Stockholm Syndrome - A Harry Styles Fic

Harry watched the news with unblinking eyes.

“Niall didn’t kill Alan! He wouldn’t hurt anyone!” Harry yelled when the news ended and reported all they could on the story at that moment.

“Harry, calm down-I’m sure once the media gets more information they’ll tell us. For right now how about a cup of tea and something to eat?” Sorrow smiled, trying to get his attention focused somewhere else.

“Are my friends ok? They didn’t mention them, were they at the bar?” Harry continued on, gesturing out at the TV helplessly.

William gently grabbed Harry’s wrist and put it down to his lap with a sigh.

“We don’t know any more than you do, man. I’m sorry, I really am. We’re not going to know more until the eleven o’clock news and by that time you’ll be back in the basement.”

Harry’s face fell.

Sorrow cleared her throat and left the room, the sobering feeling in the air was heavy but nothing else could be argued.

“What if you tied me up?” Harry asked, not really believing the words were coming out his mouth.

William opened his mouth to reply but Harry quickly explained himself.

“I mean, if it’s the only way for you to trust me enough to come out here and watch the news. Like I told Sorrow, I can barely stand to balance so trying to escape isn’t a possibility, besides, we’re a hundred miles from civilization I wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m asking for this one thing and by God’s word I will not ask for anything else-let me have this as my one true request. Please?” Harry begged, his voice straining to keep calm.

William closed his eyes, he knew he was going to regret it. It always started off as one request and ended up being five.

“If…IF, I consider this you will promise to stop asking for impossible requests? I know God’s word is good but what good is yours when you always seem to find something else to complain about?”

“My word is worth my life, kill me if I should go back on it. Bloody hell, kill me after the eleven o’clock news if it makes you feel at all better just-just allow me to see if my friends are ok. That’s all I ask of you and you have my word I will never complain to you again-no matter what.” Harry promised, sticking his hand out for William to shake.

William stared at it, shaking it slowly.

“Alright, then we have an accord.” William agreed.

Harry felt a bit of triumph shoot through him, hopeful his friends were ok but also very anxious considering eleven o’clock wasn’t for another good eleven hours.

“We’re running short on zip ties, so I won’t tie you up but if you try anything-and I mean anything, you’re going to wish you hadn’t.” William warned, watching the excitement in Harry’s eyes dim a little.

“I’m not going to try anything, I just want to see if my friends are ok.” Harry reassured softly, leaning back against the couch-shooting up a second later when something sharp dug into his back.

“There’s something behind me, poking me in the back-do I have your permission to remove it so I can sit back?” Harry asked cautiously, seeing William reach behind him and pull up a hard covered book, tossing it in the singer’s lap.

“It’s a book,” William chuckled, standing up to go to the kitchen. “You want a beer?”

Harry closed his eyes, imagining the last time he had a beer.

“That would be great, thanks.” Harry gulped, his mouth watering at the thought.

William nodded and went to fetch a few beers while Harry looked down to his lap at the book, reading its title and gingerly opening the binder to the first page.

“Black Ice, by Becca Fitzpatrick.” Harry read aloud, turning to the first page.

The prologue caught his attention right away, his heart pounding as he began to read. In fact, he got so into it he jumped when William put the cold beer bottle in front of his face.

“Relax, its beer not a grenade.” William laughed, setting them on the coffee table and taking a seat next to Harry again, making a face at the TV.

Harry looked up in time to see the start of Jerry Springer and made the same disgusted face, he hated that show with a passion. Nothing but foul-mouthed welfare grabbing trailer trash that would put rednecks to shame.

“Any good quality TV?” Harry asked, shutting the book and setting it to the side, picking his beer up instead and taking a long gulp.

“Not way out here, we only get one station and that is luckily the news station. Most days we watch DVD’s. I’m fixing to watch one right now.” William explained, holding up the DVD case still in plastic wrap.

“The Giver,” Harry read, reaching out to read the back before giving it back. “Interesting synthesis.” He concluded.

“You should read the book, the author is amazing.” Sorrow said, walking out with two hot plates and setting them on the coffee table, going back to get hers.

William took a glance over Harry in a swift and brief sweep, his lips thinning in a frown.

“Harry? I’m going to check your wounds and change your foot bandage from the wet one, it looks to need it. I also have to make sure there’s no infection since you do not stay in the most sanitary conditions. Lastly, I need to see about moving you somewhere else in a weeks’ time as the temperature is supposed to drop well below a negative freeze and the basement is not well insulated-which, you probably already know.”

Harry nodded, unsure how else to respond.

“I have a small space set up in my room in case something happens. It’s precaution but better to be safe than sorry.” William shrugged, grabbing his plate and beginning to eat. “We’ll wait until after breakfast to do the bandage change, don’t need to kill your appetite.”

Harry picked his plate up, inspecting it.

Two pancakes with syrup, three eggs, four long pieces of bacon, three sausage links, a cup full of hash browns, some grapes and pineapple slices, topped with a blueberry type pastry.

“This plate is heavy.” Harry commented seeing all the food, his eyes wide and his mind wondering how the hell he was going to eat all of that. Although it was a relief to finally be able to have a full meal.

“Dig in.” William welcomed him, opening the plastic wrap, the case and popping the DVD into the player, setting it to the correct channel and pressing play. “Sorrow? You coming out?”

Sorrow appeared a second later with a forced smile.

“Yeah, sorry I was eating mine in the kitchen. Here, I brought condiments and some drinks.” Sorrow said, setting a small bottle of apple juice in front of Harry and orange juice next to her, giving William the coffee cup and setting the ketchup down in case anyone wanted it.

“Thanks darling.” William said, reaching over to kiss her cheek.

Sorrow returned the kiss with one of her own, shifting her weight and setting her plate down.

William noticed her breakfast decisions and frowned.

“Sorrow? You said you had some food out there? Is that what’s left?” William asked, noticing it hadn’t looked touched. All that was on there were a few fruit pieces, hardboiled egg and a blueberry pastry.

“I had some fruit pieces and a pastry out there. I’m not all that hungry today.” Sorrow shrugged, seeming somewhat bothered about being questioned on her eating habits.

“Sorrow-“William started but she cut him off with a flick of her head.

“Drop It Will, alright? I’ll eat more later. Jesus, worry about your own plate.” Sorrow snapped and went on the other side of Harry, throwing the book that laid there across the room and taking a seat.

“Don’t get back into bad habits Sniffles, you have more than one person to think about now than yourself. Alright?” William pushed with a worried look clearly across his face.

“Whatever.” Sorrow muttered, pushing a piece of pineapple across her plate before slamming it down on the table and crossing her arms over her chest.

“What’s wrong luv?” Harry asked apprehensively, worrying about making her more upset than she was already.

“Nothing and don’t call me love-you hate me, remember? No use faking pleasantries.” Sorrow snapped, her attention going towards the TV, concentrating on the movie.

William sighed but let the argument go and said nothing further, while Harry simply decided to lean back and eat in silence.

After about fifteen minutes he sat the plate down, the whole thing gone.

“Thanks.” Harry said turning to Sorrow, seeing her small arms still crossed tight across her chest and the glare she wore was enough to deter him from saying anything more.

“Whatever.” Sorrow shrugged, grabbing her plate, his plate and William’s plate, taking it into the kitchen.

“What got into her?” Harry asked at a loss.

“She’s not been eating much lately, I don’t know why but her hormones have been running extra high, I may be looking into hormone pills to balance out the imbalance.” William replied, his eyes not leaving the TV.

It was another fifteen minutes when Sorrow came back, this time seeming calmer….and with a beer in her hand.

“Pregnant and drinking? Smoking too?” Harry asked sarcastically.

“Nah, smoking is bad for the baby.” She replied, sitting beside Harry again, taking a swig of the bottle.

William sighed but didn’t say anything further, he wasn’t getting involved and he certainly wasn’t going to play into whatever Sorrow’s intentions were. Besides, she would get sick soon enough. Beer and pregnancy simply did not mix.

Harry on the other hand wasn’t having it and made it known by grabbing the bottle from her hand and throwing it hard against the wall, making it shatter into pieces, the liquid exploding outward in a hue of golden as it made contact with the hard surface at a high and forceful speed.

“You selfish cow, how bloody dare you.” Harry yelled, his hand balling into a fist.

Sorrow reacted by slapping him hard across the face in reaction, which in turn made Harry grab her wrist from trying it again.

She jerked away from his touch, her eyes in shock but nothing further was done.

“Know your place.” She growled, getting up once again and leaving the room, this time going outside to cool off.

“Vicious vixen.” Harry muttered, rubbing the sting from his face.

“Let me go get you a cool rag before that mark bruises, she got you good. In the meantime we’ll get you checked out and bandaged before you go back into the basement.” William said, watching Harry’s face fall slightly.

After the small bit of freedom from the dark hell, the last thing Harry wanted to do was go back. He would give almost anything to just stay on the couch all day.

Almost sensing this William shrugged.

“Unless you want to stay here all day but you’ll be just as bored here as you would in the basement.”

Harry sighed, looking at the book that got tossed.

“Well, there’s always reading.” Harry gestured out toward the book that was thrown carelessly across the room.

“Yeah, there’s that.” William agreed, standing up to get the book and handing it back to Harry.

William then left to go and get the first aid kit, when he exited the room Sorrow walked back in from outside, her eyes filled with bitter contempt.

“Beautiful day out, too bad you’re stuck in here.” She taunted Harry as she walked past.

Harry could feel a bit of his patience slip, he knew she was only tormenting him but between trying to take his mind off his friends and keep from sinking into complete insanity, he found it wasn’t doing anything for his mood.

“I may not be able to go outside but you’re not exactly free either. Get off your high horse and grow up!” Harry yelled, his teeth clenching in anger.

“Says the one who threw his tray yesterday.” Sorrow baited in a sing-song voice.

Harry rubbed at his temples gingerly, the beginning of a headache forming.

“Listen, I’m sorry I don’t understand what you’re going through but you need to think rationally here for a second. It’s not fair for anyone around here and it’s not fair to you. So just-stop.” He pleaded with her, watching her smile and sit beside him again, her eyes gleaming.

“Not fair to myself huh?” Sorrow questioned with the wide sarcastic grin.

“Yeah, you’re obviously not having a good day and there’s something going on that you feel-“Harry was suddenly silenced by her lips against his own in a forceful kiss.

Harry saw a blinding flash of fireworks, a small spark.

He pushed her away gently but she leaned forward again, reaching into her pocket as she did so, grasping something and bringing it out, dropping it into his palm; her lips seductively going to Harry’s ear.

“By the grace of God, yeah?” Sorrow whispered with a devious smile-he did not trust that smile.

He looked down and felt a flush of emotion wash through him, it was his cross.

“Oh God.” Harry grasped it with a death like vice.

She moved in slightly more, her lips now tickling his earlobe.

“Maybe I can provide more, maybe I can provide you an escape? You’d like to see your family again I’m sure.”

Harry looked at her, not at all trusting.

“I want to talk to my friends and my family. If that’s the only wish I really had, that is what I would wish. Until I know I’m safe-your words are just words to me. If you’re really serious, you’ll prove it with actions.” Harry replied, his voice going dead and the emotion falling away from him. If she was playing games it was a truly cruel trick but some part of him desperately wanted to believe she wasn’t.

“Alright, tonight then.” Sorrow agreed, patting his bare chest and settling back against the couch, picking up the book from the table she had thrown earlier and flipped it open, sighing softly.

William came out a few moments after and Harry moved his cross necklace to one of his pants pockets, eyeing Sorrow in disbelief. He really did not get her at all.

“Ready?” William asked, breaking Harry from his trance on the girl by holding up a first aid kit.

“Yeah, inspect away.” Harry murmured, his eyes suspicious but he’d deal with that later when William wasn’t in the room.

Sorrow began to hum a soft cheerful hum shortly after, turning a page in the book and blocking out everything else.

Poor Harry had no idea what was cooking in her head, he just knew he had no choice but to trust it wasn’t a trap to his certain death. At that point in time he was living on a prayer.

Notes

I like Sorrow, she has no set personality. warm, cold, scolding, freezing - that's her personality but she always has ideas. Sometimes they work-sometimes they blow up...so, hope you enjoy what happens next - think you guys are gonna like it.