Song: tied down, Jaymes Young

"Can't we go in some normal shops for once? We've been in Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Versace and Burberry. I can't afford this shit" Zayn asked, walking out of the shop behind Louis and Liam who were each carrying at least eight bags of designer purchases each. Zayn had Two, his Gucci shoes and a wallet from Burberry that Liam forced him to take as gifts.

"I've never been in a normal shop. This is normal for me" Louis said, lifting his bags to show Zayn who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah but I need some shit too. I'm not here to act as your guru" Zayn replied with a huff.

"Where were you thinking?" Liam asked with a smile, ready to go just about anywhere his friend asked.

Zayn's frown was instantly replaced by a toothy grin. "JD, definitely. Then maybe Nike and Adidas"

"Sure, which way is it again?" Liam agreed, wondering wether to turn left or right.

"Down here, I passed JD and Adidas on the way in" Louis said, and the two followed behind him as they chatted about where they wanted to get Lunch.

"What about Nando's?" Liam suggested, and Zayn hastily agreed, his mouth practically watering at the thought of it.

"What the fuck is Nando's?" Louis asked, and Liam and Zayn's mouthes dropped in shock.

"You've got to be joking" Zayn said. "How have you never been to Nando's?" Liam asked.

Louis shrugged. "My family rarely eat out, and when we do it's usually at Michelin star restaurants" he said as if it were nothing.

"Mate did your father never let you leave the bloody house or what?" Liam asked.

"Not really. Not on my own anyway. It's not like I had anyone to go out with" Louis replied, missing the sarcasm in Liams voice.

"I was joking. I didn't think he was actually like that" Liam replied as he looked at Louis with sympathy.

"Oh. I mean I grew up differently to you guys, it's nothing really" Louis said as he looked towards the floor. He didn't want to see the pity in the boys eyes.

"That's not right Tommo" Zayn added, and he shook his head at Liam who frowned back at him.

"I had more important things to do anyway. I wouldn't have had time to eat out or meet people even if I were allowed" Louis stopped walking and cleared his throat with a cough that he hid behind his hand. "Um, we're here anyway, come on" He walked into JD without looking back, Liam and Zayn took a moment before following him with sad expressions.

Louis knew instantly this wasn't his scene. Instead of a bright, open space that showcased luxury items ranging from £300 and upwards, the shop was dim, crowded and Louis couldn't see a single item of clothing his father would deem suitable. He saw hoodies, t shirts, trackies and shoes from brands he had never heard of in his life. Louis almost mistook a girl shopping for an orange highlighter.

"What the fuck is this place? You really shop here?" Louis turned to Liam and Zayn, who seemed quite content with the items displayed.

"Yeah. This could be classed as a luxury for normal people Louis. We can't all afford designer clothes" Zayn replied with almost a snappy tone, because although he didn't want to speak against the boy, he wouldn't let him bad mouth the group of people he came from either.

"Seriously? This is luxury to you?" Louis scoffed, pulling at a north face black hoodie.

"A lot of the stuff in here is upwards of fifty quid, thats a lot for people of lower or middle class. The prices add up, you could walk out of here with three items and have spent £150" Zayn explained as he looked at the shoes.

"I buy shirts for that amount of money" Louis mumbled, looking at the price tags on some of the t shirts. "I'd honestly buy you whatever you want in here, it wouldn't make a dent in my bank account"

"No. This is one of the places I actually can afford, I won't let you take that away from me and make me feel even more poor than I already do" Zayn denied, showing Liam a pair of Nike vapormaxes he had been wanting to buy for a while.

"Whatever you say" Louis shrugged, Looking at the Adidas hoodies with slight interest.

"You should get something, might bring you down to Earth a bit" Liam joked, looking over his shoulder at Louis and noticing his conflicted expression.

Louis looked away quickly and wrinkled his nose. "God no, it'd be an embarrassment"

"You're only telling yourself that so you don't have to admit that the clothing isn't even that bad. It's not going to damage your image if you wore a cheap hoodie" Liam argued, and took the deep green Adidas hoodie off its rack. "At least try it on"

"It would damage my image though. If my father knew about me even being in this shop he'd have a fit"

"What do you wear when you're lounging around?" Louis looked confused. "Like, on lazy days or whatever" Liam asked.

"Uh, silk?" Louis replied, unsure. He rarely had Lazy days, he either worked or had to look presentable around his family.

"Fucking hell Tommo. You don't wear silk for comfort, you wear sweats and a hoodie. Silk is a bit extreme innit?" Liam sighed, because no sixteen year old boy should be wearing such an old fashioned, expensive material for comfort.

"Silk is comfy. And it has benefits for your skin" Louis stated, raising one shoulder.

"That's not normal though Louis. Just buy a damn hoodie for lounging around in, you don't even have to wear it in public" Liam tried to convince, holding the hoodie out to Louis who looked hesitant.

Louis groaned. "Fine, I'll buy the fucking hoodie. But I swear if anyone finds out about this-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. I don't give a shit about exposing you, I just want you to relax a little. Do stuff for yourself for once and stop worrying about what your father thinks" Liam interrupted with a smile, patting Louis on the shoulder.

"Buy some sweats whilst you're at it" Zayn said from the leather stools he was sat on as he tried on his shoes.

"Don't push it" Louis called back with a smirk. "I'm gonna go pay, I'll be back in a few" he told Liam, and left them to continue shopping.

Liam sighed and sat besides Zayn in deep thought, his eyebrows pinched together as his fingers toyed with his bottom Lip. "What's up?" Zayn asked once noticing.

"I just feel bad for him. His fathers got him fucking brain washed" Liam replied with an annoyed tone.

"Too right. His family is fucked" Zayn chuckled, though Liam didn't find it funny.

"He must be under so much stress all the time because he's so caught up in ruining his family name. He refuses to make friends, he's terrified of forgetting his manners around people that admire him. He won't do anything a normal kid our age does because he'd rather please his father than have any fun once in a while. Like for gods sake, it took me five minutes just to convince him to buy something that didn't cost more than a hundred pounds. And because of what? He thinks his clothing will reflect how put together the Tomlinson's are?" Liam was growing more frustrated by the minute. "He shouldn't have to deal with that at his age, nobody should. His father should've kept him out of it and let him have a normal childhood"

Zayn bit his lip and hesitated a moment before wrapping his arm around Liams shoulder, rubbing circles into his arm to comfort him. "I know it's shitty, I want him to relax a bit too. But there's nothing we can do. He cares more about his family than he does anything else in the world, he's not going to change after hearing the same shit from his father his whole life"

"He can change, he's just too scared to" Liam turned to look at him. "I mean, today was a start. If it weren't for us he wouldn't have even stepped foot in a shop like this. The more he does normal things the easier it will get for him, and he will end up doing it without even thinking about it" Liam explained hopefully, and Zayn wasn't convinced.

"I don't think he wants to change Li. We shouldn't force him to, it's just how he is"

"We wouldn't force anything, just encourage him to step out of his comfort zone every once in a while. Do you honestly believe he wants to do all the shit his father makes him do? Wear posh clothes, attend lavish galas and act like he's ten years older than he really is. Have you not noticed how his accent has slowly changed? His father makes him put on a posh accent when he's from Yorkshire for fucks sake. Nobody wants that Zayn, if anything his father is forcing him to be something he isn't. Louis' just accepted that at a young age and now believes it's normal"

"I guess you're right, and I'll help you with anything. But I wouldn't get your hopes up. It'd be like trying to re wire his fucking brain" Zayn replied, looking to see Louis making his way over to them. "We can talk about this later" he said quietly and Liam nodded his head, forcing a fake smile onto his face once Louis was in front of them.

Louis threw the bag at Liams feet. "You made me buy it so you can carry it. I'm not being seen with a JD bag" he said with a smile. "What're you two buying?"

"Zayn's getting these shoes" Liam pointed to his friends feet. "And I haven't really had a look yet, so I'm not sure" he shrugged and stood up. "Help me pick something out whilst Zayn pays, I need new sweats"

"You're seriously asking for my opinion? I've got no fucking clue what's deemed good or bad in here" Louis raised his brows, looking at Liam as if he were crazy.

"It doesn't matter, you'd most likely only be picking the colour" Liam replied and tugged Louis to another section of the shop. He pulled down two pairs of Adidas sweat pants, one black and the other grey. He held them up to his legs. "Which one?" He asked Louis, who was looking at him with an expression between confusion and amusement.

"They look the same, does it matter what colour?" Louis replied, and Liam sighed in annoyance.

"Yes it matters. Just pick already"

"Just buy both, you have enough money" Louis replied. "They both look good"

"Oh" Liam realised. "True. Okay thanks Tommo" he smiled happily and raced off to pay for his items. Louis just shook his head.

He honestly thought they would've bought more, or at least Liam would've, seeming as they were so excited to go to this shop in particular. But he was pretty glad they didn't, because his stomach was rumbling and it felt like it was in knots with how hungry he was. Nando's better be up to scratch.

Thankfully both Liam and Zayn agreed it was time for lunch, and Louis reluctantly made his way to Nando's with hopes of a decent meal. "What kind of food do they do? Indian? Sushi?" He asked as they waited to be seated. "And why is this taking so damn long?"

"It's chicken. And because it's popular here" Zayn replied, taking a menu from the waitress by the door.

"Just chicken? What if I didn't want chicken"

"Well you're going to get chicken" Liam said.

"Seems a little boring. There should be more selection"

"They have lots of different options. You could get a chicken burger, or a wrap. Or chicken breast with sides. Just look at your menu Louis" Zayn sighed, and smiled once the waitress found them a table.

Louis took a seat and was glad the pressure on his feet was relieved. They had been walking around none stop for a few hours now, and although Louis liked shopping, he easily became tired of it.

He took the menu and opened it, seeing unfamiliar dishes that he couldn't chose from. "What would you recommend?" He asked the two boys in front of him, who seemed to know exactly what they wanted.

"The butterfly chicken is really good, the chicken breast is pretty standard, though there's loads of different sauces you can add on once you've got your meal; they go up in heat level. Or if you wanted a burger, I'd say the peri peri one is good. You can chose sides for pretty much everything. It's just what you fancy really" Liam explained, pointing to different sections of the menu.

"They might as well just do a damn buffet" Louis commented, as it was basically the same. You pick a type of chicken, types of sides, types of sauces; all to your liking. Why not just have set meals?

"That's actually not a bad idea" Zayn chuckled.

"Would make it easier to be honest" Liam added, struggling to decide between two options.

Once Louis had made his decision he sat patiently, wondering where the waiter was. He tapped his fingers on the wooden table and bounced his leg repeatedly, not noticing the stares he was getting from Liam and Zayn.

"You ready mate?" Liam asked with an amused smile, Louis furrowed his brows.

"Uh, for what exactly?" He asked in confusion.

"To order. We've been waiting on you for the past five minutes. Didn't think you were that indecisive" Zayn explained with a grin.

"Don't know if you've noticed but the waiter hasn't returned yet" Louis rolled his eyes, and the two burst into laughter. "What?"

"You order at the counter Louis, the staff don't wait on you"

You've got to be joking.

"What? You're kidding right?" Louis said in shock, but Liam and Zayn continued to laugh, shaking their heads. "What kind of place is this? The waiters are here for a fucking reason aren't they?"

"This isn't one of your regular, fancy restaurants Louis. It's not fine dining" Liam stated, standing up from his seat along with Zayn, Louis stated up at him.

"We can't just leave our stuff here. Anyone would be quick to steal designer" Louis scoffed, gesturing to his many bags resting at his feet.

"Nobody's gonna steal your shit Tommo, we're in a restaurant" Zayn replied.

"Yes Zayn. A restaurant with only chicken based meals and waiters that don't even wait on you. You're not doing a great job at convincing me here" Louis huffed.

"Oh relax would you, it'll take less than five minutes to order and then you can run back to your precious designer outfits. Not like you haven't got the money to buy them all again if it did get stolen" Liam rolled his eyes and pulled Zayn along with him towards the counter.

Louis sighed and eyed his bags before reluctantly standing up to follow them. Once there he kept turning his head to check on their table to make sure nothing suspicious was going on and mentally told himself to calm down.

It's just a nice restaurant Louis. You'll order your food, go back to your table and find your stuff where you left them. Relax. You're having a good time.

"Yeah I'll have five chicken wings with garlic bread and chips please. Could I get a coke with that" Liams voice brought Louis out of his thoughts, and he quickly tried to remember the name of the meal he wanted.

"Of course, are you guys paying separately or all together today?" A female staff member asked as she tapped on the touch screen board in front of her, looking at Liam with a kind smile.

"I'll be paying for mine-"

"I'll pay" Louis interrupted before he could stop himself. The two boys turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Put the orders on one tab"

"You sure Louis? You don't have to, we were joking earlier" Liam asked, surprised at his generosity.

"I don't mind. I've been a bit of a prick lately so it's the least I can do" he replied with a sheepish smile, taking his card from his wallet and stepping forward between Liam and Zayn.

"Okay. And what will you two be having?" The girl asked, tapping some more on the screen.

"I'll get the chicken butterfly with garlic bread and corn on the cob. I'll just have a water with that. Zayn?" Louis turned to him after placing his order.

"I'll have the grilled chicken wrap with spicy rice and chips please, I'll have a coke as well" Zayn said politely.

"Alright that'll be £32.90" The girl said once finished and Louis happily paid for the meal. The three turned away to walk back to their seats.

"Thank you Louis, you really didn't need to do that" Zayn said, and Louis shrugged with a smile and Liam agreed.

"It's nothing. I mean, you're technically not even my friends and yet you still chose to be around me. Like I said, it's the least I can do" Louis said, but the warm feeling in his chest suddenly felt cold as they reached their table. His bags were gone.

"Are you fucking kidding me" Louis stopped, before rushing around to his seat to search for his bags, though he found nothing there and panic surged through him. "My bags are gone" he looked up at Liam and Zayn, who's smiles had vanished and were replaced by looks of guilt.

"Shit, I'm so sorry Tommo" Liam said, walking over to help Louis.

"You said they'd be fine!" Louis shouted, a little louder than he had intended as he noticed the confused glances he was receiving from people eating.

"I thought they would be! Who the fuck would wanna steal from Nando's?" Liam replied, looking around the room.

"Clearly someone in here" Louis said between grit teeth, his hands clenching into fists.

"It's fine Louis, you can buy them again. You've got the money for it" Zayn said, trying to reassure him though he wasn't much help.

"Easy for you to say, I don't see your designer shoes stolen" Louis looked at Zayn's Gucci bag. "Or your Burberry coat" he said to Liam. "Oh god. That Louis Vuitton tie was limited edition!" Louis groaned, realising he wouldn't be getting that back anytime soon.

"Huh, I'd love to have a limited edition Louis Vuitton tie. Wouldn't you Niall?" Louis heard from behind him, turning around to see Harry and his Irish friend.

It clicked, and Louis was furious. "Where are they?" He asked Harry, grabbing him by his collar.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Harry said with a smirk, feigning innocence.

"I swear to fucking god if you don't give me my bags back I'll take this hot sauce" he pointed to the bottle on the table. "And put it in your eyes" he threatened.

The smirk never left Harry's face. "You know, I'd really recommend the black bottle, it's way more spicy. Honestly Louis, I thought you of all people would know how to torture someone properly" he said with sarcasm thick in his tone.

"Stop playing around. I know you've taken my bags so hand them over already"

"I said I don't-"

"If you don't give me my bags I'll go straight back to school, take your Gucci suits and burn them till they're black. Cut it with the bullshit" Louis interrupted, staring Harry on the eyes with a look that could rival Medusa's.

Harry sighed and took Louis hands in his own, removing them from his collar. "You're really no fun at all are you" he quirked his head to the side, waiting for a response that he never got. He clicked his tongue and walked to a table not far from Louis' where he and Niall were about to eat and walked back Over with the bags in his hands. "I didn't think you'd get so pissy over materialistic things but I should've known"

Louis snatched the bags back and put them down on his seat, looking through them to make sure everything was there. "You're the one who handed them over that easily at the mention of Gucci. Practice what you preach dickhead"

"You're going to hold that against me forever now aren't you" Harry said with a bored tone as Louis turned to face him again.

"Yes, because if you're going to hold the fact that I'm wealthy over my head forever then I'm sure as hell going to do the same to you"

"I'm not even that wealthy" Harry groaned.

"Coming from the actual poor person here, if you can afford Gucci suits then you're definitely that wealthy" Zayn said, and Louis smirked at the comment.

"I second that" Niall joined in, and Harry sent him a death glare. "Sorry Haz" he apologised awkwardly.

"See, stop being a fucking hypocrite" Louis said. "Why are you here anyway?"

"To sing karaoke, what the fuck do you think Tomlinson?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I just don't get why I now can't even get lunch without seeing your disgusting face" Louis pretended to gag.

"Please, you wish you had my looks"

"I'd rather look like shrek"

"Fucking kiss already" Niall suddenly said, looking between the two as they turned to look at him with shocked faces. "What? You could cut the tension in here with a damn knife"

"Be right back, I'm going to go throw up" Louis said, turning away until Liam presses his hand to his shoulder, stopping his movement.

"I think I just did" Harry added, his lips turned down in disgust.

"Oh fuck off, it's literally like when kids have crushes and they use insults as a way of flirtation" Niall explained, rolling his eyes at their antics.

"That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard" Louis denied, shaking his head. "I'm not even gay for Christ's sake"

"Sexuality is pretty fluid" Liam shrugged, and Louis quirked a brow at him.

"That doesn't make a difference, I'm a hundred percent straight" Louis replied confidently.

"But, you have like no experience with relationships at all. How would you know for certain?" Zayn asked.

"Because I'm attracted to girls" Louis said as if it were obvious. "Why are we still talking about this?"

"Fuck knows but I've got food to order, come on Niall I'm starving" Harry replied, pushing his friend ahead of him. "Have fun with your sexuality crisis" he grinned at Louis before walking away.

"I don't have a fucking crisis to begin with!" Louis called back at him before taking his seat with a huff, acting like a toddler having a tantrum.

"Well, that was interesting" Liam said once he sat down, clearing his throat.

"God I literally can't get away from him. He fucking shows up wherever I go. It's like he's stalking me" Louis said mostly to himself.

"Well you do share a room with him. And he's in all your classes. And Nando's is really popular. I don't think that's classed as stalking" Zayn replied just as the waiter brought Over their drinks.

Louis dragged his water closer to him and took a sip out of his straw frustratedly. "He's so annoying. Don't you think he's annoying? Even the way he speaks! It takes about an hour just to get through a couple sentences. And honestly I didn't think I'd meet a more sarcastic person than myself until I met him. He makes everything one big joke" he took another sip of water. "And he's a hypocrite. Acting like a saviour of all poor people when he's loaded, the fucking cheek of him. Doesn't that disappoint you Zayn? It would if I were poor"

He took another sip and Zayn was about to answer before Louis cut him off again. "Like, he's rich, and he chooses to spend it on fucking Gucci? Why not buy normal clothes? Like normal people? Oh, he's too quirky for that isn't he. Likes to stand out. Thinks being odd is a personality trait. Fucking freak" he takes another sip. "Sexuality crisis? Least I'm not the one with a personality crisis. I bet he is gay, or bisexual, don't you think? That would explain his clothing choices"

"Louis" Liam cut him off.

"What!"

"Calm your tits alright. You've been ranting for a few minutes now. I didn't think you'd be that wound up about it. And what does clothing have to do with sexuality anyway?"

"I don't know Liam, alright. He just frustrates me"

"Then don't let him. The more you let him get under your skin the more apparent it is that he's winning in whatever game you have going on" Liam replied

"Yeah, if you act like that around him it'll only spur him on more. Even if it bothers you don't let him or anyone else see that, he's only trying to get a reaction out of you and so far it's working" Zayn agreed.

"Easier said than done. How'd you expect me not to react when he does shit like that, hm? I know for a fact you wouldn't just sit there and take it" Louis said, pointing to to two of them.

"No but there's a clear difference in how you react compared to him. When you insult him, he uses it to his advantage and turns it on you by acting like it doesn't affect him. When he insults you, you get angry and frustrated. In the end it makes you look like the weaker of the two" Zayn said, and it did actually make sense to Louis.

"So basically I just heed to control my anger better" Louis replied defeatedly.

"Exactly. Control your anger, he'll think you don't care and he'll give up with it eventually. If you don't react there won't be any fun in it anymore for him because I think the main thing he gets out of it is the satisfaction of knowing he has control over a Tomlinson"

"He doesn't control me"

"He controls the situation Louis. Because he obviously handles it better than you do" Zayn said, and Louis left the conversation there as his words played on repeat over and over in his head.

Louis needed to control the situation, and he'd do whatever it takes to make that happen.

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Author notes:

Updating this really late so I'm not expecting any of you to read this until tomorrow haha, but I hope you like this chapter as much as I liked writing it!

I love you all xxx