Let Me Show You How to Love Yourself (Larry Stylinson) ✅

The Harsh Reality

"Harry, we're home, Love," Liam called as he entered the flat. He walked past the fake plants in the foyer and over to the living room, where he found Harry sitting in front of the TV, bundled up in a blanket. He looked so small and childlike, with his thin face and small hands. Liam felt his eyes grow teary.

Liam instantly wanted to go to his room and cry for hours. The Harry he knew had always been thin, with long lanky legs and a petite torso. But he had never been this unhealthy, this scarily underweight. Harry used to love food— and ate as much as he wanted without gaining weight, a quality which Liam envied him for. He used to eat Pizza and curry takeaway and burgers nearly every day without a care in the world. And dessert used to be his bloody favorite— he used to be a baker for god's sake.

To watch Harry become so sickly over the past two years was absolutely heartbreaking for Liam. Harry was his best friend and all he wanted to do was help ease the pain and get him better. But Liam quickly learned that he was completely powerless in helping Harry, no matter how hard he tried. And Harry quickly got worse and worse, leaving Liam terrified that he was going to wake up one day having lost his best friend.

Though no one really knew why Harry had decided to start losing weight — he would never open up to therapists or anyone — Liam suspected it had to do with the rough year he was having back in 2015. Harry lost his job as a baker in Redditch and shortly afterwards, his girlfriend left him because he couldn't pay rent anymore, let alone take her out. On a whim, he decided to pick up and move to London with Liam. But Things didn't get much better there. In fact, he found a lot of trouble finding a new baking job. He applied to every bakery in the area — and still didn't get hired anywhere. So he decided to wait tables until an opportunity arose.

Not being able to bake was hard on Harry because it was his passion, the one thing in the world he loved doing. It also took up most of his time, but now, since he only worked evenings, he had too much free time during the day. In attempt to feel productive, he started going to the gym more and cooking his own meals. Liam saw it as healthy at first, but then Harry started running more and more and eating less and less. The next thing he knew he was spiraling out of control, and Liam called Harry's sister for support.

Gemma had always been a best friend and mentor to Harry, but when Liam called she said Harry hadn't spoken to her in months. They had gotten into a big fight before he left Redditch, and Harry had moved away without saying goodbye. Liam told Gemma about the situation and she said she would reach out to Harry — and she did, but Harry never responded to her countless calls and texts.

Since he was the only one left in Harry's life, Liam felt responsible for helping get Harry through the rough time and tried desperately to get him to eat more. But when Harry collapsed on the living room floor one day, it became pretty clear that the help he needed was beyond Liam's expertise.

Now, Harry had been in and out of the hospital for months, and Liam was doing everything he could to pay his share of the rent. Eventually it became too much, even with his fancy business job, which is why he invited Zayn to move into the flat. Well, that, and other reasons....

As Liam watched his friend's shaky hand struggle with the remote, he sighed and walked over to him slowly. "Harry, time for lunch. It's chicken with vegetables," he said excitedly. Harry grimaced, too exhausted to even hide his emotions.

"Hey, Harry," zayn called from the kitchen as Liam helped Harry to the table. "We ran into that Louis guy and he said he dropped off a cherry pie with you. Where is it? I want some."

Harry's face instantly flushed red and he began to panic. Why the fuck would Louis tell them about the pie? Now he was fucked... they would know he threw it out...