Above the Crimson Sky (Sequel to Beneath the Midnight Sky)

VI. Talking Helps

With a little help *cough*force*cough* from Harry, Louis sat nervously inside the therapy office he had been avoiding for weeks. What was the point of going anyway? He was a healthy weight, and for the most part, ate every meal. So what if he had a few purging episodes every now and then. So what if the voice became the only thing he could hear; it was only for moments and not constant like it used to be. He obviously could handle it on his own. Obviously.

"Mr. Tomlinson, she's ready to see you now," the secretary warmly smiled and guided him back into a tiny office.

He immediately began to rake sand from the Zen garden, though he had done it many times before.

"Haven't seen you in awhile," the therapist greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah, sorry. I know you'd love to bill my mother's insurance some more but I didn't need to come. Taking a break you could say," Louis shrugged.

"Defense already put up. I see," she smiled as she crossed one leg over the other, her high-heeled foot swinging in the air. "How are things going?"

Louis rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure why he suddenly felt the need to bring out his sarcastic side but he figured he wouldn't question it. "Things have been going, that's a start. Harry thought I needed to see you so here I am..." he snarked. "I guess I'll begin with small talk. I got the lead in the school play, no idea how. My guess is Zayn pulled some strings because there's no way I won that by merit or talent. My mood has been fine, I think,"

"Congrats on winning the lead! What if I were to bring Mr. Styles out of the lobby? How would he say you're doing?" The therapist asked uncrossing her legs and sitting up with more posture.

Louis grinned. "We can talk about Harry, sure. He's been doing fantastic. He's trying out for a scholarship, piano and vocals. He's a powerhouse, I tell you. His manic episodes are few, far, and in between, and when he does have them, they're not so intense. Sometimes I enjoy them because we do spontaneous things. When he's depressed, he gets a little irritated or very sleepy. Overall though, he's mostly happy-go-lucky."

"Well, the question was, how do you think he'd say you're doing? I wonder if you can peek at yourself through his perspective for a moment," she encouraged.

"Alright...well, he tells me all the time how proud of me he is. He's been relaxed lately, more trusting that I can take care of myself. The only problem really is he and my best-friend are having trouble getting along," he sighed. "Which sometimes can be hard to manage when we're all hanging out,"

"Why do you think that is?"

"Because they see things differently, I guess. Zayn has been my best-friend since I started university. He has always took care of me, made sure I was safe, made me laugh, and held me when I needed it. Harry wants to do that all on his own but he doesn't understand that his friends treat him the same way," Louis bit his bottom lip. "And I know, I know, Zayn told me he was in love with me before but he has grown out of that, I think. He's been dating Liam awhile now."

"Has he grown out of it? You said it yourself, he's doing things that a romantic partner should be doing...Louis," she sighed. "I know this is going to upset you and make you wary but I'm going to put it out there. What do you gain by Zayn and Harry both treating you like this?"

Louis looked at her frustrated. "What do you mean?"

"It just appears, from what you've told me, you enjoy the attention. Maybe you like the validation you receive from both parties; the pining, the adoration, perhaps. You've shared with me many times about your best-friend making your boy-friend jealous, but you never try and resolve it. Instead just play peace keeper to both sides."

Holding his arms defensively, Louis sneered "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Zayn has always treated me the way he does now, and Harry just gets a little possessive and doesn't know how to share. You think you know me but you don't. Besides, I thought I was here to talk about my eating and blah blah blah,"

"Louis, I want us to stay in the present and explore your current thoughts. Life challenges are far beyond our diagnosis," she informed him.

"Ok, my present thoughts are you're a bitch and know nothing about me. Wow. Harry's rubbing off on me," he said sarcastically as he stood up, pulling the bottom of his shirt down and walking out the door.

The therapist smirked as she knew by that reaction, she was right.

Louis walked toward Harry in a hurry, not waiting on him to greet him as he pushed open the door and tried to get in the locked vehicle. Harry rushed over to him, unlocking it and helping Louis in the car.

"Well that was a short session today," Harry said suspicious.

"Yeah, well, she must be PMSing because she's weird," Louis shrugged. "Love you, Princess!" He said sweetly kissing her cheek.

Harry laughed as he eyed Louis from the corner of his eye. "You're adorable," he bopped his nose and put the key in the ignition. "Hey, we should go have some sushi for lunch!"

Listening for Ana, Louis was satisfied when he realized his mind was halfway y quiet. "You know what, Harry? I'd love some sushi!"

"That's my baby," he said playfully hitting the steering wheel and unable to contain his smile, making heart eyes at Louis.

*******

Letting Louis go to his therapy, Zayn recruited Liam to help him finish painting the scenery for the play.

"I can't believe we all got the parts we wanted," he bragged. "It's going to be off the chain, don't you think?"

Liam smiled fondly at his boy-friends passion. "I do!" He beamed. "And I really appreciate this watch you got me. I'm not used to people getting me things."

Zayn rubbed his thumb across Liam's cheekbone. "Yeah, well, you deserve the best and the business is booming. Ed said we may have more customers soon, which means more money."

Biting his lip, Liam tried to hide his worried expression. "Money and gifts are nice and all but really all I care about is that you're safe. This is a dangerous business. I'm not sure how you and Ed got involved in the first place, but you need to be careful, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't worry about it, baby. Just come to the party Friday. Relax," Zayn soothed. "I need you there. Alcohol makes me so horny, you know that," he whispered in his ear, making Liam blush.

"Hey Zayn, how come you never invite me to your dorm? We either go to mine or Ed's," Liam asked curiously.

"Well that came out of nowhere," Zayn laughed. "Um...well you have a single room and Ed lives off campus so we can chill, you know? I mean, does it bother you? We can hangout more in my room if you want." Zayn said looking genuinely confused.

"Ok, ok, fine. I'll tell you..." Liam said with a sense of guilt in his eyes. "Harry wanted me to observe you and Louis to see if you were being out of line...like a second opinion type of thing."

Zayn rolled his eyes and began cutting out a piece of wood in the shape of a castle roof. "Second opinion that Harry is psycho or....?"

"No second opinion that you are too close to Louis," Liam confessed. "I mean, I have to admit, it's not just Harry. Sometimes, I wonder if...if you like him more than me."

"I just worry about him is all," Zayn said using the saw more aggressively. "You guys don't know him like I do. He needs me. That doesn't mean you should be jealous, and especially not that little curly haired thing. He's the one winning here," Zayn leaned toward Liam to kiss him. "Please don't be jealous of Lou. I love you, Liam." He reassured him.

Liam fake smiled back, half believing him. 

****

Authors Note: No idea where I'm going with this. LOL! It's almost New Years, gasp! Wonder what the theme will be as Louis told Niall back in yesteryear on twitter.

Found the image on google or I would give credit.