Hired for Harry Styles (EDITING)

Chapter 1

Grace's POV

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I lay awake in my bed with my arms stretched out, phone in one hand with the alarm still sounding. Staring at my ceiling, I let out a big sigh and closed my eyes again, I was not in the mood for today. After about 20 more seconds, I couldn't take the sound of my alarm and hit the stop button, making sure I sat up because otherwise I knew I would fall straight back to sleep - and today of all days, I really couldn't.

Unlocking my phone, I scrolled through the list of new notifications I had, not bothering to answer any. I had the usual distracted, uneasy feeling I get the morning of an audition. The calendar notification with the time and location of my audition was the only one I could see, and I couldn't help but let out another nervous sigh. "Come on Grace," I murmured words of encouragement to myself, and climbed out of bed.

My manager, Claire, had found me this audition and she was being weirdly secretive about it, which did lead me to assume that it was a possible modelling job with a brand who hadn't announced a new line. Sounds all fun and games, but I was really not in the mood to be judged and selected based off my looks, and the secretive nature of it was making me feel even worse about the whole thing.

Staring at myself angrily in the mirror I told myself to smile. Today I needed to shine and the foul mood that I was in right now would not allow that. My skin, thank god, was looking clear and the eye mask that I had used last night had actually seemed to brighten my eyes a little and for once my natural state was not all too unpleasant. While sitting in front of my mirror I decided to quickly Dutch braided my hair into two plaits before jumping into the shower and getting on with my morning routine.

"Porridge or waffles," I quietly spoke to myself after I'd made it downstairs, dressed only in my dressing gown. "Fuck it," I said as I grabbed the waffles from the shelf and popped them in the toaster.

The usual sound of busy London could be heard and I couldn't help but smile. I love where I live, right in the city in a little house in Shoreditch. My family and I used to live in a town in Essex however made the big decision to move to London about seven years ago when I got a place at a stage school near here. It all lined up really as my mum worked in central London, Dad did also at the time, and my younger sister had not been having the best time at school. I have always loved the city - I'm definitely much more of a city girl that a country girl. The hustle and bustle excited me and being around such successful people has always motivated me. I was extremely lucky, really, to be living in such a hub of success because I had just started my last year at stage school and was starting to think of what I was going to move onto next. It was such a dreaded thought, especially for someone like me who wanted to go into such a niche career.

I am studying dance, screen acting and musical theatre and am enjoying every minute of it. I had always been a performer which is rather surprising seeing as most people would describe me me quite shy and quiet. My luck over the years, however had been insane as I'd landed a handful of major roles - mainly in theatre. My acting career had been a huge success but my favourite thing to do was dance. I had been in a few music videos and adverts but was still waiting for my big break in the dance industry. Whatever my audition was today, I secretly prayed that it was for dance - maybe that is why Claire hadn't given me masses of detail because she knows how much I stress and over do it when I have a dance audition coming up.

After scramming my breakfast, I jogged back upstairs and got dressed into my usual audition attire - black leggings and my schools branded black vest top and hoodie, chucking my blazer over the top as it was a chilly September morning. I slipped on my black Air Force, chucking my tap and dance shoes into my bag - just incase I needed them - along with a notepad, pen and water bottle. Glancing at my watch as I walked back downstairs I realised I was running ahead of time. It was an 11am start and the location was only a few tube stops for me so shouldn't take too long to get there. Nevertheless, 'it's always better to be early, it shows your eager and reliable' Claire's famous words rang through my head as I grabbed the pasta pot I'd prepared for myself the evening before out of the fridge along with a fork, apple and protein bar - I needed to keep my energy up throughout the day as I had no idea how long this audition was going to be.