his reign and his fall | larry stylinson

Chapter 8

Chapter 8
Harry wakes up in his Malison suite alone and feels a bit anxious. Where had Louis gone? They had a good night last night, and now he's gone.

He wraps himself in a white cotton robe, covering his body before opening the door from his bedroom into the living area of the suite. It's dark, it's quiet. Where is Louis?

"Louis?" He calls out. There's no answer. He peeks into the other rooms, the kitchen, the bathroom, and even the wine closet for the other man but he's nowhere to be found. Where is he?

He goes to the front door, opening it to find nothing and nobody.

It's an eerie sight. It's dark, it's quiet.

The walls weren't like they were before. They're plain white walls and a dark grey carpet. There's no longer wall art and lamps lining the hallways. The color has vanished. There's no one around, and when Harry turns to go back into his room, to view anything but a white abyss the door is no longer there.

He places his palms on the wall, he can't find the door. Where is the door? Where is Louis?

"Louis!" He yells, his voice echoing off the walls. He looks around, hearing his voice echo and sound off in the distance. He follows the sound of his voice down the long white hallway. He turns the corner to find an even larger room, walls put up everywhere.

It's almost maze-like, and his stomach quivers at the thought of being lost in it.

"Louis!" He tries again, no answer. Just the sound of his voice bouncing off the walls. He takes the steps forward to continue into the maze-like room. He turns corners, looking for a way out. Looking for Louis.

He's just anxiously taking one step at a time, trying to remain calm. That is until he hears the sound of laughter, and it's tormenting and quiet at first. Until it grows louder and louder. He crouches down and covers his ears with his palms until the laughter is so loud it's almost deafening, and his heart beats faster, he screams.

He doesn't realize he's running until he is, running from what? From who?

"Help!" He screams, running into a narrow hallway. He has to squeeze sideways in order to get through it. The laughter is louder now, his ears are ringing. He needs to get out. Where is the way out of the place?

It's dark, and it's quiet.

Most importantly, where is Louis? Louis is who he wishes was with him. Even though he doesn't wish Louis to be in a place like this at all, at least they'd be there together, with no one around, no judgment from the outside world. They would make it their own. They would find a way to survive it. The laughter would become white noise eventually.

Then he sees him. His Louis. At the end of the hallway. The walls are getting tighter, and closer together. Harry has trouble squeezing through it but Louis is right at the end, reaching into the tight space for Harry's hand.

"Come on, you can do it," Louis says, calm as ever. Harry feels tears on his cheeks as he continues to squeeze through the space, grunting as he tries to breathe. He wishes he could cover his ears again, the laughter is so loud.

He finally reaches the end. He grabs Louis' hand, almost as tight as the space he's stuck in. When Louis pulls him through to the end, the laughter dies, and Louis just holds him. It's bright, and it's noisy in this room. Not like the laughter, more like calming serene music fills the room, and it's full of color and art. Much like the Malison.

Louis just holds Harry, and even then he falls to the floor in a puddle of sobs, Louis just shushes him and holds him through it.

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