Chapter Text
Chapter 1
It was bleeding cold outside and Louis was dragging Zayn out of the flat, against his consent, mind you, because he needed inspiration and a walk along the Thames banks would do wonders for his creative juices.
"I'll just sit here on the banks, away from the fucking bridge, where cars could come flying out at any moment. Go on and have your 'inspirational walk.' Don't let me stop you." Zayn popped a squat on the rocky banks, pulling a cigarette out of his carton, along with his lighter.
"Zayn. Do you want me to get mugged?" Louis crossed his arms and popped his hip out in a defensive stance.
"Louis. I can see down past the other fucking side of the damn bridge. I'll be able to see anybody coming along. I've got my gun on me, alright? I can shoot anybody 100 metres away." Zayn replied with the filter in his mouth, cupping his hand over the other end to light it, breathing in the menthol. "I am not going on a walk with you. My legs hurt."
"Fine. But my death will be on your hands." Louis shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking aimlessly towards the bridge.
"I'll write a heart-warming eulogy that won't leave a dry eye anywhere within hearing distance." Zayn blew smoke at the retreating man, who had kindly flipped him the bird.
Louis walked over the rounded and smooth rocks that lined the Thames river, about 50 metres from the bridge when a body was falling backwards into the water, hitting it with a smack and fucking hell. Louis was pulling off his coat and Vans and waded into the water until he could swim, and began whipping his arms with full force towards the radiating waves where the body fell, and was going down.
Louis dove down, blind as a bat, reaching for the brown boot of the figure who was falling further. He yanked the boot, suddenly the figure whooshed with the tug as he tried to swim to the surface. His lungs were betraying him in the cold water, and he had to let go to breach for a taste of freezing air before he plunged back down, grabbing the torso of the body. The water was so dirty, he couldn’t see anything but that the figure was wearing all black.
Louis was heaving as he breathed in the air, and there was Zayn, on the shore, with paramedics who were wading into the water. He swam on his back, holding the teenager in his arms, his front supporting their back. When his feet grazed sold ground, he was surrounded by a lot of people in bright yellow.
The kid was being taken from his arms and he let them, as another set of arms was picking up his own shaking body, and he was being wrapped in numerous blankets, and he saw Zayn next to him.
"Your inspiration walk included almost drowning while trying to save a kid who fell from the bridge?" Zayn joked, patting Louis' cold head.
"I needed- a - change in- routine." Louis huffed out as he was being told to sit on a gurney by one of the paramedics.
"God, Louis. I can’t write for shit, thought I was going to have to gain your skill set for the eulogy." Zayn sat next to him, embracing the shaking man into a hug, trying to keep him warm.
"Excuse me do you happen to know the name of the unconscious girl over here?" The paramedic asked Louis as he was being shoved into the ambulance and the gurney holding the dirty blonde haired girl was being lifted into the bed in front of him.
"Not a clue. We just saw her jump and Louis ran in to save her." Zayn answered for him, taking the seat next to louis as they closed the doors, one paramedic attending to the girl and another trying to put an oxygen mask over Louis' nose and mouth.
"I dont need that. I'm fine." Louis shoved it away and Zayn gave him a look.
"Take it, Lou. Your lungs are struggling to retain air." Zayn told him as Louis let the man put the mask on him.
"I'm fine." Louis muttered with the mask over his mouth, muffling his words, although Zayn knew exactly what he said.
"We need to hook you up to an IV." The paramedic had bleach blonde hair and was holding the needle to attach to the already hanging bag of fluids.
"I don't--
"Louis." Zayn warned, and Louis took his arm out of the blanket and held it out for the paramedic with the name 'Manfield.'
"Have you checked for a phone or wallet?" Louis asked, nodding towards the girl, and the paramedic attending checked her front pockets and rolled her over, pulling an iphone in a lifeproof case.
"George. I told you to check when we pulled her out of the water." Manfield scolded him as he took it and turned it on.
"New?" Zayn asked the young paramedic.
"Third day." George replied.
"You?" Louis asked Manfield.
"I volunteer on the weekends. 2 years, almost." Manfield answered.
"Find anything?" Zayn asked, nodding to the phone.
"She texts 'Hazza' and 'Cher' alot. Figure one of them can help me." Manfield was already dialing one. "Hello, is this 'Hazza?'... Well the owner of this phone took a plunge off the Thames Bridge. . This is John Manfield, I'm a paramedic. Could you maybe answer a few questions concerning her medical history?... We are halfway to Queen's Palace hospital in Central London..."
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"Hello?" Harry answered his phone, Gemma was calling him.
"Hello, is this 'Hazza?'" A man was on the other end. He had a thick Irish accent
"Yes." Harry was confused, stopping in his tracks. He was on his way home from work, just got out of the tube.
"Well the owner of this phone took a plunge off the Thames Bridge. This is John Manfield, I'm a paramedic. Could you maybe answer a few questions concerning her medical history?"
"She's my sister." Harry was 10 blocks from the hospital when he started running in that direction.
"We are halfway to Queen's Palace hospital in Central London. What is her full name?"
When the ambulance arrived at the Emergency center, Louis and the girl were rushed inside, and a man in a black suit with a white shirt underneath was asking if that was his sister.
"Harry Styles?" John asked, and Harry stopped. "We spoke on the phone. Your sister has suffered a concussion and some bruises, also she inhaled a lot of water. On impact, most likely, she had the wind knocked out of her. We are stabilizing her. If it hadn’t been for the lad who dove in after her, she wouldn’t have made it.
Louis was being transported on a gurney to a room. He pleaded, "I'm fine! Just cold! Really, lads. This isn’t necessary." But it was standard procedure and the police needed to question him.
"Do you know who saved her?" Harry was trying to process everything.
"His friend is over there. I've got to go, but the nurses will fill you in." John nodded to Zayn, who was sitting in the chair, on his phone.
"Excuse me?" Harry shuffled over to Zayn once he had gotten off the phone.
"Yes?" Zayn sat up.
"The paramedic said your friend dove in after my sister?" Harry asked, not demandly, but not very politely. He had just finished a domestic case and it was stressful.
"Ah, yep. I'm Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, hes the one who yanked off his coat and dove in. Hes just being treated for hypothermia. Should be available in a short bit." He stood up to shake Harry's hand.
"Harry Styles." He shook Zayn's hand. "I've got to go check on my sister and find out if shes okay, but I would like to thank him. Could you see that he stays so ill be able to do so?"
"Yeah, man. No problem." Zayn nodded as Harry went off to the nurses station.
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"He just wants to thank you for saving her life, can you do him the courtesy? You haven’t got anything better to do." Zayn explained to Louis.
"I dont want to be recognized for this. It was anonymous and people will think its a P.R. stunt for my new book." Louis frowned, scratching at the blood pressure cuff which was contracting every 15 minutes as he sat in the hospital bed.
"Louis Tomlinson. This man's sister just tried to kill herself and if it hadn’t been for you, she might had succeeded. He wants to thank you. just shake your hand and maybe ask if he can repay you with dinner or something. He was wearing a very nice suit. And he's cute." Zayn tried to persuade his friend to just accept something for once.
"He was cute?" Louis sat up a bit. "I mean, I guess it couldn't hurt."
"I knew you'd come around." Zayn remarked with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, don't even. What did Liam say? When can I leave?"
"He said you don’t seem to have suffered anything major, but he wants to keep you overnight to be sure."
"I have to stay here over night? I've got a date tonight." Louis complained.
"With a bag of crisps, a beer, and Netflix." Zayn retorted.
"Oh, hush. I'm on season 3 of Gossip Girl and I need to see what Georgina does to Blair!" Louis flapped his arms in anger.
"I'll stop by the flat and get your laptop." Zayn compromised. "Don't get your panties in a wad."
"Can you bring beer?" Louis begged.
"No. You cannot get drunk in a hospital. I'll be back in an hour. I'll stop by Harry's sister's room and let him know where you are." Zayn said before shoving his phone in his pocket.
"Harry?"
"The guy whose sister's life you saved."
"Ah. Okay." Louis nodded, watching his friend go.
Louis sat for about 10 minutes, watching Skins on E4 before there was a knock on door frame. A 6 foot man with a curly quiff and wearing a suit stepped into the room upon Louis' "Yes?"
"Hi, are you Louis?" He had a deep and slow voice.
"Yes?" Louis sat up a bit straighter as the man stepped further into the room.
"I'm Harry Styles. Thank you." He held out his hand for Louis to shake, stepping close enough to the bed to achieve contact. "You saved my sister's life. If it wasn’t for you, she wouldn’t have made it. They said she had a collapsed lung from the impact. She's stabilized now, but I seriously cannot thank you enough."
"It really wasn’t anything. I was a lifeguard in Uni, it's second nature to dive into the water to save somebody. I would have done it for anybody." Louis smiled, and gestured for him to sit down in the chair next to him.
"Well I mean, you saved a human life. My sister's to be more specific. And that means alot to me. I know she will want to thank you as well. Shes still pretty groggy from the events of the day. Are you going to be here overnight?" Harry motioned towards his obvious position, IV, hospital gown, and the room he was assigned to.
"Yes. One of my friends is a doctor down here, wants to be extra safe. He's always been a worrywart so, it's not very surprising. He's an absolute doll. I assume you've probably talked to him, actually... Liam Payne?" Louis looked for any sign of recognition in Harry's face.
"Does he have a resemblance to David Beckham?" Harry asked, the name familiar.
"That would be him."
"Very nice and courteous. He was very cautious around the subject of suicide around my sister, Gemma is her name, by the way." Harry informed, looking directly into Louis' eyes while he waited for a reply.
"He's a great guy." Louis nodded.
"Yeah... But hey, listen. I would really like to repay you in some way, even though it wouldn’t even begin to cover what you've done. I know alot of people and i can do pretty much anything within the boundaries of the law." Harry leaned forward on his elbows against his knees.
Louis scoffed, hardly believing this kid, he may be wearing a fancy suit, but he certainly couldn’t do much. Probably just came from a wedding or summat. "Really, it's fine. Don't think anything of it. Please dont worry about it. I'm not above anybody for doing something that any decent human being would have done--"
Harry cut him off, "Diving into freezing water to save a depressed tee--"
"Louis Tomlinson?" A policeman cut Harry off.
"Yes?" Louis questioned.
"I'm here to have you fill out a witness report."
"Oh, well I'll let you get to that. We can talk later." Harry stood, sweeping past the Policeman, "Have a good day, Constable."
"Same to you, Mr. Styles. I'll see you next week." The man took the seat that Harry had vacated. "Louis, what were you even thinking?"
"Aiden, how do you know him?" Louis disregarded his question.
"He's defending that DJ in that Radio One shooting, the one I've got to testify at." Officer Grimshaw answered.
"I thought Cher Lloyd was..?" Louis trailed off, confused.
"Yeah, but Mr. Styles is the main solicitor. Nice guy. Sad that you had to meet him under these circumstances. Usually a laugh." Officer Aiden Grimshaw spent the next 15 minutes asking Louis questions and taking his statement, occasionally straying off topic.
"Aiden? You were assigned this case?" Zayn stepped back into the room an hour after he left, Louis' laptop bag in his left hand and a Tesco bag in the right.
"Nick is seriously fucking with my work. Chief has me on desk duty until the trial was over. I had to beg him to let me cover this. Needed to get out, yanno?" Aiden stretched out on the chair next to Louis' bed.
"And he let you take it because nobody wants to handle a suicide attempt and do the paperwork." Zayn supplied.
"Bingo!" Aiden pointed his index finger in a bounce at Zayn's reply.
"Also he got to talk to apparently a very attractive and suicidal young lady." Louis pointed his index in the same action.
"Aiden please don't tell me you hit on her? She just tried to kill herself 3 hours ago, Grimshaw." Zayn scolded the officer, knocking him on the head as he handed Louis the two bags.
"I didn't. But I did say I would be back with a follow up tomorrow. I plan to give her my number in case she ever needs any help." Aiden stood and waved goodbye before he got another backhand to the head.
"Thank you for my items, Zayny." Louis winked at the slouched over man.
"You're welcome. I was going to pick up some beers, but thought better than to make the nurses deal with an intoxicated patient. Especially you." Zayn poked his chest.
"Wine? You don’t expect me to be inspired while I'm sober, do you?" Louis didn’t plead, but argued with fervour.
"Did none of the events in the past 4 hours inspire you enough? You've got to have 50 ideas roaming around in that scary mind of yours."
"Well... yes. 109, actually. But. I can’t write eccentric pieces while I'm sober. Just a little buzz to get to creative juices flowing." Louis was not an alcoholic. He was stressed.
"You will not have any juices flowing on that bed, Louis. This is a hospital. Not your bedroom." Niall poked his head into the room, a smile on his face.
"You called Niall?" Louis groaned.
"What is that s'posed ta mean?" Niall flopped down next to Louis in the twin size hospital bed.
"It means that Its not a big deal and--did you call my mother, Zayn Malik?" Louis glared at Zayn with his arms crossed.
"I did not call Niall." Zayn crossed his own arms, taking a defensive stance.
"Liam texted me." Niall wrapped his arm around Louis, "You saved somebody, huh?"
"ZAYN JAVAAD MALIK. You called my mother?" Louis raised his voice before he realized he was being obscenely loud, and lowered it to a low growl.
"Actually, no. But I should. She would love to know that you've saved a life." Zayn was already pulling out his phone.
"Niall please stop him." Louis paused as the 24 year old began to chase the 26 year old around the room, "Mother does not need to know about this. I will tell her once I am out of the hospital. She would be hauling everybody onto a train in a matter of minutes after you hang up."
"Louis please, other patients are trying to--" Liam had come into the room to see Niall and Zayn, abruptly stopping in his tracks. Zayn had pulled Niall into a headlock and Niall was flailing his limbs about, trying to jab his left elbow into something that would hurt, but to no avail. "Zayn, let him go. I don't want to have to admit either of you to this facility."
"Zayn was about to call mum." Louis supplied when Liam looked to him for an explanation. It sufficed with a nod of the head, Liam knowing how much of a momma's boy Louis is, and how fast she would be down in London, trying to overpower the nurses.
"That was assault of an officer." Zayn retorted to Niall after he let go, and NIall tried to get a kick to the arse in. "I can have you arrested and prosecuted."
"Please. You wouldnt go near me. I cover half of dear Liam's rent." Niall brushed off his white shoes.
"I can afford my own place. I just don't like living alone." Liam raised his eyebrows, challenging Niall, turning it into a soft smile when his eyes met Zayn's, his cheeks turning rosy.
"Niall, would you like to trade your Liam for me? Sort out the sexual tension between these two and then we might actually have a chance once they commence to fucking." Louis smirked as he opened his laptop.
"I can just leave you here." Zayn said, matter-of-factly at the same time Liam blurted, "There is no sexual tension." They both looked at each other and Zayn winked as Liam widened his eyes and stood straighter.
"Yeah, sure. Why don't we grab a bite while Louis watches whatever lame show he's got next on his Netflix queue?" Niall suggested, throwing his arm around Zayn's shoulder, ushering him out of the room.
"Did you just come in here to see Zayn or do you have some medical thing to talk to me about?" Louis questioned the man standing in the light green scrubs.
"Ah, actually yes. To be absolutely sure that you're not suffering any organ problems or such, I would like to run an MRI." Liam held up the clipboard in his hands, handing it to Louis. "Just some forms to fill out. You don't have any metal plates or copious amounts of tattoos. Standard procedure."
"Well you know I've got about 25 tattoos, Li. Would it be best to have an MRI?" Louis asked as he filled out the charts.
"It wouldn’t be anything, really. The tattoos clause is for people like Zayn, with sleeves and larger tattoos. The metal content is very low in the ink, but we've got to warn of slight discomfort during and MRI." Liam took a seat on the arm of the chair next to Louis' bed.
"Alright, I've gotcha. Just slight discomfort? I'm sure theres nothing wrong with me." Louis handed back the forms.
"But I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you did happen to have internal bleeding or organ failure or something. This is more for my sake. I'll foot the bill if it makes you feel better. This isn’t an expensive thing, but because of the machine expense, free healthcare doesn’t cover it." Liam assured him, patting his shoulder.
"Liam, I've won the Betty Trask award 4 times, The Orwell prize, and all of my books have been featured in The London Times as bestsellers. I can foot a little MRI bill. I just don’t think I've got any internal bleeding or anything." Louis fiddled with the login menu for his Netflix, also opening a new word document, dragging each to the corner to have a split screen. "Besides, I've become inspired. I must write."
"Well write a summary of your inspiration, the nurse will be with a wheelchair to take you to the MRI room on level 3." Liam tapped Louis' head with the clipboard, leaving before Louis could make an opposing argument.
"I dont need a wheelchair!" Louis called out in defiance before typing up a few main points.
1. Protagonist jumps into river to save a jumper, ends up finding cancer after the MRI. He's got a year, and decides that he will do something incredible in this time.
2. Protagonist has dead end job as a paramedic after not going to UNI, called to the Thames bridge on a suicide rescue and both patients are suffering from hypothermia.
3. Protagonist jumps off bridge, life sucks, the usual. Saved and transported to hospital.. receives help needed.
-Three books. Last book.. Story blends together after 1st Protagonists death, protagonist 2 and 3 meet at funeral... Twisted love story.. End up starting a company to cater to depressed people.( A friend will pay for service, call received for depressed person, come over with pizza and a movie and cuddling) They meet a boy who changes their lives, adoption, blah blah blah.
Louis barely got the last part down before there was a knock at the door. "I. Do. Not. Need. A. Wheelchair." He replied to the knock before seeing who was actually at the door.
"I'm sorry, are you leaving or something?" Harry stepped inside the room, his hair was a bit more messed up and his tie was gone, shirt unbuttoned to reveal two swallows inked under his collarbones.
“Oh, no. Liam, my doctor, and overprotective friend, wants to do an MRI to check on any organ failure or internal bleeding and such. The likelihood of it happening is 1 in a million, but he’s a good mate.” Louis supplied to ease Harry’s troubled expression.
“That is an extra expense, isn’t it? Please let me pay for that. You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for saving my sister’s life.” Harry walked over to his bedside.
“Mr. Styles--” Louis began before Harry cut him off.
“Harry. Mr. Styles is my father.”
“Harry. I know you want to repay me in some way, but I refuse. I was being a decent human being. not anything extraordinary. Please don’t feel the need. I’ve got enough money in my bank account to cover an MRI.” Louis defended his ability to pay for his own damn medical bills.
“I dont think you understand. I’m not going to accept no for an answer, Mr. Tomlinson.” Harry took a seat in a negotiation-like pose.
“Louis, please.” Louis corrected him.
“Louis Tomlinson…” Harry racked his mind for a minute before he raised his eyebrows and Louis swears that Harry’s eyeballs popped a bit out of his head. “As in London Times recommended best author, Louis Tomlinson?”
“Yes. The very same. You must be aware that I am able to pay for an MRI for myself, and the whole hospital, Mr. Styles. Please do not patronize me.” Louis began to close his laptop.
“Well at least let me treat you to dinner once you get out of this hospital then? Indulge me, Mr. Tomlinson. I don’t care if you’re the bloody prince of England, I want to treat the man who saved my sisters life, to dinner.” Harry sat a little straighter, fixing his disheveled appearance by running a hand through his hair.
“Putting aside my pride, I accept.” Louis decided after a moment of pondering the proposition as if it was a business deal.
“I’ve got to accompany a client to dinner in a few hours, but may I give you my phone number to sort out the details?” Louis made a strange expression, as if he was almost appalled by the fact that he wasn’t going to stay with his sister. “I wish I could stay, and I had a rather colorful conversation with my partner to see if she could take it, but she wouldn’t budge, and I’ve got my best mate with Gemma.”
“Understandable. Yeah, you have your phone with you?” Louis held out his hand as it was deposited into his small and thin hands, which he had always been insecure about but his hands were quite a contradiction to other addendums.
Once Louis had place his number into Harry’s phone, Harry left with a, “Thank you again, Mr. Tomlinson. I really cannot thank you enough for this. I’ll be sure to call or--do you text?” A small nod from Louis permitted him to continue, “I’ll try to text you then, but have a wonderful day. Again, thank you.” And with the last ‘thank you’ he was out of the room and probably back to talk to his sister and best mate.
Louis was writing a few more elaborated ideas in his word document, playing one of his ‘punk rock’ playlists on Spotify, which was basically a mix of 5SOS, All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens, and Pierce the Veil. He was very ashamed of the fact that he was a 26 year old man, and a very successful writer… and he still listened to teenager punk rock. It helped him write, he defended.
The nurse came in with a wheelchair for him, and he frowned, “I do not need a wheelchair.”
“Mr. Tomlinson, Dr. Payne made it very clear that you are not to be walking. Hypothermia patients are not even supposed to be move more than a few steps for at least 12 hours after exposure to extreme cold. I don’t care if you’ve got the most mild case possible. My job is at stake if I don’t follow procedure.” She popped her hip out and glared at Louis.
“Fine. Bring it over here. But I do not need help getting into it. Just press it again the bed and hold it.” Louis bargained and she complied.
“Please hold still during the procedure.” The MRI tech told him as he lay down inside the hard magnetic machine.
“Yes sir.” Louis replied as it began flashing and Liam didn’t lie about the discomfort. It wasn’t a great pain, just felt like after he had gotten each tattoo done.. Soreness, almost. He felt a bit like he was in a photoshoot or something with the flashing lights and the almost identical shutter sound.