BLUSHING//L.S.

Chapter XIV

The next day Harry woke up at eight sharp. The sun was shily starting to slide into their room and he felt weirdly rested, even though he only had three hours of sleep. The conversation he had with the boys really opened his eyes. He wasn't sure that what was happening to Zayn and Liam could be applied to him and Louis as well, but he wanted to give it a shot. From what he had witnessed in the last few weeks, that whole environment was homophobic and very conservative, so maybe that was the reason why Louis would sometimes behave like he did last night.

He got up from his bed and his eyes fell on the couple next to him: Liam and Zayn were still deep in their slumber, hugging each other tightly. Liam was spooning Zayn and from this perspective, he looked incredibly small. Harry could barely recognize the bold guy he was used to.

With a soft smile on his lips, he got ready. Looking at himself in the mirror, he tried to take deep breaths, desperate to soothe the anxiety that started to arise in his chest. He fixed his hair the best he could and vigorously splashed his face with cold water, hoping it would reduce the swelling of his eyes caused by the many tears he shredded.

When he got out of the dormitory building, he let out a sigh, now unsure if what he wanted to do was the right thing. He didn't really have a plan, but he needed to see Louis and talk with him. He wasn't okay with the way they left each other and, even though deep down he wished for Louis to search for him, he knew that there was no point in waiting.

After thirty minutes of walking, overthinking and going back and forth because of fear and anxiety, the curly boy finally stood in front of Louis' place. The air was quiet: no one was around, and all the roller shutters were down, except for one in what he thought was the living room. Only now he realized that it wasn't even nine a.m. on a Sunday morning, so everybody was probably still asleep.

He took his phone and quickly searched for Louis contact, calling him.

After three long rings, he finally picked up.

-Harry? - he asked, his voice still sleepy. -What the he..- he started saying, but Harry cut him off.

-I need to talk with you. I'm in front of your house- Harry said, using the last crumb of courage he had left. Part of him was wishing for Louis to send him away, so he wouldn't have to go through this. As the words left his mouth, the older boy ended the call without a single word. Harry was scared and he didn't know what to do, so he just stood there frozen, waiting for something to happen.

And in a matter of seconds, Louis quickly opened the door, messy hair and only boxers on, leaving Harry out of breath. He didn't give him time to talk of think: holding him from his wrist, he pulled him in and silently shut the door.

-Don't make a single fucking sound, clear? - he whispered, looking sternly into his eyes. Harry felt butterflies and nodded. -Just follow me and be as quiet as you can. - .

Harry started walking behind Louis, all his focus on his steps to avoid making a sound. The house looked incredibly still and no one was around. As they walked towards the stairs that would bring them to Louis' room, they passed the kitchen. Harry peeked and saw the remainder of what must have been the dinner, but then something caught his eyes: shards of a beer bottle were on the floor, and he swore that they were cutting through his heart, because he started to imagine what could have happened.

Louis dragged him upstairs and finally they were in his room. The little boy looked around, a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach; he felt incredibly close to Louis in that moment. Just by looking at football cups on his shelf and his clothes scattered around the room, made him feel like he was letting him in. But Louis still hadn't said a word.