Fighting the Sunset

Chapter eight, "I'll be back."

Welcome to the second piece of 'Fighting the Sunset!'

Part two

Due to all the anticipation and excitement, the days leading up to Louis' operation date went by at snail pace. Every tick of the clock felt miles apart. Sleeping was the only thing that sped things up, so Louis stayed in bed for all of Thursday morning.

He slept right up until one a'clock, half an hour before Niall and Liam were due to turn up. Harry was nowhere to be seen when he lifted his head from his pillow, but there was music coming from somewhere. It grew louder as he padded down the hall and soon he found Harry in the kitchen.

"Jeez, you've had a busy morning," Louis blurted. The counter was covered in food. No bench could be seen.

Harry shrugged, smiling so widely his cheeks hurt, "felt like cooking, and we have people coming over remember?"

Louis laughed, "I remember, but how are four people going to eat all of this?"

"We're going to make a dent, and then we'll be stocked until summer," Harry replied as he curled his arms around Louis' waist.

Louis smiled lazily, leaning into Harry. "How long have you been up doing all this?"

"Since about. . .mmm, 5:30? 6:00? I couldn't sleep," Harry said sheepishly.

"Why babe?" Louis asked, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"Honestly. . .I'm scared. Are you sure about this surgery Lou? Like 100%? You're really not in good health, and recovery is going to be hard," he whispered.

"I'm only gonna get worse the more we wait, I think. I just wanna get it over with. The doctor said he thinks I can do it, and I think I can too."

Harry masked a swallow with a wide, confident smile. He was so proud of Louis and had all the faith in the world that he'd pull through, most of time. It was just night when he was left totally alone with his thoughts that the what ifs started creeping in. Closing his eyes made it worse.

"I know you can," Harry said.

"So." Louis clapped his hands and nodded his head, "how can I help?"

"You can go sit down, there's something in the oven but I'll join when when it's out in a couple of minutes

There's nothing I can do?"

Harry pursed his lips, "you can help me carry all this through to the table?"

"I can," Louis said with a pleased nod. He picked up a random plate and started making trips. Harry joined him, checking the oven every now and then. Once the food was on the table, Louis went to get his beanie, while Harry got the last treats from the oven. By the time both boys were set, they heard the ring of their doorbell.

Niall and Liam stood at the door together, smiling brightly. "Hey guys!" Niall exclaimed, hugging Louis gently, then hugging Harry.

"How've you been?" Liam asked. It seemed every time he saw Louis, he was looking thinner and sicker.

"Great! I'm ready to get on with this!" Louis said happily, his smile reaching his ears. The four boys had fun, talking, eating (or lack thereof in Louis' case), and playing games. Honestly, Louis had forgotten about his illness and the reason for their get-together for a while.

Some time later, the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it!" Harry chirped, hopping up and running to the door, wondering who it could be. He swung the door open, and his jaw dropped. Surely he was hallucinating.