pure fiction // ziam

eighty eight

I walk into the cafeteria and head straight to our usual table. Already I can see Harry and Louis at the point of ripping each other's throats out. This is bad.

"You're just gonna be wasting your life away!"

"Excuse me? But I know how to control myself!"

"Clearly not if you have to buy a bottle a week just to get by! That's gonna turn to one bottle a day sooner than you think!"

"I won't let it get that bad!"

"How are we so sure of that, huh?!"

Right not doesn't seem like such a good time to sit down but maybe they'll stop arguing for a couple minutes if I do.

"Hey... guys" I say, interrupting their discussion.

Both of them calm down and silence fills the table. However, you can still feel the tension in the air. Louis and Harry eat their food without speaking a single word, it's actually bothersome.

"So what's up guys?"

Neither of them respond.

"Why don't you ask Harry?"

"Louis please don't start"

"Oh no but we have to talk about it, we can't just pretend there aren't any problems. Zayn is our friend, we can't just lie to him like that" Louis said sarcastically.

"Guys we don't have to talk about this"

"So I'm assuming Liam told you already?" Louis asked and I nodded my head in response.

"What's your take on it then?" Louis asked.

I look at him and then at Harry, who looks like he's about ready to jump off a cliff. I sit in silence, nervous to answer the question. This isn't really my place to talk. I mean yes, Harry is my friend and I should care about his well being but once a problem becomes subject of a relationship it's really hard to have input since it can just be used as ammunition. I don't want to be an 'extra point' used to aid Louis' argument.

"I don't really feel like I need to answer this right now..." I finally say and watch as Louis' face changes mood and it seems a little more annoyed than it was just now.

"Okay. That's fine. I'm gonna go for a walk then" He says and leaves the cafeteria.

As Louis leaves I turn to face Harry, who is now in tears.

"Harry... Don't cry..." I say, trying to comfort him.

"There has to be something wrong with me. Why am I such a self destructive person. Why do I do everything that makes him angry?" Harry says in between sobs.

I pull him into a hug and let him cry on my shoulders. This is a mess, a bigger mess than it needs to be. I don't want to admit it but Louis has a point but it's also just Harry's emotional state, but that shouldn't excuse his method of coping... How can you excuse something that's detrimental to your health just because it's the only way you can feel sane? I have to stop. I'm just gonna be digging myself a hole by trying to find some way to put it aside.

"You wanna go for a walk?" I say and Harry pulls away, cleaning the tears off his face while slowly nodding.

We get up and walk out the cafeteria and into the field.

It's a cloudless day, the sun is beaming at our faces, and Louis is nowhere in sight. Which is a good thing, for the most part. We head to the school's garden, Harry likes the aroma the flowers give off and well they blend to create a scent that you can't simply just describe, you have to experience it.

"Thank you for not leaving me alone. It seems like lately everything I do ends up Louis leaving me and I can't help to think that he doesn't want me anymore..." Harry says, breaking the silence.

Liam and I look at each other, not knowing how to respond to that. I mean, how do you respond to that? How can you tell someone that what they're doing is respectfully, to some extent, destructive but at the same time, it's not on them that their significant other doesn't know how to be there for the other.