Chapter Text
Chapter 2: The Story….
NO P.O.V
“I was still a chubby little kid when it happened. I was still being bullied and I still had no friends but I did have a sanctuary, somewhere I could go when it all became too much, I also had someone to talk to and someone who understood what I was going through because she’d been through the exact same thing when she was at school,” He cleared his throat, “So whenever I felt overwhelmed or like I really couldn't take it anymore or if I was running away from another beating I would head over to the library where she would let me sit in the staff only area so my bullies wouldn't be able to find me if they ever came looking for me in there.”
“Are you absolutely positive about this?” His younger cousin asked worrying his bottom lip, “We know how you've buried and locked all of these memories away in a tiny box at the back of your mind and how you’d never thought that you’d have to talk about it again.”
“Yeah I’m sure. I've already started now anyway, the memories are already beginning to float to the surface,” He smiled warmly at his younger cousin who’d always been a great help to him, “That day I stayed late because earlier in the day when I’d wondered in there she’d asked me to help her stock the shelves with the new delivery the school had gotten that day. Just before I left the library for class I told her that I would be back after school to help her. If I knew what her plan really was I would have told her that I wasn't going to help and stayed as far away from that place as possible but I didn't know what she was planning so I went to the library after school and I placed the books on the correct shelves and by the time I was finished it was pretty late to still be at school, I think it was around five.”
“Wouldn't your Mum have been worried about you?” Ella asked.
“Not at first because after school I either went home or I went to my Uncle’s place without saying which one I’d be at so she wasn't worried at that point, she just thought I was at my Uncle’s again,” He explained, “Anyway the next thing I know is that she’s trying to kiss me.”
“What did you do?” Rylan questioned in the soft tone of voice he normally only used with Ella, George and James.
“I pushed her away, told her that it was wrong and that I didn’t want her like that. I told her that she was my friend and I told her that I trusted her and she was a very beautiful woman but I didn't want her like that. She said…. She said,” He choked on air and blinked the tears away, “She said that I was a teenage boy and every teenage boy wants any type of woman that way. I tried to explain to her that I really didn't but she wouldn't listen to me. She kissed me again and I didn’t…. couldn’t respond. I was frozen in shock, I finally snapped out of my frozen shocked state when she took a hold of my shirt and pulled it off frozen body. I did try to fight back when she started to unbuckle my belt but she was so much stronger than me from all of her martial arts and self-defense classes she’d taken over the years because of her own bullying. I’m guessing that you can guess what happened next and I don’t have to explain that part?”
Nods went around the room while everyone tried to hide their teary eyes.
“To cut an even longer story short I told my Mum everything and she made me go to the police. When they questioned her she denied everything but it turns out that she had forgotten about the security cameras that are placed in the library. There was no way she could plead guilty after they found and watched the footage and about a month later I found out that she was pregnant. That is when it hit me, it hit me that it had actually happened to me and that I could no longer bury my head in the sand and pretend that it had never happened because here was my proof. I uh….” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “I kind of lost it after that. I broke down. I wouldn’t eat, I wouldn’t talk, I wouldn’t get out of bed, I wouldn’t even sleep. I just couldn’t handle it and after about two weeks of that my Mum had had enough and she got in contact with my cousin and she asked him if he could talk to Simon and see if I could stay with him and his band mates in the contestants house. I think that she had the idea that a new setting and new people would help me.”
He looked at his younger cousin pleadingly and his younger cousin nodded in understanding.
“Once I’d explained the situation to Simon he didn’t hesitate to pay for him to get there as soon as possible. He met the other lads just about straight away and they practically fell in love with him as soon as they met him and they wouldn’t hesitate to do anything he asked. He had them wrapped right around his little finger right from the start,” His younger cousin teased his own pouting band mates, “We’d always been as close as brothers but during that time we became even closer and he became really close with my band mates.”
“So you all love him like a brother?” Brooklyn asked.
“Yeah, we’ve always said that he’s our secret sixth member,” One of his younger cousin’s band mates answered, “We had actually started to talk about adding him to the band if he didn’t start to pursue his dream soon.”
“And we will take him from this band and add him to ours if you upset him or if he doesn’t want to be a part of your band anymore,” Another one threatened.
He whined at the overprotectiveness in that statement while his own band mates nodded with wide scared eyes.
“Just so you all know I’m Bi, always have been. I’m telling you because I know that some of you have been wondering,” He commented with a pointed look at Rylan who shrugged innocently, “But I tend to lean more towards guys because of what happened, I just haven’t really been able to trust a woman enough to get intimate with them after what happened.”
“Oh babe,” Ella cried throwing herself into his arms and almost knocking them both over.
“Oh beautiful Ella,” He cooed, “Please don’t cry. It would make me incredibly happy if you were happy and smiling that smile that brightens up all of our days.”
Ella sniffled and nodded tearfully into his neck.
“I’m sorry to interrupt but we have to go back on TV screens in a second,” Scott apologised, “But you don’t have to if you don’t want to, we understand.”
He smiled thankfully at the behind the scenes worker.
“Before we get back to work will everyone pleased promise that this won’t get leaked at all?” He asked.
“Promise,” Everyone chorused before leaving to get back to work.
*Once most of them except the 1D boys had left the room*
“I’m so proud of you,” His younger cousin spoke up once everyone but the One Direction boys had left.
“We all are,” The puppy dog eyed one spoke, “We always are no matter what and we really do love you like a brother.”
“Aw thanks guys,” He sniffled, “It really does mean a lot coming from you all because you’ve been there through the nightmares, through the flashbacks and everything else and I really want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for it all, there is absolutely no way that I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
“You really don’t need to thank us,” The forever young Peter Pan of the group spoke up, “You know that we would do it all over again in a second for you. You are one of us no matter what and don’t you ever forget it.”
He nodded and smiled at the five boys who had become his family in all but blood during a difficult time in his life.
“Group hug!” The one who is easy to make laugh called out.
The five other boys looked at him and couldn’t resist the big blue eyes looking at them with a pleading look and all six of them soon came together in a group hug.
*After the show in the hotel with the UJ boys*
“Why didn’t you ever tell us?” One of his own band mates asked sadly once they were in the safety of their hotel room.
“Don’t you trust us?” Another one of them asked.
“Guys let him speak,” The other commanded, “I’m sure that he has a perfectly good explanation on why he has kept such a big secret from us.”
“I am really sorry that I didn’t tell you boys sooner,” He apologised, “But you have to try to understand that I normally lock those memories up in a teeny tiny box and try to forget about them. It’s painful to even think about let alone relive. I’ve already spent ages sobbing my heart out on my cousin’s and his band mates shoulders because of all of the memories explaining about my daughter has brought up.”
The suspicious looks on his band mates faces softened.
“We’re sorry,” They spoke as one, “We didn’t realise.”
“How can we make it up to you?” One of them asked.
“Just please don’t treat me any differently,” He requested, “That’s something that I’ve never wanted. I had enough of that at school once everyone found out what had happened.”
His band mates nodded in agreement and closed around him in a group hug.
“We really really love you,” They chorused.
“I really really love you guys too,” He smiled.
*In the morning*
He wakes up feeling warmer than when he went to sleep the night before and when he tries to wiggle out of some of the covers that had wrapped around his body during his sleep he hears multiple groans around him. He opens his eyes to find his three best friends and band mates squished in his bed but mostly draped all over him.
“Guys what are you doing?” He groaned.
“Nothing,” They mumbled avoiding his eyes.
“Aw you guys,” He cooed, “Are you trying to protect me?”
“No,” One mutters.
“Of course we’re not,” Another grumbles.
“Yes,” The last one answers sleepily, “We wanted to make sure that you were ok and safe and that no one would be able to get to you in the middle of the night without us knowing about it and waking up.”
The other two groaned as they grabbed pillows and hit the one who had spoken with the pillows repeatedly.
“Hey, ow, HEY,” The one getting attacked by pillows whined, “Why are you hitting me?”
“Think about what you said,” One explained.
“Ohhh,” The one still getting attacked by pillows realised, “I wasn’t supposed to tell him.”
“Got it in one Einstein,” The other replied still attacking with the pillow.
“It is way too early for this,” He grumbled, “Shut up and stop it so we can go back to sleep.”
“Aye aye captain,” They saluted jokingly.
He glared at them and seeing their grinning faces he rolled his eyes and rolled over to go back to sleep with a smile on his face.
The three other boys smiled at each other happily behind his back knowing that they’d managed to lift his spirits and make him smile.