Broken Souls l.s.

Chapter 1: Louis

The stories had been swirling around school before Christmas break. Everyone was talking about how one of the scrawny freshmen, Niall Horan, had gone missing nearly two weeks before. It was that week that they'd discovered the feared captain was in the harbor the day he went missing.

Everyone had theories about the captain of the ship. Some thought he would be beautiful and kind, while others thought he would look absolutely atrocious and be beyond cruel. Nobody knew the truth though. The only people who knew were those on his ship, and nobody spoke his name or of his looks. There were even theories that he took boys and girls alike, just to use as his 'play thing,' but that wasn't what I believed. I knew Niall, not well, but I knew him. He was a lad just looking for a bit of adventure. He and I were quite similar in that aspect. I longed for something more than this mundane and unextraordinary existence that I had.

Nobody seemed to even know my name. I was the kid who was at school, got good marks, but wasn't worth anything more than that. At least not until him. I'd wanted any kind of adventure, and I guess he was my adventure. But I never meant to fall in love with the man who was feared more than anything. That part was entirely by accident.

It was New Year's eve when everything changed. My younger sister, Charlotte, had kicked me out of the house because her boyfriend was coming over and she thought I'd scare him off by being a huge nerd. I wasn't, but she told me to get out nonetheless.

I'd been walking the streets, hands stuffed in my pockets when I saw the two men who couldn't have belonged to any other crew. They looked like they got along quite well with each other as they wandered the streets. Their outfits screamed pirate, though they didn't seem nearly as frightening as most of the adults in our lives made them out to me. They seemed friendly, kind even. Their smiles were warm and inviting and every fiber in my being wanted to ask them if the rumours were true, but my mum's voice in the back of my head was screaming dangerous, stay away.

"Are you Louis," the lad with darker hair questioned. He was a bit scarier than the bloke standing next to him. He had tattoos lining the visible parts of his arms, and I could only imagine he had more underneath the layers of clothing. His black hair, which was of a longer length, had been pulled back and tied neatly in a bun at the nape of his neck.

"Yes, that's me," I mumble out, not quite sure how they knew my name, much less why they were looking for me in the first place.

"Louis Tomlinson, correct," he questions again. I nod, words unable to form. "Each new recruit usually mentions someone they know is in need of escape and adventure. Niall said that if anyone was in need of some adventure, it was you. Besides, he thought the captain would go crazy for you," he informs me.

"The rumours are true then," I ask. "That he kidnaps kids and uses them as his play thing," I ask, courage suddenly overtaking my being. Both men were frightening, but I couldn't seem to care in the moment.

"Not at all. When he was your age, he was alone and everyone thought he was a nobody. He wanted to prove them wrong and give that same opportunity to people around Europe. It's entirely up to you, but I don't think Niall would be wrong about him going crazy for you," the second bloke tells me. He has a lighter shade of brown hair that seems to flop onto his forehead, despite the red piece of cloth holding it out of his eyes. His face held a genuinely kind smile that could have made anyone feel safe.

"What do you mean he'd go crazy for me," I cautiously quiz.

"Everyone on the ship seems to be beyond happy with their 'person,' and he hasn't seemed to find them. He thought he did with a girl, Taylor, but she was just in it for the power she could hold being his 'person.' Needless to say, that didn't work out and ever since then he's been skeptical that he will ever find the right person," he explained. "I mean even Z and I have our girls. I have Maya and he has Gigi, so it doesn't seem to be helping the situation."

"You really think he would actually want me," I skeptically inquire.

"Yes, I do. Would you like to at least see a picture of him before you make your final decision," he asks. I shrug wondering what the worst thing that could happen is. The dark haired lad, Z, fished a photo out of his pocket and smoothing it out before handing it to me. In the photo, he had curling hair that fell roughly to his shoulder, which appeared like he constantly ran a hand through it. His eyes were another thing entirely. It was like someone had taken two dark green leaves, crumpled them into balls, turned them into gems and put them where his eyes belonged. His clothing left little to the imagination, not that I was complaining. He wore a slightly baggy lavender blouse, which hung down lower, leaving his chest revealed. The two silk ties had been tied neatly in a bow right where his chest and blouse met. Over top of the blouse, he wore a black vest which matched the color of his pants. His pants were a plack tight material which I was sure he wore more to show himself off rather than comfort. On his hands, which I was certain he could do sinfully attractive activities, he wore several different rings. On his pointer finger was a silver ring with a turquoise square shaped gem engraved. The one sitting on his middle finger was a silver ring, void of any gems. Instead, it held a rather complicated pattern. His ring finger held a silver ring with a silver rose sat atop the silver band. He was beautiful in every aspect of the word, but not in the stereotypical way. He was beautiful in the way that seemed to only be mentioned in the stories people tell. The kind of beautiful that doesn't seem real until it is. He was that kind of beautiful and there was no chance that I would give up being able to actually meet him.

"Yeah, I'm definitely coming with you," I say, glancing back up at the pair of boys.

"Fabulous. I'm Liam and this is Zayn," the man with the floppy brown hair, says introducing himself. "Harry's going to freak," he mumbled to Zayn.

Harry. What a beautiful name for a beautiful man.