Autophobia || Liam

Seventeen

Listen to the song when you get to the part when they go out to the balcony. Or go on YouTube on a different device. Song: Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran

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"You've been an excellent crowd tonight! Thank you!" Liam said his final goodbye to the large crowd sitting in front of him. He sprinted off stage and was handed a towel by a crew member.

"Mate, are you going to party afterwards?" Louis bounced over to him, still pumping with adrenaline.

Liam looked over his shoulder and saw a timid Hanna standing in the corner, looking like a deer in headlights. Liam shook his head. "Nah. Not tonight."

Louis looked a little hurt but saw that Niall was already showered and changed, ready to go party. "Next time!" Louis shouted over his shoulder.

Liam gave him a thumbs up and made his way to Hanna. "Hey."

"Hey." She gave a weak smile. "You guys were fantastic. As always." She blushed. "Thanks for inviting me. Guess I should be heading home now."

Liam grabbed her upper arm lightly, afraid he'll break it because of how fragile the small girl looks. "Wait. Do you want to hang out for a little bit? In the hotel. Not in a sexual kind of way. Not that many people treat me, or any of us, like you do. Just for some food and drinks."

Liam was the one blushing now. Hanna smiled. "Sure."

The two of them headed to the car that would take them back to the hotel. "The guys are out at some club. I didn't think you'd want to join them."

"Thanks."

The car ride was a title bit awkward.  Fans swarmed the grounds of the hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse of who ever was in the car. "Unfortunately, this is the only way in." Liam apologized. "Just duck your head and run for it."

"Hold my hand." Hanna started to get a little panicky so Liam gripped her hand, just string enough to keep a firm grip. "I'm ready!"

The door flew open and the muffled screaming intensified, almost deafening the two of them. "Liam! Liam!" Fans cat called the boy and some threw insults at the girl. "Whore! Slut! Anorexic!"

But the fans didn't know they were just inflicting more pain on the broken girl. Liam didn't know her story. And she hoped to keep it a secret from him. Because if he knows it, the whole world does.

In the lift, Hanna tried to hide her tears. The black jacket Liam borrowed to her when she started shivering to the walk to the car irritated the scars on her arms. She snuck a glance at her wrists and saw the makeup had started to smudge off.

"Are you okay?" Liam broke the silence. "I heard what they were yelling at you."

"I'm fine." Hanna said. 'IM NOT OKAY AND I THINK IM GONNA JUMP OFF THE BALCONY WHEN WE GET THERE!' Is what her mind was repeating over and over.

The lift opened and Hanna followed the lad to his room. The scanner lit up green when Liam swiped his room key, letting them enter.

The room was decorated with golds and reds. With black accents. It felt comforting. "Here." Liam shrugged off the jacket he borrowed to Hanna. "You'll be more comfortable with out the jacket. It can get pretty warm in here." He hung up the jacket. "Would you like some water?"

"Please." Hanna sat down on the couch, nervous. The makeup on her arms had completely rubbed off now, leaving her exposed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Liam asked, handing her a bottled water.

Hanna nodded. "One hundred and ten percent peachy."

Liam sat next to her, taking her arms gently. She tried to pull away but Liam wouldn't let her. "Hanna, I know they're there. I noticed them in the lift. Why?" Hanna couldn't open her mouth. Like someone had glued it shut. She tried to blinked away the tears but it was no use. "I knew you weren't going to tell me. But please promise me that you can't let what ever the girls outside said. They're just jealous fucks. I wish I could stay here with you after tonight is over but we leave tomorrow at eleven and it's a lot of work to get packing." Liam jotted his number down on a scrap piece of paper in the hotel room. "Please. Text me if you ever need someone to listen to or to talk to."

Hanna couldn't say much. She just sat there, shocked he wasn't freaked out by the scars and cuts and bruised and burns that littered her arms. Liam let out a deep breath and left her on the couch to go stand out on the balcony.

She followed once she found words to describe what's racing through her head. "You're my favourite." She carefully stepped onto the concrete balcony, like it would crumble away at any second, sending her plummeting to her death.

"Why? Everyone else likes Harry or Louis or Niall or Zayn. Harry because he's, he's Harry. Louis because he's what the fandom calls him, a headgehog. What ever that means. They like Niall more because he's Irish and doesn't have anything bad connected to him. He just sits in his arse watching footie and playing golf. And Zayn. They like him for his chiseled jaw line and his voice and high notes. And I'm just Liam. The unnoticed one."

Hanna sighed. "I saw much more in you than what I saw in them. I looked closely. I saw what others didn't see." Hanna ran her fingers across Liam's stomach area, feeling the bumps that couldn't have been his abs. "I saw the pain. I saw emotion. I could hear the pain in your voice, the plea for help. And like me, you went unnoticed."

Liam sat on the cold cemete. "I cried for years, hoping someone could see the state I was in."

"There were no words for your plea."

Liam nodded. "No one understood."

Hanna sat across from the broken boy. "I may not be famous like you. But I'm not just a nobody."

Liam looked up and stared deeply into the green eyes that seemed to lead him into an alternate universe. "For years I've hated my body." He whispered, letting out a choked sob. "I feel so alone."

Hanna pulled him into a hug. "You're not alone anymore."

---

So we uncovered a little bit of Liam's past.

Note: I am aware that Liam didn't have BDD before One Direction but this is a Fanfiction.

I hope the long wait for an update on this was worth it!!

- Emily xx