I'm fine, We're fine [boyxboy]

Twelve p.1

A/N: Enjoy part one xx Keep an eye out for p.2!

Louis POV

Two weeks after my trip to the ER, my hearing was still fuzzy. It sounded like someone had stuffed cotton balls down my ear canal and clogged it up like a toilet. Sounds were muffled. I found myself saying "Huh?" and "I'm sorry, what?" over and over again when Harry would speak to me or someone would call me. I asked them not to but after seeing me on a stretcher in a hospital gown, all of them had been buzzing in my ear like flies. Zayn, Liam, and Lottie hadn't given me a moment's peace since that evening.

I couldn't blame them. If the roles were reversed and it were Zayn or Lottie sitting across from me, I'd be doing the same. Calling, texting. If that didn't work, I would whip up an email and send it to them. It would hit their inbox when I pressed their doorbell. The only difference between them and myself? They had spines like concrete and my own was fashioned from papier-mâché.

Harry rarely left my side. He catered to my every whim, no matter what time of the day it was or what I asked for. I wanted water, he brought a full glass. I wanted a warm blanket, he plugged in his electric one and gave it to me. Once, I'd taken Zayn's advice and asked for my feet to be rubbed and Harry did that, too. I would admit it was nice having him wait on me. This was the Harry I had fallen so hard for.

Despite all of that, I had slept on the couch every night since that day. I had an array of blankets and three pillows I stuffed onto the cushions with me. It created the illusion I was sleeping with someone while eliminating the fear I would have felt when turning my back on Hary. I had a water bottle graveyard on the coffee table across from me that I'd empty every morning before he got up, just in case. Harry tried coaxing me into the bed, but I didn't give. He tried sleeping on the couch with me and I wouldn't let him.

How do you tell the person you love most in the world that you're terrified on them? How do you explain to them that your heart no longer swelled with affection and warmth when you saw them? Don't get me wrong, I adore Harry with everything I have, but when I saw him, fear pricked my chest and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. I felt like a piece of prey sneaking around, trying to hide from the one thing that would take me out.

"Baby?"

Harry's voice pulled me from my trance and I was back, nestled into the corner of the couch with mounds of blankets on my lap. My boyfriend was perched on the cushion next to me. Having him so close made me weary.

"Did you hear me?"

"...I-I didn't hear you."

A hand came for my face and I flinched, my body sunk into the corner. But it only cupped my cheek and caressed the slope of my cheekbone.

"Lou, please don't be afraid of me." Harry's expression became pained and he looked as if he were going to pull away from me. "I still feel awful an- How is your hearing?"

"Obviously it isn't any better." The snarky response wasn't in my best interest and I immediately bit my lip and began the first line of a three part apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that, Harry, I just mea- Please, don't hit me..."

Harry shook his head and took hold of my face between his hands. He tilted it, angled it this way and that, and thummed along the bruise on my temple. It was almost gone, save for the tiny scar. The pad of his thumb was rough when it went across my lips. If I didn't know any better, I would have said they were trembling. I was to on-edge to notice that much. The pained look returned to his green eyes but I lost sight of it when he brought my face down and kissed my forehead.

For some strange reason, it calmed me. I loved Harry touching me. Not in a sexual sense. That was nice, too, but this was different. The warmth from his hands seeped into my face, easing the tight muscles. The tips of his fingers prodded my cheeks, brushed my mouth. They caressed every little slope and curve, rubbing lovingly across the faint bumps that blemished my chin and jaw. Every spot was touched with such love, I could feel the affection.