Imprisoned In My Heart: A Larry Stylinson Fanfic

17.

Harry truly became an elastic band in that moment, and he snapped, as he would always have done. However, instead of pinging back and stinging someone’s fingers, he launched himself across the room and flew at Adam almost before he had time to acknowledge what he was doing.

He had the advantage of surprise, and he managed to send Adam sprawling to the floor with his very first blow. They rolled off the sofa, hitting the ground with a thump, and Harry smashed his elbow against the concrete floor so hard that he howled in pain. Disregarding his own injury, he quickly pulled back his fist and swung, punching Adam hard on the jaw before the man could figure out what was going on. It didn’t take long for it to dawn on Adam that he had been punched; with a roar like an angry bear, he attempted to smack Harry on the side of the head. Smaller, and therefore faster, Harry dodged the punch and pummeled Adam’s ribs with his fists, hard, enjoying the satisfaction of raining the blows down even if they seemed to be having little effect. Next, he seized a thick pink wrist and dug his nails in, scratching long, bloody furrows into the skin that instantly began weeping blood. Who said nails were a girl’s weapon? They certainly worked; Adam bellowed and tried to wrench his arm away – so of course Harry held on.

He was so caught up in the fight that he didn’t see the shock on Louis’ face as Adam and Harry crashed to the floor. The only sound he could hear was the blood rushing through his ears and his own breathing, so he didn’t hear Louis cry “Harry, stop!” When Louis reached down and frantically started trying to drag the two of them apart, Harry didn’t recognize the frantic touch of those familiar hands, and he jerked away from Louis, raking his hands down Adam’s arms again with a hiss.

It had been a long time since Harry had been this violent; the last time he had been so angry, he had lost his mind for a while, and the only thing he had been aware of were his own shouts, loud thumps, and someone crying out in agony – and then he had resurfaced with blood on his hands and a knife on the floor beside him, and the man who had attacked one of his closest friends was lying on the floor gasping raggedly, taking his dying breaths. Harry had felt his rage slowly fading, and he had calmly watched as the life faded from the monster he had killed – and frighteningly, he had felt a sense of grim satisfaction that he had fought for someone he loved. He was terrified of getting that feeling again – and yet if he did, he would welcome it, because somehow it meant more this time. It was Louis, his lover, not just his friend; the urge to take care of him meant more than it ever had with Michael – and even that had been enough to inspire murder.

Harry let his whole body go limp for a few seconds, and when Adam relaxed his grip slightly in surprise, Harry twisted and punched him in the stomach several times, then rolled away and tried to scramble up so that he would have a height advantage. At the last possible second, just as Harry was leaping to his feet, Adam’s huge hand shot out, snatched a massive handful of Harry’s curls, and held on. Harry’s weakness had always been his hair: the right touch could have him sighing in ecstasy and collapsing into someone’s arms with a smile. The wrong touch, however, could have him writhing on the floor yelling, and this was most definitely the wrong kind of touch.

Trying to use the man’s weight against him, Harry started wriggling and kicking in a way that nobody Adam’s size could have managed, trying to shake him off. When it became clear that throwing him off wasn’t an option, Harry changed tack: he got Adam in a headlock and hung on for dear life. Adam thrashed violently and a giant fist crashed against Harry’s nose, so hard that it instantly started bleeding. Harry coughed and blew out furiously; the blood that had been dripping onto his lips sprayed outwards in a scarlet fountain, like ocean waves crashing onto a beach.

“Harry!” Louis cried.

Once again, Harry attacked, this time with a well-aimed kick that unfortunately Adam redirected at the last minute by lashing out and trying to slam his foot into Harry’s leg. Seeing red, Harry punched, scratched, tugged harshly on the tiny bristles of Adam’s hair and even viciously pulled his ears, determined to inflict as much pain as possible before they were dragged apart. Adam snarled and jerked his arm, ramming his elbow right into the centre of Harry’s forehead, making him yelp in pain – and then fall worryingly silent as he staggered back and flopped against the floor with a low groan as his entire body started throbbing.