Identity

Chapter 6

"Stephanie," I hear Niall say. "Or should I say Courtney," he says. My eyes pop open and I see him along with the rest of the boys. "What a slut, pretending to be someone she's not," Harry says. "No!" I scream at them. "Steph wake up," Niall says calmly. I feel someone push on my shoulder.

• • • • • • • •

I shoot up to see a very anxious Niall, thank goodness that was only a dream. "Steph are you ok? You looked like you were having a nightmare," he says, obviously concerned. "Yeah, no, I'm fine," I say running my hand through my hair. He nods and sits down at my feet. "So uhm how was the show?" I ask trying to change the subject. "Oh it was ok I guess, all the girls seemed to like all the boys but me," he says looking down. "Niall, everyone loves you," I say getting up. "But what if they don't, what if I'm not good enough," he says. "Niall look around you, we almost got killed today because girls love you so much!" I say to him. He looks up and chuckles. "Yeah I guess you're right," he says getting up. "So back to the hotel I guess?" I ask. He nods and takes my hand as we walk to the bus. The bus ride is quiet to the hotel. "So where am I sleeping?" I ask. "You and I are gonna share a room all week, if that's all good with you," Niall says. I smile, "That's perfect with me." He grins and Louis whistles. "Shut up!" we both yell at him. Harry looks upset knowing that Niall and I are sharing a room, why? We get to the hotel and get our rooms, the boys meet some fans and I let them do their thing. "Steph, I had someone from the stage crew get you all the stuff you needed for the tour, it's already in the room. I'll meet you there let me finish up," Niall says over his shoulder while girls crowd around him, they all give me dirty looks knowing I get to share a room with Niall. I nod and head up to our room. I open the door and walk in to see a brand new suitcase. I open it up and see all new clothes, a bathing suit, and toiletries, and some makeup. I smile knowing that Niall had done all of this for me. My hair feels dirty so I decide it's time for a shower. Grabbing some towels from the closet I go into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and locking it. I take off my clothes and twist the handle on the shower. I step in letting the hot water run over me. I grab a bottle of shampoo and wash my hair, and then the bar of soap washing my body. I hear Niall come in and smile. The Niall Horan is staying in the same hotel as me, in the same room even. I can't help but feel horrible for stealing this girl's life, she literally has it all. I turn off the shower and get out wrapping a towel around my hair and then my body. I unlock the door and walk out to grab some clothes. My suitcase is gone and Niall is laying on the bed smirking. "Niall where's my suitcase?" I say trying not to laugh. "I guess you'll just have to find it," he says giggling afterwards. "Niall I'm basically naked where the hell are my clothes," I say trying to be tough. "I don't know, that's a good look for you, I don't think you need those clothes," he says. I huff and begin to look around the room. I finally find it under the bed. "Very clever," I mumble and Niall laughs. I open the suitcase, grab some clothes, go to the bathroom and put them on. I let my hair down from the towel and brush it. My phone keeps buzzing and I finally check who it is, Mel. My heart sinks. She's called so many times and texted apologies, my best friend deserves to know what's going on. I yell to Niall that I'm going to get some snacks from the vending machine and I run to the stairwell. I press the call button next to Mel's name and she instantly picks up. "Courtney I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you, please tell me why you left so I can know what's going on with you, you seemed so tense last time we talked!" Mel yells into the phone. "Mel this is going to sound crazy but just let me explain it all," I whisper. "I'm listening," she says. I take a deep breath and tell her everything, every single detail of what I've gone through so far. I finally finish and she doesn't say a word. "Mel?" I ask. Then I hear her scream in excitement. "No way, prove it, send me a picture of Niall, oh my god this isn't happened," she says very quickly. "Ok I'll text it to you, but I have to get off the phone before Niall get's suspicious," I whisper into the phone. "Ok but get me that pic!" she says. I laugh and hang up. I walk back to the hotel room, grabbing a bag of chips from the vending machine for myself. "Hey babe why were you gone so long?" Niall asks. "Got lost," I say opening the bag of chips. He nods and goes back to watching the tv. I sneak my phone and snap a quick picture, then sending it to Mel. She replies with a series of capital letters and emojis. I tell her that she can't tell a soul and she agrees not to. I close out my phone and put it on the dresser. I then hop into bed with Niall and give him a kiss on the cheek. He smiles and kisses me back on the lips. "So I was thinking, do you um, want to go on a, a date tomorrow?" Niall says nervously. I smile, "I would love that," I say grabbing a hold of his hand. He gives me another kiss on the lips and then I lay my head on his chest. I fall asleep in the arms of the boy I've loved for three years, but I can't help but ruin the moment by remembering that I was also playing a horrible trick on the boy that I love, a trick that I didn't even mean to start playing.