Pride {l.s.}

32- Moving In

The story so far:

Zayn and Liam are together (Niall doesn't know yet). Harry and Louis confessed their feelings for each other, but Eleanor caught Louis's on fire when she saw the two boys together. Louis passed out because of smoke inhalation and ended up in the hospital where all of the boys got teary-eyed and sad. Louis has no serious or permanent side effects except coughs and difficulty breathing sometimes.

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

Most of my body aches. My lungs hurt slightly when I breath. I have various burns on my body that are painful to the touch. They applied antibiotic ointment before wrapping it with bandages. I have small burns on the inside of my palms from grabbing my phone and wallet. Looking back, it was probably a dumb idea to grab those.

Harry doesn't leave my side as I walk from the car to Harry's apartment. The other boys are ahead, but Harry stays back with me. He watches me walk from the corner of his eye.

"I'm not going to fall over, Harold," I tell him with a small smile. It feels weird to be almost happy after such a crazy experience.

"I know you aren't, but you scared me, Boo Bear. It's going to be a awhile before I realize you're not going to leave me," Harry says quietly. The other boys can't hear our conversation.

"Harry." I stop him from walking down the hall. He turns to face me. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

Harry nods his head, but the fear doesn't leave his eyes. This poor boy is scared of me leaving him, whether it's dying or walking out of his life again. I hate to admit it, but I'm scared of that too. I'm scared that one day I'll head over to see Harry, and he'll be gone. I'm scared of this because it shows me how dependent I've become. That and I simply don't want Harry to walk out of my life.

I give his hand a squeeze before we follow Niall, Liam, and Zayn into Harry's apartment. I don't hold his hand in front of the other boys. I'm not ready to show them anything. Either way, I have no idea what Harry and I are even.

We take seats on the couches and chair in the living room. Liam and Zayn sit together in one chair with Zayn in his lap. Liam whispers comforting words into his ear. Zayn still looks pretty shaken about everything. Niall sits on one end of the couch. Harry and I sit shoulder to shoulder on the other side of the couch.

"I'm still confused," Niall blurts out. "No one told me the story about why Eleanor caught your room on fire."

Harry glances over to me. No one knows anything except him. No one knows about my past, and I don't feel like I can tell them yet.

"I broke up with her. Simple as that. She went crazy, pulled out matches from my nightstand, and let the bed on fire. Zayn, how bad was the damage?" I ask him, but I feel like I already know the answer by his facial expression.

"They couldn't save anything from your room. Granted, there wasn't much worth saving except maybe that bear that Harry won for you. Sorry, Harry," Zayn says with a small smile. Harry shrugs his shoulders. He's probably just happy that I'm okay. "Other than that, it's just minor smoke damage in that hall and a little bit in the main display room and studio."

My face turns pale when I finally begin to think. I can't afford this. I won't be able to afford the fixings for the studio space, and I won't be able to afford a hotel room to stay in that long. I'm living on Ramen noodles. I don't even know how I'll pay for that hospital. As I go into a panicking mode, I feel my breath quicken. It gets faster since the smoke damage, but I still feel the anxiety flood my body.

"Lou, look at me." I look at Harry hesitantly. "We got you. Between us all, we can get enough money to cover all costs."

"B-but I don't have anywhere to live. I can barely imagine taking all of that money from you guys. I mean we're all struggling. Niall's opening a restaurant for goodness sakes! None of us have the money," I reply with a groan.

"We'll do it," Liam adds on. "We're here for you. This is what friends do."

"I'll help you the best I can," Niall says with a soft smile.

"I would let you live with me, but I don't have an extra room," Zayn mutters before looking up at Liam.

Some happiness floods my body just from Zayn's glance at Liam. They're moving in together. I know that they've been practically living with each other for awhile. They're moving fast for only having made a move yesterday night, but there's something special between them for sure.

"What happened to that guest bedroom?" I ask with a smirk on my face. I'm happy to have a lighter topic to discuss.

Zayn's face is beat red as Liam replies. "We're moving in together. I already have a bunch of my stuff there, and I'm over all the time. We're just making it official."

"Nothing like two good friends living together," Niall comments with an innocent smile. Poor Niall. He's not going to even know what hit him.

"Um, actually Zayn and I are dating," Liam says with a large smile on his face. I'm happy it's him that is taking care of my best friend. Liam's lips lock onto Zayn's, and Niall falls off of the couch.

"WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME!?" the blond boy shouts angrily. He doesn't stay angry for long before he dives at the new couple with a big hug. "I'm so proud of you two for finally admitting your gayness to each other."

Harry and I laugh off to the side at this exchange. I find myself leaning into Harry. Being on a comfy couch in the good company of friends has calmed me down slightly.

"You can move in with me," Harry whispers in my ear.

"What!?" I whip my head around to look at him. He can't be serious.

"I know that you don't take favors well but c'mon Lou. It'll be fun. We can have late night movie marathons. I can cook for you all the time." Harry quiets his voice as he continues. "We can figure out our relationship to. We can sleep in the same bed some nights, but you'll still have your own room."

I can't help but smile at this. I can imagine us. I see us waking up together. I can see myself watching Harry cook everyday. We can watch all the romantic movies he wants to. I can paint and help Harry edit some pictures from weddings. I like the idea of having Harry around all the time. I'll also be able to keep an eye on the guy.

"Okay."

"Okay? You're agreeing that fast?" Harry asks in surprise.

I shrug my shoulders with a smile. "I don't know. I don't have any other place to go, and living with you doesn't seem half bad."

"Well, it's official. Louis is moving in with me," Harry announces to the whole group. Zayn immediately smiles and looks directly at me as if to communicate something to me. Niall gives Harry and I a big hug.

None of them know what's going on between us, and I don't mind it. For now, Harry and I is just our secret.

A/N

Eleanor will be facing legal consequences for her actions because she is crazy for sure. Thank you all for reading, and I hope everyone is having a great winter break!

xoxo raindropkiss1