𝕽𝖍𝖞𝖘 𝕸𝖔𝖗𝖌𝖆𝖓

She laughed a little bit and nodded as she looked and Rhys. "I guess so." She said, a blush filling her cheeks when he winked at her. At his question, she nodded and smiled. "He has, but yeah. My best friend, Verity, works there and then her boyfriend, Eddie, is the head chef." Nicole explained to him. It was funny what connections they seemed to share before they even had a baby together. Plus, she was good friends with his brother, Archie. It was like Rhys was destined to be in her life. Once they were at Cedar Grill, she smiled as he opened her door and nodded. "We shall." She said and walked inside before waiting for him and getting them a table. "So, what are you thinking of getting?" @rhysmorgann

"Right -" Rhys said, looking at Nicole as she explained that her friends worked there. He could only guess who the waitress might be, considering he could have swore that one of them had shot him a dirty glare on more than one occasion. "Kismet really is a small world, huh?" It was both a blessing and a curse. Rhys adjusted himself a little in his seat, "I was thinking of getting the club sandwich." He told her, "Or a burger, either or." It could be hard to choose at times as both were his favorite. "What about you?" He asked out of curiosity, excited to see where the night would take them.

Rhys kept his gaze focused on the woman in front of him, looking away for a second when he noted her sigh. He cleared his throat a little, "That doesn't necessarily mean someone is planning on staying." He said, knowing he had been one of those people himself. "Ah, I see." He said, unable not to smile. "I guess tonight must be going well for them then." At least someone was enjoying themselves. "Um yeah, I am" He said, brows lacing together slightly. "This was actually my own initiative. I haven't.. Been dating a lot since I decided to stick around town." And he needed to change that now that things were getting complicated with Nicole. @saanvixsurya

She blushed a little bit and shook her head. "When I'm filming myself, yes, but talking with others on camera during interviews or something, I get so flustered." She felt like she never knew what to say. Fan interactions were one thing, but interviews and talking about herself or her career was another. As they talked about Cedar Grill, she nodded and smiled at him. "They do. Though, I may be biased since my best friend and her boyfriend work there. And, well, your brother." She laughed a little and nodded. "Perfect." She followed him outside and then into a cab. @rhysmorgann

Rhys smiled a little again, "I hear you, but I don't think I agree with you." He told her, a soft chuckle slipping from his lips. "Guess we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one." He added with a small wink, before she peaked his interest a little as she spoke of Cedar Grill. "Oh really?" Rhys asked out of curiosity, "Yeah, no Donny has done a great job with the place." He smiled, and all without the help from their parents. Getting into the cab, he told the driver where to go and it didn't take long before they stopped outside the establishment. Getting out of the car, Rhys walked over to open Nicole's door, before he paid. "Shall we?" He asked, motioning towards the door before reaching to open it, gesturing for her to walk in first. @nicolepeterson

Rhys gave his ex-girlfriend from high school a quick glance over from where she was seated on the chair directly opposite him. This was really not how he had anticipated tonight to go, but with how it was going so far, he also was not surprised. He leaned back into his seat, looking away from her for a moment. An unamused smile appeared on his lips. "That makes two of us." He countered, "I take it you are planning on sticking around town long term then if you are going on dates, blind dates none the less." @saanvixsurya

She slipped into her coat and continued smiling at him. "You seem great at it to me. I'm always so awkward during interviews. I don't know how I'm fine when I'm recording myself and not when others do, but that's how it is." Nicole admitted to him and blushed a little bit. At his question, she shook her head. "I'm fine with anywhere. Some food could be nice. I'm sure you're hungry after the event." She said. "What about Cedar Grill?" @rhysmorgann

Rhys kept his eyes locked to her, smiling a little as she spoke. "Nah I am sure that is not true." He told her, "Besides, you're a natural on camera. You wouldn't have the amount of followers that you do if people didn't enjoy watching you." Rhys didn't realize how it revealed that he had in fact tuned into a stream or more of hers and knew what he was talking about. "I could do with something to eat for sure." He said, before nodding in agreement to her suggestion. "Cedar Grill sounds good! They have the best burgers in town after all, and their cocktails aren't too shabby either. Let's grab a cab, I think there should still be some outside." @nicolepeterson

She said her byes as well and watched him walk away. After moving through the exhibit and looking over all the photographs, she put her name in the book to be contacted to buy one. The rest of the hour was spent mingling and watching Rhys from afar. She found he was so charming during the interviews and did better by herself or with a friend on camera and not in a setting like this. She was talking with Lexi when Rhys came back over, and she smiled at him. "Yeah. I'm ready." She said before moving to get her jacket. "You did great, by the way. I saw one of the interviews. It's impressive." While she saw more than one interview, she wasn't about to tell him that. @rhysmorgann

Rhys gave Lexi a small smile, before turning his attention back to Nicole. He nodded when she said she was ready, saying his goodbye to his assistant, before making his way over with her so she could get her coat. "Oh-" He chuckled a little under his breath, "I mean, thank you. I am a little out of practice as I haven't done them for a little while, but I appreciate the compliment." He smiled, words of affirmation being his main love language and all. "You got any preference of a place, by the way?" He asked, "Are you keen to have a bite to eat as well, or just a drink?" @nicolepeterson

Alfonso wasn't so delusional to believe that the whole world saw things the same way that he did, but he at least wanted to believe that common decency still had its place. "Well, the sentiment is appreciated. Truly. I know I may just be one man, but if I can make a difference for one more, I've done something, and that matters." He wasn't going to change the world, but he was going to do what he could to make the world better in his small neck of the woods. His attention swiveled to Rhys, fascinated by his description of curating the exhibit. As an artistic mind himself, it was exactly the kind of deeper details that he found interest in learning about. "Curating emotion, I love that. That's really what we're all doing , if you think about it, with our art. But, absolutely, a self-portrait with the sparkle filter would elevate it by stratospheres. Would you get taken seriously if you started adding a sparkle filter to your work? Or would you get laughed out of the photography sphere?"

Rhys chuckled in amusement, "Oh, I’d absolutely get laughed out of the photography world," he admitted, shaking his head as he shot Alf a sideways look. "There’d be think pieces about the tragic downfall of a once-promising artist who flew too close to the glitter." His smile softened then, settling into something more sincere. "But you’re right, curating emotion is what we’re all doing. You do it with movement and presence, I do it with light and stillness… different languages, same purpose." He tucked his hands into his pockets as they walked, voice dipping into something quieter but earnest. "And for what it’s worth? Making a difference for just one person isn’t small. It’s the kind of thing that sticks, even if you never see it. That’s why what you do matters a hell of a lot more than you give yourself credit for." @alfmorales

Hearing what the other said, he looked over at him for a moment, then looked back at the bar again. He still wanted to go in so badly, but he knew better; he didn't want to hurt himself again. "I want to go in, but I can't," he said simply as he looked away from the bar and now just down the street and stared into the dark roadway. He hated feeling so bad and out of place, like he didn't fit in any place he went. He was glad the other wasn't asking too much since he didnt think he would handle it well. @rhysmorgann

Rhys followed River’s gaze toward the bar, his expression softening as he pieced things together. He gave a slow nod, understanding without needing every detail. "Yeah," he murmured, voice low and steady. "That’s a hard line to stand on sometimes. But the fact that you’re standing on this side of it right now? That says a lot." He shifted his weight, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets. "You don’t have to go in. We can just… walk somewhere else for a bit, or grab a coffee instead. Doesn’t really matter where, just somewhere that’s not pulling at you like that." His eyes flicked toward River again, offering a small, steady half-smile. "What do you say?" @riverxjackson

Nicole looked over at the table he was talking about and nodded. "Okay. Thank you." She'd definitely make her way over to it and put her information in the book once they were done there, so she could buy one of the pieces. She listened to Rhys speak and nodded in agreement to the plan. "Yeah, that sounds perfect. Gives me time to look over all the pieces and tell my parents I'll be later than expected to pick up Ryder." She told him. "I'll see you in an hour." @rhysmorgann

Rhys had said his temporary goodbye to Nicole and reentered the crowd of people to greet the once he had not yet had a chance too. Yet, he still found himself glancing in her direction, or looking for her in the crowd whenever opportunity arose. After he had finished an interview with a local news paper wanting to do a story on the exhibition, he made his way over towards Nicole again. "Hey-" He greeted her again, "Are you ready to head out?" @nicolepeterson

starter for @rhysmorgann Location: Kismet Hiking Trails

Rhys had been in desperate need of clearing his head. It seemed that every free moment he had, he found himself thinking about Nicole. It wasn't a feeling he was used to, and he could not remember the last time it has been the case, so when his contractor cancelled for their planned meeting, he figured he'd go for a walk. Bringing his camera, he was taking pictures of his surrondings, when a familiar voice suddenly broke through. "Alec, hi!" He smiled, chuckling softly. "It would seems so! How's things been with you?" @alecxkincade

She nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking." She really liked the photo, but so many of them were fantastic. "Are any of them for sale?" She would like to support the photographers, plus if anything went back to him, that would be nice as well. Nicole met his eyes again, and a small blush filled her cheeks, and she nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." A private lesson would be a good way to spend more time with him, and that was something she was both interested in and scared of at the same time. "Oh, um..." Her heart picked up a bit, and she tried to calm down. "Yeah, sure. I'd love that." @rhysmorgann

Rhys looked at her when she asked if any of them were for sale. "Well, we do have a book by the table over there." He said, pointing in its direction. "It has an overview over all the pictures on display, and people can put down their contact details if they are seriously interested in anything." Art usually cost a bit of money, so sometimes people tented to back out whenever a price was stated. "Please do." He smiled, sipping off of his champagne again, before finishing it off and placing it on a passing tray. "Yeah?" He said, "Great! I mean, sounds good.. I think this is finishing in about an hour or so, so want to meet me by the exit around then? Gives me time to say some goodbyes and finish up some interviews." @nicolepeterson

For Alfonso, showing up for others was something ingrained in his DNA. He never thought twice about offering a helping hand or stepping in on someone's behalf if they needed it. The fact that others in the world weren't as quick to be helpful and caring was something that he would never understand. "Ah, I don't know that I deserve that much credit for it. I'm just doing what any decent person would," he pointed out, humbly. He was just glad that he was able to be a guiding light for people that otherwise may not have had one in life. "Leave the world a better place than you found it, right? Simple." A simple hope for his legacy that he left behind. "Incredible. It takes guts to do a portrait of any sort, but photography? And for a student artist too, that's magnificent. I'm sure you'll find the perfect spot to place it. You put a lot of thought into where to place things for it, then?" Alf had never put an exhibition together like that, his art forms never requiring it, but he could see how much work it probably took. "Now there's a thought. A portrait series of you with a sparkle filter sounds like a winner."

Rhys shook his head with a soft laugh, the sound mingling with the easy rhythm of their walk. "See, that’s exactly why people look up to you," he said, glancing over at Alf with an amused but genuine smile. "You brush it off like it’s just common decency, but not everyone lives that way. You make it seem effortless." His tone held that familiar warmth of quiet respect before he added, "And yeah, placement definitely matters more than most people think. You can change the whole story of an exhibit just by shifting one piece a few feet to the left. It’s like curating emotion as much as imagery." He gave a small shrug, eyes flicking with a glint of humor. "Though now that you’ve mentioned it, maybe I should do a self-portrait with a sparkle filter. Really elevate the whole ‘artistic integrity’ thing, right?" @alfmorales