Melody In The Locker Room

Chapter 20

Zayn was home from the hospital, sitting in the stands next to Niall as the football team held their practice. It had been a week since Ed had asked to transfer to Stanborough but Zayn still hadn’t given him an answer.

Louis and Harry still hadn’t told anyone that they were together and Niall simply wasn’t as peppy as he was before. He was constantly worrying about Zayn and while Zayn appreciated Niall’s cautiousness, he missed the boy he had fallen for.

It seemed in the past week or so, the group of friends had grown up a little too fast.

Harry looked up at the stands and waved to the injured goalie. He hated seeing Zayn in a cast instead of on the field. It just felt wrong to be playing without the Bradford boy.

Louis noticed this and walked up beside Harry, desperately wanting to hold his boyfriend’s hand but he kept himself resigned. He was itching to make contact with Harry but knew neither of them was ready for that yet.

Sophie watched on from the top of the stands and shook her head in disappointment. Where had her carefree group of friends gone? It was clearly time to shake things up a little…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Louis and Niall received an envelope addressed to each of them. When they opened them, they realized that they were going to be going on a little adventure that day.

Both of the messages were completely identical, save the name of the person who had been taken hostage.

“Hostage? What the bloody hell has Sophie gone and done now?” Niall exclaimed, fearing instantly for Zayn’s wellbeing. His boyfriend was still on crutches for crying out loud!

Louis laughed a little at Niall’s protective reaction. “They probably went willingly, Nialler, no need to worry.”

“But what does this even mean?!?” Niall objected, shoving his letter toward his best friend and roommate.

Louis scanned his eyes over Niall’s copy of the message and read:

Dearest Niall Horan,

You have lost your pep and it clearly needs to be restored. Until further notice I have taken Zayn Malik hostage in an undisclosed location. To save the sweet boy, you must partake in a day of whimsy and puzzles to find out where I am keeping him. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, I will return him to you exactly how I found him as long as you play along. ;)

Here’s your first clue:

You can’t look right and you can’t look left, but you can look down and up and forward. I am dark and small and I probably smell.

Sincerely,

Someone who dares

“Oh, very clever, Sophie! Someone who dares! Hah!” Louis scoffed dryly, tossing the letter down onto Niall’s bed.

“What the heck does that even mean though?” Niall asked, chewing on his nails nervously.

Louis snatched up a stray candy bar and shoved it as his friend. “Eat this instead of your fingers. It’s much more sanitary.”

Niall mowed down on the candy bar as Louis flopped onto his back on his bed. He wracked his brain for what the clue could possibly mean but he simply couldn’t concentrate with the sound of Niall’s hasty munching.

“Can you quiet down a bit? I’m trying to think here!” Louis protested, throwing Niall a dirty look.

Niall winced slightly and finished the bar in one last bite. He really was a vacuum of an eater. “Sorry, Lou.”