Verity's POV
A necklace. A heart-shaped silver necklace, resting against my chest. "How long, before I can see you again?" I asked him in a whisper.
"Soon," he told me determinedly.
"Don't forget about me, okay?" I said teasingly.
"I won't," he promised, and his voice was surprisingly earnest.
I bit my lip. "This is... to remember me always."
I reached to my neck and undid my necklace. I looked up into his eyes and did up the necklace around his neck. Then he grabbed my hands and softly kissed my forehead.
“I will always remember you,” he whispered into my hair.
I woke with a start. I was almost certain that the dream wasn’t a dream, but a memory. I memory of... my boyfriend. It must have been. The frustrating thing was that I couldn’t see his face, no matter how much I tried to dredge up any memory of him.
I reached for my neck instinctively. I didn’t even know where that action came from – maybe it was related to something about my boyfriend? The necklace from my dream, perhaps? The silver one, with a heart dangling from it... maybe it had comforted me, made me feel safe, during the time I had owned it. How I wished I had it now.
“Ve, are you okay?”
I turned to my side to see Harry watching me worriedly. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said with a feeble smile. “Don’t worry about me.”
“That’s what you said before I left to tour, and look what happened!” he sighed. “You got stuck in a burning building...”
“Haz,” I said suddenly, needing to know. “I used to have a silver heart necklace, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did,” Harry said, surprised. “Why? Can’t you remember? Are you... forgetting about other things too?”
His urgent, freaked out voice made me giggle a little. “No, I think it was related to my boyfriend. Maybe that’s why I’m forgetting.”
“Oh.” His voice was relieved and worried at the same time. “Well, what do you want to know? I’ll see what I can tell you...”
“Did I... give it away?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure, I think so. I stopped seeing you wearing it after a while. You think you gave it to your boyfriend?”
“Yeah, I do,” I said, getting more and more excited by the minute. “If I can find the necklace, I can find him...”
“Ve,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry to point this out, but... what if he doesn’t have it anymore?”
I stopped bouncing excitedly and frowned slightly. “Why? You think he lost it?” Then I realised what Harry was saying and my eyes widened, only to be replaced by an angry look. “Harold, he didn’t give it away. How could you say that?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Harry wailed. “I guess I was being a bit harsh there. Of course he’ll still have it. I’m just stupid.”
“Agreed,” I said contemptuously. “So, how do you suggest we find the necklace?”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know, why are you asking me? You were the one who just called me stupid.”
“Wrong,” I corrected him. “You called yourself stupid. I merely agreed.”
“Same thing,” Harry said dismissively. “Anyway, I have to tell you this... it’s a big city here, with lots of people. It won’t be easy to find a person, let alone a necklace.”
I sighed. “I know, but...”
Harry wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug. “Don’t feel down!” he said, as cheerfully as he could while being only half-awake. “I’ll help you look, of course.”
“Thank you,” I whispered into his curls.
Niall’s POV
She waved at me with a sad smile on her face as I walked towards the glass door. “Sir, your passport please?”
I handed the lady my passport and glanced back at the girl, who was now struggling to keep the tears from slipping out of her eyes. I reached out for her.
“Don’t cry,” I whispered. I gripped the silver heart dangling from the necklace she had given me. “I promise not to forget.”
“Me neither,” she said firmly. “The necklace, Niall. If anything happens... just remember that as long as the necklace is there for you, so am I.”
“I will,” I said, as she rushed up to me and we hugged tightly. I felt her tears dripping on my sweater as I inhaled the sweet, lilac-scented hair.
“Sir? I’m sorry, but it’s time to go.”
I slowly and reluctantly let go of the girl and faced the lady, who was holding out my passport. Forcing a smile on my face, I said, “Thank you.”
Just as I was about to walk through the doors, the girl grabbed my hand. “I love you, Niall,” she whispered.
I squeezed her hand. “I love you too.”
I let go of her and said softly, “The boys are waiting. I have to go.”
“Of course,” she said with a sad smile. “Goodbye, Niall. I know this will be your first, and longest, tour after X Factor... but just know that... I’ll always be there for you.”
“Me too,” I said, before walking past the doors. I turned back just as it closed, trying to get a last glimpse of her face, and said, “Always.”
I sat upright, suddenly awake. Louis was shaking me. “Lad! Are you all right?”
“Aye, I’m fine,” I said hoarsely. I cleared my throat. “It’s just... I don’t know, have you seen a silver necklace anywhere? With a heart-shaped charm?”
Louis frowned. “I remember that you used to have one, but I don’t know where you got it or where you put it. Sorry, Nialler.”
“It’s all right,” I said. “I just had the weirdest dream... of my girlfriend,” I suddenly realised.
“Really?” Louis said excitedly. “Tell me, what did she look like?”
“I – I don’t remember,” I said, my voice faltering with disappointment. “It was all... hazy. All I remember is... lilac.”
“Lilac what? Lilac eyes? Eye shadow? Lipstick? Piercings?”
“No,” I said, my voice stronger. “Lilac scented hair. It was sweet and floral and fragrant... and she was crying,” I added sadly. “It made me... sad.”
Louis snorted. “No shit. Well, if lilac is all you remember, that’s not a fantastic start... but it’ll do, huh?”
“I suppose,” I sighed. Suddenly I perked up. “Maybe I can help Ve, and she can help me!” I jumped out of bed and began running down the corridor to Ve and Harry’s room (Harry insisted on sharing with Ve in case she felt uncomfortable – insert Verity’s great eye-roll here.)
“Slow down, Mr Rhyme!” Louis laughed, as he chased me down the corridor. “You seem to be very attracted to Ve, in my opinion...”
I stuck my tongue out at him and burst into the room to find Harry and Verity hugging tightly, with tears in Ve’s eyes. My jaw dropped. “Ve – what’s wrong?”
Verity looked up and gave me a weak and totally unconvincing smile. Harry and Louis walked off to have a talk. I sat down on Verity’s bed and patted the spot next to me. “Come here, sister. It’s time for some girl time,” I said in a terrible American girl accent.
Verity laughed – for real this time – and joined me on her bed. “So, you ready to tell me...?” I said hopefully.
She gave a heavy sigh. “It’s just... I had this dream last night, of my boyfriend.”
“Same!” I said, amazed. I saw Verity giving me a weird look and I realised what I had said. “No, no, I didn’t dream of your boyfriend, I dreamt of my boyfriend. I mean, girlfriend! Girlfriend...”
Verity exploded into giggles. “Awkward much?”
I hid my face embarrassedly and said, “Um, so, anyway... we both dreamt of our girlfriend-slash-boyfriend. Any details?”
Verity looked away. “I’m sorry, I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
I smiled. “It’s okay, me neither.”
She seemed relieved, and a lot happier. She suddenly leaned over and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad someone understands,” she whispered. I nodded numbly. “Me too,” I managed to croak out.
Suddenly something made my heart just about stop beating. I had taken in a deep breath to calm myself, with my face buried in Verity’s dark hair, when something wafted into my nose. A distinct scent, a beautiful scent, a painfully reminiscent scent.
Lilac.