Out in the Cold (Zianourry) ON HOLD

Five

Harry wakes up the next morning, blinking sleepily around the room he's in. It's a really big room; a king size bed, a couch in front of a flat screen tv, what looks to be a walk in closet beside another door that leads to a bathroom. Harry climbs out of bed, yawning and stretching his arms out, his back popping. He's a bit confused on how he ended up in here, the last thing he remembers from last night being him falling asleep on the couch, curled between Louis and Zayn. 

He shrugs it out of his mind, exiting the room and heading towards the living room. As he gets closer to it, he hears voices off to his left. He follows the sounds, ending up in the boys' kitchen. All four of the boys, Niall leaning against the counter next to the refrigerator while the other three occupy seats around the table, look up when he enters, giving him bright smiles. 

Harry sends back a smile small, before speaking, rather quietly. "I guess I'd better get going. Uh, where's my clothes?" 

Instantly the boys' smiles drop, frowns replacing them. "You're not leaving." Zayn replies. 

"Excuse me?" Harry questions, one of his eyebrows raising, his whole body tensing up. He takes a step backwards, edging closer to the doorway, prepared to run if he has too. 

"That was very creepy, Z." Louis chides him, reaching over and running his hand through Zayn's hair, successfully messing it up. Zayn doesn't even spare him a glance, his eyes not moving from Harry. 

"What Zayn meant to say is why are you wanting to leave?" Niall rephrases, his own blue eyes locked on Harry from his place. 

Harry releases a sigh, relaxing slightly. "You guys have already done so much for me that I have no way of ever repaying. And besides, I'd rather not overstay my welcome." 

"You don't owe us anything." Liam tells the curly haired boy, taking a step forward. 

"My clothes?" Is all Harry says, his green eyes darting to the floor. 

Liam releases a sigh of his own, nodding and standing up from his seat. "I'll go get them," He mutters, walking out of the kitchen. Harry's eyes stay where they are, waiting for Liam to get back with his clothes so he can change and leave, get back to his daily routine and forget he ever met these gorgeous, generous guys. 

"Harry?" Niall asks softly, so quiet Harry almost doesn't hear. Harry hums, acknowledging Niall without lifting his eyes. "Please don't go." Niall pleads, whimpering. 

That makes Harry's eyes jerk up, only to see the blond boy biting his lip, tears filling his eyes. "Niall, it's okay-" Harry starts, but Niall cuts him off. 

"No, it isn't okay. You're leaving us. You're going back out on the streets where anything can happen to you. You aren't safe out there, but you are safe here with us. Why are you leaving us?" As he speaks, a tear falls from his eye, slowly sliding down his cheek. Immediately Harry feels horrible. These four guys are the first people to ever care about him and right now he's making one of them cry. 

Harry sighs, hesitating momentarily, before he's stepping forward, walking over to where Niall is still propped against the counter, his blue eyes blinking profusely to hold back more tears while he wipes away the stray tear, wrapping his arms around Niall's waist. 

Niall automatically wraps his arms around Harry's neck, holding onto him as tight as he can, and buries his head in the crook of Harry's neck. Harry awkwardly pats Niall's back, having absolutely no clue of how to comfort someone because of never having too. 

Zayn and Louis walk over to the hugging duo and Zayn loosely grips onto the back of Harry's (Liam's) shirt, laying his head on the shoulder that Niall isn't occupying, while Louis moves to stand behind Niall, cerulean eyes staring straight at Harry.