Voir Dire (N.H.)

fourteen

"There you are!" Mike, Niall's agent huffed as Niall stepped out of his black Range Rover and onto the set. Mike's face showed a hint of irritation, his dark brows furrowed making wrinkles across his middle-aged forehead. 

"Sorry, totally slipped my mind," Niall apologized heavily, following Mike towards the large warehouse that would be the set for his latest music video. It wasn't like Niall to forget things like this, especially things that dealt with his music. Part of that, however, was likely because this wasn't HIS music. He'd penned the lyrics, he'd lived the story, but the creative process behind the music video, the story this shoot would tell- well that was all up to his label. He supposed his lack of remorse for arriving late also had something to do with the fact that he had to leave a beautiful girl in his bed this morning, right when he was on the cusp of coming clean on this whole situation. 

Niall tried to tell himself that Kelsey would likely take the whole situation well, because there was plenty of evidence that proved that his relationship with Krystal was nothing more than one in front of the cameras. But if Niall wasn't concerned about how Kelsey would react, why had he been holding onto the secret for so long?

"Good morning," Krystal said cheerfully as Niall rounded the corner, interrupting his internal monologue. She was seated in a black fabric director chair with her hair freshly curled and a makeup artist quickly dabbling to apply a thin coat of lipstick.

"Mornin'" Niall responded politely, before sliding into his seat next to her for his hair dresser to begin doing her magic.

"Rough start to the morning?" Krystal smiled. Niall wonders just how late he was to this shoot.

"Just slipped my mind if I'm being honest, sorry to keep ya waiting."

"The star can never be late to their own shoot can they?" Krystal laughed.

"Right," Niall nodded, before grabbing his cellphone and snapping a quick snapchat to send to Kelsey. He hoped she wouldn't be too upset with him for rushing out this morning.

When Niall's hair is properly styled and his first outfit for the music video is put together, Krystal and him begin shooting. The day was long and tedious, and Niall couldn't help but feel a little disconnected from the creative process as a whole. He had never been one to showcase a leading lady in his videos, and here he was, shooting one with Krystal. He found the whole thing to be slightly uncomfortable, especially considering he was starting to develop feelings for another woman. 

Krystal, however, seemed totally in her element. Any signs of insecurity that may have been present during their first dinner date seemed to have vanished into thin air. Krystal wasn't afraid to stare Niall down like he was the only one in the room, and with every touch the two shared Krystal seemed to be exude affection. Niall began to grow tired of the number of times the director would shout "Excellent job Krystal, Niall show me how much you are attracted to this girl, I know you are." On the breaks in between shots, Niall snapped a few pictures of the set to Kelsey, making sure, however, to exclude any photos of Krystal in the background. 

"I love the song, by the way," Krystal said on one of the breaks, taking a seat beside Niall and taking a long exaggerated sip out of a can of La Croix water. 

"Thank you," Niall responded.

"What inspired it?" She continued, looking Niall straight in the eyes. 

"It's kind of just about that moment that you first meet someone," Niall began, his mind traveling back to the place where he first penned down the beginnings of the lyrics. "You know when you just meet someone and you know. You know that this is someone that you want to know better. You know that this person has the potential to be someone in your life."