Solace

Chapter Three

It was as if he was disabled; he didn't need help. He was just mute and depressed because of all the people he surrounded himself with; all of those who swore, bullied and kicked him throughout his life.

It's like if you have a cold; do you have to go to an institute with it? No, no you don't. You just have to live with the fact that you'll have it and it will someday go away. Only problem with being mute is that it rarely goes away. Even if Louis had the smallest chance of being able to speak, it'd probably cost him more than the Queen has in her bank. Chances of him talking? Impossible.

“How are you?” Harry tried to make conversation with the mute lad, and Louis felt weird. He didn't know if that was a sarcastic or tricky question.

Once again, he gave the curly head a thumbs up, after which he put his hands deep in his pockets as he carried on walking with Harry right beside him.

Louis stopped right in front of a small lake deep inside the forest and knelt down, closer to the floor, his hands out of his pockets now, picking up a small stone. He threw it at the pond, water splashing on a small scale. Something, maybe a frog, jumped up and Louis smirked at their reaction.

Harry was stood two meters away from him, swirling his old BlackBerry in his pocket. He wanted to do something, but because Louis was so strangely scared of everything, or maybe it's just an act? Harry thought.

His green eyes were fixed on Louis' small frame as he kept throwing rocks at the innocent pond. Although Louis was probably doing so because of anger hidden deep inside him, Harry found the fact that he smirked every time an animal flinched, quite funny.

Harry finally had his mind made up a few minutes later when a slight breeze of air brushed his curls to the other side, causing his beanie to nearly fall off.

Louis was now kneeling down, still, his hands on his knees, looking at the nature. It was beautiful and it was so peaceful; he loved things like that. Things where his mind would be able to be free, no hurtful nicknames were being thrown around.

One thing he loved the most was when he was alone because he knew that the nature could understand him. Or maybe it was God. Louis didn't know if he believed in a God though. He didn't have to sign to feel like he was being listened to. He just knew that something or someone could simply understand him. What a shame that he didn't have a person like that in his life. Unless a teddy bear could count.

When Harry cleared his throat, Louis was taken back because frankly, he forgot that the boy was with him. He felt so comfortable that he forgot. That was a first.

“Louis?” The boy's croaky voice raised and Louis stood up, brushing off the dirt.

He turned around and his lips were in a straight line, ready to be called a nickname. Harry just had to call him something; he surely was like the others.

“Sorry for disturbing you.” Harry blushed and it made Louis feel a bit dizzy to say the least. But what did that mean?

"No, it's okay." Louis signed before face-palming himself because what was he doing? That Harry didn't know sign language and so Louis' hand gestures were probably as retarded as a dancing seal to him.

But much to Louis' surprise, Harry didn't call Louis a retard or anything else in this matter, he just smiled. Smiled as if he understood.

Why was Louis so confused? Everyone's supposed to hate him. No-one's supposed to smile at Louis. It's like a rule. At least back in Doncaster...

“I-I have this, well,” Harry spoke slowly and stuttered meaning that he was nervous. If anyone, it should be Louis because Harry's persona was disorienting him; he'd never met someone who treated him like a normal human being, like an equal, “I have this old phone....”

Harry stopped playing around with his BlackBerry in his fingers and placed the phone on the palm of his hand, “And since I don't know any sign language, and you don't really have a decent phone, no offence, of course,” Louis smiled slightly but tried to cover that by biting his lip, “I figured you could use it to communicate with me? I mean, unless you'd rather communicate with Janet, that's all fine with me!”

Louis frowned at the mention of her name, and Harry almost grinned like the Cheshire cat, “There's this app on here, I already downloaded it and all... you can talk to people no matter what phone they have, as long as they can access this app, and you have their number.”

Louis was major puzzled. He raised his eyebrow slowly, not sure where this was going.

“Take it, here,” Harry walked closer to Louis and reached out his arm, “We don't have to talk all the time but maybe when you're sick of my voice, maybe like right now, you can use this, yeah?” Harry's eyes seemed genuinely nice.

Louis slowly took the phone and examined it.

“My number's already in there. I'm the only person in the contacts right now but you can add more, yeah?”

Louis nodded carefully, haha, more people? Who would want to speak to you? His sub-conscious teased him.

“Go on, try it out.” Harry pushed and Louis bit his lip because honestly, he didn't know if this was such a good idea.

Nevertheless, Louis somehow managed to get on to the app and load Harry's name up. Before he could do anything else, the phone buzzed, surprising Louis.

“Sorry,” Harry mumbled, his cheeks crimson.

Hey, it's me. - Harry at 1:12pm

Louis smiled to himself, which caught him off guard because he only smiled if he had spaghetti for dinner, or when the pain of his cuts disappeared or when his sisters played dolls with him (or the other way around).

We don't have to talk on the way back. You can just message me on here, okay? -Harry at 1:14pm

“Try it,” Harry softly spoke.

Louis' numb fingers touched the qwerty keypad and hit the letters. Well this was a strange layout for keys on a phone, at least that's what Louis thought.

Thank you. -Louis at 1:15pm Louis typed and hit enter, sending the message to Harry.

Louis looked up to the young boy to see him smiling. “You're welcome,” He answered back; “I really wish you were more confident Louis.” Harry said quietly, almost mumbled to himself, not aware that Louis heard. But Louis did, and it made a knot in his stomach.

So he was right; Harry judged him. What did he think? That Harry was some angel who thought nothing bad about Louis? That he was going to compliment him all day and all night.

He placed the phone in his pocket, which made the feel of the pocket really heavy as he wasn't used to such large objects inside them, and made his way back down the path in which both of the boys came from.

Harry was a bit shocked by Louis' sudden movement but followed a few meters behind him. He didn't know what he had done but he felt awful.

Louis, what did I do? -Harry at 1:19pm

Louis ignored the buzzing in his pocket and sighed, hands to himself.

Harry just wanted to hug the boy, he could see the pain in Louis' eyes but he knew that Louis would not be fine with it. But Louis needed something like a hug. Someone to hold him and tell him that he was beautiful; he just didn't know what he needed yet..

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