Milk Carton Kids (Larry Stylinson AU One Shot)

Title: Milk Carton Kids
Pairings: Louis Tomlinson/Harry Styles
Rating: PG-13 [for language, violence, brief torture, and character death. ]
Word Count: 15,899
Summary: "Time is now abstract, but not of the essence. Any and all meaning it once held has been destroyed, leaving Harry unsure of whether weeks have passed or months. Time seems never ending now, no one to talk to, nothing to do, no motivation for either even if they were options." Sometimes, we try to save people. Sometimes, people try to save us. And sometimes, we fail.
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own One Direction nor their characters and have no real affiliation with them. I am not getting compensation for writing this story and I do not know/necessarily believe that Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are genuinely romantically involved, blah blah blah. I'm sure you all don't need me telling you this but I feel obligated so there.
I just like to write, okay.
Special Dedications: Too many people have given me inspiration and motivation for this story to dedicate to, so I'm going to list them here: Massive thank you to mainly @ElyseWeasley, @bluegraffiti, and @TogetherWeRise! I adore you all for encouraging me to continue writing this!
Author's Note:  Okay, so this has taken me three weeks or so to write and edit and actually put together, and I'm really nervous about posting so... first, a couple of notes: 1) This story is not extreme Larry, but it can definitely be taken that way more towards the end. Zayn, Liam, and Niall will not be in this story at all, sorry. That should be the first hint that it's Larry. I adore them all, but this revolves mainly around Harry with a good side Louis.

2) Just for reference, I haven't done extensive research for this story. I've done some, yes, but it's been minimal and generally just created from my head. Though it may be unrealistic, I know it's a real, modern-day issue in the world, that actually is involved in many kidnapping cases.

3) This is pretty messed up, I'm thinking. I mean, it could be about ten times worse, but the subject matter in general and some future elements get a bit dangerous, I think. Not necessarily triggering or anything, but heavy. I will warn right now: This story does include scenes of torture, which, though brief, some people are completely uncomfortable with. Also, this story has a nongraphic, but a painful (emotionally - maybe) death involved. Read at your own risk.

➵

When Harry opens his eyes, he’s not even entirely certain that he really does. He feels his muscles move and hears his thoughts processing, thinking he’s looking at something, but it’s all just pure blackness, so he’s not sure.

Wherever he is though, Harry’s confident it’s not somewhere he’s familiar with. It’s not the dorm at his university – though he wouldn’t put it past his dorm mates to play such a stupid joke on him – nor any other place he’s lived before. He can just barely make out what feels like cold concrete beneath his hands and a soft fabric under his head that feels like a scratchy wool material, a blanket of some sort.

Wearily, Harry sits up to feel his head pound uncontrollably. The last thing he can really remember is going out to a pub with a few friends to start the school year off, and he wonders if the headache is a hangover or something else. Maybe he got drunk enough to actually wander off and land himself some place shady, like this. It’s sadly plausible.

Not feeling well enough to stand, Harry begins blindly moving forward on his hands and knees, searching for anything to help him out. It doesn’t take long for him to realize there’s nothing around on the ground, and when he checks his pockets, his phone and wallet are missing.

“Shit,” he curses lowly, considering his wallet has his driver’s license and cards, and he really doesn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of getting a new phone.