It was Friday, the day of the funeral. Harry sat on his and Louis' bed and stared blankly at the wall. Louis walked in from the bathroom and sighed heavily, seeing his lover's pale and emotionless face.
"Harry, you have to get ready. We have to leave in an hour." Louis said softly as he started to pull on his black suit. As he did his hair he glanced back in the mirror and noticed that Harry still hadn't moved. He turned around and walked over, kneeling in front of Harry. "Harry." He said in a stern voice and Harry looked up, looking at Louis with emotionless eyes.
"Yes?" Harry asked, voice sounding weird to himself. Louis took a deep breath.
"You need to get ready. I'll set your suit out but please get up off the bed." Louis begged and pulled at Harry's arms. Eventually he got the man up and laid the suit out. As he walked out of the room he looked back to see Harry shuffling around the room like a zombie and he shook his head slightly, making his way to Adaley's room. He knocked softly on the door.
"Come in." the little girl called softly from the other side of the door and he opened it up, seeing her in the same position Harry was in. He moved to her closet and got the black dress and matching sandals he'd gotten earlier that week. He laid the clothes next to the little girl and sat next to her.
"C'mon sunshine. We need to get you ready." Louis said softly and gently touched the curlers that he'd put into her hair the night before. Adaley looked up at him and shook her head.
"I don't want to." She said stubbornly and swatted at his hand. Hurt flashed across his face but he shook it off and sighed softly.
"C'mon. We don't want to be late. Please just get dressed." He begged and finally Adaley gave in, stripping and quickly pulling the dress on. Louis kneeled down and buckled her shoes. He picked her up, sat her at her vanity, and started to take out the curlers. Adaley looked at him through the mirror.
"Papa, can you sing the beautiful song to me?" Adaley whispered and Louis nodded, smiling slightly at her. He started to sing 'What Makes You Beautiful' softly as he worked gently on her hair. Neither one of them heard Harry walking into the room and they both jumped when they heard his voice harmonizing with Louis'. Louis smiled at him and continued to sing. Harry's arms encircled Louis' waist as he sang softly in his ear, making Louis blush. Louis gently ran the comb through Adaley's hair and nodded when he was content with the way it looked.
"I'm done. Are we ready to go?" he asked as he handed Adaley her lavender colored sweater. He turned back to the mirror and straightened out his lavender as Harry straightened his lavender bowtie. When Louis raised an eyebrow at the bowtie Harry shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Bowties are cool." He insisted and Louis laughed, shaking his head in disagreement. He shooed everyone out of the house. The ride to the funeral home was silent as all of them were deep in thought. Harry was going over his speech in his mind as they drove down the road. When they finally arrived they could see the parking lot was overflowing with cars and Harry looked at in shock. He turned to look over at Louis who was trying to navigate through all the cars.
"There's a lot of people here. I thought you said she didn't know many people." Louis murmured, putting the car in park. Harry shook his head and ran a hand through his hair repeatedly.
"She said she didn't." He mumbled and climbed out of the car, helping Adaley out and setting her on his hip. As they walked into the building Harry was overwhelmed at how many people were sitting in the chairs and standing along the wall in the back. Terrance walked up to him and hugged them both gently.
"Katie would want you guys up there with me. The other boys are up there as well." Terrance said in a low voice and Harry looked up by the casket, amazed at how the other three boys in their band were standing there.
"Why are they standing up there?" Harry asked, not meaning to sound so harsh. Terrance gave him a small smile before pulling a note out of his pocket.
"A nurse gave this to me when I went to go collect all of Katie's things. Apparently the night before her surgery Katie wrote a list of who she wanted to stand up there and why. She said she wanted Liam, Niall, Zayn, and Louis up there because she knew that even though things were rough that they did, deep down, care for her. She wanted you up there because you were her best friend." Terrance explained and Harry nodded, tearing up slightly. He walked up to the line of people and took his place next to Terrance, Adaley standing between them. Louis stood in between Harry and Niall, taking a deep breath. Countless people went through the line and Harry had a word with all of them but three people stood out in particular. As they went through the line Harry could feel someone gripping his pant leg and he looked down to see Adaley hiding behind him slightly. He gave her a confused glance and looked up at Terrance who looked like he could kill someone. Harry leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked in a low voice and Terrance looked at him, jaw set tightly.
"Those people who just walked through were our parents and Ryan." Terrance spat and Harry could feel Adaley flinch against his leg. Harry nodded slowly and looked over at the three people who he had developed a hatred for.
"Do you want me to get them escorted out? Paul is only a phone call away." Harry asked in a low voice and Terrance shook his head.
"If they start something I'll have you call him but right now they're fine. I'm not too happy they're here but they'll be fine." Terrance told him softly and Harry nodded, picking Adaley up and holding her close to him. She clung tightly to Harry's suit jacket and he gently kissed her cheek, murmuring softly to her that she'd be okay and that he'd protect her. His words seemed to have a calming effect and the rest of the handshakes went smoothly. When they all took their seats the pastor walked over to the podium and gave everyone a sad smile.
"Today we're here to celebrate the life of Katie Elizabeth Cane. There will be two people speaking in her memory. The first will be her older brother Terrance." The pastor introduced and Terrance walked up, shaking his hand quickly and taking his position behind the stand. He cleared his throat and smiled slightly.
"I'll be honest. I didn't prepare a speech. I know I can't do my baby sister justice with just words. She was always my best friend and my biggest supporter. Since she passed away I feel lost. She's been so strong throughout the years and she's never let anything get her down. I know that she wouldn't want me to stop my life because she's gone so I'm living for her now. Everything I do is for her and in memory of her. I love you Katie Kat and you'll always be the light of my life." Terrance said as tears rolled down his face. Harry walked up and hugged the man tightly, whispering words of comfort in his ear. Terrance gently kissed Harry's forehead before walking back to his seat. The pastor walked back up to the podium, nodding in acknowledgement at Harry. He looked down at the paper in his hand before speaking.
"The last person that Katie wanted to speak is Harry who she listed as her best friend." The pastor said and Harry replaced him at the stand, nodding nervously at Louis who was giving him a thumbs up. The familiar gesture made Harry's confidence grow. He took a deep breath and took a folded up paper out of his pocket, smoothing it down and laying it on the podium.
"I'm warning you now that I plan on crying." He said, causing the crowd to let out soft chuckles and that made him smile. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I want to say thank you to everyone who showed up to help us celebrate Katie's amazing life. Even though I knew her for a short while I've come to love her like my little sister. She introduced me to her little angel and she changed my life. I never got to tell her what she means to me but I will say it now." He said and his eyes seemed to glaze over as he talked. "Katie, you're my best friend and you taught me so much in such a short time. You taught me that even when people hurt you that you must use that pain to grow stronger. You had a rough life growing up but you didn't let the cycle repeat. You made a better life for yourself and your daughter. You've touched people's lives and you saved mine. I was on a downhill slope when I met you. I didn't know where I was going and the path ahead of me was dark. You took my hand and became the light I needed. You breathed me back to life. Because of you I got my lover back and I have met two of the most amazing and caring people out there. Because of you I found a reason to keep fighting. You taught me how to love through the pain and you gave me the greatest gift I could imagine. You gave me your friendship and your love. I will always love you Katie and I know you're watching over all of us from above. I hope that I make you proud in the way I raise your sunshine." He said and looked down as tears fell like Niagara Falls. Adaley ran up to him and hugged his leg tightly.
"Mommy would be proud of you Daddy. She's proud of you like I am." The little girl told him and he dropped to his knees, pulling her in tightly. She hugged him and kissed his cheek. Louis walked over to them and dropped to his knee, hugging the pair close.
"C'mon. Let's get back to our seats." Louis told them gently and helped them back to their seats, sitting Adaley on his lap. Harry clutched Louis' hand tightly as the pastor closed out the funeral. They walked out of the building and to the car, hand in hand. Side by side. As they were always meant to be.