Must Be Love - Niall H.

Chapter 4

31 August 2017
London, UK

"TEN MINUTES TO START OF SET!" Someone from the crew called, while Niall fumbled nervously with his mic pack.

I double-checked I had everything I needed for my camera, making sure there was an extra lens cap in the little bag I had strung across my body.

"Ni, don't worry, you're going to do great," I told him, giving him a reassuring smile. "You already did the first show and it went excellent. Now you get to do it again, yeah?"

Niall blew the air out of his cheeks in one long exhale. "I know. I've never been this nervous. Usually, if something went wrong, four people could cover me- or well, three people."

I let my camera hang from my neck, placing an arm around Niall's shoulder and giving him a hug from the side. "You're okay. You'll be fine."

"Thank you," Niall murmured, his eyes shutting for a few moments as I kept holding him to my side. He always did this thing where he'd lean further into someone's touch, like a yearning for warmth.

I had spent years wondering if he still had that little habit of searching for touch as if he'd been deprived of it his entire life.

Turns out he did.

How curious.

I smiled, trying to give him a bit of comfort before I was ushered away by someone from the crew. I had to be out and prepped for when he made his intro. "Good luck, Ni. And hey, if you feel nervous, just look at me, okay? Ground yourself and breathe."

Niall nodded, wrapping his arms around me one last time. I breathed in the scent of his cologne, mixed with the smell of his shampoo. He didn't wear the same cologne he used to, but his shampoo was still the same. "See you out there. Take good pictures, yeah?"

"I know all your best angles," I joked, taking a few steps backwards as I held up the camera. I gave him one last wink, to which he chuckled, bowing his head as his cheeks flushed a light pink. "See you on stage, Ni!"

I avoided the stairs, taking the long way around to stand in between the stage and the barricade. On my way, Zahra sent me a thumbs-up and a quick grin, although it wasn't very visible with the stage lights off.

I grabbed my camera, taking deep, measured breaths as I got into the angle I knew was the best for the intro.

The first notes blasted through the speakers, and the screams of two thousands fans rang in my ears, magnified by ten when Niall finally stepped out on stage, strumming his guitar with confidence.

Niall had never been particularly confident. He held his chin up, sure, but he never had that aura of self-assurance that others had. Except for when he had a guitar in hand and a microphone in front of him.

That was when he shone.

So I got out my camera, and I took dozens of pictures of Niall shining like the star he is, brightening up every photograph as he sang with his smooth voice, hitting every note with apparent ease and joking around with his band in between verses.

I'd never been one to get distracted by shiny lights and golden things. But Niall was always my exception.