Deep in Thought: A Larry Stylinson Story

Starting Over

     Harry woke up in a soft bed, and he heard beeping noises. He wondered what they were, and then he remembered that he had to get ready for the X-Factor audition, but when he tried to sit up, strong hands pushed him down.

     "Whoa, there, Haz," said a strangely familiar voice. He wondered who it was. He looked up and over at him, but he didn't know. Weird.

     "Hi," Harry said. "What did you call me?" He blinked at the boy.

     "Haz. You know, Hazza." The boy looked at him with tired blue eyes, and Harry thought distantly that they were quite beautiful. Which was weird.

     "Okay," Harry told the boy, still at a loss. He wanted to know his name. "What's your name?" He asked. The boy's eyebrows furrowed.

     "What do you mean, what's my name?" he said. "Harry, what's gotten in to you?"

     Just as the boy was finishing his sentence, some offical doctor-looking guy walked in.

     "Mr. Styles," he said, "good to see you awake."

     "What am I doing here?" Harry asked, distraught. "What happened? Am I sick?"

     The doctor looked concerned for a moment gaining his composer back, and he just look kind, caring, and calm.

     "Mr. Styles," he said, "what year is it?"

     "Tw- Twenty-ten," he answered. Then he was worried. Was it? Had he... Lost his memory or something totally cliched like that? No, that couldn't happen to him, that only happened to people on TV and in books and stories and fan fiction. The doctor continued to ask him obvious questions, ones like When is your birthday? and What is your mother's maiden name? The question seemed endless. The boy in the room just seemed to get paler with every answer.

     "Louis," the doctor said to the boy after a while, "could you fetch Anne for me, please?" Why did he want Harry's mum? Regardless of reason, the boy- Louis- nodded, and left the room. Harry felt as though the room dimmed a bit. What kind of sketchy hospital were they in?

     Not even a minute had passed and Louis- or was it Lucus?- entered the room again, this time with Anne and three other boys Harry didn't know, but they obviously knew him.

     "Sleeping Beauty!" the blonde one shouted, and nearly skipped to his bedside. The other boys shouted "Harry!" like normal people. Lucus just looked nervous, concerned, and a bit afraid. As did Anne.

     "Hi, mum," Harry said quietly when his mother grabbed his hand. She gave him a tight smile, full of worry, but also relief. How long had he been asleep?

     "Harry," was all she said. The other boys were crowded around him, making him feel a bit uncomfortable, yet loved. He wished he knew them. Harry looked at his mother again, this time with obvious confusion. Anne tried speaking, and then cleared her throat and tried again.

     "These are you friends, Harry," she told him. "This is Niall," she gestured to the blonde, the one that was smiling like a thousand watt bulb. "How ya doin', Harry?" he said, his voice distinctly Irish. His mom continued. "Liam," this time she gestured to a smiling boy, but without the cheesey grin. "And Zayn." The last boy had weird hair, and Harry liked him immediately. He liked them all.

     That was when he started freaking out, though. He was in a hospital, and he was surrounded by people he didn't know. Did he forget them? How long had he been asleep? 

     "Mrs. Styles," the doctor started, "do you want all the boys to hear this as well?" She shrugged as if to say, "They're going to hear it, anyway."

     "Alright," the doctor said. "From what I've observed of Harry, he has amnesia, probably caused by the trama he suffered. His brain scans have come back clean so far, though it may be different now that he's awake." Anne let go a breath that she had been holding, and the smiles were off of the other boys' faces. Except Lucus, who hadn't smiled once. He looked like someone had just kicked him puppy.

     "Okay," Harry's mum said eventually. "Okay." Harry was lost. He didn't want to hear any more. The doctor kept talking, but Harry blocked him out, shutting his eyes and laying his head back against his pillows. Though he'd been asleep for, what had the doctor said? A week? No, six days. He'd been sleeping for six days, but he was exhausted.

     He felt pressure on the hand that his mother wasn't holding, and he barely opened one eye to see the first boy- he was pretty sure his name wasn't Lucus, now- had taken his hand. It was nice. He closed his eyes again and drifted off.

     He must have fallen asleep because he felt his mother's lips on his cheek, and she said she'd see him tomorrow. Harry opened his eyes and watched his mother and three of the boys walk out, he thought they were Liam and Nigel, and then the one with funny hair, who he knew was Zayn.

     Before leaving the room, Anne called back softly, "I'll see you later, too, Louis." Louis! That was his name. Harry had felt so bad that he couldn't remember his name, and now he felt so much better.

     Harry looked at Louis now, really looked at him. His brown hair was messed, his blue eyes were tired. Why had he stayed? Harry was glad he did, he didn't feel like being alone, even if he didn't remember him.

     Harry smiled at him, and Louis bit his lip. He didn't know what else to do, or anything to say. How was he supposed to know? He didn't even remember him. All Louis did was look at him, probably wondering what to say as well.

     "Haz-" Louis started, "I mean, Harry. I'm gonna... Get some juice. Do you want any?" Yes. He did want some. He nodded, and Louis gave him a small but real smile, and Harry's chest felt weird. What was wrong with him? Oh yeah, he fell down some stairs.

     Harry lay back again, not happy at being alone, and wanting some juice, too. It wasnt' too long until Louis showed back up at his door with two cups of juice that were too full to be safe to carry and a goofy look of concentration on his face. Harry laughed, and Louis looked at him and winked, which made Harry get that weird feeling in his chest again.

     Louis set the glass of juice down on Harry's little food tray that rolled over his bed triumphantly. "There you have it," he announced proudly, "One cup of hospital-delicious apple juice!" Harry looked up at Louis and smiled. His favorite.

     Even though Harry felt warmer to Louis, and Louis was obviously relieved with Harry's being awake, they were silent while they drank their juice. Harry felt a little awkward, and he didn't even look at Louis until he wanted to ask him where the trash can was so he could through away his cup.

     Louis was asleep, his hair falling endearingly in his eyes. Wait, what? Did he just think that? He was laying back on the chair, and it looked that he had been there for a while. Why had he, out of all of the other boys and is mum, had this one boy stayed with him?

     He couldn't think anymore. He shut his eyes and layed back on the bed again, and he was asleep within the minute.