Not A Word

Chapter Three

Liam

    I was being....nice to her. I killed me with every word that left my mouth. None of them were insults and it just felt wrong. The lads and I had never been nice to her and to have to do it now physically hurt me. Now I was going to have to spend an unknown amount of time around her to do some dumb science project?

    I groaned as I waited outside of Biology for the lads to emerge. Finally Zayn walked out with the others in tow. He patted me on the back, "Great job in there man. I think she's actually starting to believe that you're done with us." He said with one of his rare smiles. 

    I rolled my eyes, "How much longer do I have to do this Zayn? Being nice to her is killing me. All she is a slut and a bitch. I don't want to be around her and have to be nice to at the same damn time." I sneered.

    Zayn crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me, "You've only just begun Liam. I gave you this assignment because I knew you could handle it. Don't fail me. She has to believe that you truly hate us. By the way I didn't hit you too hard in there did I?"

    I shrugged, "Nah. You know me. I've always been able to take a punch." I sighed. My next class was Government. I had it with Tara and not with the other lads besides Niall. "I better get going. We can't really be seen talking together if this plan is going to work." I said and walked toward my next class.

    What Zayn said made sense. I couldn't stop now. That would seem too suspicious. She had to get comfortable around me and trust me before we took her down. I didn't know how I was going to get through this though. Just thinking about sitting next to her in my next class and having to speak softly and nicely to her made my stomach twist in knots. Bile rose in the throat and I swallowed it back down. No,  I would do this. 

    I thought back to how Tara described what we did to her. She described as something terrible, as if she didn't know she deserved it. How could she not though, out of anyone she of all people deserved it the most.

    As I walked I glared at the linoleum. Nobody knew why though, she probably didn't either. It was probably better that way.

Tara

    At the end of the school day I slowly gathered my books at my locker. Maybe if I was slow enough Liam would just forget about me and go home. I had only been at my locker for a few minutes when I got the sense of being watched. I slowed my movements of packing and grabbed the mirror at the bottom of my locker. When I opened it and angled it to see behind me I saw them. 

    Zayn, Louis, Niall, and Harry were leaning against the wall opposite my locker seemingly waiting for me. I knew the moment I stood up I would be ambushed but I did have an upperhand. They were expecting this to be a surprise attack but I knew they were there and they were down a person. Unfortunately that person was Liam. He was never a strong fighter and just kept to throwing in kicks and punches through everyone else's. 

    I finished packing my books and took a deep breath. This is what it comes down to everyday. I get through a school day relatively well just to be beaten afterwards. I stood up and slammed my locker closed. Not a second later I was shoved against the wall of lockers, my face slammed into them and a hard body pressed up against my back.

    Tears pricked the back of my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I would not give them the pleasure of knowing that the pain they caused influenced me. I kicked my foot up behind me thinking that if I could only incapacitate whoever was holding me I had a chance of getting away and making it to a safe place. 

    My foot skimmed over the inside of his thigh before falling back to the ground. I had missed and he knew it. I was pushed more harshly into the lockers and felt skin break open on my forehead near my temple. Now I was going to have to explain that to my parents, not that they would care. 

    "You bitch!" Louis' voice seethed in my ear. "You tried to kick me in the balls. Well you're going to pay for that you little blonde whore."

    Before I knew what was happening I was pulled away from the locker and turned to face the other three boys. My knees were kicked in forcing me to fall down on them. All of my major body parts were now exposed and within close proximity to their feet. I looked down at the ground, not wanting to look up at any of their smirking expressions. 

    "What is it I heard you tried to do to my mate you little whore?" Zayn growled as his foot made contact with my ribs. 

    Talking would only make things worse for me right now but I had been to where these beating could take me and that was preferable to going home. "I tried to kick him in his non-existent balls." I sneered back. "He doesn't have any though so I doubt it would have worked."

    A hand shot out and slapped me across my face. "I should warn you not to talk about us like that girl." Harry's voice followed the sting of the slap.

    "I should warn you not to fuck with me Styles." I managed to get out through the pain.

    Zayn's smirking face appeared in my vision, "Oh really? And what are you going to do if we don't stop whore? Are you going to cry?" he taunted.

    I spit in his face which earned me a slap from him and a kick to the ribs from Harry or Niall. "You're going to regret that." He stood back up and took a step back. "Get her." Zayn said simply and before I knew it shoes were smashing into my face, arms, abdomen, and chest. 

    A well placed kick hit me straight in the nose and I heard a sickening snap. Warmth streamed down my and I realized that it was blood flowing from my nose. My hand was stomped on a knee was thrust into my back. Pain radiated throughout my entire body and I lost the strength to fight back. Eventually I just closed my eyes and waited for it to be over.

    It seemed like hours later before the additions to my pain finally ceased. I heard them laughing and joking as they walked away from where I lay on cold linoleum floor. I couldn't move, I could barely breath. I knew my nose was broken and I had the feeling that several other bones were as well. Did they care though? No, not all. All they cared about was hurting me. 

    Finally the pain became too much for my body to bear and I felt my consiousness slipping away. As the darkness began blinding me and pulling me into a deep abyss I heard a soft voice whisper in my ear, "Don't worry Tara. I'm here. I'll protect you." The voice was familiar but the pain clouded my ability to think clearly. Finally the darkness won and I was out. 

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    I felt myself come to but every part of me still hurt. I couldn't move a single muscle on my body. There was nothing I could do. I felt paralyzed and it scared the shit out of me. Finally my eyelids decided to cooperate and slowly parted from each other. 

    As I looked around I saw pale green walls that reminded me of the color of medow grass. It was a comforting color that reminded me of my old home back in Dublin. I thought for a moment before I remembered that no rooms in the school or my house had green walls. Where was I then? 

    I couldn't move my head to look around but from what I could see there was a window to my left that looked out on a deserted street. Outside it was dark, with only streetlights to illuminate the black of the night. In front on me was a dresser littered with pictures. Some of them had people I recognized from school as belonging to the 'popular' crowd. In others were regular school photos of a boy growing from a child to a teenager. As my eyes skimmed over him he grew into a boy a recognized. 

    It couldn't be though. He didn't know me and his brother hated me. Besides he graduated last year, the year of my freshman year. A figure came into my vision and my doubts were nullified. Standing in front of me at that moment was Niall's older brother Greg.