Top 5 Reasons Why Being a Teen Model Is The Best Thing Ever:

5. I get to miss some school for "work stuff." All of my work is sent into the studio and I have people that help me complete it, so that I don't have difficulty balancing school and work.

4. I get to keep every outfit that I model, plus some others that other models threw out. My clothes that I wear now, or should I say the rags that I wear now, are going to be thrown out and replaced by the latest trends and most wanted items.

3. The people here are so incredible. I've only been working for a month, and I've been befriended by most of the models and a lot of the staff, too. But my favorite people are Sabrina, my best modeling friend, Corey, my favorite photographer, Peyton, who's a surprisingly fun guy to chat with; we have a great time at the studio, and of course Mr. Vogue, the man who fit everything into place.

2. The money that I'm paid is bringing my family out of our financial crisis faster than I could have ever imagined. With my paycheck and my mom's combined, we're able to put all 3 meals on the table and pay our rent and taxes. We're not yet ready to do extra spending, though. But I am saving up to take Carmen to her favorite place, our local roller skating rink.

And the number one reason why being a teen model is the best thing ever?

1. I am becoming more known with each second that passes.

"Great smile, Miss Blanchard! The people are gonna love it!" Mr. Vogue says as he passes by my ongoing shoot. I smile even wider while bending my knees and bending down to rest my hands on them. I close my eyes and let a little bit of my tongue slip past my grinning teeth. I was modeling the newest summer clothing, since it was already May.

"Perfect, Rowan," Corey, my photographer said, "Now, give me a little flirty action." I nodded before lifting one foot up, kicking it behind me. I ran my fingers through my hair with one hand and placed the other on my hip. I wink a little and let my mouth smile openly. My hand was kind of messing up my ponytail, but I guess that it gave more effect to the whole "summer beach" scene. My hand was cold against my hip, but that's mainly because I was showing more skin than I usually do, wearing a tight red crop top that cut off a little above my belly button. I was also wearing high waisted jean shorts that stop right below my belly button. They were really cute, though, with lace framing the edges. The only thing that I found weird about the whole shoot was the heels that my designers had picked to match. They were a shiny red, but so high, I could barely walk in them.

After a couple more poses and pictures, Corey started to pack up. "Thank you, Rowan, you did great today," he said as he gave me a hug. I smiled at him, "Thanks, but you're the real star here." He laughed my comment off as he walked back into his office.

I head back to my room to change when I run into Peyton.

"Oh sorry! Why are you in such a rush?" he asked me, helping me keep my balance.

"Uh, I just want to get home and spend time with my family." I said, planting my feet firmly on the ground.

"Well, then get home and have fun." He kissed my cheek and let go of my arms, "Be safe, Rowan!" he walked towards some other guy and did a 'bro hug' before walking off.

Wait, hold up.

Did he just really kiss my cheek? Does he like me? Or was it some type of friendly gesture? Oh, who cares; I really liked it anyways.

I hold my cheek and beam while sprinting towards my dressing room.

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"Mom, Carmen, I'm home!" I yell as I fling my school bag aside. I hear footsteps tumble down the stairs and see a little brunette appear from behind a wall. "Rowan!" Carmen exclaims while beaming. I open my arms and she runs into them, enjoying my embrace.

"How was your day, Carmen?" I ask her when she pulls away.

Her smile impossibly grew even wider. "It was awesome! I won hide and seek on the playground, and I was a finalist in our school spelling bee!"

"Really? That's great, Carmen!" I exclaim while giving her another hug.

She nodded before pulling away again. "And, my teacher asked if you were my sister."

I froze. "Really?"

She once again nodded. "Apparently her daughter saw you in a magazine article and now she loves you! She wants your autograph!" She beamed with pride.

I was in awe. "Wow! This is incredible! I already have a fan!"

"Not just one, honey. Have you checked social media lately?" I hear mom's voice come from the kitchen. I look up and see her taking something out of the fridge with a smirk on her face.

"No, not lately. Why?" I asked anxiously.

"Well," Mom took out her phone and opened up multiple apps, "Let's see. Instagram; 347k followers, 50k new direct messages and over 3,000 new fan accounts." She looked up and smirked at my gaping mouth. "Shall I check twitter?" I slowly nodded.

"Hm. So on twitter, you as of this second, have 700k followers, thousands of retweets and over 300k people mentioning you." I swore that I was catching flies before Carmen closed my mouth.

"Don't even get me started on facebook or snapchat," Mom laughed, "but let's listen to some of the voice mails that were left at the house phone today." She strolled over to our phone, and pressed a button which made a sound before switching to a woman's voice.

"Hi, this is Jimmy Falon, from the Tonight Show," Oh my god, "I was wondering if Miss Rowan Blanchard would like to be a guest on our show soon. I see that she is rapidly gaining popularity, so whenever she'd like to appear, we can arrange that. Call back when she has decided. Thanks!"

"Was that serious?" I asked Mom.

She laughed and nodded, "Just wait 'til you hear the ones from Ellen and the head of People Magazine!" she excitedly exclaimed.

"You're joking!" I screamed.

It all felt so surreal. All of my dreams were coming true, right before my eyes. I was reaching stardom, becoming known and improving my lifestyle, all while saving my family. My happiness was pouring out from my heart like an unstoppable waterfall. It was the most incredible I have felt in years.

"Rowan, you're famous!" Carmen jumped up while wrapping her arms around my torso and squeezing me to death. Mom came in and squeezed both of us.

"We're so proud of you, Row." She said. It felt truly incredible.

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The whole school soon knew about my new job. I had people that didn't even know my name come up and offer me a spot at their lunch table. I was the new 'it' girl at school. I was popular.

"Hi, Rowan!" Peyton walks to my locker as I slam it shut. I smile.

"Hey, Peyton."

We walk to our history class, talking about our upcoming photo shoot together. Mr. Vogue had chosen us to do the "summer romance" shoot together, and I was freaking out. He said that we had natural chemistry.

"So, you nervous?" he asked.

"About the shoot? Not really. Maybe. Kinda. Yeah." I reply.

He laughed. "That's okay. It's you're first shoot that has another person in it, let alone that person being of the opposite sex."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I feel like I'm going to be awkward. Especially since it's a romance shoot, too. I have no idea what we're going to do!"

"Don't worry. Usually we just have to get really close, or hold hands. Something around those things."

"Oh. Wait, how close?"

We stop in the almost empty hallway right in front of our class. He grabs my hand and pulls me towards him, making our faces only inches apart. If he took one more step, there'd be no space between us.

I felt my heart beat speed up and my breath quicken as he said, "About this close."

All I could get out was, "Oh."

The bell rang, breaking me out of the trance that his eyes had put me in. He smiled and pulled me into our class that we were now late to.

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As I was walking home from school, I saw Peyton talking to some of his friends. I almost waved, but stopped myself because I knew that he probably wouldn't wave back. Then I saw him wave. It looked like it was towards me, but I knew that he wouldn't wave at me. I'm me!

I saw him wave again, but this time it looked like he was trying to get someone's attention. I looked behind me, but saw no one. I turned around and found him still waving, looking like his arm was about to come off.

I looked behind me once again before pointing at myself and mouthing, "Me?"

He shook his head and laughed. He said bye to his friends and ran towards me. "Yes, I was waving at you!" he said, laughing.

"Oh. I just, I mean I figured-" I started.

"Why wouldn't I wave at you?" he tilted his head like he was confused.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I just kind of thought that you wouldn't really take the time to do that for me." I shrugged.

"Of course I would! I love talking to you, Row." He beamed. I smiled back at him.

"Um, so do you want to come to my place and grab a snack before heading to the studio? We've got a little over an hour." I offer while biting the inside of my cheek.

He nods. "I'd love to! Is your family there? I'd love to meet them."

My smile widens with ever word he said. "Yeah, actually. There's my mom and my sister, Carmen."

"Where's your dad? Is he working or something?" he asked.

I lowered my head. Should I tell him? I've only told a few people, but they helped me.

"Uh, well, my dad kind of left my family a couple years ago, and took all of our money with him. We haven't talked to him since then. But that's why being a model was such a big deal - that and I wouldn't be invisible anymore - but I'm helping my family out so much now. Just a month ago I was begging a random lady for food and being spit on. But look at my family now! We can afford our apartment, and put all three meals on the table!"

"Oh. I'm so sorry, Row. You didn't have to open up like that." He said quickly.

"No, it's okay. I'm finally getting used to the way things are at my place now, and I really like it."

"Well that's great. If it makes you feel any better, my dad did the same to my family, except he only took half of our money." He said while giving me a look of sympathy.

I rubbed his arm reassuringly. "How's your family doing now?"

He smiled and looked down at me. "Great! I love hanging with them! We always have these family game nights once a week and we make a nice dinner before it and have snacks during it. It is awesome. We've recovered well."

That brought a smile to my face. "That's amazing, Peyton. I'm so happy for you."

"Hey! You should come to our family game night this week!" he jumped up excitedly.

"Uh, I'd love to, but it's a family game night. I don't want to intrude."

"No, no, Rowboat! During family game night, friends become family." He smiled, and I was hooked.

"Well, then I'd love to." I smiled.

"Perfect!" he grabbed my hand as we continued walking towards my apartment.

"You still nervous for the shoot?" Peyton asked, swinging our arms back and forth.

"Not as much as I was before. I'm more excited now. You know, getting to know the model world a little better." I replied while blushing from his actions.

"Well that's good. I can't wait either. I've only done one other opposite sex photo shoot, and it was awhile back."

"Oh. Who was it with?"

"Sabrina."

"Oh."

I look up and see my front door. He lets go of my hand, allowing me to grab my key from my bag. Once the door is opened, we're greeted by my mom sitting at the table on her laptop, and Carmen on the couch coloring.

"Rowan!" Carmen jumps on me while screaming. I hug her back, "Hi, Carmen! How was your day?" She pulls her head out of my shoulder and looks Peyton up and down. "Well, it just got better." I put her down, "Carmen!" Peyton laughed.

"Hi, Rowan. Who is this?" Mom comes over from the table and looks at Peyton.

"Hi, mom. This is Peyton Meyer; he's a friend from school and from the studio." I say as they shake hands.

"Peyton Meyer? Are you a model? I haven't heard that name yet." Mom says.

"No, I go by a different name, and I wear a disguise while modeling. I don't want all the fame, so I go by an alter ego. His name is Jacob. Just don't tell anyone." Peyton laughed. Mom laughed, too.

"We just came by to grab a snack before heading to work." I said, leading Peyton towards the table.

"Well, okay. Just don't eat the yogurt. I'm not sure how long it's been in there." Mom said before grabbing her stuff and going into her room with Carmen.

Peyton and I laugh. "I really like your family, they're hilarious." He said.

"Thanks. Something I wish I had." I mumble.

"What are you talking about? You have a great sense of humor!" Peyton exclaimed, kind of startling me.

I blushed. "Well, thanks," I stuttered out, "So, uh, do you want cake or something?"

"I don't care. I'll have whatever you're having." He said.

"Well then, Pop Tarts it is!" I exclaim, running to the pantry while Peyton laughed.

A/N

Sorry it's been so long, guys! I've had writer's block, as you can tell I'm sure. But this story will get better with time, I promise. Thanks for reading!

XOXO <3