Making Headlines {n.h.}

Turn downhill

*Niall's P.O.V.*

I take a sip of wine and look at the woman sitting before me. She moves a piece of her curled hair off her bare shoulder and shifts in her chair. Her cherry red lips are full and plump. The edges are lifted upward and are parted slightly just to barely show her opaque teeth. Her dark eyes glisten in the light and are brought out by thick black lashes. She rests one hand under her chin and the other lays across the table on top of my own. It sits peacefully upon my skin and every so often she brushes her fingers against mine.

I know Dahlia is only showing this minuscule sign of affection for the other guests at the restaurant but I feel a little more comfortable than I did when this date first started. Dahlia told me somethings about herself tonight and it felt like she really opened up to me. She must feel comfortable too if she can tell me things about her life. I watch her smiling and I know I am doing the same. 

"Tonight was great," I say truthfully. I never have laughed so much with a girl before. Maybe it's just her aura of light she had tonight that made everything seem less complicated. Normally I would have felt tight and suffocated in such a tight and uncomfortable tux but my muscles are relaxed. If I was on a real date I probably would have been so nervous but not with Dahlia. As we sit here ending the night with small conversation I am at peace.

"Yeah, I had fun," Dahlia says sounding sincere. Her smile grows a little more.

"Next time we should get more practical food," I propose looking down at our barely touched plates filled with food. We spent most of the time talking and the food was just so horrendous that we didn't bother eating it.

"I agree, I'd be totally fine with McDonald's," Dahlia says with a laugh.

 "Oh yes, chicken mcnuggets are the most romantic meal," I say with sarcasm on my tongue.

"I mean anything is better than snails," she says making a disgusted face relishing in the recent memory.

Suddenly, her phone makes a dinging sound and she slides it open. She reads over whatever text she just recieved.

Then, I get a text too. I open it to see its from Victoria.

From Victoria: Driver coming in 10 minutes finish up & be outside in front. Paparazzi coming to take pics.

Of course Victoria tipped the paps to come find us. It's going to be mad out there with all the cameras. I hate when they bombard the boys and me. Now that I'm alone with Dahlia, it's not going to be any better. They'll want to take as many pictures of us considering this is our first public date. It will be tomorrow's headlines and the biggest news.

"Did you get the same text?" Dahlia whispers. I nod to let her know that I did. As the waiter walks past I signal for him to come over. I ask him to get the check for us.

Dahlia pours another glass of wine for herself. "You know we are leaving soon, right?" I ask surprised she is still drinking.

"Just one more before things get crazy," she says. I watch her closely to make sure she doesn't drink too much. I don't need to escort a drunk Dahlia to the car in front of all the paps. She looks up and scowls when she realizes I am being paranoid about her drinking.

The waiter comes back with the check and I give him my credit card. He comes back minutes later with my receipt and credit card. I sign off the receipt and put my credit card back into my wallet.

"Ready?" I ask Dahlia. She downs the rest of her wine in one swing.

"Yeah, let's go." She picks up her purse and comes over by me. We walk to the front of the restaurant each step slower than the previous filled with dread for what is about to come.

I push open the door of the restaurant and we step out together. Time slows for half a second and then the screams come. There are about four or five guys with cameras taking pictures and yelling at us. It's loud and chaotic and the white light from the cameras against the blackness of the night makes it impossible to see. The whole things is like a circus of animals being unleashed. They herd around us trying to get the best angles and the clearest pictures.

"It's Niall!"

Flash, Flash.

"With Dahlia Jones!"

Flash. Flash.

"Are you guys dating?"

 My heart pounds as I try to find the car in the mass of all these guys.

"Niall, why are you dating that slut?" one of them shouts crudely. Dahlia doesn't even flinch. I push through the crowd. My head is spinning and I can't tell if I'm breathing.

"Flash for us, Dahlia!" The cameras blind me as I reach for the car door handle. I slid in pulling Dahlia in with me. The door shuts and silence pursues. The driver speeds off so we can leave them.

"That was awful," I say breathing heavily. My muscles are tight and my whole body is in panic mode.

"Not really," Dahlia says her face is still and she holds no emotion. She doesn't look fazed by the whole scene that had just unfolded before our eyes.

"Why are you so calm?" I've been in huge mobs and I've been chased by paparazzi but it never gets easier. Dahlia acts like it normal. It doesn't even affect her.

"I just thought it wasn't that bad." Dahlia shrugs her shoulders and stares out the window.  She doesn't say anything more and the silence is comfortable.

"Dahlia?"

'Yes?" She turns to look at me.

"I'm glad you opened up to me. I got to see the real Dahlia tonight," I confess.

"The real me? ...You sound like a fucking idiot," Dahlia raises her voice. I stare at her, astounded by her words. I thought she would appreciate what I was saying.

"Why are you getting angry?" I spit back. I was trying to be polite but apparently Dahlia can't see that.

"Niall, don't you understand? We are not actually going out! This is a fucking act; I am an actress. This isn't the real me, this is me pretending to like you so the media can get a rise out of it!" Dahlia is shouting now and each word is filled with poison. She stares at me with coals for eyes.

I turn away shaking my head. Dahlia is like a flame that burns you when you least expect it. I thought this night had gone well but apparently Dahlia was 'acting'. I guess I misjudged Dahlia's acting abilities.

"Why do you have to ruin everything?" I say. Everything was going fine, Dahlia should have just took my words with grace instead of twisting them into something artificial and evil.

"You're blaming me? I have done nothing except for follow the orders my agent gave me. It's not my fault you think you're my real fucking boyfriend!" she throws her hands up at me. She is breathing heavily from yelling.

"Shut up. I was just trying to be nice," I state. I don't want to deal with Dahlia's shit. I wish she could be like how she was at the restaurant. I wish she wasn't pretending. I actually liked the Dahlia back in the resturant but the real Dahlia before me is corrupted with malice.

"Well, don't bother." Dahlia finishes.

I heed Dahlia's warning," Fine." We sit in the silence staring out of the window consumed by our own anger letting the car take us.

 //Kinda short oops! Sorry for the long wait I was editing and revising this everyday it took forever! Ok so to make things more fun tell me in the comments whose perspectives you like more; Dahlia or Niall's? //