Bells for Harry [Larry Stylinson]

Chapter 17 Off

Louis watched Harry drive away in his brand new fiancés huge imported car, and sighed. It was strange, he felt sad and confused, but instead of defeated he felt weirdly energized, like there was a fight before him that he'd been preparing to fight for ages, and now that it was going down he wasn't turning away.

"That was fucking insane," Liam suddenly said, breaking the eeriness of the moment. "What the fuck. Who even is that dude? Have they been seeing each other for a while, or what?"

Louis turned to look at Zayn, curious about what he'd say as well.

"He's married," Zayn said.

"What?!" Liam asked. "Wait, you mean it's like they're married already, or what?"

"No, like, Eric's married married," the reply came. "Like got a husband can't get married until he gets a divorce first kind of married, which usually I'd be doubting the shit out of him ever doing right about now, except have you seen the size of that rock? Genuine, too. His family's loaded. His husband's name is John," Zayn relayed chaotically.

"Wow," Liam said, looking as speechless as Louis felt. "What a catch. And where were the adults when...?"

"Helping a woman give birth on the shift in the maternity ward he avoids like the plague," Zayn said. "Only found out they'd been fucking when he started sending expensive ass pastries from France or some shit over to ours. Honestly it was cute for a while, but now..."

"There's something off," Louis said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh yeah," Zayn said, at the same time as Liam said:

"Oh come on, not that again, L!"

Louis pulled his phone out of his pocked and dialled Niall's phone, annoyed. They were still standing in the middle of the parking lot. Niall picked up at the third ring.

"Hey, what's up, L?"

"I just saw Harry, he looks like shit, he was acting way off, he's too thin, and he's just gotten engaged to a married man almost twice his age who's proposed to him in a fucking parking lot," he ranted.

"What the fuck," Niall said.

"I'm here with Liam and with a friend of Harry's, and you're on speaker, by the way," Louis said.

Niall laughed, more out of shock than anything else.

"See, Liam?" he said. "This is how you call a friend and tell him your shit, instead of asking about some illness I had a million years ago first thing every time, which not even my mother does! Well, mostly."

"What are you sick with?" Zayn asked.

"Hi, you must be Harry's friend," Niall said. "I'm perfectly healthy, thank you. Now what the fuck was that about Harry marrying someone who's old in a parking lot, who's married... I didn't quite get that."

"Niall, I'm being serious," Louis said. He looked at Zayn. "You probably know him best out of us four right now, and even you said there's something off, right? Tell me this is normal!"

"Yes, daddy," Zayn said, laughing at Louis's intensity, but when Louis kept his serious face, he sobered. "Harry's always been a bit prone to... let's say he knows how to pick them. I think his anxiety disorder is getting the best of him, honestly. And like debt and stuff. Because honestly, Eric's a bit creepy, and I think Harry deep down knows it, he just doesn't want to see it."

"What debt?" Niall asked.

Louis kept quiet and looked at Zayn inquisitively, because he wanted more details about that too.