Lights, Camera, Action [N.H]

05

chapters will (hopefully) start to be a bit longer from now on! hope you're enjoying it so far :) x

Basically all I had done for the following week after Claire and I had our heart-to-heart was wait. Work, and wait. I kept telling myself to forget that Claire told me, just like she said to, but it was impossible. It was like knowing your birthday was in a week and having to wait to open all your presents. Every time Niall came near me or spoke to me, I wondered how he'd ask. Would it be a formal meeting? Would it be casual? Would it be magical? I had no idea. I tried to distract myself as best I could, by, doing the job I was being employed to do.

I was following Claire around half of the time, and doing my own thing the other half. It was getting hard to keep up, always getting ready for things, looking my best, draining my social battery. But the more I did it, the more I appreciated it too. I kept coming back to an apartment, one of the nicest ones in the city, to the most beautiful view, and was able to continuously reminisce over the phone to both my bestest friends and family too. It was such an incredible opportunity, that at first, I was taking it for granted. But the more I spoke to people (Ashlee, in particular) the more I realised I was being ridiculous, and that being taken to an entirely different state on a basically all-expenses-paid trip as a trial for a job that I didn't even technically have yet, being paid a decent wage, was plenty to be grateful for.

Whilst reflecting upon each day, I deepened my friendship with Claire. Each time I spoke to her was like a breath of fresh air. I did, however, have to keep reassuring Ashlee each time we spoke that she was, in fact not being replaced. With each day passing by, everything started to become blurry. Each day more exciting than the previous. We went out for extravagant dinners and fun brunches, drank so much, and even traveled on a private jet. I was so ecstatic that I started to even forget I was waiting for Niall to ask me anything in the first place. But, eventually, that river ran dry. I was chatting to Claire, as per usual, eating sushi at her coffee table in her room, and talking about our last 'leg' of the press tour. We had been in a couple of places so far, but this was our final stop before heading home. I had a couple of days until my month of dreaming and being in fantasyland was over. Yet, Niall had not posed the all-important question. I wasn't even beginning to lose hope anymore, I had disbanded the idea altogether. It was a passing thought to him, I suppose. It's not like I wasn't confident anymore, I had just lost hope that it was any more than a dream. It was a big fantasy that I had played into. It was fun for a while, but it was time to return to reality for me. Reality, my real life, my real job, just with an exceptional amount of memories and experiences, just like I wanted in the first place. It put me at ease, even a little, to think like that. Glass half full, and all that crap.

I was getting ready for our final dinner, I left on a plane the next day to go back home, and the rest of the crew straggled behind me, each popping off to their origins not long after for a couple weeks before returning for opening night. We had a beautiful dinner planned Claire said, one of the nicest restaurants money could offer. Photos of the place made me sweat that nothing I had brought with me to wear was good enough. Which was why, on my last day, after finishing up another long day of editing and last-minute shoots from an interview Niall did, I brought myself into the city and purchased a new outfit. It was an ankle-length navy dress, straps paper thin but my god did it hug curves. I was not un-gifted, per se, but it really, really, helped. I did my makeup by myself for the last night, my nerves were killing me and I was afraid to rub off bad energy onto Claire. I had one glass of champagne to calm my nerves before leaving, and adorned all my gold jewellery, one by one. Staring at myself in the mirror, I poked each earring into my skin, taking a deep breath. I put my heels on, and with one last look, grabbed my handbag, and walked to Claire's room. They decided to put us directly next to each other this time, mainly because she asked them to.