Louis
Alright, you can do it, come on. Just pull it out and it's over. Sweat is trickling down my face, heat coursing through my body. Be a man, Louis.
I take a deep breath and open the oven, grabbing the tray with a freshly baked cake on it with my cooking gloves with a "fuck" written on one of them and "yeah" written on the other, pulling it out and placing it on the counter aside. I almost cry because it looks absolutely perfect and I actually made it.
"Look at it," I say as I take the gloves off, pretending to wipe away the non-existent tears from my face. "Look at my baby."
"Alright congratulations, but you should really get out of our kitchen now. . ." one of the cooks says nervously, his hands lifted in the air, eyes filled with fear.
"Alex it's okay, you can put down the weapons now." I flick my wrist, watching as he lowers the gun and a huge butcher knife he's been holding pointed at the cooks, preventing them from meddling in my cooking.
No one interrupts me when I'm cooking. No one.
"Now be nice and tell him how great of a job he did," Alex tells them, but when they look at him nervously, he points the butcher knife at them. "How ironic would it be to hurt you with this cooking knife? Don't make me be ironic."
"You did a great job, Louis," the cooks all chorus quickly.
"Thank you, thank you I try." I bow down, a pleased smile on my face.
"Oh my God Louis, I can't believe you're keeping people hostage again," Tori says as she enters the mess hall kitchen, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Go on people, you're free now." She waves them off dismissively, shaking her head.
"You always do this, such a-"
"I dare you to finish that sentence," she tells me, looking me in the eye.
"Delightful person, totally not a party breaker," I mutter, a slight frown on my face.
"Soo when will I be able to try the cake?" Alex asks, completely ignoring us as he approaches the tray and takes a sniff, smiling greedily.
"Step away from the cake!" I order, making him jump back.
"Both of you step away from the kitchen and let those people cook us food, lunch will be late because of the two of you," Tori says. "And we all know what happens when hungry soldiers don't get their food."
"We run away from their wrath?" Alex suggests. "I have experience with running away from problems anyway."
"No, we laugh at them as we eat the cake, seriously it looks delicious." She nods in approval as she stares at it, making me smile.
"You know what else is delicious?" I ask with a smirk.
"Lou, I swear to God, if you mention anything that's attached below your waist, I'll hit you there," Alex warns me. "My innocent ears don't need to hear-"
"My dick," I deadpan.
"I highly disagree," Tori says flatly and walks toward the tray, observing the cake with interest.
Alex gasps loudly and covers his ears. "My innocence! It's ruined!" He then runs toward me, his fist flying toward my precious area, but my hand quickly stops him. He steps away in frustration, pointing a finger at me. "Just so you know, mentally I've hit it with a hammer. Twice."
I wince. "Harsh, bro."
"Wait, you didn't put anything in the cake again, did you?" Tori casts me a wary glance.
"Believe me, I wish nothing more, but no. It's a regular brownie," I defend.
"So, when can we dig in? This whole David thing is making me nervous, and the best way to treat that nervousness is by eating," Alex says.
Long story short, the three of us have taken the cake to cool down in my flat, went back to our duties, and made sure Liam is too busy to touch it because the guy is capable of stuffing the whole thing in his mouth and swallowing it.
The three of us agreed to meet at my place to eat the cake and our worries and nervousness with it, so as soon as we gathered, Alex started to devour the cake like an animal, making Tori and I chase him away, leaving the two of us to finish it completely. When there's only one piece of cake left on the plate, we lock eyes, staring at each other, neither of us moving for a few moments.
"You take it," I offer.
"Okay." Tori shrugs and grabs it, making me scowl at her.
"You were supposed to say "no you take it" and this was supposed to be one of those stupid couple fights we always laugh at when people have them," I explain.
"Oh." She stuffs the cake into her mouth, her cheeks puffy as she chews it for a few moments. "We're not a couple, though."
"Yeah. . ." I mumble, my mood suddenly dropping. "But it's fun to pretend. Let's pretend."
"Why should we pretend when we were in a relationship once, we know how it is." She shrugs, looking at me questioningly.
"Say we are in a relationship- hypothetically speaking, of course," I say. "I would tell you how nice it is to spend time with you without having another pointless fight."
She gives me a small smile, staying silent for a few moments. "And I would tell you I really love your cooking because you're amazing at it, despite that one time you almost killed us with that cheesecake."
"And I would tell you how much it pisses me off when you win almost every duel we have yet I love seeing your happy face when you do," I admit.
"And I would tell you how adorable you look when- well you always do, but especially when you're proud of something, your eyes light up and you have this smile. . ."
"And I would tell you how beautiful you look, especially when you yell at trainees for doing everything wrong or when you're frustrated to the point you just lie down on a mat and stay like that for half an hour." I smile widely.
"And I would tell you how soothing your voice is, and how much it's nice to hear it before going to sleep, especially when you start singing some made up lullaby for me." She lets out a chuckle.
Only now I notice we've scooted closer to each other on the couch, our faces so close if I just lean forward slightly, our noses would bump.
"And I would tell you how sorry I am for letting you go," I blurt out, both of us widening our eyes.
I glance at the door, hoping someone might burst in and interrupt the awkward moment like it usually happens, but no one does. Oh shit.
"Uuh I mean- uh, for letting you eat that final piece of cake." I clear my throat awkwardly, looking everywhere but at her.
"Yeah, that must've been very tragic. . . for you," she mumbles.
We sit in a silence for a while, my cheeks burning in embarrassment. Not only did I probably ruin the progress between us, but I also had no right to say that. It's all my fault we're in this mess, after all.
Tori suddenly takes my hand in hers, making me look up at her with widened eyes. "Louis maybe we-"
The door bursts open, revealing a panicked Liam, his face pale and eyes widened. It's so unlike him, his demeanour usually completely cool and careless. Unless there's a naked girl in front of him, of course.
Oh great, now we get interrupted. Of-fucking-course.
"Tell me you two were not about to do it on the couch," Liam says.
"We were not about to do it on the couch," Tori and I say in unison, standing up at the same time.
"Oh too bad, I was hoping to make a few jokes, besides, that's leather- wait, what am I saying!" He suddenly yells. "Serious shit is going on down there. Tyler and a group of soldiers have turned the others against Elena and Alex. They actually locked them in the cells and I can't break through to them."
"They what?" Tori and I say.
Liam blinks. "I said, they locked them in-"
"Liam, we know!" We chorus again.
"Then don't ask- you know what, I just want to know what the hell are we supposed to do?" Liam says in frustration.
"Have you called Styles?" I ask, trying to remain calm.
"I have, he said he'll be here as soon as he can."
"Then it's up to us to try to settle it before he gets here," I say firmly. "Gather all the weapons you can find and meet me at the entrance of the building. We'll show them you don't mess with our mates."
. . . .
"We'll show them you don't mess with our mates," Liam says mockingly. "See where that has taken us."
"How was I supposed to know they will lock us in as well?" I snap at him from my cell opposite of his, glaring at him. "And you never said so many soldiers have turned against them!"
"Seriously you guys, that is so sweet okay, I'm touched you did that," Alex says from the cell to my left. "I just hope H gets here soon because this is insane. We have no connections to Vortex anymore, from the moment we came here we became a part of this base. Someone else is a traitor."
"We trust you," Tori says from the cell to my right. "This situation might suck, but I'm pleased that one guy won't be able to pee for a while." She smirks.
I glance at Elena's cell situated next to Liam's, lying on the floor with her legs propped against the brick wall, her arms folded beneath her head. That's about tenth position she has taken so far. When they locked us in, she'd spent at least half an hour nervously pacing around as if she was on verge of a panic attack before sitting down. She hasn't spoken since we got here, except when she gave us a grateful smile for trying to help them.
"Hey Lenny, remember how we were here the first day? I have news, there are exactly five hundred bricks in this wall, don't you find the number pleasing?" Alex says, trying to cheer her up, but she remains silent.
Maybe she's clown- uuh, claus-toaster-something- ugh. Maybe she doesn't like being locked in tiny spaces.
"Don't worry El, H will be here soon and set us all free and I'll hold Tyler while you cut him in any way you desire, I promise," Liam says. "I'm sure Niall can give you ideas, he's good with psycho stuff."
I sit with my back leant against the bars dividing my cell from Tori's, letting out a sigh in frustration and tipping my head back. Suddenly, I feel a warm hand take mine, my eyes glancing down at it, realising Tori is now sitting the same way I am, holding my hand. The gesture makes me smile and I squeeze it, interlocking our fingers.
"Maybe we still have a chance," she tells me quietly and I realise she's finishing the sentence she was saying when we got interrupted. My heart leaps in my chest at the possibility, a grin forming on my face despite the terrible situation we are currently in.
Well shit, I'm definitely whipped.
But my grin falters when I remember what I did and how I treated her in our relationship. I never took it seriously and was taking her for granted, going to that extent where I would openly flirt with other girls in front of her. Whenever there was a fight, I was the one starting it and ruining everything.
I sigh deeply, my thumb brushing over the soft skin of her hand. "I don't deserve one."
Footsteps echo from the hallway, catching my attention. I quickly release Tori's hand and jolt up from my seat on the floor, running toward the bars and circling my fingers around the cool metal. "Okay listen here you backstabbing, useless piece of human-"
"Whoa, easy there," a voice interrupts me and I realise it's Ethan. "Is this how you treat a person who came here to unlock your cells?" He throws the keys in the air before catching them with one hand, a smile on his face.
"I have never been more happy to see a doctor, yesss!" Alex exclaims cheerfully.
"Yeah about that, I am terribly sorry, but no matter how hard I sedated a few of them and how hard I tried to convince them what they're doing is wrong, they allowed me to release the three of you only," Ethan says, apologetic smile on his face. "Which means Elena and Alex are staying."
"You sedated them?" I ask.
"With my fists yeah, I won't be spending my supplies on those morons, pfft," he says, rolling his eyes. "The only reason they didn't try to lock me in is that they need me to take care of the wounds you guys have given to some of them. This was my condition for helping them. Also, they're afraid of me."
"I think it's funny how they think they can get away with this," I say. "David alone is capable of inspiring fear, add Styles into the picture and you've got a serious problem on your hands."
"It's their problem." Ethan shrugs, beginning to unlock our cells one by one. "I'm just gonna stand back and enjoy the show."
"I'm not leaving," I suddenly say, making everyone look at me in surprise. "Alex and Elena are my friends and I'm staying with them till the end. They locked us because we showed our support, well fuck them, I'm staying to support them. There's not much we can do until the leader comes back anyway." I shrug, walking away and sitting back down on the ground.
"I ain't leaving, either, fuck it." Liam lifts his hands and casually lies on a bed in his cell, folding his arms beneath his head. "Yup, I'm choosing the thug life."
"I didn't even bother standing up, so yeah I'm staying as well," Tori says.
"As much as I'd like to show my support this way too, I want to be there when they arrive and besides, I'm a doctor and someone will unfortunately have to take care of the wounds they might get when H arrives." He sighs.
"If I wasn't so stressed by all this and actually really fucking pissed, I'd probably cry, but just so you know, I'm crying on the inside," Alex says, pointing his finger to his chest with a warm smile on his face. He walks toward the bars dividing our cell and slips his arms through them, silently inviting me to hug him.
I grin widely and immediately stand up, making my way toward him and slipping my arms through the bars as well, somehow managing to hug him. "I love you too, mate."
"In the history of hugs, this was the weirdest one I've ever experienced, yet one of the best ones," Alex tells me as he pulls away, lifting his hand for a high five.
"Aww, you two are so cute," Tori gushes. "I ship it."
"What..?" Alex and I say.
"I'm not crying, you're crying," Liam adds, a deep frown on his face as he looks everywhere but at us, blinking a few times.
"I'll go up there and wait for them to come back. Besides, I have to take care of those wounded bastards and I have a few ways to make their injuries slightly more painful than they are to amuse myself." Ethan waves at us and walks away.
I smile and look at Elena's cell, expecting some kind of recognition from her. However, she's now sitting down with her back pressed against the wall, knees drawn to her chest. I don't understand, this is so unlike her, I've always thought her to be very strong and I'd expect her to fight in this situation and show her anger in some way, not to be this passive. Maybe I just don't know her that well or I've judged her character too quickly.
"She hates being locked in," Alex whispers to me, glancing at her cell. "She really, really hates it, it's all linked to Vortex, don't ask. Don't think she doesn't appreciate what you all did, she most definitely does, this is just her. . . well, kind of a weak point, y'know? But don't tell her I said that, she'll twist my nipple or something."
"I understand. . ." I reply, glancing at Tori over my shoulder before looking back at him. "Everyone has at least one."
After we sit down and get back to waiting for David and H to come back, a loud thumping of fast footsteps echoes throughout the hallway leading toward the cellars, H's body appearing in front of us. There's a stony expression on his face as his eyes glance around the area, all of us looking at him silently, waiting for his reaction. I notice a set of keys in his hands, the ones that open our cells, clanking one against another as he makes his way toward one of the cells - Elena's, to be precise.
All of us watch as he unlocks it, opening the door and stepping inside. The next thing he does is both confusing and shocking: he locks the door, keeping the keys to himself so no one can unlock it, turning around and walking toward Elena, looking down at her.
"I know your cells are unlocked, you can leave now," he says in a calm voice. "Ethan and Niall are upstairs along with the soldiers who still have some common sense left. I'm sure they need some help in handling the ones who have. . . strayed from their path." He lifts his gaze to look at all of us individually. "Go."
It takes all of us a few moments to process all this before we exchange glances and slowly leave our cells. We just stand in the middle of the hallway awkwardly, realising H is whispering something to her, followed by her reply which makes all of us widen our eyes and our jaws to drop in shock.
She just called him Harry.
a/n: this was a filler for you to get a slight insight in Lou's head and his relationship, the main plot returns with the next chapter :) thank you for reading x