Lights, Camera, Action [N.H]

17

double update! i accidentally left two chapters in my draft so enjoy two at once :) song of this chapter is 'because i liked a boy' by sabrina carpenter! also, surprise!!! Niall's perspective again ;)

𖦹 ☼ ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ ♡

Niall Horan

There wasn't a single emotion I could use to describe the horror I felt hearing Daphne's voice over the phone. It was, to date, the first and only time she had ever called me instead of texted.

I'd left her bracelet charm back in my dressing room by accident, but instead I remembered to leave the flowers in her room. She looked so wonderful when I took the photo of her, despite how awkward I knew she felt. I wondered if she'd ever had her photo taken at all, but from her reaction I think I could easily deduce she hadn't. I'd probably get slack from Claire, but it took two seconds to do, and I hope it brightened her day just a little. Sometimes, I felt like we needed a bit more reciprocation.

Always the poet, never the subject.

Always the artist, never the muse.

I just wanted her to feel a fraction of how appreciated I feel when she takes hundred of photos of me every evening. Yes, even though it was her job. I'd picked up the flowers earlier before the show, something about the nature of them made me want to keep it from Claire. She was already so on edge, I think if I told her I was buying flowers it would just make things worse. Since I'd dropped the idea of a new song on her, she was so uptight. I tried my best to stay away from her, considering she was now on the war path with me and my apparently horrible decision-making skills. I didn't even tell her if the song was done yet, I'd barely written a singular verse. I was just always using my free time to write, I proposed the idea of releasing a single on tour to see if she would be on board.

She immediately told me no.

Whenever she shut my ideas down, I usually assumed it was for the best. That she knew what she was talking about, and I should just listen to her. Although my teenage years were long gone, and I couldn't get away with the young, cheeky, stereotype anymore, I almost felt like ignoring her this time. She couldn't be right all the time, I wondered if this was one of those times. Maybe I should just release it, I technically could get in touch with the label without her being involved. It would feel wrong, but if I was desperate enough it was an option.

Regardless, I'd picked up a couple of flowers for Daphne, just the ones I knew she liked. My almost photographic memory didn't need her to remind me. On the morning of the show, I wandered around to a print shop to get one of the photos she'd sent me into a Polaroid. I'd not seen her with Polaroids before, but I hoped that it was an artistic choice she'd appreciate. I was hoping it would be as if somebody bought me something musical, like an instrument or related to that realm. Polaroids would be the same thing to a photographer, right? I wanted gifts to mean something, surprisingly. It almost felt like the flowers weren't enough.

I put them in her room right after I'd finished getting ready, she didn't use her dressing room often so I hoped that she wouldn't entirely miss them. It would be a tad embarrassing if she didn't even see it, I'd have to give it to her another time. It just felt right, though, to give it to her right before a show. The same time I took the photo, right before the show.

I left it on her desk, trying to set it up nicely. My hands were practically shaking, it was such a big leap from the last gesture I made. Or, maybe it wasn't.

Was showing up with food to de-stress someone such an incredible leap from this?

When I left her room, I tried to make sure nobody spotted me. I waltzed straight into the greenroom, with my performing outfit on and ready to play it cool. I wanted to get the chance to speak to Daphne, maybe to drop a small hint to go check out her room, but only if it was natural.