Hollow - LS

11| Alone

11| Alone

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"Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves." - Emily Bronte

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Alone

Adjective

Having no one else present.

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The next few days felt like they passed by in a blur.

The day after the event, Louis had felt so unsettled that he did something he usually wasn't comfortable with doing. He called Niall from the support group, and for the first time outside of the support group walls, they hung out.

It wasn't anything fancy, especially since Louis almost had a full anxiety attack while he was on the phone waiting for Niall to pick up and then respond to Louis's out of the blue question.

And it wasn't like they were very close or potentially would be, but Louis felt a little lost from the events over the previous days, and felt like he wanted to feel like he at least had one friend in his world. And Niall was more than happy to hang out with him.

They ended up going downtown to a fairly popular comic book store that Niall swore by, and Louis was too much in his overthinking head to decline that option. Afterward they spent two hours at the place, and Louis felt like he wasn't as nervous because he had Niall there to occupy the uneasiness he often felt in head, they headed back. Surprisingly, Louis found himself buying something there from Niall's persuasion.

Not wanting the day to end, he found himself asking Niall if he then wanted to get something to eat. And if Niall was surprised, he didn't mention anything.

And when he arrived home, he was feeling lighter than he had in days.

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That lighter feeling he had after he hung out with Niall dissolved as soon as he got out of the car.

The support group building came into view and in the background he heard his mother drive off without muttering another word to him. But those things were secondary as he glanced down at his phone. With a new text message from Eleanor.

Hey, Louis. It's Eleanor! I got your number from your mother, after she realized I was trying to get in touch with you. Text me back soon. I'd love to hang out with you! Xx

The text glared at him as he walked further toward the building. He didn't even notice that he walked completely inside until he began to hear the soft murmurs of people having conversations. But even then, he didn't lift his gaze away from the phone.

It isn't the fact that he got the text message from her, even though he doesn't remember showing any interest in getting to know her further. He can't seem to remember if he was showing something different towards her that she would feel the need to get in touch with him.

It was more because his mother felt like it was her job to give her his number. Like she was obligated to even though Louis never mentioned anything about her after that night.

His mother did mention her though. After they left the event, the first thing she mentioned wasn't anything bad regarding his behavior or how he was dressed, but over how she liked her. He didn't say anything to that, but his mother didn't seem to notice or care, because she kept talking about her all the way home. Even when Louis didn't.

Louis kept walking further inside, and could see the familiar chairs and tables out of the corner of his eyes when he bumped into someone.

He mutters a soft apology, and moves out the way. During that, he moves the phone into his back pocket. He barely makes it far before he hears someone mumble his name from behind.

"Louis?"

Louis looks up, not even registering who is standing there with something in their eyes that Louis could only describe as concern. But he knew that Harry couldn't be concerned for him.

"What?" Louis asked, taking in that everyone around him was beginning to take a seat. He knew it was only a matter of time before the sponsor walked in.

"Are you okay?" Harry slowly asked, taking him in.

A chuckle left his body that seemed so foreign to him. "Of course I am." He lied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He walked away before he could hear a response, and took a seat in his regular place. He felt his phone vibrate again in the back of his jeans but he chose to ignore it. And he was grateful for that because the sponsor chose to walk in that moment to greet everyone. The time seemed to pass him by.

And as he sat in the chair, all he could think about was how much his mother chose to ignore his silence over Eleanor, and instead decide to take matters into her own hands. Probably because she viewed them as a perfect match.

And maybe that was true. But maybe it wasn't.

All he knew was that as he sat in that chair with other people surrounding him, and vaguely sensing Harry watching him intently and Niall watching him with concern in his eyes, he felt nothing but alone. 

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A/N: Who else is happy over a quick update (: