Chasing Empty Spaces

Chapter 7

Harry vehemently shook his head, unable to have Niall, the human embodiment of sunshine, staring at him as if his dog had died. He gripped the short hairs along the back of his neck and racked his brain for an acceptable explanation. They had never talked about homosexuals before. Not any time that Harry recalled, anyways. Of course, Niall had used slurs in passing, but so did Harry before his revelation. He didn’t know how Niall would react if he knew the truth.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, swear,” He eventually said, his voice sounding feeble to his own ears.

Niall narrowed his eyes, “Then what’s been goin’ on with you?” He pointed a finger at Harry’s chest, “And no lying.”

“I – My parents are gonna try to make me marry Faye.”

It wasn’t what Harry had intended on saying, but it was a slice of truth that he could afford to admit.

Niall’s eyes widened, “Already?”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded, “It’s been drivin’ me mad. I have to take her to dinner and – We’ve been spendin’ time with the Masons.” He tugged on the cuff of his jacket and tacked on, “I hate it.”

“M’ sorry,” Niall quietly said. “I didn’t think it was that serious.”

Harry shrugged, “Yeah, well.”

“Are you not gonna go through with it?” Niall carefully pressed.

Harry tugged on his bottom lip and thought about Louis who was just a couple of hundred feet away. A mountain of guilt piled inside his gut as he minutely shook his head, “Don’t think I have a choice.”

If possible, Niall looked even more upset than before. He quickly shifted his weight from foot to foot, “But – We could always find you some other bird –”

“Don’t want any bird,” Harry instinctively cut him off, his voice low.

Niall closed his mouth, eyes slowly looking over Harry’s face as if he was working something out. Heat pinched Harry’s cheeks, panicking that maybe he had given too much away. The other musicians started to trickle from the corridor to the stage. Taking everyone’s departure as an excuse, Harry cleared his throat and finished off the whiskey with a smack of his lips.

“M’ gonna get on stage and warm up.”

“Wait, Harry,” Niall sputtered, reaching out and just missing Harry’s wrist.

Harry stiffly waved over his shoulder, “Talk later.”

He quickly weaved through the curtain and onto stage, temporarily blinded by overhead lights. A boisterous crowd already budded along the dancefloor, glistening from humidity and anticipation. Harry prayed that they couldn’t see the way terror festered inside of his gut. Sitting on the accustomed piano bench, his fingers shook as they trailed over the keys. Glimpsing towards the left, he saw Niall watching him with a prominent pinch between his brows. Harry snapped his head towards Nicholas at the front of the stage and unevenly exhaled.

“Oi!”

Harry turned towards the familiar voice and squinted as he scanned the front of the crowd. Louis was elbowing his way to the front without much grace, if any at all. A subconscious smile tugged the corner of Harry’s mouth as he saw Zayn dutifully trailing behind his best friend. Louis stopped at the foot of the stage, directly next to Harry’s bench and was smiling up at him.

Louis cocked his head to the side, “Okay?”

Barely fighting the urge to look in Niall’s direction, Harry nodded, “Yeah.”