Identity

Chapter 5

The question and answer ends and all the girls are escorted out. "Enjoy the show?" Liam yells at me from the stage. "Breathtaking!" I yell back and he laughs. I get up and walk to the stage. Niall offers me a hand and pulls me up on stage. "Wanna try something cool?" he asks. "What do you have in mind?" I ask back. "Just come with me," he says with a wink. He takes us up a set of stairs on the stage. "See that bridge connecting the two sets of stairs? Go stand on it," he says pointing at the narrow walkway. I do what he says and he follows. "Ok now hook this on your shirt to keep you from falling." Niall says holding a hook connected to the platform. I nod and he does the same. "Flip the switch!" he yells. Suddenly the platform begins to move. "Niall what the hell is going on," I say grabbing his arm to steady myself. He laughs and moves my hand to his. "It's all part of the show," he says looking around the arena. "You really love this all don't you," I say quietly, not meaning for him to hear. "Course I do, you know how I was as a kid, how I performed in front of everybody, how I got made fun of for asking you to uhm for asking you to prom at the winter concert," he says not so happy anymore. "How you said no," he whispers not meaning for me to hear him. "Anyway, that's when I told myself that nobody would laugh at me anymore, how if I worked," he pauses letting a tear fall from his eye. "How if I worked hard enough I would finally be able to impress you," he says looking me in the eyes. His blue eyes were so intimidating, as if they were silently telling me that I was the one he always wanted. "Congrats, you achieved your goal," I say squeezing his hand. A smile spreads across his face as the platform makes it to the second stage and we begin to descend. We unhook ourselves and hop off of the stage. "So what do

you say about having a quick walk around town?" Niall asks. "Are you crazy we'll be mobbed!" I say back. "Don't worry I've got some sunglasses and hoodies we can wear." Niall assures me taking my hand once again. He leads me to his dressing room and hands me a pair of sunglasses and a gray hoodie. I slip them both on. "You look great!" Niall beams. "You too," I giggle seeing that we're wearing the same thing. "Good luck," Zayn says saluting us as we walk out of the door. "Speak with an English accent, if they hear an Irish accent they'll know who I am," Niall whispers to me. I nod and we continue to walk hand and hand. We pass hundreds of girls, I wonder if any of them know their idol just strolled past them. I feel like laughing and crying at the same time knowing that if I didn't look like 'Stephanie' Niall wouldn't have given me the time of day. We end up at a Starbucks a few blocks away from the arena. "Want a coffee?" Niall asks. I nod and he goes up to order us something. I watching him begin to pay when his sunglasses fall off. "It's Niall!" someone shrieks. Niall drops the coffees and runs over to me. "We've gotta run!" He says not giving me even a second to get up. He jerks my arm up and we sprint towards the venue. The collection of girls chasing us begins to grow. The arena is in sight but it'll be a miracle if we make it. My legs begin to burn and fear sets in, thousands of girls could literally tear Niall and I apart. The venue is close now and Niall is yelling words of encouragement. We finally get there and I swing the door open diving in to be followed by Niall. He quickly fumbles to lock the door and we both are sweating and panting. I throw off the glasses in frustration. Niall's eyes meet mine and we erupt in laughter. "We, could've, died," Niall says in between breaths. "Don't make me laugh my sides already hurt," I yell at him making him laugh more. "Niall!" Louis yells in the distance. "What?" Niall yells back. "Come here!" he yells back. Niall and I walk to the stage area. "Niall where the hell were you? Meet and greets should've started ten minutes ago!" Louis says running his fingers through his hair. "Sorry I was busy being chased by thousands of girls," Niall says. "Well it's over now so come on!" Louis says. Niall kisses me on the cheek and follows Louis. I look around the arena, only to be interrupted by my phone buzzing. I check to see who it is. My best friend. My body goes numb. I was her ride home after the concert. I run to Niall's dressing room and pick up. "Hey Mel, uhm how's it going?" I say nervously. "Where the hell were you Courtney! I had to get a taxi, then the taxi driver got lost and I didn't get back to my apartment until one in the morning, you don't even know how pissed I am at you," she yells. "Mel please stop yelling I have a good excuse but I can't tell you it, yet," I say closing my eyes getting ready for her to scream at me. "I'm not getting off the phone until you tell me," she says firmly. "Listen, you're my best friend but if anybody else finds this out I could go to jail!" I whisper into the phone. "You are overreacting," she scoffs. I stay quiet. "Fine you won't tell me, see if I care!" she yells. I end the call in frustration and fall onto the couch. Only a day into faking being Stephnaie and I'm already having to

deal with my real life. I just want to live this fantasy life forever. I decide to google Niall just in case any pictures of us at the airport were on the internet. There were but all you could see was a hint of my brown hair. I sigh in relief. It's only about three in the afternoon and Niall will be gone until late because of the concert. My eyes feel heavy and I quickly fall asleep on the couch.