these walls are paper thin- l.s

1.

Louis gasped as he sat up in bed, with sweat pouring down his face and the back of his neck, and throat scratchy and dry. He sighed, closing his eyes and running a hand through his hair, shaking his head, as if to shake off the lingering memories of the nightmare he had awoke from. He jumped again as he heard the gruff holler of his step father from downstairs, telling him to 'hurry his ass up and get downstairs'. Great, from one nightmare into the next.

He quickly scrambled out of bed,  almost falling as the sheets got tangled in his legs, and made his way to the bathroom. He quickly brushed his teeth and splashed cold water on his face, trying to wake himself up. He sighed as he heard a shout of his name from downstairs again, and quickly pulled on an old blue hoodie, with his signature black skinny jeans and vans.

He grabbed his bag and made his way downstairs, entering the kitchen to see his stepdad at the table, jaw clenched. He avoided his eyes, and quickly started to make his cereal, trying to ignore the glare he could feel boring into his head.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the air as Louis finished making his cereal and quickly started shoving it into his face, desperate to get out as soon as he could.

He jumped as he heard the stern voice of his stepdad behind him.

"Come home straight after school today, there's no food in the fridge, so make yourself useful and get some groceries for this house.", he snapped.

Louis turned around slowly, and gulped as he spoke, 

"I have football practice today, I-I cant. ill get them after, I promise."

He gasped as the chair was suddenly screeched backwards, and Ben got out of it, fists clenched and face red. He walked until he was right into louis' space, and spoke through clenched teeth,

"I do not care what plans you have, this is my fucking house, and what I saw goes here. You're as it is a fucking burden, so be of some use for once. Is that understood?"

Louis felt tears prickling his eyes, even after so much time, the insults still hurt like hell. But he couldn't cry, not here, not now.

"I said, is that understood.", Ben gritted out, getting even more into his space, and snaking a hand behind his head to harshly pull at his hair.

Louis yelped at the sharp sting, and nodded frantically, only to cry out again as his hair was pulled more harshly.

"Yes... yes, sir."

He was finally let go, as his stepdad nodded. He quickly grabbed his things and ran out of the house, not being able to contain his tears any longer, and sobbed the whole way as he ran to the bus stop.

Ever since his mum had left 2 years ago, his step father's only solace seemed to be his bottles and bottles of alcohol and making Louis' life hell. He blamed Louis for his mum leaving, and honestly, Louis couldn't disagree. I mean, he surely must've been a horrible son, that his mum couldn't even bear to stay with him any longer. So he took the words, and the beatings, every single day, because he knew he deserved it.

Louis wiped his tears as he neared the bus stop, the bus not having arrived yet. He saw a familiar head of raven hair, and quickly wiped his face, so as not to look like he was crying.

The boy turned around as he heard louis' footsteps approach, and a grin made his way into his face, only to be replaced by a worried expression.

"Louis? what happened?", Zayn asked worriedly, and it hurt louis to see his friend so concerned. he didn't deserve that. Still, he painted a smile on his face.

"What? Nothing.", he said, cringing internally as his voice cracked.

"Louis.",  came the reproachful tone of his friend, and louis slowly turned to look at his eyes, only to look down at his feet again.

"What did he do?", Zayn asked, voice gentle. He was the only one who knew of what went on in Louis' house, being his closest (and only) friend. Still, he tried to help in any way he could. sharing his lunch with Louis when he hadn't eaten in 2 days, and held him when he felt he might break. It made his absolutely furious to think how someone could do something like this so such a sweet person as Louis, and he would go to any lengths to protect him.

Louis just shook his head, his gaze downward, as his bottom lip trembled. He heard Zayn sigh beside him, and felt two strong arms around him, and he was pulled into a hard chest. He couldn't stop a sob from escaping his throat, and immediately bit his lip to stop more from spilling. He just didn't understand why the harsh words still hurt, even after all this time. he felt stupid, cause his stepdad hadn't even done much, but here he was, crying like a little girl in his best friend's arms. He truly was pathetic.

Zayn just held him, and when the bus arrived, he held him the whole ride to the school. He walked louis to his locker, and then to his first class, leaving him with another hug and a kiss to the forehead, promising to meet him after school. Louis watched as he left, and took a deep breath as he pushed open the door to the class, not at all excited for another long, boring day.