Beauty and Bruno stood on the red carpet, the flashing lights from the cameras illuminating their every move. Beauty felt as if every gaze was on her, silently judging.
She panicked and smiled awkwardly at the camera, feeling uneasy. She had too many traumatic experiences with photographers in the past.
Bruno noticed and leaned in close, whispering in her ear, "You look stunning... just focus on me."
His voice was like a soothing balm to her frazzled nerves.
Beauty took a deep breath and looked up to see him smiling at her. He leaned down further and whispered, "Actually, I needed you to look at me because I don't like the way those men are looking at you."
"With disgust?" Beauty whispered back.
"Disgust? Impossible. They're staring with admiration and lust instead. You're so beautiful. That's why. But don't worry, you're mine now."
Beauty was speechless, feeling a chill when Bruno's hand rested protectively on her waist, pulling her closer, while his other hand softly cradled hers.
The intimate touch and soft words gave Beauty the confidence she needed to smile genuinely, despite her earlier anxiety. She leaned slightly into Bruno, posing for the cameras with more poise.
They stood side by side, their bodies angled toward the cameras, but their attention remained fixed on each other.
As the flashes erupted around them, their eyes met in a way that made the world blur. Bruno gently tilted his head, his lips curving into a small, affectionate smile, silently teasing her. He winked, making her chuckle.
"What happened to that introverted Bruno? This Bruno is clearly flirting with me," she thought, remembering Jessie's words about Bruno coming out of his shell for her.
No way he was doing all that just to cheer her up.
"We're done," Bruno whispered into her ear as the cameramen welcomed the next couple to the red carpet.
Beauty blinked and nodded. They made their way out of the red carpet section and toward the high school picture section, which was filled with life-size cutouts of guests from their high school days.
Her cutout, due to her body size and height back then, seemed to attract the most attention, but for all the wrong reasons—or at least, that's how she felt.
Beauty's eyes dropped as she stared at the life-size cutout of her younger self, feeling a wave of sadness and insecurity wash over her.
Unlike her classmates, who were taking excited selfies with their cutouts, laughing and reminiscing, Beauty couldn't bring herself to smile or even stand near hers.
In her traumatized mind, memories of that picture day began to sharpen, becoming more vivid as she stood frozen in front of her high school cutout image.
She could see the scene as if it were happening all over again.
It had been one of the most dreaded days of the year for her: school picture day.
She remembered standing in line, nervously, feeling out of place among her slimmer, more confident classmates.
Ahead of her, Beyoncé was posing effortlessly in front of the camera. She was all smiles, flipping her long hair and striking poses while the photographer praised her with every snap of the shutter.
"That's perfect, Beyoncé! You are doing amazing!" the cameraman had gushed. "Just a little more to the left—yes, great! Hold that smile!"
Beyoncé beamed, flashing a flawless smile for the camera. She giggled as the photographer continued to shower her with compliments.
Other students marveled at how comfortable she was in front of the camera, hoping they could muster that level of confidence when their turns came. It was the last photoshoot of high school, something they all wanted to perfect.