Escapade - Larry Stylinson (Re-write)

XXX - My Fair Lady

"People would run from Harry if they knew him like I do. They'd hear his name and run as get away as they could from the sound of it. I know that he's strange, that he's someone you should never meet in your lifetime; but I have met him. I've not run from him. So, now I believe in fate. I'm his, forever."

*

Liam's face dropped into an expression of guilt once more. This time, it was mixed with something that Louis could only guess as being the serenity of relief. Relief, perhaps, upon hearing that Louis knew exactly what he was getting with Harry—that while he was dangerously enamoured, he'd never been blinded by love.

"Do you trust him?" Liam asked.
"No." Louis replied.
Liam's eyebrows raised slightly, "Why not?"
"Because it hurts to trust. I'm not getting hurt again."

In the dark bedroom, there was a glint of vicious delight in Louis' eyes. Delight born from the knowledge that he was always a step ahead of the person he was speaking to. It was a foreign look that Liam looked at, but one he'd seen many times on Harry's own face. Louis had caught the infectious delight, and there was no taking it away from him.

"I trust the parts that Harry's truthful about—" Louis said, "his feelings for me, for those he cares about; how he'd go to the world's end to keep me safe. I'd lean into a gun if he held it at my heart. But, I'd be wrong to trust his words. Wrong to trust his thoughts, his decisions, and whether his cruelty has a limit. There are more lies than truth in him. I'm completely and utterly obsessed."

Louis shifted, leaning back on his hands, "What do you know about Diana?"

The topic of conversation changed so quickly that Liam had to pause for a moment while his brain caught up,

"Not much." He said, "She's nineteen. Green eyes, black hair. About five foot four. Turns up once in a blue moon. She's the jealous type.. Really hates Zayn."

"Do you know about her family life?"
"Not really. She avoids them. Harry's the one she's closest to, and they've got a rocky relationship."

"What are they like together?"

"Like siblings but to their intensity. You and I bicker a lot. You annoy me and I shout at you. I annoy you and get yelled at by everyone. We both storm off and by the time we see each other again, we're back to normal."

"Yeah."

"Well, they're the same, but more. I've seen them punch, hit, and abuse one another to the extent of broken bones. In the same hour, I've seen them sit together in intimacy and chat about whatever comforts them. Diana's faithful to Harry. He's her only leader."

"And their mum? Does Diana ever see her?"
"No. Told me that she doesn't get along with her."

Louis hummed approvingly, "They're a whole family of liars."

"How so?" Liam asked, leaning back against the bed and putting his hands in his pockets.

"A mum who lost one of her daughters wouldn't let the other one just wander off and go missing. Either the mother's ignorant to where her daughter is—which, based on what I just said, makes no sense—or she's covering up the truth by lying. She feeds those in the village another story than what she knows. A nicer one."

"Why would she lie?"

"Why wouldn't she? There were four children in that house. One murdered his teacher and classmate, one had fits of hysteria, the other talked like the devil was in her. Their mother had one child worth boasting about, and that one got killed by the others. Children like that won't magically turn into full-functioning, healthy adults. She lies out of shame. She's ashamed of her children."