nothing worsens, nothing grows (l.s)

0.6

nashville

Harry

When Harry opens his eyes, it's to Liam nudging him on the shoulder in the backseat.

"I just checked us in," he says sleepily, "Niall's already up there and we got all the bags."

Nodding, Harry tells him that he'll get him and Louis up from the car. His phone is still unlocked when he reaches across the seat for it, stuck on the screen where he added Ease My Mind by Ben Platt to Louis' playlist.

"Thanks for taking our stuff up, man."

Liam waves a hand noncommittally and turns his half-lidded eyes back to the hotel, grumbling something under his breath that Harry can't make out. He leaves him the hotel and car keys before dragging his feet away.

Without jostling him too much, Harry situates Louis' legs around his waist and carries him up to the entrance, turning around to make sure it's locked before heading upstairs. He waits for the lift for a few minutes, assumedly because Liam was on it, but leans against the cool metal when he gets inside. He takes a deep breath and holds Louis' body closer to his own when he begins to shiver.

He sets Louis down gently next to an already sleeping Liam and tucks him in. Niall's still awake, on his phone on the other bed, and Harry approaches him timidly.

"Alright if I sleep here tonight?"

He smiles, "Yeah, 'course."

Harry shuffles out of his shoes and changes clothes in the bathroom before he returns to the bed. The lights have been turned off and he can hear Liam and Louis snoring lightly but Niall's still very much awake, his phone screen lighting up the darkness on their side of the room.

It takes a few minutes for Harry to get comfortable, shifting around and fluffing his pillow and trying to not annoy Niall.

"So, the Louis thing."

Harry's hand freezes above the pillow he's about to readjust, facing away from him.

"The Louis thing?" He clarifies quietly.

"Yeah, at the start of the trip you called it that."

Harry gulps and slowly moves to face him,mindful to keep his voice down.

"I didn't mean to, like, objectify him or anything."

"No," Niall dismisses him, "I didn't think that at all. And I'm not going to ask any questions because that's none of my business. But I do feel personally obligated to point out that if Louis comes out of this traumatized in any way, you should expect a visit from me."

The entire time he's talking, he doesn't look at Harry once. It's more terrifying than Harry thinks it would be if he'd been making dead eye contact.

"I don't," He stutters, "I would never hurt him, Niall."

The use of his name feels weird and dramatic, but Niall seems satisfied with his answer. He pats him on the head and gives him a small smile before reaching over to plug in his phone for the night.

"Goodnight, Harry."

"Night," he whispers.

He'd been exhausted when they walked in, had wanted to curl up beside Louis and sleep for days, but now there's an incessant buzz behind his eyes. Niall's breathing evens out a few minutes later, but Harry just keeps tossing and turning.

He sighs, grabbing his phone off the nightstand, and goes out to the balcony. He's dialing before he even fully comprehends what he's doing.

"Hello?"