Caged (Louis' POV from Princess)

Firsts

Sorry for the wait everybody!

Please keep in mind that as I write this story, I have to take into account all of the events in Princess and Sin and make sure they all make sense and tie together perfectly. I have to do the same thing for Sin as well, so it takes a little more time to make sure I am not leaving any details out or completely changing the narrative. Even then, I still may have had a few mess ups, but I am doing my best!

Anyway, here is another update for you all! More ACTUAL Larry coming up! :)

Chapter 7:

It was awful to see someone so innocent be beaten down by everyone around them. It was even worse when there was nothing you could do to stop it because you were too much of a coward yourself.

I stood in the crowd of people behind the school building, seeing Kyle and his mates going in on Liam, who didn't do a thing to fight back. Zayn stood there, not doing anything about it. There was a deep, burning hatred within his eyes, so fiery and harsh that it made me freeze in my spot, even if every bone in my body was screaming at me to go and help Liam.

We were the same. We were both different from everyone else in the school simply because of our sexuality. We were both gay, and we were both interested in guys. The only difference was that Liam was a lot braver then I ever could be.

"You're going to hell, you fag!" One of the guys shouted, making the others laugh. Everyone in the crowd was chanting and cheering on the bullying. And my heart sank deeper and deeper as Liam simply sat there, accepting whatever came his way. Like learned helplessness.

"Zayn," I whispered to him after pushing my way through the crowd. I wasn't sure if he heard because he never gave a response. He simply remained staring straight ahead at what was happening. But... his eyes up close... they seemed blank. Completely devoid of any emotions as he watched Kyle punch Liam in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the boy. "Stop this," I found myself saying, and Zayn finally shifted his focus to me with the darkest look in his eyes.

It made me physically take a step back, lowering my head in an instant. As if I was bowing down to a king or summat.

"Class starts soon," I mumbled out as an excuse. "We can't be late again unless we want detention."

I was tense. I could still feel Zayn's eyes on me, but I didn't dare look up. Instead, I glanced over at Liam, seeing blood running down his nose.

"Do you feel sympathy for him?" Zayn suddenly questioned. And there wasn't any clear or obvious emotion in his tone. It was so casual. Like he was discussing what he would have for lunch.

"No," I immediately worded, making my facial expression turn to stone to not give myself away. My eyes were small glares. "I don't care about him one way or the other. He's... he's gay. That's wrong."

The words were bitter on my tongue, and there was a flicker of emotion behind Zayn's eyes before he was turning back to face the guys.

"Stop!" Zayn ordered, and they all froze in their spots. Liam looked helplessly over at Zayn. Their eyes met, and Zayn's jaw clenched. "Louis gets the last blow," He suddenly announced, shaking me to my core.

"What? Zayn, we only have three minutes before the bell-"

"Then make it fast."

He didn't glance my way anymore. Instead, he looked at the ground and leaned against the brick wall of the school. "Show how much you hate him. How being gay is wrong," He nearly seethed.

I wanted to shake my head, but then the other guys were supporting Zayn's idea. The crowd was silent, waiting to see what would happen. I saw Kyle look at me with a wide grin.