Chapter 16: Accepting or Pretending?
"What the hell, Liam?!" Jade says to herself in frustration as she runs into Harry's house and sees Niall on the ground with blood on the back of his head. "Oh my god. Niall! Please be okay."
She only gets a groan in response from the blond, but that's good enough for her. She kisses Niall's cheek and carefully helps him to his feet. He stumbles a bit as they walk out the door, but they manage to reach her car and she quickly buckles him into the passenger seat.
"You're gonna be okay, Niall."
"Li- Liam... He h- has Harry," the Irish lad mumbles, blinking his eyes slowly.
"Yeah, okay. But let's get you to the hospital first, yeah? You should get your head checked."
"Why?" he asks, then slowly reaches for the back of his head. He touches it gently, hissing when he feels a sharp pain and some sticky liquid on his fingers. When he looks at his hand, his eyes widen in shock from the sight of blood. "What – what happened to me?"
Jade is already driving to the hospital, hoping to get there before Niall passes out, or worse – bleeds out. She shudders at the thought and steps on the gas; getting a ticket for speeding is the least of her worries right now. Getting Niall to the hospital is much more important. And she may be trying to avoid answering his question, focusing on driving and getting them there in one piece, but quickly.
"Jade, what happened?"
"I – um... I'm not exactly sure, but I have an idea," she mutters in reply.
"Then tell me," Niall prompts, looking at her.
"Well, from what I saw back at Harry's house, it may have involved you getting hit on the back of your head with a vase."
"... Really? By whom?"
"That's – that's the complicated part. But it's not that important right now. You really have to be at the hospital now. Can we talk about this later? Please?"
He continues staring at the side of her face, then lets out a sigh. "Fine. But later, okay?"
Even though she doesn't answer, Jade knows she can't get out of this. She has to let Niall know that Liam was actually the one that hit him with a vase. And that Liam has Harry in his house, but that can wait. Niall. Hospital. That's what important right now.
~~~
"What do you mean Liam answered his phone?!" Louis demands.
"Calm down, Lou," El tries, petting his arm.
"I can't just 'calm down', El! Niall just got hurt by Liam, because we sent him to Harry's house. Who knows how badly hurt he is? And how the hell is he gonna get to the hospital?"
"Liam said – "
"Oh, who cares what Liam said! We all know we can't trust a f***ing word he says! He's a maniac, Zayn!"
The black-haired lad sighs, then looks at Louis sternly. "Well, even though we don't trust him, he said Niall was gonna get to the hospital as soon as possible. Whether or not he's telling the truth, we won't know unless we actually see Niall in here somewhere."
"So, what? Now we're just supposed to trust that Niall will get here somehow?"
"We have to, Louis. We don't have a choice. We can't just leave this place and go check on him."
"Yeah, yeah. 'Cause we still have to heal. But what if Niall is bleeding out or something? He could die if we don't check on him. Zayn, we have to get someone to check on Niall."
"If you want, I can go check on him," Eleanor suggests.
"And risk your life if Liam is still there? No way, El. I don't want you to get hurt too," Louis argues.
She rolls her eyes and makes him look at her. "Lou, you can't keep me from risking my life all the time. I can do things on my own and make decisions like these; even if they are dangerous. And besides, Liam hasn't dealt with me yet. I'll show him that I don't appreciate him hurting you. He won't see it coming."
"As hot as that is, – 'cause it totally is, – I can't let you do that, El."
"Or maybe we don't have to send anyone for Niall," Zayn interrupts, looking down at his phone.
"What do you mean?"
"I just got a text from an unknown number, telling me that Niall is in the hospital right now... It's from Jade."
"Who's Jade?"
"Oh! It's the girl that Niall hooked up with yesterday!" Eleanor pipes in happily. "You know, the one Harry told us about before that creepy Liam stuff. The one that Niall bumped into, then ditched Harry for? Come on, lads. I know you remember."
After a few more seconds, Louis remembers and sneers at the memory. "Right. The girl he hooked up with while me and Zayn are still here, trapped until we get better."
"Stop being so bitter, Lou."
"Not my fault."
"Anyway," Zayn cuts in again, making them focus on what's important. "At least we now know that Niall is here and getting checked out. We don't have to send anyone to Harry's, and we don't have to keep worrying."
"Good. I don't think my poor heart can take any more," Louis whines.
"Baby," El mutters, then looks away when Louis gives her a look and smiles to herself.
~~~
"You should really eat, Hazza. I don't want you to get sick or something."
"I'm not hungry. Can I just go and sleep now?"
Liam sighs and wipes his mouth with a napkin before looking at Harry sternly. "I'd prefer that you at least eat something before you rest."
"I said I'm not – "
"Damn it, Harry! Just eat the freaking food I cooked for you!"
Harry stiffens and looks at Liam with wide eyes. He's never yelled at Harry like that, although he was pretty close an hour ago. At the moment, Liam looks angry and Harry feels even more terrified, not knowing whether this is the worst that Liam will get or not.
"Please d- don't yell at me."
"I'm sorry, Hazza. But just eat the food. Please. For me?"
As if, Harry thinks in protest, knowing better than saying it out loud. He sighs and looks at Liam hesitantly before he says, "Li, I – I don't really feel too good."
"Because you haven't eaten anything."
"No. I just – I'm really tired right now, and I – um... I wanna be alone for a bit."
"Harry, do you really think I'd let you go off on your own? Even in my house?" Liam asks, his voice dangerously low and threatening. "Don't think I don't know what you'll try to do. There's absolutely no way out of here. No way to escape, no way to call for help... You're trapped in here, babe. Trapped with me, so you better get used to it."
"I – I wasn't going to – "
Slamming his hands on the table suddenly, which makes Harry jump and whimper in fear, Liam stands up from his chair and glares at Harry. "That's enough!" he shouts.
"Li, I swear I wasn't gonna do that! I really am tired."
"I said enough, Harry! If you don't wanna eat, then fine. But I'm not letting you out of my sight from now on, you hear me?"
"What – what do you mean?" Harry asks softly, then notices Liam coming towards him.
Liam grabs his arm and pulls him up from his chair. He protests weakly, but Liam tightens his hold on Harry's arm. "It means exactly what you think. You see, Harry. I was gonna give more freedom – your own room, letting you walk around my house whenever you want, come outside with me sometimes... But then you misbehaved, and I won't let you get away with that."
"Wait! Liam, please!"
"So," Liam continues, dragging Harry up the stairs towards his bedroom. "You have to stay in my room, with me, because you don't know how to obey me."
"But I – "
Harry gets thrown on the bed, where he quickly moves back and away from Liam. Said lad just watches him whimpering in the far corner before he commands Harry to come to him. "Now, Harry. I won't ask again."
"P- please don't hurt me. I – I promise to behave from now on, Li."
"Then come here."
"... Okay," Harry answers, wiping away his tears and slowly crawling towards Liam at the end of the bed.
The older lad looks down at him, reaching out and gently wiping at Harry's eyes when he sees them getting watery. Harry flinches from the contact, not expecting the gentle touch and squeezing his eyes shut. Liam sighs and realizing how afraid Harry is, moving his hand to cup the his cheek.
"Harry, look at me, please."
"I'm s- sorry, Li. I didn't mean to disobey you. I really am tired and I want to rest. Even if it's with you, in here," Harry says shakily, looking up at Liam.
"... Am I that bad?"
"Huh?"
"Are you that scared of me?"
"Um... Well, I – You've been kinda scary lately, but I can – If I really have to, I don't mind getting used to that. Just please don't hurt me. I'm really sorry. I promise to behave. I'll do anything you want; I promise."
Feeling upset from knowing that Harry would be desperate enough to force himself to get used Liam being this awful so he wouldn't get hurt, the brown-eyed lad takes a seat beside Harry on the bed. He reaches for Harry, who hesitates for only a second before he crawls on Liam's lap and straddles his waist. Liam reaches up his hands and cups Harry's face, then kisses him softly.
Not expecting this at all, Harry freezes and just lets Liam kiss him. When he doesn't kiss back, Liam pulls away and looks at his face, wondering if this whole thing with Harry really is hopeless.
"Why did you – You stopped kissing me," Harry notes.
"I don't want to have to force you to kiss me, Harry. I want you to want it as much as I do."
"But I never said I didn't want to."
"You didn't have to," Liam says with a forced smile, pushing back Harry's hair from his face. "Why don't you get some rest now? I'm gonna go downstairs and watch a movie or somethi- "
"No!"
Liam raises an eyebrow at Harry's sudden protest, not sure why he did. He thought Harry wanted to get away from him, so this doesn't make any sense. Harry clears his throat before he slowly wraps his arms around Liam's neck. This only confuses Liam some more, but he doesn't push Harry away; not that he wants to anyway.
"I don't want you to leave me."
"No?"
"Yeah. I want you to stay with me," Harry explains slowly, then leans forward and pecks Liam's lips. "I – uh, could you... I'm kinda in the mood right now."
"Seriously? Like, you want me to – "
"Yeah. Do you mind?"
Sputtering a bit in shock, Liam stares at Harry with wide eyes. "Well, no, of course I don't mind. But are you sure? I mean, I really don't wanna force you to do anything with me. I don't wanna risk hurting you again, which we've established is something I'm horrible at avoiding."
"What if I tell you that when you man-handle me, it kinda turns me on...?"
"You're kidding. There's no way you're – "
" – serious? Oh, but I am," Harry responds, grinding down on Liam and then leaning forward to start kissing Liam's neck. "Can't you tell?"
"I'm dreaming. This – You're not actually doing this right now."
"And yet, you're wrong, 'cause I totally am."
Without another word, Harry starts to unbutton Liam's shirt and kissing his way down the newly exposed skin. Liam shivers in pleasure, moaning and encouraging Harry to continue making his way lower. But first, Harry's clothes have to start coming off too.
"Then let's do this," Liam declares, pulling off Harry's shirt followed by his skinnies.
Moaning back and smiling triumphantly, Harry helps Liam pull off his trousers before he pushes Liam on his back. The older lad smiles and moves them higher up the bed until his head is resting on his pillow.
"You don't mind me riding you, do you?"
"Why the hell would I?"
"Good."
*And cliffhanger! Sorry, but not really! ;) You probably already know what's "coming" anyway, right? Hehe! :D - By the way, do you want detailed smut or nah?
What's with Harry suddenly changing his mind and giving in to Liam? Is he really doing this because he has feelings for Liam? Or is this just to keep Liam from thinking about Harry possibly pretending so he can try to escape later? - What do YOU think?
How is Niall? When will Louis and Zayn find out that Harry is trapped with Liam? And again, whose side is Jade on? Will she tell them the truth about Liam's plans?
Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter too! PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THIS CHAPTER AND THE STORY SO FAR!
What will happen next? (besides what you can already tell from how this chapter ended, of course!) x