The Choice - Harry Styles Sequel Fanfiction

12

Harry's point of view

The same day, all 7 of us; me, Leah, Darcy, Caden, Olivia, Noah and Wesley drove back to London. It was late when we arrived at home and the three youngest had fallen asleep on the way back, so we had Darcy and Caden help us carry them inside and put them to bed.

Unfortunately, we didn't have an own bed for Wesley yet because all the stores were already closed. But, Caden offered to let Wesley sleep in his room with him as he had a double bed.

Then, the two oldest went to bed as well. Or, well, they went to their rooms and played on their phones for a couple of hours before actually going to sleep.

"Can you talk to Caden tomorrow?" Leah asked as we were both in the bathroom getting ready to go to bed.

"About what?" I asked, while brushing my hair.

"I think he's going through something, and I think it's school related. He's been so quiet lately and he's spent more time in his room than ever. And I was thinking that since you're a guy, he might be more open with you." She explained.

"Alright, I'll talk to him." I replied.

I gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"I'm sorry for leaving you alone with three kids for so long. I know it must have been hard." I said.

"Well, it was... Caden helped out a lot, but only until he was, you know, becoming more distant. I'm just really worried about him. I knew he was getting picked on because of, well, this whole situation, but from what I know, that's over. That's what he told me." She said.

"I'll talk to him after he's home from school." I said and she gave me a nod.

Then, we walked into our bedroom and got into bed. Leah fell asleep almost straight away, while I stayed up a little bit longer scrolling through Twitter.

The next morning, I was by myself when I woke up. I lied in the bed for a few minutes before I decided to get up and get dressed. I quickly brushed through my hair before walking downstairs and into the kitchen.

I smiled when I saw all the kids and Leah sitting together at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. Wesley had the biggest smile on his face as he was talking with his older siblings and his new step-mum.

"Daddy, look! We made you a plate!" Wesley exclaimed once he saw me walk in the room. I smiled at him and ruffled his big, curly hair as I walked past him on my way to my chair.

As I sat down, I glanced over at Caden. He was looking down at his plate, and he had barely eaten anything. He didn't really look up at any of us, either. His eyes were focused on one single spot on his plate.

I then looked at Leah, and made eye contact with her. I gave her a sign as to look over at Caden, which she did. Luckily, all the kids were too occupied talking about tv shows.

«Caden, are you alright? You look a bit tired.» Leah said to him, but his head didn't move. He was still just staring down at his plate. «Caden?»

Caden slightly jumped when Leah said his name a second time. «What?» He asked.

«You look a bit tired, sweetie. Are you feeling alright?» Leah asked, again.

Caden looked back down at his plate and nodded. «Just tired, that's all.» He said and shrugged.

«When did you fall asleep last night?» I asked.

«Dunno.» He replied.

«Daddy?» I heard Wesley say. I turned to him and gave him a smile.

«Yes?»

«I'm nervous about school... What if they don't like me?» He said.

«They'll love you, Wesley. Who wouldn't love such a cute little guy like you?» I said and ruffled his hair again.

On Monday, Wesley would be starting Primary Education, which he was both excited and nervous about. But, I told him he had nothing to worry about as he would have both his big brother and big sister there.

Wesley wanted to start already today, but we decided to let it wait until after the weekend.

Caden got up from his chair and threw his backpack over his shoulder. He started leaving the kitchen, but Leah stopped him. 

"Where you going?" She asked. 

"School?" He replied, leaning against the wall. 

"Already? If you wait 5 more minutes I could drive you." Leah offered, but he just shook his head. 

"I'll walk." He said and then left the kitchen. 

"What's up with him?" Darcy asked when we heard the front door shut. 

"No clue. He's been acting all weird these last few weeks, and we've got no idea why." Leah answered her. 

"I do." Darcy said. 

"Kids, why don't you go upstairs for a little bit? We'll leave to go to school shortly." I said to the three youngest, who nodded and then ran upstairs. 

"He's still getting picked on." Darcy said once they were out of the room. 

"How do you know?" I asked. 

"I was walking into the bathroom yesterday and Caden forgot his phone there. I was just going to pick it up and head over to his room and give it to him, but it lit up when I lifted it up and on his screen were texts from some of his classmates. I didn't want to be too nosy, but I accidentally read one of them. They're cyberbullying him. I saw he'd gotten messages from them on all sorts of platforms; iMessage, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, everything he has..." She said. "When I walked into Caden's room to give him back his phone, he look almost mortified. He was obviously scared I'd seen anything." 

I looked over at Leah, and she was nearly in tears. 

"Did you see any names on his phone? Do you know who's doing it?" I asked.

"Well, they seem to be sort of a group that's doing it, but I noticed one name. Dean Thomas." She replied, and I nodded. "Look, um, dad, not to make you feel bad or anything, but the reason Caden is getting picked on is because of you. You know, when you left to go to Seattle and it somehow got out to the media. Wouldn't be surprised if it was Lacy herself who told everyone." 

"Yeah, I was told so when I came back home, but I thought it was over..." I said and looked down at my plate. I felt horrible knowing that I'm the reason my boy is having a hard time. 

"He'll be okay, dad. Don't beat yourself up about it. We've just got to get those kids to stop and leave him alone." Darcy said. 

"I'll ask him about it when he gets home. I want to hear what's been going on before we make any major decisions, alright?" 

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