Through the Lens

Drink Irish

"Alright, now I need to jump with you to get one like Harry's." I instructed and he hopped out so we could both climb back up to the top.

"Be careful, please." Harry called after us and I just rolled my eyes at him.

We reached the top a few minutes later, and I told Niall what we had to do to get the shot. He nodded in understanding as we both looked at Harry, waving down to him before we jumped together and I did my best to get a good shot for him. We spent the next 30 minutes climbing back up and jumping down, the three of us all wanting various photos. Niall wanted one of him and Harry jumping, and then one of all three of us, and I'd become accustomed to such requests over the past couple days he'd been visiting.

I'd done some work early each day while the two of them went off to do their own thing, but in the afternoon when I got home Harry and I would take Niall around to one of our spots to show him some of the places we'd been hanging out. We'd been on a new adventure every day, and Niall seemed fascinated with the way I could capture them with the camera. Every day when we got back he was so excited to see what we'd captured that I'd have to download them immediately to show him. It was nice to see that he appreciated my photos so much, and seeing him so excited made me excited.

"There's literally probably thousands of pictures out there of me and Haz together, but none like the ones you take." He smiled as the three of us leaned over my laptop seeing what we'd got from the day.

"Do you mind if I put one on Instagram? I can tag you for photo credit if you want, I won't post it til I get home so nobody will know the location."

"I don't mind." I shrugged.

"Don't tag her in it though, bro. And don't follow her." Harry chimed in, a serious tone in his voice.

"Yeah...good point." He sighed.

I looked over at the two of them, both with a sort of frustrated look on their face. There was a sudden heaviness in the air, and I felt like I'd missed something.

"Am I missing something? What just happened?" I laughed.

"Harry's right. It's a bad idea." Niall sighed.

"What was? I don't mind if you use the photo..."

"It's not the photo, Bear. It's just....trust me, it's not a good idea for him to tag you or connect with you on social media." Harry sighed as he stood up and went into the kitchen, obviously frustrated.

I turned to look at Niall, still confused, as he looked back at me sympathetically.

"He's just looking out for you." He said softly. "If I add you or tag you in the photo, people will know that you were with me and start trying to figure out who you are."

"Just because you follow me?" I asked, surprised.

"Pretty much. They'll invade your privacy and try to figure out how you know us, and god knows what could come of that. It's just better to avoid the situation. That's why Harry doesn't really use social media, it frustrates him too much."

"I'm sorry, Niall." I said, feeling horrible that they had to be so careful what they do.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. You take amazing photos and I just wanted to share them, but Harry's right, I definitely can't tag you."

"Still, it sucks that you even have to worry about who you talk to or hang out with." I said sympathetically as I reached over and put my hand on his.

"You don't know the half of it." He sighed. "But, it comes with the job. We know how blessed we are, we're not gonna complain about it. It's just not always easy."