As Charlotte panicked, fearing Ben recognized her other identity as Chuck, she rushed to put her glasses back on, almost dropping them with her shaky hands.
Watching this, Ben narrowed his eyes even further. "You…"
She gulped, as her heart pounded like a jackhammer.
"You even…put them back on? What's the point now?"
'No…this c-cant…' Her throat dried up as her nails dug into her palms.
He shook his head in disapproval. "There's no point in putting them back on…when you look so cute without them!"
…
"Huh?" Charlotte tilted her head, her tension becoming substituted by confusion. Looking at Ben's smile though, she realized he really failed to recognize her as Chuck, and released an inner sigh of relief. It made sense, however. Wearing glasses was a big difference between her and Chuck but it wasn't the only one. There were major changes with her hair, curves, makeup, and other things, and it seemed she did a good enough job.
In fact, before starting to dress as a man, Charlotte did some research, and learned that crossdressing was something women had gotten away with surprisingly easily throughout history, even in the distant past. That's what gave her the confidence to try in the first place. If it worked back then, how much easier would it be in modern times with so many advances? Apparently, easy enough to fool Ben…
Now, with her tension eased, she adjusted her glasses, but soon paused, when she realized what Ben said and looked up at him. "You said…I'm cute?"
He nodded with enthusiasm. "Very cute!"
"R-really?" A thick blush sprouted on her cheeks, as her lips quivered…
"Yup!
Charlotte couldn't remember the last time she received a compliment from someone outside her family, and a rare sensation blossomed in her chest…one of elation. Without knowing, her lips spread into a smile as she gazed at Ben, blinking.
Ben stared at her a while in silence, appreciating her rare smile. Yet, when she noticed that, her eyes expanded as she subconsciously raised her purse in front of herself in slow motion, until it covered most of her face…
This only made him laugh though. "You should take the glasses back off!"
However, after the scare just now, Charlotte wasn't willing to take risks."N-no… Without them, I-I can't see…"
"You don't need to see. Even the blind can become superheroes these days…"
Even if that was true…Charlotte still shook her head, remaining adamant, and Ben didn't push her further, because she was adorable with the glasses too. Instead, since she was opening up a bit now after the simple photos, he decided to instruct her to do more creative stuff. Relaxed once again, she didn't mind either, following his directions as he guided her through poses.
Most of them were fine, but some, turned out a little awkward.
"Yea, lean your shoulder against the tree like that. That's it! Good! Stay still," Ben instructed.
*Snap* *Snap*
As he took the photos though, Charlotte became embarrassed, releasing a cute groan. "Ooghhh…" Inch by inch, she then slid to hide her body behind the tree, as Ben's camera soon captured nothing but plant…
He sighed, but knew it was a process. So they continued like that. Some poses going well. Some not so much. Ben did his best to make her open up though, and it was working, as Charlotte chickened out less and less, and at one point, even giggled after Ben told a joke.
*Snap*
Capturing that photo of her laughing, Ben glanced at his digital camera screen and nodded in appreciation. "Your smile looks so cute!"
She blushed at the compliment. "D-do I not look weird?"
"No, it's great! Smile more!"
"…Ok, t-then I-I'll try." Doing her best to smile and appear lovable, she turned to the camera, except her movements…were rigid like a broken robot, and her smile–awkward. Feeling this herself, Charlotte whimpered. "Uhuuu…" Then she winced as she covered her face with her purse once again, shaking her head at great speed as Ben tried to calm her down with compliments.
"Charlotte, trust me. Your smile is adorable! Here, try it like this. Tilt your head…good. Put your hand by your mouth, and smile!" When she followed his instructions, Ben laughed inside because at last, he tricked her into entering a cute anime pose!
However, as if noticing something was off from his smirk, Charlotte realized how embarrassing this photo was and cried in her high voice. "Noooo!"
Then, she lunged to grab the camera! At the same time, her cute voice became demonic as she cursed. "F*ck! Delete those now ********!!!"
…
Hiding his camera behind his back, Ben's jaw dropped as he stared at her, having never seen this aggressive side of her before. When she saw his face, and the fact that her hands were on his chest, Charlotte backed away in a panic as her face grew crimson like a ripening tomato… "S-sorry…" Staring at the ground, she stood there, frozen. 'Oh, no… He heard me curse! Will Ben hate me now?'
She didn't think her behavior was appropriate for a girl. So all she could imagine now, was Ben walking away from her, throwing her away like…like that other one did… 'No, i-it's for the best. I shouldn't get closer to him. It's not safe… I can't trust him…' Even as she tried to rationalize it, her eyes reddened as a sour feeling filled her chest.
However, she soon heard laughter. "What are you sorry about? That was so adorable!" He couldn't help but like her more and more. He found this little sister too cute! After all, Ben only had a wretched little brother growing up, whose cuteness would best compare to dogsh*t…
With damp eyes, Charlotte looked up to find, that Ben had a genuine smile on his face…
"I didn't know you had a temper, but it's alright. Here, before you force me to delete it, come check out this photo! It came out great!"
As he looked through the photos on his digital camera, she watched him, for a long while…unclear what these feelings were that brewed inside of her.
