A/n
I have realised that I've been getting less and less descriptive as each chapter carried out. I'll be focusing more on that. 💗💗
"Nice acting, back there..." Harry whispered as he shuffled closer to Louis underneath the thick covers. The room was quite dark up to the point where you could barely make out your hand held out in front of your face. Louis was and will always be a bit on edge when it came to darkness so, he smiled comfortably at Harry's movements toward him.
"...who said I was acting?" Louis asked slyly.
Harry's eyes widened. "But you- but you said that we'd pretend..."
"It isn't that hard for me to 'pretend' if I actually like you..."
What was he saying?! Wasn't he the same person who was suffering from an identity crisis not too long ago?! Did he not tell Liam a few hours back that being attached to Harry was a problem?!
"You actually like me?" Harry asked softly. Because of the darkness of the room, Louis couldn't exactly tell by Harry's tone if he was flattered or concerned.
Louis, shut up and go to sleep. He thought to himself. You're just leading him on.
But was he really though?
Wait...
"Harry, do you... do you like me...?" Louis asked hesitantly.
Silence.
"Harr-.."
"Of course I do, Louis. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been so bothered to keep you around here..." He whispered with intense emotion. "God, you make me crazy." He mumbled quietly to himself.
"Harry, you're not-.."
"Crazy? Yeah, I am. I know it and- and so do you." He said harshly.
"What? What are you talking abo-..."
"Once you get used to the silence of this forest, every noise becomes loud. It's as if sound was never even supposed to exist and the fact that it does just makes me want to scream. Even in this house..." Harry paused and sat up. "...I hear everything. Everything."
Louis could tell that Harry was on the verge of tears from how shaky his last set of words were. He sat up and reached for Harry's thigh, squeezing it in reassurance.
"I heard your conversation with Liam." Harry said bluntly.
"From today?"
"Yes."
Shit, Louis thought in worry, he heard what we said about him...he knows that someone is coming to pick me up tomorrow...
"Are you at least going to say goodbye before you leave?" Harry asked sadly, trying to hold back his tears.
"Love, of course I will..." Louis said with a voice full of compassion.
Really? Was he really going to? That wouldn't exactly help his attachment issues.
"I'll be honest with you, I don't want you to leave." Harry said. "...and I think that's pretty obvious."
Don't say it, Louis don't say it...
"I don't want to leave either." Louis mindlessly blurted out.
Damn it, he said it.
"Then why is someone coming to pick you up?" Harry asked accusingly.
"If we're being honest right now, then I'll be honest. Harry, you scare me." Louis said, losing all softness in his voice. "You really, really scare me."
"Is it because I don't tell you things?"
"Well, yes, that's a start...but ever since I've met you, your moods have been everywhere...I couldn't tell whether you'd snap at me or not..." then, Louis voice grew quiet again, "...even my friends and family told me to get 'outta here as soon as I could..."
"But you didn't. Why?"
Louis sighed. "Remember the day Violet offered to get me out of the forest after she was done with my car?"
"Yes..."
"You were there listening to our conversation."
"I was, yes."
"Do you remember why I stayed back?"
Harry fell silent at the question.
"Well? Do you?"
Slowly, Harry began to speak in his softest voice. "...you didn't want to leave without..."
"Saying goodbye." Louis said, finishing off Harry's sentence.
Louis reached out into the dark and placed his palm on Harry's cheek. Harry's face was wet.
He could feel his own heart crumble in his chest at the touch.
"Y-your crying..."
"I'm sorry..." Harry apologised wiping his tears with the back of his right hand.
"No, don't be..."
"I'm...I'm sorry for scaring you when we first met, I'm sorry for everything-..."
Louis couldn't hear anymore of this. He couldn't. Sighing, he brought Harry's face closer to his own and soon their lips met.
The kiss was soft and light, although Harry's tears had given the experience a slightly salted flavour.
Louis didn't care. Not right now. Right now, Louis just wanted Harry to be okay, to feel okay. As much as the man he was making out with scared him, Louis couldn't help but carry a soft spot in his heart for him and everything he'd been through.
Harry pulled away from the kiss momentarily.
"Louis, you really don't have to-.."
"Shhh..." Louis hushed, rejoining their lips, " Try not to talk right now, is that okay?" Louis asked in between small kisses.
Harry said nothing but nodded his head as he allowed Louis to lean him back onto the soft bed, lips still attached.
As the kiss grew more heated, Louis slowly slipped his hands under Harry's shirt to feel his smooth, milky skin. As he did this, he could feel Harry tugging upward on his shirt. Louis broke away from the kiss and smirked.
"Alright, alright, love." He teased as he slipped off his own shirt, chucking it god-knows-where.
Louis leaned back into the kiss and allowed Harry's cold fingers to trace circles on his back. He grabbed Harry by the hips and pulled him on top of his lap. Louis couldn't see it, but judging by his movement and sounds, Harry's shirt also went flying somewhere.
"Too bad the lights are off..." Louis smirked.
"Too bad..." Harry repeated before laying soft kisses on Louis' torso.
...................................................
"Louissss..." Harry groaned. "Louis, stop, stop, stop."
"Harry, what's wrong?" Louis panted as he crawled out from under the covers before wiping his mouth. "D-did I do something wrong?" Louis asked worriedly.
"No, no, no, you were perfect, but it's just that...I heard something..." Harry revealed. "Did you hear it too?"
"Hear what?" Louis asked, titling his head.
Not answering the question, Harry slipped out of bed and turned on his bedside lamp. "I think we should go check up on the others..."
Louis blinked uncomfortably at the sudden light. "Okay...but why?"
"I think Liam screamed..." he said as he casually looked around to find his jeans and shirt. "Are you going to come?"
"Am I going to come?...ohhh wait you meant 'follow you'...got it." Louis rolled his eyes at his own stupid mistake. "I'll go find my clothes."
As soon as they got changed, Louis and Harry busted out of the room and rushed to Zayn and Liam.
As soon as they made it to their room, Louis knocked on the door, "Are you lads alright? Harry heard screaming..."
The door immediately swung open, and standing in front of them was Zayn, who looked like he had been crying, judging by his swollen lips and red, puffy eyes.
"Zayn...?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Well, don't just stand there! Help him!" Zayn cried as he pointed to Liam who was sitting on the bed, applying pressure to his leg wound with a towel that had already been soaked with blood.
"Holy shit!" Louis whispered in shock as he rushed to Liam's side. "Li! What happened?!"
"You wouldn't- you wouldn't believe me if I told you." He sobbed in pain.
Louis sighed and looked at him with weary eyes. "Try me."
Liam shook his head and explained. "I had a dream. Alright? And in this dream, Zayn was asking me about who I was talking to...but the thing was...his mouth was all stitched up..." he said with a disgusted expression. "...and then his skin started drooping and his mouth started ripping...it wasn't Zayn... it was some sort of-..."
"Creature..." Louis finished, absolutely horrified.
Liam looked at him shock and confusion, "yes...how- how did you know?"
"I've seen her before." Louis said in a dark tone.
"Her? No, I said it was a "he"." Liam corrected.
"No...," Zayn said, stepping into the conversation. "Louis is right. It's a her."
Both Liam and Louis looked at Zayn with wide mouths.
"Babe, you knew about this?!" Liam asked, slightly hurt.
"Yeah, I did. But I hoped it would be something that I'd never have to bring up or experience ever again." He said, upset.
"Do you know who...or what she is?" Louis asked.
Zayn sighed and shook his head. "No. Neither of us do."
"Who's 'us'?" Liam questioned.
"Harry and I." Zayn replied, looking at Harry who was still stood by the doorframe.
"Harry, you've seen her too?" Louis asked, titling his brows at Harry.
Harry pressed his lips together and nodded slowly.
"It killed my mother."