Niall's Girl

Chapter Forty Seven

Chapter Forty Seven

The days flew by faster than Usain Bolt on steroids.

I settled into the hectic schedule which consisted of hours driving around on the tour bus, hanging around in dressing rooms, watching the boys' performances, ducking my head from the paparazzi and finally, falling asleep next to Niall, my legs tangled with his and listening to his steady breathing.

I had honestly never been happier in my life; these five boys I was spending all my time with became my close friends, and of course I had Niall there with me so I could never be bored or upset because he'd notice and immediately cheer me up.

I was still in some state of shock that he was my boyfriend; my cardboard cutout? Sure. But actual Niall, real-life Niall? It was crazy.

"Hey Em?" Niall shouted from across the dressing room, where he was getting his hair done by Lou.

"Niall, we're busy!" Luke shouted back. You see, one day when we were hanging out with Five Seconds of Summer, Michael had been teasing Luke about his kill score on Call of Duty, and I had butted in and announced that I would take him on. Ever since then, Luke and I had become an unbeatable team, spending free time on the Xbox on their tour bus. Niall usually came along, too, since he loved the boys and was basically the fifth member of the band.

"Die, bastard, die!" I yelled at the screen as an enemy ran at me. I switched to my pistol and knocked him down, and finally the end screen came up signalling that we had beaten the level.

"Hell yes!" Luke shouted, and we stood up, running up to each other, jumping and chest bumping in our little victory drill. After more high fives and some celebratory swearing from Luke, I looked over to find Niall laughing at us.

"What are you laughing at, leprechaun?" I narrowed my eyes at him playfully, walking over to jump into his outstretched arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and leaned forward to peck his lips, pulling back every time he tried to deepen the kiss.

"Tease," Niall growled in a low, husky voice. I squeezed my legs tighter because I knew it would turn him on even more than he was already. And he definitely was already, if you know what I mean...

The awkward coughing and a quiet chuckle brought both Niall and I back to our senses. I jumped back down to the ground and twirled around to find Lou, Luke and now Harry stood there after having witnessed our intimate moment.

"Uh...sorry guys," I muttered, my face blushing red. Harry just smirked and winked at me, knowingly.

I felt Niall's arms snake around me from behind and he rested his chin on the top of my head. "Well, I'm not sorry." He said, and I could just picture the smug grin on his face. I wasn't in the position to smack him so I stomped on his foot instead. "Hey!" He protested, letting me go so I couldn't abuse him anymore.

"Love you," I turned and smiled sweetly at him, pecking his lips when he pouted because his lips were so irresistible.

"I love you, too... sometimes," Niall mumbled against my lips.

***

The concerts every night were amazing; I would never get over the excitement of seeing the boys jump around on stage. Niall especially. The happiness I knew he got from singing to the crowds every night just made it that much more special for me to watch.

The only downside of my trip was again, the paparazzi. I had now been featured in a number of gossip magazines, which was only to be expected since Niall and I practically had our hands glued together everywhere we went. It would have been easier just to distance myself from him when cameras were around, but I preferred being close to him and he wanted me close, too. The articles all claimed that I was Niall's girlfriend, which was of course true even though we hadn't officially declared it yet or anything.

I freaked out the first time I saw an article dedicated to both Niall and I. Niall managed to calm me down, since I was starting to hyperventilate. I know it seems like I was overreacting but I was a normal teenage girl, just out of sixth form. I never wanted fame and I didn't want it now, either. I was forcing myself to deal with it though, because this was Niall's life and I wanted to be a part of it.

One night, after the concert I received a few... surprised messages from my friends. I could tell before I had even opened them that they knew. Niall was showering at the venue, so I was waiting in the dressing room for him.

Reluctantly, I clicked on my unread messages.

Sophie:

'I swear I just saw you on an article with One Direction! xx'

'WAIT I SWEAR IT'S YOU'

'EMMA WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN AMERICA'

Sadie:

'What the fuck is going on, I have just seen your face in a bloody magazine?'

Eric:

'Jesus Christ, are you really dating a popstar?'

Ben:

'They were getting all pissy about it, so I told them about you and Niall. Is that okay?x'

I put the phone down for a second whilst I rubbed my face with my hands. They weren't meant to find out this way. I had been meaning to tell them, to kind of let them know gently and yet time had just slipped by and I guess I had forgotten. In all honesty, my life here on tour felt like a different world to my previous life, and I had gotten caught up in my bubble of Niall and One Direction that I hadn't put enough effort into keeping in touch with my friends.

I decided it was best to just approach this head on so I sent them all a group message.

'Me: Guys, it's true that I'm in America with the One Direction. It's a really long story, one that I can't be bothered to go into but basically I became friends with Niall (the blonde, Irish one?) a while ago now, and he invited me on tour, so that's what I'm doing here in the USA. About two weeks ago now he asked me to be his girlfriend and so that's why magazines have been all hyped up. I completely understand if you're confused; it's still ridiculously surreal to me, too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I wasn't quite sure how to explain. How are your summers going?xxxxx'

Sophie replied almost instantly.

'Sophie: Emma, I can't believe you didn't tell us! This is such a big deal!'

I cringed at her words, hoping she wasn't mad.

'Me: I'm sorry, I just didn't know if you'd understand'

'Sophie: Wouldn't understand? I thought we were your best friends but obviously not, since you didn't even tell us you had a famous boyfriend and I haven't heard from you in weeks'

Shit. You upset them already, Emma. Way to go.

'Me: You are my best friends, I'm sorry! It's been hectic here and I know that's no excuse, but time's just gone really quickly and I guess I didn't think'

Suddenly, Sadie was online.

'Sadie: You 'didn't think' to tell us you were in America with ONE DIRECTION? You 'didn't think' to keep in touch? Wow.'

My heart started to beat a bit faster, as I frowned down at the messages. I didn't want them to be mad at me; I hadn't meant to neglect them. I knew I had been a bad friend, but didn't they understand that this wasn't easy for me? Being on tour with a world famous boyband wasn't what I had expected from my summer, and I had been so worried that would disapprove or something. And now it seemed like they did.

'Me: Please don't be angry with me, I really am sorry'

'Sadie: Do we even know you at all?'

'Will: You could have at least picked hottie Harry Styles as your boyfriend'

I was so done at that point. I knew Will was joking in an effort to diffuse the tension. But I was nothing, if not protective. Especially over the people I loved. And I fucking loved Niall to bits.

'Me: Fine then, guys. If you're not going to be nice about it, then fuck you. Did you ever think that maybe I didn't tell you in case you acted like this? I didn't want your perception of me to change. This hasn't been all unicorns and rainbows for me, I'm finding it hard here, it's hard to adjust and maybe if you were true friends you would have asked if I was alright instead of being douchebags because you're jealous.'

I logged out of Facebook in a rage, which quickly dissolved to regret. I was mad that they couldn't just be happy for me, and any implication that Niall wasn't perfect infuriated me. But I knew I shouldn't have lashed out. They were just confused; I had suddenly gone from being schoolfriend-Emma to being Emma-the-girlfriend-of-a-worldwide-heartthrob. Believe me, I understood their shock. I was still shocked about it myself.

I knew I shouldn't have called them jealous, though. That was just the anger speaking, I knew they weren't like that. I just felt so overwhelmed; I was trying to deal with all the tweets and the articles claiming that Niall and I dating was wrong, and now my own friends, too?

I felt like I had no support from anyone.

And if it got any worse, I would surely burst.

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