Zayn pulled him up and Harry gasped for air, tears pricking his eyes. He pressed Harry's head against his chest, not caring about the wet stain his curls were leaving.
"Shh, don't worry. Everything's okay. Take a deep breath."
Harry listened to Zayn's calming voice, doing exactly as he asked.
"See? You're not drowning, there's enough air."
He nodded against Zayn's chest, focussing on the way he was breathing in and out. Yeah, he was definitely converting oxygen into carbon dioxide. Nothing to worry about.
"C'mon, let me wash your curls." Zayn said with a smile, releasing his grip on Harry and grabbing a shampoo bottle. After massaging the liquid into his hair and experimenting with different hairstyles, he stood up.
"Let's try this."
He said, filling a cup with water and gently emptying it over Harry's head. This way, Harry could still breathe.
"There we go, let's get you out of there and brush your teeth, yeah?"
Zayn said and he did exactly what he had promised, helping Harry every step of the way. He was gaining Harry's trust, something neither of the boys had failed to notice.
A few moments later, Harry lied on top of Zayn's kitchen table clad in nothing but a pair of boxers. He was trembling all over, although Zayn had turned up the heating.
"What now? I can't call the police, or take you to the hospital. They'd start asking questions. If Louis's in jail, I lose my job. You do understand that, right Harry?"
Zayn explained to the shivering boy, who simply nodded in response. Zayn felt bad about it and Harry knew that, so he respected his decisions.
"C-can't you look it up on Youtube or Google it or something?"
Turns out there are quite a lot of videos on the internet teaching first aid. Harry was starting to think that getting kidnapped and abused by a psychopath was a rather common thing. After half an hour, he was covered in band-aid.
"That should do the job. Wanna eat something? I'll give you something small to eat, so your stomach won't hurt."
Zayn disappeared in the kitchen, leaving behind a still trembling Harry. Harry tried to control himself, but the memories kept flooding back. Zayn's gaze hurt more than a thousand needles, even though he knew he wasn't being inspected.
A few moments later, Zayn came back holding a plate with some tomato slices, an apple and a glass of water.
"I know it's not a very good combination, but it felt healthy, so I fi-"
He cut himself off half-way his sentence when he saw Harry on the table, now shaking uncontrollably and on the verge of tears.
"N-no, it's okay. Don't worry, it looks delicious."
He whispered, trying to brush it off as nothing and forcing a smile. Zayn didn't buy it though, of course he didn't. If there's a guy at your house who's been abused by your psychotic best friend you don't let him get away with that kind of stuff.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
He asked, nice and gentle. He didn't want to push Harry, but it was important to know what was going on inside his head.
"It's nothing really. It's just, Louis used to make me lay down like this and inspected my body." Harry muttered, avoiding Zayn's gaze. He felt a bit awkward telling him about it. Zayn, on the other hand, gritted his teeth to prevent him from yelling nasty things. He couldn't believe Louis.
