Chapter 3:

"Brook, this is Paul. He's our..." Louis trailed off. "He's our driver-ish thing."

"That sure does me justice. I'm their babysitter." Paul winked, shaking my hand. I laughed, already feeling at home with the older man.

"It's very nice to meet you! Although, I guess you already know me.." I said awkwardly, shuffling my feet.

"If you want, I'll pretend I don't." Paul chuckled.

"That's very kind." I grinned at him before wobbling me and my broken leg into the car. After a few minutes we started off, with five faces looking at me. I squirmed slightly, uncomfortable at these boys staring at me.

"So, would you like to know more about us?" Liam offered with a smile.

"I would very much appreciate that." I nodded with a small smile.

"Just ask each of us a question, any question." Harry prompted.

"Um, how old are you guys?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Niall, Harry and Liam are eighteen and I am nineteen." Zayn informed me with a smile. 

"And then Louis is twenty.. And I'm eighteen?" I scrunched my face up slightly.

"Yup!" Lou nodded.

"Um.. I don't really know what to ask you, to be honest.." I said after a silence. A definite awkward silence.

"Here, I'll help. Zayn here, is quiet and mysterious. But not always. He has this really loud streak occasionally, where he's just obnoxious. Then there's Liam. He's quite sensible, but has his immature moments. Everyone thinks he's the oldest but he's not.  Harry is the youngest, but he's cheeky and has a way with women. Although, not you. He asked you out when we first all met each other but you said no. I helped a little with that decision. Niall is carefree and fun, he looks innocent but he isn't. He's also the nicest boyfriend." Louis rambled off. The boys rolled their eyes at him.

Niall has a girlfriend? That kind of stabbed at my heart a little, and I don't know why. Why would it matter so much? I had just met him after all.

"And I'm your charming, sweet, lovable big brother. You owe me twenty pounds by the way." Lou grinned mischievously.

"I don't believe you." I shot back with a smile.

"Don't listen to him, I actually believe he owes you some money." Niall spoke.

"Ha!" I pointed to Louis while sticking out my tongue.

"Aw c'mon Niall! Siding with Brook, as always." Louis grumbled good naturally, slumping up against the seat. I laughed slightly before turning to look out the window. Trees were whizzing bye and the colors captivated me. My mind started wandering.

Why was all this happening to me? Why did I have to forget? This kind of thing only happens in the movies. What all did I forget? I hated not knowing what I had done, where I had gone, what I've said.

"We're here." Paul announced as we pulled up to the back of a hotel. I looked around quickly before looking back at the boys.

"I hope none of them found out the back way." Zayn mumbled under his breath as the door swung open. 

"Who?" I questioned as I lifted my broken leg and tried to maneuver it out the door. The other boys were already out. Niall immediately rushed over and grabbed my hand lightly. I blushed furiously at the movement, as he slowly guided me out of the van and into the wheelchair. A warmth spread through my body at the touch of our skin. Once I was settled on the wheelchair, Niall started pushing me.

"Oh, uh.. No one." Zayn replied. 

"Okay, I'm tired of being left in the dark! The only way I can regain my memory is if you guys talk about what's happened in the last couple years! Giving me vague answers won't help!" I screamed in frustration. The boys all shared a look.

"Just tell her, mate." Harry told Louis.

"Okay, I'll explain it all in our hotel room. Alright?" Louis ran a hand through his hair and offered me a smile.

"Okay." I replied as Niall started wheeling me through the door. We reached the lobby where immediately a bunch of people started talking to the boys about things I didn't understand. I looked up at Niall with confusion in my eyes. He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled before turning to a lady with blonde hair and rattling something off to her. Soon enough I was getting wheeled into an elevator.

"Thank god we've got the night off." Harry stated as the numbers started going up. 

"I know right." Niall concurred from behind me.

"Do you know how increasingly frustrating it is for me right now? I have no fucking clue what you guys are talking about." I grumbled just as the elevator doors dinged open. The boys just chuckled as we made our way through the hall. Louis stopped at one of the doors and slid the key card in.

"This is your room." Louis informed me as Niall pushed me into the room. I gasped at the huge room. It had three separate sections. The bedroom area, the mini kitchen area, and the office like area. It must have cost a fortune!

"But.. Where are you guys staying?" I asked incredulously.

"We each have our own rooms." Zayn smirked as he made himself at home on my bed.

"How do you afford it? Is your job.. Drug dealing or something?" My eyes were wide.

"Let's just show her. Grab her laptop and look up the X Factor vids." Louis stated, pointing at a pink MacBook that was lying on the coffee table. They opened it and I saw a picture of the boys and I at what looked like the Statue of Liberty. I was smiling happily as the boys all made faces and were being crazy. A smile slowly spread across my own face as I saw the happiness in this picture.

"Alright." Harry said, pulling up YouTube and searching One Direction X Factor Solo Auditions. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we?"

**********

"Hey, mum!" I said excitedly into the phone an hour later.

"Hi, darling. How are you feeling?" My mum's frantic voice sounded.

"I'm okay. We spent a while watching YouTube.. Louis is in a band? It just all feels like a really weird dream." I sighed, laying face up on my bed. The boys had agreed to let me rest after the shock of hearing my brother was in a boyband. My brother. As in, my Louis was in a boyband. I wanted to laugh at first, thinking they had just been playing a joke on me. Looks like they really were in a boyband. 

I watched the videos of them each auditioning, spotting myself supporting my brother as he sang Hey There Delilah. We then watched as their names didn't get called and instead Simon Cowell placed them in a group. We watched all the videos of them singing the live shows, up to the point where they got third place. That's where they decided to stop it. The entire time, I stole glances at the boys around me. They smile, laughed and shared memories. What I would give to remember it all.

"I know how confusing this all must be for you.. Do you want me to fly out there? I wouldn't mind!" Mum offered, and I could tell she was on the brink of tears.

"No, no! You have Daisy, Felicite, Phoebe and Lottie to take care of. I'll be fine, I have Louis to take care of me." I replied adamantly.

"He'll take good care of you. He's done a good job the last two months." She laughed slightly. I could almost hear the tears starting to stream down her face. "And the other boys. They'll take really good care of you, especially that Niall. He's always had a soft spot for you."

"Thanks, mum." I replied with a slight blush. The blonde had already started to weed his way into my life with those eyes, the laughter, the smiles. But, Louis has also told me he had a girlfriend. He was off limits. Plus he was three years older then me. Oh, wait, no.. That's right. I'm eighteen. How weird.

"They'll take good care of you." My mum repeated, more to herself than to me.

"Mum? I have a question." I said after a short silence where I could hear her sniffling.

"Of course, honey!"

"Why am I with Louis? Why am I not finishing university?" I had questioned this since I had learned that I had been traveling with the boys instead of schooling. It had always been my dream to become an actress, so why wasn't I trying to fulfill that dream?

"Oh.. Louis didn't explain?" Her broken voice asked.

"No.." I replied, suddenly worried that what happened in the last three years had been crucial.

"Well.. Louis started traveling and you missed him more than you thought you. Some... Things came up here at home and Louis decided that you were going to travel with them. The band okay'd it.." She said, and I could hear in her voice there was way more to the story. I decided not to push it. "Ask Louis, it'd be better to explain it all in person.."

"Okay. I'll ask him. How much longer until we all go home?" 

"Another month or so.. But just say the word when you want to come home! We'll get you on the first flight. The boys spoil you, by the way. So if you need anything, just let them know." I could hear her smile through the tears.

"I.. I hope I remember. I think being here, with them, will help me remember. I just hate not knowing.." I could feel tears prickling at my eyes. 

"I know. I know." She cried.

"I'm gonna go, mum, I need some rest.. Tell the girls I miss them, alright? Give them a hug for me." I sighed deeply.

"Of course. We'll set up a video chat soon. Sleep well, I love you!" 

"Love you too." I smiled through the tears. We hung up, and I placed my phone on the night table. I then curled up into the blankets, elevating my broken leg. I let myself fall into a dreamless sleep.

*****Louis POV******

"I hope she's sleeping. The poor girl needs it." Liam commented as we all lounged around his room. 

"The doctor said when he wakes up she might momentarily forget what's happened, but she would remember after a few moments. We gotta wake her up in an hour to give the pain meds." I looked up from my laptop where I was responding to some tweets. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Niall sigh deeply. My heart panged for the younger boy, knowing how hard it was for him.

"So we told her about One Direction.. But I highly doubt she knows how massive we are.." Zayn commented.

"She only knows up to the end of X Factor... What if we just inform her a little bit everyday? I mean, tell her what's necessary for the day. Like tomorrow, we'll take her to the concert and then to the signing." Harry suggested, with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't know if she'll be able to handle both." I replied with a small frown. 

"The concert she could just hang with Paul . Then have a driver bring her back here while we go to the signing." Liam said and I agreed. It'd be good for her to see us perform, but I didn't want to push her too far.

"We also have to keep this all under wraps. The gossip sites getting ahold of this would be disastrous." Harry added with a grimace. We all responded similarly, not thinking about that part of it.

"I'll talk to her about pretending she knows what's going on. We'll keep her out of the limelight, as we usually do. And keep her away from Twitter." I nodded.

"Niall, you okay, mate?" Liam suddenly asked, turning to the blonde boy. I saw little droplets hanging off his eyelashes and I immediately pushed away my laptop. I jumped off the couch I was on and gathered the small boy into my arms. He resisted at first, before putting his blonde head in the crook of my shoulder. I rubbed light circles on his back, as he cried into me.

"Believe me, she'll get her memory back. She'll remember." I reassured him.

"What if she doesn't?" He hiccuped. "It took me long enough to convince her the first time.."

"It's alright, we'll just tell her-"

"No, you don't understand. That's way too much to handle. First off she's thrown into this boyband world, which is probably scaring the shit out of her. She doesn't even know us! I can't just tell her she's my girlfriend. Even if she believed me, she'd stress out. She had a hard time learning to trust me in the first place, I'm not telling her." He stated firmly, lifting his head out of my shoulder and furiously wiping away the tears.

"All you guys can do right now, is be her friend. She needs that. She might not fully know who you are, but she needs you." I breathed out, looking my four band mates in the eye. They each nodded in agreement.