fighting love » l.s.

twenty two - fixing me won't fix us

After mulling over his feelings for a while longer, Louis headed downstairs to find Harry. The crowd had somehow grown in the time he was upstairs, and the music seemed ten times louder than before. He scanned the crowds for Harry, brow furrowing in frustration and worry when he couldn't spot Harry's curly head.

Meanwhile, Harry was in the crowd with Liam and Niall, dancing his heart out. The alcohol rushing through his veins made the party a lot less overwhelming. He could feel bodies pushing up against him, unfamiliar skin brushing against his, and for once, he didn't care. He couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel anything.

He hadn't felt this alive since last year. He was grinning like an idiot, waving his hands in the air and letting Liam and Niall take turns twirling him. For the first time, he wasn't thinking about that night, and he wasn't thinking about Louis.

Well, maybe a little bit about Louis.

When he felt two hands grab his hips from behind, pressing a hard chest against his back, he froze. He stopped dancing immediately, straining his neck as he turned to study the person behind him. Niall and Liam continued dancing together, oblivious to the scene. Deep down, a part of Harry wondered if it could be Louis. Louis was the only one he wanted touching him.

"Never seen you at one of these parties before," the deep, unknown voice slurred. Harry took a step forward immediately upon realizing that it wasn't Louis, but the man pulled him back.

"Let go of me," Harry said firmly. Liam and Niall had now noticed Harry's sudden return to his normal tensed muscles and concern was obvious on both of their faces.

"C'mon, just keep dancing like you were," the man said, pressing his hips into Harry. "I know how you can move for me."

"I said let go of me," Harry said, raising his voice and pulling one of the man's arms away from his body. Liam and Niall were both stepping forward to intervene at this point, the worry on their faces quickly changing to anger as they dragged the man away from Harry.

From in the entryway of the house, Louis had finally spotted Harry, and his blood was boiling as he watched an unfamiliar boy throw himself at Harry. He started into the crowd, already prepared to throw him to the ground. He was prepared to do anything to get the man's hand off of Harry. His Harry.

He didn't take more than two steps before someone cut him off. He pushed against the smaller body, but Eleanor's high-pitched voice quickly filled his ears and he paused, glancing down at her in annoyance.

"Louis, where have you been? I've been searching for you for ages," she squealed, frowning in displeasure.

Louis opened his mouth to tell her that he needed to go and that they could discuss this later, but he watched Liam and Niall drag the man off of Harry, shoving him back into the crowd. Liam quickly wrapped his arm around Harry and jealousy shot through Louis's veins, but he knew that Harry was safe in Liam's hands. That should have been him, but he needed to take care of this.

"El, we really need to talk," Louis said, trying to focus all of his attention on his girlfriend. It was difficult considering that the love of his life was just across the room being comforted by someone else, but he had to give Eleanor one last minute of his attention.

"About what?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, actually," he said. "I think that this isn't working."
"What do you mean it isn't working? We're perfect together," she laughed as though he was joking. The smile dropped from her face as she took in his serious expression. "You can't be serious, Louis."

"I am," he said firmly. "We're done. I'm sorry, you're a great girl, but --"

"We're not done," she scoffed, wrapping her fingers around his wrist in a tight grip. "You don't want to do this, Louis. You won't find anyone better than me, you know?"

Louis almost laughed at the irony. He opened his mouth to reply, but Eleanor cut him off, eyes lighting up with anger.

"This is about Harry, isn't it?" she accused, pointing a sharp finger in Louis's face. "If you would just cut him out already, our relationship wouldn't be so difficult!"

"I kissed him again, El," Louis practically shouted, frustration coursing through him. "I can't do this anymore! I can't be with you anymore!"

"No," Eleanor shook her head, obviously in denial and disbelief as she processed Louis's words.

"Yes," Louis replied firmly, still keeping a close eye on Harry across the room.

Harry was talking to Liam and Niall, who were still making sure their friend was alright. Harry brushed them off, still not coming down from his alcoholic high.

"Do you want to go home?" Liam asked, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down Harry's arm.

"I want to dance!" Harry replied, a giggle bursting out of his mouth. "I don't care about some dumb guy. I'm here to have fun!"

"Are you sure, mate?" Niall asked, trying to keep a worried expression on his face. He couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his lips. Harry was hilarious when he was drunk.

"Yes, now dance with me!" Harry squealed, grabbing both of their hands and dragging them back to the middle of the crowd. The boys glanced at each other suspiciously, but followed their curly haired friend.

"We're idiots, right?" Niall called to Liam, laughing.

Liam just shook his head, smiling fondly at the younger boy dancing in front of him. "Remind me never to let him drink ever again."

Louis's eyes once again flicked to Harry, who had resumed his dancing across the room. His curls flew in every direction and he had a wide smile on his face. The corner's of Louis's mouth turned up at the simple sight of Harry, and he couldn't lie for another second.

"It's always all about Harry, isn't it?" Eleanor huffed, drawing Louis's attention back to her. She crossed her arms and glared up at him.

"Yeah," Louis breathed, eyes still glued to Harry. "Yeah, it's always been Harry. And I think it'll always be Harry."

"Louis, please," Eleanor begged.

Louis groaned, forcing his gaze back to her whining figure. He was feeling more and more annoyed with every minute. This conversation should have been over already. All Louis wanted to do was go tell Harry everything, but he was stuck here talking to his beard.

"El, it's over," he said, exasperated. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging lightly at the ends in frustration. "Just give it up already."

"I won't give up," she shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "I can fix this. I can fix you."

Louis's heart jumped at her words, realizing that this was the first instance of homophobia directed at him. He furrowed his brows at her in disgust.

He had a strong urge to punch her in the face -- after all, actions do speak louder than words -- but instead, he found an important statement ringing in his ears:

"I don't need to be fixed."