these walls are paper thin- l.s

2.

!tw! abuse

louis sighed as he made his way towards his locker, weaving between the jostling bodies in the hallway. it was the last period, and he was just about ready to leave. he jumped as he suddenly felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, and a familiar, cheery voice was heard.

"alright, mate?", liam, the captain of the football team, asked him, grinning widely, hand squeezing his shoulder lightly.

louis gave him a smile and greeted him. liam was probably one of the few people besides zayn who held a liking towards louis. he knew about his situation in the school, and how some seniors used to bully him. he had even given them a talking to when he found louis on the bathroom floor the previous year, bloody and bruised with four guys standing above him, and since then they had become good friends, and liam was very protective of him. however, according to him the bullying had stopped after that, but little did he know it still continued, but they still made sure to steer clear of him. 

"you coming for the practice today, right?, he asked, as they reached louis' locker, and he took out his books.

louis stiffened, not having thought up an excuse to tell liam yet.

"oh-um, yeah i cant today. my dad is working late today, so i have to be home early", he said, the lie slipping out easily, his guilt intensifying when the grin on liam's face faded, only to be replaced by a disappointed frown.

"oh well, okay...", he said clearly disappointed.

before louis could even say anything, the bell rang, and liam bid him a hasty goodbye, and rushed away, and louis felt tears well in his eyes, watching his retreating back. honestly, why did his stepdad have to ruin every aspect of him life.

he quickly wiped his eyes as he quickly slammed his locker shut and started to speed walk towards his next class. he yelped as the door to the boys' restroom suddenly opened, and he was dragged in.

he felt himself being pushed to the floor, and his books scattered all around. he looked up, eyes wide, only to be met with his worst nightmare. jeremy, with his gang.

although no one at school, except for liam and zayn was particularity fond of louis, jeremy and his gang seemed to have a special hate for him. their life goal seemed to be to make louis' life a living hell, which unfortunately they were quite good at.

"well well well, what do we have here?", jeremy drawled out, crouching down beside louis, and smirking evilly.

"damn fatso, did you actually gain a few pounds over the weekend? its seriously a miracle your fat ass even fits in those jeans anymore.", he sneered, as his goons snickered behind him.

louis closed his eyes and tried to scoot as far back as he could, and whimpered when his back hit the wall. 

"aw, trying to run, pig?", jeremy sneered as he walked closer to louis, until he was right in front of him. still, louis kept his eyes shut, not wanting to face the nightmare in front of him.

"look at me when im talking to you, fag.", jeremy spat in his face. louis filched from the slur, and slowly opened his eyes. he had no idea how jeremy even knew he was gay, or if he even knew at all, and just wanted to torment him.

we watched as jeremy smirked at him, and before louis could say anything, he landed a hard punch in his face. louis' face fell to the side, but before he could recover, he was being picked up by his collar, and slammed against the wall, he whimpered when jeremy got into his face again, his goons closing into him from behind.

"dont you get it louis? no one wants you. you're just a fat, ugly, pathetic loser whos own mom didn't care enough to stick around.", he sneered, pushing him more into the wall.

louis blinked his eyes, trying to keep his tears at bay, he could not cry right now. he yelped as he was suddenly dropped, and jeremy stepped away from him.

"take him.", was all he said as the goons stepped menacingly towards louis, and then it was just a blur of punches, kicks, and insults. he remembered someone covering his mouth so as to muffle his screams. it wasn't needed though. louis had learnt not to scream. no one was coming to save him anyway.

when it was finally over and they walked away with satisfied smirks on their faces, louis let the tears finally flow. he sat up, wincing from the pain all over his body, and pulled his knees up to his chest. a broken cry escaped his throat, and soon more were spilling, until he was full on sobbing.

he sat there until his eyes dried, but the weight in his heart just wouldn't lessen. finally, he picked himself up with some difficulty, and winced as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he looked like a mess, bruises all over his face, and probably under his clothes. he sighed. there was no way he could hide this from zayn and liam. 

he started limping outside, and realized that last period was almost over. no point going to class now. he started to make his way outside the school, not wanting to face zayn or liam. he started walking towards the local store, still having to get groceries. the walk that usually took about ten minutes took him a half hour, since he had to stop and rest every couple minutes.

he finally reached it, and shopped for all needed, as quickly as he could. yet when he stepped through the front door about an hour later, he was met with a furious looking ben, and knew he was in deep, deep trouble.

"you're late.", said his stepdad, voice eerily calm. louis just turned his face away, and walked towards the kitchen, placing the bags down, ben following close behind.

"i-i got caught up in something, im sorry.", louis said, not turning around to face him.

"what did i say about being late, louis.", he said, voice still calm, although louis knew it was the calm before the storm. he kept quiet, not wanting to say something wrong.

ben suddenly grabbed his shoulder and turned him around harshly, peering into his face, probably at the blooming bruises.

"what the fuck they do to you? beat you up? like a fucking pussy?", he scoffed, distracted for a second from the fact that louis was late, "of course they did. bet you didnt even fight back, huh?"

louis just clenched his fists and kept quiet.

"cant fight, cant even defend yourself, like a man. honestly, im not even sure you are a man.", he kept going, each word hitting louis like a knife being stabbed into his chest, over and over.

before he could say or do something irrational, he turned around and started walking towards his room.

"dont you walk away from me, young man. im not done with you.", came a harsh shout from behind him. he ignored it, though, and kept walking.

suddenly, he was yanked back by his hair, and he gasped as his head hit the edge of the table, and sharp pain shot through his skull. he fell with a thud, as ben stepped in from on him. he tutted.

"thats what you get for fucking ignoring me, you little shit. if i ever catch you being late again, or ignoring me, trust me youll end with far worse than this.", with that, he turned on his heel, grabbed a beer, and walked out.

louis sat there for god knows how long. he knew he was bleeding, yet couldn't care enough to pull himself up and check out the wound. 

and when his stepdad walked in again a few hours later to order takeout, he simply stepped over him, not even bothering to check if he was alive or dead. and that hurt louis more than any amount of beating could.