A/N: I don't know if some of you forgot or you skipped chapters, I don't know. But Marcel got contacts awhile ago and his hair is curly now. Ethan has seen his tattoos, but that's it so far, other than people at the concert and Cami. He's slowly beginning to dress like Harry too, in like flannels and t-shirts. Just thought I'd let you know because I don't think some of you realized that... :)

Marcel's POV

No. This can't be happening. I can't even run anywhere because I'm on the dock. I can always jump in the water, right? I take a few steps backwards as he walks closer to me.

Cami's voice echoes in my mind, "Call me if you need anything."

I put my hand in my pocket to find my phone. Crap, I forgot it in the car. I can't call Cami for help this time.

“What are you doing out here?” Louis asks.

“Just, uh, nothing... N-Nothing.”

“Oh... I was riding my bike through the path and I heard someone. Is everything alright?”

I've finally calmed myself, “Why do you care?” It comes out harsher than I expected.

He puts his hands up, “Woah, just wondering.”

“You don't know who I am, do you?”

“You're Marcel, Cami's friend, right?”

“You have no idea...” I mumble.

“Of what?” He seems genuinely confused. He honestly doesn't know.

Do I tell him or not tell him?

“You, uh, you used to bully me...” I mutter.

He freezes, “I did?” His face is tight in confusion.

I nod, “You honestly don't remember?”

He takes a deep breath causing his chest to expand slowly, “I had no idea that was you. I didn't even know your name back then... I'm so sorry...”

“Little too late for an apology...”

“Marcel, I really am sorry,” he says, walking closer to me.

I push him away, “Stay away.”

“I-I'm sorry. Can we talk?” he asks, running his hands nervously though his hair.

“Sure,” I say folding my arms across my chest.

“I never meant to hurt you...”

“Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that? You just want me to join your band.”

“Please, just listen.”

“Fine.” I'm trying to act strong and mad, but on the inside I'm freaking out. I'm so nervous, it feels like my heart is about to burst through my chest. Hopefully he can't see through me.

“You see, well, I was new to school... They threatened to beat me up if I didn't become their 'sidekick' and bully people... They used me. At first, they were really nice to me, they made me feel excepted. A-And then, they started making me take people's lunch money. Then, it slowly become more abusive and mean. I was too afraid to say no, they were so much stronger than I was... I had seen what they could do to people. Then one day, I didn't do what they told me to. I decided it was enough. I didn't want to be a bully anymore. I had been a bully for a year. One year too many... I never should've hungout with them... I regret it so much,” his voice cuts off and a tear slips from his eye.

Is he really crying?

“I-I'm sorry, Marcel. I really am,” he says looking down at the ground, trying to not cry.

He must've gone through a lot. I can tell he's hiding some stuff about himself.

I stay quiet and look at Louis.

“I was a monster. I'm sorry,” he whispers, “I'm sorry.”

He just keeps repeating himself over and over.

“Louis,” I say, stopping the repetitiveness.

He looks up with sad eyes.

“I forgive you...” I tell him.

“Y-You do?”

I nod.

He gives me a tight hug. I freeze.

Then, I wrap my arms around him slowly.

It's strange, really, to think about how things are right now. He's much shorter than I am, he used to be taller. He used to hurt me, when in reality, it was hurting him too.

He unconnects and sits down on the dock. I sit down beside him.

Louis slowly takes a deep breath and rolls up his sleeve, “Oops,” he mutters, pointing to his arm. I look down to see a ton of tattoos.

Like me...

I pull off my flannel shirt so I'm now in just a t-shirt. I show him my tattoos and smile.

He smiles too...

“I never realized you were hurting too,” I tell him.

“You can tell a man by his tattoos,” he says.

He understands...

“Does each of yours have a story?” I ask him.

He nods, “The 'oops' is about that year of bullying... It's one big oops in my life... I regret it so much. And the sparrow represents freedom and disregard of rules. I like doing my own thing,” he says, showing a small smile.

I pull down my shirt to show him my swallow tattoos on my chest. His smiles widens.

“And this one,” he says, pointing to a compass, “Is to show that I'll always come home, no matter where life takes me.”

I lift up my sleeve and show him my ship tattoo.

“We're a lot more alike than I thought,” I tell him.

“How many do you have?”

“Over 40...”

“Wow! Why do you get them?”

“Nobody cares enough to listen to me. It gets my feelings out.”

“Me too...”

I look over at him, “Really? I thought I was the only one...”

He shakes his head, “You're never as alone as you think you are. There's always someone who's going through the same things as you are... You see, when I'm with my friends, I'm the goofy one. I feel the need to be silly and make jokes. It's like my job to make people happy, you know? I'm so worried about other people's happiness, that I sometimes forget about myself. No one ever asks me how I'm doing, they just always think I'm so happy... But I'm not sometimes. Sometimes I sit in my room and just break down for no reason at all. I don't even want to exist. It's just all too much sometimes. I can go from perfectly happy to sad in a matter of seconds. I just start thinking about my life and all my mistakes and I don't focus on all the good things. Just the bad things...”

“I know how you feel...”

“If someone just looked, even just a little, they'd see the sadness in my eyes. They'd see how I zone out on car rides and stare blankly out the window. Or maybe they'd notice that telling jokes is the only thing that keeps me from breaking. If they just looked...”

I look over at him, his head is down and he's kicking his feet slowly in the water.

“That's exactly how I feel. People see you, but they don't really see you. They're looking, but not seeing truly who you are...”

“It's nice to let that all out. I feel like I can trust you, as weird as that may seem.”

“No, I understand...”

And as weird as it may seem, I feel like I can open up to him now too.

Louis isn't how I thought he was. He's like me in some ways. Everyone hurts, I guess. Some people just don't show it. Some people may seem so strong on the outside, but on the inside they're weak and afraid. You can't judge someone until you get to know them.

Louis and I spend over an hour just talking about our tattoos and just random stuff. He's a really nice guy. Out of everyone in the world, I never thought I'd ever talk to him. Let alone be sitting on a dock talking about tattoos and emotions. It's amazing how things turn out, isn't it?

I might think about joining the band...

I hope you like this! This fanfic will NOT turn into a Larry fanfic. Whether you ship it or don't ship it or don't even know what Larry is, that doesn't matter. This is fiction, just remember that...

As usual, thank you for reading, I love you. This has been #1 for awhile now, thank you so much!! <3

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