Worth Fighting For

Chapter Fourteen

A/N - I'm really REALLY sorry....

Harry's a nervous ball of energy the entire next day, distracted and jumpy. He got a text from Simon saying he'd see him at 6:30 am the next day, before their interviews and prep. Louis notices, of course. As do the rest of the boys. It's hard to miss. They try and confront him a few times, but he simply brushes them off, claiming to have not slept well. They don't push him.

Mercifully, or maybe not, it's a busy day. They have a radio interview in the morning, and then vocal warmups, soundchecks, and rehearsal in the few hours leading up to the concert. Eleanor, claiming to have nothing better to do, tags along with them, sitting quietly on her phone. At one point during rehearsal, she disappears only to return with coffees and tea for everyone. She's done this a few times before, and knows their orders by now. Harry doesn't mind her presence, and smiles at her when she hands him his matcha latte. ("Hipster," Louis mutters fondly).

But now they're mere minutes before the show, tattoos uncovered once again because, well, the damage has already been done, and Harry feels like he's going to throw up. Just as he's about to bolt- run to the bathroom, maybe even further, just get away- Louis shows up at his side and intertwines their hands. Harry offers a shaky smile and Louis glances around quickly before kissing Harry gently.

It's more complicated now that Simon thinks they're broken up. Obviously the other boys know. But besides them, only the band members, Paul, Eleanor, and Lou know. So, again, they have to be sneaky. And while it's annoying at times, it's also silly and fun. Paul, who's standing a bit off to the side, raises an eyebrow at the pair and taps his watch as a reminder. Louis just smirks at him and kisses Harry again before squeezing his hand and taking his place.

Then they're walking on stage, the fans are screaming, the lights are blinding and yeah this is what Harry just loves. So he breaks into a wide grin, shoves all thoughts of Simon from his mind and waves to the crowd.

"HELLOOOOOO TORONTO!" he calls through the mic. The crowd roars and Harry glances at Louis, who's absolutely beaming at him. "And how are we all doing tonight?" The crowd just screams in response. "That good, really?" The responding shrieks make his smile widen, and for the first time since last night he's truly not thinking about Simon or the meeting.

He plays with the crowd, sings until his voice hurts, and dances and jumps around the stage until his muscles are screaming and he's panting. It's amazing. It's the best feeling in the world, Harry thinks. Aside from how he feels when he's with Louis. Watching Louis perform has to be one of Harry's absolute favorite things ever. The way his eyes light up, how he rests his hand on his chest when he belts out his solos, the angelic sound of his voice.

Harry still can't believe there are people that consider Louis the weak link of the band. Louis is incredible. His voice, his presence, his everything. If anything, Harry is the expendable one. Not that the band would be right with any of them gone. It's perfect the way it is- the five of them meshing together, working as one. But they'd be alright without Harry, he thinks. He doesn't have the magnetism of Louis, the cheeky adorableness of Niall, the talent of Zayn, or the leadership of Liam. He's just there. It's something he thinks about a lot. Much more than he'd like to. But he knows, for the most part, that it has no substance- the band works because it's all of them together.

He doesn't think about this while he's performing, though. That's one of the best parts- he doesn't think about anything. Nothing but what the next song lyric is, whose solo is coming up, who he can goof off with. His mind is blissfully empty, high on adrenaline and euphoric. He absolutely loves it.

It's a good night. It really is. It's not until the morning after that everything starts crashing down.

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