Just Another Prank (A One Direction/Larry Stylinson Fan Fic)

Chapter Seventeen

Harry

            Watching Piper walk away after what I said was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I knew she would want to be alone for as long as she could, but it still took the gentle squeeze of Louis’ arms around my shoulders to stop me from racing after her. I swallowed back the lump in my throat and glanced at the stars, wondering if they could somehow open up and swallow me whole.

            “Whoa.” Liam was looking at all of us, open mouthed. “I mean, I knew about her mum because of that video, but I still can’t believe she had to watch her get shot. I figured the dealer had hit her on the head or something and killed her—I never imagined it was that bad.”

            “Well,” said Niall softly, “now you know.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I feel like I need to go talk to her, but what would I say? I’ve never been through something even half this terrible; I wouldn’t know how to start to make her feel better.”

            “Yes, but she’s in love with you. Just you being there will probably help her calm down. I know just being next to Harry helps me when I’m upset,” Louis said, placing a hand on my arm. I leaned into his touch and put my hand over his, feeling a little bit better about what I had done. Just as I was Louis’ comfort, he was mine—one touch from him could lessen even the worst of pains.

            Niall sighed. “I suppose, but she’s still a bit angry with me about last night. I don’t know if she’ll want to be near me as much as she normally does.”

            “About that….” Zayn turned to Niall, his eyes apologetic. “Listen, mate, I’m really, really sorry. I shouldn’t have—“

            “Save it.” Niall, his expression cold, held up his hand. Zayn’s face sank, but then he grinned jokingly and continued with, “Piper will want to be there when we do this for real. But for the record, I’m sorry, too. I overreacted; it’s the Irish in me.” He smiled at Zayn. “So, we’re good?”

            “Yeah,” Zayn chuckled, obviously relieved. “We’re good.” They shared a manly hug and punched each other playfully on the arm as our bus driver herded us all back on board. “Alright, lads, get to it. We’re only halfway to Chicago and I have to have you there by morning. Move along.”

            We stepped cautiously onto the bus and peered around the corner, trying to spot Piper. We found her curled up on her bunk, her radio playing softly and her hair covering her face. Niall stepped hesitantly towards her first. “Pipes?”

            She looked up. Her eyes were red, but her face was calm. “Hey.”

            “Hey.” He climbed up the ladder and sat down next to her, taking her hand. When she didn’t pull it away, he seemed to gain his courage. “Listen, we understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but if you do, we’re here. All of us.”

            We all nodded as she took a deep breath. “There’s really not that much to tell.  You already know pretty much the whole story from the video. It’s just that, whenever I hear loud bangs or see head wounds or even see a gun, I just keep watching that dealer shoot my mother over and over again in my mind.” She bit her lip, looking out the window. “That’s why, when I saw all that blood coming out of the back of Harry’s head, I freaked out. It brought back too many memories. Things like that always do.” She lay her head down on Niall’s shoulder, blinking tears out of her eyes. He started stroking her hair, obviously trying to keep himself from crying. I knew how he felt. It was all I could do not to burst into tears at the look on her face.