Misadventure

46

Harry's POV

"I'm going with you."

"Harry. You're not."

"He's my boyfriend. I'm worried sick."

"Everything's going to be fine. I'm going to drive to Will's and deliver him safely back to you," Zayn told me. "You're going to wait here with Niall and Liam."

I knew what Zayn was trying to do. The four of us were currently in the common room of the dorm building. We were sat at a round table by the window as the sky grew darker and darker, falling snow clinging to the glass.

Liam had put a film on the small television that hung so high on the wall, you could barely even hear it anyways.

They were trying to distract me.

Meaning, they were just as worried about Louis as I was, but they were trying not to let it show.

"What if he's not okay?" I argued. "What if something is seriously wrong? What if he overdosed, and that's why he won't answer his phone?"

"He didn't overdose," Zayn said immediately, even though the look on his face indicated that he was sure of no such thing. "And if he did overdose... you don't want to see that. You shouldn't have to see that."

"I'm going with you," I restated.

Zayn looked at me. His face was full of pity, and the sight frustrated me. "You're staying here. It's my car, and I've already decided."

Niall interjected, "You're wasting time, both of you." He turned to me. "Harry, let him go. He needs to leave now. It's going to be okay."

"You don't know that..." I trailed off, my voice watery.

"I'll be back soon." Zayn headed for the doorway, his footsteps against the tiles echoing through the empty halls as he disappeared from my line of vision.

My eyes became bleary with tears. "I'm really scared," I admitted. My voice came out sounding small, like it belonged to a timid child, and I hated it.

"There's board games in the supply closet." Niall stood, pushing in his chair. "Let's play a board game."

I didn't want to play a board game. I was about to tell him this, but after looking at his face, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Niall was pale. His smile seemed forced. I turned to Liam, who was sat next to me. He appeared to be in a similar state.

Maybe I wasn't the only one who needed a distraction right now.

"Is there Candy-Land?" I raised my voice so that Niall would hear me from across the common room. I hoped that the nostalgic images of sweets and bright colors might raise their spirits.

"There's Candy-Land, Uno, Sorry... Dominos," Niall began listing off games as he rummaged through the closet. "Chutes and Ladders, Operation..."

"Just grab the whole box, Nialler," Liam suggested. As he glanced down at his phone screen, his lips were pursed in a tight, unreadable line. "It might be a long night."

My heart skipped a beat. "Why? What's going on?"

Something was wrong; I could feel it. Will lived just on the outskirts of campus. The trip should take twenty minutes, tops.

"Everything's fine." Liam gulped. His eyes darted around nervously, and he refused to meet my gaze. "Zayn is with Louis now. They're at the emergency room, and I guess the waiting room is fairly packed."

"Emergency Room?" My chair made an awful, loud noise against the floor as I abruptly stood.

"Sit down. Relax. Louis is fine."