Forbidden {L.S.}

Seventeen(H)

Trigger Warning: School shooting (CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW I HYPED THIS CHAPTER UP FOR SOME REASON WHEN I PUBLISHED IT THE FIRST TIME?????? Granted I was excited for the plot twist of Harry getting hurt, but like I had I had no trigger warning and hyped it up so hard. SMH at myself)

I swung Louis' keys around my finger as I walked down the hallway. I saw Josh, looking upset. I walked over to him, and touched his shoulder lightly to draw his attention. We weren't ever close, but that didn't mean I couldn't make sure he was alright.

"Are you alright, man?" I asked when he looked at me. It didn't seem like Josh from last year, the one who would help me trick Niall while playing Heads Up Seven Up. This year he had been more to himself, not really talking to anyone.

He shook his head, his eyes trained to the ground. "Not really."

"What's up?" I asked. "I can ditch if you wanna talk, I'm in Tomlinson's so he won't care."

He just chuckled with a shake of his head. "Of course you could ditch. Tomlinson just loves you."

Something about his tone didn't sound right. He shook his head after he was done. Josh was usually perky and happy, not sad and looking ready to murder someone. Everyone has their off days. I remember when Louis and I broke up, that was like the hardest two weeks of my life. I didn't really have anyone to talk to about it, and I didn't want him feeling that way.

"Did you and-" I started to ask, but he pulled a gun from his jacket pocket, admiring it for a few seconds. I stopped mid sentence to stare at it. "Josh-"

"Stop talking. Or maybe you should start talking." He pointed the gun at me, keeping it close to his body. "You wanna start explaining exactly what's going on with you and Tomlinson? Oh, wait. You probably call him Louis, don't you?"

"Josh, put the gun down. Please." I kept staring at it, like I'd be able to do something if he did decide to shoot. Why would he want to shoot me? Why did Louis matter? "You don't want to hurt anyone."

Josh smiled at me, like this was normal. Just an average smile with a small shrug, like he disagreed on something small and minor. "You don't know what I want."

"Put the gun down," I repeated. My voice shook. I was shaking in general. "Josh-"

"Shut up, Harry. You can't change my mind." He stepped closer to me and I stepped back. I looked up and down the hall, but I was scared to take my eyes off of him for too long.

Someone needed to see this. How had the hallway been completely empty this long? "Why do you have a gun?" I asked, trying to calm myself down so I could figure out how to fix this. How the hell was I supposed to deal with this? I couldn't just scream out, it would cause chaos, which is the last thing anyone needed.

"Stop asking questions." He kept his smile, but other than that he was completely serious. "If you don't start talking, I'll shoot you, then him, then the rest of the fucking school."

"Okay, okay." I glanced around. "Wenton's old room is still empty. No one uses it. We can go talk there that way-"

"Walk."

I took a deep breath before walking towards the room, opening the door with Louis' keys. The second I let the door close, he shot right next to me. I flinched and took a step back, turning my head to him.

"Now, start fucking talking," he threatened right after he shot.

"What? What do you want to know?" Fuck, fuck. I'm dead. I'm so fucking dead.

"When did you and Tomlinson start dating?"

"We aren't dating!" Josh raised an eyebrow and pointed the gun at me again. "Josh, please dude."

"Three... two-"

"Last year!" I shouted. "Last year, maybe in October."

"Why?" Josh questioned. "Why not someone your age? He's your fucking teacher!"

"You think I don't know that? I love him, alright? No one can change that by laying facts in front of me that I've considered a million times." I had to keep calm. If I got worked up, it would make this a thousand times worse. Even though I wanted to run away like a little kid and put nearly anyone else in my position, I had to figure out how to stay calm. "What? So you want me to break up with him? Transfer schools? What-" We both paused as an announcement for a lockdown came on. I seriously doubted that I was going to be okay coming out of this, but if I'm the only person to get hurt, then that would be a plus, possibly the only bright side to this whole mess. If he just hurts me, no one else can be too affected by this.

"Why are you happy in an illegal relationship, and I can't even keep my girlfriend happy? Huh?" Josh took a step closer to me and I kept my gaze on his gun, flicking my eyes up to him.

"We fight! We're just like any other couple. Hell, he broke up with me last year!" I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "We can still stop this. This doesn't have to end with you shooting anyone. I can help you, just please." I looked at him with pleading eyes, taking a half step towards him.

"You don't get it, Harry." He shook his head to himself and sighed, looking back to me and lowering the gun slightly. "I want to."

"No, you don't." I pleaded softly. "Josh, I'm your friend."

"I don't have friends. I never have," he snapped. I closed my eyes as tears started to fill them. Another shot went off. I felt an intense pain in my thigh, which made me scream and my knees buckle. I pressed my back to the wall and slowly slid down, watching as blood quickly spilled out and soaked my hands and jeans. "You weren't ever my friend."

I groaned in pain, looking up at him. "I'm sorry, okay? Don't do this, Josh-"

"Shut up or I will kill you," he snapped, aiming the gun at me again. I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head.

"So... what's your plan now?" I asked through gritted teeth. "You shot me, the school's on a lockdown, the cops are gonna be here soon."

"You're right." He continued to smile to himself while I tried to keep my groans and whimpers to myself. "What am I going to do?"

Don't kill me. Please don't kill me. "I can't stop you from doing anything." I yelled when he kicked the leg he shot. "Stop!" I begged, gasping for breath.

"Now, I just have to find Tomlinson," Josh grinned, pulling the bandana from my head. "Maybe he'll see you soon." He grinned before stuffing the bandana in one of his pockets.

"Josh-"

I remember the gun shot, something tearing through my chest and gasping. Someone might have crouched down in front of me, but I couldn't say for sure. Everything went black after that.