Beautiful Scars

Calling Bluff

A bloodcurdling, high-pitched, bloody murder, death call split open the night air.

Suddenly, something slammed into Trey from the side and sent him flying into the building wall. Ally took the opportunity to scamper backwards into the shadows. She drew her knees to her chest and tried to make sense of what was happening. Someone had crashed into Trey and was now on the ground with him, punching him every inch he could get. Ally sat in shock, wondering who this new person was. An ally or just another attacker? There had been no one else around on the streets, except... except for the man from the ATM.

Ally knew it must be him, but still, was he helping her or only wanted her for himself? In this moment of wonder, Ally lost precious time. As she struggled to her feet, strong arms grabbed her from behind, holding her back. She looked up to find the eyes of Trey's band mate staring back at her. What was his name? She could not remember, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. The man fighting Trey was turning around. Trey lay on the ground, but he was still conscience. The unknown man turned his head and as he did, a wave of relief flooded through Ally.

Brown hair and green eyes that immediately landed on hers, Ally found herself looking at Louis Tomlinson. "Louis," Ally whimpered immediately. His face was warm and he gave her a small smile. There was not a doubt in her mind that he was here to help her. He stood up and quickly moved toward her, stopping a few feet in front of her as the man holding her pulled her a few steps back. Louis held up a hand. "Kaleb," he spoke calmly and his voice made Ally feel safer at once. This was the voice that sang her to sleep so many nights. This was the voice that made her roll on the floor in laughter at the jokes it made. She knew there was hope for her. And even if things don’t go perfectly, at least I have gotten to see him...

 Louis stepped closer.

"Look man," he said with his ever-charming British accent. “I won't get you guys in trouble, just give me the girl."

"Ha, so you can have her for yourself tonight?" Kaleb drawled.

Louis' eyes sought hers again, wide and questioning. For him, she was able to produce the smallest of smiles. He winked.

 "Alright, then." And then Louis’ arm came up in a flash and punched Kaleb, right on the nose. Kaleb released Ally and she fell, right into Louis' awaiting arms. For a second, she froze. Any man's arms were not where she wanted to be right now. Louis realized his mistake and drew away, taking her hand and pulling her from Kaleb and Trey. But at this point, the two boys had regained their feet and were standing next to each other, blocking the only exit from the alley.

Louis and Ally retreated until they were nearly up against the back wall. There was nowhere else for them to go. Louis, still with Ally's hand in his, squared his shoulders and turned to face Trey and Kaleb, keeping Ally behind him. Ally could not resist letting out a sob. She just wanted to be OUT. Louis half turned his head, making sure to keep Trey and Kaleb in his line of sight.

"What's your name?" he asked her quietly. Ally tried her best to pull herself together. Holding Louis' hand, she seemed to draw strength from him.

"Ally," she told him, and her voice came out much stronger than she expected it to.

"Well, Ally," Louis continued in his usual optimistic voice. "Sorry we're in a sort of pickle here, but I'll get you out. Don't worry. They're both drunk so they're incredibly slow. The only thing we have to watch out for is their rage."

Ally nodded, only to realize Louis probably couldn't see it. It didn't matter. Trey cut in.

"Louis," he spat. "Get the hell out of here."

"Well," said Louis. "That is what we're trying to do, so if you'd kindly step aside..." Louis took a step forward, but quickly backtracked as Kaleb raised a menacing fist.

"Why don't you go find your gay little friends to play with!" said Kaleb. "Leave the girl with us."

 "The girl has a name," said Louis. "Not that you are deserving of its use." He muttered the last part.

"What was that, gay boy?" called Trey obnoxiously.

"He said you were no-good wannabees who don't have any fans so they spend their time trying to threaten people to pretend they are," cut in Ally. She felt Louis freeze beside her. She didn't know where that came from. But she was fed up with these guys and no one could insult Louis without having to deal with her. "So why don't you get the hell out of here," she continued. "Leave us alone and go back to masturbating in your big ass hotel rooms because that's the only kind of action you are ever going to get."

Louis scoffed next to her. He was probably unexpecting that even more than she was. For a moment, Ally watched as her words sank in. She saw their faces change from expressions of surprise to ones of extreme rage. Their faces seemed to contort as their eyes slit and their mouths formed into heinous scowls.

It took Ally a second to realize she should not have opened her mouth at all. But by then, it was too late.

Trey and Kaleb rushed at them. Louis pushed her behind him and she stumbled back, falling and hitting the pavement for the second time that night. She looked up to see exactly what she feared. Trey and Kaleb were not coming after her. No, they were no longer very interested in the dainty defenseless girl. No, they preferred to focus their anger on the person who they had never been able to beat before. Louis Tomlinson as well as the other members of One Direction had beaten Corrupted Decency in nearly every award they had gone up against. They turned their fans against them. And overall, in the eyes of the world's culture, One Direction would always be one step above Corrupted Decency. It was too much. Now was there chance to prove how strong they were. Trey and Kaleb descended on Louis like dogs. Their arms swinging, they attacked him with their fists. Louis tried to defend himself. He managed to get one good blow in on Trey, but it was too much. He was overwhelmed and soon went down. Trey and Kaleb stood over his limp body delivering blow after blow, kick after kick. It all happened so fast. Ally sat right next to it, screaming for help. She called out as loud as she could but no one came. No one could hear her.

It was too much. Ally picked herself off the ground and threw herself at Trey. She slammed into his shoulder, but it barely seemed to bother him. Her arms were flying, but she couldn't get a direct hit.

Desperation and fear were overwhelming her. Once again, her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She knew she was hitting Trey, but why wasn't he stopping? He elbowed her in the ribs and she went down. Her screams tore open the air. Why isn’t anyone coming to help? But she knew. She had already been sent one guardian angel tonight, and he lay on the ground, being beaten to near death in front of her. Ally was barely aware of what she was yelling. Her sobs were racking her body. She had never felt so powerless in her entire life.

"You're killing him!" she screamed repeatedly. "Trey, Trey! You're going to kill him!" Suddenly, as if her screams had penetrated the alcoholic shield that obliterated his common sense, Trey stopped punching. He stood up and stepped back, staring at Louis, who was no longer moving. Ally stopped screaming. Her eyes on Trey, she watched him, knowing he was her only chance for getting her and Louis out of this alive.

All of the sudden, Trey took a step toward Louis again. "No!" wretched Ally before she knew what was happening. Because Trey was not going in to deliver another blow. Instead, he caught Kaleb's arm in mid swing and shoved him away from Louis. Kaleb stumbled back, his head whipping back and forth wondering what on earth was stopping him from destroying the thing he most wanted destroyed.

"We need to get out of here!" Trey shouted, getting close to Kaleb's face. "C'mon man, we gotta go!" Kaleb cast a downward glance at Louis' limp figure and then his eyes shot back to Trey's panicking face. Kaleb nodded and, without a backwards glance at Ally, they both took off, sprinting into the night. Ally didn't even bother to look at where they were headed. Instead, she quickly crawled to Louis' side. He was curled in the fetal position. One arm draped over his face and the other around his ribs in a weak attempt at protection. His eyes were closed and Ally immediately feared the worse. Her tears blurred her vision and her body shook uncontrollably. She forced herself to focus. She needed to get Louis help.