Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 41

Harry

It's been almost two weeks since David's disappearance. Despite not wanting it and trying to avoid the duty, I am now a leader of his army, army filled with people looking up to me and expecting me to guide them, expecting me to win battles while leading them.

It's all good, I'm chill. No pressure, none at all, nope.

In all honesty, I don't think I'm capable of doing it, not like David did, not like most of these men or women could. But all of my friends, Elena, everyone is so entitled to show me I'm basically born for this part, I'm born to lead. I make sure to never show weakness when I'm in front of them, but Elena has witnessed it numerous of times, and she never gives up in trying to remind me of my inner strength and showing me I'm worthy, to give me comfort.

And when my friends realised she needed a bit of help in order to convince me, they all decided to help.

Ooh, they helped alright.

It's around four am, the only source of light in my training room being the moonlight seeping through the highly placed windows. I'm lying on my back on one of the thick mats, multiple breaths being the only sounds in the room, coming from all of my friends sleeping here with me.

Each of us is sleeping on a mat, scattered over the floor yet close to each other. Niall is to my left while  Liam is to my right, and Elena is beside Niall. Above us are Jess, Tori, Louis, and Alex, lined in that order. They all thought sleeping with me here would show their support and despite my apparent annoyance, I'm beyond grateful to have them as friends, the thought warming my heart a little.

Niall unconsciously reaches out and gropes Elena's breast, making me frown and roll my eyes. I'm forced to clamp my mouth shut with my palm when Elena removes his hand angrily, a cute little pout on her face as she grumbles something incoherent. She slaps his hand when he reaches out again, making him mumble a quiet "ow". All of this is happening while they're both asleep, making it more amusing.

Elena extends her arm in her sleep, making me believe she's searching for her knife, or Tinkerblade as she calls it. The girl never leaves her knife alone, it's like she's connected with the thing. I once found her cradling it to her chest. Luckily, it's a folding pocket knife, so it's impossible for her to hurt herself with it unless she has a really vivid dream and uses it to "defend" herself. In that case, I might be dead. . .

Ugh, this is what happens when I can't sleep. Stupid thoughts.

I sigh when I realise I'm fully awake and I sit up, running my hands through my messy hair. When I hear shuffling behind me, I turn my head, seeing Louis pulling Tori closer to him, burying his face into her hair. It would be cute if it weren't for Alex, who suddenly wraps his arm around Louis' waist, moving closer to him, spooning him closely. I snort, a wide smile spreading over my lips.

"Cute, aren't they?" A voice asks quietly and I realise it's coming from Jess. "I can't sleep on this and that's saying something. I can fall asleep everywhere. What's your excuse?"

"Yeah. . ." I mumble, watching as she sits up as well. "I guess I'm worried about the future of this base and all the people in it. You know, typical deep after midnight thoughts."

She rubs her tired eyes. "Hm, I have those when I drink too much coffee. Look, it's going to be fine, whatever it is that you're planning. If you need any help, you have all of us to help you."

"I just don't want to fail," I admit quietly. "David would know what to do, I have only one chance left for fixing things and it's a hell of a lot of pressure."

"So are you settling on Elena's idea then? The Wildfire deal?" She asks, tilting her head aside.

"No, actually I have something better in mind," I lie. I remember having a traitor in the base, so I think it's better if I keep the whole Wildfire deal just between Elena and me. Everyone else will find out about it when we're done with forming the plan, even my closest friends.