Fragile

"We weren't expected anything from you," a soft-voice said, ringing out around the black space.

My eyes slowly opened to a deeper darkness, one that was unsafe, unforgiving, and deprived of all hope. I could not make out a single shape. Nothing was distinguishable. Only the voice was there to show that I was actually alive. It could have been my own personal hell if I were dead.

"You were supposed to die the first time, but the incompetence of my men prevented that. Though, it was understandable when going up against one of the five. So, I gave him an extra boost. He caught you alone. It should have been a walk in the park. Even if the others came to save you, you should have been dead. Wasn't that what Louis said?" she paused, letting the question echo through the emptiness.

"He's kind of cute that one. He might prove to be quite useful. You, however. You and your pretty little face are something else entirely. You're powerful, you know. And with power comes death. It's inevitable. Although I knew you were a threat, I underestimated you. In fact, you weren't supposed to come into your powers until much later, but here we are. Now, I can touch you. And now I can see," she continued as I felt a chill sweep over me.

I remained rooted in place. There was no use in replying because words were lost in this place where I had no control over my body. All I could do was listen. Reacting wasn't a possibility.

Laughter bounced around my motionless body, piercing my ears.

"Now, I know everything. I'm coming for you and your protectors. I'm telling you this because it won't matter. You will all die. I'll send your little 'friend', Louis, a message. You don't know when, but I will be there," she finished, letting her words fade out.

I felt my body being ripped from the blackness where voices were hovering around me.

"Diana! Wake up!" yelled one voice in particular, making me groan in protest.

My limbs held me down like rocks meant to hold down a blanket at the beach on a windy day. Struggling, I managed to lift myself up and look around me. The room started to spin, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut and hope for the spinning to cease.

"Thank God. You're okay, love. Just open your eyes slowly. I've got you," said the familiar voice.

I obeyed the voice and slowly opened my eyes, hoping that the world was still. Once I was able to focus, a sea of blue filled my vision.

"Lou," I rasped out, my throat dry.

"It's alright. You're okay. We're okay. Everything is alright for now," he assured, laying a hand on my shoulder, hoping to comfort me.

However, everything was not okay. We were not fine. I surveyed the boys around me and lifted a shaking hand to my mouth. They looked even worse than they did before.

"Why are you lying? Why do you keep lying to me? Saying everything is okay doesn't mean it's true. I still have a broken hand. How useful does that make me? You guys said that I was the one that chased that monster away. Thing is, I have no idea how I even managed that. At all. How are we supposed to be okay if we can't even control what we have?"

I put my head down and tried to make sense of everything. My thoughts were screaming to get out. I wanted to disappear, to be nothing more than a gossamer web, complex yet transparent and easily overlooked.

A shout broke through my thoughts, and I looked up to see Zayn clutching his head.

"Zayn!" Louis caught Zayn before he could collide with the unforgiving floor.

"Diana, you have to stop. Right now. You're killing him," Liam said, focusing on trying to calm me.

He only made matters worse. You're killing him. Those words rampaged through my mind, just as unforgiving as everything else.

"Please," he breathed, "Make, make her stop."

Louis looked worried, then his eyes changed. He dropped Zayn and tried to breathe through it, letting the images flash through his mind. He tried grabbing at something to steady himself, but he came up empty.

"Diana, look at me. You need to stop. Let's grab some ice cream, yeah? Have a little chat maybe? It'll be fun. Here, take my hand," the Irish lad smiled, holding out his hand for me to grab.

I immediately grabbed his hand and the prospect of ice-cream and laughter filled my mind.

"See, there we go," he said as he grabbed a bowl and a large spoon, "Now, mind telling me what is going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

I didn't want to say anything, but the words seemed to fall from my mouth like a light rain shower, seemingly nothing until everything is covered if given enough time.

"I d-don't want to kill anyone. She said I would. And if I don't, she'll kill all of us anyway. It's only a matter of time before she comes. We need to be able to control whatever it is we are capable of. Though, I don't know how that's possible. How can we control something we know nothing about? You saw what happened last time. Your powers were useless. And, quite frankly, we don't stand a chance without them. And me? What am I? What can I do? You can tell me that I did this and that, but I won't ever know how. Look at Zayn. He can't even be in a room with me if I'm thinking too hard. Don't get me started with Louis. Those visions come and go whenever they please. They always catch him off guard. He would be useless in actual combat when it came down to that. Liam might stand some chance, but his powers weren't working during battle, and neither were yours. And, I'm sorry to say this, Niall, but you don't seem like the type to hurt anyone. You are like some cute little kitten that is afraid of the neighbor's dog and hides behind your owner's leg. And Harry, well, his powers were also useless. The only way we are going to beat them is if we can focus and understand what it is that we are capable of. And right now, we are weak. Knowledge is power, and, at the moment, we are in the dark," I rambled.

Niall only nodded, and I let out a breath, letting it calm my racing heart. I took a bite out of the whipped cream covered mound of chocolate. I let the chocolate melt in my mouth before I swallowed, treasuring the sweetness of the dessert.

"You said, 'she'. Who is this person? Do you know her?"

"I don't know. I assumed it was a woman because of the voice, but that was all I heard. It was black, and I couldn't move. She didn't say much really, but she made sure that she got the point across that we were all going to die. How? She didn't exactly release that information. Then again, it would be stupid to tell your enemy your brilliant plan," I answered, leaving out what she said about Louis and myself.

"Niall. Diana. You guys might want to come over here," Liam's worried voice said, interrupting our conversation.

Niall and I bounded over to where Liam was sitting with the other boys. Zayn looked pale, and he was still holding his head, but he looked better than he was before. Louis, on the other hand, looked like hell. He couldn't seem to catch his breath, and I was starting to worry.

Louis noticed me approaching and tried to speak, "I-I... you... she said... and the boys...". His breathing was becoming erratic, and I knew I had to do something. He was on the verge of passing out.

"Louis. Look at me. I know. She told me everything. It will be okay. I promise you that. If we are going to die. We are going to die together. And if we are going to die, we are not going to go down with a surrender. We are going fight," I told him, capturing his eyes with mine, never letting the clear blue pools stray.

I could see his body slowly relax as he drank in every word. Death is a reality, but they could fight it together.

"That's it. Just breathe, Lou," I encouraged, enveloping him in my arms and rubbing his back comfortingly.

"L-Lou. You called me Lou. I quite like that. You should call me that more often," he said weakly, as if trying to get a chuckle out of me, but, instead, I blushed furiously, the red softly dusting my cheekbones.

Nobody seemed to notice my reaction as he slowly recovered from possibly seeing everyone he cared about die.

"What happened?" pushed Liam.

I sent Liam a glare.

"You don't have to answer that just yet. Here. Come sit on the couch. I'll ask Niall to help me make some tea. And Liam, make sure Zayn is alright. Zayn, honey, do you need anything? I'm really sorry," I said.

"I think after I take a few aspirin, I should be fine. Can I also have a cuppa? I'm going to just lay down for a bit. A-And don't worry about it. I need to control it better. I need to get a better handle on my abilities. For now, just try to tone it down. I wasn't exactly prepared for that onslaught of thoughts."

Zayn lifted his body off of the floor and stood on unsteady legs. Liam was there to catch him before he hit the floor again. He looked into Zayn's eyes and whispered something. Zayn nodded and his eyes glowed into a deeper amber, looking like molten gold. Moments later, they disappeared into the next room with Zayn leaning heavily on Liam for support.

"What was that?" I asked out loud.

Heads turned in my direction. A cough interrupted the deafening silence, causing me to jump.

"Oh, God! Harry, where were you?" I asked, realizing that he had been absent from this whole ordeal.

I took this moment to take in his appearance, letting my eyes rake over him. His clothes were disheveled and his hair was more wild than usual, sticking up around his head like a halo, making him look like a cherub.

"He drained his energy when he tried to use his power. He, more or less, overexerted himself and needed to regain his strength. I think what did him in was insisting that he carry you and Lou back to the flat," Niall answered, glaring at the tired boy with exhaustion written all over his features.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Zayn was too hurt to carry them, and three battered people wouldn't be able to carry two bodies back. It was the only option. So, you're welcome. Anyway, back to the whole Zayn and Liam thing. Well, we figured out that they were connected. You know how most of us have two powers? Mainly mental and physical? Well, Zayn only has a mental power. It would do him no good in a fight. Liam, on the other hand, has a physical power. He can use his in a fight. Together, they are nearly unstoppable. Zayn can read the opponent's thoughts, relay it to Liam, and Liam can do what he thinks best with the information and influence the opponent. They need each other. They aren't exactly strong unless they are together. Also, Zayn keeps an eye on Liam," Harry said, rubbing at his eyes to keep himself awake.

"What do you mean, 'keep an eye on Liam'?"

"I mean just that. Liam has a bit of a dark past. Niall can attest to that. He used to abuse his abilities. Morals weren't exactly high on his list. He got in with the wrong crowds, but Niall stopped him from going to the edge. It wasn't until Zayn got his abilities did we figure out a way to bring Liam back. He was in a dark place, and Zayn saved him. They can influence each other like they do to other people, but they are aware of what the other person is doing," Harry continued as he sat at the table, resting his head on his folding arms.

I didn't know what to say, but my mouth decided to answer for me, "Oh. Does that mean...Does that mean..."

Harry looked at me quizzically, trying to figure out what I was saying. Then, his emerald green eyes widened as he realized what I was hinting at.

"No! Oh no. You don't think....No. I mean, it wouldn't matter if they were, but Zayn? No. Liam's a bit, you know, but Zayn? I don't think so. No," Harry managed, getting extremely flustered that I would bring up such a thing.

"Oh, okay. I was just....wondering, I guess," I replied, letting my mind replay the events of the day. Or, rather, the events that I could remember.

Louis looked up from his spot on the couch. "What's so wrong with it, Haz? I mean, I'm pretty sure you've been around with a few guys. What makes you think Zayn hasn't done the same thing?"

A deep red appeared on Harry's cheeks, the color of hell's fire. "I...I thought I told you not to tell anyone about that. I was drunk. I told you that in drunk confidence. I can't believe you blabbed that. And I don't have a problem with that! I just don't think of Zayn as that type," Harry retorted, a pout adorning his face.

"I'm just going to go and make the tea now, " Niall added, looking uncomfortable as he shifted on his feet and retreated into the kitchen.

As soon as Niall left, Louis continued. "He'll probably kill me for telling you, but he is bisexual. Always has been, but, in my opinion, I don't think he would want to date one of his best mates. He's too distracted right now to want anything. He's been really confused lately. He hasn't told me why, but I'm betting it has to do with him hearing something that he wasn't meant to hear."

Harry's jaw dropped, and I felt like I was intruding on a private conversation.

"Umm, Louis? I don't think that information was for you to tell," I added, suddenly interested in the loose strand of string coming from the carpet.

"Like Harry said, it's not as if it's a big deal. And him having a 'crush' on us shouldn't bother anyone. I would be flattered actually. That only means that he has some taste. I mean, look at his. Who wouldn't want a piece of this?" Louis said, gesturing toward his body lying on the couch, making me blush.

I was about to hide it, but Louis smirked when he caught the red spreading along my face and neck. Instead of looking away, he lifted himself from the couch and walked toward me. His face came dangerously close to mine as he turned his head to whisper in my ear.

"You're cute when you blush, you know that?"

It was as if he knew exactly what to do to make me lose control of my body. The heat rushed to my face, continuing to burn as the embarrassment flooded through me.

"I don't, but thanks for telling me so," I managed, my voice sounding weak to my own ears.

I looked around the room to notice that nobody was paying attention to us. Niall had his back turned, preoccupied with the tea that I was supposed to help him make. Little snores were coming from the table where Harry's head was perched, quickly falling asleep after finding out Zayn's secret. Though, it wasn't exactly a secret. It was a part of him. He wasn't exactly hiding it. The only person who needed to know was his significant other. A straight person doesn't have to say they are straight. That piece of information did not change who he was.

"You're welcome," he breathed.

Shivers ran down my neck as his breath ghosted along the white plane. There was no way he was oblivious to how my limbs were betraying me, leaning into every touch. He had to sense the way my mind seemed to slow when he brushed his fingertips along the back of my hand.

He brushed his hand along my bad hand, and I felt a searing pain rush through the casted mess. I hissed in pain, but the sensation was gone almost as fast as it began.

"What was that?" I asked, looking down and then up to his eyes which were filled with bewilderment.

I couldn't feel pain in my hand. It felt normal. As if it had not been broken at all.