Inside Those Eyes

The Job

"Hey guys, I found a fan!" Liam says cheerfully, as he barges in the door labeled with 1D's logo. I step inside the room, and see the other 1D boys getting their hair done. Oh my gosh, deep breath, I can do this. Is Louis looking at me? I see his blue eyes staring straight at me, I don't know what else he could be looking at, that means he knows I exist! Louis Tomlinson, the Louis William Tomlinson. Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming.

"Oh Liam, why is it every time you come backstage, you have a fan with you?" Louis remarks with a dreamy British accent. The boys all laugh.

"I can't help it Louis, our fans are the best. Go ahead and introduce yourself, love." They all look at me.

Oh. My. Gosh. He called me love!!

"Hi. My name is April Smith. Huge fan. I have all your albums!"

"I'm sure you do, go ahead and take a seat. Is there something you would like us to sign?" Liam pulls out a chair as I go through my oversized purse. I'm able to get together all of their albums on cd, a vinyl, a singing keychain, and a picture of them. They start to pass the stuff around.

I look to my left, and I see someone I didn't really pay too much attention to before. Harry puts down the paper he was reading and looks me in the eyes. I lose his gaze, embarrassed.

"Wow, she is a big fan, I didn't even know we had a singing keychain." He says as he looks away from me and presses the button on the keychain. A ten second clip of 'What Makes You Beautiful' plays. The boys have a certain chill to them, they are all so relaxed around me, but I am definitely not relaxed around them. They could all just be really tired, I wouldn't doubt it since they sing practically all night, every night.

"So tell us a little about yourself." Niall suggests with an Irish accent that literally makes my heart skip a beat.

I don't even need to think as I enthusiastically explain, "I've liked you guys since I was in eighth grade. I used to live in Arizona but I moved to New York City to follow my dream."

"What is your dream?" Louis asks.

A tray of food is brought in, and Niall and Harry start to sample the different fancy dishes. They offer me some but I shake my head, knowing I couldn't keep any of it down.

"My dream is to be a lyricist, but it hasn't really seemed to work out. I may have to move back to Arizona to get back on my feet." I look at the ground. It's hard telling them that I've failed when they are so successful themselves.

Harry's green eyes make contact with mine again, offering me some sympathy. "What? You don't have a job?" I shake my head. "Do you have any of your, um, work with you?"

I go through my purse looking for my journal. I always keep it with me in case inspiration strikes. I hand Harry the worn, red notebook and he starts to read the feelings I've kept inside for years. Its weird having someone look at it, I feel exposed, and yet content that someone is giving me a chance.

"Wow, this is fantastic." Harry says, his eyes consuming the pages, one by one. The boys surround him, all reading the journal. It's very quiet except for the occasional comment. A hairstylist comes up to me and whispers in my ear,

"Your stuff must be really good. The boys are never this quiet."

She smiles at me and introduces herself as Lou Teasdale, the head stylist. She doesn't need an introduction, if you're a directioner you know the tour crew; Lou is no exception. She sits next to me and looks to the boys, "So are you just gonna sit there, or are you gonna give the girl some feedback?"

Liam looks up from the book, and then looks to the others. They all nod their heads in agreement of some unsaid idea. "Hey April, I know we just met and this is a lot to ask, but I think all of us are in agreement that you need to write on our next album. So maybe you would just consider-"

He doesn't finish as I suddenly get the courage of a tiger and hug him. My eyes feel with tears and I'm sure I almost strangle him. But when I pull back he's smiling. "I'll take that as a yes. Welcome to the team!" The other boys also give me hugs and Niall punches me on the arm with a grin.

"You really don't know how much this means to me!" At this point I am in full-out tears, and they all just smile softly, like they know how I must be feeling. I don't think they can even understand the joy and shock I have in this moment. So many things I've only wished for at 11:11 coming true in one instant.

Niall looks around. "Hey guys, where's Richard? We should probably tell him we just hired someone."

"Who's Richard?" I ask.

"He's our manager." Louis replies. Just then a man walks in. He's burly with black hair and bags under his eyes. It looks like he hasn't slept in weeks. "Speak of the devil! There you are Richard."

"Yep, here I am. And who is she?" He says, pointing an accusing finger at me. "Don't tell me you let another fan in without paying for VIP."

"Actually she's not a fan anymore, she's a new member of our songwriting team. I hired her." Liam retorts.

"You did what? Who gave you the authority?"

"I did. Have you got a problem with that?"

Richard frowns. "Watch what you say to me, boy." He leaves, giving me a look that could kill.

Harry gives me a sympathetic look. "Sorry about that. He's new, sent down from management."

"No problem, I understand." I guess not everybody is nice, but that guy is especially mean.

"When will you be able to start?" Harry asks. Niall leaves the room.

"Ummm... I can start tomorrow, it's not like I'm doing anything else."

"Ok great." Harry turns to Louis. "How many shows do we have left?"

"2 including this one."

"Good that's what I thought. We can start hardcore planning and recording for the next album after these shows are done."

"Awww man I forgot about one thing." My heart drops as Liam says those words. I knew it was too good to be true. "We record in London, could you move there?"

"Well you see... I'm kind of... broke. I don't have anyway to get there. Not to mention buy food or rent a place." I sadly explain.

"No problem, you could stay with me until you can get on your feet and buy your own place. I'll have someone pick you up Friday and you'll ride on one of our jets to my house. I have plenty of room. Well, if that's okay with you." Liam asks as if it's nothing, little does he know it means everything.

My face lights up. "Yeah that sounds great!" Liam grabs my phone and enters something in it.

"Call if you need anything. Really, all you need to do is ask." By the way he's looking at me I feel like there's more to that statement than just pure business.

Lou steps in. "Guys there's just an hour till show."

"Oh my gosh we better get ready." Liam hands me back my phone. "See ya around." He smiles and goes in the dressing room and Louis follows. But Harry seems to linger.

"Hey where are your seats?" He says. I pull the crumpled tickets out of my pocket and hand them to him. "Lou do we still have those extra seats?" She pulls two tickets out of a bag on the ground and hands them to Harry who hands them to me. "I don't want to sing if I can't see your smile." He glances at me sending a jolt through my body.

He walks away leaving me on a cloud.