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Chapter One

“Go,” I told him gratefully. “Thanks for staying. I’ll see you later?”

“Of course,” he said with a smile. I leaned back onto the soft pillows and slowly drifted to sleep as he left.

Niall’s POV

Only the other boys were here. My family hadn’t received the news yet as they were back home, probably relaxing, and I didn’t want to disturb their peace. I was just wondering where Harry was – the boys had said that he was visiting someone else, but they weren’t sure who.

“Nialler!”

Harry burst into the room. The other boys looked up as he came in. I greeted him with a wide smile. “Where were you?”

“Another friend. She escaped a burning building.”

Louis let out a low whistle. “You just love having friends who attract trouble like a magnet, don’t you?”

We all laughed. I saw Louis, Liam and Zayn subtly gesturing for Harry to come closer to them. “We have to tell you something,” said Liam seriously.

I craned my neck as Liam told Harry in a low voice, “Niall lost a bit of his memory. He remembers everything – except one person. We’re not sure who that person is, though. We’re pretty sure it was his girlfriend, but he never told us anything about her, so we can’t be sure. Plus, we can’t call her because his phone was shattered in the crash.”

Harry seemed totally stunned. Zayn waved his hands in front of Harry. “Hello? Earth to Hazza...”

Harry blinked. “No. Way. This. Cannot. Be.”

“What?” I said exasperatedly, causing everyone to look in my direction. I flushed and said, “Not that I was listening...”

Louis rolled his eyes while Harry said, “My friend, the one who was involved in a fire – the exact same thing happened to her.”

“No way.” Louis shook his head. “This is – it can’t just be coincidental!”

“It is,” Liam said. It was his turn to roll his eyes.

“It’s fate!” announced Louis loudly. “Come, my friend. You must be introduced to Harry’s other friend.”

“What?!” I yelped, as they dragged me out of my bed. Harry led the way, down the corridor and to the left. Harry knocked on the door and I heard a sweet voice say, “Come in!”

We trooped into the room. My eyes widened the minute I saw her. She was absolutely stunning – she had dark clusters of curls and long lashes that framed her big, brown eyes. She was slender, petite, and graceful. And she rang faint bells in the back of my head.

“Hey, Ve,” said Harry. “Meet Louis, Liam, Niall, and Zayn.”

She smiled warmly at us, not fangirling at all. It was a pleasant change. “Hello! Nice to meet you. I love your music – and I’ve heard so much about you. After all, Harry just won’t stop talking about you...”

She rolled her eyes and my heart leapt. Harry went pink. “It’s because they’re my friends!” he whined.

“Harry’s my best friend,” Verity said, as she introduced herself to us. We all clustered around her hospital bed, eager for a good story. She laughed at the sight of us before continuing, “We used to live near each other. I had a swing in my backyard that Harry absolutely envied. One day he worked up the courage to ask me to use it. But! Ladies and gentlemen,” she said grandly, “Harry Styles was not the most polite eight-year-old. He just told me that he wanted a go. I told him no, obviously. So guess what he did?”

She looked up at Harry with a smirk on her face. Harry shuffled his feet, embarrassed.

“He tried to flirt with me. He was going to convince me into getting off by seducing me.”

We all burst out laughing. “Typical Haz,” Louis said with a grin, earning a glare from Harry.

“Anyway, I saw right through him. So I played along. I pretended that I was falling for him. Then, just as he thought I was going to give in, I kicked him in the... uh...”

We were practically rolling on the floor laughing by this point. When Verity said the last sentence, we all exploded with new laughter. Harry just shot daggers at us from his spot beside Verity.

“Want to tell the rest, flirt?” Verity asked Harry. Harry sighed reluctantly and said, “I was fascinated by her because she... didn’t... uh... fall for my charms,” he said, his voice getting quieter and quieter. “So... I asked her politely to use the swing. As if nothing had happened, she said yes. From that moment on we were inseparable, according to others.”

“Then he left for X Factor,” Verity said, a little sadly. “During that time, I think I got a boyfriend. I don’t know exactly when, and I don’t know where, or who. I don’t know what happened to him when I... got involved in the fire...” She paused, and I saw tears glistening in her eyes. Harry gripped her hand tightly. “He hasn’t tried to call me yet, apparently. I just hope I can find him.”

“Niall’s the same!” Louis burst out, obviously unable to restrain himself. Verity looked startled and we all shot him a glare. “He was in a car crash. See, we're on tour right now – it's been a specially long one. But then there was a crash... all we have are scratches, but Niall was injured badly. And he’s in the same situation as you, poor lad. He can’t remember his girlfriend.”

“Really?” Verity said, eyes wide. “Wow! The doctor said this was a really rare case...”

“Apparently,” I said, and I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, including Verity’s. My heart started beating just that bit faster. “But I suppose it just happened. When Lou heard about it, he insisted on dragging me here.” I gave him a teasing glare just for good measure, which he returned by sticking his tongue out.

“Oh,” Verity said, sounding a bit crestfallen. “So... you didn’t want to meet me?”

Everyone glared at me again. I wanted to glare at myself as well. “No! I didn’t mean it like that. I just... you know... I didn’t want to make you feel awkward.”

“It’s not awkward at all,” she said softly. “In fact, I think you’re all very nice.”

“I was wondering if Ve could come on tour with us,” Harry said suddenly, in a rush. “Since she thinks we’re nice, and her parents are on holiday, and all that...”

“Yes!” I said, before anyone else could say anything. The boys and Verity blinked at me in surprise. “I mean... um... I think that would be all right.”

“Agreed,” said Louis.

“I’m sure that will be okay,” Liam said.

“Welcome to the familyyyyyy!” said Zayn.

Verity gave us all huge, bright smiles. She seemed so excited and anxious, I just wanted to give her a hug. “I don’t want to disturb you, though,” Verity said as an afterthought.

The room exploded with cries of “no, no” and “you’re not disturbing us at all”. Verity looked up at Harry. “Are they just saying that to be polite?”

“No,” said Harry. “They’re never polite. And they suck at lying.”

Well, that couldn’t be denied. Verity stumbled out of her hospital bed, to our shock, and wobbled over to hug each of us. As she wrapped her arms around me, I placed my arms around her and squeezed gently. It felt so natural, so right.

But in just seconds, she had moved onto Liam, and the moment had passed.