Speak up

9

Zayn's P.O.V.

Around noon, we came back from our interview.

I wondered what Brave was doing. We'd left him a note this morning and Louis had decided the borrow him his iPod once more.

"Honey, we're home!"

Louis called out, even though we all knew the teenage boy wouldn't answer. No, instead of being greeted by a voice, we were greeted by the faint smell of blood.

Harry made his way to his room and Niall and I went off to search for Brave. We started off in the kitchen, then went to the living room, then upstairs. He was nowhere to be found.

"Try to focus on the sounds, maybe we'll hear him."

Niall advised and I nodded in response.

If I listened very closely, I could here the sound of a bass. I shot Niall a knowing look and pulled him with me. The sound track led us back upstairs, all the way to the back of the house. These rooms were the furthest from the street, so you couldn't hear any cars. None of us slept here, they were basically just empty rooms. We used some of them as storage rooms.

"I think it's coming from this room."

Niall pointed out, as the bass grew louder. The rest of the instruments were audible too now and we could faintly hear the voice.

It wasn't your every day kind of music though.

I hesitantly knocked on the door, before opening it when no one answered.

At the first sight, the room was empty. The walls were painted white and the only furniture was an old closet Liam had inherited from his grandparents. It's was beautiful, made out of an expensive kind of wood, but it didn't fit our style. So instead of throwing it away, we placed it here.

Empty.

Until today that is.

Niall slowly opened the closet door, not wanting to scare Brave. His eyes softened when he noticed the younger boy.

He was sat at the bottom of the closet, curled up in a ball. His head was rested on top of his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs. His eyes were clenched shut.

I laid my hand on his shoulder in an attempt to snap him out of his daze, but he didn't respond. He was awake though.

His eyes were red, due to the tears that were prickling in his eyes. They refused to fall though, leaving Brave's eyes burning.

Not knowing what to do, I did the first thing that came to mind. I gently wrapped my arms around him, hesitating when he flinched. Though as soon as I moved my hands a bit, he leaned in to my touch.

I could feel his lips moving against my shoulder, only now realising he was softly muttering along to the song. For the first time since we entered the room I focused on the music. It seemed like some sort of metal-core.

I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone

I long for that feeling to not feel at all

The higher I get, the lower I'll sink

I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim

Those words were sang as some sort of mantra.

Niall sighed, taking Louis's iPod to turn the music off.

I lifted Brave up, Niall hot in my tracks as I carried him downstairs. He was very light, seeing as he was a bit shorter than Niall and he seemed to be hidden in my arms. We filed into the living room and took a seat on the couch. Louis and Liam sent him sympathetic glances and even Harry's eyes softened a little.

Good. They better softened.

I gently rocked Brave back and forward, pressing him closely against my chest.

"I'll make lunch, maybe he'll want some food."

Liam said, as he stood up and left the room.

I continued to comfort the teenage boy, shushing him and whispering things in his ear. He visibly relaxed as I did so.

"He can listen to some more music. He seems to really like it."

Louis suggested, grabbing his headphones from the table.

"Maybe he should listen to happier music."

Niall said hesitantly, receiving a glare from the eldest lad. Louis scrolled through the recently played songs on his iPod, trying to find the right song. The problem was that he knew none of the bands.

"Aha, Ed Sheeran."

He smiled a bit and showed me how many of Ed's song he'd played. He then stood up to put the + album in the CD-player, instead of playing the songs on his iPod.

Brave seemed to like it, though he still didn't open his eyes. He was slowly drifting away only tensing when a certain line was sang.

But it's too cold outside

For angels to fly

For angels to die