Hollow - LS

7| Overthinking

7| Overthinking

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"I always seemed to need you more."

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Overthinking

Verb

Think about (something) too much or for too long.

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Louis felt like he wasn't catching a break. The entire week was moving slower than his mother would have liked, and the only silver lining he was seeing so far was that the support group meeting hadn't changed this time, and he wouldn't have had to sit outside like last time. Not that sitting with Niall that evening had been a bad thing.

But that positive thinking seemed to quickly change when he walked into the meeting, and noticed that someone was sitting in the seat he had mentally claimed as his. The stranger's back was turned towards him so they wouldn't be able to see the tension that suddenly began to fill in Louis or the worry that was most likely showing on his face. Worry and tension that wouldn't have been there if he had been able to get the seat that was his.

As time seemed to pass, the stranger still hadn't noticed that Louis was standing directly behind them, and was getting closer and closer to them as the time passed.

But others had taken notice.

A few regulars mixed in with a few newer faces were curiously glancing towards him or in his direction. No one said anything or whispered snide comments to others because they were all here for the same reason: to talk about their problems and feel supported. And this was one of his problems.

The thought of sitting somewhere else started to make him panic. For such a simple thing like a change in seating would be so easy for someone else to do, but for him, it brought him anxiety and worry.

He knew in his head that this wasn't a logical thing to get upset over and worry about, but a part of his mind was reminding himself of the fact that this was a change. And the thought of having to sit in between two new people that he hadn't familiarized himself with, and be in a different position of the group where he wasn't used to, and with his week already not going his way or his mother's way and having heard the all the complaints from her, this simple thing was causing him to feel like-

Two strong hands grabbed onto the back of his shoulders, stopping him from overthinking that situation. His body instantly relaxed. He had no idea who was behind him, but he figured it was Niall because he was the only one he felt himself growing closer to in the last week from the support group. But when the person leaned in to whisper something into the back of his ear with a different accent, he soon realized it wasn't Niall at all.

"It's okay." Harry's deep voice whispered behind him.

The relaxation he was slowly starting to feel went away, and the rigid tension was forming again. And it seemed that Harry was taking notice of that because he squeezed his hands on his shoulders and whispered the same statement again. After softly whispering it for the second time, he slowly let go of his grip onto his shoulders and went to stand next to him.

He didn't say anything else to Louis or even glanced in his direction to make sure he was alright after saying that to him. Instead, he went to sit down with the others and wait for the sponsor to show up. And he did that while going to sit in his regular seat. Something Louis didn't have the luxury of doing.