That Boys Trouble, He's My Trouble

The taller man with the feather tattoo

It was quiet, way too quiet. It was only 9 pm on a saturday night but yet I could hear the faint buzz of the street lamps and the rustle of dead leaves creeping their way to the end of the sidewalk. The air was completely still and everything seemed to amble towards me. A thick fog was settling onto the sidewalk, leaving only ten feet of visibility.

The eery feeling of not being alone on this desolate street crept its way through my skin until it was printed so far into my bones that I thought it would stay like this forever, haunting me at every turn I took, forcing me to cower around in fear shaking in my black chinos.

Why did Louis have to watch his sisters, if it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be walking home from work completely alone. Vulnerable to who ever wanted to pick a fight, which would lead to me lying in agonizing pain on the icy concrete.

Tap-tap-tap, I could hear the muffled noise of foot steps far behind me. Tap-tap-tap, there are more foot steps, more than one person behind me. I try to will the panic to go away.Not everyone walks down the street with the aim to attack innocent teenagers. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap, they’re speeding up, getting closer and closer and closer until I can hear them, dark whispers being passed from one to the other.

“Is that the bloke from your English class?” The taller one asks.

“Yeah, it sure is. He’s pretty fit ain't he?” The shorter one, Niall, tells the other. The taller one answers with a snort and they stop talking.

A short moments later I can feel a hand grab at my wrist, it’s not forceful or pushing but  I am still terrified. I freeze in my tracks making the taller lad walk right into me, and now I’m fallingfallingfalling. The first thing I realize when I’m lying on the cold hard ground is that I am trapped underneath of a much larger body completely incapable of pushing him off.

I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping-praying-wishing that when I open them I am laying in my bed alone, that this is all a dream and I’m in my feathery bed. When I finally open my eyes instead of meeting my off white ceiling my eyes are locked with deep brown ones, they are not just looking at me, they are looking through me. I feel a shiver ripple through my body and I know it’s not from the cold of the autumn floor, it’s the way he is looking at me. One hand still wrapped around my wrist, the other gripping my chest.  

This man must be at least 22, with brown stubble that lines his cheeks meeting at his chin, completing his well groomed beard. He has tattoos scattered around, four arrows lining the outside of his right arm, a single feather lining the inside, words that are too hard to read in this light written on his wrist. He has piercing right on the top of his right eyebrow. His hair is short but long enough that he could style it up in a short quiff if need be, but is now just laying there loose and weightless.

When he flashes his teeth for a smile but it’s not meant to be warm and inviting, its meant to be sexy and intimidating. It leaves me shaking once again, but this time its not in fear, no, its a feeling that I’ve never felt before. A feeling I can’t quite put to words, can’t quite explain.

“Are you okay mate?” This isn’t aimed towards me, it’s Niall asking the tall lad how he is. I am the one who was almost crushed by a grown man and he has the nerve to ask him is he is alright?

“You shouldn’t be out here all alone, a pretty boy like you, someone might just try to take advantage of you,” the tattooed man whispered, no, purred in my ear only loud enough for me to hear.

“The only person around is you, and you’ve kind of got me pinned to the ground.” I don’t know how I scrounged up the courage to utter that half assed reply to the man but when he heard my words he chuckled and stared me straight in the eyes as he smirked “Exactly.”

This time when I shivered it really was from fear, I felt my eyes bug out and my mouth opened up from the shock of it all. This man just admitted to wanting to take advantage of me, he was going to take advantage of me and there is nothing I can do about it. I was completely paralyzed, not able to blink or breathe or shift my eyes from his undying gaze.

“Calm down babe, I’m not gonna hurt you,” He strokes my cheek with the hand he had placed on my chest. His smile seems more sincere this time, a little less sexual but still completely intimidating. He straightens himself up and brushes off all of the offending dirt he can find on his pants before he is offering his hand down to help me get up. I reluctantly take it, too shy to turn it down.

He pulls a little too hard and my body is flying into his, instead of letting me fall he wraps an arm around my waist and presses my body against his chest. His left hand, the one not supporting my weight fumbles in my pocket until he finds what he wants and lets me go, stumbling backwards completely thrown off by his actions. He has my phone pressed against his ear, fumbling in his own pocket for his cell phone silencing it when it starts ringing.

“I’ll call you later babe,” the tall man says as he’s handing me my phone back and walking the other way, Niall by his side laughing like a hyena with his head thrown back, blonde hair shaking along with his body as laughter takes over his body. I don’t understand what’s so funny but, thats no different than usual.

Instead of going home I decide to go to Louis’ house, since it is a few blocks closer than my own place and I’m not sure if I could make that much further. I walk at a brisk pace, who am I trying to kid here, I basically ran all the way to Louis’, checking behind me every so often to see if the tall man was back. Maybe he would get rid of Niall and actually do what he said he would. That feeling comes back, that unexplainable emotion, it’s slightly pleasurable but not in any way that would make sense to me. It’s mixed with a need a thirst for something but what, it’s absolutely terrible but the best feeling I have ever experienced all at once. I’m not used to this, I don’t understand what this is. I could always ask Harry, he is great with these kind of things, always helping me understand things that I just don’t get.

I’m padding up to Louis’ front door, swinging it open without knocking because it’s like my second home. I go to call out “Honey, I’m home,” but all that comes out is a shocked gasp. That is not at all what I was expecting to come and find on the couch, the couch that I sit on, the couch that Louis’ sisters sit on.

“Oi, mate your sisters sit there,” is all I get out before Louis is dragging me out of the room. Keeping me from staring at Harry any longer which is a good thing because I need that image out of my mind right now.

“It’s not what it looks like mate” is all Louis gets out before what is happening actually registers in my mind. Louis tries to put on an angry face but his cheeks are scarlet and you can see the embarrassment pooling in his eyes. His face alone is enough for laughter to threaten to slip past my lips. Studying his face harder, I weigh the pros and cons of letting it go. Pros being that this is a once in a lifetime situation, and that it will feel really really satisfying. Cons being Louis will most likely end up skinning me alive. His face becomes more anxious, waiting for me to reply, and I throw caution to the wind and allow myself to laugh. Minutes pass by and I am still laughing, hands clutching at my stomach trying to ease the pain.

Only when I feel myself calm down, laughter stopping completely, do I let myself look back to Louis. There are tears slowly making their way down his cheeks, his hands are pawing at his face trying to wipe them away, but more just come in and take their place and he gives up with a huff. His eyes are verging on bloodshot and are filled with desperation, like a cry for help.