A Week and a bit in London - Larry AU

Chapter 5 - They don't know about us

"Harry, wake up, you've overslept again." His moms sickly sweet voice echoes in his head: "It's already 6.13."

"Yea, Yea, give me a minute."

"You better hurry up. We have got things to talk about."

"I am going as fast as I can." Harry says whilst almost falling out of his bed.

'It is ok. I also have things I have to talk about. That I am gay. That I don't care for the military or for collage. That I want to stay here, with Louis. It would be so awesome to get their approval before I go. But I won't get it, probably. They are dead set on what I do with my future.'

After showering and getting dressed, Harry heads down into the dining room, were he finds his parents sitting alone at a table.

"What happened to Patricia and George?" Harry asks whilst sitting down.

"We asked them to sit somewhere else today. We are having an important conversation now."

'That does not boot well. It has to be something really serious. Did someone see me yesterday?'

"We have decided that you will enlist." His mom continues.

"You will not spend another year just sitting at home playing your stupid videogames. It is time for you to do something real."

"But ..." Harry starts before immediately being interrupted.

"But you want to become a Baker? Yea and every apprenticeship we presented to you, you didn't want. You have no perspective on how real life works and how expensive it is. The Army will straighten you out."

Harry stares at his parents in silence for a few seconds.

"Bootcamp starts two weeks after we return from here."

"What? Why? You can't do that without talking to me about this."

"I know you are outraged but look at the benefits." His father interjects.

"You will get guarantied housing and clothing and food. You will get a salary. It will look good on your resume, you could even say that you spend last year training to get into the army. That shows dedication. And most importantly, the Army will pay for you to go to college afterward."

"But I don't want to kill. I don't want to be straightened out. I don't want to go to college. I just want to be happy. I want to be me." Harry's voice gets louder and louder, before his mom shushes him.

"You will go to the army. Over the last year, you have proven that you are unable to take care of yourself. Now we will do it for you. No discussion."

"I won't be going to the military. I can't I am unfit."

"You will be going. Even if I must drag you to the barracks."

"I am unfit. I can't go into the military. They won't take me. I am gay."

With a clap, Harry's dads hand hits his face.

"Do not tell such lies. You will go. And you are not gay. We raised you better than that."

"Yes, your dad is right. You won't lie your way out of this. You won't be the same disappointment you were last year."

Without comment, Harry gets up from the table.

"No young man, you will stay here. We are not done jet. Why were you out on the street yesterday?"

Without answering, Harry walks away, back to his room, fast.

'There must be something I can do. Something, something, ... Louis. I can call him, stay at his place. Now. Maybe he is home.'

He pulls his phone from his pocket and sends a massage to Louis:

"Hey, can I come to your place?"

Only a few seconds later Louis responds:

"Yea, but I ain't home. It's only Mara. Whats up?"

"Well, I talked to my parents. Didn't go well. Can I stay at your place?"

"Yes, of cause. You know the way, right?"

Harry types out 'I know', but before hitting send, his right foot loses traction on the stairs. He does not manage to catch himself before loosing all balance and falling backward down the stairs. In a matter of seconds, his head hits the hard laminated floor. Every second in the air feels like minutes, before everything goes black. There is just nothing.

Harry's head cracks, like his phone, leaving an ever-expanding pool of blood under his head.

Thankfully it is not even a minute until Harry is noticed by other vacationers. He is rushed to the nearest hospital in an ambulance, the first time he has ever been in one.