sdmn one sh~i~ts

I Quit Quitting.

words: 3690
genre: slight angst, addiction & alcoholism⚠️
(heavily inspired by odaat)

***
"Listen, I don't know exactly how to say this, so I'll just say it. I think Harry's drinking again," Lux's low voice sound through the phone.
"and who knows what else?" he slowly spoke, referring to drugs of course.

"No. No, no way! He's nine months sober." The blonde man stated through the phone, shaking his head in denial. He had struggled with alcoholism and addiction in the past, and it was such a struggle to break free from, there was no way that Harry would do that to himself again.
"Si, we went out to dinner last night and he went to the bathroom like four times, and he smelled like mouthwash. You know what he used to be like, I lived with him through all of it, I know all his tricks." Simon's face fell, as he listened to the man talk.
"Look, I know he's your friend, he's mine too, and I know you want to believe the best in him but it's the truth. Just look into it okay? He hasn't answered my calls. I'm really sorry." His face fell further as he ended the call, placing the phone on the desk next to him. He sat in silence for a while, staring at the floor. There were so many questions racing through his head.

Why would Harry be drinking again? He had been doing so well keeping sober. It didn't make sense to him, though then again, none of it ever really did, even from the very start. Though he didn't really understand it, he would always be there for Harry, and he knew that. So is this was true, why didn't he tell him? Why didn't he tell the others?

Many hours later, with that ominous question still lingering, Simon decided to go and speak to Jj. Who knows, maybe Harry did try to reach out to someone.

"Jj, we need to talk. It's abou-" Simon spoke as he rushed into the huge living room, realising that Ethan sat beside the man he was talking to.
"Hold on, we're watching something." The younger picked up the remote and paused the screen, turning to look at Simon as he towered over them from where they both sat.
"Oh god, you look like shit. What's up?" He questioned, noticing the deep bags under his eyes.

"It's just that, well, I'm confused because Lux told me he thinks Harry is drinking again." He wearily spoke, as he sat down on the sofa. He first looked to Ethan, knowing that he himself had been there before. He scrunched his face in disbelief, not believing what he was being told.
"Are you sure?" Jj chimed in, seeming to also be in a state of confusion.
"I honestly don't know what to believe, but he seems to be pretty sure of himself." Gesturing to the phone in his hand, recalling the conversation him and Lux had had previously.
"Maybe we should go and check in on him? You know, because like, if he was drinking last night he'll be a hungover mess today." Simon twiddled his thumbs for a moment, before looking up to Ethan, agreeing with his idea.

***

Simon looked over to Ethan as he knocked on the wooden door in front of them, it was still a pretty unsettling sight. Harry had moved out of his house, which he shared with the Cal's, around two months ago. He claimed that he needed to be more 'independent' and 'responsible', and that this was what had to be done. It came as a surprise to them all, as it was really something you'd never expect to hear from Harry, of all people.

"What if he's passed out drunk in there?" Ethan questioned, paranoia fuelling his tone.
"I mean, it's not like it would be the first time." He stated, scratching the back of his head. The taller man sighed, agreeing with him. It had happened many times in the past. He had a tendency to pass out after a few too many drinks, at his worst, they once even found him naked in a dumpster after they all went on a night out.

The sudden sound of a car door slamming behind the two men made them quickly jump and turn around, only to see Harry approach them, with his earphones in, and a bag in hand.
"What's up guys?" He spoke excitedly, digging though his trouser pockets, most likely trying to find his still silver keys.
"Where've you been?" Simon asked, almost timidly before grimacing at the state of his clothes. Patches of sweat spread across his loose t-shirt, and his shorts were slightly ripped at the bottom.
"Beautiful day. Got up at six. Crushed a smoothie, went to the gym." He gushed whilst still violently rummaging through his pockets.
"I saw this one guy there and oh my god let me tell you, I need to start going to the gym more often because he was so fucking- oh, I found them." He looked pleased with himself as he held a shining key up to the men next to him and flashed a smile, then going to unlock the door.