*Niall's P.O.V.*
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dublin Airport. Local time is 1:30 pm and the temperature is 5º degrees." I heard the flight attendant call through the speaker system a minute after we landed. Soph had fallen asleep the whole flight, and given how stressed she was over the video, I didn't want to wake her up.
"Soph, babe... we're here." I whispered in her ear as I lightly shook her shoulder, so I wouldn't startle her.
"Huh? What?" She groggily answered in a sleepy voice, not opening her eyes yet.
"We're already in Dublin."
"I slept through the whole flight?" She opened her eyes suddenly as she spoke.
"Yeah." I chuckled.
"Wow, I've never slept through a whole flight."
"Let's gather our belongings, they're opening the door now." I spoke as I started putting away my headphones and iPad.
A few minutes later we got off the plane and went straight through customs and to collect our luggage. I was very familiar with this airport, given the fact that I've landed here a lot of times since I first started traveling with the boys.
"I rented a car." I spoke as Soph followed me through the airport.It was quite busy and I was surprised, I tried to hide my face as much as I could using my snapback and keeping my head down.
"You did?"
"Yeah, so I can show you around."
"Wow! That would be great!" Soph replied excitedly as we got to the car rental area. 15 minutes later we were set to go. "So, are you going to call your publicist?" She inquired as soon as we were inside the car.
"Yeah. I'll call him right now, before we hit the road." I told her, and I was so no looking forward to having that conversation with him. I already knew what she was going to tell me and Sofia wouldn't like it.
"Thank you Nialler." She smiled at me as I got out of the car to call her. Knowing Soph she'll keep interrupting me and ask me what she's saying, so that's why I got out of the car to call her.
"Hey Simon." I spoke as soon as he answered the call. And no, it's not Simon Cowel, it's Simon Jones, he has been our publicist since our One Direction days and Louis and I stuck with him during our solo careers.
"Niall...I'm guessing you're calling about the video that's been going around."
"Yeah."
"So, who is it?"
"Me girlfriend."
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend."
"We've been keeping it on the down low."
"I see, I see."
"So, what do you think I should do?"
"You've got to come forward and explain the situation, maybe even tell them that you have a girlfriend and that it was her in the video. Otherwise they're going to start saying that you've derailed and started picking up fights with random people, they're going to say you have anger issues. You know how the media likes to twist things. And it doesn't help the fact that you were fighting with a girl, if it had been a guy we could've just brushed it off as if you were fighting with a friend, but you know how harsh the media is when it comes to woman."
"I know, I know. But to be fair we weren't even fighting."
"It sure seems as if you were."
"We weren't, fucking Ellie just recorded it from an angle that made it seem as if we were."
"Wait, you know who took the video?"
"Yeah, I'm 99% sure that it was Ellie Goulding, my ex. She kept trying to get it on with me at the party and that's what me and me girlfriend were discussing."
"I can't believe she would do that. But I can't say I didn't expect it from her, I never liked Ellie to be honest. I'm glad you're no longer with her."
"Yeah, me too. But still, I can't believe she would send out our video to the media."
"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it now. You've got to either come forward and explain the situation, omitting the fact that it was Ellie who took the video of course, we don't want any more drama. Or we can just wait and see if it goes away, but I've been working on this industry for quite a long time and I know it won't just fade away."
"Can I have a few days to think things through?"
"Sure, just don't take too long. And I'll start working on a statement either way. But please think about the possibility of coming forward and saying you have a girlfriend, it would make things so much easier."
"Yeah, I'll think about it and get back to you with my decision between today and tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for your call."
"Yeah, thank you Simon, bye."
"Bye."
"So, what did he say?" An eager Sofia asked as soon as I got in the car.
"He says that I have to explain the situation or the media is going to twist things and say I have anger issues and shit like that."
"Explain the situation how?"
"He told me that it would be best if we say that we're together. That I have a girlfriend."
"And that's the only way to get off the hook?"
"He also said that we could wait a few days, to see if things calm down."
"I'm ready." She uttered, in a barely audible voice.
"What?" I inquired.
"I'm ready to tell the world that we're together."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, but can we maybe wait a couple of days? It would be nice to do it in our own terms and not because the media is pressuring you."
"Sure babe, however you want."
"Thanks Nialler." She smiled at me. "I was thinking we could do it on the 15? Since it's our 7 month anniversary and that would be nice."
"That sounds good. But what am I going to do about the video?"
"Why don't we wait a few days to see if things calm down? At least until we get back to London. Or have your publicist release a statement, and say that you were just talking to a friend or girl and that they made it seem as if we were fighting but we weren't, because in all honesty, it looks as if we were having a heated argument and we weren't. Gosh I just hate fucking Ellie."
"I know petal, I know. But sure, as soon as we get to Mullingar I'll call Simon and let him know our decision and they way we want to come clean about our relationship. Don't you worry, darlin."
"That's sounds perfect babe, thank you." She leaned in to kiss my cheek as I started the drive to Mullingar.
"No problem, and on another note, are you ready to meet my parents?"
"Not at all." She laughed, letting me know she was joking.
"Well ready or not, you'll meet them in less than an hour."
"I can't wait, and before you say anything, no, it isn't sarcasm. I truly can't wait to get there."
"We're here." I announced 55 minutes later as we pulled up to my mom's house.
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Author's Note:
Hey there guys! Thank you so much for all the love you're giving my story! It means a lot to me. They're finally in Ireland and finally Sofia is ready for them to tell the world they're dating, what did you think about that? For all the new readers, I update daily! How are you enjoying the story so far? If you have any suggestion about something you'd like me to include be sure to leave it in the comments! I'm really hoping you enjoy it and any suggestions and/or grammar corrections are more than welcome. Don't forget to follow me, vote and comment, it really helps me out and I'd love to hear your thoughts! If you're obsessed with 1D make sure to check my TikTok account, I upload daily vids of the boys, it's @cristylealr