeling severely overexposed.

/"I think so, yeah,/" she answers with an unsure tone of voice

/"The ones that we got out here came out better than amazing, but the ones that we got inside look dull and boring,/" she voices her thoughts

I nod my head at this.

The lighting inside of the house was a lot dimmer than it is out here.

Considering the fact that we arrived here and began taking photos inside of the house before golden hour even began, I would like to say that most likely had something to do with it.

/"Should I only send Nicole the photos that we took out here?/" I ask, trying to get a better understanding of how bad the pictures are

I prefer not to look at pictures of myself unless I am feeling particularly confident that day, which is rare.

If I look at a 'good' or 'flattering' photograph of myself the only thing I will be able to see is how bloated I look in the photo, or how weird something looks on me.

Basically, it's better for me mentally if I just refrain from looking at photos of myself.

Thankfully, Bea understands this.

/"Yeah, I think that she would like them because they already match the brand's Instagram feed/" Bea says as she glances up to meet my eyes

At this moment a light breeze decides to graze past us.

My best friend notices that I am covering my body as best as I can and immediately perks up at this, thinking that I am cold.

/"Sorry, you're probably freezing right now/" she says as she hands me my white crotchet bathing suit coverup

Funnily enough this is by the same brand that I am doing this bathing suit collaboration with.

I remove my arms from my body so that I can retrieve the coverup from her outstretched hand.

/"No, it's fine/" I assure her with a small smile

I slip the cover up on before tightening it around my body, crossing my arms.

The blue haired girl goes to comment on this only to be cut off by her stomach producing a loud growl.

I raise an amused eyebrow at this.

/"Please tell me that there's a sandwich shop near here, I need a footlong sub/" she groans out as she makes her way towards the opened glass door

I follow my best friend, an amused laugh bubbling up my throat.

/"I think that we passed a Subway a few miles down the hill/" I try to make her feel better

She nods her.

/"I seriously hope that you're right/" Bea sighs

The two of us enter the mansion and I am the one to carefully close the glass door behind our bodies.

Bea and I waste no time as we pack up our things and exit the property.

I quickly pull on a pair of ripped denim shorts and a large oversized hoodie all the while Bea places her camera back inside of its case along with the lens cap.

I'll just change out of my bathing suit when I get home.

I mean- it's not like I got into the pool.

Too much chlorine.

Just as we reach the front door with our bags in hand we quickly slide our shoes back on.

Bea slides on her vans while I slide on my converse.

I would have brought my vans so that we could match but I didn't want to ruin them in case I did end up getting in the pool.