"Your table Mr. Horan," the waiter said with a gesture as he showed Niall and his date their seats. The table was secluded, but with just enough of a view that a few pap shots could be taken. The kind of shots that would keep the buzz of Niall's budding new romance with his music video star going after their first public appearance.
Niall pulled out the chair for Krystal as she took a seat, taking a moment to flatten out the tight red dress she was wearing before sitting down.
"Fancy place," she noted, gazing around the room uncomfortably as if she wasn't quite sure what to say.
"It is," Niall agreed, joining her in surveying their surroundings. It was a fancy place: white table cloths, tux-claden waiters, bottles of wine that cost more than some people's paychecks. The place exuded celebrity status-but this place wasn't him.
No, if it was up to Niall, his first date would be a chill day watching the Derby game, a beer in hand and his ass firmly planted on his enormous couch. He was a simple man, and simple men didn't enjoy 3 Michelin Star restaurants where your $100 appetizer was barely more than a bite.
But this wasn't a first date Niall planned, nor was it a first date he wanted to be on. But he knew that there would be a lot more where these came from, that was for certain.
"Do you come here often?" Krystal asked, clearly trying to counter the awkward silence that had befallen them.
"It's only the place where I take all my fake girlfriends," Niall joked, and he watched as Krystal's previously nervous face broke into a small smile.
"You're funny," she laughed.
"That's what they always said," Niall replied with a chuckle.
"Oh, like your boyband role?" Krystal asked, taking a sip of the red wine the waiter had now placed in front of each of them.
"Something like that," Niall shrugged, taking a sip himself and hoping that a little bit of expensive alcohol would ease the gross feeling of going out on a fake date.
"Do you miss it? Being in a band?"
"That's a question I get asked a lot," Niall paused trying to think of the right answer.
"I miss parts of it. I miss always having someone else to tour with, someone who understands exactly what you are going through. But there's things I don't miss: like not being able to step foot outside the hotel without being ambushed by a group of screaming fans."
Krystal nodded in understanding. Niall knows that wasn't all of it. His feelings towards the band, and towards that question were much more complicated than that. But those feelings weren't something he shared willingly. Those were things he would only tell to someone he really trusted, someone who really understood him.
"But the fans," she continued, "You still get a lot of them chasing after you right? I mean people were going crazy for you on the red carpet."
"True, there's no real anonymity after your face has been plastered to a few hundred billboard and magazines."
"And here I was excited that my face made a Perez Hilton article," Krystal laughed.
Niall could tell she was still in the honeymoon phase of it all. The part where the celebrity world and all that came with it still felt like a fairytale, a new and exciting adventure. That first taste of fame that makes you feel so utterly important.
That was the part before you had days where you wished you could go to the grocery store unaccompanied, where you wished you could rant about what you wanted on Twitter without having to worry about how your words would be perceived. The part before you were told who you had to date in order to keep up appearances.
Niall realized that Krystal has been rambling on about when she first saw the news hit from their red carpet appearance, but none of her words had even been comprehended by Niall's brain. Instead, he found his mind drifting to an image of a brunette girl in a bar. The girl he wished was sitting across from him at this table right now.
He's snapped back to reality when he hears his name.
"Hmm?" he questioned, turning his gaze back to Krystal. He took a sip of his wine and silently prayed that whatever she had just asked was something that could be responded to without following the conversation.
"I said does Niall Horan's mother still save everything with her son's name on it," Kelsey laughed, it's a delicate yet boastful laugh. The kind of laugh that comes with a large amount of confidence and charisma.
"Ehhh, a lot of it ya." The mention of his mother makes Niall wonder what she would think of all of this, this great big act for publicity. She'd probably say things had gone too far, and Niall agreed- they had.
Their food arrived and Niall was grateful for at least a temporary lull in conversation. He turned his attention towards his filet mignon, sawing at the red meat before taking a small bite and letting the flavor wash over his palate.
"This is delicious," Krystal gestured at her plate of glazed chicken breast with her fork.
Niall nodded in agreement. "I suppose it's got its Michelin stars for a reason."
"Can I ask you something?" Krystal said suddenly, her voice turning serious.
"Ask away."
"The social media. Does it ever get to you?" Krystal's voice wavered a little with her question, a brief lapse in her otherwise confident persona.
"You looked through the comments didn't you?" Niall asked, knowing exactly how that felt. Krystal nods slowly.
He remembered the first time he'd read a negative comment. Niall always thought he had tough skin, and he did, but there was something about someone who knew nothing about you feeling the need to say something utterly rude that really got to him. It showed him the sad truth about the world- that not everyone knows to treat others with kindness.
"I was looking at posts about the AMAs and our appearance, and one thing led to another and I was reading through the comments on a photo of us. It was all good until it wasn't. I know, I shouldn't let it get to me but.."
"No, no..there's nothing wrong with your reaction," Niall assured, watching as Krystal's face filled with surprise.
"It's what reminds me that we are human. I think people forget that on social media, but we are just people too."
"So what do you just swear off social media forever then?" Krystal laughed, pushing a piece of her golden hair behind her ear. It was the first time since they'd met that Niall had begun to realize that maybe she wasn't entirely some robot seasoned to become a superstar. Maybe underneath she was just someone chasing after a dream like he had been.
Maybe Niall had been too hard on Krystal. If they were going to be playing this role, they might as well get along doing it.
"I definitely try to limit it. But no, I could never swear it off- it's not all bad," Niall pulls out his phone and pulls up his twitter page, his notifications piled with mentions and tags.
"Whenever I go on, and I see something negative, I try to find something positive to follow. It's never hard, because for every negative thing that's said there's bound to be hundreds of other positive thoughts and comments. And then I stare at that good thing for awhile, and go about my day. It's all about reminding yourself of the positives, glass half-full if you would."
"You sound like an expert," Krystal noted.
"Considering I spent the better part of my teenage years trying to adapt to my new found fame, I learned a trick or two. You're never immune to it, but you can try to lessen the blow."
"Thank you," Krystal said with a smile. "They didn't exactly include dealing with your angry fans in part of the fake dating Niall Horan training manual."
Niall chuckled. "Can't believe they left that out."
A flash of a camera grabbed Niall's attention, and he spots a few photographers from outside the window. "And there's what we came for," he remarked apathetically.
"Might as well give them what they came for then," Krystal mused, seemingly locking her vulnerability away and switching back into her actress mode. She grabbed Niall's hand on top of the table and gave it a squeeze, leaning in slightly so their faces were inches away.
Krystal took initiative, delving into a deep kiss which felt much like a calculated move than a romantic moment. And as Niall's lips moved hesitantly against Krystal's, he couldn't help compare it to the last kiss he'd shared with someone. A kiss that had felt far from forced.