Chapter 104: A Breath of Fresh Air

Niall was dressed in a rather casual fit.

Fitted navy-blue t-shirt, beige chino pants, suede navy-blue shoes, and a sleek silver wristwatch.

Yet, it did nothing to detract from that relaxed yet reserved presence he always seemed to have going for him.

In fact, as he was currently seated in the room, one leg slightly crossed over the other, it further amplified the effortlessness of it all.

And from one man to the other, Tom had to say that Niall was extremely fit... his sleeper build rearing its head in the way the fabric snugly hugged at his frame.

"So, what should we start with?" the journalist began by placing the ball in Niall’s court, one of his palms gestured invitingly.

"What should we start with indeed?" Niall played along, a light smile on his lips as he asked;

"How’s work?"

"Oh, splendid. I actually have to interview a rather popular hermit today so yeah, very splendid. Might even land me a promotion if the segment goes well." Tom picked up without fail.

"That so? Well then, Godspeed on that front. I’m sure he’ll do his best to make it a success though." Niall replied in kind, an amused smile on his lips.

"Ah, that’d be great. That’d be really great." Tom remarked with a light chuckle of his own.

Now that he’d assessed that Niall was in fact a good sport, he could very well proceed to begin with his questions.

Which was why,

"How does it feel? Being at your very first interview in years that’s you-centric?" Tom asked, his light-brown irises reflecting a genuine sense of curiosity.

"Same as any, I guess," Niall replied, his palms interlocked as he continued;

"I walk into the venue, I get asked questions, I give my honest thoughts and responses, and I leave when it’s time to leave."

"So, it’s all just standard procedure to you? Doesn’t get you particularly excited?" Tom followed up, his tone reflecting his genuine curiosity.

"Not really, no." Niall replied honestly.

"I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what it all boils down to, isn’t it? The only differences are if it’s behind closed doors, or if it’s made public. Then you have to adjust as is fitting." he simply added.

Tom bobbed his head softly in agreement. Now he understood, in some part, why Niall wasn’t particularly pinging around from one interview to the next.

It just didn’t tickle his fancy in the way it tickled most aspiring stars and celebrities in Hollywood. It was also a pretty rare trait to have given how attention-starved Hollywood was.

That said,

"That’s right. That’s very right," Tom acknowledged.

"Very insightful too," he added to which he then keyed into his next question, his eyes brightening up as he subconsciously wiggled his index finger;

"Speaking of insights, how did you come about to making [Aperture], and why did you name it so?"

For a moment, Niall mused to himself, his expression thoughtful. Then he proceeded to speak a while after;

"I named it [Aperture], because I wanted to highlight the beautiful irony to the core themes of the song,"

"We as humans spend so much of our lives closing off our emotions and hiding ourselves from the world, it’s always a pretty cathartic feeling when we get to shed off that mindset to be our best selves and fully embrace the light that comes with it."

"And since an aperture serves as a shutter... or a window to light, whenever we decide to open ours, that light can either peek or shine through depending on how much of ourselves we’re willing to reveal to the world." he concluded.

Tom was just about to remark about how deeply profound that meaning was when Niall casually added;

"Besides, it was either that or [Leave the Light On], so..."

The journalist let out an audible chuckle he immediately tried to suppress. Niall, on the other hand, kept his reserved smile on as he watched him;

"As for how I came about to making it..." his voice trailed off a bit, to which he then spoke;

"Well, when I rounded up filming for [Rink], I happened to gain some insights from it that spearheaded my thoughts, and I felt a genuine need to encompass it as it was,"

"But, for as much as I’d polished the lyrics and I’d made a demo-track... the tune just didn’t feel right," Niall explained with gestured palms, his cool-gray irises lighting up.

"So, I contacted Sam, Archie and Lucas--Midnight Avenue, as you may know them--and I travelled down to New York to work with them," he continued, to which he then humorously remarked;

"We worked on it for over a week, refined it... and then they snapped my B-string while giving me a lecture on how the greatest hits came from the weirdest tunings."

"Why?" Tom, whom was already engrossed, but was well-aware that this was an interview first before anything else, curiously asked while maintaining his professionalism.

"I’ll spare you the nitty-gritty details but, considering where I was headed with the tune initially, it was always inevitable that I’d snap it anyway." Niall replied with a chuckle, then said;

"I also knew that, but I was trying to play it safe and by the rules,"

"Besides, I’d just haggled for her down the street so I was more focused on keeping her in good shape and those brutes just went ahead and snapped it to shake me awake."

"Poor girl... but at least something fantastic came out of it." he concluded to which, Tom repeated in intrigue;

"Haggle?"

"Yeah. Haggle. I’m not a penny pincher, but I sure as hell won’t allow anyone to cheat me if I can help it." Niall casually revealed, earning another chuckle from Tom who remarked;

"That’s a pretty interesting tidbit. Unexpected, but interesting nonetheless."

Niall offered a simple shrug in response, his visage returning to its usual demeanor.

"Well, [Rink] is gearing up to be even more highly anticipated movie at this rate. I better clear my schedule ahead of its release date." Tom said to which Niall replied assuredly;

"You should. It’s bound to be a great movie."

"I have to ask though, you’ve created masterpieces after masterpieces... do you ever feel daunted by being unable to live up to expectations with your next work?" Tom then asked whilst leaning back into his chair.

Equally leaning back, Niall spoke a couple seconds after;

"So far, so good? Not at all. And honestly, I doubt I ever really will, though the jury’s still out on that."

To that, Tom arched a surprised brow. Then he inquired politely;

"Could you speak to that a bit more?"

"Well, the thing about pressure is that it’s all in the head, right?" Niall began and Tom nodded in agreement.

"We, as artists, often ascribe our minds to the belief that we have to impress everyone with our next work and prove that it wasn’t a fluke the first time," he continued and his interviewer listened intently.

"But oftentimes, in the process of doing that, we forget the one person we need to impress the most." Niall raised a finger, then said after a pause;

"Ourselves."

"So, for me, before the general public, before the media and before the world, I always want to impress myself first. If I can’t impress myself, then I’m not putting it out for the world to see." Niall explained to which he then concluded;

"Because when all’s said and done, people will always find something to criticize or nitpick. But, if I do right by myself, I can always rest well knowing I was proud of what I did. That’s simply it."

Once again, Tom couldn’t help but be impressed by how well-spoken Niall was. Especially since he was quite young too.

But probably the best part about it all, was how grounded his beliefs were. So far, there hadn’t been a single lick of entitlement in the way he spoke or responded.

Truly, he was a breath of fresh air. A genuinely rare case considering how overly narcissistic, condescending and stuck up most celebrities in Hollywood were.

It almost made him feel as if he was talking to a friend and not arguably one of the most raved-about artists in Hollywood.

In any case, Tom soon moved on to another question.

"Now that you’ve rounded up filming for [Rink]," Tom paused and then said; "...and congratulations by the way,"

"Thank you very much." Niall offered a curt nod of genuine appreciation.

"Have you perhaps begun writing [The Tree of Fate]?"

"Not yet, but I’m sizzling,"

"Should be done with it before the end of the year though, that’s for sure." Niall confidently added to which Tom remarked;

"It would be fantastic if you could. That last cliffhanger was quite evil."

"I like to think it gets better the longer you hold on," Niall nonchalantly remarked, a glint of sadism in his cool-gray irises.

"You did not just say that," Tom pointed at him in horror, his professionalism slipping for the briefest of moments.

This time, Niall refused to respond, a thin, cavalier smile settling onto his features as Tom shook his head slightly and then returned to the interview;

"Is there any other project you’re currently working on?"

"Yes. There is." Niall answered so casually, Tom’s eyes couldn’t help but widen in genuine surprise.

’What in tarnation is this workaholic?!’ his mind questioned in stunned awe.

Still, he managed to immediately ask;

"Mind expatiating?"

"Nope." Niall tapped his finger on the armrest, his expression amused.

"That’s not fair, you know that?" Tom let out a bemused scoff.

"Nothing in life is." Niall defended, his smile much the same.

Knowing fully well he wouldn’t be getting any answers out of him, Tom simply let it go and proceeded to ask a bunch of other questions.

The rest of the interview went on smoothly following that, Niall and Tom finding themselves increasingly more comfortable in the way they interacted with one another.

Then, as the time for the interview came to an end, Tom pushed one last question... and perhaps the closest thing to a personal question he could’ve ever asked;

"If you don’t mind, is there a reason why you’re so averse to taking interviews?"

"Averse is a pretty strong word," Niall laughed to which he then said;

"In actuality, I really don’t mind interviews. It’s just that I tend to live by a mantra of my own."

"And what’s that, if I may ask?" Tom respectfully queried.

"Stay out of the spotlight when you’re not needed. Own it completely when you are." Niall’s response was instant.

So much so that Tom found himself unable to follow up immediately.

At the same time, it finally put into perspective for him and everyone else in the room why Niall frequently avoided interviews.

It wasn’t that it didn’t tickle his fancy. Rather, it was just that he was disciplined enough to understand that there was no point in hogging a spotlight that was quite literally, ephemeral.

After a couple seconds though, Tom bobbed his head in acknowledgement as he said;

"That’s a really good one to live by."

"Thank you." Niall appreciated him, to which the journalist then extended a handshake, his light-brown irises warm;

"Thank you so much for your time, Niall. Truly, it was an honor to have you here."

"The pleasure’s all mine." the young star reciprocated the handshake, both men shaking firmly on it.

As the crew members behind the camera watched it play out, they couldn’t help but be all giddy and excited.

There was a lot that Niall had revealed without also, surprisingly, not revealing too much. It was a very hard balance to strike they had to say, but even then, he had made it look so easy.

More than that though, they were all certain of one thing and one thing only.

This interview right here... it was going to put them on the map for good.

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/Caer07