Worth Fighting For

Chapter Seven

A/N - I'm back!!! I'm sorry I was gone so long :( Hopefully some sad!Harry angst helps make up for it ;)

He knows it's not real. He knows Louis has to do it. But that doesn't make it hurt any less and Harry already feels tears welling in his eyes. He hadn't even gotten a warning. He'd been sitting in bed scrolling through Twitter, and then there it was. A picture a fan took. From just a couple minutes ago. Of Louis kissing some girl. It felt like someone had reached into his chest and ripped his heart out. Harry had clicked on the photo and then, hand shaking, gone to the hashtag below. #LOUISHASAGIRLFRIEND???? That led him down the rabbit hole. There were dozens of photos, photos of Louis smiling and holding Eleanor's hand, photos of him guiding her through the crowd of paps, photos of them entering the cafe an hour earlier.

Harry can't take it. Why can't he and Louis do that? Is what they have so wrong ? Maybe that's why when he sees the tweet reading 'If Louis is happy with Eleanor, then so am I. But spare a thought for Harry, he's probably got a broken heart,' he doesn't even think before retweeting it. Then, with a choked sob, he throws his phone to the other side of the room. It hurts. It hurts so much . Harry draws his knees to his chest and balls himself up as tightly as he can, fingernails digging into his calves.

He feels like he can't breathe. He feels sick. God, Harry had no idea he could hurt this much from just a few photos. But it feels like someone's ripped his heart out and stomped on it. He doesn't sob. He doesn't scream. He can't. All he can manage are quiet whimpers that eventually devolve into a continuous, high-pitched whine. It just hurts and there's nothing he can do to stop it.

Harry doesn't hear the door open, doesn't realize anyone's there until he hears Zayn shout,

"Harold what the bloody hell did you just do?!" Zayn demands from the adjacent room. Harry just whimpers, pressing his head into his knees even harder, digging his nails into his calves hard enough to break skin. It hurts, but it lets Harry feel something else . "Harry?" Zayn sounds angry and the thought just makes Harry's tears fall faster with another quiet whine. Then the door to the bedroom opens.

"Har-" Zayn stops abruptly upon seeing the state of the boy. "Oh, Haz ." Harry just shakes his head, not looking up. He feels the bed dip as Zayn sits down next to him. "We saw the photos," he starts softly, setting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's not real, H. He has to do this, you know that."

"Why?" Harry asks in a small, broken voice. He sniffles, looking up at Zayn with tear-filled eyes. "Why can they do that? Go out and be happy together? Hold hands? Why does she get to kiss him?" Zayn's heart breaks for his friend. Harry's too young for this, far too young- they all are. "I love him."

"I know, H," Zayn whispers as the younger boy leans into him, looking down. "He loves you too, more than anything."

"'M not enough," Harry whispers, staring at his feet with his chin on his knees. "'M not enough for him."

"Haz, you're everything for Lou, you know that," Zayn murmurs, rubbing Harry's back gently. Harry just shakes his head.

"I won't be. I- it's going to become too much work for him, I'm not going to be worth all of it for him. Besides, did you see her? Zayn, she's gorgeous ."

"And Louis is gay , H. Not to mention completely whipped for you." But Harry's in no mood for jokes, and Zayn's attempts to draw a laugh out of the boy falls flat. Zayn might as well rip off the bandaid now, no sense in waiting. "Simon saw the tweet you retweeted. He wants to talk to you." Harry's eyes widen in panic and he looks at Zayn.

"No, no I don't want to see him!" Harry pleads, as if Liam could stop it. "I- I can't handle seeing him, Z."

"'M sorry mate, but you haven't got much of a choice." Harry feels like screaming, but he doesn't. Instead he just nods, sniffles, and wipes away his tears. Louis is fighting for him, so he'll be strong for Louis. Until it all becomes too much. Zayn squeezes his shoulder and they both move off the bed. Zayn takes Harry's hand and they leave the room, Harry shuffling after him as he leads the way to Simon's office. Just as Harry's about to go in, Liam comes running around the corner and down the hall towards them.