The Lying Game ▹ Niall Horan [DISCONTINUED]

08. The Hate Game

THE HATE GAME

My eyes flicker between each tweet. The hateful tweets are overpowering the nice tweets, so in the end, my mind completely ignores everything nice that people are saying and focuses on what all the hateful comments are.

How could people be so cruel? I mean, I expected hate, but not this much. I definitely wasn't expecting everyone to accept me as Niall's girlfriend, but I really thought there would at least be an even amount of hate and love. Not in this case, however.

It's amazing how majority of One Direction's fan base are aged between twelve and fifteen, yet they can use such colourful words to hurt someone through a computer. I bet they wouldn't even have the guts to say all this stuff to me in person.

Nevertheless, the comments still hurt. I now realise that warm and salty tears are wetting my cheeks. I curl into a ball and continue to read what people think of me, crying along the way.

After reading what must have been pages and pages of hate towards me, I unlock my phone and write a new text to my boyfriend.

AUBREY: Can you please delete that pic of me on twittr ?? Xx

I find Niall's twitter profile and check to see if he has done it. He probably hasn't even read my text yet but I can never be too sure.

My phone buzzes next to my laptop. I pick it up to see a pop up notification indicating that I have a new text message from Niall. I slide the message across the screen and type in my password before awaiting the message to show.

NIALL: Why ? You look soo cutee

And another one pops up before I can reply.

NIALL: Oh I get itt . Sorry babe..

I refresh Niall's profile to see if he has taken down the tweet, but frown when I see he hasn't. I continue to refresh, but still nothing has changed.

I refresh one more time, and I still don't see the tweet with the photo attached taken down, but Niall has tweeted something new.

NiallHoran @NiallOfficial
Leave Aubrey alone. ENough with the hate guys , please. I love you all, but that's my girlfriend , so please be nice . Xx

I click the expand button to find that already hundreds of girls have replied. Nothing has really changed, but I do notice a few less hate comments. But maybe there will be more to come as more fans see the tweet.

I go back to Niall's text to reply.

AUBREY: Thanks for trying xx

NIALL: Sorry if it didn't really help . Try to ignore it bub; it'll die down soon. They can sometimes be a handful. Or a truckload.

I smile a little at that, wiping at my wet cheeks. He always knows how to lighten my mood and that's one of the many reasons I fell for him and why I'm falling for him again.

AUBREY: You're the best. <3

NIALL: I try ;)

AUBREY: See you soon yeah?

NIALL: Definitely. I'll let you know when I'm free! Bye baby <3 xx

AUBREY: Later 'gator :3 <3 xxx

I sigh, but not sadly - happily. He always knows how to make me feel better after a rough time. He's always been such a sweetheart and I just don't want to ruin that when I tell him who I really am. By then, though, he will have hopefully fallen in love with me. He may still take it really hard, but hopefully we can overcome it. Just a few more weeks.

What this boy is doing to me.

▲▼▲ 

I am lucky that yesterday was my last day on my period because seriously, that was the worst pain I have ever experienced during a period. But then again Niall bought me chocolate and sweets and we cuddled and watch movies while sharing lazy kisses between each other, so it wasn't all that bad. At least something good came out of all that pain.

I have been doing everything I can to occupy myself so that I don't go on twitter to see what people are now saying. I know it would be stupid of me to even think about checking but even if their hate comments, you still want to know what people are saying about you, no matter how bad.

I pick my phone up off the couch beside me and stare at my reflection in the locked screen. My finger hovers over the black home button and I feel so, so tempted to just unlock my phone, go to the twitter app and read a few tweets.

"No, you'll just get hurt." I mutter to myself, squeezing my eyes shut. I force myself to throw my phone beside me again and I get up from my slightly uncomfortable position.

I stride out of the living room and into the kitchen. I find myself two slices of bread, a butter knife and Nutella and set them on the counter.

"Oh, yum." Tamara says, walking in on the right moment. "Make me one please?"

I shrug in response and collect another two slices of bread from the packet. I seal it shut before laying all four slices out and beginning to spread a thick layer of Nutella on each one.

"Oh, not too much!" Tamara exclaims as I am buttering the Nutella on her slices. I look at her quizzically. Since when had she ever told me to not put 'too much' Nutella on her sandwich? There is never 'too much' Nutella. "I'm trying to be healthy."

We stare at each other for a few seconds, my mind processing what she just said. And then we just burst out laughing because I finally get that she's joking.

"Oh goodness, imagine if you really did stop eating Nutella!" I cry, still laughing hysterically. "I think I'd have to kill you!"

"I would let you kill me!" She laughs, doubling over.

Our laughter soon dies down and I go back to making the Nutella sandwiches. When I am done, I put the slices together and hand Tamara her sandwich before I pick mine up and begin eating it.

My phone makes a nosie to signal that I have a new text message. There's no doubt that it's Niall texting me. I put my Nutella sandwich on the counter and go into the living room to retrieve my phone. I unlock the electronic device and the screen automatically goes to the new text message from Niall.

NIALL: come over today ?(:

I smile and begin typing out a text.

AUBREY: nah i don't like you.. you smell ;)

I chuckle at my own joke and hit send. Pocketing my phone, I go back into the kitchen to finish my Nutella sandwich, only to find that Tamara has finished hers and is now devouring mine.

"Hey!" I exclaim loudly. "That was mine."

She shrugs shamelessly. "Sorry, but you were too busy texting lover boy." Her mouth is full of food as she speaks, and I can see all the bits and pieces of chocolate covered bread. I fake gag and find a glass to fill with water.

My phone buzzes in my pocket again, along with the beeping sound it makes to alert me that I have another text message.

I finish my glass of water and place it in the dishwasher, taking my phone out afterwards.

NIALL: Ha ha very funny , but if you have smelt yourself before you would have already googled something called deodorant ;)

I roll my eyes and smile, leaning against the counter for support as I text him back.

AUBREY: that was lame... one direction is lame... you're lame... your whole life is lame!

NIALL: your in my life, therefeore , making YOU lame .

AUBREY: you spelt 'therefore' wrong.. :P learn how to spell, idiot.

NIALL: learn how to shut up

AUBREY: I'm not talking, just texting.

NIALL: well then learn how to stop texting

AUBREY: Fine, I guess I won't be coming over then, or ever texting you again. ;)

NIALL: aww ok I'm sorry :( come over? please?

AUBREY: I just saw you yesterday -.-

NIALL: fine, if you didn't want to hang out with me you could've just said so...

AUBREY: I'm kidding babe, i'll be over in twenty... Tamara's coming as well.

NIALL: ok, see you soon.. xx

I don't reply as I pocket my phone again and grab Tamara's arm, dragging her through the house and upstairs to her bedroom. I practically throw her into her room and grip the door handle.

"Get dressed; we're going to Niall's." I tell her, not allowing her to answer before shutting the door.

"I love you too?" She says through the door, although it comes out as more of a question. I chuckle and ignore her, going into my room to get ready quickly.

I decide on just wearing plain black skinny jeans, a white tank top and a cream coloured shirt with black tribal print on it. My feet have black sandals on and my hair is put up into a ponytail. I apply light makeup and grab my phone out of my sweatpants pockets, switching it over to my jeans pocket.

"Let's go!" I shout as I leave my room. I run down the stairs and make my way into the kitchen, only to find Tamara finishing off a glass of orange juice. My jaw drops.

"You take forever to get ready." She whines, placing her empty glass in the dishwasher.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get ready faster than me, yet dress fancier than me."

She shrugs and winks. "A magician never tells her secrets."

I roll my eyes, a smile making its way onto my face. Tamara grabs her car keys after I tell her that she's driving, and we leave through the front door, closing and locking it behind us. I get into the passenger seat of Tamara's car as she gets into the driver's side.

The car roars to life as Tamara turns the key in the ignition. I plant my feet firmly on the car floor so that I can push my lower half up to collect my phone out of my pocket. Tamara laughs softly at my position, but I know for a fact that she has had to do this about ten thousand times before.

Without thinking, I open up my Twitter app as we turn onto the main road, driving in the direction of where the boys are staying. Little Mix's new song, Move, comes on the radio, so I lean forward to turn the volume up, singing along to the parts of the song that I know the lyrics to.

I go back to Twitter and reading through my news feed. A few tweets from Justin, Niall, Perrie and from the other thirty thousand or so people I follow. I faintly hear Tamara asking me what I'm reading, so I read to her some tweets from random people.

But then I start reading some tweets that were sent to me, and I suddenly feel down again. Hate. Hate. And more hate.

I knew I shouldn't have come back on here. It's not like I was completely expecting the hate to die down so soon, but I guess there was still that little sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, it had died down the tiniest bit. Nope, not even a little.

So many teenage girls using so many colourful words against me. Niall said I shouldn't let it get to me, but how can I not? Of course I got hate before I started dating Niall, but it was nothing compared to this. This is horrible and so painful and makes me think all sorts of bad things about myself that I've neevr really thought. I've never really been an insecure girl, but with what these people are saying, my mind is thinking all sorts of bad things about myself.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tamara asks, placing a hand on my knee.

I now realise that I am crying, hot tears tracing paths down my cheeks. I sniffle loudly and wipe them away furiously, becoming angry with myself for crying. "N-nothing." I stutter weakly, finally locking my phone and throwing it on my lap.

"Obviously it's something if you're crying, babe." She replies, pulling up in front of the house the boys are staying at.

"I'm fine." I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the car, beginning to make my way up the path to the front door. I put my phone back into my back pocket.

Before I even take five steps, Tamara has miraculously exited the car and come around to grab my arm. She takes one look at my face before saying, "hey, come here," and pulling me into a hug.

I sob into her shoulder, wrapping my arms around her waist. I now realise that her waist is slimmer than mine, and Tamara doesn't break out with pimples like I do. She has long and thin hair that is easy to manage and perfectly tanned skin.

This is what those people on Twitter are doing to me - making me compare myself to my own best friend. Just two days I didn't mind that I'm curvy and get pimples occassionally and have thick and hair shorter than Tamara's. But after reading about people calling me fat and ugly and comparing me to Zayn's and Liam's and Louis' girlfriends, I become insecure.

When I first started acting, I got a lot of hate. Nothing compared to the hate I'm getting now, but still enough to break me. I became insecure and started questioning myself whenever I had a slice of cake or a soft drink.

Eventually, I got over it, and people got over hating on me. I learnt to love who I was and became fine again. But now I'm staring to feel bad about myself again.

"T-there's just so much h-hate." I whimper.

"Aw, babe," she coos, petting the back of my head. "They're stupid."

The front door opens before I hear several pairs of footsteps approach us. Tamara pulls away from me, and I soon feel familiar arms wrapping around me. All the tweets run through my mind as I wrap my arms around Niall's waist, savouring his warmth and comfort.

I can hear the other boys and Tamara whispering to each other behind Niall, but I choose to ignore them as my tears continue to soak my boyfriend's shirt. He is running his hand up and down my back softly while the other hand holds me firmly against him. He really does give amazing hugs.

"Let's get you inside, yeah?" He whispers smoothly in my ear. I nod and keep my arms wrapped around his waist and my face buried in my his chest as he pulls me up the path and inside. I feel a few hands rub my back, but I don't dare lift my head. I don't want them to see how much this hurts me.

"Do one of you mind making her a tea while I take her up to bed please?" Niall asks to no one in particular. I hear Louis say that he'll make it before I am practically dragged up the stairs. "Babe, you have to actually walk up the stairs with me." He whispers.

I shake my head stubbornly. "Carry me?" I ask childishly, my voice hoarse and raw from crying.

Niall chuckles slightly before I am literally sweeped off my feet. He carries me, bridal style, the rest of the distace to his room. I don't realise Harry is behind us until Niall asks him to pull the covers back for me. I open one eye to watch Harry do so before Niall gently places me into bed. Harry puts the covers back over me before leaving the room.

"I'll be right back, love." Niall leans down and places a kiss on my forehead before also leaving the room.

I curl up into a ball and hug his sheets close to my body. Everything is coated in Niall's scent and I can't help but take deeps breaths through my nose to smell him.

"It's the hate." I hear Tamara murmuring. This house is so open spaced that it echoes throughout all the room. "She can't take it."

Someone sighs, but I can't tell who. I continue to listen as they discuss what's going on.

"She needs you, mate." Liam says, and I know he is directing it towards Niall. "You should go back up to her. We'll get Louis to bring her tea up."

"Thanks." Niall replies before I hear him walking back up the wooden stairs and down the hall. His body emerges from the doorway and he smiles slightly at me. "Hey, beautiful."

I groan. "Don't call me that." I whine, beginning to cry again.

"Why?" Niall asks, kneeling down beside the bed. He rests a hand on my cheek and begins wiping away the tears. "It's true. You are beautiful. So, so beautiful."

"Your fans don't think so."

Niall scoffs. "They're just jealous. As conceited as it sounds, they just want to have me the way that you have me."

"How would calling your girlfriend a whore and ugly and fat and stupid going to get you the way I have you?" I ask.

"It wouldn't. But that's just what they do. Believe me, it will die down and they'll learn to love you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because it happened with Danielle and Eleanor and Perrie. The fans used to believe that Zayn and Perrie weren't actually a couple and Zayn was just pretending to date her to help get Little Mix big. All three of the girlfriends got hate, but eventually it died down and people learnt to love them."

I sigh an decide not to reply so that his words can sink in. He moves from his position in the floor and stands up, pulling back the covers. He notices my shoes are still on and removes them for me before removing his own shoes.

Crawling up the bed, he gently rolls me onto my back so he is hovering over me. He leans down to lock our lips together in a slow and lazy kiss. I wrap my arm loosely around his neck to pull him closer against me. He tilts his head to deepen the kiss slightly, allowing his tongue to slip past his lips and into my mouth.

He moves his lips from my mouth my to my jawline, pecking there softly before mouthing, "beautiful," against my skin. He proceeds to mouth things like, "sexy," "perfect," "incredible," as he places soft kisses against my skin.

Someone clears their throat from the doorway. Niall pulls back and I jolt my head up to see Louis standing in the doorway with a tray if not only a cup of tea but also a small plate of toast.

"You work fast, Nialler." Louis chuckles, entering the room. Niall just rolls his eyes. "I brought you toast as well." He explains, setting the tray on the nightstand.

I smile gratefully. "Thank you, Louis."

"No worries, love." He replies sweetly. "Don't worry about the fans. Sometimes they can be a little controlling, especially over Nialler here. I mean, look at this kid." Louis ruffles Niall's blonde locks. "He lights up the room."

"Louis..." Niall whines, blushing in embarrassment. "Leave please."

"Aw, Niall wants to go back to eating his girlfriend. How cute."

I chuckle slightly while Niall continues to whine. "Stop, Lou."

Louis holds his hands up in defence, taking a few steps back to the doorway. "Alright, alright. I guess I'll just leave you two to the baby making. Don't be too rough, Niall!" And before either of us get to respond, Louis has run out the door.

I bark out a loud laugh before slapping my hand over my mouth, stifling anymore laughing that begs to be released.

Niall raises an eyebrow at me. "Oh, you thought that was funny, eh?" I shake my head to tell him no, but the giggles spurting from my mouth tell him otherwise, and so he begins attacking my sides with his fingers. "Is it funny now?"

I laugh loudly and try my best to push him away, but he won't budge. "N-Niall, stop." I say between fits of giggles.

"Tell me I'm an Irish King!" He demands, practically shouting in my face.

"Y-you're an I-Irish King!" I yell. All traces of me ever being sad or crying have completely vanished because Niall is amazing like that and knows how to cheer me up.

He finally stops tickling me and grabs my hand to intertwine our fingers together beside my head. I tilt my head to look at our intertwined hands and lean forward to kiss his knuckles gently.

"You're beautiful, alright?" He asks rhetorically. "You're one hundred percent, two hundred percent, four billion percent perfect in my eyes."

I sigh happily and nod, just as Niall leans down to connect our lips again.