Fragile

“What do we do now?” asked Niall, speaking the words that were on our minds.

“No clue,” replied Louis.

“And you can see the future? What hope do we have now?” replied Zayn sarcastically.

Louis rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t work like that, and you know it.”

“Oh? Doesn’t it? You just touch something and it happens, yeah? She seems to be the one making it happen quite often,” said Zayn, hostility rising in his voice.

I watched as they continued their fight, wishing they would stop. The fact that I was the subject of the argument made matters worse. My teeth sunk into my bottom lip, drawing blood as I tried to calm myself down. The crimson liquid left a bitter taste in my mouth and caused me to cringe.

Zayn was starting to rub at his temples again.

He turned to look at me. “Please stop. You have no idea how loud you are. It feels like your voice is rampaging throughout my skull with the sole purpose of deafening me,” he managed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

His eyes softened and he sighed. “No, I’m sorry. You can’t control your thoughts. I’ll just deal with it, but please try to calm down. None of this is your fault. We aren’t really fighting either. We are just trying to figure this all out. I’m just a little temperamental when I have everyone’s thoughts hitting me at once. Sometimes, I just want quiet, but I can’t always control it.”

“Okay,” I replied in a soft voice, “I can help too.”

“I know you can, love. But, you’re mind isn’t exactly in the right place,” said Louis.

He placed a hand at the small of my back, rubbing small circles over the fabric. I could feel the warmth coming off of him which instantly made me relax.

Then, my mind filled with the swirling fire of rebuttal. “Who are you to say that? I think I would know what I’m capable of.”

His blue eyes widened with shock, disturbing the placid pools of cerulean. “Technically, I’m not anybody. It has only been what? A few days? I obviously don’t mean anything. I’m just someone who happened to be at the right place at the right time. Maybe you should go home. It would be safer than hanging around with a nobody.”

My eyes began to fill with tears. They threatened to spill over. The fiery rage was being extinguished by the slow shattering of my heart. “I didn’t mean it that way. You know I didn’t,” I said, picturing those green eyes, “But, if you don’t want me here, then maybe I will leave.”

I gathered myself and started to walk toward the door. I didn’t turn back to see if he was coming after me, nor did I expect him to. I never even waited for a response. I couldn’t trust anyone. Least of all him.

As my feet hit the pavement, I hissed in pain. My foot still hurt as I applied pressure. The darkness enveloped me in a thick cloak. Only the moon lit my path with its generous beams of glorious light. However, even the moon’s light couldn’t suppress the feeling of fear that crawled along my spine, chilling every bone.

Before I realized where I was going, I had already wandered down the dark alleyway. I was bombarded by the memories of that night. I sunk to my knees on the wet pavement, letting the water soak through my jeans as I held my head in my hands.

Zayn must feel like this all of the time, I thought.

It felt like my head was about to split open as each memory flooded my mind.

“Thought you could get away that easily?”

The deep voice broke through, ceasing all thoughts. I was left on the ground, paralyzed. He stepped over me, a wicked grin filling his features. I wanted to run, to do anything, but I couldn’t. I was pinned there by some invisible force. The horror of his face also rooted me to the spot. That scar filled my vision.

Suddenly, a black shroud clouded my eyes. I could only see a deep blackness as if my senses were being influenced.

My hearing seemed to be working. I heard a loud crash around me like something was thrown at the dumpster.

“Get the fuck away from her,” yelled a deep voice, which sounded like Harry’s.

“Just in time, boys,” said my captor in a strained voice.

“Diana, are you alright?” Zayn yelled.

“Y-yeah. I think so. I-I can’t see anything,” I replied shakily.

“What did you do to her? I swear, if you did anything to her, I’ll fucking kill you,” said a sweet and melodious voice, which made the threat seem more menacing.

It was Louis. I knew that voice anywhere. My whole body relaxed.

He came back..

Images of Louis appeared in my mind. The cocky smile that he owned. The musical laugh, frozen in midair. The soft tones of his voice, ever so light. The feathery hair in perfect disarray. The gentleness and sincerity with which he carried himself. Every little thing about him was at the forefront of my clouded vision. Ever so slowly, the other senses dulled to occupy him.

After a few moments, I felt myself being lifted up by a pair of strong arms.

“Diana… Diana… Di! Are you okay?”

My eyes focused on the bright blue in front of me. It died down as his real form blocked out every other thought.

“Y-yeah. I think so.”

I tried to steady myself, but wobbled slightly. I used Louis’ body for support.

“W-what happened?” I asked, trying to find the right words.

“He ran off, the bloody coward. Though, I would have ran off too if I was up against you. You’re scary. Did you know that?” said Niall, giving me a pat on the back.

My eyebrows were knit in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t know?” inserted Liam, his eyes bright with interest.

“No.”

I was getting frustrated. I didn’t have a clue as to what they were talking about. And they were staring at me like I was some creature they never saw before.

“Whatever you did, your eyes shifted like Louis’, and you seemed to be in a whirlwind. Your hair was whipping around you, and you walked up to him. He started losing color as you approached, and just as you were about to touch him, he ran like a bat out of hell. But, before he left, he said, ‘Now isn’t the time,’ or something equally as ridiculous, as if to divert our attention from the fact that he was afraid of the girl he tried to take advantage of,” said Niall.

“You don’t remember that?” asked Louis, softly, as if afraid of upsetting me.

“Not a thing,” I managed, tearing my gaze away from him.

“Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe it won’t happen again?” added Liam questioningly.

I stared at the five of them, hoping they would stop talking about this.

“How did you guys find me?”

They all quieted. Harry was the first to speak up.

“Well, right after you stormed off,” he said looking at Louis, as if to ask for permission to go on which he granted with a nod, “Louis was upset and started blaming himself. He got worked up and started throwing things. Suddenly, he started to shake, and fell to his knees. His eyes started to glow, and we figured he was having another vision. We waited for him to come back to us because there was nothing we could do to snap him out of it.

“When he became aware of his surroundings, he shuffled backward in fear of what he was shown. We needed to calm him down so that he could tell us what happened. He said that you were in trouble, and that he was back. He said he was coming for you, that we needed to find you. We immediately followed him out of the flat. He hurried to find you as if he knew exactly where you would be. As soon as I saw him above you, I threw him against the dumpster. It took a lot of effort this time, which was weird. It took a toll on all of us. Liam’s power wasn’t working properly, and neither was Niall’s. Louis already did all that he could. He tried to attack that asshole, but he was nearly killed in the process.

“Something pulled him back. I don’t know what, but right before that guy was about to kill Louis, he was pushed out of his grasp. But, I didn’t move him. I couldn’t. It’s just another mystery to add to the pile,” finished Harry.

I tried to process what Harry said.

“Wait, if Louis saw what happened, then why didn’t he see that your powers wouldn’t work?”

“That’s because in my vision, we didn’t make it in time, and the rest of it was cloudy. It was all subject to change,” said Louis.

The rest of the group stared at him. He looked like he was about to break down.

“You know what sucked? Having to see you die. Having to see the lifelessness in your eyes. Seeing that glow die, leaving nothing but emptiness behind. Especially after that argument. I know you are capable of a lot, but, please, don’t leave us again. I know it was all of my fault, but you shouldn’t have made me feel like I was nothing. I don’t want to mean nothing to you. I thought you trusted me. I should have been more patient with you, but I hurt you because I was being selfish. I didn’t want you to get hurt, but you almost died tonight. I just… I need you to be there. I can’t help you if you don’t convince yourself that you need it. Words are nothing if you can’t put them into action. So, please, forgive me. I want to forget about that little fight,” he said, tears sliding down his face, creating pathways like a network of rivers and streams.

I reached my hand forward, gently wiping away his tears like Zayn had done to me. His face was burning, and that was when I took a clear look at everyone around me. They were covered in a layer of sweat and dirt. Bruises were staring to form on some of their bodies. Niall, who looked about as combative as a baby penguin, had a black eye. Liam had blood dripping from several minor cuts along his arms, as if he had been thrown backward onto the ground. Zayn was clutching his hand to his chest, as if it were broken. Harry looked absolutely exhausted, his curls lying flat along his head, and several bruises along his jaw.

I looked back at Louis and my jaw dropped. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat. His shirt was torn in several places, and bruises littered his delicate, yet muscular arms. The most appalling sight was his neck. Five distinct marks were spread along it.

“He did this to you? To all of you? How on earth did he manage?”

Louis just sighed and nodded his head in affirmation. The others followed suit.

“I don’t think he was a regular human. I think he has some sort of powers too,” said Niall, keeping his head down, afraid to look me in the eyes.

“And I stopped him?”

“That’s what we think,” replied Liam.

I shook my head, letting it all sink in. Louis words floated around in my mind. I turned to look at him, never letting my eyes fall from his brilliant blue ones.

“I do forgive you. And I should be the one saying sorry. I took it too far. I do need you. I really do. In fact, we need each other. So, let’s go back to being friends, yeah? Seeing death sucks. It really does. But knowing that you can potentially change that, should give you hope. You’ll be okay, alright?” I comforted him as he did to me.

“Thanks. And, yeah, I’d like that. Friends it is then,” he said, his voice cracking at the word friends.

He lifted his head and stared at me. After a few seconds, he pulled me into his arms.

I let my arms wrap gently around his waist. He was still burning up as I let my eyes flutter shut. His heart rate seemed to speed up as my knees gave way.

I felt weak as I slid onto the ground, my limp form being held up by equally as weak arms.

I felt the arms of my supporter fail as he too fell beside me, eyes closed, unmoving.

The night sky became darker, and under my eyelids, I felt an endless night descend upon me. Faintly, I head the screaming of other voices and remembered that Louis could be hurt. However, that thought became distant as blackness fell over me, separating me from the world of light.