The Parallels (Larry Stylinson+Niall Horan)

Chapter 32

Harry

We got in and I shut the door, still softly because I was not sure if my mum was up or sleeping. I awkwardly gestured for Louis to sit down while I went further inside to check up on my mum and to bring water even though I wasn’t sure if either of us was thirsty. There was a note on the kitchen slab, saying that she had gone off for her shift and that she’d try to be home for dinner. I sighed, not sure if I was disappointed or relieved, and made my way back to the living room.

I froze for a minute when I saw him sitting on the couch with his hands in his lap and his eyes looking forward. Until now, I had excuses to distract myself from the fact that he was going to talk to me, that I would have to answer him after everything that had happened today but now, all the fake reasons to be able to delay the inevitable were extinguished. I waited for a whole minute to just examine the boy. His hair were falling in front of his forehead and he was continuously trying to make his fists and fingers disappear into his sleeves but, the sweatshirt fit him perfectly and wasn’t oversized, making his fingers fall out all over again. I walked towards him with two glasses of water in my hands.

“Are you cold?” I asked, bit nervously. He instantly looked up at me with his bright blue eyes. They looked so different from when I saw them in the cafe and it was definitely a better view.

“Yeah, a little.” he replied and smiled. I put the glasses on the table in front of the couch that the other boy was sat on and took my hands to my side.

“Should I bring a blanket or something?” I asked, not really looking back at him.

“Oh no, no. I’m good. Just sit down now.” he answered. I looked up at that and a wave of fire went through my body. However, I did as I was told and settled down on the other end of the couch, leaving a safe distance in between. “Alright.” he said, clearing his throat. He thought for a moment and continued. “Honestly, I don’t know where to start from.” he said, looking defeated.

“Whatever you want to say.” I said, gulping and making sure to focus my eyes on the back of my hands.

“Okay then. Just to be clear, none of this makes anything right but, I just figured that telling you the reason would maybe help you understand and finally move on from me.” he stated. I looked at him, startled. I was not expecting him to say something like ‘moving on from him.’

“What?” I asked, confused. My voice was low only because I was puzzled and extremely unsure of what was about to follow.

“Just listen. So, I had a best friend.” he started. “A girl. Her name was Stacey. She was actually the first person that I had let in into my life. Not that I was stubborn, I just knew her since I was a kid. When we moved to Bradford at first, I was scared. I was scared of what awaited me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make any friends. As a child, I was not as confident as I am now. At least as much as I like to think that I am now.” he corrected. “I was quiet and pretty shy to be honest, like you. One day, she approached me and handed me a flower, giving me the kindest smile I had ever seen. She put her hand out for me and introduced herself. I slowly shook it and told her my name. That was all I could get out of my mouth in that moment. Ever since then, it just continued growing day by day, month by month and year by year. I was six when I first met her, twelve when her parents starting fighting and having violent encounters and thirteen when they finally got divorced. She was devastated. She loved both her parents and now they were separated. The girl that I saw laughing and tickling me always to make me smile when I felt down, started to have panic attacks. She used to have swollen and bloodshot eyes all the time. She’d cry almost all day, alone and only manage the weakest of smiles. Once when we were in eighth grade, she got into a terrible accident. She was immediately taken to the hospital and it took her all of five days to wake up. Even when she did, the doctors told us that she only had a few more to go. I remember running away. I ran as fast as I could and cried for as long as I could manage to. By the time I returned, her mother had already told her about what the doctors had said. We spent the last few moments talking about how much the other meant to each one of us and the last sentence I heard her saying was ‘I’m glad it’s over, Lou.’” He paused at that. I could see his eyes starting to shine in a way that I did not appreciate. I could hardly get any words out so, he nodded and continued.