Vigilant | N.H.

Thirty Three.

April 24th, 2016.

BLAIR'S POV
Deep breaths, B. You've got to nail this. I walk out of wardrobe and make my way towards the set for the shoot. Today's the day I'm shooting the Guess campaign in New York City. Lena handpicked me for this so I have to go beyond impressing her—I need to make sure I absolutely blow her away. I mentally haven't been doing well recently, but I know that if I nail this the huge cloud of stress hanging over my head will slowly fade away.

"Hello," Lena shakes my hand as I shoot her a genuine smile. "Ready?" she says as I enthusiastically nod. This particular collection is all about denim. The vibe I get from it is actually very sophisticated although denim is typically a casual thing. That's what I love about fashion; there are so many ways you can interpret things and everyone can have a different preference. I start off by lunging to my right and draping my arm over my head, allowing me to create shape to the wide, straight-leg jeans. I keep my face relaxed, creating a mix between happy and cool. Lena snaps her camera as a sea of flashes illuminates me.

I switch up my poses and begin to dance around to create more candid shots. "Keep moving!" Lena directs me as she continues to snap away. I jump, sway, and then pose—and thankfully, I think she loves it. My face changes from a smile back to a serious, intense look as I conform my body into abstract lines. I crouch over and suck my stomach to my back which makes my body look like the letter c. "Tilt your head more," she says as I listen and quickly adjust. "Hold!" she yells as she takes more shots. "Next outfit," she says as I head back to wardrobe. We repeat the process about 10 times, each time stressing me out to try new poses and faces that are creative and fit the vibe of the outfit.

"That's a wrap!" she shouts as the crew applauds. She approaches me on the white backdrop and automatically hugs me. I stand there for a moment in complete shock before I instinctively hug back. She pulls away and stares at me. "I had a good feeling about you, you know. I'm glad I was right," she says before laughing. "I hate being wrong." I smile at the compliment and thank her for everything. Even though those were undoubtedly the most intense, stressful 6 hours of my life, I'm so proud of myself. I feel myself getting more confident with every shoot which is all that I could ask for. I can't even fathom the opportunities I've already had, nor can I imagine the ones I know will come my way in the near future.

I make my way out of the building to my Uber where I see a familiar blacked-out vehicle. A flash of platinum meets my eyes before they shoot down to a bouquet of pink daffodils—my favorite flowers. "Surprise," he greets me with a thoughtful smile before placing a kiss on my lips. I squeal with excitement and throw my arms around him, being careful to not crush the flowers. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you had a trip out of town?" I giggle. "I did," he says as he extends his arms out to the concrete city around us. I shake my head and smile. "You're too good."

He wraps his arm around me as we make our way into the vehicle and drive off. "The hotel is on-" I say before the driver aggressively nods his head, preventing me from telling him the address. "Sorry, he's had a long drive. He's just cranky," Niall chuckles loudly. I brush it off and examine the buildings around me. My gaze flicks to Niall every few seconds before I fixate my eyes upon him.

"What?" he dumbly says as he blushes. "You know what," I jokingly roll my eyes as I fight the urge to smile. I turn my head to the side as we pass the Empire State building as I watch it tower over us. "Hey," he gently taps my thigh, causing me to turn my head to face him. Before I can respond, his lips clash with mine as his eager hand pulls me in for a deeper connection. My stomach immediately tingles with the butterfly sensation as a smile comes across my lips just as we pull away. "Hi," I whisper as I quietly giggle.