Back to Where We Started

Chapter 7

When Liam, Harry, and Niall refused to make eye contact with him and Zayn, Louis began listing off the offences of the miscreants before him. "Falling asleep during our meeting with management, repeatedly swearing, refusing to do what you were told after being told to do so several times, attitude, not only with us but with the crew, changing the signs on the door so the poor man conducting the interview couldn't find the room he was supposed to meet us in...I could go on, but the truth is, I'd rather not since all that's going to accomplish is making me even more angry." Louis ranted.

"What on earth could have possessed the three of you to act like you did this afternoon?" Zayn questioned.

It didn't take long for Zayn to reach the conclusion that none of the boys would be willingly forthcoming. Already fed up with the behavior they'd exhibited thus far, he decided it was time to take a more 'hands on' approach. It wasn't like the boys didn't know what to expect. It seemed as though, once again, they were testing him, but also Louis.

"Liam, come here." Zayn instructed with a crooked finger.

Liam's head snapped up and his wide eyes locked with Zayn's.

"One," Zayn counted, eyebrow raised.

Liam's eyes widened a fraction more before he scurried over to stand directly in front of Zayn. Although he had a sneaking suspicion what was about to happen, Liam still startled at finding himself bent under Zayn's left arm, backside prone.

SMACK, SMACK, SMACK, SMACK, SMACK.

As soon as he was free to stand upright, Liam was quick to take a few steps back and shield his backside from any further assault. Seeing the tears in Liam's eyes, Zayn wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in a hug and tell him that everything would be alright. However, he knew that that wouldn't be possible until all three boys had been sufficiently dealt with.

"You may return to where you were." Zayn instructed. "Harry, you're next."

Liam was quick to return to his spot while Harry visibly gulped and directed pleading eyes towards Zayn.

"I don't recommend you push your luck, Harold Edward." Louis scolded.

Knowing that his friend was about to protest against being called Harold, Liam elbowed Harry in the side.

"Ow," Harry grumbled, rubbing a hand over his side as he shuffled over to stand in front of Zayn, eyes trained on the floor.

"Yeah, you'll be saying 'ow' in a minute." Louis sassed.

Zayn made quick work of bending Harry under his arm and applying five smacks. SMACK. SMACK. SMAKS. SMACK. SMACK. Harry tried his best to contain any yelps of discomfort, but Zayn had a hard hand, which was something that probably would have been good for all of the boys to consider before behaving the way they did this afternoon.

Similar to Liam, once he realized he was free to do so, Harry stood up and covered his bum. However, unlike Liam, Harry didn't have the restraint to keep himself from rubbing at the sting in an attempt to lessen it.

Upon seeing what Harry was doing, Louis quickly closed the distance between himself and the younger boy, took hold of his arm, angled him to the side, and applied five swats of his own.

"Owww!" Harry complained.

"You know better than to rub, Harry." Louis chastised.

Sniffling pitifully, Harry looked away. He was always more sensitive to being scolded when he knew he was in trouble. Taking in Harry's dejected appearance, Louis, like Zayn, wished he could forget about how the boys had behaved and just wrap Harry in a hug. For now, he tried to settle for being ok with knowing he'd be able to do just that once all of them had been appropriately punished. That didn't stop Louis from gentling his tone, however.