Chapter Text
"Why would I try and kill my best mate?"
"We don't know...but Ni-"
"Answer me this, Zayn. Why would I try and kill my best mate who I love? Why would I try and kill my brother? Huh? Why would I try and kill someone who means so damn much to me? I don't understand why everybody thinks it was me!"
"Niall, I don't know, okay? I wasn't there, I'm not picking sides. I'm trying my damned hardest to help you out, yeah? If you just let me, I'll figure something out."
"Zee, I hate it here. I feel so alone and disgusting...nobody will listen to me, nobody will hear me out...if I was just given the chance, I'd explain everything. I'll explain myself to Liam's family and tell them exactly why their son and brother is in hospital! I swear!"
"Time's up, Horan."
Niall sighed as he stared ahead at the blank wall. There's nothing more to do in a prison cell. His cell mate just laughed at him.
"The wall ain't going nowhere, mate, you can stop supervising the thing," Niall glared as the man smirked, "The name's Craig, by the way. You've been here for a while and said nothing. Why? Too afraid of opening that pretty mouth of yours?" He laughed, jumping off his bunk to sit on the floor, facing Niall.
"Fuck off," Niall huffed, glaring hard at him, "I don't even belong here."
"You sure? By what I heard, you tried to kill your own bandmate. Jealous of his popularity? Jealous of his looks? Something had to trigger the attack!" This sent Niall out of control. He growled and jumped up, slamming the guy into the wall.
"Don't you dare start judging me! You know nothing about me or my life, I'd like to keep it that way! Fuck tar-"
"HORAN!" A guard yelled out, tackling Niall in anger, slamming handcuffs onto his wrists. Niall thrashed as his cell mate smirked from the corner, "There will be no violence here! Come on, twit, you can go in your own cell for a few weeks," The guard snapped, dragging the limp Niall out the cell, slamming the gates behind him.
"Hi, Niall."
"Finally decided to visit me, eh?"
"Don't be a bastard. I can just turn around and leave once more."
"Ugh, fine...sorry, Lou."
"How's prison life?"
"Are you seriously asking me that?"
"Yeah, you're right...sorry, mate."
"S'fine. How's, uh, Harry?"
"He's good..."
"He's still mad, ain't he?"
"Yeah, mate, he's not cooling down anytime soon."
"Figures," Niall played with his fingers before speaking again, "And how's...Liam?"
"Doctor's said he's getting better each day. Still in a coma, but they reckon he'll awake in the next couple weeks."
"That's good...listen, Louis, I know you're still mad. I can see it in your eyes, but if you just-"
"Shut up, mate. Of course I'm still upset about what happened, but...I'm not blaming anyone until I know the full truth."
"...Do you believe it was me?"
"Nia-"
"Answer me."
"I believe you know exactly what happened."
"You don't believe me, do you?" Niall asked an inner cell mate, one lunch time. The said man turned to him and sighed, running a hand through his own black, quiffed hair. Reminding Niall of Zayn...home...
"Listen, Horan, I believe in second chances. I believe a lot of people in this place do not deserve one, including myself. I also believe that everybody deserves a chance to explain themselves. Just by looking at you, I can tell you deserve a second chance to explain yourself and correct your mistakes. I'm not going to judge you on your life right now, because, I have no right. Everybody in this place is here for different reasons.
Bruce, for example, he's here for raping his own daughter and beating his wife to death, but he's a surprisingly alright guy. He's been influenced by drugs and alcohol from a young age. His parents abused him when he was a kid, he didn't know wrong or right. Do the police or courts care? No. He did a crime, they brought him here. That's how it works.
Lynne, she's here for robbery and gang life. Raised in a gang, cared for by a gang. She didn't know what she was doing was wrong or against the law. She did it because she was told it was right. She's only been here for a year. Poor girl, still so shy and scared. She's protected by her cell mate, Jack.
Jack's here for drug addiction, drug dealing and attempted murder on his ex girlfriend's father. He and Lynne are close. If you mess with her, Jack will not hesitate to hurt ya.
Craig, your cell mate, he's in for murder, rape, abuse, drugs, alcohol and drunk driving. He's probably the biggest bully around here. Why you're sharing a cell with him makes no sense, but the cops don't care who you're with. We're all the same to them; criminals. Criminals who don't deserve any chance in this world. The cops are heartless people. They throw us around like dirt and feed us shit that can't even count as food.
What you need to understand, Horan, is how life works in this place. No prisoner is gonna believe you're innocent. They believe themselves are innocent, but nobody around them. You've only been here for, what, three, four months? You still have a lot to learn. And you still have at least two more months before your trial. If you can prove to the court and judge that you have done nothing wrong, you may have a chance to get out. But for attempted murder? Man slaughter? That's a good few years. Nobody will believe a kid like yourself."
"What are you in for?" Niall asked after a few moments to process everything. The man glared at the table for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"Lunch time talk is over, Horan," He spat, standing up from the table, "Remember, everybody deserves a second chance." With that, he walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Niall alone on the small, dirty table with his thoughts.