Hotel {L.S.}

Chapter 7

I walked on the stage again, and I saw a few of the judges smile. "Back already?" One of them asked. I nodded and bit my lip. "Well, let's get to it."

I took a deep breath and sang the A Team by Ed Sheeran. I kept my eyes closed for most of the time, not wanting psych myself out. By the end of it, I still felt confident and judges seemed as impressed as before.

Louis smiled when he saw me and then we were given the okay to head back to the hotel rather than staying at the venue, so Louis and I got on the bus. I almost leaned into him but stopped when Luke climbed on the bus too. Instead I busied myself with looking out the window and avoiding touching Louis in anyway.

Luke sat down in the seat in front of us and looked back at me. "Harry-"

"Luke, are you trying to get me killed?" I whisper yelled at him. "We can't be seen together!"

"But you being seen with another guy from a different school consistently is fine?" He questioned.

"I don't know, for all I know I'm gonna get my ass riped for it the second I turn my phone on. I don't get to control what I get anymore," I snapped rubbing my forehead. "We were never going to work out and we both chose to ignore it. Let it go, Luke. It'll make it easier on both of us," I whispered, closing my eyes and leaning into the seat of the bus.

I had no idea how Louis reacted to what I said, and I didn't wait when the bus parked either. I stood up and went straight to our hotel room, locking myself in the bathroom before Louis caught up.

I pulled my phone from my back pocket and turned it on, waiting for it to receive all the texts and calls I might have missed. I heard the other door opened again. "Haz?"

"I'm okay," I told Louis. I saw multiple texts from my family, my stomach dropping. "I'm okay."

"Come out of there, please," Louis asked from the other side of the door.

I looked at the texts, closing my eyes and letting a tear fall. "I'm okay, Louis."

"I swear, you try to tell me you're fine while you're crying again." He sighed and pressed against the door. "Harry, please," he whispered. "I hate knowing you're upset and I'm not doing anything."

"It's not your fault," I mumbled, tossing my phone on the floor.

"I don't care. Hazza," he whispered through the door. "Please."

I finally opened it, and Louis wasted no time in pulling me to his chest. "It's okay."

"No it's not," he whispered. "You wouldn't have locked yourself in the bathroom if it was."

"I hate my family, end of story." I moved my head to the crook of his neck. "They ruin everything."

"What's going on?" He whispered. I shrugged, keeping quiet. "Harry, babe..."

"My dad's on his way," I whispered, clinging to him. "And from the updates he'll be here late tonight."

"No," Louis stated firmly, holding onto me much tighter. "You can't-"

"He's pulling me. Apparently he's talked to Gridley-" I pulled away from Louis and rubbed my face. "I wouldn't have bothered to perform the second time if I would have known."

"I'll be back," Louis said, kissing my forehead before leaving the room. I sat down on the bed and finally let myself just sob, shaking my head.

"I could do it," I mumbled to myself. "I could but they won't let me."

"Harry?" Niall came into the room. I didn't realize Louis left the door open. "What's going on?"

"My dad's on the way," I managed out. "He's pulling me."

"Gridley won't let him. You know-"

"They already talked," I mumbled. "I'm screwed. I'm leaving tonight and there's-"

"Your score was a seventy-seven out of eighty for the day, Harry. Gridley will be damned if you get pulled. Where's Louis?"

"I don't know, he left a few minutes ago. I'm never going to see him again." I put my head in my hands. "Why do I keep trying, Niall?"

"Don't you go down this path again, Harry. You'll be away from them before you know it. This isn't your whole life. Your whole life is singing and being gay and happy," he emphasised, grabbing my hands. "And you deserve nothing less."

"Harry." I looked up and my dad stood in the doorway. I jumped up, trying to do the math in my head. He shouldn't have been here yet. "Lets go."

"No, Dad, please," I begged.

"I warned you last night, then I find out that..." He shook his head. "Get your shit and get your ass in the car."

"How did you get here-?"

"Do you really think I'd actually let you do this without coming? I told you you had one chance to do this. Now get your fucking shit, Harry."

I let out a long sigh, running my hand through my hair. I threw the few things I had taken out of my bag and put them in before grabbing it and starting to walk past him.

As soon as I stepped into the hall, Louis ran up to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me further down the hall while Grindley went to talk to my dad. "Sign this."

"Louis," I said tiredly, but he shook his head.

"Sign it. Then you have a 'contract' and you can't leave the competition. It's not real but your dad won't know that." He pleaded with me with his eyes, handing me the pen he had. "You won't have to leave, Harry."

I grabbed both and scribbled my name on the line, just as my dad came storming down the hall. "What do they mean you signed a contract?" He bit out.

"I, uh..." Louis grabbed the paper from behind my back.

"We all had to. There's a chance that these judges are going to put a lot of money into one of us, so they want to make sure it won't go to waste."

"I don't care, they won't notice one person."

"You might be right," Louis said, stepping next to me. "But he's in the number one spot, by about twenty points, give or take. They're going to notice if he's gone."

I stepped closed to Louis. My dad looked at me, his arms crossed. "And is this Louis?"