Stars can't shine without darkness.

"Are you almost ready?" Niall calls to me from outside of the bathroom. 

"Almost! Be out in about...five minutes?" I hear him sigh from the other side of the door. 

"Okay."

I quickly add a touch of clear lip gloss and my necklace before walking out and smiling at an impatient looking Niall. 

"Ready," I announce. 

"Good. Everyone is already downstairs waiting for us." We walk to the elevator. 

"Sorry, I take a while to get ready."

"It's just an interview," he points out.

"I know, but I like to look nice. Besides, why are Claire and I coming with you guys? There's no need for us to be there."

"Claire wanted to go. Besides, don't you wanna be there for moral support? To cheer on your best friend?" he jokes. I playfully roll my eyes. 

"And who says you're my best friend?" He covers his hand to his heart in an expression of mock hurt. I giggle and give him a hug. "Just kidding. You can be my best friend if you really want to."

He smirks at me.

The elevator opens and we walk out. The boys are all in the lobby talking to the millions of fans that have gathered. Liam stands back with Claire, making sure not to lose her in the crowd. The fans all squealed as Niall came into their view. He smiled and waved to them but didn't really have time to stop for pictures and autographs because we were almost late for the interview. 

"You lads ready? We have to be there in twenty minutes. The bus is waiting outside." The boys all say goodbye to the fans and walk outside. During the ride to the television studio where the interview would be taking place I sat next to Niall and Harry with Claire sitting in my lap. I felt like I haven't had as much time with my sister as I used to. Now she's always playing with Harry or Louis or one of the other guys and I'm always either working or trying to get a little bit of time to relax.

I spend a lot of time now a days with music. Either listening to it or making it, I'm somehow involved. I love to play guitar and sing a hell of a lot more than I like to take pictures. I just wish the music industry was easier to get into. It would definitely make me and my siblings lives a lot easier financially. 

"What's it like at an interview?" she asks curiously, scrunching up her eyebrows in confusion. 

"You sit down and a person asks you a bunch of questions about yourself and then they film it and put it on TV for a lot of people to see," Liam explains, smiling. She thinks about this as we drive. When we get there the boys are all taken away to prepare for the show and Claire and I are shown to our seats backstage where we could see the interview. 

"Isn't this cool?" I ask her. She smiles big and nods her head as she looks around at everything in the studio. The cameras, the workers, the makeup artists. She thought it was amazing. 

"Good morning New York!" says the interviewer. A bunch of cheering and clapping comes from the crowd as the host sits down in her chair. "Now today we have a special group of people to talk to. Let's say hello to One Direction!" More cheering. The boys all walk onstage in a line. They look much more prepped for television than they were about ten minutes ago when I had seen them last. They take a seat on the long couch set on stage for them.

"So boys, this is your first day in New York, yes?" the interviewer asks.

"Yeah, we're lovin it so far. Haven't gotten to see much yet but I'm sure in our free time we'll explore a bit," Zayn says. 

"Our first stop on our tour," Harry adds.

"Yeah, I'm sure you guys don't get much free time. You have quite a busy schedule going with your tour. Now I've heard some rumors that it's not just the five of you on tour. Is it true you have some other people traveling with you?"

Niall smiles. 

"Yes, we have some of our friends with us," he answers.

"Now we've got some pictures of you guys around...." the interviewer looks up at the big screen and shows a picture of all of us at the aquarium. “Would you share with us these lovely girls’ names?" 

"Alexis and her little sister Claire," Liam volunteers. The interviewer shows another picture, this one from the airport after we landed in New York. 

"Is there any chance that Alexis could be something more than a friend to any of you?" she asks, looking at each of them.

That question takes me back to a few nights ago, back when we were still in London. Claire had told me just before bed about how Niall 'fancied' me. The thought made my cheeks turn pink.

No. He's my best friend. I'm still not over Jake. Ugh. 

I watch as Louis slightly bumps Niall's knee with his own. Or maybe that was an accident. Either way it made Niall shoot him a glare for a split second before covering it up with a smile.

 "Not at the moment," Niall says. I watch as Harry tries to cover up his smirk by coughing into his arm.

Maybe Claire wasn't making stuff up. The rest of the boys seem to think that Niall has other things going in his head besides what he's sharing with the interviewer. Or maybe I'm just seeing things because of what Claire told me. Maybe I'm just....paranoid...for lack of a better word.

The interviewer keeps asking questions about their tour and their album and all that stuff. By the time the interview ended it was around noon and I was starving. 

"I'm hungry," Claire complains, as if reading my mind. 

"I know Claire Bear, I am too." 

"Let's go to Nandos!" Niall says enthusiastically. I chuckle. 

"Niall, this is America. They don't have Nandos here," Liam tells him. Niall frowns. 

"Could you settle for McDonalds?" Harry asks.

"I guess," he says.

They ask the driver of the limo to take us to McDonalds and we pull out of the parking lot. When we get there Claire jumps out and runs to the playground connected by a door on the inside of the restaurant. Niall and Zayn go to watch her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble while the other boys and I order food.

After I tell the cashier what I wanted for me and Claire I pull out my purse to pay. In the process of getting my money Liam pays for me. I look at him in disbelief as the cashier puts the money in the register.

"You don't need to pay. We got it," Harry says, smiling.

"I could have paid," I mumble.

"But we already did," Louis says with a wink.

I have to admit it was nice of them to buy my meal, but they didn't need to. I felt bad that they did. I may not have had much money, but I had enough to pay for a burger.

I mumbled a 'thank you' before going back to the table with my food in my hands. The other boys ordered their meals while I looked for Niall, Zayn, and Claire. I found them outside in the playground area. Claire and Niall were racing each other down the slides.

"Claire Bear! Come eat. You can play with Niall and Zayn later." She pouts, but does as she's told. I sit down at one of the outdoor tables and the other boys join me too.

"So we have a concert tonight," Zayn says, taking a bite of food.

"What time is it at again?" Louis asks.

"We should arrive at five," Liam informs them.

"Are you and Claire coming?" Harry asks us. His question surprised me.

"I...guess. If you guys want me to go."

"Do you want to go?"

"I think it would be fun to see you guys perform," I say with a shrug. "It would be Claire's first concert," I say, bumping her lightly. She smiles wide.

"I wanna go!" she cheers. I'm not sure she even knows what a concert is. I chuckle.

"Then we'll get you both some backstage passes," Niall says smiling. I smile back.

"Thanks."

"Any time." After we eat we go back to the hotel to prepare for the concert.

I wear a pair of red skinny jeans and a white shirt with a black scarf around my neck. I slide on my black boots and decide my outfit is complete. Of course my necklace was on though. Could never forget that. Just as the clock changes to four thirty I walk out of the bathroom, ready for the concert.

When we get there the boys escort Claire and I backstage with our passes around our necks. I have to admit, I was pretty excited for the concert. It's been years since I was last at one. I could never afford tickets. "Good luck," I tell the boys as they prepare to go onstage.

"Thanks," they all say, smiling at me. They all looked super hyped up and excited. I guess it's just something that happens when you know you're about to perform in front of giant crowds of screaming fans. They really are living the dream, getting to do this every night.

The music starts playing and the boys all jump onto the stage as they sing Na Na Na. I watched how they performed. The smiles didn't leave their faces for an instant. I couldn't help but think of my own job compared to theirs. What they do looks like so much more fun. If the music industry wasn't so hard to get into and so easy to slip out of then I would definitely consider a career in singing. Too bad that's not the case.

Claire watched the entire time with wide eyes, smiling through every song. She clearly was overjoyed by this. The whole atmosphere was hard to get over. The screaming never stopped and the boys’ voices were loud, filling the arena. It was amazing.

"So I think we have some time for a few questions," Zayn says. The crowd cheers.

"And maybe another song?" Liam shrugs, smiling. More cheers. The screen changed to a picture of a tweet.

"Do any of you have girlfriends?" Harry read out.

"Louis and Zayn..." Niall says, smirking at them.

"I am dating the lovely Eleanor Calder," Lou announces proudly

"And I'm with Perrie Edwards," Zayn says smiling.

"How did you meet Alexis and Claire?" Liam reads the next one. Wow. Apparently their fans knew about me and my sister. Weird.

"Alexis was a photographer for one of our photo shoots. She introduced us to her sister and now we're all great friends," Zayn says smiling.

"They're both here tonight actually," Harry says smirking mischievously. The crowd cheers.

"Would you like them to come out?" Niall asks. More cheers. I glare at him even though he can't see me. I'm not prepared to go out in front of all those people. A little warning would have been nice. I have to remember to flick Harry later for mentioning I was even here.

"Come on out Lex!" Liam calls. They all peek backstage and I shake my head no.

"I wanna go Lexi!" Claire says, smiling adorably.

"Claire-" I say, about to stop her. Too late. She was already running out on stage. "Claire! Get back here!" She ignores me, bouncing her way out in front of all those people.

"Hello!" she says in her 4-year-old-voice, smiling and waving to the crowd. A chorus of ‘Awww’s and chuckles echoes back. She looked so happy it made me smile.

"Where's Lexi?" Louis asks her confused. Claire points to me backstage.

"Come on Lexi!" Claire calls. I smile, roll my eyes, and get up from my seat. I fix my hair as I walk onstage. Suddenly, I'm nervous. I step into the spotlight and am immediately overwhelmed by the amount of people I see in front of me. The crowd cheers as I walk into their view.

"There she is!" Niall exclaims. I shoot each of them a look as my face turns pink. This is a weird feeling. Being in front of so many people. I give a small wave to the audience.

"She's just shy," Harry says smirking. I lightly slap his arm.

"You know..." Niall says, a grin on his face. Something tells me he's up to something. "Lexi is a pretty good singer." The crowd cheers and I cover my face with my hands and shake my head. I reach for Liam's microphone and speak into it.

"He's lying!" I say. A few people chuckled.

"Who wants to hear Alexis Blake sing for us?" Louis asks. I shake my head no as the audience starts to chant.

"Alexis! Alexis! Alexis!" I bite my lip. Harry reaches down so Claire can speak into his microphone.

"Lexi! Lexi! Lexi!" she cheers in that 4-year-old voice that always makes me smile. "Come on Lexi! You’re good at singing stuff!" she says, smiling. I smile, roll my eyes, and take the microphone that Niall was handing me.

"I can't believe you're making me do this," I mumble to him. He smirks.

"Give it up for Alexis Blake everybody!" The crowd cheers and Niall walks over to a stand, grabbing his guitar. I tell him the song I'm going to sing and he nods, starting to strum.

I take a deep breath, holding the microphone to my lips.

"I've been working hard so long, seems like pain has been my only friend, my fragile heart's been done so wrong, I wondered if I'd ever heal again, Oh just like all the seasons, never stay the same, all around me I can feel a change, oh, I will break these chains that bind me, happiness will find me, leave the past behind me, today my life begins..." I continue singing the rest of the song.

As soon as I started to sing the nerves left me. It was like I was all alone in my room with my music. Just me and my guitar. Of course here I'm not in my room and I don't have my guitar. Niall is strumming and I'm performing in front of a gazillion people. But the feeling was the same. I was comfortable on stage.

 I watch as the boys expressions change. As I continue to sing they watch me with amazement. All except for Niall. He just sits and smiles knowingly as he watches me and strums along.

There was only one thing running through my head at that moment on stage.

This is what I want to do. This thrill. This natural high. I want to experience this every night like the boys do.

I want to be a singer.

AUTHORS NOTE

I feel like i just started this book and its already chapter 10 :O wow. I feel like some of the events in this book are similar to my other story Adopted so if your reading both im sorry my mind isnt creative enough to write two DIFFERENT stories at the same time xP lmao but anywaysss no danielle is not in this :P sorry for you danielle lovers out there (I have nothing against her or her relationship with liam. I think she's lovely(:) it will all make sense later I promise x) btw i really dont know where this story is going....so imma just roll with it and see where it ends up O_o its worked so far haha LOVE YOU POPTARTS <33 so happy you guys like this story so much and tell me your opinions in the comments below. VOTE! Love you all!!!!! byeee