I let it burn
You're no longer my concern
Faces from my past return
Another lesson yet to learn

Natalie and I were in the car on our way to this abandoned subway station now. It was quite creepy knowing that we'd be going in blind to this place, but Alex, being a hacker, promised he'd be watching through the street cameras all the time in case anything happened.

Nat was freaking out and I didn't know how to help anymore, she was breathing heavily and she wasn't talking. I knew who Zayn was, which was why I didn't blame her for acting like this, but it just physically hurt me to see her suffering this much.

Fuck, this night was supposed to go well. I really didn't want anything else to happen, it was around three thirty a.m. and I was really fucking tired. I just knew Natalie wouldn't be able to sleep after this.

We were ten minutes away from our destination and none of us were talking, but I was making sure to drive fast enough to be there as soon as possible. I don't know how an abandoned subway station would look at night, but I knew this is the type of shit that happens in movies and these places are supposed to be terrifying.

I was scared, yes. Mostly for Natalie because I knew it was hard getting her out of her head when this kind of stuff happened. And I knew she hated being in her head.

She loved, or at least used to love Zayn, and that was something I couldn't comment on. I had no idea what they had gone through together and I sure as hell wouldn't blame her for caring, I'd care too. I just didn't want her to get hurt, that's all.

I was concerned about Zayn too though. I didn't have any type of relationship with him, I had never even seen him in my life but yet, the thought of him getting killed because of something we did wasn't being kind to me.

Nat was anxious, that I was sure. She kept bouncing her leg up and down and she was chewing on the skin of her lips especially harsher today. I wondered if she realized she was hurting herself.

We were both armed, of course, but I had the feeling we wouldn't have to fight much. It definitely wasn't a good feeling, something about this whole situation just didn't add up to me.

I made sure Natalie knew I was there in case she needed to cry or vent, but she seemed to have shut down completely. She was way too lost in her mind and I knew she'd eventually want to get out, I was just hoping it happened soon because the lost look in her eyes was making me nervous.

I couldn't bring myself to speak, I didn't know what the right thing to say would be in occasions like this and I was scared I'd just make things worse.

"We're here." I cleared my throat, catching Nat's attention.

Her head turned to me in a slight nod and soon, we were both out of our car. I made sure that the gun on the back of my pants was loaded and so did Natalie, and we were ready to kill some motherfuckers.

"Okay?" I whispered.

She didn't answer and I don't know why my heart broke a little. Instead, she just nodded. Her jaw was clenched and I knew she was pissed, the way she was holding her gun gave it all away. I just hoped we'd be alright.

We walked down the stairs and into complete darkness, the only source of lighting coming from an old light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The railway was to our left and the floor was really dirty, puddles of water and garbage littering it.

The place looked like it was about to fall down and it was weird how there weren't any policemen lingering around. I guess the guy we were looking for had done his homework correctly.

I kept my gun high, walking slowly. My footsteps echoed in the tunnel and the light flickered every now and then, but I think we were fine.

"Finally! I was waiting for you guys," A raspy, cold voice came up from the shadows, making the hairs on my nape bristle.

Within the darkness, a tall figure popped out. He had jet black hair with a beard and light blue eyes, he could've been my father. There was a wicked glint in his expression that was making me really anxious.

"No fucking way," Natalie whispered, making me turn around only to find the most horrified look on her face. "Agarwal?"

"The one and only." This so-called Agarwal spoke up.

I had no idea who he was, but apparently Natalie did and now I was ten times more confused. Suddenly, everyone was turning up to be really different from what they said they were.

"He's your fucking nephew!" Natalie yelled, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Oh, yeah, well, gotta follow the boss' orders, you know?" He chuckled.

So he was following orders... that was an important fact to know. We still had no clue who he was working for, but the only idea popping in my mind was that he was one of Niall's killers or something.

I just stood there, watching the interaction like it was a ping pong match. Something told me they were really close, Natalie looked even more hurt than before and I had a very bad feeling about all of this.

"You fucking betrayed him! And me!" She took her hands to her face, wiping the tears. "I trusted you!"

"Well, then you can't exactly blame me, can you?" Agarwal reasoned. "I never asked you to trust me; you did this all to yourself."

"What the fuck is going on?" I joined in, sounding more aggressive than I intended.

"Alright, chill your tits, mister. We're having a conversation here, if you don't mind." Agarwal rolled his eyes, raising his pointer finger to stop me.

I would've laughed at his statement if he wasn't the bad guy, but right now I just felt pissed off at him. I felt kinda left out because Natalie knew everyone and everyone knew her, but I knew this was her life and hence, her fight too.

"Chill your tits? Fuck's sake, it's four a.m.! You interrupted a nice dinner for this, I'm tired and so is Natalie, so if you don't mind, would you start acting fucking serious?" I snapped, keeping a hard voice.

Agarwal remained silent, but there was a small smirk slowly creeping up his face. He would've definitely been casted for a movie as the comical villain, that is if he wasn't already one in real life. This was all getting on my nerves and I just wanted to get Zayn and Natalie out of here safely.

"Bold. I like it," He quirked the corners of his lips up, nodding. "Well, it's quite simple actually. We want you dead, so if we kill you, then Zayn can leave."

"We? Who do you work for?" Natalie asked, sounding pretty aggressive.

Agarwal gave us a funny look, like all of this was entertaining him, "Mort Negra."

For Christ's sake.

Of course he'd be working for those dudes, I had nearly forgotten about them. It was clearly no big deal to me, but I could practically hear Natalie's heart shattering into pieces. I just wanted to run towards her and give her the longest and tightest bear hug.

"You're a fucking traitor, you're gonna fucking die for this." She shook her head, disgusted. "How can I know you won't kill Zayn?"

"Well, I'm a man of my word. I may be a... traitor, in some senses, but I would never kill my nephew because of you two. You're really not that important." He smiled, giving us a mocking look.

I have no idea what was stopping me from taking out my gun and start shooting aimless bullets everywhere, I guess I just wanted to hear what he had to say. But he was starting to annoy me and it pissed me off that he was hurting Natalie.

"I trusted you!" She raised her gun, but Agarwal didn't even flinch.

"Again, you did this all to yourself, darling." He winked.

"'Darling' me one more time and I'll show you the real darling, are we clear?" Natalie whispered through gritted teeth.

I decided to step in before we lost our chance. This was all very risky, we didn't know if Agarwal had brought backup which was why we couldn't just kill him.

"Alright, calm down y'all. Where's Zayn?" I motioned with my hands, clenching my jaw.

Agarwal gave me one last smile before stepping to the side, exposing a very bloody Zayn tied up to a chair. His hair was soaked in blood and his chin was hanging against his chest dead weight. He was definitely unconscious.

I heard Natalie wincing next to me and, next thing I know, she was trying to run towards him. Her impulse only made Agarwal take out his own gun out of fucking nowhere and aim it at her, but that caused both Nat and I to do the same to him.

"Put. The gun. Down." I raised my eyebrows at him. "I swear I'm gonna fucking shoot."

"I really don't mind, to be honest." He shrugged, not complying to my orders. "I brought backup, I'm not that stupid."

He shot his gun twice, but aimed it at the security cameras on each side of the railway. Fuck, he had cut all sorts of communication we had with Alex and Alissa and now we were really going in blind.

Agarwal was smarter than I anticipated, I had to give him that. He considered every possibility and made sure to wear them all out, knowing exactly how to trick us.

"Yeah, smarty, eh?" He winked at me, but the only thing I could do was glare in response. "Zayn can't join us right now, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait. Would you like a cup of tea?"

He was so stupid it was almost hilarious. Honestly, I preferred the other kind of bad guys who weren't so full of themselves and didn't act all tough. Agarwal was the full pack... good cheater, smart and funny.

I ran towards Natalie and didn't give her time to react when I pulled her in for a hug. She nuzzled herself into my chest, fisting her hands around me.

The quiet sobs leaving her lips were breaking my heart. I knew she was having a really rough time processing all of this shit, her ex-boyfriend's life was in danger and whoever the fuck Agarwal was had betrayed her.

I couldn't wrap my head around everything she had been going through, even before I arrived. No eating or sleeping, yet here she was... showing herself the strongest everyday. I would've snapped broken after the first hour.

She was truly the strongest person I knew and I was proud of her. It was unbelievably admirable how she was starting to overcome her biggest issues.

A quiet 'awww' from behind me made me snap out of it very fast. I turned around to glare at Agarwal, but he just gave me a fatherly-like smile.

"Are you guys official?" He flicked his pointer finger in between us.

"None of your fucking business," Natalie sniffled, rubbing the back of her hand against her nose. "Don't think you're gonna win this because you're not."

"Oh, honey, I don't think I'm gonna win this." Agarwal pouted, shaking his head. "I know I will."

Okay, but the pet names were starting to get on my nerves.

I swear to god I was about to throw a bucket of cold water on Zayn so he could wake up and get the fuck out of here. The atmosphere in this place was sickening and it physically hurt me having to stay here longer.

"Nat?"

A quiet groan made all of us turn around to meet a very sleepy-looking Zayn. His hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead and he was squinting his eyes, trying to clear his just-awaken sight.

"Zayn! Oh, my fucking god, are you okay?" Natalie ran towards him.

This time, Agarwal didn't stop her. He moved to the side, clearing her path so that she could crash her body against Zayn's limp one. He gasped at the action, Natalie was literally choking him into the hug. He was probably still too dumbfounded to understand what the fuck was going on, but I could understand Natalie.

"I'm- I think I'm fine, are you?" He stuttered, squirming under the ropes restraining his wrists and ankles.

"I thought I lost you," She ignored his previous statement, crying into the crook of his neck before she pulled away to plant a soft kiss to his forehead.

"I'm here, I'm here." Zayn winced, and I could tell how badly he wanted to touch her.

I knew this wasn't the moment to feel jealous but I just couldn't help it. I knew they had a story, a past relationship, Zayn still loved her and that only made a weird pit start to grow in my stomach.

"Aren't they cuties?" A raspy voice whispered to my side, making me turn around to find Agarwal was dangerously close and looking at Natalie and Zayn like it was a movie.

"Fuck off," I rolled my eyes just when I felt a pair of eyes setting on me, Zayn's eyes.

"Who- who is that?" He hissed out, giving me a confused expression.

I drew a small curve on my lips. It wasn't a smile, it was kinda like a sympathetic grimace because this whole situation was fucking me and my brain up.

"That's Harry, he's a friend." Natalie cupped his cheeks, brushing her thumb over his cheekbones.

Sure, a friend.

"Are we going home now?" Zayn screwed his eyes shut, seeming light-headed.

Great, just when I thought I couldn't feel any worse. It was already a lot of pressure knowing they used to be a couple, but Zayn thinking they'd end up together again?

I mean, I wouldn't blame nor stop Natalie if she wanted to... but did she want to? Fuck, no, I couldn't lose her. Not this time.

"Y-Yes, you're going home." Natalie choked out a barely audible whisper, but the statement was so sugarcoated that I heard my heart breaking all over again.

"Are you coming with me?" Zayn opened his eyes a bit more, showcasing the little sparks of hope igniting on his pupils.

Natalie turned her head towards me, biting her lip so harshly that I wondered how she hadn't broken the skin already. I could see the inner battle flashing in her eyes, adding up to the guilt I could sense she was feeling.

Zayn's expression immediately hardened, his eyes lighting off. He looked so fucking sad. Fuck, I hated that I was the one that had interrupted their relationship like this, but I just couldn't let Nat go now.

"I think you know the answer," Natalie removed her hands from his face, looking down at her knees. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, look at me," He smiled, a heart-warming smile that caught me pretty much off guard. "It's okay, everything's gonna be fine. Thank you."

Even if he was speaking up the most encouraging words, his tone was broken. I could now see how much he cared about Natalie... any asshole would've gotten angry, but Zayn? Zayn thanked her.

"Hey, Harry." He then called out my name. "Come here."

I didn't 'almost' this time, I actually choked on my own saliva. His eyes were soft and watery and there was a tiny smile on his face, but he was calling me. Maybe the concussion was giving him a hard time.

I looked to my sides, trying to make sure he truly meant it, "Me?"

"Well, yeah." He chuckled.

God, he could be so soft and warm that I just knew why Natalie had fallen in love with him in the first place.

I glared at Agarwal one last time, who just shrugged, before making my way towards Zayn. I kneeled down and he motioned with his head so I'd come closer, and well, I did.

"Remember," He whispered. "She really likes talking to the stars, they probably know more about you than anyone else."

Oh god, was I truly about to cry right now?

Somehow, his words affected me much more than I anticipated. Maybe because he was talking like he was about to die, or maybe because the emotion of the moment was messing with me.

I knew Natalie liked chatting with the stars, but hearing Zayn saying it, especially under this circumstances, was making me feel like he was giving up his most precious belonging.

"Alright, lovebirds, party's over. It's-" Dear Mr. Agarwal decided to cut us off short, but he didn't see it coming when Natalie grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

Zayn and I looked at her with shocked expressions as she kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to fall to the floor. He was yelping in pain from Natalie's hard grip on his arm, she was using all of her strength and his body was bent in a really weird position.

"You know you'll win, yeah? Win then." She raised an eyebrow, punching the side of his face with all of her force.

His body fell dead weight to the side and Natalie stared down at him, watching as the blood started pouring out of his nose senseless. Something about the way she looked, panting and glaring at him, was making weird chills go down my spine.

"Oh, and never, ever, underestimate her." Zayn whispered through the corner of his mouth.

I chuckled, kneeling down again to untie the ropes around his wrists and ankles. He grunted in pain as the restraints came loose, rubbing his skin which was probably burning.

Zayn stumbled his way up his seat, probably because of his recent concussion. There was an ugly horizontal cut on his forehead that was dripping blood, staining his whole face. It didn't look serious, but it'd leave a scar for sure.

"Hey, Harry," He muttered, making me look up at him only to meet those amber eyes. "Please take care of her."

I looked him deeply in the eyes, trying to figure out which were the correct words I should say. I was about to answer when the sound of Natalie's voice erupted into my mind again.

"You're such a fucking scumbag, killing people for fun?" Natalie snorted as Agarwal held his arm. "Disgusting."

And trust me when I tell you none of us saw this coming, but suddenly, there was a gun on his hand. And he wasn't aiming at me or at Natalie.

He was aiming it at Zayn.

The loud sound of a gunshot echoed in the subway together with Natalie's scream. The bullet drilled in between Zayn's eyes and suddenly, I was seeing all in black and white. Slow motion, like movies.

Zayn fell limp to the floor, the back of his head crashing against the chair once he did. Natalie's shout was long and shrill, I could literally feel the way my heart had been bulleted too.

She ran towards him, falling on her knees as the tears started to brim her waterlines. I couldn't move from my place, my feet were stuck to the floor like bricks of cement and I couldn't even react when I saw Agarwal running away.

My ears were ringing and everything sounded muffled, I wasn't even sure what I was looking at. All I could see was the pool of blood starting to spread on the floor under Zayn's head.

Natalie was drenched in blood now and I had no idea when that happened, but her fingers were red and so was part of her face and hair. She was looking up at me and yelling unintelligible words while the tears kept streaming down her cheeks. She held Zayn's head by his nape for dear life, like she didn't want to let go.

My heart thumped harshly against my chest and I felt like puking. Everything had gone to shit and the only thing I could hear in my mind was my heartbeat and the last words Zayn spoke to me.

Please take care of her.