~Chapter 11~

People picked at my dress and hair, fixing any slight imperfections before the show started in fifteen minutes time. The crowd of people could be heard chatting outside, eager to see the latest fashion trends. Journalists, magazine editors and high ups in the industry always sat at the front, looking stern and from where I was standing, hidden out of sight, today was no different.

I breathed in and out, calming my racing heart that felt like it was knocking about in my rib cage. I always felt nervous before a show, everyone did. You didn't want to be that person who screwed up and tumbled on the runway or had an awkward wardrobe malfunction.

I let my eyes scan over my appearance in the mirror opposite me, happy with what I saw; everything looked perfect. The last of the people swarming me nodded in approval, telling me that I was ready and to get in line to go on stage.

I moved carefully, avoiding the masses of people running about, not wanting to ruin the pristine condition of my outfit and hair or smudge my makeup; little things like that could easily end your career.

I didn't pay too much attention to my surroundings as I got in line, focusing on myself and not messing up and because of this I didn't notice who was standing in front of me until she turned around, a scowl on her face. Moira Ross, fantastic model but complete bitch.

"Well well, if it isn't Harper King," she sneered and I rolled my eyes.

"It's good to see you, Moira," I smiled, trying my best to remain civil.

She wasn't a bad person, in fact we used to be good friends a couple of years ago but when we were both nineteen I got casted for a Vogue cover and she was extremely bitter about the rejection even if she was still in the magazine. I did understand where she was coming from but if it was the other way around I would've supported her and that was what I couldn't fathom at the time.

That was the day I learnt that most people didn't actually care about friendship and they only stuck with you to boost their own careers. People were selfish but I guess that was just human nature.

She looked me up and down, a scowl on her otherwise pretty face. "You're looking a bit big, aren't you?" she jeered.

I shrugged, doing my best not to snap back. That was what she wanted: a reaction. I wasn't fat. I was a healthy weight. In fact, I was almost underweight.

I wasn't fat. Her and mother were not going to get to me on this.

I wasn't fat.

Plastering on my best smile, I replied sweetly like my mother always taught me. "If not being a sickly twig is considered big then I suppose you're right."

She glared at me, her pretty green eyes narrowing into slits. "At least I can fit into clothes."

I wasn't fat.

She was just delusional.

"Besides, we both know the only reason someone like you even made it into modelling is because of your mother. You'd be nowhere without Camilla King's name behind you," she taunted. "You're worthless."

I clenched my jaw subconsciously and I could feel my right hand tightening into a fist. Stay calm, Harper, I reminded myself. You were a professional unlike her.

I scoffed, waving her off with my hand. "Really? Is that the reason I've been in more issues of Vogue than I can count and you've only made it into three editions. Not even one cover."

She ground her teeth together and I noticed her stretching her claw-like fingers, ready to scratch my eyes out no doubt. Luckily, before she could act out and ruin the show, someone clapped loudly behind us, silencing everyone.

The show was about to begin.

~*~*~

"Zack? How did you even get in here?" I asked my brother over the deafening music blaring through the speakers when I spotted him near the centre of the dark room.

Fashion Week was finally over and I was at the last afterparty of the week to celebrate; it was always the best one and people went absolutely wild.

He shrugged loosely, flashing me his bright white teeth. "I'm related to Camilla King," he said in a 'duh' tone. Good point. Our mother was one of the biggest names in the industry and having any sort of connection to her could benefit you massively.

In a way, Moira was right when she said I wouldn't be where I was without my mother. Getting a job like this was heavily based on luck. You needed to be in the right place at the right time so having a mother as influential as mine gave me a massive advantage. However, I knew I wouldn't be as successful as I was if I wasn't talented. A good name could only get you so far. If I was bad at what I did, no one would want to hire me even if I was related to Camilla King.

"Really? I didn't know that," I teased as he pulled me into a hug, laughing.

"It's good to see you, Harps. You did amazing this week."

I grinned up at him, releasing myself from his hold. "You think?"

He nodded, waving his hand over my head, beckoning someone to come over. "Yep. I think this was your best appearance yet," he said just as someone suddenly grabbed onto my shoulders from behind.

"Harper!" they shouted above my head and I jumped slightly.

I turned my head slightly to see an overly-happy-looking Axel, dressed in black jeans and a fitted navy blue t-shirt, a half empty glass in his hands. "God, Axel. You scared me half to death."

He chuckled at me, high-fiving Zack. "Mate can you keep her company? It looks like Nathan needs some help with that girl over there and I didn't want to leave her alone," Zack asked as if I was a child who needed looking after when in reality I was much more mature than he was. Typical.

I glared at his back as he walked towards Nathan who actually did appear to be struggling with a girl, that was a first.

"You were great today, Harper," Axel said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Ah, thank you. You were doing so good when I saw you on Thursday as well," I beamed at him. "It was the only show of yours I got to see but I bet you did amazing for all of it."

He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling bashfully at me. "Thanks," he said rather quietly so I had to strain my ears to hear him.

"Whatcha drinking?"

"Gin and coke. It's not as good as your strawberry twists but they get me by," he said, finishing the contents of his glass and putting it down on a near by table. "Want to dance with me?"

I nodded, smiling happily at him — probably a bit too happily thanks to the two mojitos I downed earlier that had made me slightly giddy.

Time flew as I danced with Axel, both of us enjoying the loud music and lively atmosphere surrounding us. I didn't feel the need to check on Zack or Nathan or worry about my mother. With Axel, as stupid as it sounded, it felt like all my responsibilities and troubles melted away. I was free just to be myself and relax in his company.

There were no expectations with him. He didn't want anything from me. For once, it didn't feel like there were any ulterior motives. It felt like someone was actually fond of spending time with me and was by my side for that sole reason. At the time, I didn't realise how much I needed that.

After dancing for long enough that I had to take my heels off to somewhat relieve my aching feet, Axel and I decided to call it a day.

Funnily enough, the hotels we were staying at were only about two minutes apart so it made sense for us to leave together. We were going to call a taxi but I didn't want the night to end so soon. It was only a twenty minute walk so I'd managed to convince Axel to do that and a friend of mine had brought some flats in her bag and loaned them to me so I could walk back comfortably and relish in the fresh air.

"I finally started shooting that music video with Damien," I told Axel once we had left and were embarking on our two AM walk through Paris.

Damien Beckett was a mutual friend our ours who both Zack and I went to school with. Him and Zack were very close, that much I knew but he was always so busy so rarely got to see him. He was a famous artist whose debut album two years ago instantly shot him into stardom. It was almost time for his second album to release and I had agreed to be in one of his music videos — which was going to drop before the release — to help him out.

Both of us weren't sure it was the best idea with the media already tailing us but our agents had insisted, saying it'd be good for publicity and both of our careers.

It was top secret at the moment but I knew Axel wouldn't say anything.

"Oh right, Damien mentioned that to me the other night but said it was strictly confidential."

I blushed. "Yeah it is but I know you won't tell anyone. Besides, I had to tell someone. How could I keep that to myself? You know both of us and it'd be weird if you saw the video in a month or so without hearing about it from us first. What if the first time you heard about it was through Instagram and not me. I know—"

I was interrupted from my word vomit by Axel's barking laughter. "I'm flattered you think about me so much," he said once sobering up, his voice teasing. I nudged him lightly, too embarrassed to even try and dig myself out of the hole I'd created where I'd accidentally admitted how much I cared for Axel's feelings.

"You know, Axel," I said a few minutes later, breaking our comfortable silence. "I really like spending time with you."

He looked at me, his brown eyes shimmering thanks to the starry night sky.

Paris was truly a beautiful city, one that never ceased to amaze me. It had this magical quality to it, something I couldn't quite pinpoint or explain. I had always been drawn to the place ever since my very first visit with mother when I was five years old. Since then, I had visited at least once a year, not able to stay away.

Standing here with Axel only amplified that feeling. That unexplainable pull of mine seemed to strengthen with him around. I wanted to show him the city and why I loved it so much. Despite my better judgement, I wanted to drop my guard and let him in so he could experience my world.

That thought terrified me.

I never let people close. It only ended in heartbreak but somehow Axel seemed to be beginning to melt my resolve, chipping away at my hard exterior day by day, piece by piece. For some peculiar reason, I didn't mind; in fact I welcomed all the fear and anxiety that came with these new thoughts.

Axel Knight was an enigma. He was so mysterious and charming yet so kind and genuine at the same time. He had adopted that 'bad-boy' facade from a young age almost as if he was trying to obscure his true nature, one that radiated warmth, comfort and happiness, to me anyway.

He wore a mask to the outside world and for the most part kept to himself yet when he was surrounded by friends his disguise just vanished. In its place was the Axel I knew and cared about.

I didn't understand. He truly was the ultimate mystery to me. I wanted to know more, for him to let me see past his fabricated front. He had already let me in somewhat but there was so much more brewing under the surface.

Axel was like a Russian nesting doll, every time you thought you had seen all there was to him, another layer appeared from underneath in a never ending flurry. It was so intriguing yet so frustrating at the same time in a way I couldn't properly articulate.

However, at this point in time, I didn't mind not knowing everything about him. I was content just waiting and letting him slowly reveal himself layer by layer at his own pace.

After all, he wasn't the only one with a past. We all had one and if his was anything like mine and it made him feel broken and vulnerable it wasn't fair of me to force the information out of him. If you truly cared about someone you'd never rush them into sharing information that made them feel so exposed and open.

It was almost like taming a feral dog. You had to be slow and cautious. Baby steps were key. If you went straight up to it, it'd attack you. You had to let it warm up to you one day at a time before it would slowly start to trust you.

"I really like spending time with you too," Axel said softly, pulling me out of my thoughts and giving me a bashful smile. "So much more than I ever thought I would."

I grinned brightly at him, encouraging him to continue the thoughts I could see were flooding his mind.

He shook his head slightly, murmuring to himself. "There's just so much more to you than meets the eye."

I couldn't help my small chuckle from under my breath. I thought the exact same thing about him.

Maybe I made it a little too obvious that I wasn't telling him everything. Even if he didn't seem to mind that, it still troubled slightly that he managed to notice. Or maybe he paid more attention to me than I thought.

Either way, my mind was frazzled as I thought about when I'd made it obvious. Was it when we video called — which was at least once a week — or when we were texting or just when we were around each other in person. I didn't recall ever highlighting anything to him but perhaps I'd done it without even realising.

"I could say the same about you," I smiled, deciding it was best not to dwell on that right now. What's done was done.

Axel chuckled, our arms brushing against one another as we neared my hotel. "Touché."

The way he laughed always seemed to stir something unknown inside of me. It was like chemicals were bubbling and fizzing in my stomach, reacting violently together. Not in a way that was painful but in a way that made my stomach flip and palms sweat.

It was as if time froze as I walked with Axel, our banter never stopping as we got ever-closer to my hotel. We just bounced off of each other perfectly, each of our comments met by witty remarks. "Thanks for tonight, Harper," he said when we eventually reached my hotel. "I can't believe Zack left us but I'm glad he did."

I smiled tenderly at him. "Same."

The way Axel looked at me sent tingles down my spine and my head into a dizzying spin. His charm was undeniable but it was his calm and kind personality that really drew me to him. He was so different to guys I had met in the past. He wasn't an arrogant douche or a conniving bastard. He was just Axel. Kind, caring, soothing Axel.

He must have felt that unexplainable pull like I did, that tether that seemed to link us together almost like the tether I had to Paris — the city where I felt most at home and free — because, before I could even register the cars whizzing past us, Axel was leaning down, his face getting closer to mine. Simultaneously I was lifting my head up to his, standing on my toes without even registering what I was doing.

I had no clue what caused this sudden surge of confidence and desire but I didn't question it as our lips got closer and closer. They were mere millimetres apart, his warm breath dancing over my skin, erupting numerous goosebumps left right and centre.

But of course our perfect moment had to be shattered by Axel's phone ringing only a second before our lips would've finally touched.

We both pulled away instantly, not looking each other in the eye as we tried to figure out what had come over us.

This was so unlike me. Although I was an untameable flirt, I was all talk and never usually went through with anything but for some reason this felt right in a way I just couldn't fathom.

Axel cleared his throat and I hesitantly brought my eyes to his, noticing him scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um... I'll see you soon, Harper."

I nodded, mustering the best smile I could but I knew it wasn't very convincing. "Yeah. Night Axel."

I practically sprinted away from him and to my hotel room, flopping onto my bed immediately.

I couldn't believe I'd just done that. The flutters in my stomach made me feel like I was at school again, thinking about my first crush. It was a foreign feeling, one I hadn't experienced in so long.

I'd almost kissed Axel Knight but, as much as my mind was telling me to, I didn't regret it.

Not one bit.

~*~*~

Since it's been a few weeks here's a longer chapter :)

Hopefully you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought - personally I love it because Harper and Axel are just so cute but I'd love to know what you think about their developing relationship.

🌟 Please don't forget to vote and comment 🌟

Until next time guys, bye xx