The Price of Freedom (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter 2

Our management was set on keeping it a secret from the fans as long as possible, the lads and I all thought this was a bad idea, but we went with it.

Louis shifted and sucked in a painful breath, pulling my attention back to him. “Okay?” I asked, and he nodded through clenched teeth. I put a hand to his back and gently rubbed circles until he was able to relax again. When he was okay, I shift so his head was on a pillow and I could stand up. He looked at me in confusion. I looked around the room and finally found a little white bag. Opening it, I looked through the fifteen bottles of different pills and finally found the right one. It was blue and purple, meant for helping with the pain after it had subsided. Guard’s Syndrome, after you have one episode of pain, would continue getting worse and the pain symptoms closer together. I handed him the pill and he swallowed it dry. “Are you hungry?” I asked and Louis shook his head though I knew he probably hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. I sighed, “I know you haven’t eaten, how about a piece of toast?” He shrugged so I made my way to the kitchen and popped a piece of bread into the toaster.

It popped a few moments later and as I went to pull it out, I heard unsteady running down the hallways. I sighed before running to the bathroom where I knew he’d be.

I was right of course, Louis was hunched over the toilet, dry-heaving, unable to throw up. “Harry!” He tried to shout; unaware I was just in the doorway.

“I’m here, boo,” I said and knelt down and put a hand on his back to support him. His body tried, unsuccessfully, to make him vomit again before he collapsed back into my arms. Tears began to silently leak down his face. I scooped him up into my arms and brought him back to my bedroom. Pulling the covers back, I set him down and then tucked him in. “Shhh,” I murmured as I slid in beside him and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer to me. I kissed his forehead, and then wiped his cheeks before kissing them too. “I’m here, you’re not alone, it’s going to be okay,” I mumbled nonsense words and the crying stopped after a bit.

Louis looked up to me after a while, his eyes swollen, “Harry,” he whispered, “I want to go on a date with you.”

Tears were about to spring from my own eyes, “Boo, I don’t know if we can.”

He pounded my chest in frustration, but he was unable to put much force behind it, “I’m tired of hiding!” Tears began pouring down his cheeks again and a few leaked down mine as well.

I pulled him close to me, and kissed his forehead, “Okay, okay, boo. I have a plan, okay? We’re gonna have to talk to the lads, tomorrow though. Give me a week.” Louis nodded and snuggled closer into my chest; I kissed his forehead and ran my fingers through his hair.

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“Are you sure you want to do this, Harry?” Liam asked the next day. His eyes then went to Louis, who was snuggled up into my chest and sleeping, and his eyes became sad, “Never-mind, I know you’re sure. What do you think?” He turned to Zayn, who nodded.

“Yeah, let’s do a rehearsal first, but I think we can pull it off. My only question is what are the repercussions going to be?” He said and looked to Liam for an answer, but Niall beat him to it.

“You know, lads, we’ve had five amazing years and our fame is starting to dwindle. Harry and Louis have been hiding for five years, I think it’s time their happiness gets put before the band,” Niall said, all the while looking at Louis’ fragile form. I knew what he was thinking, that Louis didn’t have much time for happiness left.

Liam wrapped an arm around Niall’s shoulders, “Boy, you’re old beyond your years.” I saw that he looked at him with the kind of affection that I looked at Louis with at first.

Zayn gestured to Louis, “Wake him up and tell him we’re a go for Friday. He needs some good news.”

I smiled at them all, tears in my eyes, and then I started rubbing Louis’ back. His eyes began to flutter. “Can you live with hiding for one more week, boo?” I asked softly.

His sleepy eyes lit up and a smile played at his lips, “Kiss me?” He whispered. I hesitated, conscious of the audience, but leaned down and pressed my lips against his for a moment anyways. I pulled back and kissed his forehead.

Louis looked to the lads, “Thank you, so much,” he whispered and then turned to me, “I think I’m going to get some water.”

“Do you want help?” I asked unsurely. He shook his head and then started slowly across the hard floor towards the kitchen. I shared an uneasy look with the lads, but let him go.

Louis started back and held up the glass triumphantly, but then his eyes widened. I should have gone with him. I should have raced over. But I didn’t. Instead, I watched as his legs gave out. I watched as his eyes went wide with terror. I watched as his head hit the hard wood floor with a crash. And I watched as his eyes closed. The lads and I rushed forward and I put Louis’ head in my lap. His eyes opened slowly and we all sighed with relief.

“Harry,” Louis whispered, his voice shaking, “I...I can’t move my legs.” I looked to Liam who already had the phone out and was calling a hospital to let them know we were coming.

I nodded like it was normal, “Okay, boo, I’m going to pick you up and we’re going to go to the hospital.” He nodded, fear in his eyes, and I picked him up in my arms and walked to the car. Liam drove, Niall was in the passenger seat, Zayn was in the back with me, and Louis was sprawled out on top of us. I took Louis’ hand in mine and squeezed. He squeezed back with as much force as he could muster, which wasn’t very much.

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