Her Name Was Marty (Niall Horan)

iii

previously... 

“So you’re giving up on music now?”

“No. I just may change my name. I mean… it’s the music industry, I could have any name I wanted.”

“I don’t want you to give up.” He tells me. “I was being serious when I said that I’d heard your music before, not only do you have an amazing voice but you’re song writing skills are incredible, so I really don’t want you to give up on that.”

“I promise you I won’t.” I reply, my heart swelling at the care that he’s showing me. “Okay, my turn for the honest answer.” I smirk at the question that comes to mind and Niall nods in anticipation for my question. “So… if you’ve heard my music before, does that mean you’ve watched my video too?”

- - - - -

iii

“When are you going to grow up and realise the consequences of your mistakes?” He screams at me, he’s too manly to give me tears, but his eyes show me the hurt that he feels, that I’ve caused him.

“So you’ve already packed all my bags up?” I ask him, looking on with tears in my eyes at the suitcases by the door. “You’ve already decided how this conversation will play out? Should I just leave now?”

“How did this even happen?” He asks, ignoring me, moving towards the kitchen table, an opened whiskey bottle resting on the table.

“We’d had an argument.” He scoffs, grabbing hold of his whiskey bottle and taking another swig.

“That’s right Marty, run away at the smallest bit of confrontation. Just because we have a little argument doesn’t mean you can go out and record a sex tape with the first guy that you meet on the street!”

“I didn’t!” I defend, “’Little arguments’ are about you using my toothbrush instead of your own, or arguing over whether to order a curry or fish and chips, it’s a pretty big argument when you kick me out of the flat so you can ‘have some time to think’!”

“Why would you do this to me? Was it for more fame?”

“No! I didn’t know he’d recorded anything, it was never supposed to get out like this.”

“By ‘like this’, you obviously mean I was never supposed to find out I assume.” He rolls his eyes, placing down the half-empty whiskey bottle, “Mar, I don’t know how we’re gonna get past all this.” He sighs, and for the first time that evening, Riley looks me in the eye. “The problem is… that I’m so in love with you that I don’t want to let you go.” He gets to his feet, taking tentative steps towards me and I find myself confused by his behaviour as he takes my hand. “Just tell me it was the one time. And that you regret it and that we can work this through.”

“I’d never intentionally hurt you.” I begin, scared of what I may say to him, knowing that this will hurt him more than me. “And I deeply regret it… but it happened for a reason Riley, we can’t just brush this under the carpet. I’m not sure if I want to work this out.”

“Well at least I packed your bags for you already. Get out of my life Marty.”

-

When I wake up, the first morning of my holiday, I find myself leaning not on a pillow, but on a body. Obviously Niall’s body, moving away from his embrace I untangle our limbs and move further across to my side of the bed. Somehow in the night, we’d met in the middle. I sit up in the bed and my attention is caught when Niall lets out a groan and moves his hand around the area where I had been a moment before,