Take Me Home - 1D Short Story (Larry)

p.1 - The Alley

Panting heavily I looked at the brick wall in front of me. The only thing I was aware of was the burning sensation in my lungs and the cold air surrounding me. Unwillingly I started sobbing and I collapsed against the wall behind me. My body shook uncontrollably and I could only hope no one would find me here. With that thought I sat on the ground curled into myself crying loudly and still out of breath.

I had now been sitting here unmoved for what was probably hours, but just now some reality came back to me. Slowly I gained realization of my surroundings. Looking up a little for the first time I registered the alley I apparently had been sitting in. It wasn't quite an alley considering its rather large size but it was remote nonetheless. I must have ran far to have reached this spot. With that thought I squirmed into myself again, crying silently and rocking back and forth a little.

I was over the initial shock at this point but I still couldn't believe what had happened. Growing up my mum had always taught me to be careful when I was outside alone and you hear tons about it on the news. However, I personally had never known someone who had gotten harassed. So when I was suddenly pulled into an alley by a stranger I hadn't known what to do. Once I got the chance I fled of course but not after going way further than my liking with some thirty-something-year old dude.

Distant voices caught my attention. I looked up and really tried to take in the alley I was sitting in this time. It seemed abandoned apart from a big red bus about twenty meters away. While I watched people got in and out of it and made their way into the building I was resting my back against. I looked up and realized the building was gigantic. My still dazed mind couldn't make up which building it was or even where in the city I was.

Just when it came to my mind I had to get up at some point a figure caught my eye. It was one of the people who had been climbing out of the bus. Most of them had made their way into the building by now but this person stood still and it seemed as if they were watching me.

'Are you alright there?'

It was a male voice. The loud words were directed towards me. Before I could even think about answering another, deeper, voice filled the ear.

'Lou, are you coming?'

'Wait, H, come here' the first voice countered back.

Another figure appeared. The two seemed to have a short conversation before coming closer to where I was sitting. It dawned upon me they were probably aiming for me and even though my brain didn't function at half its normal rate at this point I knew that two strangers walking towards you in an alley wasn't the start of a happy story most of the time. My breathing sped up and I could feel tears burning in my eyes again. Before I could decide whether to run away or not they had made their way over to me. I wasn't looking up but I could feel their gaze on me.

'Are you alright, love?' the first voice repeated.

Looking at my knees I wished these people would just leave me alone. That sentiment only enlarged when they crouched down next to me.

'Please leave' I tried to say. However, considering I hadn't spoken in hours and had cried a good amount of that time my voice wasn't in its best shape. Add that to the sobbing I had returned to and I could understand why they hadn't understood me.

'Sorry?'

'Lou, I don't think this is a good idea. We should probably head back.'

'We can't just leave her here like this. If this was your sister you'd want someone to help her, right?'

A sigh and a minute of silence followed. I tried to concentrate on controlling my breathing when I felt someone touch my arm. The touch gave me new strength and immediately I flinched and crawled backwards away from the two boys. The fact that they were male wasn't helping my fear of strangers right now. For the first time I saw their faces. They both looked shocked at my sudden movement. But that wasn't what caught my attention. I had seen these boys before. Even though I couldn't remember where I was absolutely sure of it. I didn't know if I knew them personally or not because I probably wouldn't have fully recognized my own mother in this state.

I looked at them with wide eyes but stayed silent.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to – sorry. What's your name?'

'I-' that was a good question. What was my name and why couldn't I remember it? Maybe I wasn't as over my shock as I thought. So instead of answering I looked at the person who had asked the question. This 'Lou' had brown hair which was mostly covered with a red beanie, blue eyes and a friendly smile. He was wearing Vans, black jeans and a white tank top which revealed numerous tattoos on his arms. The boy seemed nice despite his muscular arms and tattoos. Something about him told me he was genuinely only trying to help me. But where did I recognize him from?

'You can come inside if you want?' the other boy spoke. I quickly analyzed him too. His curly brown hair was fluffier than the other boy's. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black skinny jeans with Converse. My gaze rested a little longer on his necklace while I thought it over. Since I didn't know where I was and temporarily even who I was, it would probably be good to have someone I could trust around. I knew trusting two strangers was not something I would normally find smart but they were probably my best bet right now. Besides, my confused head couldn't think of anything else I could do to get away from here. So I nodded and slowly got up.

Ignoring my aching legs I followed them towards the entrance of the building. I still couldn't comprehend what was happening. My body was in a weird state. I was very aware of everything that touched me but at the same time I didn't register my surroundings. For now I focused on the two boys walking in front of me quietly having a conversation.

After about five steps into the building a strong arm stopped me in my tracks. My gasp had the two boys quickly turning around and saying something to the person who had grabbed me but that didn't stop me from panicking over the unfortunately too familiar touch.

'No, no, no, please don't, no, not again, no.' my voice came out raspy and I was breathing irregularly again. The strong arm let go and I fell against a soft body. I didn't reject the arms that wrapped around me whilst tears streamed down my face.

'Okay just make sure to gether a backstage pass.' and with that I was lead further into the building bythe soft grip.