Ready To Run - [Larry Stylinson]

• The one with the bruises •

LOUIS POV

After the incident I had to quite literally push myself off the floor, limp to the bathroom door and lock it again so that no one one see me. I considered telling someone, but I definitely did not want another beating. I am now shirtless, staring at my bruised torso in the bathroom mirror. It's  bad. Really, really bad.

Every time I breathe I feel like my lungs are burning and my ribs and breaking. I shakily place my hand on top of my ribs to see how bad it will hurt and immediately wince and pull back in pain. I bite my lip as I fight back the groan and tears that are threatening to fall. I breathe in deeply though my nose to try and calm myself, but that only results in the burning sensation returning.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and check the time.  4:08 pm. Fuck. I have practice in like 20 minutes. Will I even be able to train in this condition? I consider not going, but then I feel anger pulsing through my veins. I'm not gonna let Jake take my spot just like that. If we're gonna win this weekend the team needs me.

I quickly scan the rest of my body and am thankful when I see no bruises on my face. I am also happy my legs are also ok, so I'll still be able to run. No one will be able to physically see that I'm hurt. I slowly and painfully attempt to put my shirt back on, grimacing and wincing at the pain when my bruised skin stretches.

I stuff my phone in my pocket and shakily make my way to the bathroom door to unlock it. The second I step outside I straighten my back and lift my chin up, trying to look as confident as possible.

"Fucking hell..." I mutter to myself so that no one can hear me as I walk through the pain of my throbbing stomach.

Soon enough, I'm pushing the doors to the changing rooms open. Most of the team is already here changing. I see Jake in the corner of the room. He stops what he's doing and glares at me. He probably wasn't expecting me to come.

"Louis! Mate! Where have you been?" Niall sputters as he comes rushing to where I am.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you, I had a dentist appointment after lunch. Once I left the bathroom I realized that I had completely forgotten about it and had to run out." I lie.

Niall seems a bit skeptical as he eyes me suspiciously. He finishes by shrugging.

"Oh, ok then. You left you bag in the cafeteria so I've had it all afternoon, I put it in your locker." he says as he points to my designated locker.

"Thanks mate." I say as I give him a genuine smile. I'm really lucky to be friends with Niall.  "Sorry again for not telling you and the rest of the guys, it completely slipped my mind." I say as I cautiously walk over to my locker, trying to look as casual as I can, as I mentally curse in pain.

As soon as I get there I greet both Liam and Zayn, who are already changed. As the three of them continue their previous conversation I get changed as quickly as possible. When I have to change shirts I face the wall so that only my back is exposed and completely disregard the pain that courses through my body as I quickly move my arms to slide on my jersey.

At 4:25 me and the rest of the lads decide that it's time to get going. As we all walk onto the pitch I make sure to hang at the back of the group, so that if I have to slightly limp, or wince, no one will see. I turn my attention to Jake, who is looking at me from over his shoulder, smirking at my obvious discomfort.

I stare blankly at him before turning my attention away. I decide to not let him get to me. I am going to make it through this practice, and all the other practices until the game. I'm not gonna let some jealous twat ruin this for me. The football team is literally the only thing I like about this school, apart from Niall, Liam and Zayn of course.

And maybe Harry. I don't really know how I feel about him. He is without a doubt insanely attractive, and he has been quite nice to me before. And all those weeks ago he called me lovely, which still warms my heart when I think about it today. But he's also kind of an asshole? Maybe he's just really strict. What doesn't make sense is why one second he's smiling (mainly smirking) in my direction, and the next he's cold and sometimes rude. It's like something switches in his brain and tells him he's not allowed to be nice to me.

Either way, today I have to make sure that he doesn't notice I'm hurt. This means I'll have to keep a low profile. No sassy comments, and no being particularly good or particularly bad at anything. I have to make sure he overlooks me completely. Instead of trying to be good (and maybe impress Harry) I'll have to blend in as much as possible with the others.

Soon enough, we're all standing in the familiar line and I see Harry walking towards us with his usual dominant manner. He stops in front of us and I swear I see his eyes quickly flicker to me before he turns away and clears his throat.

"As you all know we have an important game this weekend." he announces, earning a couple nods from everyone. "I expect each and everyone one of you to try harder than ever, because last year was an embarrassing loss."

I hear a couple murmurs and turn to look at everyone. Most of the players are looking down at their feet or cringing slightly in shame.

"3 warm up laps! Lets go!" Harry says as he claps his hands together to get us going.

Here we go, I think to myself as I push the obvious pain to the back of my mind and start jogging in the middle of the group.