troublesome

{21}

"Which one are we looking at, Lou?" Harry asked. The question made my heart rate increase and I wiped my sweaty palms on my shirt.

"Uh..." I looked around again, none of the rides looking very appealing to me. I found myself shaking my head as I continued to look for the least intimidating one. "I don't... I don't know." I responded quietly, crossing my arms.

They all decided to go on the biggest ride at the carnival and I was much too embarrassed to admit that I didn't want to go on this ride.

I tried to calm myself down, but I would jump every time the ride zoomed past us and I could hear the anxiety inducing screams.

"I think I'll just wait over there for you guys." I finally worked up the courage to get out of the situation.

"What?" Harry turned to me. "We're like six people away from going on." He told me.

"I-I just don't want to do this, okay?" I huffed, turning around and walking to the end of the line.

"Lou!" I heard behind me. I didn't turn around until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I could feel many rings, giving away the fact that it was Harry.

"Are you okay, darling?" He asked, taking me by the bicep and gently directing me away from people trying to get by us.

"I don't have to go on a roller coaster. Like that's not something you should force me to do." I said defensively, running a hand through my hair. I watched his expression change into pure confusion at my small rant.

"I'm not forcing you to do anything, we can do what ever you want." He kept his voice monotone and calm.

"You forced me to come into this carnival and get this stupid wristband and... I don't know." I trailed off, realizing he really didn't force me to do anything. He was sickeningly considerate and waited with me in the car for five minutes before I was okay coming in.

"You're going to loose your place in line." I said, watching as Niall, Liam, and Zayn were calling us to get back in line because they were next.

"It's okay. I don't really like roller coasters that much." He, very obviously, lied with a cheeky smile. "Come on, there's other stuff to do here!" He kept his energetic spirit as we started wandering the carnival.

Harry seemed to not care about why I didn't want to go on the roller coaster or, more likely, he figured it out. Either way, it was making me anxious that he wasn't mentioning it.

He finished a ring toss game. "That was really hard." He huffed, as he didn't get a single ring in the right spot. I must have been showing my anxiousness, because he started to look concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, well, n-nnyeah. I mean... yeah. I'm just kind of wondering why you're not asking me about why I didn't go on the roller coaster. I don't know if you just don't care or if you already know. And it's stressing me out." I rambled, kicking my feet, watching my sneakers get even dirtier.

"I thought you'd appreciate me not talking about it." He told me, his smile fading.

"Yeah, me too!" I groaned frustratedly.

"Well, do you want to talk about it?" He offered cautiously. I let out a sigh.

"I've just never... I've never been on a roller coaster. It's making me nervous. I mean no one took me to places like this, so... I don't really know what I'm saying." I admitted.

I was about to look up at him to see why he wasn't responding, when I felt his arms wrap around me and give me a tight squeeze.

"I'm sorry." I heard him say quietly. I could feel the guilt in his tone, making my heart hurt in a way I hadn't experienced in years. I silently cursed at myself for my choice of words, I didn't mean to blame him for not taking me.