Beneath the Midnight Sky

Ten

*Two Weeks Since Previous Chapter*

The cafeteria was filled with students eagerly ready to eat their breakfast. Harry and Niall had been waiting on the food to be served for a while. Harry's appetite was at its peak in the mornings. Yet, Niall noticed something strange today: his friend, who is a man of few words, was hardly speaking at all. He was in fact staring off into space.

"Harry, are you still thinking about what you want? I mean it's been two week since you stopped talking to Louis. I see he text you everyday but you never write him back. He at least deserves the decency of a goodbye text," Niall said biting into his breakfast.

"I don't want to talk about it right now. It gives me a headache," Harry said as he rubbed his forehead. "I think it'll be easier if I cut my ties."

Niall gave Harry a suspicious look. Over the years, he watched Harry sabotage many relationships but he never thought he would act this way. He thought Louis was the one to tame him.

"Well you have to make yourself happy, Harry. It's all you can do. I still think Louis deserves closure though, don't you?" Niall asked giving him a you better agree with me look.

"Yeah. I think I'm going to go over to his dorm tonight and tell him that it's time we move on," Harry said as he pushed his plate away from him.

Niall shook his head in disbelief but knew this was a situation that Harry had to work out on his own.

"So in happier news, me and Chelsea are getting pretty serious. Your advice worked like a charm....just be myself." Niall laughed. "Who would have thought?"

Harry smiled at his friend. "She's a great girl, Niall. I'm happy for you. Have you heard from Liam? Haven't seen him lately."

"It seems every time he comes over, you're either out partying or already asleep...you know doing your Harry thing....avoiding life and it's pain....." Niall said. "But enough of that subject. Speaking of partying, we should go out tomorrow. My treat."

"Can't say no to you Nialler. Anyway, I have to get to class. See ya."
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Louis walked into the Creative Writing room with awkward stillness in the air. It was too late to drop the course and he felt he owed it to Zayn to finish it out, even if Zayn abandoned him and left him to be at University by himself. He hoped Harry wouldn't show today. He wasn't prepared to face him in the classroom. It was too soon.

"Good morning everyone. Hope you have your poem prepared. I asked everyone to write a poem about rain and love." Mr. Cowell said as he put his hands together. "Any volunteers?"

"I'll go," Harry said as he entered the room and retrieved his notebook.

"Ah, Mr. Styles. Eager as always." Mr. Cowell said as he gave Harry the floor.

"Um, I call this one I Can't Compete With Her Anymore."

We sit outside in my car
and listen to music, singing
I feel carefree, relaxed
But inside your head, static ringing.
I take your hand but you panic
You smile but it's just surface
I take you to all the parties
But you're still guarded,, nervous.
I bring you up the stairs
and share a passionate moment
Acidic rain between our tongues,
Every inch of you, I want to own it
but as things proceed
and our bodies intertwine,
You push me away, again
as if you will never just be mine.
You wanted me to share you
With the voices inside your head
The ones that leave you haunted
Telling you your better off dead.
I wanted to be the only
The person you could trust
But I realized that night in your dorm
I'll never be good enough.

Harry gazed deeply into Louis' eyes. He stared back stunned.  As Harry took his seat, he passed him a note that read:

"I'm coming to your dorm tonight. If you don't answer when I knock, I understand. XoXo H."

"What are your thoughts on Mr. Styles poem, class?" Mr. Cowell asked as students raised their hands. "Sierra?" He asked calling on a random girl.

"It's written in stanza a-b-a-b rhyme scheme. The theme seems to be about chasing after someone you can't have....not because the other person isn't willing but because they don't love themselves and we all know the cliché you can't love someone else until you love yourself. At the end of the poem, he said I'll never be good enough and I think he's trying to say he knows he'll never be enough to not make the other person get better and he can't cope with that anymore. It's too draining."

Louis rolled his eyes and raised his hands.

"Mr. Tomlinson, nice surprise to see you participate."

"I think the poem is bullshit." He muttered as the class gasped. "I mean it is basically saying that everything is perfect when they are together. Yet, one of them is struggling with something they've been struggling with long before they even met the other person. Now, someone doesn't feel good enough because they can't magically cure the struggles. Oh please. Save your hero talk for someone else. A relationship isn't about curing someone and taking it personal when love doesn't make it miraculously go away. A relationship is built on a foundation of patience, love, and trust . Thick and thin..."

"Do you agree with that Harry?" Mr. Cowell asked.

Licking his lips, Harry thought before he spoke. "Yes and no. A relationship should not have to be this difficult. Someone should not have to go to bed at night wondering if someone else is going to wake up the next morning. Someone shouldn't have to be rejected over and over again. I asked you to eat, you say no. I ask you to be intimate, you say no."

"You were never rejected, Harry. I said it was not good timing. We hardly knew each other at that point."Louis argued back.

"Don't feed me that bullshit, Louis. You felt it too."

Mr. Cowell and the other students looked around the room awkwardly. Some shifted in their seat and some snickeredas they found the popcorn emoji on their phone. 🍿

"Alright, alright. Let's settle down. You want to share yours next?" Mr. Cowell asked Louis, keeping the drama going.

"I thought you'd never ask."

False Light
I can see sunlight out my window
For the first time since I can remember when
but when I step outside to feel it
It retreats behind the clouds
and leaves the sky crying
My clothes smell musky because they won't dry.
All this water around me but I'm thirsty
I'm longing to take a drink
but the water is too tainted.
I go back inside and watch
the sunlight out my window.
Something I can look at but never touch.

"Thoughts?" Mr. Cowell asked.

"Again, you're pleading for help and wanting someone to help you but you stay complacent in the same old scenery!" Harry said as he rolled his eyes.

"Harry, address Louis as an author not as the character in the poem." Mr. Cowell warned.

"Yes sir," he grumbled and folded his arms in a defense to close himself off.

The rest of the class period, Louis tuned everyone else out and tried to keep his anger hidden. He did not understand why Harry suddenly hated him and wanted to target him. He didn't understand why his mental health issues was affecting Harry so much. He never asked him for help. However, a part of him hoped he wouldn't change his mind about coming to the dorm later that night.

Harry sat drumming a pencil on his desk. He felt itchy and frustrated. He never was once to hide his emotions. He could never tell a lie. He didn't get why Louis couldn't see how someone suffering could affect someone else and make them feel not good enough.

Two souls equally broken. Both too stubborn to admit it.
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Authors Note: Again, this is fiction. No bashing. Whether Larry is real or not is not the debate....this is fiction and in this story, Larry is real :)

Hope you are liking the story so far. I feel a bit discouraged but I've never been the type to give up on something so I'm going to see it through.
P.S  Sorry my poems are utter sh** forgive me.