My eyes were shut tight, frightening darkness enveloping my vision and mind. My heartbeat was in some sort of race with my thoughts and I was damn sure that I was going crazy. I should have stayed at the party. Why was I stupid enough to go out alone -- especially after what happened when I took that risky trip to the library. I felt people shuffling around me and my forehead creased with concentration. Despite the nerves that were threatening to swallow me whole, I lifted my head up and attempted to appear fearless. I don't know what was going through my mind. Maybe if I didn't show my fear, they'd let me go. As stupid as the idea was, I was desparate to try anything.

I tried to identify the source of the muffled mumbles around me. They continued for quite a while, before a terrifying silence ensued. I gulped. Well? Were these people going to say anything? Maybe they would change their minds and let me go...

I shook the ridiculous thoughts from my mind and opened my trembling lips to speak. 

"What do you want from me? Please, I can give you all the m-money you need, just let me go," No matter how hard I tried to believe that my voice was low, dangerous, and brave, no one could ignore the way it cracked between my question. I didn't dare open my eyes, and listened for any sort of response. 

I thought I heard laughter, before it came to an instant stop. My stomach twisted uneasily. 

It was an insane thought, but a strange form of relief washed over me when someone finally began to speak. 

"You can keep your money. Besides that's not what we want," the voice was deep, raspy, and washed away the relief that had previously engulfed me. "We want you." I sensed a hint of humor in the kidnapper's voice, but didn't trust myself enough to assume anything anymore. 

The hands that were holding mine together tightened their grip, earning a girlish squeal from me. I began kicking as hard as I could, not really sure what I was aiming for. I was done with trying to me brave. It was time to scream bloody murder. My eyes remained closed and I thrashed around the seat, satisfied when I heard a painful groan from one of the men. How many were there? Finally, the hands that had enveloped mine loosened and I relaxed only slightly.

Things went silent. Right then seemed like a good time to open my eyes and see who my captors were. So I did. 

I opened my eyes one by one. I lifted my head and squinted when a sharp light hit my eyes. I gulped loudly and watched the light fade and my eyes adjusted to the brightness. I was able to see who was seated in front of me. I blinked once, not believing the sight in front of me. I blinked again, this time keeping my eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them. Nope, they were still there. A mix of emotions swept over me: relief, shock, annoyance, but anger was without a doubt the strongest of them all.

"You... you..." Needless to say, I was at a loss for words. I mean, who wouldn't be? Here I was, thinking I was going to get murdered, when in reality it was just five boys who didn't seem to like having a normal take on anything.  

"You should have seen your face!" Harry clutched his stomach and doubled over in laughter. Niall was sitting in the seat in front of me and followed, laughing like a maniac along with Harry. I sat up straight. Zayn was sitting beside a hysterical Niall, clutching his stomach in pain. He was probably the one I had kicked. Harry was in the driver's seat and Liam was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Last but not least, there was Louis. He was sitting next to me and it wasn't hard to recognize him as my "kidnapper." 

This was not something to joke about. I had been annoyed at these guys before, but only playfully. I had never actually gotten angry. 

"What the hell was that?!" I finally inquired. Their smiles were replaced by confused expressions.  

Louis shared a look with Harry, who shrugged, before turning back to me.  

"Well, you're welcome?" he said. He thought I was going to thank him? I brought my hands to my forehead and shook my head.  

"Louis! What if someone saw you? You do realize how bad this looks, right? And you really scared the living hell out of me. I thought I was going to die, dammit!" I screeched. Louis broke our gaze and ran a hand through his hair. He snickered at the last part, but composed himself when he caught sight of my deadly expression.

"But there was no one around!" he argued, "and look," Louis turned to Niall, who handed him a newspaper. He then flipped it over and scanned it before shoving it in front of my face. I stared blankly. What was I supposed to be looking at? 

"We saw an advert on the bottom about your parents having a launch party and it was my idea to pick you up because I knew you would want to get out of it," Louis played with his thumbs and met my gaze once again, "so if you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at me. It was my idea."  

Few words could sum up my feelings after seeing Louis' regretful expression. Basically, I wanted to smash my head through a wall. Every time I would get annoyed at him, he would make me be the one feeling bad about it afterwards.  

"I'm not mad," my voice softened and I rubbed my head, frustrated, "but couldn't you just call me?" 

"Well, we tried, but you wouldn't pick up. So we resorted to this," Niall butt in, flashing me an innocent grin. I laughed and shook my head.  

"My phone was dead..." I felt defeated and fell back into the seat. "But seriously, was the kidnapping part really necessary?!" I argued. That's what I was most angry about. But after seeing the guys' humorous expressions, I couldn't help but admit it was a bit funny.

"It was fun," Niall shrugged. He spoke in the same voice that had threatened me and my eyes widened. I smacked his head. His American accent was shockingly good.

"I hate you!" I glared at the blonde boy. Then, I sighed and closed my eyes. "Sorry for snapping like that. I was just really, really frustrated. It's been a long day, I actually would have gone insane if I had to stay in that house any longer," I admitted.  

"But I'm not sorry for kicking you in the stomach," I pointed towards Zayn and he groaned in pain. He stuck his tongue out childishly and shook his head.

"Oh, we know. That was quite a scene with Rodney," Hayn spoke for the first time, his eyes accusing. Scene? My mind drifted to the earlier events of the day and my stomach dropped when it finally clicked. 

"You guys saw that?" I asked. Quite honestly, I was a bit embarrassed. Who knew what they thought of me now.  

"Damn right we saw!" Niall reached back from his seat and threw an arm around my neck, before bringing me to his chest. I tried to pull away, extremely confused and a bit afraid of what he was planning to do. "And I am so proud of you!" he finally said, rubbing his hand on my scalp so my hair was strewn all over the place. I screeched as he continued messing my hair up and finally pulled away. 

"Niall!" I scolded and watched him receive high fives from the other guys. "Was that really necessary?" I picked at my tangled and hopeless hair. It was already that way, but Niall had only made it worse. In the little time I had known the guys, Niall was definitely the one that got on my nerves the most. And for that reason, he felt like the brother I never received the fortune of having.  

"Yep," he grinned. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, a smile slipped onto my lips and I combed my monstrous hair back with my hand.  

"You sure showed him, Char," Harry smiled proudly and gave me a thumbs up, one that I returned with a worried smile. Harry's nose was red and puffy and his face a sickly pale. He brought a napkin up to his nose and blew into it. I went to ask him if he was feeling alright, but Louis spoke from next to me. 

"Tool deserved it," he muttered. I didn't have to say anything for him to know that I agreed. I rolled down the window and poked my head out, looking at my surroundings. We were on the main road, which meant we could be going to possibly fifty different places. 

"Where are you losers taking me?" I finally questioned after a few more minutes into the ride. 

"We're dropping Liam off, he as a date with Danielle. Harry doesn't exactly feel well, so I'm going to stay with him today. You guys can go ahead somewhere, take Charlotte swimming or something," Niall answered. I smacked the back of his head. He knew very well that I couldn't swim. Instead of arguing though, I looked to Harry, who was snickering at Niall's comment.  

"Are you okay?" I asked, my forehead creasing with worry.  

"I just said he wasn't feeling well--" I smacked my hand over Niall's mouth so he would shut up. Fortunately, it worked, and he kept his snarky remark to himself and grumpily turned to stare out the window.  

Harry laughed, "I'm alright, it's just a cold. You guys go have fun, yeah?" His smile was frail, making my heart shatter because of his condition. He obviously wanted to hang out with us, but couldn't because of this stupid cold.  

"So it's me, Zayn, and Louis today?" I asked.  

Louis nodded, but all eyes turned to Zayn when he spoke. "Actually, I'm seeing Perrie today..," he claimed, a small blush conquering his cheeks.  

"Perrie?" I piped up. My mind finally dinged and I jumped,

I pushed myself out of the seat and began leaning closer to Zayn, who seemed kind of freaked out. "You have a girlfriend?! And you never told me?! I want to meet her, can I meet her?"  

I brought my folded hands underneath my chin and spoke excitedly to Zayn, who stared dully back at me. The thought of there being another girl besides Danielle got me so excited, and the thought of bugging Zayn about his girlfriend only made it better. 

"Actually, no, you can't see her. I don't want you to scare her away," he teased, but instead of retaliating, I noticed that there was still a slight blush on his cheeks.  

"Awww!" I brought my hands to his face and much to his protest, I pinched his cheeks and shook his head side to side. "Zaynie waynie is blushing!" I teased. Zayn wasn't exactly the more serious one, but he was definitely more manly than the other guys. He was the one who dressed in macho leather clothing and didn't portray his emotions as much as the others. So the fact that he was blushing so easily just as the mention of his girlfriend was clearly shocking to me. 

Zayn grumpily swatted my hands away and rubbed his cheeks, his lips forming a scowl. "Don't do that again," he groaned. I grinned and ruffled his perfectly sculptured hair before he could protest and fell back into my seat. He shot me a threatening glare, but I ignored it. The rest of the ride was just like the first half. I was permanently stuck with five losers. 

After dropping Zayn, Niall and Harry off, Liam, Louis and I were headed towards town. I thought back to the party that was taking place at my house. My parents would surely realize I was gone, and the story about what happened between Rodney and I had probably reached them. I sighed and laid my forehead on the window. Now was not the time for me to be worried. I was with my friends. I wiped away the thoughts and looked at Liam. 

"So, where are you taking Danielle, Liam?" I asked once we reached a busy traffic light. I watch him meet my eyes through the rear view mirror before he rested his head on the steering wheel. He let out a defeated sigh. 

"I don't know," he mumbled. I shot him a look. He returned the gesture by shrugging and lifted his head back up once Louis informed him that the light was green. 

I gave it a little thought before snapping my fingers with an idea. "Well, your date's in an hour right?" I asked. Liam nodded. 

I hummed and looked back to his hopeful eyes. "Did you know there's a fair in town?"  

"Maybe I should take her to the fair!" he jumped in his seat, seemingly content with the idea. 

Louis turned around and him and I shared a look before laughing.  

"That's a great idea, Liam! Where'd you get it?" Louis smirked. Liam mocked him childishly and pulled over when we arrived at his flat.  

"Have fun, Liam. Not too much, though!" I winked at him as he stepped out of the car. Liam gave me a thumbs up, and looked at Louis.  

"Hey man, can I have a word with you?" he asked. Louis shared a look with him, his face becoming serious, before he looked to me. I nodded, assuring him that I would be fine, and he stepped out of the car behind Liam. I allowed them some privacy and jumped into the passenger seat. I scrolled through the music channels, huffing when I couldn't seem to find a decent one. No more than a few minutes later, Louis was buckling himself into the driver's side. 

"Alright, Char! Ready to spend your day with..," he paused dramatically and did a drum roll on the steering wheel, "Louis Tomlinson?!" 

I snorted humorously. "Do I have a choice?" 

Louis glared at me in mock annoyance. "Anyway," he sang, "where to first?" 

I pursed my lips in thought. I wasn't really in the mood for sight-seeing and didn't know any of the local places very well. "Hmm, what's your favorite place around here?" I asked Louis.  

He twisted in his seat and focused on the rear window while backing up. "Do you like milkshakes?"  

I sighed. "Already had one this morning." 

"Ice cream?" 

"Nah." 

"You know," Louis turned to me, exasperated after having multiple suggestions shot down, "I think we should take Niall's idea and go swimming." 

I gawked at him. "You just want me to drown so I would leave you alone, don't you?" I frowned and turned my back to the laughing boy. 

"It would save me some money," he shrugged. I snapped my head towards Louis.  

"Hey!" I shouted. I knew he was only messing with me, but couldn't help but feel slightly offended. "If you want me to leave so badly, just make a right turn here and drop me off at my house." I stared out the window and at the familiar exit that was passing by. Taking a turn there would take us straight to the Eastern side, where my house was located. He had to know I was bluffing, though. There was no way I actually wanted to go home.  

"Relax Char, I'm just kidding," Louis finally smiled, humor dancing in his eyes, "but really, tell me where you want to go." 

"I think I have an idea," I smiled. I gave Louis the directions and off we went, to the place I fell in love with as a child. 

*** 

"The park? Out of the whole magnificent city of London you have to explore, you chose the park?"  

I ignored Louis' consistent whining and stepped out of the car and onto the rugged concrete. I ducked my head through the door to see Louis still sitting comfortably.  

"The whole idea is to get out of the car," I snickered and slung my side bag over my shoulder. Without waiting for the astonished boy, I headed towards the entrance of the park. Soon enough, the slamming of a car door sounded behind me, followed by the patter of footsteps on the parking lot. Louis caught up and scanned the field. 

"So, what's so special about this place?" He asked. Children spotted the seemingly infinite soccer fields and some hung upside down on the monkey bars, while others found joy in the slides. The scene brought a smile to my frost-bitten lips, and I pulled my coat tighter around myself as the ruthless weather of London made its presence known. 

"This place is my childhood," I said. I continued walking down the jogging trail, with a curious Louis trailing quietly behind.  

"My parents used to visit London a lot for business trips and brought me along. Their meetings with clients used to be in those buildings right there." I pointed to the buildings right across the street from where we were. "That gave me time and freedom to explore this place. I know it better than the old neighborhood I used to live in." I felt comfortable telling Louis about my past. These were things absolutely no one knew about me and I didn't feel a bit strange about opening up to him in such a way. 

"Then I guess you'll be the one showing me around today, Char," Louis grinned and jogged lightly to catch up to me. He walked along side me on the stone-scattered footpath and a comfortable silence engulfed us. We were together, but our minds wandered off in their own worlds, with no regard to anything else but each other. I kicked one of the many pebbles that was in front of my feet and it landed in front of Louis. He passed it back and soon, it became a game as we ventured farther down the trail.  

"It's beautiful," Louis shattered the silence. I didn't have to ask what he was talking about because of the way his eyes were wandering the park, examining one frosted tree to the next.  

I followed his gaze and smiled. "You haven't seen the best part yet." 

Louis looked at me in questioning. I bent down and scooped up the pebble that we had been passing back and forth. Tucking it into my pocket, I grabbed ahold of Louis' sleeve and tugged him off of the trail. He followed cooperatively, but his face was contorted with confusion. We came to a stop in front of an army of tall trees, with branches blocking our way.  

I could almost see a little girl skipping in front of me, pushing aside the branches to access the one place she knew best. My mind went blank, the memory being the only thing to guide my subconscious actions. That girl was me. She was hurting, dying inside with a pain she was should have been too young to know.  

I ignored Louis' questions. I released his arm and I jetted towards the branches, striving to keep up with the memory as it faded the deeper the girl got lost in the woods, in her imagination. I followed. With the beat of my erratic heart being the only thing my ears welcomed, I subconsciously allowed my hands to push aside the branches.  

The sound of leaves crunching filled my ears and I knew that Louis was struggling to keep up, but I didn't wait for him. I was too lost in my own memory to wait for him. Finally, after tripping several times, I came to an unsteady stop in front of a web of branches. I pushed them aside, along with the leaves and vines that constricted my view.  

Sunlight spilled into my vision, making me squint my eyes. A sharp intake of breath sounded from behind me, but I was too busy studying my surroundings. It had been so long since I had been here. Over ten years, to be exact. It was the only place that could heal me. The only place I could call home as a child, for a reason that I never came to know.  

But it wasn't the same. The meadow that nursed a magnificent array of flowers years ago was dead. The grass was overgrown, hugging my knees. The trees surrounding it were faded; lifeless. But the feeling of serenity that engulfed me was every bit of the same. 

"How did you find this place?" Louis walked in front of me, and I watched as he spun around slowly, his eyes wide in awe. 

I smiled, nostalgia washing over me as I faced the wonderstruck boy.  

"I told you, Lou. I came here a lot as a child," I answered and led him into the center of the meadow, where huge rocks were stacked on top of each other into a distorted pyramid. As a child, I would climb those rocks and sit at the very top. 

"This place," Louis began, finally meeting my eyes. "It's important to you, isn't it?" He seemed to already know the answer.  

"Very important. It's where I would come when I was happy, sad, angry... when I needed to cry," I shamelessly admitted. Louis nodded understandingly. He then placed both hands on the rock at the base, before shaking it to see if it was sturdy. He glanced at me over his shoulder and nodded towards the rocks. I smiled and watched as he scaled his way up, and sat at the top. I followed him up and he lent me a hand to get me to the very top, where we both took a seat. We were as high as the trees at our perimeter now. 

"Why weren't you happy?" Louis' question didn't come as a surprise to me. He had seen me cry multiple times, and the night of the party, when I first met him, he had seen me at a point he probably thought was my worst.  

Louis wasn't meeting my eyes and I could tell he didn't know if that was the right thing to say. I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them. 

"All my life, Louis, I have thought about how lucky the other kids are. I'd s them at markets, in buildings, in this very park, I'd see them playing with their parents. They have real families, and me? My parents would choose their fame over me any day." 

I sniffed and rubbed my swollen eyes. Wiping my hands on the fabric that was wrapped around my thighs, I turned my head away from Louis. I was pathetic. I hated troubling others with my problems, and that's exactly what I was doing to him. 

"I know that I'm fortunate to have what I do. I have a roof over my house, people to take care of me, and food on my plate, but sometimes I can't help but want to be more greedy. I don't want the fame. I don't want the huge parties and balls; I want affection from my parents. I'm selfish, I know, but this is something I can't help." I buried my head into my lap, ashamed of crying in front of him. Again.  

"Hey," Louis soothed. He crossed his legs and turned around so he was facing me, his hands folded in his lap. "You're not selfish. Not even close! I'm sure your parents love you, they do, but you just have to believe me when I say this. They haven't found a way to show it yet. Maybe this kind of love is still foreign to them. Give it some time, they're your parents. Things will be alright, I promise. And besides, until then, you have a new family."  

I lifted my head reluctantly and met a smiling Louis. His words made me feel better within a matter of seconds. I wiped my cheeks clean of moisture and smiled through the constant tears.  

"Maybe you're right. I guess I owe you an explanation, anyway. You asked me once why I smoke. Do you remember that?" I watched him nod and continued, "It's because I'm so used to having to learn to be perfect. After a while, everything becomes artificial. The smiles, the conversations, the life. I was tired of perfection, so I found a way out." 

Louis pursed his lips. "We all need a way out sometimes, but you can find something better. Just find something you think is worth living for. Something you don't mind being stuck in the life you are for. That could be your new way out," he offered me a smile and shook his head, chuckling.  

"You have me feeling like Zayn with all of this deep stuff," he blurted and then grinned. I laughed along, my mood brightening. Day after day, he instilled hope into my dull life. He made me believe that things were different. And I knew that without a doubt, that Louis was my way out. 
 
"Here, let's play a game. Lighten things up a bit, eh?" he suggested. I nodded and watched him search the ground for something. 

When his efforts proved to be of no prevail, I arched an eyebrow and asked, "Looking for your shadow?" I winked, hoping he remembered his words the day outside the party. Otherwise, I would have seemed like a complete fool. Thankfully though, Louis' eyes lit up with recognition of the words and he narrowed his eyes.  

"Actually, no. I need a rock, or some kind of pebble," he muttered and was about to hop off of the tower of rocks we were resting on, before I stopped him.  

"I have one right here," I patted my pocket and reached into it. Pulling out the pebble that Louis and I had been kicking back and forth earlier, I handed it to him. "What're you going to do with it?" 

"Watch," he gazed at me from underneath his eyelashes and slid his hand into his own pocket. He pulled out his car keys and began to engrave something into the small pebble. His tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration and I tried peering over his hands to see what he was doing, but he would just glare and pull the rock away. Finally, he blew the shavings off of the worn out pebble and smiled proudly at it.  

"We're going to play a game. On one side of this rock is my initial, and on the other side is yours. We take turns flipping the rock and who's ever initial it lands on gets to ask the other person a question," his hands tossed the pebble back and forth as he explained the rules to me.  

"Sounds simple enough," I shrugged. "You start."  

Louis tossed the rock into the air and caught it expertly with one hand. He opened his fingers to reveal a "L" engraved into the shiny surface.  

"Who is Rodney? And why won't he leave you alone?"  

Shocked at his bluntness, I answered, "He is the son of my parents' closest friends. And for that reason, both families believe that we are meant to be together. You know the party today? That was for this new business my parents just launched with his. Now they have even more reasons to set us up. And Rodney's a little thick in the head. He doesn't exactly take no for an answer."  

I watched Louis nod and he handed me the pebble. I ran my thumb over the edges of my initial, before following Louis' actions and tossing it into the air. I caught it and revealed the pebble to see it was an "L" again. I groaned and handed a smug looking Louis the pebble.  

He tapped his chin in thought for a few seconds. Finally, he met my eyes.

"What's one thing you want to do when you grow up?"  

I mentally sighed in relief, glad that it wasn't a question about my personal life. I would have plenty of time to deal with Rodney and my parents later, but now, I just wanted to get away from it all, which included not talking about it.  

Louis' question did stump me, though. There were so many things I had dreamt of doing. But there was one that was at the top of my list.  

"I want to adopt a child." 

I watched Louis' curious expression change to one of surprise. There are children, so many of them out there, that didn't have parents. Whether it was the ruthless wind of death that snatched them away or whether it was just a matter of negligence, the children are all alone. And in a way, in the most twisted way possible, I was not much different from those children. I am no orphan, and I wouldn't wish that tragedy upon any child, but the similarities were strikingly saddening. If I could help save a child, any child, from the kind of life I had, I would do it without hesitation. 

"Adoption?" Louis repeated and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts for a while. "So I'm taking it you like children?" 

I nodded. "I love children!" I exclaimed. "But it's not your turn to ask questions. Hand it over," I held my hand out for the pebble and Louis reluctantly dropped it into my palm. 

I repeated the process of flipping the coin and smiled victoriously when it landed with the "C" facing up. Louis peered over to my hand and fell back onto the rock, deflated.  

"Let's start with... the band! How did you guys meet?" I asked. I crossed my legs and rested my chin on my folded hands.  

"You're in for a long story, Char..." Louis warned, but a smile tugged at his lips persistently. This was obviously a topic he didn't mind speaking about.

"Unless I'm mistaken, Louis, we've got plenty of time."  

"We do, we've got all the time we need." Louis' smile mirrored mine. His eyes lingered on mine, before he cleared his throat and licked his chappted lips.

"Now, it all started back at X Factor auditions..." 

***

(A/N) I don't know about you guys, but I find this chapter adorable! Please leave your comments below and vote! Love you all!

 I do admit, this chapter isn't edited to the best of my ability. It's just it's taking too long and I want to start posting the new chapters already. I'll come back and make this one better once the whole book is finished!

Thanks for reading! -Aysha xoxo