Voir Dire (N.H.)

thirty-eight

Krystal arrived four minutes later, her cheeks red as she burst into the room. "So sorry I'm late," she announced, tossing her large black tote on the red sofa in the corner in the room. Niall noted that her baby bump was much larger than what he remembered, clearly visible through the crimson dress formed to her body. Niall tried to read her face, but there's a smile plastered to it, masking any emotion other than happiness.

Becca jumped to her feet like she'd just been caught slacking. "Ah Krystal, perfect. If you just want to have a seat next to Kelsey over there, I'm going to start with Niall and then bring you over in a minute."

Krystal offered Kelsey a polite smile as she took a seat next to her, Krystal's hand cradling her baby bump. "I'm glad he's doing this," Krystal said softly, as Becca began giving her final instructions to Niall. 

Kelsey turned her head, looking at the blonde girl that for so many months she had hated. Krystal's eyes seemed sincere. "Me too," Kelsey murmured, not quite ready to have a full-on conversation with her former rival. She looked back over at Niall and his eyes met hers for a moment, they're bright and reassuring, reminding her that everything will be okay. 

"Ready everyone?" Becca said loudly, bringing everyone's attention back to the task at hand. She looked like a little kid at Christmas, her hands clasped in front of her as if she was moments away from beginning a round of applause.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Niall laughed, and Kelsey heard the nervousness in his voice. She wished she could sit next to him, squeezing his hand through it all. 

It all came down to this. Would the fans side with Niall? Would they realize he'd been a pawn in the scheme of a big company and take pity on him for all he'd been through in the past year? Or would they be angry at being lied to and hold it against him?

Becca held three fingers up, signaling to Bradley, the co-worker she'd convinced to help control the camera for the day to start recording after she counts down. When she got to one, she took a deep breath before smiling and stating loudly, "I'm Becca Cam and I'm here with Niall Horan. Now Niall it's my understanding that you have some big news to share with your fans today is that true?"

Kelsey smiled at her friend's bold reporter voice. There was no hesitation in it, like she had been doing this for years. This instantly puts Kelsey at ease. With Becca running the show there was no reason this should go badly.

"That's correct Becca," Niall replied. He internally cringed at the sound of his voice out loud, realizing he resembled more of a newscaster than himself. "I wanted to let my fans know that I have parted ways with Capitol Records and announce the opening of my new record label: NH Records."

"Wow, Niall that is big news," Becca exclaimed, and Niall couldn't help but chuckle at her extreme enthusiasm. "If I can ask, what prompted this switch? I mean Capitol Records is a very prestigious company."

"That's actually why I wanted to sit down with you today Becca, because I want my fans to know what's really been going on over the past few months," Niall inhaled. "A little over a year ago, I met with Capitol in preparation for the release of my new album. We talked about their idea for promotion of the album and I was told that I was to be portrayed as a man in love, and that Capitol had hired someone to act as my girlfriend for PR purposes. If I did not agree to their terms, they would terminate my contract, and there would be no second album."

"So this girlfriend? Is this Krystal Hoffman?" Becca asked inquisitively. 

"Right. Krystal was hired by Capitol to portray my girlfriend. They scheduled appearances for us, expected us to go out on dates and so on."

"So you left Capitol because you didn't agree with having a fake girlfriend?" 

"That's part of it, but there's more to the story. One night shortly after Krystal and I's first public appearance, I met someone," Niall smiled, his eyes flashing back to when he first laid eyes on Kelsey, her shirt splattered with his beer. "We connected instantly, and although we tried to stay just friends, we couldn't stay away from each other. It kind of felt like we were meant for each other you know? When we started dating, I approached Capitol about allowing me to break up with Krystal and use my real relationship for their PR purposes, but they adamantly refused. They wanted me to continue living a lie."