Equilibrium (Vexxieverse Series - Part 5)

Working Hard or Hardly Working? (N)

Niall
March

The season was wrapping up, and it was almost time to film the big finale cliffhanger where Phillip gets his new powers. Niall was still pissed the network took his vampire storyline away, but it gave them an opportunity to do something unique. Zayn and Niall found time to schedule a design session for Phillip's transformation not long after they got the new script. The others went home for the night while they stayed back at the studio to work on it. They could have worked at on at home but they'd be able to focus better without distractions.

Niall's office wasn't the fanciest place, but it was the first place in Niall's life that felt like home. He'd worked hard for his career and had been on a lot of projects, but Excavated was the first long-term, stable job he'd gotten in Hollywood. Since season one, this had been his one place in the world he felt belonged to him. Now he had his home with the boys, but that was still new compared to the show. The days he felt like a fifth wheel, he'd pretend to have to work late just so he could escape to his retreat and be out of their way. He didn't need to do that nearly as much as he used to, but in this one room, he would never feel like a guest.

Every new season of the show had a promo poster, and they were all lined up on two walls under display lights. A third wall only held a massive whiteboard that had ever changing show notes on it. Niall hadn't seen it completely wiped clean since his first day on the job. The last wall had a window, so Niall wasn't sure where the future promo posters would go. He was running out of room for them all! Best problem ever.

There was a futon that he used far more than the boys wanted him to, but it was actually quite comfortable. Besides. the trailers were too far away to bother with a lot of times and Niall was the King of Power Napping. The one thing he splurged on was the oversized oak desk and comfortable chairs for himself and his visitors. Other than that, his office was filled with scripts, notes, notebooks, and contracts. Boring to most people, but it was heaven to Niall.

"OK, here's the script. It's on that marked page." Niall flipped through the pages for Zayn because he was going through them too slow. "Yeah, there. So he makes a deal with some fae sorcerers for his powers. But the writers kept it vague, and it just says he turns into a druid that has a hybrid form. They said they trust your vision and want to write around whatever you come up with after this one."

Zayn nodded and skimmed through the last part of the script. "OK, yeah. They really gave me a blank canvas, didn't they? What are you thinking... creepy or cute..."

"Oh, definitely creepy. He's already effortlessly cute, so I want the contrast back." Niall smirked. Harry was a dream to have as an actor. His range of emotions was endless, and it didn't hurt that he was pretty, no matter which one he was expressing. An absolute delight to film, boyfriend or not. It's why he got the part of Phillip in the first place. Harry still thought he got it because of his long hair. Niall was evil and didn't correct him because he didn't want him to cut it.

Zayn had already started sketching. "OK, this is fae realm. A druid... I mean, we could do something like this," He drew up a cartoon Harry with slicked back hair, a distorted face, and antlers. "Or since it's Harry, based on the way he moves and stuff, I think he could pull off a feline influenced design." Zayn sketched that too, and while it looked more human than a cat, Niall couldn't stop giggling at the ears. A little smile crept over Zayn's face and Niall realized he only drew that one to make Niall laugh.

But then Zayn sketched a third option. Bigger and in higher detail. "But I say we lean more fae and less druid in design. He can keep his druid powers, of course, but he'd look more like a high elf."

Niall liked how the sketch was coming along, but he wasn't nerdy enough to know what that meant. "Is that different from a regular elf or...? Is there a low elf?"