Undercover (Larry Stylinson)

35. you have a visitor

"Horan, your visitor is here."

Niall blinked and started to stand up, following the nurse down the long white corridor and to the visitor's room. It was his first time seeing Harry since he admitted himself two weeks ago. He should have been nervous, but he mostly just felt empty inside.

Maybe it was his new dosage of medication. Or maybe it was the rigorous rehabilitation schedule, which included hour long sessions of intensive therapy sessions, group therapy, meditation, meals and recreation. Either way, he hadn't been feeling himself lately and he wasn't quite sure what to say to Harry.

Walking down the hallway seemed to be taking forever and Niall sighed as the walls went fuzzy around him. He was taking two medicines a day and they were definitely slowing him down. They seemed to be reducing the frequency of his flashbacks, but they were also reducing his ability to concentrate. His ability to feel.

"Mr. Styles is here. You two have thirty minutes," the nurse said as they reached the visitor's room.

Harry stood up and walked over to Niall, opening his arms. Niall blinked at him, taking in his long, dark curls, his green eyes, his plump lips. It was same Harry he always knew, but at the same time he seemed different.

"Hi," Niall squeaked, slowly leaning into the hug.

"Hey," Harry replied with a warm smile. "It's great to see you."

"Thanks," Niall said. He offered Harry a glassy stare, his blue eyes not fully focusing on anything in particular. His dark hair was combed neatly to one side and he wore track pants and a light grey hoodie, which looked limp and loose around his slight frame.

"Why don't we go sit on the couch?" Harry suggested, pointing to the light pink sofa in the center of the room.

Niall nodded and followed Harry to the seat. "I missed you," he said quietly.

"Missed you too, mate," Harry said. "How have you been?"

"Good," Niall said, his voice cracking. "Good, I mean fine."

"Do you like it here? Finding it okay?" Harry asked. He fidgeted with the buttons on his sleeves and then looked up at Niall, awaiting an answer.

"I... yeah. It's a lot of hard work. But hopefully I'll be better by the end of it," Niall replied. "I, um, I've been having less flashbacks which is good."

"Oh, wow, that is really good," Harry said encouragingly. "I'm glad to hear that."

Niall nodded, his eyes shifting around the room. "Yeah. Yeah, it's good."

Harry smiled but leaned in closer. "Are you sure everything's okay?" he whispered.

"Yes," Niall reponded quickly. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired from all the new meds. They make me sleepy. Kind of feel slowed down."

"Oh, well if you don't like them, you can ask to change dosages, right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'll ask," Niall replied. "It's sort of a trade off between the flashbacks and the sleepiness..."

Harry pressed his knuckles together and nodded. "I understand what you mean."

"So, how are you?" Niall asked. He sat up straighter and looked Harry in the eye.

"I'm good. Same old," Harry said.

"Nothing is new? Come on, there must be so much going on outside of these walls," Niall replied with a chuckle.

"Well, it was Cardi B's birthday the other day," Harry said with a shrug.

"Not what I meant," Niall replied, smirking.