Chapter Two
Liam's fingers drummed absentmindedly on the leather steering wheel, stopping to glance at his watch every few minutes. Zayn, who was sitting beside him, sighed, obviously annoyed. They were outside of Harry's house, waiting for him to come rushing out, explaining that he had gotten caught up. They had texted Harry about half an hour ago, but had never gotten a reply. Liam found it odd, but Zayn didn't think they had to worry. Harry was probably taking forever in the shower, like always.
"What if he is home alone, and he is choking?" Liam asked, looking over at Zayn, biting his lip. Zayn sighed, running a hand carefully through his dark hair, not wanting to mess it up. "Or what if he slipped in the shower, hit his head, and got knocked out?" Liam looked at his watch again, then at Harry's door, which was still closed.
"Liam," Zayn said, taking a deep breath, "Harry is Harry. He knows how to take care of himself. He's a bad boy, for goodness' sake!" Liam nodded, and continues to drum his fingers on the wheel, glancing at the door every so often. After five minutes, Liam unbuckled his seatbelt, throwing it off, and opening the car door. "What are you doing?"
"I am going to go and check on Harry," he said, slamming the door and jogging to Harry's porch. He rapped on the door, and a man, who Liam assumed was Harry's dad, answered the door wearing nothing but a pair of faded jeans. He smelled of smoke and beer, and Liam tried not to show it in his face. "Hi! Is Harry home?" Liam asked politely, plastering a smile on his face.
"And who are you?" the man asked, leaning against the doorframe for support. Liam was able to see over the man's shoulder, inside of the house. It was a living room, a tan couch along one wall, the cushions ripped up, a blanket draped over one of the armrests. There were several lawn chairs set up around the room, and a broken TV on a coffee table in the middle. Clothes, towels, and beer bottles were strewn everywhere, and it didn't have a nice smell.
"I'm Liam, Harry's friend," Liam said warmly, shifting around uncomfortably. The man looked confused, his head cocked to the side, scratching his hair. He studied Liam carefully, as if asking himself if there was an actual human being standing here, on his front porch. He took a deep breath, glancing backwards as his eyes narrowed and became cold.
"I wasn't aware that the crappy thing had any friends," the man muttered, shaking his head. Liam's eyebrows knitted, a perplexed look crossed his face. "Harry is up in his room, though heaven knows why anyone would want to see him." Liam rushed past the man, and bolted for the stairs, afraid of what he would find. He easily found Harry's room, as the door was open, and Harry and Gemma were inside, Harry on the bed, Gemma holding his hand.
"Harry!" Liam shouted as he burst into the room, only to be met with Gemma's teary face. Harry was pale, and he had a loose bandage around his head, one that Gemma had probably put around. "Harry? What? What happened?" Liam asked, falling to his knees across from Gemma and picking up Harry's other limp hand. He could see faint streaks of blood streaming slowly from under the bandage. Gemma shook her head sadly, choking on a sob.
"She-she hit him, Liam! Like he wasn't even her son-n!" she whispered, holding Harry's hand to her chest. Liam gave her a puzzled look, and she sniffed, wiping some tears from her cheeks. "Anne, she-she smashed her bottle, on Harry's head. I-I was scared! I didn't know what to do! Is he going to be okay?" Gemma cried, looking up at Liam.
"Of course Harry is going to be okay. He's strong. And besides," Liam said softly, "getting a bottle smashed over your head is most likely not going to kill you." Gemma gave him a small smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Gemma? Do you mind if me and Zayn take Harry? Somewhere like his house, where we can help him."
"Yes, please," she said, nodding her head, "take him anywhere but here." Liam nodded, kissing Gemma on the forehead before gently picking Harry up from the bed, who moaned softly. He carried Harry to the car, where Zayn was, worry on his face. When he saw Harry in Liam's arms, he freaked out, asking what had happened.
"Zayn," Liam grunted, "open the back door. I'll explain in the car." Zayn nodded his head, opening the door quickly. Liam sat on the left side, Harry laying across the who seat, his head on Liam's lap. Liam stroked Harry's curly hair, biting his lip. "We are going to your house." Zayn nodded again, then started up the engine.
~~
"Come on, we don't have all day," Bobby said as Niall stood, frozen in his spot. The needle glistened in Bobby's hand, making Niall tremble in fear. "Niall," Bobby said, his teeth clenched, "get over here. Now." Niall's legs felt like jello as he slowly stepped toward his father, his eyes locked on the needle.
"Please," Niall whispered, more like whimpered, his hands shaking, "don't-don't put that in me." Bobby laughed, a dry, raspy laugh that made Niall shutter in fright, standing from his seat on the chair. He took a step toward Niall, who had stopped when Bobby stood. For every step forward that Bobby took, Niall took one back.
"Now now," Bobby cooed, a wicked grin on his face, "no need to be afraid." Niall's breathing became rapid, and he was afraid of the needle. He could already feel it sinking into his arm, the cool, cold liquid streaming into his blood. His lips started to tremble, and he soon backed into the wall, crying out as he realized he was trapped. "I'm not that scary, am I?"
"Y-yes," Niall said, tears pricking his eyes. "You are terrifying." Bobby's eyes flared, and he grabbed Niall's throat, constricting it. He set the needle down on the table next to them, placing his other hand around Niall's skinny neck. Niall's eyes went wide with panic as air was cut off, and he started to choke.
"Are you sure about that? Because I could become a lot more scary, if you want," he hissed, enjoying Niall's struggling. "It would be so easy to kill you, all I have to do is snap your skinny neck, then hang you from the celling and say you committed suicide. And you know everyone would believe me. No one would believe you."
"H-el-p!" Niall whimpered, blackness surrounding his vision. At the last second, Bobby let go, and Niall fell to the floor, crying and gasping for air. "You're a monster!" he cried, looking up at his father. An eerie grin curled up on Bobby's lips as he picked the needle up again, his eyes locked on Niall's.
"Thank you," he sneered, grasping Niall's are tightly, yanking the boy to his feet. Niall clenched his teeth to keep from crying out as it felt like his arm was being ripped from his socket. He was thrown against the wall, Bobby's arm against his throat, pinning him there, but not choking him. The needle was all that Niall could see. "Hold still, this goes into your thigh."
The needle was lowered down to Niall's leg, tears flooding his pale cheeks. At the last second, he cried out, wrenching to the side. It was a stupid thing to do, for the needle sank into his crotch, instead. He gasped in pain, falling to the floor, clutching his lower area. The needle dropped to the floor, shattering on contact, right next to Niall's head.
"Now look what you've done!" Bobby hissed, although he could care less. "This is your fault! You disgust me!" Niall whimpered as Bobby kicked him, hard, in the stomach. He tried to get up, so he could run away, but his arms shook too much, and he was unable to even sit up. Bobby kicked him again.
"Please," Niall whispered, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, "stop." After three more minutes, Bobby stopped, and stormed around the room, his face a mask of furry. Every couple of seconds, he would glare at Niall, his eyes cold, distant. He would spit on Niall, shake his head, then start storming around again.
"Go upstairs, now!" Bobby shouted after a couple more minutes. "Get yourself cleaned up! There is only three more hours until the party!" Niall was able to get up, his legs shaking, his breathing fast, his vision dimming. He knew that the liquid was kicking in, and he had no idea what it would do to him.
He managed to stumble up the stairs somehow, but he was hardly able to turn the handle to his door. When he finally got it, he pushed into the room, his head spinning. He couldn't feel his legs down to his knees, or his stomach or chest. He felt as if he wasn't breathing, and he had to put his hand on his chest to make sure.
"You okay there, Angel?" a voice asked from behind. Niall's eyes went wide as he turned around slowly. Zayn stood there, his dark hair quiffed up, his brown eyes bright, and a grin curled up on his lips. "Because you don't look so hot." Hot. Was it just Niall, or had the room suddenly become suffocatingly hot?
Niall's head pounded, and he could hear himself panting. Zayn opened his tan, muscular arms, and Niall stumbled over to him. "Zayn," he breathed, never happier to see the older boy. Niall closed his eyes, falling into Zayn's outstretched arms. When his head hit the wall, he opened his eyes, which proved to be a lot harder than he thought. "Zayn?"
"I'm over here, Angel," Zayn said, laughing. Niall turned around, seeing Zayn leaning onto the ledge by the window. Niall nodded quickly, his head dizzy. He stumbled over to Zayn, into his once again outstretched arms. He closed his eyes as he fell forward, confused as his head hit glass. "Be careful, darling. Don't want to ruin that cute face of yours. But you have to come over here."
Once again, Niall worked hid way across the room to Zayn. He could hardly see, and shouldn't there only be one Zayn, not three? Half way to Zayn, Niall collapsed onto the floor, everything going black.
~~
Note: Sorry its short, I'm trying to get it longer. I know I don't have many reads, but I have learned to write for myself, rather than other people. And so I love this story, and that's all that matters. And the last part of this chapter is a bit confusing. But Niall was hallucinating Zayn being there, due to whatever Bobby injected him with. But here's the question:
How do you think Harry's home life will affect his school life?
~Rosy