Not Again? || l.s

t w e n t y

twenty | let you down

I didn't know, that you would leave so soon
I didn't try a little harder, to make you smile once more
One day I'll come to find you, wherever you may be
If only time was kinder, you would still be here

~ 'i didn't know' by skinshape

ツ

Liam hugged Harry tightly, "I'll miss you. I can't believe you're bailing early. Louis' birthday is on Christmas Eve."

"Oh?" Harry tried not to show his excitement and succeeded somehow.

"You're gonna wish him?" Liam asked, pulling away.

"I'll think about it", he replied.

"Now, go tell Zayn. The kid's ridiculously attached to you, he's not going to take it well. I'm not doing it for you."

Liam wasn't kidding. Zayn looked like a wounded animal, all sad eyes, "Why can't you stay until Friday like we planned? We were going to watch Christmas movies in the common room, and I was going to make us a special microwave dinner."

"We can do that when we get back," Harry offered. "Even if Christmas has passed."

Zayn frowned for a moment, and then a wide grin spreads over his face, "Yeah, alright. Sounds like a plan. Gonna miss you, though."

"I'm gonna miss you guys, too," Harry said honestly.

"Have you told Louis?" Zayn asked.

And Harry took that back immediately. Maybe he wouldn't miss Zayn, not if he asked questions like that.

"No," he said flatly. "Why would I?"

Zayn shrugged, "Dunno. Seemed like a reasonable question until you got that mass murderer look on your face."

"Louis is not my friend," Harry reminded him. "He won't care when I leave, and it's none of his business either way."

"Okay," Zayn said, lifting his hands defensively. "I'll have to remember not to ask you about Louis anymore. Apparently, it's a touchy subject now."

"It's always been a touchy subject," Liam reminded him. "Only now, instead of bitching about the guy, he gets all panicked, like a caged animal."

Harry glared at them both, but he didn't protest when Zayn's arm went around his waist. He didn't protest when Liam's went around his shoulders. He didn't protest when the two of them guided him from the room, laughing and making promises to buy Harry lunch to make up for it. He did look over his shoulder though, just once, to find Louis staring after them, a lost look on his face.

Cursing at his heart for feeling guilty, Harry turned around, happy to spend the last few hours with his friends.

ツ

The entire art room was different for the Christmas party. After they'd left, someone had come in and strung up lights all around the room. They cast it in a soft glow, while another set lines each of the display tables to illuminate the showcased pieces. There's also row after row of plastic chairs set up for the auction, just in the middle of the room, enough space between them and the tables to give everyone room to walk around and see what they've created.

Harry was exhausted. After lunch, Liam and Zayn had dragged him back to the dorms to get dressed. Harry had been forcefully put into one of Liam's white button-ups and a pair of his own dress pants, and they'd left him to do his hair with promises to do painful things if he left it messy and down like he always did.