Her Name Was Marty (Niall Horan)

xv

previously...

Instead, Riley Wickham was waiting for an explanation.

"Are those songs about me?" He asks, moving quickly to shut the door without my consent. Where did Niall go? "Because Marty, I feel the same way. I was always so afraid of telling you how extremely in love with you I am, mainly because I thought you didn't feel the same way. Of course, I should've realised that you're never one to articulate your feelings with words, but with song. I understand now Marty, you feel the same way." 

I look down at the few lyrics I'd written today in some overwhelming emotion and need to write them down. Because Riley was right, he knew me too well, lyrics and rhymes somehow always articulated what I can never say. 

Don't leave me. 

I love you. 

Except Riley had missed the key information. 

It was never about Mr Wickham, and always about Niall. 

a further reminder of what's happened in the book so far: a sex tape of Marty leaked onto the internet, leading her life to fall apart, she lost her record contract, her fans, her boyfriend. she goes on holiday to escape her problems and who does she run into? only niall bloomin' horan! after a short holiday (and an even shorter romance), marty returns to life, living with her sister diane. she has an epiphany that she wants to re-build her life again and starts writings songs. cue dramatic entrance of ex-boyfriend riley who she's still in love with, then cue an awkward re-appearance of niall horan at the same bloomin' time! and we are back to the present chapter... 

xv:

"Hi... it's Marty? .... Marty Alexander." What do you want? "Representation?" Dialing tone. 

I ring again, asking his assistant Mary if she'd let me speak to him one more time, I just need that belief again that he had once before. That's all.

But it's surely too much to ask for. I ring again, hoping that perhaps persistence will pay off, but I'm left feeling defeated when I hear his assistant answer the phone once again. 

"Sorry, I've had orders from him not to put you through again. Sorry." She hangs up without waiting for my reply. I was nothing to these people now, I'd had my chance and let it slip through my fingers. This was karma biting back. 

However, I'd got there before, I just needed to find the right person to have belief in me. Going for the old-fashioned route, I pull out the Yellow Pages, looking up the names in the industry. I rang Phil, Peter, Lucie and Quinn all from different managing agencies who all refused to even talk a minute longer with me when I gave them my name. It was after the call from Katherine who told me that I had no chance getting representation from anyone in the London area that I had a break for lunch. 

I'm not sure where this fighting approach came from, or if this 'new me' was going to last. I personally hoped she'd stick around for a lot longer, because maybe she had the right idea. Persistence could work. Who knows if I don't try. 

Besides, it's not like I have any qualifications to create a new career for myself, I'd left school at 16 just like many other 16 year old's in my country, it's not like I had anything to offer an employer apart from my tiny publicity platform that had been created for all the wrong reasons. 

I wonder what Niall would think if I had gotten the chance to tell him that I was sorting my life out. If he hadn't ran off the other day without even an explanation as to how he had tracked me down to my sister's house. Or an explanation as to why he was even there. Was I completely deranged for thinking that maybe he misses me? Just as I miss him. Or had the small optimistic person that often pops up in my mind convinced me of that, to only later on, be sorely mistaken.