nerd.

trente-et-un

Dedicated to @arose4u, thank you so much for your sweet message, your writing is amazing!

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Harry Styles 

"Arielle!" I shout, my voice echoing throughout the empty woods. I hear a mangled scream and immediately I run towards the noise. "Arielle, keep shouting, baby, I can hear you!" I don't know if she can hear me, but I decide to try my luck. Another scream. I run towards the noise, and the screams get louder as I approach them. "Baby, c'mon! One last time!" I yell, and this time the scream is muffled, but I run towards it anyway. I hear thudding footsteps in the leaves and I run towards them, eventually spotting two figures. A tall man is dragging the smaller figure along the lawn, and I immediately recognize the smaller figure as Arielle. Her eyes widen when she sees me, and she wiggles a bit of her arm out of the man's grasp to wave frantically. I sprint towards them, but to my discontent, the man turns around and sees me, stopping altogether. I recognize him as Seth, the man who had come to our house a few months ago. What could he possibly want with Arielle? She and Mason broke up already, so I don't know why he is doing this.

I stop running, halting in my tracks, when Seth pulls a gun from his pocket and presses it to Arielle's temple.

"Move any closer and I'll pull the trigger." he threatens, and I back up a few steps, raising my arms in surrender. Never had I once thought that the two of us would be in this situation.

"No, please, what do you want? Money?" I beg, sifting through my wallet and pulling out whatever cash and credit cards I had in there, holding it out to him.

"I don't want your money, kid." Seth snorts, and I can feel my face fall. "I want your pretty little girlfriend. She'll sell big."

"Please, I'll give you anything you want, anything. Just let her go." I plead, and I look around frantically for someone, anyone, who could possibly help us. "Please." I beg again when he doesn't answer. He just smirks in response.

"Kid, listen. I don't want anything of yours besides this gorgeous girl you have here." Seth says, and I grit my teeth. I must be going nuts, because my next actions startle me as well as Seth. I sprint towards them and crash on top of Seth, throwing punches and kicks at him while I have the advantage.

"Run, Arielle!" I scream, and she looks petrified, not moving from her position. "Now, Ari!" I screech once more, pausing to look back at her. She stands in the same position, frozen, and keeps her focus on my position hovering over Seth. Seth takes this opportunity to push me off of him and tackle me, pinning me to the ground. Blood is dripping from his nose as he punches my jaw, and I knee him in the gut to try to get a reaction, but he doesn't move. Before I can process what is happening, Seth is lifted off of me, and I hear a loud gasp from Arielle. Mason. Of fucking course. He pins Seth against a tree and barks at Arielle to call the police.

With trembling hands, Arielle lifts her phone from her pocket and presses a few buttons before holding the phone up to her. I don't pay attention to what she is saying; instead, I focus on the conversation between Mason and Seth.

"You betrayed me!" Seth spits. "I'm your own kin, and you're sending me to jail all for a girl!"

"You were always a bad father, Seth." Mason hisses. "I think it's high time to pay for both what you've done to me and Mom, and what you've done to Arielle." He pushes Seth against the tree even further, so his face is squashed against the bark. Minutes later, we hear police sirens and a few cops armed with guns pointed at Seth walk into the area. Mason lets go of him, quickly handing him off to another cop, and the officer handcuffs him, finally. The officer begins reading Seth his Miranda rights, and their voices fade as they escort Seth out to the several police cars waiting just outside the woods.

"Kids, we'd like you to accompany us down to the station, just to answer some questions. Other officers are contacting your parents to meet us there." An officer with bright red hair says, approaching us.

"O..Okay." Arielle agrees, her voice shaking with just the simple word. Her lips quiver, and when I wrap my arms around her soothingly, she cries into my chest, her tears soaking my T-shirt. "I'm so scared, Harry." she whispers.

"Shh, baby, its okay, he's gone now." I soothe, rubbing circles on her back. Mason stands awkwardly to the side, raking a hand through his hair.

"Um...do you guys need a ride?" he asks finally, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, that would be great, thank you." I say tartly, and we follow him out to his car, my arm still wrapped around Arielle. We both opt to sit in the backseat, for it'd be awkward id one of us sat in the front with Mason. I sit by the window and Arielle rests her head in my lap, stretching her legs out on the seat. I stroke her hair, and her cries reduce to quiet hiccups and sniffles every now and then. We arrive at the police station a few minutes later, and the officer requests to speak to Arielle first. I squeeze her hand for reassurance, and she gives me a half-smile before I am forced to watch the girl I love face someone she hates.

Arielle Evans 

My heart is pounding as the officer leads me into a small room with a window that looks into another room, this one with people watching us in it.

"Hello Arielle, I am Officer Paisley. I would just like to ask you a few questions, but remember, you have the right to a lawyer, and you also have the right to remain silent for any of the questions I am going to ask. Okay?" I nod in response, so she pulls out a clipboard with questions written sloppily on a sheet of notebook paper on it. "What is your relationship with Seth Richards?"

"He is my ex-boyfriend's father." I answer simply, along with another hiccup.

"And how would you describe the relationship you have with your ex-boyfriend?" she asks, scribbling something on the paper.

"We're friends. Nothing more, nothing less." I state.

"Do you have any idea why Seth Richards would come after you if you and your ex-boyfriend are on good terms?" She furrows her eyebrows, obviously confused.

"I have no clue. I'm sorry." The lump in my throat grows, and I will myself not to cry in front of the officer.

"Alright. Can you give me some input on how Seth would treat his wife and his son?" she asks.

"Well, I only saw all three of them together once," I start. "But at the time he was drunk, and he was very demanding and threatening towards his wife and son. Mason once told me that he was an alcoholic, but we dated over four months ago, so my information may be wrong."

"Okay. Thank you for your time, Miss Evans. Your mother will be here shortly." she says, and I take that as her saying I can go. I scramble out of the uncomfortable plastic chair and run outside, where Harry jumps up in the waiting area. I motion for him to sit, and I seat myself next to him, Mason on the other side of the room.

"Miss Evans?" A voice calls, and I groan internally. What could they possibly be bothering me about now? "Your mother called. I'm afraid there's been an accident."

I jump up, my heart racing. "Did she get hurt?"

"No, she called about someone else and told me to tell someone named Mason. The woman in the accident is by the name of Shawna Richards."