Girlfriend For Hire// n.h.

Chapter Six

Paige's mood begins to change, Niall sees that. She no longer is her peppy self, rather walking around the flat in a dull and dismal mood, ignoring Niall most of the time. He constantly contemplates on how to approach her about the matter, yet knows somewhere in the back of his mind her latest state is because of the night they shared while intoxicated.

The sun shines through the window's of the flat, Niall deciding for once that the two of them should get out of the building on their own, whether Paige likes it or not. He navigates her through the large residence, dragging her through the front door despite the endless protests he receives.

"Where are you taking me?" Paige complains as Niall entwines their fingers together, remembering that any time they were outside of his flat they were a couple. He only glances back quickly to smile at her before bowing his head a bit in determination, dragging her behind him as he makes his way outside.

Paige stills wails in protest, though her efforts are for naught. Niall knows what he wants to do, and he's not going to stop until he gets there. His destination comes into view a little way down the street, and finally, he and Paige are standing in the park. A quite deserted park, to add.

"What are we doing here?" she asks, slumping her shoulders. Niall leads her to the playground, where not a kid or parent is to be found. For once, they have some peace in public. He realizes though that that won't last for long, and he can not underestimate the paparazzi's ability to hide from his peripheral vision.

Niall sits Paige down on a swing, taking the other one. "I like to come here when something's on my mind that I'd like to let go of," he tells her.

"So why did you bring me here?" she questions, swinging slightly with the push of her foot off of the ground. Niall reaches over, grabbing her hand in his.

"Is something bothering you?" Paige's eyes drop to the ground, and she shakes her head. Niall gently squeezes her hand, reassuring her the best he can. She finally sighs, her eyes locking with his, but quickly focusing on something else.

"Just some things I've got going on. It's really nothing of importance to you," she explains, and although Niall is reluctant, he doesn't push farther into the matter. "The bright side," Paige begins, locking eyes with him once more. "I got my period."

"I'm not going to be a daddy?" Niall asks her teasingly, finally accomplishing his goal of getting Paige to smile. She shakes her head, her shoulders bouncing slightly as she lets out a light laugh.

"No, I guess you got lucky."

"Why?" he questions, leaning in to bump noses with her before swinging away. "We'd make beautiful babies."

"Shut up, you're making me blush, Niall," she tells him, and in fact Niall notices the small crimson red forming on her cheeks. He smiles, taking her chin between his fingers and lightly pressing his lips to hers. When Niall pulls away, he's in quite a state of shock that he actually just did that.

"Wha-?" Paige begins.

"Is your boyfriend not allowed to give you a kiss now?" he asks in a lame attempt to cover up his actions, willing Paige to catch on. She finally does, her face growing another shade darker.

"Of course. I was just... joking," she concludes, composing herself. With that, her phone buzzes in her pocket, and she pulls it out to check the notification. "I've got to go," Paige tells Niall, who is utterly confused as she makes her way back towards their shared flat.

"Where are you going?" he asks, stopping her dead in her tracks. Paige turns to him, flashing her best innocent smile.

"Somewhere where I need to borrow your car. I'll see you later!" She explains, turning once more and going towards her destination. Niall doesn't bother to press matters, remembering that all ears are on them in public and it could be something important.

While he's sitting on those swings, the exact swing that he made the greatest decisions in his life on, Niall decides it's time for another one. Once Paige is out of eyesight, he ruminates over their past few weeks together. With each date, it seems Niall had fallen even harder. From the moment he laid eyes on her back at management's office, Niall had to admit his heart fluttered just a bit at her appearance, though you could never tell by the way he acted towards her. And now, they had slept together.

Niall's mind whirs with memories and images of Paige, and he finds himself smiling when he thinks about her. He is a strong believer that when he's intoxicated, his true feelings and emotions come out, at least that's what he's led to know by what Niall's told he does. With that belief in mind, he now realizes that to him, Paige isn't just a beard. Niall wants Paige to be his.

****

"I'm home!" Paige exclaims as she shuts the door heavily behind her, strolling into the living room, where Niall munches on popcorn and is captivated by the newest movie to hit Netflix, Mama.

"Where were you?" he asks, eyes never leaving the screen as the two girls run around the playroom incredibly fast, while their uncle and his girlfriend watch in both dread and fascination. Paige takes a seat next to Niall, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Management meeting. They're already devising how I'm going to 'cheat' on you," she explains, closing her eyes and sighing.

"Are they ending this so quickly? We've only been together for a few weeks." Niall tries to hide the panic that is rising in his voice. The last thing he wants to do is end things with Paige now that he's realized how he feels.

"No, it's just for when the time comes," Paige tells him, sitting up. Niall's eyes lock with hers, the first time they haven't been on the television since the movie started. "You're not getting rid of me yet."

Niall smiles, placing a hand gently on her knee. "Who says I want to ever get rid of you?"

"Niall, stop. I'm blushing again," Paige says as her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. Niall laughs, poking her stomach and making her giggle. "And I'm ticklish!" she exclaims.

"Oh, are you?" he asks, taking the challenge. Niall pokes Paige's stomach, proceeding to full on tickle her in different places until they're both on the floor laughing and attempting to tickle each other.

Finally, Paige ends it by straddling Niall beneath herself, taking both of his hands in hers and pinning him to the ground. She smiles with victory, looking quite proud of herself. "I win," she announces.

"I'm not sure of that," Niall tells her, a devilish smirk on his lips. Paige raises and eyebrow, a signal for him to explain. "I think I win, because while you are leaning over me, I can see right down that little shirt of yours," he teases.

"Niall!" she shouts, getting up and off of him while her laugh echoes throughout the flat. Niall stands up himself, grabbing her waist and bringing Paige closer to him.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before Paige," he tells her, the smirk still prominent on his lips. Paige's face falls, and she shakes her head.

"Can we please not talk about that night? I'm so embarrassed," she confesses, glancing up at him.

"Why? I think it was meant to happen," Niall tells her, bringing Paige over to the couch, where he sits her down on his lap. Without protest, she lays back, her head on his chest as she sighs.

"Why would it be destined to happen?" she asks him.

"Well, I think when people are drunk, true feelings come out," he explains, realizing he's almost pouring his heart out to Paige without her noticing.

"Really, because I heard from Eleanor you like to strip sometimes when you're drunk." Paige's voice becomes lighter as she jokes, and Niall shakes his head, laughing with her.

"You know what I mean." Paige nods, her laughter subsiding.

"I do, but that doesn't explain why we would sleep together. I feel like because we got drunk acting as a couple, we were a drunk couple. We must have still thought we were together, even here. Maybe that's what led to it," she suggests her own theory, looking at Niall for his thoughts.

"I don't know, Paige. What happened, happened. That's all there is to it." Niall's attention returns to the movie, his attempt to make Paige see his way shot down. Niall contemplates on an easier way to get her to see what he does, but without having to explain his feelings for her.

"Niall?" Paige speaks up a bit into the movie. She was still sitting on his lap, and Niall assumed she had fallen asleep after being quiet for so long.

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen to us once this whole thing is over?" she asks, turning towards him. Paige's brown eyes meet Niall's, and he detects the curiosity in her gaze.

"What do you mean?" he counter-questions.

"I mean, we have to end this whole ordeal with me cheating on you, so obviously we can't be seen together. Will we still be friends? Are we friends? This whole thing has me really confused, you know?" Niall smiles, running a hand through her hair in reassurance.

"We'll always be amazing friends, secret or not," he tells her. A smile spreads across Paige's face, and she wraps her arms around his torso, burying her face in his chest.

"I never want us to fall out. You're one of the best things to ever happen to me," she says, Niall wrapping his arms around her as they embrace there on the couch. He wonders about her past, and how this whole confusing ordeal could be great to anyone, but doesn't press it, not wanting ruin this moment.

"Same here Paige. Same here." His fingers find her hair, running through the soft curls as they continue to embrace.

"I love you, Niall," she muffles into his shirt, catching Niall by surprise. He fumbles for words, a silence taking over his tongue.

"I love you too, Paige," he finally spits out, noticing the smile on her face. Paige sits up, pecking his cheek sweetly before settling back in her previous position of laying back on his chest to watch the rest of the movie.

Niall's attention is no longer on the television though. Now, he can't stop looking at Paige, though she's quite fascinated by the movie. With this, he realizes their "I love you's," meant two different things.