WARNINGS FOR THE CHAPTER: More swear words than usual. Slight Bad Dom Louis. Spanking. This chapter is filled with angst and mystery.
"Harry?"
"Go away!" Harry groaned, kicking his mattress as he was on his stomach on the bed. He was exhausted and felt grumpy.
"Harry, c'mon! We have to go eventually!" Niall grumbled through the door.
"Ugh! Fine! You suck," Harry snapped, throwing his covers off.
"You swallow," Niall retorted as Harry grabbed the keys from Niall's hand.
It was their job to check the mail every week, and Harry hated it. Paparazzi eventually spotted them and they always had to rush before more came. Harry hated the screaming, the blinding flashes, and the questions thrown at them. But he remained polite, though he did push through the crowd to get to home. The only reason he remained polite was the fact that yelling and swearing back at them would only set a bad impression on not only him, but Liam, Louis, Zayn, and Niall as well.
"HEY! IT'S THEM!"
"Oh for fuck's sake," Niall muttered and grabbed the mail, locking it hastily and saying, "C'mon, Curls. Let's go."
Harry slammed the gate shut and made sure it was locked before he stepped over the threshold and tripped, while Niall hastily shut the door.
"Ow," Harry groaned. He pulled himself up to pick up the letters. He picked up the one nearest to him, read the name.
Louis Tomlinson.
And it was from the school Louis had applied as a teacher for.
Harry broke into a huge grin. "Louis!" he shouted.
He was trying his best not to show it but he personally wanted Louis to be happy. If Louis was happy, then he teased and praised Harry, which made Harry feel extremely happy as well.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Louis wasn't feeling his best today.
When Harry showed him the envelope and exclaimed with a big grin, "Look! You got accepted," Louis just snatched the letter, muttered a quick 'thanks' and headed toward the kitchen.
Harry's shoulders sagged visibly, staring mournfully after his Dom's back as he disappeared through the doorway.
"Hey, cheer up, Curly." Niall poked him. "Louis' mood will probably get better by noon, yeah?"
Niall was wrong.
Louis remained moody at everyone. Harry spotted Liam and Zayn exchanging glances, Liam looking a bit worried and Zayn a bit pissed. It was obvious that Niall was doing his best to avoid the grumpy Louis – a smart decision.
But Harry didn't want to just leave him. So he attempted to make conversation with Louis and miserably failed, ending with the Dom snapping at him impatiently and Harry glaring back before stomping away.
He was on his stomach on the leather couch, sulking, when he felt a hand against his back. He looked back to see Zayn, who gave him a sympathetic smile. Harry just pouted.
"I know, Curls," Zayn sighed, running a hand through Harry's locks, making Goosebumps go up his arms. He loved the feeling of his hair being messed with.
"Hey, um, Zaynie?"
"Yeah, Curly?"
Harry bit his lip and mustered up the courage to ask. "Do you know why Niall was being such a … er, I mean, acting like that?"
Zayn gave a wry smile and sighed. "You remember the time I first spanked you?"
Harry grimaced. "Not forgetting that ever," he muttered under his breath.
Zayn grinned at him and said, "Cheeky little brat. Anyway, also remember the fact that I was giving you aftercare. Ni-Ni isn't used to sharing, especially his Doms. Guess he figured that if he got you punished unfairly, he'd feel a bit better."
Harry just grumbled. Zayn chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Hey, don't pout. Sure, you got your hide tanned unfairly, but at least Louis did too and so did Niall. Everything's good, yeah?"
"I guess so," Harry sighed, "not considering the fact that Louis looks ready to bite someone's head off." He rolled his eyes.
"Lou will cheer up eventually, either that or Liam will put him back into place." Zayn winked and said, "Sorry, Curls, I'd love to keep talking, but I've got some paperwork to do."
"That's fine," Harry said. He knew how busy Zayn and Liam were, considering the fact that they were CEOs of a famous and rich company.
Harry figured he'd head upstairs since there was nothing to do downstairs anyway. He supposed he could exercise in the gym or the swimming pool, but why be healthy? He was feeling a bit lazy today.
He was going up the stairs and had reached the top when he heard not-so-subtle growling and arguing. He bit his lip, considering whether to listen in. It was tempting. It wouldn't hurt, right? It was probably Liam and Niall arguing about something stupid again.
"You're being a right fucking dick today!" Liam was snarling.
Harry grimaced at the language. It was unusual that Liam swore. He was usually the calm, sensible and collected one. Louis, on the other hand was … sassy. There was no other way to put it – he had a sharp tongue.
"I'm not sure why you care so much," Louis said coldly.
"I care because you're hurting Harry. Don't you see that, Louis? He's trying to be so good for you; he's trying to make you happy. And what are you doing? Being a dick and punishing him unfairly?"
"We're over that," Louis snapped back. "Harry forgave me, and I swore never to make the same mistake again. Now shut up, would you? You're increasing my goddamn headache."
Harry was about to walk away in case Louis or Liam decided to storm out (he doubted they would be pleased to see him), until what Liam said next caught his attention.
"If you still a Sub under training, I'd whip your ass so hard you'd be begging and screaming."
Harry froze. Time seemed to stop. What had Liam just say?
"If you were still a Sub …"
It hit him. There was a reason why Louis was such an awkward and inexperienced Dom, even he had obviously been training for a few years under the ADS.
Louis Tomlinson had been a Sub.
But why had he switched? And from what Liam had just revealed, it sounded as if Louis had been Liam and Zayn's Sub.
But why had he switched from Sub to Dom?
A rush of determination suddenly flew through Harry's veins.
He was going to find out, whether Louis liked it or not.
All Niall had remembered was the guilt overwhelming him, Harry ignoring him with angry looks, and him feeling horrible.
Zayn had pulled him aside last night after dinner and asked what was wrong, to which Niall had replied promptly, "Nothing."
It wasn't even bothering him that much. Harry's not-so-subtle avoidance towards him hadn't affected him at all. Pfft. Of course not.
The next thing he knew, he was bare bottomed over Liam's lap, being spanked hard with the hairbrush with absolutely no mercy at all. He had begged and pleaded and wailed for Liam to stop, just to let him have a break. Liam had ignored his pleads and continued smacking.
It had hurt, but the guilt had been hurting him more. And Liam had seen that, so he hadn't stopped with the spanking. To his utter embarrassment, Harry had come downstairs. He'd looked shocked when he saw him and Liam had just casually told him where breakfast was as if he didn't have a red bottom across his lap.
Niall grimaced. It had been possibly one of the worst moments of his life. But what was even worse was the fact that he had done it out of true jealousy. He had seen Zayn cuddling Harry after the first time the curly haired lad had gotten spanked and, well … Zaynie and Li-Li were his. They were his and no one else's.
Sure, he was a bit on the needy and bratty side for a Sub, but Zayn and Liam were who made him confident in himself and his body and his personality. He shuddered.
To be honest, his past … hadn't been the very best.
Niall blinked rapidly, trying to erase his mind from the memories. He jumped a little when he felt a hand gently grasp his shoulder.
He looked up to see Liam with his warm brown eyes filled with a tinge of worry. "Hey, baby," he said softly. "You okay?"
Niall's lip trembled and he dove into Liam's warmth. The Dom effortlessly picked him up and carried him to the couch and sat him down on his lap. Niall was horrified at himself when he felt a tear slip down his cheek and he hurriedly swept it away.
"What's wrong, Ni-Ni?" Liam murmured, running his hand through his hair.
Niall shrugged.
"Having a bad day?"
A nod.
There was a silence for a moment, before Liam said softly, "Was it the memories again?"
A pause, and then another small nod.
"Oh, Ni." Liam wrapped his arms around the blonde-haired boy. "You know that your family loves you very much, right?"
"They left me," Niall said in a small voice.
"No, they didn't. They had no choice," Liam responded. "If they had a choice, they would have chosen to stay."
"Sure."
"Ni, it was to protect you," Liam said, tilting Niall's chin up gently. "You know that."
"Yeah, and then they dumped poor innocent Theo into the orphanage. He's probably getting abused in there right now. And then if he's a Sub, he'll probably get abused by an asshole of a Dom."
"And I'd love to adopt Theo from there, but you know that the law of the ADS say that once you're in a BDSM relationship with someone, you can't live with your own relative in the house."
"It's a crappy law, then," Niall grumbled.
"It is," Liam agreed. Liam seemed to be looking at Niall thoughtfully.
"What?" Niall huffed, feeling self-conscious under Liam's gaze.
"Do you want to be little at the moment?" Liam asked.
Niall opened his mouth to say 'yes'. If he was little, he could feel no burden on his shoulders, no bad memories, nothing. But … something inside him made him hesitate. It was almost like he had to feel the pain he was feeling now.
You can't always escape from the heavy burden in life, a voice whispered.
But I can as much as possible, Niall argued with a frown.
Go ahead, but it'll always come back to haunt you.
Niall paused, then said very clearly, "No."
Liam looked surprised; Niall rarely refused being little. "What?" he said with a blink.
"No, I'm okay," Niall said firmly. He planted a kiss on Liam's jaw and crawled off his lap, saying, "I'll be in my room."
He headed upstairs, closed the door and stopped in front of his bed. With a heavy sigh, he lifted the mattress up carefully and pulled out the picture wedged in between the mattress and the wooden side of the bed.
He let the mattress drop back down and plopped down, staring at the picture and gently running a finger over it to wipe away the dust.
It had been a while since he had last looked at it or taken it out. His mum, smiling at him and his dad with a proud grin and Greg in the middle, his arm around a three year old Niall.
They had no choice, Niall reminded himself. They didn't want to leave me. They had no choice, they were forced.
But in his heart, he wasn't sure if he believed it.
"Niall, just fucking eat your dinner!" Louis snapped, shocking everyone at the dinner table.
Harry was especially shocked, for Niall hadn't been acting out that much and Louis rarely snarled like that at someone he cared for.
Niall gave the feathery-haired Dom a hurt look which Louis ignored with a dark look on his face.
Just leave it, Ni, he's in a bad mood, Harry pleaded in his head.
But Niall was stubborn.
The blond Submissive sprang up and yelled, "Fuck you! You're a dick!" And then he made a move to stomp out of the room, throwing his spoon onto his plate with a clatter.
However, before he could step out of the doorway, Louis moved faster than Harry could blink and then had Niall's wrist in his tight, almost bruising grasp. "You're a brat," was all he growled before raising his other hand, as if making a move to slap the Sub across the face.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on my—"
But before Liam could finish his sentence, there was a blur and Zayn had Louis pinned against the wall, eyes flaring with fury.
That was when chaos erupted.
Louis punched Zayn in the stomach and the Dom grimaced visibly, eyes showing pain, before he kneed Louis in the crotch, and none too gently.
Harry winced in pain for his Dom and scrambled away from the fight, grabbing Niall as he did so. It would do Niall no good to join the stupid fight Zayn and Louis were in. They quivered in fear, as Liam tried to separate the two snarling Dominants.
"Stop! That's enough!" Liam shouted, trying to rip Zayn away from Louis.
"Leave us fucking alone, Liam!" Louis screamed back when he was held back in punching Zayn's gorgeous face.
"STOP! EVERYONE JUST STOP!" Niall screamed from where he was beside Harry.
To Harry's surprise and Liam's as well, Louis and Zayn did indeed stop. Zayn donned a right foul bruise on his jaw and the way he was grimacing every time he breathed didn't look so good. Louis, on the other hand was visibly in pain around his groin area and he had a bloody lip.
"You're all being such idiots!" Niall sobbed. "Fuck you! Fuck you all!" With that, he left the dining room, stomping upstairs and slamming the door.
The entire room was silent.
Harry said nothing. After all, there was nothing he felt he had to say. Niall had said enough. Giving Liam a look and leaving his almost finished plate, he just headed upstairs as well and entered his room, shutting the door quietly.
The house remained silent.
Harry woke up an hour later. It was 7:03 PM. He stretched, and ignoring his messy and tired appearance in the mirror, he headed downstairs. He was slightly worried when wondering how things had turned out between the two Doms and he was pleased when he found all three Doms in the living room, on the couch.
Louis held a pack of frozen peas to his crotch and his bloody lip had been cleaned up. Zayn held a bottle of frozen water to his bruises and he was breathing more regularly now.
What surprised Harry the most was the fact that Niall was next to Zayn and Liam, cuddled in between, and Zayn was petting his hair. When just looking, it almost seemed as if nothing had happened, but there was still some tension in the air that lingered.
"Harry. You're awake." Liam gave him a small smile. "C'mon, sit down. We all need to have a talk."
Concerned and slightly terrified, Harry sat down on the armchair and just gave Louis nothing but a small smile that ended as a grimace, and the Dom just sighed and gave his curls a soft brushing through with his fingers. It almost seemed like he was trying to apologize for what had happened.
"I've been thinking," Liam said, looking at everyone with clear, meaningful eyes. "We need to have a break."
Harry froze and his heart stopped beating. What exactly did Liam mean? Was he kicking him and Louis out?
"We're going on vacation. All of us."
End of Chapter
