KINGS & QUEENS - LARRY STYLINSON FANFICTION

TRUTHS AND LIES

"Can we talk before you go?" Louis asks Matt the next morning as they are about to pack their bags. Matt stays quiet as he folds one of his pullovers. Time heals all wounds but obviously not shortly after one disturbed night. Louis sighs. "Listen, I – I know it's my fault. Everything is my fault. I know it. You did nothing wrong and I want you to know this. It was all me." Matt doesn't look up. He puts his shirts, shoes and jeans into his small suitcase, pushes the clothes down and closes the lid. "Please Matt, please talk to me – or at least listen. I need to explain everything to you because I don't want you to think that-,"

Matt looks up. His face looks sad, the dark circles under his eyes tell everything. "Stop talking Louis, please just stop talking. I don't have the energy to listen to you." His voice is low and it sounds as if his soul was about to die inside. The emotions shining through feel like a sting right into Louis' heart. He can only imagine the pain Matt is going through and it affects him. Louis bows his head and looks at his covers, picking on them because he doesn't know what else to do. As Matt has finished packing, he rolls his suitcase out of the room, closes the door and doesn't come back. Louis stays where he is and looks out of the window. His mind is empty, he doesn't feel anything. How peaceful the clouds look up in the sky and what a contrast they are compared to his inner state. In about five hours the band will leave for Charlotte and Matt will fly back home. Five hours. Louis needs to talk to him before he leaves. He just can't let him go like this and not seeing him again for several weeks or maybe . . . never again. Louis is so desperate and feels so guilty that his hands are wet, his throat is dry and he can feel a slight headache coming up.

After about fifteen minutes that seem like hours, Louis gets up from the bed and looks for Matt. He's not in the kitchen area, he's not in the living room. The door to the bathroom is closed. Louis knocks carefully but nobody answers. As he tries to open the door, he's surprised that it isn't locked. He carefully opens it but Matt is not inside. His suitcase is still in the hallway so he hasn't left. Louis walks out of his room and thinks about where he could be. He checks the lobby, the gym and the breakfast room but Matt is nowhere to be seen. When Louis returns to his floor, he checks Niall's and Liam's rooms but they haven't seen Matt this morning. Louis gets a feeling that he might be with Zayn since he got along with him from the beginning.

Louis is nearly afraid to knock onto Zayn's door because he feels awful. He stands in front of the closed door and stares at it while his emotions and thoughts are driving him crazy. He's been running away from the truth for too long so he tells himself to not be a coward and do it. After another while, he knocks and waits. Inside, Louis can hear a voice but he's not sure if it's Zayn's, Matt's or anyone else's. Zayn opens the door just a little bit. "Hey," he says.

"Hey." Louis presses his lips together. "I can't find Matt."

"He's okay."

"Where is he? Is he with you?"

"Yeah." Zayn comes out of the room, leaving the door ajar. He takes a deep breath. "He's hurt."

"I know it's my fault and I feel awful. He doesn't want to talk to me and I can understand that but Zayn, I need to tell him the truth. I need to talk to him. I couldn't forgive myself if he left just like that. I'm so confused and I'm such a bad person." Louis can feel tears welling in his eyes. He's never been that emotional before, it's almost overwhelming. He's never been in a situation like that and it's just too much for him to process.

Zayn shakes his head as he wraps his arms around his friend. "You're not a bad person. Breakups are never easy and sometimes both sides get hurt. At least tell him the truth and don't make him believe you didn't care because Louis, I know you did. No matter if you couldn't show it like you used to but I know you cared about him. He thinks you hate him or something."