Not What It Seems (A Harry Styles Love Story)

Chapter 26: "He's changed."

(Niall's P.O.V)

Okay, I've got to talk to the boys as soon as possible before Louis tries anything else with Alex. I don't think either of them know I saw what happened in the kitchen. I want to keep it that way. I feel like Louis thinks I know something, and I do. I know what he wants to do to her, and I refuse to allow that to happen.

After I wake up Harry and Liam and tell them to go to the kitchen, I head for Zayn's room. Should I include him in this? I mean, he does hate her. Doesn't he? It's not like he'd be heartbroken over Louis' plans for Alex. I think I'll just keep it between Harry, Liam and I. The less people that know about this, the better.

I go to the kitchen to find Harry and Liam impatiently waiting for me. They question my reasons for bringing them down here as soon as I enter the room. "It's about Alex," I announce. Harry's face begins to lose color. Does he like her? Well, I can't say I'm surprised.

He's been noticeably different since we took her. Not in a bad way. He's just been. . . I don't know. Usually, we don't give less of a shit about who we take, but Alex is different. It's undeniable. I know we all know she's different.

"What about her," Liam asks. I take a deep breath, trying to figure out how I'm going to break it to them that I think. . . no, I know Louis' gone bat-shit crazy. "I'm worried about Louis. He's changed. I mean, we've all changed, but his change was. . . more drastic." They stare at me knowingly, like they've talked about this amongst themselves beforehand.

"We know," Liam said disappointedly. They know? They know. "He's been acting. . . really different lately," Harry admits. "In a really bad way," Liam adds.

"I saw him with a box of condoms earlier," I state. Both of their jaws drop open.

"What," they ask in unison, obviously not believing what they're hearing.

"He went in his pocket for his phone and, when he took his phone out, a box of condoms fell out," I finish.

Liam speaks up. "But that wasn't part of the deal. That wasn't - none of this was supposed to happen. We were supposed to keep her here over the summer, torture her a little, and then give her back without any extreme injuries! That was the deal!" he said, trying to keep his voice down.

"How are we supposed to explain this to-," Harry cuts him off before he can finish. "No. I know Louis. He wouldn't do that. The Louis I know would never do that," Harry says, trying more to convince himself other than the two of us.

"I hate to say it," I say ,"but this isn't the Louis we know anymore. He's changed. Too much." It's true. He's become too destructive. He's dangerous. He's. . . evil. I mean. . . all of us have evil in us. Darkness in us. Each and every one of us has this evil inside of ourselves, but we have to put up a fight with it. Try to control it. But Louis. . . Louis' completely given into the darkness. It's consumed him beyond belief and the only thing we can do now is try to protect ourselves from whoever - whatever he's become."

"I-," Harry begins to say, but shuts his mouth before any other words start coming out. "Why didn't you call Zayn down also," he finally asks.

"Because I know you two are much more reasonable than him. Plus, he hates her, so I wouldn't expect him to help." I admit.

"Help?" Harry asks. "Help how?"

I try to find the words to explain this so I don't sound totally crazy. "We need to protect her," I finally say. I can already tell by their facial expressions they're surprised.

"Okay," they say simultaneously. Okay? Well, that was easier than I thought.

"It's going to be a little more difficult than you think, though," Liam tells me," protecting her from Zayn and Louis, I mean."

"What do you mean?" I ask. "Well," he starts ,"we can't just casually tell Louis to stay away from her. Plus, we have her for another month and a half, how do we expect Louis to leave her alone for that long?" He's got a point. Damn it, it is gonna be harder than I thought. But we owe it to her. She's really nice. She doesn't deserve this. Any of this.

"And now we've got to worry about Zayn," Harry adds. Shit, that's right too.

"Well, Zayn will probably just hit her occasionally, like he has been. He's just been hitting her," Liam says. He's got a point. Zayn hasn't tried making any sexual advances on her, right? Nah, he would have told us. Would he have? Oh shit, what if he has! Ugh, all this worrying is giving me a headache.

I walk over to the cabinet and take out some Advils. I grab a cup of water, downing the two pills, praying they'll work. I just want to go to sleep and wake up and have all of this be a dream. We never took Alex. We never hurt her. None of this happened. But I knew too well this was happening for real.

"Alright, let's just worry about Louis right now, okay? He's our main problem," I say quietly. Wow. Never thought I'd call him a problem. I mean, I don't want to, but that's what he's become. A problem.

Harry and Liam agree and I send them back to bed. I need some sleep after the week I've had. I shut off the kitchen light and head off to my room.

(Louis' P.O.V)

A problem? I'm a problem? A fucking problem?! What the fuck!? So much for friends! Damn, I'm glad I came down for a glass of water when I did.

There's only a month and a half left? Wow, time flies by when you're having fun. Well, at least I have Zayn on my side. I know he wants to get into her pants as much as I do. But I, of course, would get to go first. I'm the one who bought the condoms, so it's only fair I get to use them first.

And what the hell do they mean I've changed too much? Just because I don't act like little bitches like the rest of them does not mean I've changed. I just get these urges to do things, and instead of ignoring them, I do them. It's as simple as that. God, they act like I'm a totally new person. Maybe that's what I am to them.

This should hurt a little, right? My best friends- well, who I thought were my best friends, are now turning against me to keep me from what I want? But I don't feel hurt. I feel like this whole 'I'm changing' thing they think is happening to me is pretty damn ironic. They're afraid of me being too bad? Well, I've got news for them. . . they changed too. We all have.

As much as they want to deny it themselves, they've all got what I've got inside of them. And it's exactly that. They're keeping it inside of them, afraid to let it show. Well, I guess that's just it. I'm not afraid to let mine show.

And they can't honestly expect some stupid deal we made with some pathetic bitch is going to stop me? Do they really think that's enough to stop me from getting what I want? Well, they thought wrong. They should know better by now that when I want something, when I really want something, I get it. Always.

They can't keep me from Alex. None of them can.

None of them will.

(A/N: OOHHH what's gonna happen next? Louis doesn't seem too happy about all of this. And what about Zayn? Damn, this is dramatic! Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter because, as always, I enjoyed making it. However, I would like to make a 'deal' with you guys. See what I did there? Did ya? Well, here it is: I will update the next chapter as soon as I get 25 votes on the story. I know I know. . . I'm bribing you guys, but hey, it's not that difficult to click the vote button. And it's greatly appreciated. Alright, I'm gonna wrap this up right about now. Have a great day, my lovelies! -AllieCat816)