the spaces between us ➳ larry stylinson

chapter forty-two

published on may 17, 2021

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Harry drew in a deep, shaky breath. He looked up at Niall, Zayn, and Liam who were all sitting on the couch in front of him. Louis was sitting right beside him with his hand on Harry's thigh.

"Right," Harry began, wiping his eyes. "S-so, um...er, how do I start?" He laughed nervously. Louis grabbed Harry's right hand and interlaced their fingers, squeezing in a reassuring way.

"Take your time, H," said Liam, earning nods from Zayn and Niall. Harry gave them all a grateful smile.

Taking another deep inhale, Harry said "F-first of all, thank you guys for coming on such s-short notice. I just thought that this news w-would be better shared in person, r-rather than through text."

"Anyways, let me g-get to the point. So I had left Louis' house after my mum texted me that she needed to t-tell me something. I knew something was a bit off, so I h-headed home right away. When I got home, both Gemma and my mum were crying, which scared the hell out of me. I asked them what was going on, a-and that's when-" Harry could feel the tears about to fall and the burning sensation in his throat was back. He could see Louis wiping his eyes out of the corner of his eye, and Zayn, Liam, and Niall were all sitting on the edge of their seats on the couch, brows furrowed. Harry cleared his throat and willed the tears not to fall. "That's when my mum told me that I have to go live with my d-dad for a while."

Liam gasped and clapped his hands to his mouth. Niall choked and almost fell off the couch. Zayn whipped his head up from where it was looking down at his Nike's to look at Harry, eyes as wide as possible. Harry could hear a quiet sob escape from Louis' direction, but he couldn't bring himself to look at the sight of Louis crying again. It would break him.

"Harry...I- are you serious?" Liam asked, looking at Harry with the most sad, concerned look Harry had ever seen. Liam knew about Harry's relationship with his father, so he knew how scared Harry was for this.

Harry nodded his head sadly, watching Liam's face get even more sad. Liam buried his head in his hands and Zayn rubbed his back reassuringly.

All of a sudden, Niall got up from the couch and was pulling Harry into a bone-crushing hug. Like Harry's ribs were literally being crushed. But he couldn't care less. Although somewhat painful, Niall's hug almost signified that he'd always be there for Harry no matter where he was. Without words, Niall told Harry that it was all going to be okay and everything was happening for a reason and it will all get better. Harry had no clue how he did it, but Niall's hug managed to lift his spirits just a little bit.

With one last firm pat on the back, Niall headed back to his spot on the couch and blew his nose from a tissue he pulled from his pocket. Liam still had his head in his hands, and by the way his shoulders were shaking, Harry could tell he was crying.

Zayn was still by his side, but his eyes met Harry's and he said "Hey, listen. Yeah sure we might not have known you as long as Liam or anything like that. But we're still gonna miss you like hell, H." Zayn laughed a little and Harry saw a tear escape his deep brown eyes. "I'm gonna miss your ridiculous outfits for example. And those boots you wear all the time that you somehow pull off perfectly. I'll miss your stupid jokes that absolutely suck, but they are so bad that they're actually funny. B-but, most of all, I'll miss your personality," his voice wobbled. "I'm gonna miss how you put others before yourself and always care and look out for us. How you always make sure we're doing okay and s-stuff. I don't know how long you'll be gone for, but promise me this: no matter what happens, don't change for anyone. I don't care who. Harry, you're so fucking golden and never let anyone ever tell you otherwise."