Just because someone smiles all the time doesn't mean their life is perfect. That smile is a symbol of hope and strength. Behind it is a world of pain.

I shut my eyes, waiting for him to pull the trigger. I'm going to die. This is it. I didn't even get to tell Niall I love him one last time. I didn't get to say goodbye. I glance at my bracelet, still secured around my wrist. Forever and always.

I didn't get to tell my little sister to be strong no matter what happens. I couldn't teach her everything that I've learned through the years. She would have to find out on her own. She would have to make her own mistakes instead of learning from mine.

I couldn't thank Austin for always looking out for me. I couldn't thank him for not giving up and for always being there for me. He's an amazing big brother. He's done so much to keep this family together, and here I am, tearing it all apart again because of my own stupidity. I couldn't even apologize.

I heard the killer chuckle softly one last time. I knew this was the moment he would pull the trigger, but the sound of sirens in the distance made him stop. Hope spread through me. I saw him frown. A small smile hinted at my lips as the sirens got closer. He kept the gun pointed at me, glancing out the window.

"Shit," he mumbles. "Shit shit shit. Get up!" he orders. When I hesitate he hits me again. "GET UP!"

I obey his orders. Pain shot through me as I stood on my own two feet. I was so hurt from the damage this man has caused me. I could hardly hold myself up. He shoves me forward.

"Keep walking," he demands, nearly knocking me over. When I don't move fast enough for him he grabs my arms and drags me down the stairs. It was a lot easier running down them than it was running up. It still hurt like hell, the way his nails dug into my skin. The bruises were probably already forming.

He pulls me out the front door with the gun in his hand. The cops were all pulling up by now. White cars with different black, blue, and red police designs came pulling into the parking lot with their lights flashing and sirens blaring, signaling an emergency. A few of them pulled up in front of me and the killer. He quickly dragged me to a black van. He slammed me against the side of it, keeping me there with his hand against my arms. His other hand held a gun, pointing it at the increasing number of white cop cars that were now surrounding us.

One car, however, was not white. It was not like the others, but I recognized it. Austin got out of the car with a terrified look on his face. The cops held him back, and he stared right at me. I looked to the ground, tears falling down my cheeks. This is it. Goodbye Austin. Don't give up.

I wondered if Claire was sitting there in the backseat, watching all this go down. I hope not. She doesn't deserve to see me like this. She doesn't deserve a lot of things that have happened to her even at the young age of five. I felt sorry for her.

"Drop the weapon!" the cops all scream. The killer looked like he didn't know what to do. He didn't know where to aim the gun, and he slowly realized he was outnumbered. He was obviously conflicted.

He could give up and do as told. He could drop the gun and surrender, letting them arrest him for another multiple years, rotting in jail where he belongs. He could also bolt. He could drop the gun, jump in the car, and zoom right out of here to a hiding spot where he would be safe for a while. There were so many possibilities he could choose, but of course he didn't choose the one I wanted him to. Suddenly, the gun was held to my head. I screamed.

"Let me go!" I choke out. He does that creepy deranged laugh again.

"If I'm going back to that hell hole again, then you deserve to go to hell too," he whispers to me, slowly pulling the trigger. Suddenly, a shot goes off. But I felt nothing.

 The gun behind my head falls to the ground, and so does the man holding it. When I realize there's no one holding me back, I run. I run straight into the arms of my big brother who was there waiting. Tears were streaming down his own face, and he didn't even try to hide them. I sobbed into his shirt and he stroked my hair, holding me protectively.

"Don't....ever....do that to me again," he chokes out, still crying.

"I won't," I promise. I glanced back and saw the killer lying on the ground, blood gushing from his head. Someone had shot him. One of the cops. He was dead. Unmoving and pale faced. Standing merely a few yards away I looked at the man who killed my parents and Jake. He was gone. Finally gone from this world. He would no longer cause pain. He couldn't ruin anymore lives like he did to me and my siblings. I couldn't believe it.

The killer had been killed.

 It wasn't long after that when paramedics rushed over to me and stuck me in an ambulance. I was torn from my brother’s arms and taken to the hospital where I was put into critical care.

"Niall...I need Niall," I kept saying, but no one would listen. There was no point in asking for him. He was still in London. I probably wouldn't get to see him for another day at least.

"Honey, just relax. You're about to get very sleepy," says a nurse as she places a gas mask over my face. I was freaked out, confused, and extremely stressed beyond belief. How am I supposed to relax?

Suddenly, I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I fought to stay awake. I finally gave in and closed them, seeing nothing but darkness as I fell asleep.

~*~*~*~

I woke up to the sound of a steady beeping. Austin was looking at something on his phone, and Claire was looking out the window at the city of LA. Austin glances up and smiles widely.

"You're awake!" he announces.

"LEXI!" Claire squeals, running up to me and jumping on the bed. "Lexi, are you dead?"

I laugh. "No, Claire. I'm alive."

She thinks about this for a few moments. She's so cute.

"Well, you've taken quite a beating. A broken arm, three broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and a lot of cuts and bruises, but you're going to be okay," Austin says, giving an encouraging smile. I smile back.

"When can I fly back to London?" I ask.

"You're going to have to spend at least a few days here to recover, but I'll bust you out as soon as I can. You have...a lot of visitors," he says, grinning. "Most of them are crowding around outside. Filled up the parking lot pretty darn quick." He chuckles and I smile.

 The fans. So supportive. I just wish Niall was here.

I sat there, staring at the ceiling. It was painted white, just like the walls. Could this place get more boring?

"I know you miss him," Austin says in a soft voice, as if reading my mind. "He's probably worried sick about you. Poor guy. He called me when I drove back to the apartment. He sounded so stressed, and I know he really wants to see you," he says with a sad smile. I sigh.

"Can I sign your cast?" Claire asks, smiling. I laugh and nod. She finds a pink sharpie marker in my bedside table drawer and writes her name in big capital letters on the large white cast covering my left arm, dotting the 'i' with a circle. She smiles proudly when she's finished.

"It looks wonderful. Thank you Claire-bear," I say, hugging her with my good arm. She giggles and bounces away to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Knock knock," came a voice from the other side of the door. A familiar voice. A far too familiar voice. The door opened and Louis walked in. "Wow. Nice place," he comments. A huge smile spreads across my face.

"LOUIS! Oh my gosh what are you doing here?! I would hug you, but I can't really move," I say, unable to believe he was in front of me.

"BOOBEAR!" Claire squeals, gripping his legs in a hug. I laugh.

"Hey Claire!" he smiles and picks her up. I look at him, smiling.

"Explain, please," I say.

"Oh, well you see. There's this friend of mine. And he won't shut the hell up about you. And no one enjoys listening to a worried leprechaun go on and on about how he needs to see his girlfriend. So I called up my private helicopter guy, yes I have a private helicopter guy, and told him that there was an emergency and I had to get to LA as fast as possible. So then...."

"LOUIS!" I yell, cutting him off. He stops mid-sentence. "Where is my boyfriend?" I ask, chuckling.

"Psh, fine. BLONDIE SHE WANTS YOU BAD!" he calls obnoxiously out into the hall. Niall pops his head in and smiles at me. He runs up and hugs me, careful not to bump anything. I had so many wires attached to me. I hated it.

"You. Have. No idea. How. Much I. Missed you," he says, kissing me between each word. I hold him there for a few moments, kissing his lips.

"I love you," I breathe out as a tear of joy rolls down my cheek.

"Thank god you're okay. I'm so sorry I didn't make it faster. I should have been there. I should have...stopped him. Something. I should have done something instead of just sat home and worried about you. I knew something was wrong. I could just tell, and I did nothing about it. When I called your cell and that guy answered I thought you were about to die and...oh my god. I was having like a panic attack. Thank the lord you're okay. God, I'm such an awful boyfriend. I'm so sorry, Alexis...." he rambles on and on. I cut him off with another kiss.

"You are the best boyfriend I could ever wish for. You're amazing, and I wouldn't give you up for anything or anyone else in the world. I love you, and you have nothing to apologize for. Thank you for coming all the way out here," I say, wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug. Tears poured from my eyes. I missed him so much.

I scooted over on the bed so he could sit next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Nice cast," he says smirking. I smile proudly. "Can I sign first?"

"Too late. Claire beat you to it," I tease, sticking out my tongue. Niall furrows his eyebrows and looks at Claire.

"Ha ha! You snooze you lose!" Claire teases, making a funny face at Niall.

"That's not right. I think we have to settle this the mature way.....I challenge you to a war of Candy Land when we get back to London. I'll get my revenge the right way," he says to her with a wink. She laughs.

"You're on," she answers, sporting her game face.

I don't know why we're all so happy and care free right now. I mean, a somewhat tragic event has recently happened. I was almost killed, but we're sitting here acting like it never happened. Maybe it's because a huge weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. He's gone. He's never coming back. That's definitely something to celebrate.

"Where are the other guys?" Austin asks, smiling.

"Oh...right...I forgot to tell them to come in," Louis says. "HAROLD, ZAYN, AND LIAM! GET YOUR BUTTS IN HERE!" Louis yells into the hall, probably disturbing other patients with his loud voice ringing through the hospital. I giggle and the room fills with three more bodies. They each hug me and say hello to Claire and Austin before filling in the untaken seats.

"Haz, can you go get that thing from the car," Niall says, giving Harry a look. Harry rolls his eyes.

"Why can't you get it?" he complains. I grab Niall's waist with my good arm.

"I just got my boyfriend back. He's not going anywhere," I say, smiling. Harry looks between us and Niall smirks victoriously.

"If you two weren't so obnoxiously perfect for each other then I would say no, but since I'm planning to have Niall make me a sandwich later I guess I'll go," he says, sighing as he leaves the room. I laugh.

"What is he getting anyways?" I ask Niall curiously. He just smiles and winks.

"Surprise." I groan and put on a puppy dog face. He turns his head away. "That face....it's too cute.....I can't even...."

I laugh and try to force him to look at me. "Tell me!" I say, laughing as he covers his eyes. I playfully slap his shoulder. "This is cruel," I complain.

"I know. I'm a jerk," he says, kissing my cheek and smiling happily. I smile too and rest my head on his shoulder.

"SANTAS HERE!" Harry calls through the room as he walks in holding a giant black bag over his shoulder. I laugh and he places it by the bed. "You're welcome." He plops back down next to Zayn and Liam. Niall moves to open the bag.

"I think you left some of your friends behind in London..." he says, picking up the giant bag and putting it at the foot of the bed. "So they came along for the trip," he says, pulling out Oreo the giant stuffed panda from the bag. A huge smile spreads across my face. They were all there. Every single stuffed animal that I left in London.

"You. Are. Too. Awesome."

"I thought you would miss them," he says, smiling at the ground. I grin and hug him as best I could from my awkward position.

"I knew I always liked him," Austin says, nodding in approval. I laugh.

The truth is, I did miss my stuffed animals. I hadn't thought about them much. I had a lot of other things occupying my mind, but when I had to leave London in such a hurry I guess I left them behind and forgot about them with all that has gone on since then. Niall was just awesome enough to bring them.

This is amazing. Everyone that I love all in one room, and the one man I hate is gone from the planet. I guess perfect isn't exactly the word for it. Life can't really be perfect. Perfect is something unreachable. Impossible. Unachievable. Without flaws. But right now, sitting in the arms of my loving and incredible boyfriend while being surrounded by my small family with the greatest friends I could ask for, it seemed perfect. It felt perfect. As perfect and flawless as things will ever be, and that was good enough for me. That was a good enough reason for me to smile. A real, true, genuine smile. Not a fake, cover-up smile. I had nothing to hide. No pain to mask. No secrets to keep. So here I was, finally truly happy.

I hug Niall's waist as best I could with my cast strangling my left arm. I lean my head on his shoulder and shut my eyes. He tightens his arm around me, but not tight enough to hurt me, since I was already bruised enough.

"Don't let go," I mumble. He laughs softly.

"I won't, babe. I won't."

"Oh!" Austin exclaims. "The cops found something at the scene..." He digs through his pocket and pulls out something shiny. I gasped and reached for my necklace which was hanging from his hand.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much!" I say, trying to put it around my neck with my cast. Wow, this thing really gets in the way. Niall smiles and helps me.

"Now they can match again," Zayn says, pointing to my bracelet. I smile.

"Forever and always," I whisper, smiling at Niall. He pecked my forehead. I'm too lucky.

"Do fairytales happen in real life, Mommy?"

"That's something you will learn when you're all grown up..."

I know the answer now. The right answer. They can happen in real life. It's possible. It may not be the same as the storybooks and it may not be some Disney fantasy, but I’ve found my prince charming, and he definitely makes me feel like a princess. There may not be any glass slippers or poisonous apples, but its close enough. We've been through a lot, and he's still here. What more could I ask for?

I've learned a lot since I've met Niall. I've learned that in a lot of ways, life is like a camera. You can focus in on the important things, the things that matter, the things you really care about. Capture all the good times and memories. Develop from the negatives, learn from your mistakes. And in the end, if things still don't work out, just take another shot.

 I've taken plenty.

AUTHORS NOTE

I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER THIS STORY WENT BY SOO FAST, ok im not satisfied with the ending of this story XD i hope you are though....is that the big finale you were hoping for? lol there WILL be an epilogue so this is technically the last chapter of the story but ill post the epilogue soon, so read that when its up (: i really hope you guys enjoyed this story!!! notice how i used the same quote for the first and last chapter? (; hehehe i planned that all along XD ok so ill probs post the epilogue tomorrow. im so tired. sorry if the ending isnt all that you expected :( i didnt know how to end it really so i hope this is good. Smile for me is the first story ive finished like beginning to end. opinions? THoughts on the story? Thank you so much for reading!! i seriously mean it when I say i love you guys!!!!! POPTARTS FAH LIFE<3 thank you for all of you who have ever commented and/or voted and thank you to my fans!!(: i seriously love you guys<3 ok i said that already, well bye):