The Bully and his Prey (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter Eight

(A/N) Hey guys! I know my updates are so far apart, and it sucks. I'm finally getting a new laptop soon though, which will help :) I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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It's six in the morning, and the birds tweeting sounds like fucking fireworks right in Harry's ears. He groans, rolling over. The motion makes him feel sick, and he shoots up in bed, slapping his hands over his mouth before vomiting right on the floor over the side of the bed. A thought about how angry his stepfather was going to be runs through his mind, before he looks up and realizes he's not at home. This isn't his bedroom. It's then that he feels a gentle hand settle on his back, and a whispered "Haz?" reaches his ears. It's this exact moment that he realizes how deep of shit he's actually in.

He hadn't asked to sleep over at Liam's house. He should be home. Why isn't he home? Before he can think this through any further, Liam is gently trying to tug him back into a lying position. This pain in his head is excruciating, why was it there? A quiet groan of pain slips from his lips, and Liam gently pets his hair. "Shhhh Haz. You're alright." 

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Liam awakes to the sound of vomiting, and last nights events flash through his memory. The call, picking up Harry, the twitter DMs. He gently pulls Harry to lay back down, assuring him he's alright before rising from the bed. Another pained noise bubbles from his boyfriend's lips, and he shushes him quietly. "I'll be right back." He whispers before leaving the room. He returns with a towel and a bucket. Quickly, he wipes up the vomit the best he can, making a note to himself to run the carpet cleaner later when the noise wouldn't make Harry's pain worse. He then sets the bucket next to the bed, in case of more vomiting, and gets back into bed. He very gently pulls Harry into his arms, rubbing a comforting hand up and down his side.

"Li?" He hears in a crackly morning voice from the boy next to him. "Yes Haz?" His voice in tinged with concern. "Why aren't I at home?" He whispers. "E-everything hurts." Liam chokes up, and his chest becomes heavy. How was he supposed to explain to Harry what had been done to him? His poor baby... Ignoring the question, he forces a quiet "I'll get you some medication." out of his tight throat and leaves the room. 

He goes downstairs quickly, pulling out his phone and ripping up his sleeve. He didn't want to leave Harry alone for to long. Zayn's number was slightly smudged, but still readable as he types it in and hits call. His hands shake as the realization of what was going on actually hit him. The phone rings and goes to voicemail, but Liam calls back again right away. This time, Zayn picks up on the second ring. "Hello?"

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Confused, Zayn answers his phone and mumbles a sleepy greeting. He's met with a frantic voice rushing words out so quickly he can't understand. "Woah slow down. Who is this?" He gets a rushed reply of "This is Liam." Zayn nods, then realizes Liam can't see him and replies vocally. "Okay, calm down. What's wrong?" He's still half asleep, and this is all really confusing. "It's Harry. Something's wrong with him. Last night after I dropped him off I was sleeping and got a call and the person said to pick Harry up and when I got there he seemed really drunk and I figured that's what it was and I got a twitter DM and the person said people drugged him because it would be funny and now he's puking and he says everything hurts and what if it's really serious?" Zayn takes a moment to process the run on sentence, thinking. "You said he seemed drunk?" Liam replies with a quick "Yes."

Zayn sighs. "I think that's probably all it was then. Vomiting and headaches are normal for a hang over and considering that would be the first time alcohol has ever been in his body, depending on how much he had, the headache could be really really bad and so he thinks it's more than it is. Does he know what happened?" "No, he has no idea how he even got here." "Drunk, then. It's just a bad hangover and because he doesn't even know what a hangover is he's just scared. He gets really scared when he doesn't know what something happening to his body is. The first time he got the flu he called me crying saying he was dying. He's just... he's a kid who doesn't have much world experience if you haven't noticed. I'm sure all they gave him was alcohol, he'll be alright. A roofie could have the same effects but I don't think a couple of bullies would go that far with him."

Liam says something along the lines of "If you're sure..." and thanks Zayn for his help before hanging up. Zayn stares at his phone, opening a text to Liam and typing "If anything changes please let me know..." He then saves Liam as a contact, and sets his phone down. He stares at the ceiling in thought. Something about all this just didn't add up, but he was more concerned with the fact that people were getting really serious about hurting Harry now. It was more than just shoves in the hallway and things were getting dangerous. What if Liam hadn't heard his phone ringing?...

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Liam ends the call, grabbing some pain killers and water before heading back upstairs. Harry's passed out on the bed in his room, drool leaking from his mouth. A small smile grazes Liam's lips, before he remembers why Harry was so tired, and the sight suddenly wasn't as cute. Setting the pills and the glass of water on the end table, he gets into bed next to Harry and sighs. How was he gonna explain all this to Harry? 

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A few hours later, Louis wakes up still fully dressed, shoes and all. He groans, kicking them off and unbuttoning his jeans before kicking those off too. He's about to return to his slumber before his phone dings with a text. He sighs, picking it up and reading the text from Niall. "Hang out in an hour?" He ignores it with a slight eyeroll, wanting nothing more than to sleep his Saturday away.

Unfortunately, that's not what his mother has in mind as she knocks on his door. "I heard you groaning in there mister, get up!" A loud "Ugh." sort of sound comes from his lips before he gets up out of bed. He takes two of the pain killers he keeps by his bed, swallowing them and then making his way downstairs. He meets his mum in the kitchen, asking what she wanted him up for. "We've got a big day ahead. Lots of things to get done." He groans, wandering off to go get dressed. All he wanted was to sleep. 

After dressing and brushing his teeth, he grabs his phone and goes back downstairs, his sisters and mother waiting for him. He gets another text from Niall

From Niall at 11:23 am: Yo? You still asleep, lazy ass?"

Louis sighs, typing a reply.

To Niall at 11:24 am: No, I'm up. Can't hang out tho, I've got family shit today.

From Niall at 11:24 am: Oh laaaame. Did you hear that Styles fag is missing?

Louis's heart skips a beat. Missing? What?

To Niall at 11:25 am: No, what?

From Niall at 11:26 am: Yeah, he apparently never got home last night. His mum filed a missing person report with the police, my dad told me.

It would make sense that Niall would know, since his father worked in the police department. Louis's mind went into overdrive. Why didn't the kid get home? He called the boyfriend. He DMed him. What happened? Guilt begins to pool in his stomach. He should of taken the kid home himself instead of being to worried about what people would say. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself as his face goes pale. 

From Niall at 11:29 am: You there???

Louis types a shakey reply.

To Niall at 11:30 am: Yeah sorry, had to help my sister with something. Do you know any details about the kid's case?

He hopes that Niall doesn't pick up on his genuine concern and assumes he's just curious. Just then his mum starts shooing them all out of the door and into the car. As he buckles his seatbelt his phone dings. 

From Niall at 11:33 am: Not much, just that he's not answering his phone at all and from what my dad says, nobody's seen him all day.

Louis's chest gets tight with worry, and he struggles to remain calm on the outside. His phone dings again.

From Niall at 11:33 am: Personally I say good riddance, we don't need disgusting fags infecting everyone.

Louis's jaw gets tight, and he no longer wants to talk to Niall.

To Niall at 11:34 am: yup.

He decides that the conversation is now over, and shoves his phone into his pocket. His anger is short lived though as his concern rises. Harry should have gotten home last night... Where was the curly kid? And more importantly, is he alright?