Don't Hide

Chapter 4

Hey guys, thanks for all the comments! You've probably noticed that this story doesn't really have a plot -- it's pretty much all fluff. But then again, I like writing fluff. Anyway, I hope you like this next part.



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"Bless you."

"Hatchiew! Thanks."

Niall turned around to look at Louis. His eyes were puffy and red, and he looked miserable. "Hey Lou. Are you... are you sure you're alright?"

"Hep'SHOO!... Yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay. It's just that you never sneeze, and-"

"I've heard," Louis interrupted grouchily.

"Hey, Lou, I'm just worried about you. You know about our concert in two days. And we haven't even rehearsed our song yet."

Louis sat up quickly. "Wha-... Heh'kishoo! What? Our concert?" His shoulders sagged as he remembered. "Ugh. Niall, I don't know if I can do my solo."

"C'mon, Lou! It's your song. Or at least, you helped write it. So you have to sing it!" Niall protested.

Louis groaned. "I need practice," he said, covering his face with a pillow. "I'm going to mess up."

"No you won't! How can you mess up your own song? You just need to try to get un-sick by then." Niall stood up. "I'll... I'll make you more chicken soup."

"That'll work," Louis mumbled as Niall headed towards the kitchen. Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Hey, Louis! It's Harry. My interview's over. I'll be right there."

"Okay." Louis realized he was smiling. "That's great, Harry."

"Yeah," Harry replied. He sniffed, and Louis thought he could hear a muffled sneeze in the background.

"Harry? You okay?"

"Sure, I'm fine," Harry said quickly. "I'll be there soon, okay?" He hung up before Louis could respond.

Louis moaned and flopped back onto the couch.

"What's wrong?" Niall asked as he returned with more soup.

"I think I got Harry sick," Louis said.

"Aw, Lou, it'll be okay. I'm sure Harry's fine," Niall replied uncertainly. "I mean, he never really gets sick. Does he?"

"No," Louis agreed. "But it'll be my fault if we mess up at this concert."

The doorbell rang. Louis practically leaped up to run to the door, but sat down when he realized how dizzy he was.

"Easy, Lou. I'll get it." Niall got up and opened to door to let Harry in, who was shivering. His coat was soaked through, and it was still pouring outside. "Whoa. You don't look too good."

"I'm not. Heh'ESHoo! Huh'ISHoo!" Harry responded, stepping inside and slipping out of his coat. He bent at the waist with another sneeze. "Heh'isshuh!"

"Harry?" Louis voice came from the couch.

"Yeah. I'm here." Harry walked slowly into the living room. He rubbed his eyes. When had he become so tired?

"Did I... get you sick?" Louis asked hesitatingly.

"I don't know. It was either that or the cold. Now I can't stop sneezing." Harry sniffed. As if to prove his point, he sneezed into his elbow, then turned away and sneezed again.

"Oh. Um. I'm sorry. About getting you sick." Louis said awkwardly. "I mean... bless you."

Harry looked up from his elbow, surprised. Niall laughed.

Louis blushed and hurried to change the topic. "Well, we should rehearse the song we're performing this Friday," he said.

"What? Lou, we can't do that! You're really sick!" Harry said, worried. "Maybe we'll just cancel the concert."

"No, I can do it-" Louis started to protest.

"Maybe he's getting better, after all. He hasn't sneezed in a while."

"Hitchiew! Heh'shoo!" Louis muffled a pair of sneezes into his sleeve.

"Never mind."

"Louis, if you're feeling too sick, we don't have to go the concert," Harry said. "I'm worried it'll make you worse."

"No! We can't let our fans down," Louis said. "Just call Liam and Zayn to get over here, and we can practice."

"Okay," Harry said doubtfully, pulling out his phone and walking out into the hallway. He knew Louis was stubborn and would not change his mind. And after all, it was his song, and they did need to practice.

"Hello? Liam? Yeah, get over here with Zayn. We need to practice. What? Yeah, I'm sure." He lowered his voice. "Lou's still sneezing a lot, but he insisted. Yeah, I know, but he's not going to change his mind."

Twenty minutes later, Liam and Zayn were at the front door.

Harry sneezed twice as they were coming in. The boys both looked at Harry, concerned.

To distract them, Louis clapped his hands. "Okay, guys. Let's start."

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As usual, please comment and let me know what you think!!