Mean to Me ♡ Larry

4.8

Chapter 48: Stand up

Present

Harry knocks on the door, standing behind it with his lip pulled between his teeth and his hands holding the candy he had been sent to get before arriving. He knew it was a joke, but of course, he got it anyway.

Before long, the wooden door is being opened by a smiling Zayn, who pulls Harry in for a hug as soon as he sees him. Harry hugs back tightly, a grin of his own making its way to his face. He missed this. Missed seeing Zayn happy. He missed seeing him at all, really.

"Thank you for coming. We really wanted to celebrate her coming home." They had gotten the news yesterday that Layla was stable enough to come home, under the instruction that she had to have regular, daily appointments and check-ups—which Zayn and Perrie were more than happy to abide by. Harry had been so relieved when they had called, Perrie and Zayn both crying in happiness.

Harry follows Zayn into the home, which is spotless after a few rounds of Perrie's stress cleaning. They round the corner into the living room, where Perrie and Layla sit on the floor, Layla cuddled into her mother as Perrie looks down at her with so much love.

"Hey, Pez," Harry speaks when noticing she hasn't realised he is in the room. She looks up and her face brightens. Perrie pats the spot next to her on the carpet and Harry is quick to comply with her actions, walking over and sitting down next to her, pulling her into a side hug. "I missed you." He kisses her cheek.

"I missed you more." Harry holds the bag of candy and Perrie laughs, snatching it from his hand. "Thank you, Hazza! I didn't know you were actually getting them."

"Of course I would!" Harry chuckles and gently runs his thumb over one of Layla's chubby little legs, looking at her fondly. "Hi, darling."

-*-

"I'm gonna make dinner tonight," Harry announces when Perrie tells him she better get started on the food. Harry, after an hour of holding Layla, wanted to move around anyway, tired of sitting.

"Harry, no. You are a guest!"

"You guys deserve a break. Let me help." Harry doesn't take no for an answer, he passes Layla to Perrie and makes his way to the kitchen, with a mock-annoyed Perrie following his every step. "So, what should I make?"

-*-

The three sit around the table, eating dinner, with Layla in a highchair next to Perrie. "The guy, Liam, who is working in your position is really good, Zay. May have to keep him on even when you do come back."

Zayn chuckles and nods. "That's alright! I don't mind sharing the office. May have someone to keep me company." The boys keep conversing with each other but Perrie stays quiet and when they realise this, they both turn to her, concerned.

"So... We never actually spoke about it," Perrie begins. "What happened with Louis?"

The table immediately turns tense and Harry stops chewing, his body freezing for a moment as he processes her words. "I—uh..." Harry furrows his eyebrows and pushes the food around on the plate. "You know how at school I was bullied..."

"Of course. That's why you moved in with mum and I... What does that have to do with Louis?" Confusion is written all over Zayn's and her own face as they eagerly await Harry's answer.

"We went home and everything was great—mum loved him… I was ready to ask him to be my boyfriend. And then I saw a picture, a school picture, of a boy I went to school with. My bully… The one I moved to your house because of. He looked familiar and I put the pieces together… It is Louis. He lied to me.” Harry stares ahead, cheeks blushed. This whole experience was embarrassing for him. It just showed how gullible he was.

"I'm going to kill him," Perrie growls. "Who the actual fuck does he think he is?" Harry bites at his lip and closes his eyes, trying to steady his breaths and heart rate. "Please tell me you aren't going to forgive him. You deserve better, Harry."

Harry looks up at her from under his lashes, an unreadable expression on his face. He shrugs, giving her a tight smile. "I better get going."

-*-

It is dark and cold, and with tears in his eyes, Harry begins walking home. He clutches at the sleeves of his jacket, bringing it up to wipe at his face every so often, just in case of tears. He just wanted to be able to free his mind of this... Issue. He wanted a second to himself where he didn't feel the ache in his chest and niggling of his anxiety.

The problem is, Harry wants nothing more than to forgive Louis. He wants to be able to laugh with him, and hold him. He just wants what they had, because Harry was genuinely happy with Louis. Happier than he had ever been before. A brave face could make it seem like that wasn't true, that he was happy the whole time, because, why wouldn't he be? He has money, a nice house, good friends. But, the truth is, no matter how hard he tries, waking up every morning still takes effort, using his razors for shaving purposes only is still a struggle and smiling is too exhausting.

Louis made that better... For a while.

The sound of drunk men laughing and stumbling breaks him from his thoughts. Harry keeps his head down in hopes to pass them with no trouble, but sadly, that doesn't work.

"Styles?" Harry cringes immediately when recognising the voice. He glances up and is met face to face with Stan. The smell of liquor fills his senses and Harry takes a step away from the man. "Heard you've been fucking my boy," he slurs and Harry tries to swivel around him, but Stan grabs his shirt, stopping him. "Listen here, Styles. You lay a fucking hand on him and you'll be dead, right? He is mine."

"He isn't an object," Harry grits out. "Don't talk about him as if he is."

"He will never love you." Harry glares at Stan for a moment before looking away and tugging Stan's hand off of his shirt. Harry only now notices the rest of the boys have walked off. "He only loves me."

"If he loves you so much, why are you his ex?" Harry rolls his eyes and steps sideways, trying to get through. Stan stands in front of him. "The only person who loves you, Stan, is yourself. You are just laughable, honestly."

"Me and Lewis laugh about you." Harry bites his lip to hold back a whimper. "You are just a joke to us, Harry. Always have been, always will be. You're nothing but a curly cock sucking freak."

Harry shoves him, pushing against his shoulders, his hands trembling. "Don't call me that!"

"Or what? You'll hit me?" Stan laughs after recovering from his stumble.

"Yes."

"Everything you do to me, I'll do to him," Stan mutters darkly, a smirk on his face. "You wanna punch me? Go for it, but just know that Lewis will get it twice as bad."

"It's Louis, dipshit." Harry pushes past him, knowing he couldn't dare lay a finger on Stan, just in case the threat was real. Harry would never forgive himself for getting Louis hurt. Harry turns, cupping his mouth with his hands to make his voice louder, ensuring the man would hear it. "Oi, Stan! If I ever hear you have hurt Lou, you'll have me to deal with."

A/N: This chapter sucks and I hate it lmao. :) Anywayss, how are you?

- What was your favourite part of this chapter?

- Do you think Harry will forgive Louis? Or do you think this is too much for him?

- Thoughts on Perrie's reaction?

- What do you hope happens next?

- What do you think will happen next?

Hint: A character who hasn't been written up for a while will be making an entrance very soon. :)

Please leave some comments! I'm trying to stay motivated and comments are the one thing that gets me through! I hope you have a lovely day/night! <3