almost // l.s

fourteen

louis' wrists weren't infected but his heart was. it was consumed by one thing and one thing only. that was harry. his presence occupied his mind, body and spirit, and this made louis realise why it'd been so hard without him.

harry was sitting in his hospital bed, practically twiddling his thumbs, louis on one side and his mother on the other. anne kept sending her son worried glances, before finally giving in to her curiosity, "harry what happened?"

"i fainted," he said shortly, "the doctors told you."

the woman sighed, "i know that. i mean, what happened between you two?"

louis looked up from his phone and smile cautiously, not wanting to tread on unstable land. harry saw this and decided to pipe up, "it's a long story, mum, but basically louis was forced to end our relationship. then, he was there when i fell so he brought me in."

anne nodded slowly, "who forced you louis?"

"he might not feel comfortable telling you, mother," harry whisper yelled forcefully.

"it's okay, h," louis smiled again, more surely this time, "it was my father. he didn't like the fact that i'd fallen for a boy. even threatened to hurt harry to make me do it."

anne looked appalled, "you've told me about him before, but i didn't think it'd be this extreme.

louis fixed his fringe and shrugged, "neither. it is what it is, though. right?" both other members of the room nodded.

"so what's happening between you two now?"

harry bit his lip, "dunno."

the older boy slowly stroked harry's arm, "we'll figure it out somehow. get him out of the picture- yknow i'm sure niall would kill him for us, aye?" he poked harry's nose and the curly boy giggled. they looked up to see anne with a shocked expression.

"kidding, kidding," louis chuckled.

she softened and thought for a moment, "could you accuse him of threatening assault or something?"

louis shook his head, "doubt it. he owns 'tomlinson's enterprises,' huge retail business, and he has heaps of money. it'd be our word against his and, without proof, we'd have no chance."

anne looked deflated as she blew a sharp breath through her nose, "i just want you two to be happy wherever you are."

"me too," harry gazed up into louis' blue eyes, apparently he wasn't having a big talking day today.

-

harry was released from the confines of the hospital the next afternoon. louis rang his school, excusing himself and the younger boy from classes that day due to the situation. he also called his mum and explained what had happened. with no warning, jay arrived in harry's doorway less than ten minutes after. louis was glad to see she's still suport him.

now, the pair of boys were laying on harry's bed, planning how to break the news to eleanor.

"she'll tell your dad, though," harry whined.

"see if i care. i'll find a way to keep him as far from us as possible."

"then, i reckon just ring her," said harry, "tell her to leave you alone or you'll get the police involved."

"i'm not sure if you can harry."

"eleanor doesn't know that though, does she?" he smirked, "she's too dumb anyway."

louis rolled his eyes but picked up his phone nonetheless. he dialled the girl's number and put the call on speaker mode so harry could heart everything too.

after four rings she picked up, "loubear! how are you?" louis looked at the green-eyed boy and physically cringed at the nickname, "not so good eleanor." harry smiled at the brashness of his tone. he liked hearing louis speak to eleanor like that. did that make him cruel? the boy didn't care- she was worse.

"we need to talk about something very serious," louis said.

"oh," the girl murmured.

"i'm not gonna do this pretend relationship thing any longer," he continued, "it's too hard on me when there's actually someone that i love."

she sighed, "lou, i know this boy is getting to your head but you need to let him go. i know what's best for y-"

"no el, you don't know what's best for me- you have no idea! so you'll leave me alone from now on, yeah?"

"louis i can't let you do this. you're being stupid."

louis groaned and squeezed his phone tightly in his hand. harry pressed his fingers to louis', helping him relax, "i'm not being stupid and i'm not wrong. i am, in fact, as far from that as possible."

eleanor seemed stunned, not knowing what to say, "you'll pay louis tomlinson."

"probably," he replied casually, "but i know that you nor my dad would ever lay a finger on me so...?"

it was true. eleanor would be too scared and louis' father had far too much dignity. whether he'd go as far as bringing in someone else to do his dirty work was beyond harry, he didn't even know the man very well, but he prayed to god it wouldn't happen.

harry heard the line fall silent and breathed a sigh of relief, "handled that well."

louis exhaled deeply, his breath turning in a laugh, "you could say that."

-

harry knocked on mrs henderson's door and awaited the familiar sound of her voice, inviting him to enter. when he heard a soft, "come in," harry opened the door and stepped into the office.

"harry," she smiled, "good to see you!" she said that every time. harry knew she wasn't actually  pleased to be in his company, but it was a habit of counsellors to be overly friendly. the boy smiled back and went to sit on the plush armchair next to her.

when the pair were settled, mrs henderson placed her glasses on her nose and looked at her patient, "anything you were especially hoping to discuss?"

harry nodded, "yeah."

"spotlight's all yours," the lady was caring and harry always felt at ease. that was nice.

"it's about louis," he didn't need to explain who louis was, he'd shared so much information about him already, "i think we're back together."

mrs henderson grinned, "that's great news harry!" the younger of the two shrugged, "is it not?"

"it's his dad. i told you he was a loser, but according to lou he was the reason we split."

"oh? and how did that happen?"

"louis' friend saw us kissing one day and told him. he was so mad that louis was gay, he said if he didn't break up with me he'd hurt me," harry shivered thinking about it.

the counsellor looked startled, "that isn't going to happen harry, dear," she quickly stood up and grabbed a notebook off her desk, scribbling something into it, "i promise you."

"i'm just a bit scared to be around him," he admitted, "it's like we're restricted to being closed off again and i hate that."

"harry," mrs henderson placed her hand on top of the anxious boy's, "i will do everything in my power to keep you safe. bring louis in next week, if you'd like. i'd love to meet him and talk to the two of you."

harry beamed, he'd like that very much, "thank you."

"you're most welcome, honey."

♡♡♡

sorry for the wait! i like this chapter and where the plotline is going, hope you do too. don't forget to vote and comment...

thanks for reading. treat people with kindness.

alyssa xx :)