Chapter 21:

*Niall POV*

"Hey, mate, you okay?" Liam asked as his hand gripped my shoulder. I shrugged it off and didn't answer his question. Liam sighed, but didn't push it any farther. "We're leaving in fifteen to pick up Brook."

"Okay." I responded simply. I collapsed on the couch with my laptop and the TV remote. I heard Liam sigh again before exiting the room. I flipped my laptop on to check Facebook and Twitter.

NiallOfficial: Heading out to see @edsheeran soon ! 

Immediately, my mentions were flooded. 'Niall, follow me!' was all I saw. I clicked the follow button a few times, probably making those girls' lives. 

I wandered back to my timeline and I saw a tweet that someone I followed retweeted.

BrookTommo: "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." -Aristotle. I couldn't live without you, I love you xxxx

Updated six months ago.

Something twisted in my stomach and I shut my laptop quickly. I refused to shed the tears that welled in my eyes. I had cried enough in the last two months to fill a pool.

It was all worth it for that one moment, though. It wasn't exactly the ideal memory for her to remember, but that few seconds of recognition on her face. When she came running towards me with her arms outstretched. To be able to hold her like I used to. The pain, the hurt, it was all worth it for that one moment.

"Let's go." Liam announced a few minutes later. I flipped off the tv and stood up to stretch. A yawn escaped my lips as we traipsed out of Liam's flat and walked the few feet to Louis'.

"Hi Niall!" A perky young voice yelled out the second the door swung open. I barely had time to brace myself for the small body to pounce into my arms.

"Hey Daisy, how're you?" I grinned at the little blonde.

"I'm great!" She mumbled into my shoulder as her tiny arms clasped around my neck and legs latched themselves around my waist. 

"Where's Phoebe?" The second the words were out of my mouth, two arms attached themselves to my legs.

"I'm right here. Obviously." She laughed. "So you're taking Brooky on a date?"

"Not quite." I chuckled slightly, as I ruffled her hair.

"I feel so unloved." Liam pouted from beside me. Daisy started struggling in my arms and I immediately put her down. Soon the twins were latched onto Liam.

"Girls, let go of Liam." Brooklyn appeared from the living room. I tried my hardest to keep my breathing steady, but the girl took away my breath. Just like always.

Her brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, her greenish-blue eyes lit up, and her lips spread in a smile. She was wearing jean shorts that complimented her shapely legs and a loose flowery top that accented her fair skin. 

"Sorry, I was finishing getting ready." She nodded at the two of us.

"It's no problem, babe." Liam answered, "You ready?"

When she nodded, we said quick goodbyes to the twins and headed out the door. Ricky, one of our bodyguards, was standing next to the car we were taking.

"We should take our driving tests sometime soon," I said as I crawled into the backseat.

"Wait, do I have a license?" Brook scrunched up her nose adorably as she sat next to me.

"No, Lou drives you everywhere." Liam answered with a laugh. "And Harry. You got the two of them wrapped around your finger." 

"Hm, alright. So who's this Ed guy?" She changed subject as she twirled a piece of her brown hair around in her fingers.

"Singer and songwriter. Talented lad." Liam turned around from the passenger seat to inform Brook.

"I have some of his music, if you wanna listen." I offered as I tugged my iPhone out of my jean pocket. She nodded and I tossed it to Liam who set it up quickly. 

"My mind is a warrior, my heart is a foreigner, my eyes are the color of red like a sunset." 

"I think this is going to be a very interesting concert." Brook raised her eyebrows as her fingers tapped to the beat.

~'~'~

"Hey, Josh!" Brook exclaimed as we came upon the short drummer. He grinned crookedly as Brook hugged him briefly. My fist clenched as I tried to keep my face emotionless.

"You're quite perky today." Josh commented.

"Louis may or may not have given me a redbull.." She trailed off sheepishly. 

"Oh no." I groaned teasingly.

"He gave me sugar because he didn't have to deal with me. It's like giving cake to a child who's going home." Brook grinned wickedly as she bounced on the heels of her feet.

"Remind me to call your brother later and thank him." Josh joked.

"I'm off to meet Andie, you guys okay?" Liam inquired.

"Who's Andie? Huh? Your girlfriend?" Brook grinned as she started poking his shoulders.

Maybe we should have given Brook a redbull sooner. This was the happiest I've seen her since the accident. She also seemed completely at ease with us, no walls up to bar us from seeing her happy. It was quite a contrast to last month when she wouldn't let anyone know what she was feeling.

Although I hated to admit it, her being home had greatly changed her perspective on everything. Having to finish off our promo tour without her was difficult, there would be moments when we'd all just stare at each other. For the past year she had gone everywhere with us. There was an empty spot where she would sit, or a silence where we knew she would speak up with a corny joke or words of encouragement. 

But if being away from us transformed her into the girl I saw in front of me now, it was worth it. 

"I'll see you later," Liam rolled his eyes at her before ruffling her hair slightly. She dodged his hand and laughed.

"You're weird," I told Brook who simply grinned widely at me.

"We're seated to the right of the stage, they have a few guards there." Josh informed us. Brook nodded quickly before grabbing both our arms and tugging us away.

"Uh, babe, wrong direction." I said with a chuckle. She stopped.

"We can only go in one direction, you know." Her eyes twinkled before doing a complete 180 and pulled us backwards. 

"Very punny." I rolled my eyes as she laughed.

We continued our way through the mostly empty halls of the venue. Ed had started singing already, so we didn't have to worry about the mass crowd. We eventually got to our spot in the middle of 'U.N.I.' 

Brook jumped when she could, yelled when she wanted to, and made up words to his songs. It was amusing to watch my girlfriend hyped up on redbull singing out incorrect lyrics. 

"We should give her redbull more often." Josh whispered to me while she fist-pumped to an extremely slow song.

"Agreed." I nodded with a full-blown smile, something that hadn't graced my lips in quite a while.

~'~'~

"This next song.. It's a quiet one. Let's get a click going." Ed announced into the mic. Without second thought, Brook snapped her fingers and swayed to the beat.

As Ed started strumming, my heart clenched. Josh shot me a glance as if to check if I was okay. I nodded barely, waiting to see Brook's reaction once she realized what the words were saying.

"You were just a small bump.."

It was the second verse when Brook froze completely, her hands dropped to her side and I saw her chest heave in and out. Within a few seconds, she turned around to look me straight in the eye. The greenish-blue orbs were shining with new tears. 

Her arms wrapped around my waist and I moved my hand to her back. I rubbed comfortably, trying to ignore the tears pricking at my own eyes. She looked up to me, her face emotionless except for the tear-filled eyes.

She stared at me for a few seconds before her suddenly dry lips parted. "I remember."