number 12. (l.s.)

Chapter 30.

T H I R T Y
-goodnight mom-

Just when he wanted to leave the hallway, he ran into Harry. "You were amazing!" Was the first thing he said in an enthusiastic tone.

Louis smiled shyly. "What are you doing here?" He asked carefully, since no one actually was in the hallway. He was a little scared that he might saw him and Micheal together.

"Looking for you, obviously. By the way, I just saw someone crying who you debated against, did something happen?" He asked.

Louis breathed softly out, realizing he didn't see them together. "He was-erm-someone from one of my previous schools. I never said my goodbyes."

"You didn't say goodbye? You just moved?"

Louis nodded, kind of ashamed. "Yes, it was too hard." He was a little scared of what Harry would say, but he just smiled softly as he asked:

"So now you got the change to say goodbye?"

Louis nodded and smiled softly. "Yeah, it feels good."

The hall was really quiet. Zayn had walked away the other way, so it was just them. A lot of sound came from the big hall, but apart from that, it felt peaceful. "I don't know how I could say goodbye to Juliet,' Louis then said, which made Harry look at him in a questioning way.

"Why would you need to say goodbye?"

Louis leaned against the locker again. "You know, evicting." He said as if it was obvious, waving his hand at the 'evicting'.

Louis looked down at the floor, while Harry just still looked at Louis. "Do you think you'll be evicted?"

"Of course I will, eventually. I just know it, okay? Everywhere is the same." He said in a sigh.

"That is where you're wrong—"

"No, Harry, listen to me! I just know this okay? Stop saying everything is fine in my situation!" He really got frustrated about everything. Harry was the first to know about his situation, and he was already frustrated with that. He just didn't like the fact that now Harry thought he knew everything about how he felt and how his life worked.

But Harry wanted to make something clear as well. "You listen to me Louis," he said in a louder voice than usual, which silenced Louis, making him listen to Harry. "You weren't in the audience and I was. I sat close to Scarlett and Dan, and I could hear everything they were saying. Every word. I don't even know what they were saying exactly, but they only talked about you. How brave you are, how sweet and that they were so happy with you. They care so freaking much about you and you don't even see it."

Harry stopped for a few seconds, and his bottom lip was slightly trembling when he said the next thing, "And you know what? This debating thing for you is like basketball is for me. And not even my parents show up at my game, but Scarlett and Dan do at yours. They'd only do that if they really care about you. They might not be your real parents, but they do treat you as their own."

They both stayed silent for two solids minutes as Louis took in the words of Harry. It got him thinking. "You really think they won't evict me?"

"I know they won't. But maybe, you should show that to them. If they feel like you're not happy here, why would they keep you here for their own benefit?" Louis shuffled his feet a little, playing with the hem of his shirt. "I understand it can be hard, letting two people in. But take small steps okay? I'll be here for you."

Louis looked up into his green eyes. There was barely a light in this hallway, making him look like a silhouette with just outlines and just a few features. "You will?" Louis asked.