number 12. (l.s.)

Chapter 69.

S I X T Y  N I N E
-I just want to celebrate-

Louis couldn't sleep that night. The game was on Saturday, but Louis hadn't seen Harry the entire day. He was practicing in the hall with Coach Horan, the entire day already. Louis did call him in the afternoon, asking how he was feeling. He told him he was nervous, and felt anxious. He tried to reassure him, telling him it was okay to be nervous. Louis didn't even tell him he was just as nervous for him, feeling a nauseous feeling in his stomach. They ended the call when Coach Horan called Harry back to keep practising.

Louis dragged his legs up the grand stairs. Ever since he woke up in the morning, he could already feel how scarce the energy was in his body. Every step felt heavy, every breath felt painful. Even his head hurt because of it, a throbbing ache going through him every second. He hated that, because he wanted to be fully excited for Harry's game.

He asked him on the phone if something was wrong, hearing how his voice sounded off. And as Louis was laying on the ground, his throbbing head between his hands, he answered: 'everything's fine, I'm excited.'

His heartbeat was constantly drumming harshly against his chest, feeling the vibrations through his body. When he was finally up the stairs, he fell down to the seat, gasping for air. He held his hand to his heart, and rubbed it with pressure. He felt ill, and incredibly dizzy as everything was spinning around him. His mouth felt dry, his skin clammy and cold.

He grabbed the bottle which he just bought and drank a few sips. He had trouble swallowing, so he basically poured it into his esophagus. His eyes were only half-open, seeing one blur in front of him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, tingles stinging on his skin. It was like everything on his skin felt ten times more sensible and painful.

"Has it started yet?" Dan sat next to him, Scarlett sat down on the other side of him, looking down at the hall. Louis blinked a few times, trying to snap back to reality. His head was facing south, his hair falling a bit in front of his face. Dan squeezed his shoulder softly, then pulled back. "Nervous?" He chuckled, giving him a bag of chips. "Do you want some?"

Louis shook his head, his head spinning as he did so. The cheering and talking of the crowd only made his head hurt more. When suddenly a sharp stab pierced his head, his hand gripped his skull. He pressed it, as if to shred it into small pieces. He squeezed his eyes shut, the feeling of nausea heavy through his body.

"Hey—" Scarlett suddenly said, "are you okay? You don't seem okay." Louis didn't react as his head stopped filtering the words, and every small sound only felt like a heavy ache. "Look at me," she whispered in worry, holding her hand beneath his chin, tilting his head up. He looked pale, his lips dry and his eyes red. He looked blurry in front of him, seeing small flashes of red.

Scarlett flicked her eyes to Dan, then back to Louis. "How are your muscles holding up? Do they feel weak?"

Louis batted his eyes shut, but the flashing lights didn't disappear. "It's just a headache," he said weakly, his mouth dry.

Scarlett wasn't satisfied with the answer, but grabbed her handbag to grab an aspirin for him. He took two, smiled quietly at her and looked back to the hall, leaning his arms to the steel railing.

"I think we should go, Louis," Scarlett said, and Dan nodded in agreement.

Louis shook his head persistently, looking back to Scarlett. "No! I'm okay, really. It's just a headache, that's all."

He did feel like the headache got better, but that probably was because he had also taken a tablet before the game. The tablet was full of energy-generating material, and it helped a lot. It felt like an energy kick, like a large bolt of adrenaline, making his body feel alive again. He wasn't actually allowed to take them without a doctor recipe, but he did anyway.