Stockholm Syndrome - A Harry Styles Fic

Harry didn’t remember the last time he had been in so much pain. Time seemed to stop and the girl hadn’t come to check up on him once. He had no idea how long he’d been sitting in that chair but he knew it had been a few days. His whole body protested at even the slightest movement and his throat burned like the Sahara desert. On top of that, sleep was done in shifts. He was lucky if he had gotten two hours in the last few days.

He blinked aimlessly underneath the blindfold, his vision held hostage by the unforgiving darkness of the mask. He had no idea what was going to happen as all he had for company were his thoughts and if left alone with them long enough they have the potential to manifest into something a hundred times more terrible.

I want to go home.

Harry thought to the Heavens, praying for some sort of sign to bring an end to his suffering.

It was a slow prayer but sometime during the day the door to his prison finally opened.

“Good morning Harry.” The girl greeted kindly, making her way towards the chair Harry occupied, setting something on the ground and kneeling to the side of the chair instead of directly in front to avoid the urine that had accumulated below the singer. “Are you holding up ok?” She continued to question, her hand going to his forehead to check his temperature to make sure there wasn’t a fever.

She seemed genuine when she asked him so he shook his head, not bothering to speak as the thick cloth between his teeth had shafted the corners of his mouth.

“I’m sorry for the no bathroom facilities. When Christian gets back in a few days we’ll hose you off and let you change into some spare clothes.” The girl continued to explain, her hand reaching behind Harry to unknot the gag.

Harry noticed where her hand was and helped by moving forward so she could reach.

She pulled the cloth away from his mouth, watching him suck in a mouthful of air only to heave it back out in a forced cough.

“I brought you a bottle of water and a small yogurt to make sure you don’t get sick, I’m going to give you the water first, ok?”

Harry struggled to clear his throat but nodded sluggishly, not entirely sure he believed her considering her cruelty toward him when he first arrived.

“Ok.” The girl agreed, snapping the cap off the bottle and placing it to Harry’s chapped and bleeding lips, tipping it ever so slightly.

Heaven. That was the only thing Harry could think of as the cold liquid filled his pallet and slid down his parched throat. He didn’t remember the last time water tasted as good, despite the slight difficulty swallowing.

He thirsted for more and eagerly leant forward to follow the bottle’s direction as it was pulled away before he could choke himself.

“Easy there Harry, you need to drink it slow. It’s been a few days and drinking too much too soon will make you throw up.” The girl explained to him in the gentlest way she knew. It was a struggle to keep the scornful dejection from her voice but she knew whatever she was going through was not warranted toward an innocent hostage.

“Please let me have more?” Harry pleaded desperately, trying to lean forward. His voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper as he struggled to maintain control of himself and not break down into a sobbing mess.

“In a little bit,” The girl promised, grabbing a small yogurt cup from the tray and opening it. “Right now I want you to eat. It’s only yogurt but it will help replenish any nutrients you’ve lost and coat your throat, ok?”

Harry didn’t respond, instead he looked toward the direction of the girl’s voice.

“Why are you doing this? What have you to gain from holding me hostage?”

The girl didn’t pause to think, she already knew the answer but speaking it gave a hasher reality and that was the initial goal she had set out to accomplish.

“I have more to lose if I don’t follow through with keeping you captive. I have an agenda I need to stick with and you have one to follow. I’m afraid that’s as cryptic as I can explain it. I’m not doing this to get my jollies off. If I had a choice, I’d set you free but I don’t. Neither do you. We’re both stuck in this hellhole together and need to make the best of it,” She shrugged, dipping the metal spoon into the cold cream of the yogurt, putting it to Harry’s lips. “Bottoms up.”

Harry gingerly sucked the gout from the spoon, swallowing a few times to coat his throat. It felt good against his vocals and made it more bearable.

“What do you mean more to lose? I can pay you for my ransom. I have a net worth of fifteen million, I can pay you whatever you want, if you just-“

She jammed the spoon into his mouth before he could finish.

“You have a net worth of twenty-three million and I can tell you right now that any amount that you try to offer will be cross offered well into a few hundred million. Although it must be nice to have money. Wish I had that option when I get into tight fixes.”

Her tone changed darker and Harry knew he needed to be careful how he spoke.

She took the spoon from his mouth and dipped it back into the soothing cream, allowing him his chance.

“I’m sorry, I meant no harm by it. I’m just scared. Wouldn’t you offer the same thing though? If the roles were reversed and you had the money?”

Harry mentally kicked himself. That came out sounding a thousand times worse than it did in his head.

She jammed the spoon back into his mouth with agitated force, smiling slightly as he gagged on the spoon.

“I would want to know what I did I suppose but knowing what I know about this organization, you don’t have to do much. You just have to catch their eye.”

Harry moaned softly when he tried to lean forward further. Getting comfortable was next to impossible and it hurt to move.

“Do people ever get out of here? Once the ransom is paid?” Harry asked, rejecting the spoon when it was offered again with the movement of his head.

The girl hesitated, wondering if she should tell him.

“The majority that come here leave in body bags and the few lucky ones leave in chains, broken beyond recognition. That’s why you’re here Harry, to be broken.

Harry swallowed, his throat suddenly dry again.

“Broken? This isn’t about a ransom?” Harry asked, his voice cracking as anxiety started to build against his chest.

She tried giving him more of the yogurt but he forced his head away from the spoon.

“Tell me the truth, you’ve said that much. I just need to hear it.” Harry roused on, making the girl throw the yogurt cup back on the tray and grab the water again.

“I’m not confirming or denying anything. You’re a special case. You’ve been on their list since your pre-fame days on xfactor. I know no more than that. I’m sorry.”

Harry gave a disgusted look beneath his blindfold, rejecting the tip of the water bottle.

“No you’re not. If you were sorry you’d let me out of this Godforsaken chair! If you were sorry you’d let me go! I can’t move, I’m numb – I’ve been forced to sit in my own piss for the past few days, I can’t even feel my hands but I can guarantee they’re bleeding. So I’m sorry but your sorry isn’t cutting it. It takes actions to prove a point and all the actions I’ve seen from you thus far is savageness. You’re a sadist that gets pleasure from other people’s misery! Why else would you keep them tied up like this?! It’s barbaric!” Harry yelled, finally losing patience. His chest heaved but he would not cry in front of this sadistic woman. He needed to be angry and stay angry. She would be the outlet.

The girl didn’t respond, instead of speaking she simply offered the water bottle to him again, ignoring his outburst.

Harry jerked his head away.

“I have a few aspirins I could give you for your discomfort but I’m afraid anything stronger will have to go through Christian. He controls the medication and like I said, he won’t be back for a few days.” The girl continued calmly.

“I won’t be able to make it a few more days! It hurts! Can’t you see that? Or do you just not give a fuck?”

The girl bit her lip, trying to hold back the snide comment that threatened to spill from her mouth.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do Harry. I’m here alone and if I untie you, there’s nothing stopping you from hurting me and trying to escape and while we’re on the subject, if tying you to a chair is the only thing that will break you, then my job just got easier.”

Harry leant forward.

“I won’t break. I won’t break because my friends will find me and when they do, you’re going to be sorry.”

The girl smiled at the empty threat.

“Harry, we’re far from civilization. We’re in the mountains, hidden deep in the woods. I don’t think they or anyone else will find you so the hope of that is slim to none. I use to think the same thing when I came here but it hasn’t happened and I’ve been here nine years.”

Harry took a moment to digest the information, his eyes staring hard into his blindfold.

“Are you saying you’re a hostage or something? That you have no control over any of this?” Harry demanded.

“No. I’m not saying that. I’m saying I’ve been here nine years and everyone that’s come in has gone out in a body bag or in chains to an underground slave ring. Most would rather die than break. Some are impossibly lucky and get a chance to join the organization if they so choose to prove themselves – or their offspring takes a liking to said prisoner.” The girl shrugged, watching Harry tense against his restraints.

“So you’re the fuck toy of the organization’s offspring? A sex slave?” Harry smirked, now not caring if he pissed her off, she was doing plenty well at returning the favor.

The slap Harry received was swift, hard and brutal. In fact she had slapped him so hard that the blindfold flew off his face several feet away. He knew there would be a deep bruise on his cheek but it was well worth it to make her feel the anger and frustration that she had subjected him to.

“Do not say that again. Do you hear me!?” The girl screamed as Harry now focused his unfocused eyes on her. When they finally cleared his mouth seemed to drop open in shock.

“What the hell?” He mumbled as he watched her grab the blindfold from the ground and force it back over his face before grabbing the gag that hung slack from his neck and put it back into his mouth, tightening it more than it had been before.

“You may think what you want but I am not anyone’s sex slave! Maybe when you have a survivalist decision to make Harry will you understand the situation but until then, you can just sit there and simmer because that gag won’t be coming off until Christian gets back. I tried to be nice but since you obviously don’t play well with others then you won’t play at all. Goodbye Harry, see you in a few days.” The girl finished, gathering the tray and making her way to the door.

Harry began to panic. There would be no way he would make it another three days in that chair.

“waim! auhm!” He cried to her, the corners of his mouth rubbing against the gag, which caused them to bleed.

She shook her head, set the tray on the ground and walked back, pulling the blindfold from his face and going towards the pocket of her shirt.

With a little bit of fidgeting she pulled out a small syringe, a clear liquid inside it.

“I can’t have you hurting yourself any more than you have. You’re making yourself bleed and I can’t allow you to keep doing that. So you have two choices; you either sit there and be quiet or I’m going to tranquilize you. Those are your options, what’s it gonna be?”

Harry stared hard at her, almost as if trying to read if she was serious or not. She had left him to hurt himself before, why should any of this matter if all she was trying to do was break him?

Debating with herself for a brief second she swore, took the gag off and repeated the question. Instead of answering it though he counteracting with another question of his own.

“Why do you care? It shouldn’t even matter.” Harry replied, looking directly into the girl’s eyes, almost challenging.

Unfortunately, it would be the last thing he would do that day.

With quick precision she uncapped the needle on the syringe and plunged it into Harry’s chest, causing him to cry out.

“It matters because until Christian gets back you are my responsibility and he won’t be happy if you get an infection from rubbing your skin raw. That’s why.” The girl answered honestly, staring into Harry’s intense green eyes.

“What about a blood clot from sitting in one position for so long?” He challenged, regretting it almost instantly when she reached for the gag again. He recoiled from her touch. “Wait, please?”

She hesitated, her eyes following Harry’s as they seemed to stare each other down. Finally Harry gave, his head swimming with vertigo from whatever had been in the syringe that was now coursing through his body.

She took her hands back and waited, knowing Harry only had a few minutes’ tops before falling unconscious.

“What’s your name? At least give me that much. If you can’t tell me why the organization wants me then you can at least give me your name.” Harry reasoned as he lost the fight with consciousness, slowly descending down into darkness.

The girl looked somewhat taken aback. No one had bothered to ask her name since Jude and that had been over a year ago. It was the first human thing the pop star had asked and she wasn’t even sure if she should answer. Answering meant an open communication and more questions, more vague answers. It was all one long infinite circle that could never be escaped.

With her mind made up she glared hard into his face as he lost his fight with forced slumber.

“Go to sleep Harry.”
With that she pulled the gag back into his mouth and tightened it before standing to her feet and going back to the door, picking the tray up and heading out; slamming and locking the door behind.

Notes

Enjoy.