Monday, February 3rd

“Alright, we have to get some stuff out of the way first.”

Kell grabbed a paper from behind him and began calling out names. Hands raised across the room. He smiled and nodded at each, moving quickly down the list.

“Rose. Eden?”

Eden's hand went into the air. “Here.”

There was a moment of quiet and he looked up to find Kell staring at him, but this time he wasn’t smiling. Instead, he looked almost shocked. Then, a small huff escaped and he hung his head, a second louder laugh following.

It wasn’t the first time someone had found his name strange or funny or interesting. This reaction wasn’t any of those things. That laugh sounded bitter, but he had no idea why.

It all passed in a second and Kell looked up, smiling again and calling names. After he finished attendance, he jumped into a short lecture about the importance of photography in society, then a discussion with students on why they were there and what they hoped to gain. The charisma from before never left him, but now it was intelligent and professional. He was someone who could get along with anyone, and everyone was drawn to him, but his smooth words were supported by a deep understanding and passion.

For the rest of the class, Kell didn’t look at Eden again. There was no playful smirk meant only for him, no secret sparkle in those soft eyes, and in no time, class was over.

“Well, I didn’t expect that guy would be the teacher,” Alex admitted with a large grin. “You didn’t recognize him?”

Justin wrapped an arm around her, grinning just as wide. “Never saw his picture! He said in an interview once that ‘people didn’t need to know him, just his photos. Anything more would just get in the way.’” He let out a satisfied sigh. “This is gonna be a good class, I think.”

That got an excited nod from her, and Justin moved to pack up both of their notebooks and pens.

“You should have been told when you registered, but you’ll need an old-school DSLR camera for this course.” Kell’s voice cut through the noise easily, clear and loud without shouting. “We’re looking through lenses here, not at our phones. If you don’t have one and can’t share, come see me.”

Eden felt a hard punch in the arm, bringing him out of yet another stupor. “That’s you, dude.”

“What?” He scowled at Justin. “Why can’t I borrow yours?”

“Alex is using it too. We won’t all be able to use it and get assignments done.”

He let out an aggravated sigh. That was just an excuse. He had been mesmerized by Kell the entire class - sometimes by his visuals, sometimes by his voice, and sometimes by his photos. Justin clearly noticed and was forcing him to interact with the man.

“Asshole.” He grabbed his bag and slung the strap over his shoulder, then trudged down the steps without a goodbye.

A small group of students were gathered around Kell, so he leaned against a wall to stay out of the way. He had thought the man was large, but standing level with him like this, there wasn’t actually much of a height difference. Eden’s frame was smaller, skinnier without all that extra muscle, but not by a lot.

Once or twice as he waited, the dark brown eyes met his, then moved swiftly back to the crowd. Finally, after a lot of superficial chatter and some giggling, the students dispersed, leaving the two alone.

“Sorry to make you wait,” Kell said politely, turning to collect his things. “What did you need?”

It was strange. Just the mention of his name had transformed him from flirty to cold. They had no relationship, which was exactly what Eden wanted, but the sudden change bothered him.

“Um, you said to see you if we didn’t have a camera.”

“Oh?” Kell looked up at him with genuine surprise. “I didn’t actually expect anyone taking the class to not have a camera. You don’t want to share with a friend?”

Slouching a bit against the wall, Eden let his eyes drop and dug his heel into the floor. “They’re already sharing, so it’s a bit inconvenient.”

He couldn’t admit he didn’t actually have any friends outside of his two roommates, though what he said had probably already made that obvious.

“Ah.”

That was it. Kell turned back to his bag, packing away the rest of his things, then went to the computer to shut the system down. Eden stayed propped on the wall, waiting for something else, but he seemed to be ignoring him.

“So...”

Kell grabbed the handles of his large leather satchel and flipped it over onto his back. “Come on.”

He started walking up the steps and Eden hurried after him. The two went in silence - through the hall and around a corner, until three rooms down, he finally stopped and unlocked the door, stepping into the dark.

Following him in, Eden realized it wasn’t entirely devoid of light. It was lit with dim, red bulbs - a photo darkroom. Two tall tables created a narrow path and were covered in bins of chemicals, the harsh smell permeating the air. Above their heads hung all sizes of glossy paper, some dry and some still dripping.

Kell continued to the end of the room, throwing his bag onto a low desk and rummaging among various cameras and parts, but Eden had halted halfway, his eyes fixed on a large, hanging photo. It wasn’t anything special – just an old woman sitting on rundown porch steps, staring off into the distance. He didn’t know why it attracted him, and he didn’t know why it wouldn’t let him go.

A hand landed lightly on his shoulder, making him jump. “That’s one of my favorites.”

“...Why?” His voice squeezed the word out, barely a whisper.

“It’s the eyes. She seems calm, but there’s so much going on in her eyes, it’s impossible to tell what she’s really feeling.”

Eden nodded slowly, then turned to stare at him. Unlike the photo, Kell’s eyes looking at the woman weren’t a mystery. They held a sorrow that surprised him and made him hold his breath.

“Anyway.” Kell removed his hand, the moment already gone. “Seems like you have good sense.” He stepped back, giving him some distance and a kind smile. The smile he used for everyone. “You didn’t participate earlier. Are you an art student?”

“Business. I don’t really like art.”

“Oh?” A hint of the playfulness returned, layered with curious disbelief. “I guess that explains why you don’t have a DSLR.”

Gesturing for him to follow, he brought him to the messy table and handed over a hefty digital camera. Eden turned it in his hands. He didn’t know anything about cameras, but this one didn’t seem cheap. The next moment, a bag was hung over his shoulder.

“You can borrow this. There are extra lenses in there. It’s an older model, but it still works well.”

Eden tilted his head at him. “You’re just giving this to me?”

“Well, you can’t keep it,” Kell clarified with a chuckle. “But yeah, you can use it for class.”

“Why?”

Brown eyes squinted at him. “Because you need a camera? And you don’t have one.”

“No, I mean...”

He didn’t actually know what he meant. He wanted to know why Kell would trust a student, a stranger, with an obviously expensive camera, but more than that, he wanted to know why this frustrating man kept pushing and pulling, drawing him in as if he was special and then suddenly acting like he was just one student among many.

He wanted to tell him how much those playful looks had made him suffer and ask why he’d looked at him that way in the first place.

“Nothing,” he finally said with indifference. No good would come from actually asking those things. “Thank you, for the camera. I’ll take good care of it.”

With a nod, Kell smiled, kind and distant. Before either could say more, there was a muffled ding from Eden’s pocket.

< Are we getting lunch? >

“Shit,” he said under his breath. He had completely forgotten about Dean. Kell’s eyes shifted to his screen but he quickly hid it. “Sorry. I forgot I made plans with someone.”

“Oh?” That peaked Kell’s interest and his eyes widened slightly. “Boyfriend?”

What? Not really, but it was best to just avoid that whole topic of conversation. “Something like that.”

“The guy from the restaurant.”

“Yeah.”

Kell nodded and waved him away. “You should probably go then, huh?”

Then he smiled. Not a kind smile for everyone. It was that fucking playful, teasing smile. His brown eyes danced as Eden backed up and turned to leave. Glancing over his shoulder once before stepping into the hall, Kell hadn’t moved, his gaze following him out, still mysterious and flirty.