Another World: a 1D fanfic

A Way of Coping

Alison lied down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was unbelievable to her that everything that happened was just hours ago. She took her phone and sent a text message to Tiana. Minutes later, there was a knock at the door. "It's open!" Alison yelled. Tiana entered her bedroom and frowned at her.

"Alison, you can always catch the next plane to London if you regret doing this." Tiana suggested. "No, this is good for me. I need to think about things. About Louis...about Harry." she insisted. "And besides, I told you that it would've been okay if you went with them." she added. "I would be a terrible friend if I leave you alone, all right? I'll always be here for you." Tiana argued.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure you're thinking I made a bad decision." Alison assumed. Tiana smiled as she sat on Allison's bed. "You know me so well, but it only matters what you think is best for you." she responded. "Yeah well, I think it's best for now. I don't think I could talk to either of them right now...distance is what I need." Alison concluded.

---

A few days after the boys arrived London, Harry and Louis were able to talk to each other more often but not as often as before they fought.

One night, Louis was watching a movie alone in the living room. "How are you holding up?" Liam asked as he put his hand on Louis' shoulder. "Not very well, I'm afraid." he answered. "And aren't you supposed to ask Harry that? I'm the one who ruined everything for everyone." he added. Liam went around the sofa and sat beside Louis.

"Hey, you're still our friend. And if you don't already know, we're concerned for the both of you. I tried talking to Harry and it's pretty difficult to; he hasn't been out of his room for days and-" suddenly they heard the front door shut. Liam turned around and asked, "Who was that?" Louis sighed. "Harry."

"Harry?" Louis nodded. "What?" Liam asked. "He didn't want to leave his room then literally a few minutes passed and he has plans to go out?" he exclaimed. "I don't like it either." Louis stated.

---

A few hours pass and Louis and Liam were still up waiting for Harry.

"Why are you still awake? It's almost two in the morning, go to bed." Zayn said as he entered the living room, eyes still adjusting from the lights. "And stop with the yelling, will you?" he added. "That's the thing. How can we go to bed if Harry's still out there?!" Liam questioned. "Isn't he in his room?" Zayn asked. "No, he left hours ago and still hasn't come back." Louis answered.

"...Well then, what was the yelling I heard?" Liam sighed. "We had an argument. I said we should go out and look for him; Louis said we should stay here and wait for him." he answered. "That's the best idea I have! If he's not picking up his phone, what else can we do?!" Louis argued.

"We can go out and look for him! It's better than waiting here." Liam stated. "Well London's a huge place. Where could we even start? It's going to take ages!" Louis complained. "If you really care about Harry you're going out there to look for him! Aren't you even the slightest worried about how long he's been out?" Liam asked. "Who says I'm not?" Louis asked.

"No one. Now if you could come with me to help look for Harry, that'd be great. Zayn will stay here to wait for him if he comes back by himself, right?" Liam asked as he turned to face Zayn. "What?! But I-" Zayn sighed. "Fine. Don't be so shocked if you see me asleep on the sofa later." he warned.

Liam and Louis headed to the lifts. "How long do you think this would take?" Liam asked as he pressed the down button. "It depends where Harry is, but we don't know where he is so it could take a while." Louis said.

The doors open only to reveal a drunk Harry in the lift. "LADS!" he yelled before falling over. Both Liam and Louis caught Harry. "Where have you been?" Louis asked. "I've...uhm, what's that word...drinking. Yeah, I've been drinking!" he slurred with a cheeky grin on his face. "You went to a bar?! Harry, it's late. Why'd you do this?" Liam wondered.

"LIAAAM. They call you Daddy Direction, don't they?" Liam rolled his eyes. "I don't think so. Not anymore, why?" he asked. "Nothing. But those were a hell of good times, eh? We didn't have to worry about...about ANYTHING." Harry said, yelling the last word.

Louis opened the door. "Zayn, get off the sofa." he ordered. "You found Harry?" he asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, now get off. He's drunk." Louis responded. "And heavy..." Liam grunted. As soon as Zayn stood up, they dropped Harry onto the sofa.

"Hahaha, this thing is soft. What is it?" Harry asked. "It's a sofa." Zayn answered. Harry gasped as he looked at what he was on. "Oh yeah! I forgot." he smiled. "I'm really tired." Harry yawned. "Get some rest." Liam said before going to his room. "Night, Harry!" Zayn said, following Liam into the hallway. "G'niiight!" he said in a sing-song voice.

Louis was about to call it a night until Harry grabbed his wrist. "Liam, don't tell Louis, ok? I'm gonna...I'm gonna get back with Alison and...keep it super extra secret so that Louis won't ruin anything again. It was- it was my fault we got caught." he slurred.

"Promise you'll keep it a secret and help me. P-please." he added. Louis felt guilty enough for ruining everything, but this made him feel worse. Looking at Harry, he was drunk enough to think he was Liam, but he was telling the truth. "I promise." he whispered. Harry smiled as if whatever he said wasn't that serious. "Na' night, Liam." he said. "Goodnight, Harry." Louis said before heading to his room.