Pride {l.s.}

30- Smoke

Spanish translation available: Pride | l.s. [Traducción al español] InLarryLove

I awake to the sound of screaming. Considering it sounds feminine and the only girl I know is Eleanor, I make a guess at who it is. Harry's arms tighten around me as I slowly open my eyes. He must have already woken up. I look up to see Eleanor standing in the doorway. She's dressed as if she's ready to go out. Suddenly, I remember. Today was the day that Eleanor wanted to talk to me about Harry. She was coming over to talk, and now she sees this.

"YOU FREAKING FAG! HOW DARE YOU SLEEP WITH MY BOYFRIEND!" Eleanor screams. Her voice hurts my ears this early in the morning. I feel this burning anger erupt inside of me at her words. I've been called that. I've even called Harry that when I got really angry but no more. No more of this.

"Don't you dare call him a fag," I spit at her before I turn to Harry and speak in a softer voice. "Get your clothes. I'll meet you at your place for lunch. I have to handle this."

Harry slips on his pants and shirt under Eleanor's glare. I grab a pair of pants and t-shirt from the floor so that I don't have to talk to Eleanor with only boxers on. Before Harry leaves, he stops to quietly speak to me.

"What are you doing, Boo Bear?" Harry whispers to me as we stand close to each other. We stand too close to be just friends.

"I'm making us free," I reply with a smile. I know this is the right thing to do. I'm going to fully let go of my past. I want to immerse my whole self into Harry. I don't want any of this garbage in my life.

"You're amazing," Harry says with a wide, bright smile. Without a second thought, he bends down and gives me a quick kiss on the forehead. He leaves me standing there as he grabs his cowboy hat and boots off of the floor. He puts the boots and the hat on. He nods his head to Eleanor with a smirk on his face. He knows that he is the winner.

"Y-you slept with him? You slept with another man?" Eleanor asks in surprise once Harry leaves the room.

"We just kissed," I correct her. "Well, made out. Like his tongue was down my throat and his hands were-"

"You're a piece of crap, Tomlinson!" she screams before she gives me a shove. I stumble back a couple steps, but she's not strong enough to do any damage.

"It's who I am, El! This, in case you didn't realize, is also me breaking up with you! We're done. I like Harry."

"You're broken! I can still fix you!"

"I'm not broken! You're just crazy! I am gay, and Harry is teaching me to accept it!"

"He's contaminating you! This whole room is contaminated!" Eleanor angrily storms past me to my dresser. "Did you two kiss on this bed?"

"Yes," I say firmly. "Once before you and I dated, and more than once last night."

"You're sick. All I have ever wanted is you, Lou, but you want him." Eleanor opens the bedside table. I'm confused when she pulls out a packet of matches that I sometimes use when I don't have my lighter.

"What in earth are you doing?"

"This room is contaminated with the sickness you have," she replies sharply. "We're starting over."

"You're psychotic!" I exclaim, and I know that she literally is right now. She's acting irrationally, and it's all based on what she learned to believe as a child in a small town. She never learned basic human values that she should have like equality.

I zone out for a second when I think about how she was raised. I wish I could go back in time and fix it, but I can't. But the time I come back, I finally realize what she has done before it's too late.

She set my bedspread on fire.

Vulgar words leave my mouth as I sprint out of the room to look for the fire extinguisher. The smoke detectors are already starting to go off from the smoke that's rising. I see one behind the desk in the main display room. I grab it and sprint back into my room. Eleanor set more matches on fire and threw them throughout the room. The whole room is filling with smoke. There's too much fire for the fire extinguisher to be effective now. I toss it to the floor. Eleanor runs past me and out the door. She screams more phrases about fixing me, but I don't listen anymore.

I know that I should run and leave, but I still have things in that room that I need. I get low to the floor and begin  inching in. The bed is completely ablaze. The heat burns my eyes, so I shield them the best I can. I manage to sweep my phone and wallet off of the bedside table. They're already heated from the fire, and they burn my hands. I don't drop them. I doubt the phone could function anymore, but it's worth a try. I don't have enough money to buy a replacement. My breathing becomes more labored and fast. I feel as if I'm running out of oxygen. I turn and begin to make my run for the door.

The smoke is filling my lungs. I cough, and my eyes fill up with tears from the smoke. I can barely see anything in front of me through this haze. I feel as if my body is breaking down. Luckily, the room is small. I step on something right before I leave the room. I look down to see Harry's cowboy hat that he leant me. It's the last thing I grab before I make it out into the hallway. I take in a deep breath of clean air, and I continue my run to the door. My headaches from the smoke as I reach the main display room. I see the outdoors through the clear glass doors, but my lungs, eyes, and head burn with various sorts of pain. I find my vision cloudy. The smoke is starting to come into the main display room too.

I feel my body fall to the ground at the same time I see someone running towards me.

I black out.

A/N

Sorry about how intense this scene got. Please realize that I do not hate Eleanor at all. She is a lovely girl. She just so happens to portray a small town girl who grew up to be ignorant and homophobic based on her upbringing in this book.

Also, thank you guys for 4K reads, but more importantly, thanks to the whole family for the support we've all given Louis. #ProudOfLouis

xoxo raindropkiss1