Harry was once again sitting in his locker room getting ready for a fight. The third in the tournament. This time though, he didn't feel as pumped as usual.
It was only the day before he had realized how much he missed Louis and he had spent the whole night either cursing at himself or wallowing in self pity. Usually lack of sleep wasn't that big of a setback, but after Louis had moved in the long nights had stopped and he had gotten used to getting a good amount of sleep.
That, his bad mood and sore muscles from yesterday's fight didn't leave him with much to work with.
Zayn had already joined him for the usual pre-fight briefing. This time he was fighting a guy named Tony Cooper. He was a little older than Harry and had been in the army for a couple of years, so he could turn out to be a challenge. Not that Harry was worried, but he would rather he didn't get too hurt himself.
He had just recovered from that bruise and he did not want to deal with another.
"You're unusually quiet, H. You don't normally have much to share, but this is weird even for you. What's on your mind?" Zayn spoke up, breaking Harry out of his thoughts.
"If you think I'm going to spill everything just like that, you don't know me as well as I thought," Harry grumbled in response. They both knew he was lying though; Zayn knew him better than most people. Mostly because Zayn was, like Harry, a more quiet, observant type rather than a loud, outgoing person like Niall.
Liam was up there with Zayn too, his habit of fussing over them all giving him a good insight in how they really felt, even when they weren't sure themselves.
And it wasn't like Zayn didn't already know what was troubling Harry. To the great annoyance of Harry, it was actually glaringly obvious. Even for someone who wasn't close to Harry, it wouldn't be too difficult.
Most likely thinking the same as Harry, Zayn smirked smugly but didn't say anything else. The twinkle in his eyes spoke for him though. And Harry was pretty sure he was enjoying Harry's misery very much.
Apparently Zayn had gotten what he wanted from Harry and kept quiet until Niall and Liam showed up a couple of minutes later. He just kept smiling smugly to himself, and Harry kind of wanted to punch him in the throat.
In the five seconds from when the door opened to when Liam and Niall came in and closed it after them, Harry's heart started beating faster and he perked up, still stupidly hoping Louis would magically show up and forgive him.
As expected though, he wasn't there. Although Harry was kind of surprised to see Niall there after he had stayed with Louis the day before. What was Louis doing? Maybe he really was there?... but then he would have been left alone and the lads would never do that.
He kicked himself mentally. Louis wasn't going to show up no matter how much Harry wanted it. If something were to happen, it would be because Harry out away his pride, wanting 'to do the right thing'. Like that was going to happen anytime soon.
"Yo Harreh, ye nervous?" Niall grinned, surprisingly friendly considering he probably hated Harry as much as Zayn and Liam... and Louis. They did however mention how Louis missed Harry, so he couldn't hate him that much...
"Do I look nervous?" Harry snapped back, cracking his knuckles.
Niall just grinned wider and gave him two thumbs up as he sat down beside Zayn, immediately starting the animatedly tell him some story about a customer. His accent got really thick when he was excited and combined with his speed talking, it was nearly impossible to understand him. Zayn had always been better at understanding him... or pretending to. Harry was never really sure which.
Liam gave Harry a friendly pat on the back before sitting down beside him without saying anything. Things between the two were almost always a little tense but they had never been that bad. It would fade out eventually like always though.
And just as the night before, they waited in an awkward silence until it was time to fight, the only difference being Niall's voice breaking the silence. Luckily Harry was in the first fight of the night and didn't have to wait that long.
As the same poor boy came to fetch Harry, Niall suddenly stood up and smacked his own forehead. "Shoot, almost forgot! Louis gave me somethin' to give ye."
And just like that, Harry's heart managed to both soar and sink. This could either be a token of forgiveness and friendship or something that would tell him to go fuck himself. Hopefully it would be the first.
Niall fished something up from his pocket and held out his hand, looking at Harry expectantly until Harry finally held out his own hand so Niall could drop the item in it.
Opening his palm to see what it was, Harry's mouth fell open.
It was a penny.
It was a fucking penny and Harry had no fucking idea what to make of it. Was it some kind of joke?
Harry's confusion must have showed on his face because Niall laughed loudly and patted Harry's shoulder. "For good luck y'know? A lucky penny. Man, ye should've seen yer face!" He faked wiping away a tear before continuing a little more seriously. "He also wanted me to tell ye to take care. Don't get too hurt and all that. Why he even cares about yer sorry arse, I don't know, but ye must've done somethin' right."
With another pat on the shoulder from Niall, Harry was pushed into the hallway, still staring dumbfounded at the penny in his palm. And if he, even for just a second, grinned like an idiot, no one had to know.
He tucked it into his pocket before making his way into the main hall where the roaring crowd was waiting. All his previous worries were gone. Nothing could stop him. He was so ready.
Apparently Simon hadn't bothered to show because it was one of his hired goons who did the usual introductions. This worked in Harry's favor though, after Louis not having accompanied him at the fight the previous night and again at the current one, Simon would have been suspicious. At least him not being there meant Harry had a little more time coming up with a story explaining why Louis probably wouldn't show until the finals.
But all that didn't matter now. What did, was that Harry had a fight to win. And with Louis' lucky penny burning in his pocket, there was no way he could lose.
Cracking his knuckles, Harry smirked at his opponent. This was going to be fun.
He let Cooper land the first punch to give him a false sense of having the upper hand, the punch connecting with his lower right rib, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. Okay, so Harry wasn't the only one getting useful information on his opponents. Christ, that hurt more than he thought it would. The bruise obviously hadn't been all healed.
This needed to end.
"Nice one," Harry breathed shakily with the smirk still on his face as they dances around each other, looking for the next opening. "You used your free hit well, usually they just go for the face."
Cooper just stared at him, clearly unimpressed. "Shut your mouth and fight," he growled, taking a jab at Harry, who nimbly dodged and followed up with a jab at Cooper's ribs. Nothing too harsh, just a little taste of what was coming.
Grinning smugly, Harry shrugged mockingly, "Alright then, but you asked for it." Before Cooper even had the time to react, Harry had landed two perfect hits across his ribs, effectively knocking the wind out of him like he had previously done to Harry, and leaving him stunned just long enough for Harry to follow up with another perfect hit on his right temple. Just enough to knock him out.
The crowd roared as Cooper went down like a ragdoll.
* * *
After Harry had come down from his post fight high, the four of them went to their usual pub. Niall was always one for celebrating and was in high spirits as they ordered their first round, toasting to Harry's spectacular win.
With Niall in their group, they almost always ended up drinking a little more than expected but neither of them cared. They were allowed to let loose every now and then. They would just call a cab home then come back for their car the next day. And even though it was Monday the next day, none of them had work.
It was time to have some fun.
Though Harry was a bit apprehensive about drinking after the last time, and the obvious tense and poorly ignored, atmosphere at the table, Niall managed to keep the party going and soon they were all drunk and overfriendly.
He told himself that as long as he didn't drink while being aggressive, it would be okay. And since he'd had a great mood booster earlier that day, everything would be fine.
Liam was the first to burn out, slumping over the table after downing another shot. He started mumbling incoherently to himself, Niall finding it absolutely hilarious. So hilarious he bought another round for the table, toasting with everyone near him. Zayn too was starting to fall a bit behind, but Harry was only just getting started.
He hadn't had a proper, totally wasted night out in forever and this night, he was feeling invincible. Everything was going to be fine.
The night went on and somehow he suddenly found himself by the bar, talking to a fit little brunette. She had thrown herself all over him as he was getting another drink, and he had found he didn't mind that much. She wasn't shy at all, her hands groping all over him.
After his dry spell, getting touched like that was amazing.
"Wanna go back to mine?" she purred drunkenly in his ear, boldly grabbing his crotch. "I live right down the block."
With that she pulled away with a sexy smirk and started walking, swaying her hips seductively as she walked through the crowd. Harry found himself following without a second thought, the alcohol clouding his brain and helping him ignore the burning penny in his pocket.
All he could see was those delicious curves, soft brown hair and blue eyes.
* * *
Fuck!
Fuck!
Harry ran a panicked hand through his untamed curls as he looked around the unfamiliar room. He could feel the warmth of a person behind him, their breathing sounding too loud in Harry's ears. He didn't dare turn around, already knowing what was behind him.
His chest felt tight as he methodically gathered and put on his clothes, erasing every sign of him being there. A used condom on the floor made him want to throw up, and it felt as if the walls were coming closer. He needed to get out.
The cold November air hit him like a punch to the face as he stumbled out of the building but it felt like he was burning up.
One night stands weren't a new thing in Harry's life, although it had been a long while since his last one, and he had admittedly never been proud to walk home after one. The walk of shame had always reminded him of the fact that he was alone. But he had never felt this... panic before.
Every cell in his body screamed at him. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!
Trying to convince himself it was just the hangover playing tricks with his mind, Harry eventually managed to find his Bullet where he left it the night before. He didn't care that it probably wasn't safe to drive yet, he just needed to get home and sort out his head.
He needed a shower, his whole body itching to wash the nameless girl off. He tried to recall exactly what she looked like, but all he could remember was striking, blue eyes.
Blue eyes that suddenly looked all too familiar. A little button nose with a light dust of freckles. A shy smile. A soft, brown fringe.
The image appeared in his head so suddenly Harry's body involuntarily jerked, making the bike sway dangerously. No. No!
No way he was feeling like this because of that boy. He had been nothing but an inconvenience in Harry's life. Admittedly they had learned to get along, but nothing more.
Nothing more...
And yet, the way it felt like someone was squeezing his heart suggested otherwise. For some reason it felt like he had cheated on Louis, which of course was ridiculous as they weren't even close to dating.
He really needed to figure out what was happening to him. It was getting too out of control and he needed it to stop.
* * *
Louis was cleaning off a table after the morning rush at Paul's, humming happily to himself. He had requested that Paul didn't put him by the register just yet as he wasn't that good a math and that he got easily flustered when strangers were around, making him more likely to fuck up.
So now he was working as a busboy, taking the occasional order while Niall took care of the coffee making and the money-handling.
He had met some of the other workers, which were only three others, but he preferred working when Niall was too. Niall never made fun of him when he made mistakes, he just smiled reassuringly and helped Louis fix it.
The job was quite enjoyable, and Louis found himself smiling a lot more. Most customers were really nice, and working was a good distraction from his situation. Otherwise he would have just been holed up in his new room all day doing nothing.
It usually calmed down a bit after the morning rush, and it wasn't any different that day. After Louis had cleared the last table and filled up the dishwasher, Paul came in and smiled at him.
"Great work as usual, Louis," he praised almost proudly. "Wouldn't mind hiring you full time someday."
Louis blushed and ducked his head, mumbling a 'thank you'. He would actually very much like to work at the café someday. He just hoped it would be possible.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about something," Paul continued more seriously then proceeded to close the door after him, and Louis suddenly felt nervous.
Had he done something wrong after all? Was Paul going to kick him out?
Paul smiled reassuringly at Louis and leaned against the wall, gesturing for Louis to do the same. Instead Louis chose to hop up onto the counter, swinging his legs nervously.
"I have an... idea, you could say, I wanted to run by you," he started and Louis nodded. Paul turned to Louis, looking him straight on the eyes with a serious expression. "I don't doubt that Harry is going to win, but I don't trust Simon. There's no telling what twists he can come up with. I can't risk that, and I'm sure the lads agree with me. I plain on speaking to them too, but I wanted to see what you thought of it first."
Holding his breath, Louis waited anxiously for what Paul was going to say.
"How do you feel about running away?"
Louis' heart stopped and he gasped in shock. What? He shook his head, not even knowing what to say. Sensing he needed more explanation, Paul continued softly.
"If we could make you disappear, completely vanish, Simon won't be able to touch you. I have some family a few towns over who I'm sure would love to take you in. They've got a farm where you can work. You can start a new life."
"B-but..." Louis started in a shaky voice, not liking where this was going. "Simon is always going to be here... I wouldn't ever be able to come back..."
Paul frowned and shook his head gravely, "I'm afraid that's the catch with this plan. But if you asked I'm sure the lads wouldn't mind visiting you as often as possible."
And Louis didn't doubt that for a second, but it just didn't feel right. As much as he wanted to get away from Simon, he didn't want to leave his friends behind. He had just gotten them, and he wasn't about to let long-distance ruin that like he knew it would eventually.
That, and there was another, bigger issue. "If I leave... wouldn't Simon blame Harry?"
Obviously knowing where Louis was going, Paul frowned but he didn't say anything so Louis continued, his voice getting higher with every word. "If I leave, Harry could get hurt, and I don't want him to get hurt because of me! He's done so much for me and I can't... I won't leave him behind for Simon to punish!"
He was almost crying now, his breathing shaky and his eyes burning, but he held it in. No more crying. No more running.
"But Louis..." Paul started with a sigh, then trailed off when he saw Louis' determined expression. He then sighed again with a small smile. "I have no idea how Harry earned your loyalty kid, but he should be damn happy he did. Not many would stand by him like that."
* * *
Paul looked at the small boy in front of him and couldn't help but smile. Despite looking so fragile, he was one tough kid. Niall had previously filled Paul in on Louis' story, and Paul's heart ached for the young boy.
He had been through more shit than most of the boys he took in every now and then, and yet he hadn't completely lost it. Louis was a strong one.
Why he cared so deeply for Harry, Paul had no idea. God knows Harry had done enough shit to overrule the good.
And yet, Paul had noticed something that could maybe explain why. He had noticed that almost every time Harry was mentioned, Louis would blush and get all fidgety. Louis had most likely not figured it out for himself yet, and Paul hoped Harry would come around before Louis forgot all about it.
Someone like Louis might just be the right person for someone like Harry.