Starstruck: A One Direction Love Story (Harry Styles/Ziall)

Tourniquet

They got back to the hotel just to toss everything in the bags to go. They had just wanted to give the boys a bed to lay in before they got to New York. The tour bus was cluttered as the votes hadn't been on it in a while and were trying to get used to it again. Lyla laid in a bunk, hoped that no one would wake her up an prepared to nap.

When Harry got out of the bathroom, he checked the bunks and saw her asleep; he headed to the free room in the back and took out his phone. He was terrified really. He couldn't really take bullying for himself but he would be furious if he saw anything bad about Lyla. When he saw her this afternoon he couldn't really handle how broken she looked. She had been the perfect image of strength since he had met her. He also hadn't known about her mom. In fact, that moment made him want to know everything. He wanted to go through and fix everything wrong with her life. Yet, he knew she wasn't one for saving.

He sucked in a breath and opened twitter on his phone, just scrolling  through the feed to get a taste of what was out there.

@harry_styles who’s the bitch?

@harry_styles so if my mom gets cancer to I get to come too?

@harry_styles fucking whore leaving her mom with cancer to go out with you guys

then of course there were the tweets that were self-deprecating and barely sincere.

@harry_styles well if that's what makes you happy

@harry_styles I guess anything is better than a 32 year old. Well, except me, I'm a potato.

Harry stared at the screen. He really didn't know what to do. If he would post more it would get her more attention and he didn't want the mean words to haunt her like they've haunted him before. Meanwhile, Lyla was in the bunk reading the tweets everyone had sent her. She wanted to cry, but she knew better. She knew it was jealousy and spite, and decided she was going to be stoic. She had that back to all of the times that she had let people get to her and she refuse to go back. Harry walked into the room expecting her to be asleep and saw her there on her phone. Lyla just stared up at him waiting for words, but saw the panic in his eyes.

“Yes, I’ve seen them. Yes, I’m okay. No, you don’t have to worry” she said, waiting to see his shoulders drop and the tension ease, but it didn’t.

“Hazza, babe, what’s wrong? I’m okay I promise”

            He never met her eyes, staring at the floor like it was going to rise up and have a conversation with him. She stared, waiting, as he tried to ignore the burning in his eyes and the throbbing in his chest from the words that were building in his head. Lyla notices how his eyes seem to glaze over and got up from the bunk to move over to him, grabbing his hand, willing him with her thumb to just glance up. Then when he did, her heart broke, because she had never seen anyone look so defeated or lost before.

“Holy shit, Harry, tell me what’s happening”

“ I, I just didn’t want to do this to you. I wanted to make you happy and have you smile, but just because this band exists and just because I’m me, people are trying to make you unhappy and there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t want them to hurt you, because they’ve hurt me and I can’t imagine seeing you like that again. I don’t want you to resent me and I don’t want you to regret me and I know that this entire situation is absurd because we barely know each other but you just feel so important and I want to protect you and I don’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere, at least not in regards to your life, cause you know, I have to go home on Sunday. I want to be here and I want you, but you don’t have to worry about protecting me. I’m a big girl. I appreciate you worrying, but you already have enough to worry about, so don’t throw me on top of the pile. I know how you feel, this entire situation is so incredibly overwhelming I don’t know what emotion to feel first. I do know that I won’t resent you and I won’t regret you and that you are equally as important to me as I am to you. These are little girls on twitter and tumblr talking shit about someone they don’t know. They love you, so they think that have some claim to you and I can see that, so I’m not really worried about how they feel anyway cause they’re obviously insane. I’m here now and I want you to not worry about anything while I’m here because unless we’re fighting, you should just be happy to be here, because I know I am and I know times running out.”