Love Me for Me

Chapter One

NIALL'S POV

"What?!" I yelled at Paul. "Why do I have to marry her?! Why can't one of the other lads or anyone else in the world do it?"

"Niall," Paul said calmly from across the room "we need you to pretend that you're married to Alli- just until she gets back on her feet and is back to normal. I used to go to school with her manager and she asked if I could do this one thing for her." I couldn't believe he was actually being serious.

"But why do I have to marry her? What about the other lads?" Paul walked over and sat down on the couch.

"Well Zayn and Louis have girlfriends, Liam can't deal with the publicity after him and Danielle split up 2 weeks ago, and Harry is too young for her. Plus, Alli asked for you personally."

Great- this is just great. She wants to marry me. "Harry is only a year younger than me and she's two years older than me- I don't see that much of an age difference."

"Niall" Paul said, starting to get upset, "You are the only one who can actually pull this off. Any of the other boys would cause a lot of drama if they were together. At least you can pass as her husband." Paul is insane, but he did have a point. If he picked Zayn or Louis they could be seen as if they were cheating on Eleanor or Perrie; Liam could be seen as the guy who broke up with Danielle just to go out with another girl- and then marry her; and Harry's always been known for dating older women. But that still doesn't mean I have to agree to this.

"I just don't understand why you even said yes to this in the first place" I said, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Paul.

"You've heard the stories about her. She needed to go to rehab for 6 months, she was an alcoholic, her mother died of cancer; she just fell into this depression ever since her record label dropped her. Alli needs this to help get her feet back on the ground and start fresh." He's trying to make me feel sorry for her- which I did- but I don't want to show my sympathy for her by marrying her.

"But how is pretending to marry me going to help her restart her life?

"When people find out about you two, they'll think she can't be that bad if Niall Horan is marrying her. And once everything is back to normal for her, you can both announce that you'll be getting a divorce." I know Paul's our manager and all, but this plan was probably the stupidest idea I've ever heard.

"It doesn't matter if she 'marries' me- she will always be seen as that girl who went crazy after her career crashed! And when people hear we got a divorce they'll either hate her for breaking my heart or hate me for ruining her life even more. I can't change people's minds for them."

Paul rose from the couch and smirked at me. "Oh trust me Niall, you can do a lot more than you think you can." He walked towards the door, but stopped and looked back at me. "Alli's coming over tomorrow; I suggest you get plenty of sleep- just in case she gets a little crazy." He opened the door and left, leaving me alone to think about what I was being forced to do. I don't understand how I got dragged into this mess.

Alli Johnson used to be the biggest female singer in almost all of Europe, USA, and parts of Australia. But ever since her record label dropped her a year ago for a younger singer, she went a little crazy and ended up having to go to rehab for 6 months. Apparently now, she wants to start fresh and get back into music by having to "marry" me. I don't even understand what's going to come out of this; her fans will love her for 6 months, and then hate both of us for getting divorced.

"All I want is a real relationship for once." I said to myself. It's true; ever since One Direction was formed, all of the girls I've liked only like me because I'm Niall Horan from One Direction- not Niall Horan from Mullingar. I must've sat there for an hour before it hit me; the idea that would get me out of this stupid plan. I got up and walked into my bedroom, staring at all of the things fans have given me over the years on my walls. I sat on my bed and sighed, grabbing the picture frame on my side table. It was a picture of me and the lads when we went to Columbus, Ohio for one of our concerts.

I smiled and laid it down on my bed. I went over to my closet and grabbed whatever suitcase I had. I started pulling clothes out of my closet and putting them in the suitcase, trying to fit as much as I could in there. "What the hell am I getting myself into?" I said to myself, really thinking about what I was about to do. Even though I had no clue what I was doing, I knew if I didn't want to get married I couldn't stop.