Take Me Home

Chapter Five

"Should I go and get the new boy?" Louis asked, when Liam was setting up the dinner table. Zayn had decided to stick around till late since he was working a night shift that night and didn't need to leave until around ten o'clock.

Niall had been shut in the bathroom for almost two hours, and even though there was no lock on the door, Liam and Zayn had told everyone to give him some time. Liam had tried to coax him out of his own accord but the boy had simply yelled at him to go away, and so Liam had instructed the rest of them to use the other bathrooms in the home.

They had briefly explained to the other five boys afterwards that Niall was bound to be overwhelmed given the fact that he had never even lived inside a house before. Zayn could tell that the way the boy was currently acting wasn't a true image of his character. He was afraid and out of his depth, and he clearly had never had somebody whose emotions he could mirror in a healthy way.

Liam sighed, setting down the cutlery at each individual place. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Louis," he said to the boy who was still wearing his school uniform with his red jumper tied around his waist instead.

Zayn perked up at that as he brought in the large bowl of pasta from the kitchen and set it in the centre of the table.

"Why not? He'll be okay, Li," he stated, taking the shorter man by surprise with the name. Even though they had hung out twice in the past few days around at his new house with a couple beers, he hadn't heard the name said like that since before Michael. He shook the memory from his head and rested his hands on the back of one of the chairs.

"Maybe we were wrong to bring him here, Zayn. He's troubled and -"

Surprisingly, it was Louis who argued against that.

"No! He's nice, I know he is, Liam! He's just littler than me and Harry and you and Zayn and he's scared! I was scared when I got here and you never got rid of me. I still get scared sometimes now, when it's dark or when Liam isn't here to say goodnight and tuck me in. Does that mean you're gonna throw me out too?" the seven year old stated, crossing his arms over his chest tightly and looking more serious than anyone had ever seen him look.

Liam and Zayn were surprised by the sudden outburst from the boy who was usually so quiet and kind spoken.

Harry, who was bringing in the garlic bread, was a different story. He quickly set down the plate and clapped his hands in a round of applause for the boy he thought of as a little brother. Louis couldn't help but let a smile grow on his face.

"He's got a good point. Niall's just a kid, and you said so yourself that this is all new to him. If you give up on him now then he'll never have a chance to get used to anything. He'll be thrown into a new place all over again and he'll always scared. You never gave up on me when I woke up screaming every night, and you never gave up on Louis when he never used to speak to anyone for days on end. Now look at us."

The two men stood in stunned silence for a few moments, feeling oddly proud of the two boys that they had watched grow.

Zayn was the first to grin. "Alright, I think Liam gets it, boys. And yes, look at you two. Being little bossy boots'."

Harry rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. Louis blushed and grinned.

"So can I go and tell Niall that dinner is ready?" the seven year old asked, sounding hopeful.

Liam smiled. "Alright, go on then. But Harry, go with him," he said.

Harry groaned as if it was the most difficult thing to be asked to do in the world. "Why?"

"Because he might still be a little frustrated, and you're good with calming down the little ones. If he yells at Lou, you'll be there to calm him down."