Girlfriend For Hire// n.h.

Chapter Three

Niall soon finds Paige standing in front of the spot where he lounges on the couch, obscuring his view of the football game. He glances up at her, only to find Paige's arm outstretched towards him, money in hand.

"Take it," she tells him.

"Why?" he asks, placing a hand on her hip and pushing her out of the way so that he can watch the game. She plops down heavily on the cushion beside him, once again holding out the money.

"It's for yesterday. This covers my clothes and my meal. Take it," she repeats, but Niall, like before, pushes her hand away.

"I don't need your money," he says, eyes glued to the television. "C'mon! My mum could play better than you!" he yells out at the players, who obviously can not hear him. Mumbling curses under his breath, he barely notices Paige attempting to take out his wallet from his jean's pocket.

"Niall, take the money!" she exclaims.

"I don't want the money! I paid for you, it's not a big deal!" he exclaims back at her, once again trying to focus on the game.

"Niall, I like paying for things myself," she tells him, exasperation rising into her voice. She seems about as tired of arguing as Niall, who just wants to watch his favorite team win.

"But I paid for you, so you're going to have to deal," he explains, pushing Paige's hand back towards her. "I don't want your money. Boyfriend or fake boyfriend, I'm paying for you when we go out."

"No, you aren't," she objects, voice growing more stern and less tired.

"Yes, I am," he insists.

"Niall, no."

"Paige, yes."

"I don't need you to."

"But I want to."

"I don't want you to."

"Well I don't care. It's decided, and you can't change it. I pay," he tells her with finality, ending all conversation. Paige slumps in her seat next to him, sliding the money into her purse which was laying on the coffee table.

After silence rests over them, and the game goes to commercial, Niall finds it awkward not talking to her, and tries to strike up a conversation once more. Hopefully, without arguing this time.

"So... any more instructions on this whole relationship?" Paige nods, pulling out her phone where a long text is written, probably from Mr. Edwards.

"Apparently you're taking me to a charity football game that you're scheduled to play," she explains, reading over her screen and glancing up at him to elaborate more.

"Yeah, me and the boys are playing tomorrow. I suppose you'll be with Perrie and Eleanor," he says, simply shrugging. Paige's face falls, and she sets her phone down on the table with a sigh. "What's up?"

Paige shakes her head, running a hand through her hair. "It's just... Perrie and Eleanor are really in love with Zayn and Louis. They're the real One Direction girlfriends. I feel like they'll hate me; I'm just a beard," Paige explains, not holding eye contact with Niall.

"We're really in love too," he jokes, cracking a smile and hoping to receive one from her. Niall's face falls as well when he realizes how serious Paige is. She was actually nervous about Perrie and Eleanor not liking her? They were some of the sweetest girls Niall knew.

"You know what I mean," Paige mutters, tracing a design in the couch cushion with her finger. Niall wraps his arms around her in a comforting hug, the first hug they shared off camera. Paige buries her face in the crook of his neck like she'd done before, and Niall feels himself enjoying her presence.

"You'll be fine, don't worry," he reassures her, running his fingers through her brown hair. Paige sighs, nodding her head.

"I hope so Niall, I really do."

****



One day transitions to the next, and Niall is currently walking into the stadium, hand in hand with Paige. She fiddles nervously with her hair, twirling and twisting it around her finger, eyes not unlocking from the spot. Niall squeezes her hand in reassurance, but she doesn't seem to understand the message.

"Hey mate! Ready to lose?" Louis asks once they reach the stands, Niall letting Paige take a seat beside Eleanor and Perrie, who were conversing lightly. Niall shakes his head, cracking a smile.

"Not a chance. You aren't getting a single goal if I have anything to do about it," he jokes, Louis locking him playfully under his arm, ruffling a hand through his hair. They both laugh as Louis lets him go, clapping a hand on his back.

"Not too rough Louis. Don't want him injured before I even see him play," Paige attempts at a joke, but Louis just brushes her off, which Niall finds quite rude. Paige slumps into her seat, appearing quite defeated.

"C'mere," he instructs her, grabbing her by the wrist and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I get a good luck kiss before this game, right?" Paige scans the crowd, who for the most part were now staring longingly at the two of them.

"Of course," she tells him, but Niall surprises her once more by crashing his lips to hers. When he pulls away, Niall brings her in for a hug to whisper in her ear, low enough for only Paige to hear.

"Don't get so down. Have some fun with the girls while I'm out there, okay?" He pulls away from her, and Paige nods in agreement, staring down at her shoes. "Root for me," he states before running into the locker room the boys had reserved.

When he arrives, a conversation the other boys are having piques his interest. Hiding behind the hall way wall, he listens carefully as Louis goes on about Paige.

"She comes around joking like we're old friends. Please, we don't even know her, let alone like her. I bet she's conceited too, thinking she's all that for getting to be Niall's girlfriend," he rambles, ranting to three pairs of intent ears.

"Maybe we should give her a chance though? How bad can she really be?" Liam suggests to them, Niall finding relief in his words.

"Never underestimate how bad someone working for management can be," Zayn adds.

"Who knows what their true intentions could be for her? She could be trying to learn secrets we keep from management. Can we trust her?" Harry contemplates. Niall can't stand them trash talking her anymore, and finds that he needs to interject.

"You know absolutely nothing about her. If you did, you'd know that she doesn't want to do this just as much as we do. I know being instant friends is hard, but," he pauses, running a hand through his already messy hair from Louis' previous play fighting, "she's a really amazing actress. I think she's hiding more than she lets on, and all of us hating on her isn't helping whatever she's going through."

All four boys stare at him in shock, and mainly guilt. They hang their heads in shame of making the prejudgments they had. Louis looks the worst of all, Niall knowing that he realizes that his friend had heard everything he had previously said.

"I'm sorry Niall, I didn't-" Louis begins.

"Save it," Niall interjects. "Let's just get this over with, alright?"

****



With the score tied two to two, Liam scores the final goal against Harry, winning the game for him and Niall. The small crowd that had formed from the charity cheered them on, and both the boys ran screaming across the field.

"You did it!" Paige exclaims, throwing her arms around Niall's neck in a victory hug. He returns the affections, kissing her face in different places as his excitement subsides. Niall's gaze travels towards his band mates, who had gathered around Eleanor and Perrie, drinking water and conversing.

"Did you finally talk to the other girls?" he asked her, teasingly poking her stomach. Paige giggles, nodding her head.

"I'm not sure if they like me, but we did talk for a while," she explains to him. Niall wraps a sweaty arm around her shoulders, beginning to lead her towards the group.

"Hey Paige!" Eleanor exclaims happily, giving the girl a smile. Louis, who has his arm around his girlfriend, politely smiles, though Niall can tell it is a bit forced. Hopefully, he's the only one.

"It was a great game guys," Paige tells the other boys, who nod in agreement.

"You're boyfriend's not too bad," Harry teases her, winking.

"No flirting with her. She's all mine!" Niall announces loudly, picking Paige up by her waist and spinning her around in circles as she squeals with joy.

"Niall Horan, put me down!" she shouts, laughing as she does so. He finally sets her back down on the grass, noticing his friends all staring at them, eyebrows raised.

"Well, let's not waste time. Who wants some celebratory pizza?" Louis suggests, sending them all into a cheer. Walking in a large group, they begin to make their way towards their cars.

"Considering you lost, I don't think your pizza is very celebratory," Niall jokes. Louis whacks his head lightly, shaking his hand of sweat.

"Shut up Horan."

****

When they arrive at the restaurant, Harry announces that he wishes to speak to Niall privately about important matters. Although everyone else is unsure of what exactly those matter are, even Niall is admittedly confused, the two leave the table.

"What was that?" Harry asks once they reach the privacy of the men's bathroom. Niall raises an eyebrow in confusion, not quite understanding his friend.

"What do you mean? What did I do?"

"With Paige. After the game, and now at the restaurant. I thought she was your beard?" he questions, folding his arms over his chest as he leans against the dirty bathroom wall. Niall still is utterly perplexed over what Harry means.

"Yeah, what about her?"

"You two are so touchy with each other. The kisses; having your arms around her all the time. I don't think people do that with beards," he elaborates, waiting for an explanation from Niall, who is at a loss words.

"It's an act we have to put up. We, uh, aren't like this at home. Management's content, so we do what we do. Is there a problem with that?" he counter-questions Harry, who just shakes his head.

"Whatever. I guess you're a better actor than we all thought," the younger boy jokes before exiting through the bathroom door, leaving Niall alone to think by himself.

What he realizes, is maybe he's not acting as much as he would like to believe he is, and that scares him.