The College Experience [Larry Stylinson boyxboy]

Chapter Thirty Seven

"So I was thinking," Niall said, looking up from his laptop, "I know you already go to therapy once a week, but I was thinking that maybe just for the next month or so you could try going twice a week. Once things get a little better, you can go back down to your normal though, I just thought-"

"I, I haven't been going," Harry admitted, tugging on the sleeves of his hoodie.

"What do you mean?" Niall said. "How long since you stopped going?"

"A few months," Harry said. "I wanted to feel more, more normal I guess, I just though that... that he wouldn't want to be with someone who was in therapy all the time. Wanted to be a normal boyfriend." Harry bit his tongue, regretting admitting it Niall. He wasn't normal, wasn't normal at all.

"H," Niall sighed, his blue eyes soft and comforting. "You can't just quit therapy like that, it's not a bad thing to go, doesn't make you different or strange, I promise. I found this really nice lady who's good with grief counselling, and I thought that maybe-"

"I'm fine."

"Well you're not fine right now," Niall said. "And you're someone who needs therapy and that's okay. I booked you an appointment for-"

"I said I'm fine," Harry insisted. "I'm going for a bath now."

"Harry," Niall sighed. "Can we just talk?"

"I don't want to talk," Harry said.

"That's what you told Louis too, isn't it?" Niall said.

Harry froze in his spot, halfway to the bathroom. He knew that Louis would have talked to Liam and Liam would've talked to Niall, but somehow hearing the intimacies of their fight said out loud jarred something in Harry's heart.

"You can't just avoid everything forever," Niall said, more gentle this time.

Harry ignored Niall, and headed to the bathroom, filling the tub up and pouring in too much bubble bath.

He heard the door creak open.

"Jesus Christ, Niall, what do you want?" Harry snapped. He'd spent the past two days with Niall, and those two days had meant falling asleep in the same bed, waking up at the same times, eating meals together, and Niall constantly constantly wanting to talk.

"I was just about to put some laundry in and I thought you might want your hoodie washed? You've been wearing it a few days now." Niall said quietly, wincing a bit at Harry's sharp tone.

Harry sighed, and shrugged out of his hoodie tossing it over to his friend, feeling something flicker inside of him as he took it off.

Déjà vu.

Niall left the bathroom, the door still slightly open, and Harry wriggled out of his sweatpants and into the bubbles. He tried to shake the feeling off, but his mind was playing over the memory like it was projected onto the bathroom wall and Harry couldn't stop himself from slipping into it.

"Louis," Harry whined, his hoodie zipped tightly up as much as it would go, "Just let me keep my sweater on."

Louis raised his eyebrows at Harry.

Louis' sassy face was not to be messed with.

"I'm cold?" Harry tried in vain.

"Take it off, Haz," Louis insisted, hands on his curvy hips as he waited for a response.

"Why?" Harry asked, forming sweater paws with his hoodie.

"Because," Louis said, tugging a little on the zipper. "This is how you want to dress sometimes and that's okay. I like your shirt. And I know you love it, just... no one here knows you. First years never come here, you'll be okay."