Don't talk, just act. Don't say, just show. Don't promise, just prove.

"I would like to sign you to a record deal."

I feel my heartbeat increase. This is my dream, what I've always wanted, and now here it is being handed to me on a silver platter.

I manage to nod.

"I definitely would love to be a part of your record label," I say, still hardly believing this is happening. He smiles.

"Wonderful." We talk for a bit and sign some papers. "Now if it's okay with you I think it's a great idea to have you perform before the boys show each night. Like the opening act. It will familiarize their fans with you and your voice and make you better known right from the start. Since you don't have any official songs of your own yet you'll have to sing covers. We can go over which songs fit your voice best and things like that." I nod, unable to stop smiling. After working out a few details and such, Uncle Simon dismisses us. I take deep breaths as we exit the building.

"Oh my god," I say this over and over again. "I'm...gonna be....a singer," I breathe out.

"Lexi is gonna be a star!" Claire shouts smiling happily. I pick her up and give her a kiss on the cheek before turning to the boys.

They're all smiling at me. I run up and wrap my arms around each of them. I wait to hug Niall last, running up full speed and burrowing my face in his neck with my arms wrapped around him tight as he spun me around just like you see in those stupid sappy romantic movies.

But there's nothing romantic between us.

"Thank you so much," I whisper to him.

On our way to the hotel the smile didn't leave my face for a minute. Simon said I could perform at tonight’s concert in Philly. The boys still had some interviews and stuff in Jersey before we left for Philadelphia. I didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to go right now.

When we get to the room Niall goes to talk to Zayn about something so he leaves the room. Searching up Austin's contact I press the green call button. After a few rings he answers.

"Lexi!"

"Hey! You are not going to believe what happened to me today."

"What? You and Niall are getting married?" I blush.

"No. Shut up." I hear him chuckle on the other end of the call. "Austin I got a record deal!" I hear silence.

"I was meaning to ask you about that little performance the other night," he says.

"You saw that huh?" I giggle.

"Lex, it's all over the news. In case you didn't know. Which apparently you didn't. Yeah the gossip sites especially are freaking out because One Direction the world famous boy band brought out some random chick to sing at their show." I could imagine him rolling his eyes. I chuckle. "There's also some...other stuff on the news...about you."

"It's all lies. I promise. I can explain it later, next time I see you in person."

"Okay. But I'm really happy for you! This is what you've always wanted!"

"I know! My first show is tonight! I literally can't thank Niall enough. He's done...a lot for me."

"Lexi you should be-"

"Careful. I know. You've only been drilling it into my head for how many years now? I got it," I say chuckling. "Something about him just makes me want to let my guard down though. Like I don't need to be cautious around him."

"That's exactly why I must keep telling you. Be careful. As safe as it may seem from a distance there's always those surprises that can't be detected from the surface."

"What if I've already started to dig deeper than just the surface?"

A moment of silence passes.

"Lexi, I'm just saying. If he hurts you, if any of them do, I'm here. I'll always be here. I'm just telling you how to keep from that having to happen in the first place."

"I know." I look at the ground, examining my shoes.

"Good luck on your show tonight. Call me when you can. I want to know how it goes. Your first gig." I imagine him smirking. I smile.

"Thanks. I'll probably get on the phone tomorrow. Maybe on the bus ride to Virginia or something."

"Okay. Love you sis. Don't give up." I smile.

"Don't give up. Love you. Bye." I press end and sigh. Literally right as I hang up Niall walks into the room smiling.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey. When's the interview?"

"Um...I'm not sure..." I smile and roll my eyes at his answer. "Liam said to be ready to leave by like noon ish?"

"Okay."

After a few hours all the boys are ready. We drive to the TV studio. The same routine happened as last time. Claire and I sat backstage to watch the show on a small television plastered onto the wall. After the host introduces the show and the boys come out they all sit down, ready to begin. She asks a few questions about their tour and album and all that, but then she asks something that catches my attention.

"So Niall, we've all seen this picture that was leaked. It sure looks scandalous but your tweets say differently. Care to explain?" she asks, looking at him questioningly.

"Alexis and I are not together," he clarifies.

"Is there anything else going on....behind the scenes?"

"No. We are just friends at the moment," he says smiling. At the moment? What does that mean?

The interview drones on and on. They talk about my 'attack' on that girl. The boys explain what actually happened. Thank God for that. When it's finally over the boys come out from the studio and we're ready to leave. I anxiously bounce in my seat waiting to get back to the hotel.

All I want to do is pack up my stuff and drive as fast as we could possibly go to Philadelphia so the concert could start and I would get to perform my first real planned performance. Words could not describe how excited I was.

Eventually we're on the bus on our way to the next hotel in the city of brotherly love. I pulled out my laptop and edited a few more files. I was interrupted by Niall peeking his head right in front of my computer screen, blocking my view.

"Whatcha doin?" he asks, his face literally an inch from my computer.

"Work. Move your big head," I say, pushing him aside.

"I do not have a big head. My head is perfectly average."

"Whatever floats your boat." The other boys chuckle as I smile innocently.

"Why do you have to do work?" Liam asks.

"Because I can't lose this job just yet. I haven't even performed my first real show yet. What if things don't work out? I'll stick with it until the tour ends and if things are still as great as they are now I'll drop the photography job. Besides, I could always use a little bit more money. My brother's living in a shack and my car is probably going to break down on the side of the road one of these days. Then you guys will have to pick me up in your fancy sports cars and I'll feel like a loser." They laugh. I pick up a pillow from the couch and throw it in their general direction.

The rest of the bus ride was taking forever. At least in my eyes. When we finally arrived I jumped out and ran to the hotel door, waiting impatiently for the others to catch up.

"Why in such a hurry?" Louis asks.

"I'm already on a high just knowing that in a few hours I'll be performing in front of thousands of people..." I bounce up and down with excitement as I wait for Liam to check in.

Harry smirks at me. "You think you're on a high now wait till after the show. You'll be bouncing off the walls. Like the energizer bunny on red bull." I laugh. When Liam finally gets the keys and hands me mine I sprint, like full on blast off, to the elevator. I press the button a million times until the doors open. The boys watch me and roll their eyes.

"Well I'm sorry I'm excited," I say to them, seeing how they chuckled at my energy.

I don't know why I'm in such a rush. It's not like making it to the hotel room faster will make the concert start sooner. I'm so weird.

"No worries babe. We know how you feel," Niall assures me. Um...he just called me babe?

When the doors open again I run to unlock the door to the room. I run in and bounce up and down on the bed. Niall comes in and laughs at me. "When's the concert?" I ask, still bouncing.

"We leave in two hours," he informs me, still amused by my energy. I stop bouncing and stare up at the white ceiling.

"THAT'S TOO LONG!" I complain. He chuckles and shakes his head.

I got ready an hour earlier than everyone else. Even though the boys all told me there would be a wardrobe stylist there at the venue I still wanted to look somewhat nice when I got there.

I showered and got dressed in a frilly light pink top and a black pencil skirt. It's something I might wear to work or something. Adding on my necklace and leaving my hair in its natural blonde curls I decided I was ready. I still had an hour left.

"Niall I'm bored," I complain as I stare at the ceiling. I was laying on the reclining chair. My legs hung over one arm of the chair and my head rested against the other. I had been in this position doing absolutely nothing for about twenty minutes now.

"The lads are already if you are," he says. I shoot up and look at him.

"What the hell are we waiting for?! LET'S GO!" I practically drag him out of the room. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him to the hallway. "Wait here," I say, holding up my pointer finger and running off to bang on the others doors. "GET YOUR BUTTS OUT HERE! WE HAVE A CONCERT TO GET TO!" I yell as I run down the hall, pounding on the walls. Soon enough they come out of their rooms. I grab Niall's hand again and pull him to the elevator. But when we get there, we don't let go.

~~~~~~~

I was literally shaking in my seat as I prepared to go onstage. The wardrobe, hair, and makeup stylists did an incredible job.

My already curly hair was curled to complete perfection. Not a single stray piece of hair was out of place.

My makeup was done far better than I would have been able to pull off. My eyes looked natural, yet also beautiful and dramatic. They also looked a bit bigger thanks to some miracle done with eye liner. My eye lashes looked long. My lips were pink and plump, covered in lip gloss. My skin looked flawless, not a single imperfection in sight, even though I knew they were definitely there.

My outfit was absolutely adorable. The wardrobe stylist, Kristy, was deciding what type of look I should go for. She said that it would determine my entire image based off of how I dressed. I didn't really exactly understand it, but I liked what she picked out. I was wearing a short light pink dress with a black jacket over top. My black heels made me seem taller than I was and my silver necklaces hung down between my belly button and my chest. They reflected off the lights, making them shine and stand out.

Kristy wanted me to take off my mother's necklace, but I refused. I asked if I could please keep it on and she reluctantly agreed. I needed it for good luck tonight.

I could hardly recognize the girl in the mirror. It was still me, but I was ten times more striking than I was when I got here.

I sat in my dressing room, waiting for the time to come. I was nervous, I have to admit. I know I was waiting for this anxiously all day and don't get me wrong, I'm still extremely excited, but what if I mess up? I mean, we did some quick rehearsals before the show, but we only ran through it a couple of times due to time restraints. I should have practiced more. What if I forget the words? What if I freeze up? What if I trip or drop the microphone?

"Alexis? You're on in five," says a stage hand. I smile weakly and nod. Niall walks in after that and smiles at me brightly.

"You look beautiful!" he exclaims. I give him another weak smile.

"Thanks."

"What's wrong babe? You look pale..."

He called me babe again....

"I'm just...nervous," I admit. He stares at me in disbelief.

"Today you were bouncing off the walls waiting for this time to come."

"I know." I smile at him. He leans down next to my chair and takes my hand. My heart sped up. Damn it Niall! I was already nervous enough!

"Listen to me. There is nothing to worry about," he says looking into my eyes. "You're going to do an amazing job just like you did the other night."

I nod and wrap my arms around him in a hug. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. Seriously, I will never be able to make this up to you." He chuckles and hugs me back.

"You don't have to. You're gonna kill it out there. I have to go. The boys are probably looking for me. I'll see you onstage then?" I nod and smile. "Alright. Good luck." With that, he leaves. Once he's gone I hurry to prepare myself.

They had me on a platform that would rise up to the audience in the middle of the stage. I take my place.

"You got this," Kristy tells me with a smile. I bite my lip as I feel my palms start to sweat. I got this.

"And you're on in 3....2....1...." someone counts off and the platforms starts to move upwards. Before I know it I'm standing onstage in front of all these people. They were all cheering and staring right at me. I take a deep breath and hold the microphone close to my lips as the music starts to play.

"Every day is so wonderful, and suddenly, it's hard to breathe. Now and then I get insecure, from all the pain, feel so ashamed." My nerves disappear just like they had the other night. I felt as if the audience weren't there. "I am beautiful, no matter what they say, words can't bring me down, I am beautiful, in every single way, yes words can't bring me down, ohh noooo, So don't you bring me down today.." I continued to sing. When I finally finished the crowd cheered for me.

Yeah, Simon wanted my first real performance song to be powerful and make an impression. So I ended up with this.

An announcer said my name and I exited the stage as the well-known name of One Direction was heard throughout the arena. I hear the beginning of One Thing play as I walked off, a hug smile plastered on my face. Claire was the first face I saw when I walked off. I picked her up and kissed her on the cheek.

"You did it Lexi!" she cheered. I smile.

"Yes, I did."

The crew members and everyone else backstage came and congratulated me. After all that I went back to my dressing room and watched the boys perform on my small television. I couldn't wait for them to finish. I had to thank them. I needed to tell them how grateful I was that they gave me the chance to experience that again. It was...amazing. Too good for words.

I couldn't sit down. I was too excited...energized....I was on a natural high. So instead I paced back and forth.

"Goodnight everybody!" Harry finally says two hours later as they skip off the stage. I ran out of my dressing room to the stage exit, looking for them. I feel someone lift me up from behind I squeal and turn around to find Niall smiling at me. Zayn and Liam were talking to some fans who managed to get backstage passes and Louis and Harry were talking to Claire.

"You did it!" he says, putting me back on my feet.

"I did it!" I wrap my arms around his neck in a hug. He was taller than me though so I had to stand on my toes even in heels. "Oh my God thank you so so so SO much for showing Simon that video and oh my gosh I still can't believe I performed to all those people and I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me and I lov-" I stop mid-sentence, biting my lip. Niall looks at me, surprised. That look quickly turns to a smirk.

"What was that, Lex?" he asks, catching onto that last part. I roll my eyes and smile.

"I love you Niall," I whisper to him. He looks at me, shocked at what I just told him. He had the biggest smile ever on his face. "Like a brother," I add with a wink before bouncing away to talk to the other boys.

"That's not fair!" he calls after me. He was smiling and shaking his head in disbelief. I give him a sweet smile in return.

That was a close one.

AUTHORS NOTE