By My Side

Just Need To Protect Him

                                   The day had started like it normally did. The boys met up in the hotels massive dining area..a generous breakfast buffet spread out before them. Harry, Liam, Zayn and Niall..all being Alphas..piled their plates high with various delicious options. Louis..being an Omega..didn't have the same insatiable appetite for food that Alphas had, not needing as much nutrition to keep his energy levels up as his fellow bandmates. After selecting his small plate of food, Louis joined his friends at their table. He sat next to Harry as usual not liking being too far from his best friend. As he started to eat his breakfast he noticed Harry looking at him from the corner of his eye.

    "We have a busy day today Lou" said Harry. "Are you sure that's enough food to keep you going? Don't want you falling asleep in the middle of an interview love."  Louis blushed at the way Harry called him 'love' liking it but feeling bashful about it at the same time.  He raised his eyes to look at Harrys' concerned face and responded...."I'm all good Haz, got plenty to keep me going."  Harry just smiled at him knowing full well that if Louis did happen to fall asleep during the interview, he would be there to wake him up. 

          The day had been running smoothly, they'd sat through three interviews so far and the interviewers and been fairly nice Betas. The final interview of the day was with someone new though. His name was Nick Grimshaw and he was an Alpha with the reputation of being rather intrusive when it came to questioning the celebrities he was hosting.  It had started off pretty casually...the usual questions about their upcoming tour dates and a few personal questions though nothing too intimate.  Louis was sitting in between Harry and Liam which was normal. Zayn and Niall may be Alphas but Harry and Liam were ultimately the strongest of the quartet so placing Louis between the pair was the wise decision. 

      Harry was feeling a little agitated though.  It hadn't escaped his attention that Nick had been paying extra attention to Louis during the interview,  asking him some questions that Harry felt were very inappropriate and the more the Alpha interviewer directed his microphone towards Louis, the more Harry felt like grabbing Nick by the throat and telling him to back the hell off. He kept looking towards Louis to see how he was reacting to the persistent Alpha. Louis looked a bit uncomfortable..especially when Nick pressed him about whether he was looking for a mate or not.  The question made the hairs bristle on Harrys' neck. 

   "I don't think that's really anyones' business but Louis," he said.  Nick raised his eyebrows at Harrys response.  "Well," he replied, "I wasn't asking you Harry. I was asking Louis because in my opinion, an Omega as pretty as he is shouldn't  be left unmated. It's a shame that he hasn't been snapped up by a strong Alpha by now instead of being left alone like he is.  He really needs to be mated to someone soon before the choice is taken from him don't you boys agree?"  The boys all looked at Louis, wanting to gauge his reaction to the statement before offering any response to Nick. Louis face had remained neutral throughout most of the interview but after what Nick had just said he couldn't help but shrink into himself at the thought of being made to submit to some unfamiliar Alpha who wanted to mate him. He felt himself lean into Harrys side, nestling his face into his shoulder trying to avoid the microphone that Nick was now shoving into his face.

     Thankfully, Harry leaned forward and grabbed the microphone from Nick, an angry look on his face.  "That's not something Louis needs to be worrying about while we're around" he said.  "We're very aware that he needs looking after and he's always either with one or more of us or with security, so any Alpha who even thinks about getting close to Louis needs to remember to keep his hands to himself or he will regret it!"  Harry handed the microphone back to Nick and placed his arm over Louis shoulder, drawing him in as close as possible to make him feel protected.  

   "Are you okay Louis?" asked Zayn after the interview ended.  Louis nodded his head with a little smile on his face.  "I'm all good guys. Thanks for stepping in though, those questions were starting to make me feel a bit uncomfortable."  Niall slung his arm over Louis shoulder and gave him a tight squeeze. "No worries Lou," he said. "You know we got you..Nick was being a dick asking you questions like that."  The boys all nodded their heads in agreement. Just because Louis was an Omega doesn't mean he should have to be subjected to being questioned about his mating status or to be reminded that he was vulnerable to the unwanted attentions of some Alpha he didn't know.

  Louis smiled at his friends. "I'm fine guys thanks."  They started getting ready to leave the studio and head back to the hotel. Louis looked around and spotted the sign for the bathroom and headed towards it.  "Don't be long Louis," Harry said. "We're leaving soon okay?"  Louis nodded in his direction and walked into the bathroom to relieve himself.  After he was done he washed his hands and turned to walk out the door.  Much to his surprise, he walked straight into Nick Grimshaw. He hadn't even heard Nick enter the bathroom so his presence in front of him made him jump. "Sorry about that." he said.  Nick reached out and put both his hands around Louis waist, pulling him in towards his body in a very possessive manner. "Well," he said, "alone at last sweetheart."