This Town

Chapter Thirty Six

December, 2012. New York City.

Siobhan and I had finally managed to meet up. I had bought her a surprise ticket to come see One Direction at Madison Square Garden. I was so stoked about this performance. We had sold out one of the world's greatest arenas and I wanted one person to share it with. Her plane arrived later than scheduled so she immediately came to the venue. We reunited in my dressing room. I hadn't seen her in awhile and she looked tired. Stressed. Worried. But also, happy to see me.

She flew into my arms and kissed me all over my face.

"Get a room!" I heard Zayn yell as he passed by.

We both smiled as we simply shut the door. After our little "reunion" she was led to her seat. The show was a success! And I was so happy to have my girl with me on what is seriously the greatest night of my life.

We all went out to eat afterwards. Yes, we went out in public together, but as a group, and other girls were involved so the attention wouldn't solely be focused on her, if any at all. We had a good time and we weren't harassed too much by paparazzi.

We had a few days off, so we mostly hung out in our hotel room. We were snuggled up on the couch watching "Home Alone" when it all happened.

"Niall, wanna go out and get a bite to eat?" she asked.

"Sure. Let me see what the guys are up to."

I heard a loud, frustrated sigh below me where her head was lying in my lap. She sat up. "Niall, I'm getting a little tired of still having to do this. You just released your third album. I think we can go out by ourselves now. We don't need babysitters."

"Siobhan, you know we can't do that."

"And why not? We went out last night after the show. There were no problems."

"That's different. We were in a group."

"Okay, well, the others have had girlfriends and been seen with them. Why the hell can't we?"

"And you saw that they were all denied and those girls ripped to shreds. I don't want that to happen to us; to you."

"Niall, please. This is my first time in this city, and I want to see it with you. I'm getting tired of doing it by myself."

"You think I want to spend every day locked up in a hotel room?"

"Of course not. But, c'mon, Niall, this is beyond ridiculous."

"I know that."

"So defy they're stupid expectation of what you can and cannot do and take me out! I love seeing the world, and I do enjoy having the time to see it myself but I'd also love to see it with you. Remember, how we talked about doing this sort of thing together?"

"Of course I do." I said, sadly.

"Well, then let's do it! Let's get out of the hotel room and see the world! Or, at least, this city. Tell management to fuck off for one fucking night."

"Siobhan, you know it's not that easy. The boys got ripped a new one every time they defied management. I don't want that to happen to you."

"No, what you mean is you don't want that to happen to you. Or maybe it's worse. Maybe you don't want to be seen with me. Maybe you don't want people seeing some homely, local girl. Maybe if I were famous or rich or looked like a supermodel you'd be more willing to take me out."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means maybe you'd rather be with one of those girls."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Then prove it." She crossed her arms and stared right at me, "Prove it, Niall. Let's throw on our coats and go visit this city. Let's go play tourists, together."

There was a long pause before I answered, "I can't do that, Siobhan."

"I don't want to do this by myself anymore. Seeing the world alone is nice, for awhile. But when it's your boyfriend who is the one paying for everything, I'd think you'd want to see the world with your girlfriend."

"I do."

"Then do it." I heard a crack in her voice. I looked up at her, straining to keep her tears in. "Take your girlfriend out, Niall. Please."

"Siobhan, we've talked about this before and you know the answer."

The tears began streaming down her face. "I'm tired, Niall."

She walked past me and shut the door to the bedroom. I heard her lock it.

I sat down completely frustrated with this situation. We had had several disagreements over the last year and a half about this but I sensed this time was different. I sensed that if I didn't do something soon, she wasn't going to take it anymore.

I grabbed the room key and left, a plan forming.