Hollow - LS

13| Quiet

13| Quiet

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"You're worthy of being chosen, fought for, and loved. Remember that." - Mark Groves

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Quiet

Adjective

Making little or no noise.

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The playground idea ended up being a bad idea. As soon as they got there, it became clear that neither one of them was going to say how they were really feeling, or why they were there in the first place.

For a little longer than the support group meeting went on, they sat there in silence. For the first couple of minutes, the silence was uncomfortable. But as the wind started to pick up around them, and the sky started to get dark, the silence turned into something more.

They sat down next to each other, their shoulders the only thing touching. The entire time, neither one of them moved an inch, only allowing the silence to comfort them.

Louis would never say it out loud, but he knew this was what he needed. The silence that surrounded them allowed him to not overthink about anything or worry. It just allowed him to feel the moment.

But when the stars began to grow brighter, and the sky around it began to grow darker, Louis knew that their time was up. Harry seemed to know it too because he got up without saying anything.

They arrived at the playground without him driving because he didn't arrive at the support group with a car, and Louis didn't ask why. So, they walked towards Louis house without mentioning anything for the first few minutes.

Suddenly, the silence became too much, and then even the wind couldn't comfort him. The sound of their heavy breathing was clear through the air.

"Why didn't you go to the support group meeting?" Louis found himself asking the first question that bugged at him in the back of his mind since they sat down.

Harry barely looked at him when he asked his question. "Why didn't you?"

"I wasn't in the mood to be around people." He muttered, stating the half truth.

He definitely wasn't in the mood to be around others at the moment, but he wasn't stating the other reason that kept him from walking in.

"But I'm okay to be around?" Harry asked, his mouth turning into a smirk.

"Yeah." Louis softly said, his cheeks turning pink.

Harry focused on his face for a moment, and continued to stare as his face turned even more red. He slowly looked away, focusing on something in the distance as they continued walking. "Does it have anything to do with last week?"

Without answering, they both somehow knew that it did. But Louis could only glance down at his shoes before taking in a deep breath. "A little bit, yeah."

Harry nodded, like he understood everything that Louis was feeling. Which in Louis's mind couldn't be further from the truth, but he knew on some level that Harry could relate.

The silence came back towards them as they finished the walk to Louis's house. But this time, the silence was comforting again as it once was when they arrived at the playground.

The walk to his house wasn't short but it wasn't as bad as Louis thought it would be. It might have been because he wasn't completely alone, but he will never know for sure.

As they got closer to his neighborhood, he could see the top of his house from the distance. What awaited for him there seemed to make his heart skip a beat. It didn't hit him when he was at the playground, but it did as they got closer to the neighborhood.

His mother didn't know that he wouldn't be there at the support group building to be picked up from.

That thought alone was enough to worry him, but her anger was another thing that seemed to begin to worry him. A quick look at his phone showed that he didn't receive a text from her even asking where he was. So either she didn't bother picking him up and assumed that he would find a way home, or she did wait for him and then didn't bother asking where he was. And he didn't know which was worse.

Harry didn't speak to him again until they reached his house. And when he did, he looked over at him with concern showing in his eyes. "You okay?"

"Just a little nervous." He admitted, but Harry still nodded like he understood.

"Will you be okay?" Harry asked softly, his tone saying what he couldn't. That he appeared to be worried over his mother, and if she would physically harm him.

Louis smiled at the question. "I will."

As they stood there, another thought entered his mind. "How will you get home?"

Harry looked at him like he was crazy. "I'll walk. Remember? That's how we got to your house."

Redness bloomed on Louis's face again. "I meant, you're going to walk home alone?"

"I have to." Harry gave him a small smile, but it lessened when he realized the look on his face. "Don't worry about me, Lou. I'll be alright."

Louis barely registered the nickname Harry carelessly threw at him without a second thought, but Louis was focused on something else. "Let me give you my number."

"Why?" His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"So you can let me know you made it home okay." He held out his hand for Harry's phone.

Harry gave his phone to him without saying anything, even though he appeared confused by it. His facial expression remained still, but his eyes said something different. Like he appreciated what Louis was doing, even though he wasn't going to say it.

After handing his phone back, Louis gave him a look. "Promise you'll text me."

Something twinkled in Harry's eyes. "I promise."

Without saying anything more, Harry walked away into the darkness, and Louis turned his direction back towards his house. Through the main downstairs window, he could spot the kitchen light on, and could almost see a figure standing there waiting for him.

His assumptions were correct when he walked through the door and saw his mother waiting for him by the kitchen table. She was silent for a moment, and barely registered his presence.

And when she did ask her first question, it wasn't about if he was alright, but something else. Something she cared about more.

"Where were you?" She asks, anger lingering in her tone.

"I was out with a friend." He responds.

He makes a move to walk towards the stairs that would then lead him to his room, but his mother quickly gets up like she can see what he wants to do, and gets closer to him, avoiding him from doing that.

And Louis stops, waiting for the questions to start and the overthinking to begin.