Status: Hiatus
Of Suspenders and Curls
Cut
There was an awkward silence surrounding the five of us when we saw Harry standing at the front door. Nobody wanted to say anything.
Liam was the first to speak up. "What are you doing here? You know you're not welcome." It came out curt and harsh and Harry's expression fell immediately.
"I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Don't mind Liam, please." I pushed past Liam and Zayn and flitted to the door. My sudden movement startled Harry and he stumbled a few steps back, falling clumsily.
"Are you alright? I’m sorry if I scared you." I reached out a hand to him.
Harry looked at my hand and back to my face warily. I stared back at him dejectedly, but he ultimately reached out, our hands linking. I pulled him to his feet, meeting his inquisitive green eyes.
"Umm, thanks," Harry mumbled and brushed the dirt off his backside.
The rest of the lads were already standing by the doorway. Zayn had his eyebrows furrowed and his lips were clamped between his teeth, set in a thin line. He leaned against the doorframe and was giving off an aura of curiosity. Niall looked a little befuddled, his eyebrows arched and his mouth parted slightly. His eyes faltered on Harry before quickly flicking back to me.
Liam had his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't pleased to see Harry, his face creased angrily. His eyes were mere slits as he gave the human a scornful look.
"Whatever you're thinking Lou, you're not to invite him in," Liam warned me.
I sighed. "Harry, let's go somewhere else."
The lad nodded dazedly and tagged behind me.
"So, er, mind if I know where we're heading exactly?" Harry asked. I glanced briefly over at him and continued walking.
It was half past eight in the evening and I was walking pointlessly with Harry in tow. I shook my head to myself.
"Are you going to… kill me?" Harry asked suddenly. He stopped in his tracks and I could see the panic in his eyes.
"No! Of course not! What do you take me for?" I paused and chuckled humorlessly to myself. "Oh, wait. I'm an evil monster."
I cut him off before he could respond. "Why do you bother coming back if you're still thinking that I'm going to eat you? I thought you had finally come around when I saw you in the doorway of my flat, but looks like I'm wrong. You told me to get out of your life and yet here you are. Your words just don’t match your actions. I don’t get you."
Harry stood silently, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. "Are you done?" he asked. When I didn't reply, he continued. "Alright, I'm sorry. It was my fault for flipping on you. But if you were in my shoes, I bet you would have done the same thing. I mean, who wouldn't? And it didn't help that you weren't answering me and kept walking around aimlessly!"
Harry took a deep breath and composed himself. "I came back because I've done some thorough thinking. If you had wanted to harm or kill me, you would have done it already. There were times when I was alone in the car with you when you drove me back home after our tutor classes. And there were times when we strayed to the park instead of heading home immediately. Not mentioning you could lurk outside my house and kidnap me when I'm not suspecting it. I was vulnerable most of the time, but you didn't do anything to me. You gave me your word that Gemma would be fine and she was. So, yes, it took me quite a while to finally trust that you won't hurt me. Unless you change your mind, that is."
Harry looked at me, defiant green eyes peering into mine.
The boy left me speechless, but couldn’t help a small grin. "You know what Harry? I think you're kind of fascinating. I guess it’s okay if you want to know more about us."
The younger boy nodded. I grinned wider and said, "Then come over to my place over the weekend and we'll have a lad's night-out."
"I want you to be on your best behaviour tonight, please. For me." I gave Liam my trademark puppy-eyed look, pouting dramatically. Liam rolled his eyes exasperatedly but shrugged in agreement.
Harry was staying over for the weekend, much to Liam's displeasure. Niall and Zayn were willing to tolerate it, but Liam was proving harder to convince. Nonetheless, I got my way.
I grabbed my car keys and headed out to fetch Harry. His mother wasn’t going to allow him out so close to exams; he needed me to perform a little mind compulsion on her. I wasn't too keen on using mind games on anyone other than feedings, but this was an exception if there ever was one.
Taking his mother's mind over was easy; Harry said later that she was charmed the very second we met.
When we arrived, Harry hesitated at the entrance to my flat. I had gone in thinking that he would follow behind me but when I turned he was still fidgeting with his Jack Wills duffel bag, standing stiffly in the doorway.
"Come in, Harry. It's fine." I gestured him in with a wave of my hand.
He took a peek inside the house before taking a slow step through the door. Making sure first that nothing was going to ambush him, he finally made his way in, stopping to close the door behind him. Niall popped out from nowhere and greeted Harry cheerfully.
"Hi Harry!"
Harry let out a rather ridiculous squeal and I could have sworn I saw him jump almost a foot in the air.
"Blimey! I'm sorry! Didn't mean to scare you, mate," Niall apologised quickly.
I burst out into a fit of giggles at seeing Harry's paled face. The boy's heart rate accelerated and the rushing of blood in his veins suddenly made me thirsty.
I stopped laughing, my mouth suddenly dry, and flitted over to the fridge, leaving Harry with Niall. I had been too busy wallowing in my self-pity for the past few weeks that it didn't cross my mind that I hadn't been feeding on fresh blood. Blood packs only satiate us, but we need fresh blood straight from the source at least twice in a month if we want to survive.
"Lou, where do you wa- Oh, sorry." Niall caught me devouring the blood packs near the fridge and quickly turned around and yanked Harry towards his bedroom. The unsuspecting boy let Niall drag him around the house.
I drained the packet empty and threw it in the rubbish bin before rinsing my mouth and washing my face, making sure no blood remained. After checking my teeth in the bathroom mirror I walked to Niall's bedroom. Him and Harry sat on the bed, happily chatting.
"Harry will sleep in my bedroom tonight. I'll bunk with Zayn," Niall said.
Harry smiled at the both of us. "Thanks for having me here."
I shrugged my shoulders when a loud growl erupted from Harry's stomach. Harry looked down sheepishly.
"That calls for food," I said with a grin.
Niall called for pizza since there was no food in the kitchen suitable for Harry. I had warned him not to open the fridge as he wouldn't like what he would find in there. Harry stared at me for a long moment before nodding mutely.
While waiting for the pizza to arrive, the three of us lazed on the sofa with the television turned down low, Harry sandwiched in between Niall and I.
"Where's Zayn and Liam?" Harry asked.
I looked at Niall expectantly. They were both there when I left.
"Liam volunteered to accompany Zayn in getting, uh. Supplies," Niall replied hesitantly.
I mentally thanked Niall for being subtle and not blurting out 'blood packs' in front of Harry.
Harry simply nodded. He was fiddling with the strings of his hoodie and his legs were trembling. It was making me irritated.
"Can you stop doing that?" I chided. "It's driving me nuts. If you have any questions, fire away."
Harry looked up guiltily. "I... I must admit that I'm still a bit uncomfortable around the both of you. Sorry."
"Don't apologise. It makes sense to be afraid. We're not human exactly," Niall quipped, leaning back against the couch.
"Uh, okay. What I wanna know is, how do you come about being, er, how do you phrase this?" Harry pressed a hand to his cheek and scratched it lightly. "I mean, you were once human, right?"
I spoke up before Niall could cut in. "Yeah. All four of us were once normal, human, teenage boys. We're made, not born."
"We weren't turned at the same time, though," Niall interrupted. "Lou here is the oldest. I'm the youngest."
Harry peered closely at me, his eyes roaming every aspect of my face. "Would you quit that?" I snapped.
The human jerked his head back in shock and Niall laughed out loud. "I-I'm sorry," Harry stammered.
"Lou may not seem like it, but he's over three centuries old," Niall said in between his laughter.
I saw Harry's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You don't mind hanging out with grumpy old men now, do you?" I teased.
"Hey, I'm not grumpy," Niall remarked defensively. "That'll be you and Liam!"
There was a knock on the door and I escaped quickly to open it. The pizza delivery guy was standing in the doorway, holding three large pizza boxes. At that exact same moment, I watched as Zayn and Liam got out of the lift.
"That'll be twenty-nine pounds, ninety-seven."
I fished the money out of my trouser pockets and paid just as Liam and Zayn appeared behind him. "Here mate, I'll get these," Zayn offered, taking the boxes from the boy.
Liam pushed his way inside, knocking me aside with his bulging messenger bag. The human's here then? I shrugged in reply and he gave me a quick glare, hurrying off to the kitchen.
I shook my head slowly and took the pizza boxes from Zayn. He looked at me and smiled a little.
"Liam's feisty. He didn't manage to catch a meal while we were out," Zayn said lowly.
"He has to feed from the packs then," I said quietly.
When I arrived in the living room, I sensed the tension radiating in the air. Harry was still seated beside Niall, but he was clenching his fists and fidgeting. I saw Niall trying to calm him by patting his thigh. He glanced at me, the distressed look on his face screaming a little help here?
I turned to look at Liam, who was seated on the opposite side of the room, arms crossed and sporting a scowl.
"Pizza's here!" I exclaimed happily, trying to lighten the mood. "Hooray?"
Nobody moved from their seats; nobody said anything. I sighed and placed the food on the coffee table. "Liam, can you please eat? I'm sure we have enough supplies to last for the next month or so."
Liam snorted and rolled his eyes, but he stormed off into the kitchen, anyway. I could hear Zayn busy unpacking the blood bags and Niall opened the pizza boxes. Harry just sat and stared quietly.
"Flippin' hell," Niall cussed. "What kind of service is this? Someone please bring the pizza cutter!"
I looked into the box and frowned. The pizza wasn't cut. "They could have been busy," I reasoned.
"Or plain bloody forgotten," Niall answered irritably.
Liam crept up silently behind us to pass the cutter. Harry didn’t hear and was startled, flailing his hands out and accidentally slicing his arm on the cutter.
"Ow!"
Harry cradled his hurt arm, blood slowly trickling down and dripping from his elbow.
I glanced at both Liam and Niall, panic rising in my throat.
A fresh, open wound could not be a good thing when you're in a house full of vampires.
Especially hungry ones.
Liam was the first to speak up. "What are you doing here? You know you're not welcome." It came out curt and harsh and Harry's expression fell immediately.
"I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Don't mind Liam, please." I pushed past Liam and Zayn and flitted to the door. My sudden movement startled Harry and he stumbled a few steps back, falling clumsily.
"Are you alright? I’m sorry if I scared you." I reached out a hand to him.
Harry looked at my hand and back to my face warily. I stared back at him dejectedly, but he ultimately reached out, our hands linking. I pulled him to his feet, meeting his inquisitive green eyes.
"Umm, thanks," Harry mumbled and brushed the dirt off his backside.
The rest of the lads were already standing by the doorway. Zayn had his eyebrows furrowed and his lips were clamped between his teeth, set in a thin line. He leaned against the doorframe and was giving off an aura of curiosity. Niall looked a little befuddled, his eyebrows arched and his mouth parted slightly. His eyes faltered on Harry before quickly flicking back to me.
Liam had his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't pleased to see Harry, his face creased angrily. His eyes were mere slits as he gave the human a scornful look.
"Whatever you're thinking Lou, you're not to invite him in," Liam warned me.
I sighed. "Harry, let's go somewhere else."
The lad nodded dazedly and tagged behind me.
"So, er, mind if I know where we're heading exactly?" Harry asked. I glanced briefly over at him and continued walking.
It was half past eight in the evening and I was walking pointlessly with Harry in tow. I shook my head to myself.
"Are you going to… kill me?" Harry asked suddenly. He stopped in his tracks and I could see the panic in his eyes.
"No! Of course not! What do you take me for?" I paused and chuckled humorlessly to myself. "Oh, wait. I'm an evil monster."
I cut him off before he could respond. "Why do you bother coming back if you're still thinking that I'm going to eat you? I thought you had finally come around when I saw you in the doorway of my flat, but looks like I'm wrong. You told me to get out of your life and yet here you are. Your words just don’t match your actions. I don’t get you."
Harry stood silently, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. "Are you done?" he asked. When I didn't reply, he continued. "Alright, I'm sorry. It was my fault for flipping on you. But if you were in my shoes, I bet you would have done the same thing. I mean, who wouldn't? And it didn't help that you weren't answering me and kept walking around aimlessly!"
Harry took a deep breath and composed himself. "I came back because I've done some thorough thinking. If you had wanted to harm or kill me, you would have done it already. There were times when I was alone in the car with you when you drove me back home after our tutor classes. And there were times when we strayed to the park instead of heading home immediately. Not mentioning you could lurk outside my house and kidnap me when I'm not suspecting it. I was vulnerable most of the time, but you didn't do anything to me. You gave me your word that Gemma would be fine and she was. So, yes, it took me quite a while to finally trust that you won't hurt me. Unless you change your mind, that is."
Harry looked at me, defiant green eyes peering into mine.
The boy left me speechless, but couldn’t help a small grin. "You know what Harry? I think you're kind of fascinating. I guess it’s okay if you want to know more about us."
The younger boy nodded. I grinned wider and said, "Then come over to my place over the weekend and we'll have a lad's night-out."
"I want you to be on your best behaviour tonight, please. For me." I gave Liam my trademark puppy-eyed look, pouting dramatically. Liam rolled his eyes exasperatedly but shrugged in agreement.
Harry was staying over for the weekend, much to Liam's displeasure. Niall and Zayn were willing to tolerate it, but Liam was proving harder to convince. Nonetheless, I got my way.
I grabbed my car keys and headed out to fetch Harry. His mother wasn’t going to allow him out so close to exams; he needed me to perform a little mind compulsion on her. I wasn't too keen on using mind games on anyone other than feedings, but this was an exception if there ever was one.
Taking his mother's mind over was easy; Harry said later that she was charmed the very second we met.
When we arrived, Harry hesitated at the entrance to my flat. I had gone in thinking that he would follow behind me but when I turned he was still fidgeting with his Jack Wills duffel bag, standing stiffly in the doorway.
"Come in, Harry. It's fine." I gestured him in with a wave of my hand.
He took a peek inside the house before taking a slow step through the door. Making sure first that nothing was going to ambush him, he finally made his way in, stopping to close the door behind him. Niall popped out from nowhere and greeted Harry cheerfully.
"Hi Harry!"
Harry let out a rather ridiculous squeal and I could have sworn I saw him jump almost a foot in the air.
"Blimey! I'm sorry! Didn't mean to scare you, mate," Niall apologised quickly.
I burst out into a fit of giggles at seeing Harry's paled face. The boy's heart rate accelerated and the rushing of blood in his veins suddenly made me thirsty.
I stopped laughing, my mouth suddenly dry, and flitted over to the fridge, leaving Harry with Niall. I had been too busy wallowing in my self-pity for the past few weeks that it didn't cross my mind that I hadn't been feeding on fresh blood. Blood packs only satiate us, but we need fresh blood straight from the source at least twice in a month if we want to survive.
"Lou, where do you wa- Oh, sorry." Niall caught me devouring the blood packs near the fridge and quickly turned around and yanked Harry towards his bedroom. The unsuspecting boy let Niall drag him around the house.
I drained the packet empty and threw it in the rubbish bin before rinsing my mouth and washing my face, making sure no blood remained. After checking my teeth in the bathroom mirror I walked to Niall's bedroom. Him and Harry sat on the bed, happily chatting.
"Harry will sleep in my bedroom tonight. I'll bunk with Zayn," Niall said.
Harry smiled at the both of us. "Thanks for having me here."
I shrugged my shoulders when a loud growl erupted from Harry's stomach. Harry looked down sheepishly.
"That calls for food," I said with a grin.
Niall called for pizza since there was no food in the kitchen suitable for Harry. I had warned him not to open the fridge as he wouldn't like what he would find in there. Harry stared at me for a long moment before nodding mutely.
While waiting for the pizza to arrive, the three of us lazed on the sofa with the television turned down low, Harry sandwiched in between Niall and I.
"Where's Zayn and Liam?" Harry asked.
I looked at Niall expectantly. They were both there when I left.
"Liam volunteered to accompany Zayn in getting, uh. Supplies," Niall replied hesitantly.
I mentally thanked Niall for being subtle and not blurting out 'blood packs' in front of Harry.
Harry simply nodded. He was fiddling with the strings of his hoodie and his legs were trembling. It was making me irritated.
"Can you stop doing that?" I chided. "It's driving me nuts. If you have any questions, fire away."
Harry looked up guiltily. "I... I must admit that I'm still a bit uncomfortable around the both of you. Sorry."
"Don't apologise. It makes sense to be afraid. We're not human exactly," Niall quipped, leaning back against the couch.
"Uh, okay. What I wanna know is, how do you come about being, er, how do you phrase this?" Harry pressed a hand to his cheek and scratched it lightly. "I mean, you were once human, right?"
I spoke up before Niall could cut in. "Yeah. All four of us were once normal, human, teenage boys. We're made, not born."
"We weren't turned at the same time, though," Niall interrupted. "Lou here is the oldest. I'm the youngest."
Harry peered closely at me, his eyes roaming every aspect of my face. "Would you quit that?" I snapped.
The human jerked his head back in shock and Niall laughed out loud. "I-I'm sorry," Harry stammered.
"Lou may not seem like it, but he's over three centuries old," Niall said in between his laughter.
I saw Harry's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You don't mind hanging out with grumpy old men now, do you?" I teased.
"Hey, I'm not grumpy," Niall remarked defensively. "That'll be you and Liam!"
There was a knock on the door and I escaped quickly to open it. The pizza delivery guy was standing in the doorway, holding three large pizza boxes. At that exact same moment, I watched as Zayn and Liam got out of the lift.
"That'll be twenty-nine pounds, ninety-seven."
I fished the money out of my trouser pockets and paid just as Liam and Zayn appeared behind him. "Here mate, I'll get these," Zayn offered, taking the boxes from the boy.
Liam pushed his way inside, knocking me aside with his bulging messenger bag. The human's here then? I shrugged in reply and he gave me a quick glare, hurrying off to the kitchen.
I shook my head slowly and took the pizza boxes from Zayn. He looked at me and smiled a little.
"Liam's feisty. He didn't manage to catch a meal while we were out," Zayn said lowly.
"He has to feed from the packs then," I said quietly.
When I arrived in the living room, I sensed the tension radiating in the air. Harry was still seated beside Niall, but he was clenching his fists and fidgeting. I saw Niall trying to calm him by patting his thigh. He glanced at me, the distressed look on his face screaming a little help here?
I turned to look at Liam, who was seated on the opposite side of the room, arms crossed and sporting a scowl.
"Pizza's here!" I exclaimed happily, trying to lighten the mood. "Hooray?"
Nobody moved from their seats; nobody said anything. I sighed and placed the food on the coffee table. "Liam, can you please eat? I'm sure we have enough supplies to last for the next month or so."
Liam snorted and rolled his eyes, but he stormed off into the kitchen, anyway. I could hear Zayn busy unpacking the blood bags and Niall opened the pizza boxes. Harry just sat and stared quietly.
"Flippin' hell," Niall cussed. "What kind of service is this? Someone please bring the pizza cutter!"
I looked into the box and frowned. The pizza wasn't cut. "They could have been busy," I reasoned.
"Or plain bloody forgotten," Niall answered irritably.
Liam crept up silently behind us to pass the cutter. Harry didn’t hear and was startled, flailing his hands out and accidentally slicing his arm on the cutter.
"Ow!"
Harry cradled his hurt arm, blood slowly trickling down and dripping from his elbow.
I glanced at both Liam and Niall, panic rising in my throat.
A fresh, open wound could not be a good thing when you're in a house full of vampires.
Especially hungry ones.
♠ ♠ ♠
Terribly sorry for not updating this. I've been "running around" Mibba in search of stories to review and participating in endless contests. Sue me.Special thanks to my new editor, Fandango, for making this chapter a whole lot better.
And I promise that the boys' history will be unveiled from the next chapter onwards!
Please leave your thoughts and recommendations?
