Flushed (Troyler AU)

Chapter 16

I apologize for the odd spacing throughout this chapter, Wattpad enjoys glitching at every chance and I definitely enjoy pressing enter (60x) on a Monday night (: (Shoutout to Wattpad for being the greatest!)

Troye's POV

Mincing through the throng of people, dressed in black from head to toe, crowded near a bright computer screen, I advanced to the makeup aisle. I took my seat behind the fold-up desk and hummed lowly as I waited for the makeup artist to come by and retouch my appearance.

I reminisced to the times when I was skeptical of the whole thing, surprised that pounds of foundation and powder would need to be caked onto my face before I even stepped in front of the photographer. Back then, I had just passed my nineteenth birthday and my career only began to take off. I recorded the whole process of filming the Happy Little Pill music video and separated it into several clips, which were then uploaded to my YouTube channel. The clips were short and honestly, could have been strung together into one, but I felt myself lacking creativity and used the moment to my advantage. The fans commented snarky and sarcastic remarks afterwards due to my belief on the fact that makeup dried. I learned shortly after that it didn't, embarrassed by my lack of knowledge. That area was not my specialty!

"Hello Mr. Sivan, how are you today?"

I shook my head in response "Please, call me Troye, Mr. Sivan makes me feel too old." Warmness seeped into my smile as I studied the nervous crew member, he must have been new. There was no need to feel any type of pressure or jitters around me; I tried to come off as friendly to everyone I worked with. I hoped that it showed.

"And I'm fine, thanks."

A light conversation sparked up until my makeup was finished and I was ready to go. I could tell, though, the nervousness didn't die down over time, in fact, the man's voice wavered more often and he mumbled a silent 'sorry' too many times in ten minutes. From his constant rambling, I learned that my usual makeup artist had fallen sick. This news surprised me as the temperature reached the mid-thirties each day and at this rate catching a cold was not very common. Despite my suspicions, I went with it, hoping to make a good impression on the new crew member. I wouldn't want him to tell anyone I was some sort of impolite grump.

"Troye we're ready for you when you're finished." My assistant, Lucy, came rushing to my side, swatting people's hands away from my hair and face. Instantly, she smashed my coffee order into my right hand, something I never asked for, but was handed daily anyways. I rolled my eyes at her hypocrisy as she dragged me away from the chair.

"Thanks for making me look a ten!" I turned my head back and cackled in the direction where the makeup artist stood with multiple powder brushes in both his hands. A small scowl was evident on his features since I was pulled away before he had the chance to complete my look, or say what he had planned on.

For the first time in months, I found myself genuinely smiling when asked to step in front of the camera because I knew that in a few hours I was able to go home and Skype my adorable, short idiot. The typically, loud and irritating clicks of the camera and bright flashes in my eyes weren't so bothersome. I found myself enjoying posing as the photographer shouted orders from a foot away.

I stood on a white platform, the background just as bland and turned my body to side, my head still facing the front as I held my pose. The process itself was entertaining, but staying motionless in a similar position for minutes at a time, sometimes caused a slight ache in my muscles. Despite this, I was not allowed to move a single limb as the focus was sharpened and picture taken.

After approximately twenty minutes, the photo shoot came to wrap. The magazine this was for didn't cross my mind and I had no intentions of finding out. As long as I looked decent, the rest was up to my publicist and manager. Truthfully, I couldn't care less, in my mind counting down the minutes until I had a legitimate reason to smile.