The Worst Intentions (Larry)

11. Save Our Selves (III)

*again: regular = present and italics = past

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~Niall's Point of View~

I knew that what I was about to see wasn't gonna be pleasant given everything I'd been hearing on the way, but, stepping onto that field... It felt as though I were back in 1914, about thirty miles from Paris, waiting to counterattack the Germans.
All the memories of that horrible day came back to the front of my mind in full force and, suddenly, tears were stinging at my eyes. If hyperventilating were an option for me then that's definitely what I'd be doing right about now. Thinking about it...if I was already this bad, I can't even imagine how he must be feeling.

Luke, Ashton, Michael, Calum, Liam, and I had all stopped abruptly, too shocked by the horrific scene playing out just a few hundred feet away. I could feel Liam's worried gaze on me, but I was looking straight ahead at Zayn, trying to gauge how he was handling this. He was currently in the middle of fighting a small group with Perrie; if I didn't know any better I'd think that he was fairing just fine, but I did know better, so it was easy for me to notice the way his entire frame literally vibrated from how much he was shaking. He was trying very hard not to break down.

Instead of rushing over to him like I wanted to, I steeled myself and closed the distance between me and all those supernaturals. Here's to hoping I'm lucky enough to make it through this one fully in tact.

"Do ya think he'll be alright?" I asked Liam, referring to a seemingly lifeless Harry. My voice cracked towards the end and I could tell he wanted to say something about it, but thankfully he didn't.

"He should be." His lips pursed. "I don't understand why he's reacting this way."

"Lou told him, right?" Perrie looked from me to Liam questioningly as Zayn fussed over her less than a few feet away. I noticed that he was shaking far less now, but his back was still rigid and he moved around stiffly. I needed to talk to him soon.

All of us took a moment to let what she had said sink in, and apparently we'd all come to the same conclusion: it's Louis, meaning he without a doubt intentionally withheld the most vital info from Harry since he's a petulant little shit. I shook my head in disbelief. I can't say that I hadn't known he'd foregone telling Harry the specifics of their bond, but I'd assumed he'd tied all those loose ends once they'd gotten together. Apparently I gave him too much credit.

"When he wakes up I'm gonna kill him again." I aimed a halfhearted glare at Louis' motionless body, hoping that he'd somehow get the message and feel my wrath even though he was, you know, dead at the moment.

"Poor Harry," Ashton commented, looking genuinely affected by Louis' stupidity (and therefore Harry's suffering).

"And poor me," Michael added with a small pout. "Oh my fuck, my arms are basically noodles. Look at this! Luke I think I'm in shock make it go away."

"Pretty sure he should focus on all us equally instead, Mikey... Hey! Did you just scoff at me? Don't scoff at me! That's rude as fuck."

"If my arms weren't useless noodles right now I would hit you, Ashton."

"That's also rude as fuck."

"On second thought I'm gonna do it, noodle-arms be damned."

"...Oh wow, look at those arms flail," Calum spoke up while crossing his own arms over his chest, tone dry. Normally I'd laugh at all of this, but, like Zayn, I was too busy trying to avoid having a panic attack and bursting into tears.