Burning Skies » larry

Chapter 11 (Part I)

Louis stood there, shivering in his tattered clothes as Harry's figure disappeared into the fog. Louis took a single step forward, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.

"I think we need to give him a bit of time." Zayn said.

Louis' head was spinning. "We can't just—he's alone, Zayn. What if they find him again—"

"Look around you," Zayn said incredulously. "I think it's safe to say Harry can defend himself."

Louis took a deep breath, taking in the scene before him. He felt like he was home for Christmas, snow covering every inch of their yard, the cool air sending chills down his spin every time. Except, this was different. This was Harry. This was his powers, so incredibly powerful and deadly. Several bodies were frozen from head to toe, and all it took was for Harry to stretch out his arms and just let go. 

He'd known Harry was powerful the first time he saw him, but now that he'd seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't wrap his head around it. Harry was an elemental mutant. Louis had spent all his life never meeting anyone quite like him, anyone who lived with the risk of their own powers taking over them and putting everyone around them at risk. 

Right now, Harry was out there with no guidance, undoubtedly shaken by almost being kidnapped and suddenly discovering that Louis and Zayn were also mutants. He knew what Harry was thinking—that Louis was no different than those men who tried to take him today, that he also wanted to take advantage of Harry's gift. He couldn't have messed up worse than this.

"I'm calling Katrina." Zayn said, looking over at the frozen men. "She'll know what to do."

After making the call, Louis let himself be led into the car. The drive was quiet as Zayn kept his eyes on the road, while Louis couldn't help but make his mind wander. Where was Harry now? How was he feeling? Were there still people after him?

When they made it to the shelter, Louis' thoughts were all over the place. He felt sick and anxious and weak. It was like Harry running away from him physically pained him. It hurt him not to have Harry by his side where Louis could so easily talk to him and protect him if needed.

Zayn left Louis in Katrina's empty office while Louis wallowed in his thoughts. When Zayn returned, he tossed a plain shirt and a pair of trousers onto his lap. Wordlessly, Louis changed into them. He stared at his burnt clothes before tossing then into the trash.

When Katrina came in, her face was twisted in a frown. Before she could even sit down behind her desk, she said, "Tell me everything."

Zayn looked to him expectantly. With a sigh, Louis started off explaining how he realized some men were following Harry after seeing them spying on him on several occasions. 

"So I decided to keep a close eye on him in case things went wrong." which it evidently did. "Earlier today, I was supposed to drive him to where he worked. Except, those men must've realized that I was making it impossible for them to get him alone, so they attacked me in the parking lot."

Louis had left his class early so he could make sure that Harry would immediately find him when he left the building, but clearly, that didn't work out. A man and a girl snuck up to him, and Louis didn't even sense them considering they were also mutants. The girl's power was speed, while his partner had an incredible force field. Through the chaos, Louis still managed to drag them off the school premises and fight them in an abandoned lot. Zayn had found him and helped defeat them in the meantime.

Afterwards, it was a race to find Harry. Luckily, Harry was just a few blocks away from where they'd been. It was also quite easy to sense his presence when there were several other mutants actively using their powers, sending waves of energy around them. It was easy to pinpoint where they were after that.