You Can't Sing Without Air- Harry Styles Fanfic

43. Don't Do Me Like That

Harry's arms are still wrapped around me when my eyes open. I check the time on my phone- 6:55. Ugh. I feel like I haven't slept at all. Although, I know I must have dozed off at least once because I don't remember seeing the sun come up.  

Upon waking, my lungs begin heaving and coughing, disturbing Harry from his sleep. 

"Sorry." I choke out, wishing I could have held on to the moment a bit longer. The poor guy has had nothing but rude awakenings. 

He doesn't seem to mind very much though. He rubs his eyes, yawning.  They're droopy with sleep. 

"Good morning love." He says, his voice deeper than usual with sleep. I savor the sound of it. 

I continue coughing, and he cuddles me patiently from behind. His hands gently rub my back and shoulders, easing some of the stiffness. At some point he dozes off again, his hands stopping their motion. Man, the guy can really sleep through anything. 

It's about an hour later when the coughing finally subsides. Harry breathes loudly in his sleep. His breath fully fills his lungs with each effortless inhale. I wonder if he's ever stopped to realize what a blessing that is. 

I'm just about to drift back to sleep myself when the door swings open, Niall bursting into the room. 

"Good morning!" He calls. 

Harry and I both jerk awake, staring at Niall like a pair of deer in the headlights. 

"Oh shit!" Niall says, realizing Harry is in bed beside me. 

For a second everything freezes, as if everyone is holding their breath. A deep blush rises to my cheeks. Niall looks like he wants to dart out the door.

"Hey man." Harry says, as calmly as if we were playing a game of cards instead of wrapped in each other's arms in my hospital bed. 

The tension drops almost instantaneously. 

"How's it going?" Niall says, desperately trying to match Harry's nonchalance. 

"Alright." Harry replies, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. I adjust the bed with the remote so I'm sitting up as well. The movement makes me nauseous. Before I realize what's happening, I turn and vomit all over the floor. Yikes. 

Niall jumps back. 

"Sorry." I say, weakly. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, laying back on the bed in exhaustion. 

"Hey, its okay. You're okay." Harry says, leaning over to rub my shoulder.  

Ugh he's perfect.

"I'll go get a janitor." Niall says, exiting the room as quickly as I can. He's always been a little squeamish. Heaven help him when his future wife goes into labor. The man does not do well with bodily functions.

As soon as Niall leaves, Harry's face breaks into a smile, then a laugh. 

"Poor guy." Harry says. 

I laugh. 

The rest of the day is thankfully much less eventful. Harry, true to his word, doesn't leave my side all day. Except to use the jacks and twice to answer a phone call in the hallway. 

 We mostly listen to music, having short debates over who's the better instrumentalist or vocalist in between my coughing fits. They're somehow even worse than yesterday. 

Around midday Niall shows up with a stack of pizzas and a guitar. We eat while he tunes his strings, and then begins playing the melody to one of his songs. Harry hums along through a mouthful of pizza. 

"You're disgusting." Niall says with a laugh.

Harry pretends to be offended, which makes me laugh as well. When he finally finishes his pizza Niall moves on to oldies, playing the chords to "Don't Do Me Like That" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. 

"Yes man!" Harry says, hyping him up. 

Niall begins singing.

I was talking with a friend of mine
Said a woman had hurt his pride
Told him that she loved him so
And turned around and let him go

Harry is grinning widely, bopping his head along to the beat. I finish my last piece of pizza and survey the show. 

Then he said, you better watch your step
Or your gonna get hurt yourself
Someone's gonna tell you lies
Cut you down to size

Harry joins Niall on the chorus. 

Don't do me like that
Don't do me like that
What if I love you baby?
Don't do me like that 

Their voices mesh together perfectly in a way that only comes from years of singing together. I tap my feet to the rhythm, wishing my lungs were strong enough to join in. Instead, I enjoy the show, two natural-born performers exuding talent like nobody's business. 

 It's been so long since I've heard them sing together. Actually, it's been a while since I've heard Harry sing at all. During the months we were apart I deliberately avoided his music, knowing it would kill me to listen to it.

Now, it brings a massive grin to my face. Harry notices my smile and begins vying for my attention, gesturing towards me as he sings the lyrics. 

"What if I love you baby?

Don't do me like that"  

I laugh at his silliness but inside my heart is leaping. 

"What if I love you baby?" 

Somehow, I know the answer. 

Niall finishes the song with a flourish, strumming his guitar madly as if waiting for applause. To our surprise, there is some. We turn to see a crowd of nurses and hospital workers by the door, cheering. Harry and Niall take mock bows from their seats, both smiling wildly. Natural-born performers for sure. 

"So when am I going to hear all this new stuff you've been working on?" Niall asks, after the crowd disperses. 

For a second I catch Harry wince, but then regain his composure so quickly I might have imagined it. 

"Ah, I haven't been up to much," he shrugs. "What about you, I know you've got something up your sleeve."

"Youuuu have to wait until the album comes out." He says smiling. 

"And when will that be? 2023?" Harry teases. 

"Oh fuck off!" Niall says with a laugh. 

I lean back in my bed, still smiling.  My heart is full.  

I realize that for the past twelve hours or so I haven't even thought about my illness. It's like a great looming cloud has been replaced by sunlight on the horizon. Somehow, after all this time spent trying to prolong my life, I never stopped to consider whether or not I was creating a life worth living. Suddenly I've caught a glimpse- good music, family, and loving someone who loves me. That's more than enough to make it worth it all.  

I stir from my thoughts just in time to see Harry take a hairband off his wrist and fling it at Niall's face. 

Okay maybe I'm being a little too poetic.