Scared (L.S)

thirty three

Louis, being the captain, was almost always the last person out of the locker room, and that day was no exception. By the time he entered the lot to see Harry sitting on his car, drenched, every other car was gone, except for that of his coach.

Because of that, Louis happily traipsed over to Harry, not minding the rain, knowing that the two of them would be heading right to Harry's house where they could shower together and dress in clean, warm clothing.

It was only when he was right in front of the younger boy, reaching to rest his hands on his thighs that he noticed the boy's eyes were red and the moisture on his face was not only from the sky but also from his tears.

"What's wrong?" Louis asked, reaching a hand up and wiping away the tears from Harry's cheek, although the effort was ruined from the rain.

Harry just shook his head and reached his arms out to pull his boyfriend into a hug. Louis immediately hugged him tightly, wrapping his arms around his waist, allowing Harry to push his face into his neck, a place that had become a point of comfort for the younger boy in their five or so months of being together.

"Baby," Louis sighed, "What happened?"

Harry shook his head again and pulled himself closer to Louis. The older boy brought his hand up to run it through Harry's damp hair, scratching his scalp. He didn't really know what to do.

"Let's get in the car," Louis suggested. He tried to pick up Harry but, let's face it, Harry was bigger than him and that wasn't really possible anymore. If Harry didn't want to move then there was nothing he could do. "Harry, love, please."

He tried to pull away to look at Harry but the boy grabbed onto the back of his shirt. "Please don't go," He whispered.

Louis felt his heartbreak and pulled Harry impossibly closer. "You're okay," He whispered. Louis did his best to pull Harry off the car, holding the boy even closer and letting him basically crumple in his arms. "You're okay."

He knew Harry would trigger himself into a panic attack if he let this go on for much longer; it had happened a few times before.

Louis sighed, wracking his brain for a solution. Instead, he came up with nothing and just pressed his face into Harry's hair, praying that it would be okay.

"Alright, Tomlinson?"

Louis looked up to see his coach standing about six feet away, concern in his eyes. "Uhm." Louis hesitated, not really knowing what to say.

"He okay?" The coach asked. Louis just shook his head, rubbing Harry's back when he felt the boy flinch.

"Can I do something to help?" Louis tried to pull away from Harry a bit but the boy just desperately pulled himself closer, not wanting to be more than a millimetre apart from Louis.

Louis hesitated again, he really didn't like asking for help but he felt like he had no choice. He knew Harry was going to fall asleep at any moment, something that always happened after his breakdowns, and he also knew that there was no chance of him letting go of his boy when he was so upset. Honestly, Louis felt like never letting him go ever again.

"I hate to ask," Louis began, watching his coach closely, "Do you think you could drive us home?" He could get his car another time.

"'Course," He replied before motioning over to his car, "C'mon."

Louis smiled gratefully, although it didn't reach his eyes. He moved his head down to Harry, keeping one arm around him but bringing one up to wipe his hair and tears away from his face.

"Coach is gonna drive us home, love, but you have to walk with me to the car." Harry hesitated and Louis could tell he didn't want to separate himself from Louis, "We'll sit in the back together and you can just sleep, baby."

Harry nodded and let Louis pull him off the car, wrapping his arms around him and letting Harry press his face into his shoulder. Louis quickly followed the coach to his car, letting Harry lean against him as he opened the door and helped him in before crawling in beside him.

The coach got in the driver's seat, leaving his bag on the passenger seat and looking at the two boys in the mirror. Louis had buckled in both himself and Harry before letting the younger boy lean down and lie across his lap, his face pressed into Louis' stomach as Louis kept one hand tangled in Harry's hair and the other one resting on his waist under his shirt, rubbing soft circles into his damp skin.

Louis leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of Harry's head, whispering an 'I love you' before sitting up and giving his coach directions to Harry's house. Louis looked out the window as they drove, feeling significantly less panicked as Harry's breaths evened and he fell asleep.

"Is he asleep?" Louis met his coach's eyes in the mirror and nodded with a small smile.

"He's your boyfriend," The coach said. Louis felt a pit in his stomach and couldn't keep his eyes from widening.

"What?" He choked out.

"It's okay, you know. Louis, it's okay if he's your boyfriend." Louis didn't know what to say, what to think. He honestly just wanted to curl up under Harry's duvet and hold onto his boyfriend for the next hundred years.

"Are you scared to come out to the team?" The coach made eye contact with Louis in the mirror again. All Louis could do was nod. The boy felt relief when the coach pulled up in front of Harry's house.

Louis slowly lifted Harry up and gave the younger boy a moment to awaken.

"Tomlinson." Louis looked up. "Just know, if you want to come out to the team, I'll have your back."

Louis nodded and helped Harry out of the car, not loosening his grip on the boy. He leaned down before he closed the door. "Thank you." He said, for more than just the drive home.