Smile For Me || Niall Horan

19: Let The Games Begin

Love is a game that two can play and both win.

The crowd cheers and the boys all peek backstage. I shake my head just like I had the other night. Niall gets up and walks off over to us. He uses one hand to hold Claire's hand and the other hand to hold mine. He walks back on stage. Claire was grinning so wide it made me smile. I tried to hide my face a bit. 

"Don't be shy," he whispered to me as we sat down. He didn't let go of my hand. Since there wasn't that much room on the couch Claire sat on Niall's lap. 

"So Alexis, when did you realize you were in love with Niall?" the interviewer asks. I shrug. 

"It's hard to say I guess. There wasn't really just a moment when I realized I was in love with him. It was over time that I slowly discovered it," I admit. I was talking to the interviewer but my eyes were on Niall. He was looking back at me, smiling. 

"How cute are these two?" The crowd all cheers and claps for us while I blush like a tomato. 

After the interview finishes we pack up our things from the hotel and drive to Seattle. It was sort of a long drive from Los Angeles. I slept for a bit.

I thought about doing some photo editing, but decided against it. I'll never get it all done. It was pointless to even try when I knew I would be getting yelled at for it anyways. I decide to call Uncle Dave instead. All the boys along with Claire were fast asleep so I walked to the other room on the bus hoping not to wake them up. 

After a few rings he picks up. 

"David Hunt, Shuttersnap Photography. How may I help you?"

"Hi Uncle Dave, its Alexis." 

"Can we make this quick? I'm very busy."

 I roll my eyes at his impatience. 

"The work load you've sent to me is extremely large. There's no way I could ever get it all done even if I was working back at the studio. I'm sorry but there is no right to cut my pay if this is the amount of work given to me."

"This is the only job that you have. I have every right to cut your pay. You can either do the work I've given you for the amount you're earning now while you’re not here or you can cut your little vacation short and come back to work in the studio like you were before. If you don't like either of those options I'll be happy to find another employee to do the jobs for me."

I clench my fists. He made me so angry. I look at Claire, sleeping on the couch of the tour bus. 

"I'll do the work," I grumble. 

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me I have better things to be dealing with right now." He hangs up before I get the chance to say another word. I felt like chucking my phone at the window. Instead I grabbed a pillow from the couch and squeeze it tightly. 

I wish I could quit. I so badly want to quit. This job is terrible. It's not like I'm earning a fortune from it and it's not even what I want to do. It's horrible. The only reason I'm keeping it is because what I'm making from opening up at the boys concerts isn't enough. It's more than what I'm getting at the photography studio but I'm still paying off loans from that first year my parents died.

Plus my brother could always use more money since his job obviously isn't compensating for much. I need a good job to support my family. I may have an amazing life now living with five incredibly nice, caring, and hilarious celebrities, but Austin still needs me to keep income. So I keep both jobs. 

I'm sure if I ever come out with an album one day I'll be able to finally get out of the photography business, but for now I'm stuck there whether I like it or not.