âReally? Youâre way nicer than I am; when my teachers tell me they donât know something, my first thought is usually âwhat are you doing teaching, then?â Which is⊠not a great attitude to have, but at least it makes me better than the people who think teachers are just unsuccessful people who gave up on their dreams,â Addison said sheepishly. Was she getting chattier? Usually she was a bit better at being composed, but she supposed she was so busy bottling up the things she was really thinking about today that she was overcompensating, word-vomiting about other topics before Kendall could ask and disrupt their fairly successful attempt at fun. âGolly?â Addison echoed back at him, biting back a laugh. âIâm sorry, Iâm sorry! I feel silly saying it, but what works for me doesnât necessarily work for you and vice versa! Iâm sure you were perfectly adorable saying it and that everyone else is just mean.âÂ
Addyâs cheeks flushed at Kendallâs comment. Maybe she shouldnât crave confidence boosters, but she was upset right now, feeling passed over and unappreciated. The fact that her own boyfriend could betray her in front of all of Auradon stung, and so what if she appreciated Kendall mentioning her and the waterfall as if they were on the same levels of beauty? She deserved to feel good right now and she wasnât going to pretend to disagree just to be modest. Instead, she focused on his photo-taking strategy, humming thoughtfully. âI like that, actually. The plan and your photo idea. Most people would expect the subject to be staring straight at the waterfall; if I look up towards the sky instead, it creates this fun air of mystery, leaving people wondering whatâs up there. Like, does the waterfall go all the way up into the heavens? Is there someone or something up there? I love making people want to know more; it keeps them coming back to look at more photos,â she told him approvingly, stepping tentatively closer to the ledge so she could get into position when he instructed.
Kendall raised his eyebrows as a surprised breath left his throat without warning. "It makes you way better than those people," he admitted, rustling his hair with his hand. "I don't know, maybe I've just always given teachers the benefit because I wanted to be some kind of teacher growing up, like maybe a hockey coach or a summer camp director. Now I'm not sure if I'd be great at that either but, you know, we have time to decide, at least." He thoughtlessly bit his lip a little after saying that, not liking that it made him sound so down on himself. He tried to talk that sort of negative self-talk out of his friends all the time, he should try harder to get rid of it within himself, and yet. Thankfully, 'golly' seemed to do the trick in distracting them and he couldn't help himself from laughing at the way it sounded coming out of Addison's mouth. "Okay, dang it, it does sound funny coming from someone else, I can't fault them for that anymore," he chortled out, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder to steady himself. "No, no, lesson learned! I'll keep my gollies to myself!"
The pink on Addison's face just made Kendall want to take a picture even more; she looked so pretty with that color on her face, the picture practically took itself in his mind, which didn't happen often. Photography was just a hobby for him, after all. "You do?" he asked happily, a smile spreading across his face. "Awesome! I wasn't really sure because, well, I mean, I'm not good at this like you are, but lucky for me, it turns out you're just as inspiring in front of the camera as you are behind it! I always like the option that creates a narrative, you know? When people can fill in the blanks themselves, it usually turns out best, like a group effort. So, yeah, let's set up! I think the way you're facing is pretty close already. Let your body relax and do what's natural and your face...can you just tip your nose up a little bit more?" he suggested with a shrug as he lined up. Looking at her through the camera, he let out a small whistle and smiled. "Anyone ever told you that your nose is, like, perfect?" He meant it, but he also wanted to get a genuine smile so that he could click and capture the moment.
