Hello!

Okay, here is another oneXshot, this time, one of Galen and Keller. Originally it was suppose to be of Rashel and Quinn but since I will be making a story about them in the near future I decided to change the characters around.

Okay, so the idea came from this story I read. The name of it was Long November and well the couple in it were gay. So yeah, I'm not that brilliant to come up with a plot like this. Lol When I read that story I was nearly in tears. I know for a fact its 100 times better then this story. Anywho, so yeah this isnt really an original idea.

If any of you wants to read the story I got this from then I can gladly send you the link. It has pictures too! So it makes it cuter ;) but remember, gay couple.

In this short story, Keller and Galen are both humans. Mkay?

Disclaimer: I dont own the characters or the plot.

Picture Perfect

Keller & Galen

OneXShot

-o-

Summary; His sudden movement, the shine in his eyes, the click heard before his lips formed a smile, it gave life a meaning, it was beautiful. That was my first impression oh him the day we met.

-o-

I thought of it as coincidence when I saw him standing outside my apartment holding up a sign- that I now regretted posting- with a sly smile on his face that cold November 1st. I was startled at first thinking of him as a stalker or a potential homeless creep, after all it had been two days ago that I had met him.

Our encounter had not been planned and was certainly unnatural now that I thought about it. But seeing his careless expression as he stood calmly waiting for me to say something I decided to not mortify myself with over thinking the situation.

I allowed him to come in as I offered a cup of tea I had currently prepared. He explained briefly about his job and the reason he was currently visiting New York. He was from England, something I could have guessed because of how much of a gentleman he looked and acted, and he was only staying for a year.

I thought over it and found myself agreeing to let him stay in the extra room I was renting in my apartment. I had planned to rent it to a girl so things would be more comfortable because we had to share the living room, kitchen and bathroom, but seeing how we were most likely not to see much of each other during the day because of our busy schedules, I decided not to think much of it.

-o-

It seemed that as November passed we had entered a routine. I would wake up to find the apartment quiet. He would leave early and never bothered to lock the door. I didn't have to bother cooking any longer because he would always leave a tray of food. Its not that I hated his food, I just sometimes wished to cook my own breakfast even though he stated that my cooking sucked.

Apart from the daily meal, he always left a note. Sometimes the note would be completely stupid or rather random. He would write stuff like; 'I'm coming home late today, don't forget your hat, its cold outside.' or 'I baked cookies, take some to work' or even sometimes simple stuff like; 'I'll be back for dinner, miss you.' His hand writing was almost unreadable, I figured he was always in a rush trying to write down the note, like a last minute thing. But that's not what bothered me the most. He was a photographer, one that worked every hour of the day. Behind every note he left, there would always be a picture- a picture of myself.

Today was no different from any other day. His note had been about the weather and the picture, well like always I found myself questioning when he took it. I had a smile on my face as my eyes were closed and my lips softly parted awaiting the spoon my hand was holding. I frowned because the picture showed a side of me I didn't know existed, apart from the picture making me look beautiful, something I didn't know was possible.

I still don't like him taking pictures of me.

-o-

"You must get lonely, right?" He had asked on the first week of December. His sudden blunt question startled me and in a way annoyed me. I asked him why he thought I got lonely and his answer only angered me. "Because you're always alone" By that time he already knew I had quite a temper, so it didn't take long for him to realise his words had triggered something inside me. He quickly explained how he saw things from his point of view and I found myself agreeing.

He said I didn't have my family with me, which was correct because my parents were gone and I no longer talked to my sister. He said I never had friends over, which was also correct because I couldn't bring myself to trust anyone to call a friend. He said I never talked about anyone that could be close to me, and that was also correct because I didn't want anyone close to me.

I was alone, and for the first time in years someone had noticed.

A day wouldn't pass by without him mentioning my loneliness. I got used to it, and it didn't bother me, however his teasing would end up getting on my nerves. It seemed he wanted me to admit I was alone. I did, inside my heart but I never had the guts to say it out loud.

-o-

It was two days before Christmas when he showed up at my company. My boss had hired him to take care of the pictures for the section of the magazine I worked on. I complained, not wanting to see him home and now at my company. However he just laughed and asked me to go easy on him.

He carried his camera everywhere and with that smile of a seven year old he would walk around taking pictures of everything. I couldn't yell at him for that matter because he was doing his job. His presence did annoy me but at the end it didn't matter.

"Shush, your co-workers are looking" he had said that one time I yelled at him for taking a picture of me when I wasn't in the mood. It was true, my co-workers for the first time were paying attention to me, even though I knew it was because of him. He had that vibe that caught peoples attention.

It wasn't long until I started getting questioned about my relationship with him. He would spend all his time with me, following me around, doing everything I told him, and in everyone's eyes it was because something was going on between us. They didn't see the only reason for his behaviour was that he liked annoying me. They didn't see that there was nothing special with the way he talked to me or simply looked at me.

There were times I wished I thought like them.

-o-

"You are going to get sick" he mentioned as I washed the dishes we used for our Christmas dinner, we had ended up stuck together that night. He, because his family was in England, me, because I was alone.

"How so?" I asked and before I could say anything else he was standing right behind me. I could feel his chest leaning against my back and his breath on my ear. His chin was on my shoulder and his face was slightly turned facing the left side of my face.

"Why don't you dry your hair?" he whispered the question in my ear making me blush. I felt uncomfortable with the lack of distance between us so I quickly moved as I pushed him away. Within seconds we were standing facing each other and he was already trying to get closer.

I was paralyzed as I felt both his hand touch my cheeks as my eyes never looked away from his face. He slowly closed the space between us and I didn't even blink until I felt his soft lips against my forehead. "You're too naïve" he mumbled against my skin. "And lazy" then, he poked my nose.

That night I had ended up sitting on the floor as he dried my hair. He mentioned it was beautiful and well treated. I don't know how long he talked, or how long it took to dry my hair. All I know is that I would never forget that Christmas.

-o-

On January twenty-first, New York was hit with a violent storm. The lights of the apartment were shut off just like the heater. It was cold and dark, so we decided to spend the night in the living room.

Keller had gotten sick a week ago and it seemed that she was nowhere near getting better. Her eyes looked tired and I could already notice her shivering with every thunder that was heard outside. However, I didn't know she was that sick, when she surprised me by moving and sitting next to me on the couch.

"I'm cold" she mumbled softly before leaning her head on my body and wrapping her arms around herself. I was certain she had no idea what she was doing, especially once I felt her arms around my waist. "I cant sleep" She whispered and before I knew what I was doing I had her on my lap pressing her body tightly against me.

She had no idea what I could do to her…

I didn't understand why she was doing this. Her eyes were still slightly open, so was she half asleep? Or was she doing this on purpose? Maybe… she was confusing me with someone. Why else would she grab unto me tightly as if I was that special.

Not thinking it over, with one of my hands I pushed away the hair that was covering her face before I leaned in to kiss her temple. Her beauty was always breathtaking, not to mention her smell of roses and candy. Sighing, I gave my mind a break and allowed myself to sleep as I protectively never loosened my grip on her.

It was the sunlight coming from the window and the moving I felt on my lap that woke me up. My eyes instantly locked with beautiful gray-ish eyes as a small yawn escaped my lips.

"I didn't…did I do anything?" her sudden question brought a wave a disappointment as it seemed that she didn't remember what happened last night. I let go of her allowing her to stand up from my laps before I stood up as well. She barely took two steps before deciding to collapse on the couch. I took that as an opportunity and quickly took my camera before snapping a picture. She didn't even notice. "I-I'm sorry if I… did anything"

I smiled noticing the blush on her cheeks before bending down. She was covering her face with one hand, so once she removed it and her eyes slowly opened, she found my face a few inches away. Immediately she blushed as I slowly smirked. "You were beautiful last night" I didn't know it was possible for her blush to get any redder, but either way it was beautiful, it was worth a picture. "Just kidding" I told her with a smile before she frowned and yelled out a curse word with a threat of killing me. "Nothing happened last night" I assured her before walking away announcing I was going to cook breakfast.

-o-

Near the end of August I found out Keller's birthday was on the first of September. I thought over a million things I could do to celebrate her special day, but as they days passed I noticed that I couldn't really do anything because it seemed I was the only one interested in celebrating her day.

When September came, I woke up early to cook her something special. However, as I passed by her bedroom I noticed the door open and then to my surprise as I peeked inside the room, I found an empty bed.

I waited for her all day but she never showed. I cooked a cake, but with the weather it ended up getting destroyed so I threw it away. I tried calling her cell-phone but she never picked up. I called the company, but like I already knew she had asked for this day off.

That's when a thought popped in my head. What if she was celebrating somewhere else? What if someone had invited her to go somewhere? What if she wasn't as alone as I thought…

So I ended up going for a ride. I didn't have a car so I called a taxi and asked him to drive me around the city. I didn't know how this was going to help, but not knowing where she was and just sitting around made me feel helpless. I had to do something even though it was pointless.

In a way this concern for her bothered me. The feeling of my sanity slowly slipping away as I looked outside the windows of the taxi searching for her… it made me feel confused and devastated. I felt the agony and the ache in my heart when the taxi eventually told me to pick somewhere I wanted to go. I asked him to take me back where he picked me up from.

She was sitting in the kitchen when I returned to the apartment. Her head bowed down as she leaned against a counter. Even from where I stood I could tell she was crying. Never have I seen someone so miserable on the day of their birthday. It was after she took a shower that she decided to tell me where she had been. I dried her hair as I listened to her story, and I suddenly felt like an idiot as I understood why her eyes displayed such misery.

Her parents both died the day she was born. Her mom by giving birth to her and her dad by committing suicide after hearing about the death of his beloved. For her, this day wasn't any special or enjoyable for the matter. It was hell. And she had spent the day in a cemetery crying as I foolishly searched around the city in fear that she was celebrating the day with someone else.

I felt like a fool.

-o-

I woke up on a cold Monday on the first week of October to find something else apart from the breakfast and note Galen always left me. It was an ticket for an exhibition on an Art Gallery. It was the result of Galen's work throughout the year- which meant he was leaving soon.

'Dear Keller,

I hope you don't forget to dry your hair, its cold outside.

I have a lot of work today so I wont be back until midnight.

Don't bother cooking any dinner for me. (not that I don't like your cooking…)

I hope you can make it to the exhibition. It would mean a lot.

Don't look too beautiful today.

Try not to bewitch any lucky man out there.

(Halloween is coming!)

Have a beautiful day,

-Galen Drache'

As I read the note, I realised it was more like a letter. Actually, every note he ever left were letters. I turned the paper around to see the picture he had left me. Like always, I felt annoyed as I noticed it was a picture from the time I was eating corn, I swear he wasn't home. Sighing, I enjoyed the meal he had prepared before deciding I would pass by the Art Gallery after lunch.

That's when realization hit me.

All this time, he had been writing me letters yet I… I never wrote him anything. He never asked me too, that's true, but seeing how he will be leaving soon, I might as well? Right? It would be nice to write him a thank you letter, or simply a letter as random as his'... or a goodbye letter. So later that month, I decided to write the letter- However, before I knew it, it had turned out into a love letter.

The days passed and every night I would try writing the letter. Every night would have the same result. My mind couldn't even process properly anymore. My mind was determined to make the letter a goodbye letter, but I couldn't. So on October 31st, instead of giving out candy like every other year, I found myself in my room trying to write the damn letter.

"Keller! What are you doing, aren't you going trick or treating?"

"Go away" I mumbled as I stood up from my bed and walked towards the door where he stood so I could kick him out and lock the door.

"Why aren't you dressed up- hey! Your hair is wet" he exclaimed not noticing my annoyance and as soon as I was standing in front of him he reached out to touch my hair. Usually, I would let him so he could then offer to dry my hair, but today…

Today I was too confused with my feelings that I reacted stupidly. "Don't touch me!"I yelled before pushing him away. My eyes widened immediately realising what I had done.

"Your not in a good mood" he whispered with a sad expression. "I see" No… I didn't mean it… I… Galen lifted his head up a little before turning around. "Well, I better go sleep, I have an early flight tomorrow" I froze as he started to close the door. What… wait… "Sleep well" No…

"Galen" But it was too late. He had closed the door. Why didn't he tell me? Why… I knew he was leaving, but… so soon?

I couldn't. I couldn't let him leave, not after discovering what I felt. I walked out of my room and rushed to the living room where he usually liked to be. He wasn't there so I tried the kitchen and then the bathroom. He wasn't there… which meant his bedroom.

I didn't bother knocking so instead I just pushed the door open before making my way towards his bed where he laid. "Keller?" he asked surprised and to my surprise instead of answering him I went to sit on top of him, and before I knew it, I had my arms wrapped around his body.

"I'm lonely" I whispered once I felt his arms slowly touching my back. Before I knew it, in one quick movement, Galen had moved the both of us. He was now on top of me as I let go of his body. With one hand he touched my cheek before he leaned over and claimed my lips.

That night, we shared our first kiss. It was desperate.

-o-

"Its quiet" I whispered into the empty room. "He is gone" As I stood up from what used to be his bed, I felt every memory of last night replay in my head. So it wasn't a dream. I didn't imagine it. But then why did he leave… And as I spotted the picture laying on the pillow besides me I finally understood.

Why he came to live with me…

He was the one, who was lonely.

His photos, they always showed happiness. They showed everything he ever saw, and like he mentioned once, the captured a moment. Something you could keep for ever… and that's what he wanted. He wanted that happiness, he wanted that moment, and by taking a photo of it… he felt like he was getting what he wanted. He felt like he was capturing that second of life. That kindness and warmth coming from that one simple image. When the photo was taken, it couldn't disappear. It was his for ever, it belonged to him… he had it.

Its like, being in a room and looking outside the window. You see a happy family, or happy lovers. A happy friendship or even a small fight between two brothers. By seeing, by taking the photo, he would feel like he was living that moment. Like it belonged to him.

I grabbed my coat, my keys and my phone. Within five minutes I was running down the street with the phone on my ear. Answer damn it…

"Hello?" I froze. "Keller?"

"Where are you?" I asked as I looked around waiting for a taxi to pass by.

"I'm still by the boarding gate, at the airport" I told him I was coming but he simply laughed after a short pause. "I'm already leaving, you wont make it in time" He continued to laugh even after I asked him to stop. "Are you that lonely?" he asked me in between laughs, but I didn't let that bother me. He wasn't laughing because it was funny, he was laughing because it was a way of preventing his other feelings to show.

"You are as lonely as me, so stop pretending you're not!" There was a long pause, he never said anything. "I wrote you a letter" I informed him before asking him not to laugh. "What should I do?"

"Read it to me" I refused, however he reminded me that it was now or never because he was leaving.

So I sighed as I allowed some tears to escape my eyes before I opened my mouth to speak; "Galen" I paused "I love you"

"I love you too" he said. "I'm off" and with that, he hanged up. I was left hearing the beeping of the phone as the clouds above me started to pour rain.

When I got hope later that day, I finally decided to look at the picture he left me. It was a picture of me sleeping and behind it, Galen's handwriting said;

'I hope I can come back soon'

-o-

I feel that if I take a picture of something I can claim it as mine. It's like buying a toy. Once you have it in your hands, it becomes yours. Yours to play with, yours to enjoy.

Every picture I took made me feel like that, and slowly, all those pictures made me feel like they were my new world. Which meant I was parting this word. For every picture I took, my heart hardens a little bit more. It was painful and the agony… it was slowly driving me insane.

So I went to New York with one film. I decided I was going to stop causing myself this pain. For every picture I took, I prepared myself for the pain. I took pictures of places, things, people I've never seen, stuff I didn't know. And slowly, the film was coming to an end. The last picture I took was of a person who had walked by in the middle of the picture I was planning on taking of a tree.

I would have been mad, but the person happened to have been beautiful. She noticed right away her mistake and apologized before questioning if I was professional photographer. I told her I was and that I would gladly take another picture of her but the problem was that I had no more film, and no money.

She gave me a weird look before grabbing my hand and dragging to a camera shop near the park we were at. She bought me another set of films before I even knew what was going on.

Within minutes, she disappeared satisfied at what she had done. And that's when it finally clicked in my head what I had been about to do. I was going to give away my career. I was going to throw away all my dreams and everything I ever loved. And because of that strange girl, I had stopped from actually going through with it.

That girl was Keller, and it just so happens that she was renting a room in her apartment.

-o-

That is it!

Sorry if any mistakes, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it.

Actually, I hope you guys were able to understand it ;) lol.

Review?

Please?

=D?

-Maria

God Bless You!

Ps; Bday this friday! Wooo 17 baby ;)