Hard to Forget (A Niall Horan Love Story) **Completed**

~Chapter Three~

Niall's POV:

The boys and I walk inside to Ed's party. It's a pretty nice one, but hard to see in here. "Where's Ed?" Liam asks, looking around. I look up and see Ed walk onstage, holding his guitar.

"I guess he's gonna sing," I reply.

"Let's move closer," Harry suggests. Since this is pretty much a celebrity party, I don't expect us to get mobbed. We worm our way through the crowd, mumbling some "'Scuse me"s. We're very near the front when I notice there's a girl with him onstage. I freeze, my breath hitching. It's Addie. The girl that utterly broke my heart. The girl that lied to me. The girl that I'm still hopelessly in love with.

A thousand questions fly through my brain. How does she know Ed Sheeran? What is she doing in London? Does she know we're here? Does she even remember me? If she does, how does she feel about me? They start singing, and I realize just how much I've missed her beautiful voice. Who am I kidding, I realize how much I've missed HER. But I never want to talk to her again. It'll hurt too much. They finish singing and everyone loves it. Louis runs off to talk to someone, and the rest of us get dragged into a conversation with Simon Cowell. I'm not paying a bit of attention to anything they're saying.

Louis scares the crap outta me when he runs over and claps his hand on mine and Liam's shoulders. "Hey lads, there's someone you guys should meet!" Louis says, grinning at us. I look at Liam and he shrugs.

We squeeze our way through the crowd, and Louis introduces us to- oh no. Addie. I never told any of the guys about her because I just wanted to forget about our relationship. Obviously I didn't. Either she can't see me or she doesn't recognize me, because she's just chatting with the lads. Harry catches me off guard by asking her to audition for our opening act! Um, hello?!? Aren't I apart of important band decisions too? Everyone appears to love the idea, but I hate it. I see her give Harry a huge hug, and it hurts. Tears well up in my eyes, and I clench my fists. That should be me.

"Wait, who are you guys, anyway? You're in a band, right?" Wow. After months of dating me, she doesn't even recognize the other members of my band? I guess that's how little I meant to her.

"One Direction!" Harry answers. Addie stares at Harry, looking dazed. She shoves past the guys until she's inches from me. Her hand is covering her mouth and she's trying to holding back tears. I look at her and that day flashes before my eyes. The worst day of my life. All I want to do is wrap my arms around her and tell her I still love her, that we can still be a couple. But we can't. I can never trust her again. All of a sudden, she runs backstage, stumbling into other people.

I stand there, my emotions clashing with a mixture of love and hatred. The boys all turn to look at me, totally confused. I don't know what to feel. I just stand there, staring at where she was standing.

Ed's POV:

What the heck is going on? Does she know Niall, or something?

"What was that all about?" Harry asks, turning to me. I shrug.

"I have no idea, but I'll go find out." I look behind Harry and notice Niall's not there, neither is Zayn or Liam. I run backstage to where Addie went. I look around for a minute, and find her sitting on the floor of a supply closet, sobbing into her hands. I sigh, sitting down next to her. I rub her back and grab a roll of toilet paper, handing it to her. Her sobs subside and she takes the roll, smiling weakly as she wipes her eyes with it.

"Will you tell me what's wrong? How do you know Niall?" She takes a deep breath, starting the story. Her voice breaks a few times, and the toilet paper gets full use. When she finishes, I just sit there, utterly shocked. I never would have guessed that she would cheat on someone, let alone Niall. I feel stupid that I didn't put together the fact that they're both from Mullingar.

"I just wish I could apologize to him, but I'm sure he won't even talk to me. Not that I could blame him. If I were him, I wouldn't talk to me either. But Ed, you don't know how hard it's been at school, especially being the only one with an American accent. I get bullied all the time, cause they know Niall's not there to defend me." suddenly she rolls up the sleeves of her cardigan, and I'm stunned.