Louis Tomlinson
I woke up the next morning to a knock on the bedroom door. I shifted out from under Harry's legs gently and threw on my boxers, Harry still snoring away.
"Yeah?" I whispered and opened the door to see Zayn.
"Come here, "he said quietly. I followed him back to the living room and the news was on. They were reporting on the robbery.
"Ohhhh, nice," I mumbled, crossing my arms and watching it. Then, I heard them mentioning a gang from Peckham saying they thought they were to blame for it. "What the fuck?"
"Yep," Zayn nodded slowly, "they're being questioned."
"That's good or bad?" I asked.
"Uh, I'm not sure," Zayn sighed.
"Harry said they knew that Darren bought him the house," I said quietly looking at him.
Zayn turned to me surprised, "what?"
I nodded, "yeah, said they found out he had protected him."
"Oh, that's just fucking grand," Zayn mumbled lowly. "They fucking seen us there. They could easily point this to us."
I stayed quiet and turned my attention back to the tv. They began mentioning Calvin and his charge back in June of 2011... then, they showed Jeff on the screen. He was actually quite handsome. And for some reason, I could see Harry in his smile.
"He was a great friend," Zayn whispered.
"Harry said he was amazing," I said softly, "he talked about all the things they used to do."
Zayn nodded a little, breaking his eyes away from the tv, "they were inseparable from the beginning."
"I'm guessing you knew him well, too?" I asked him.
"I did, yeah," he replied and picked up his cigarettes. I followed him out on the balcony while he passed them to me.
"Louis," he started while he glanced off down the street, "when I first met you, and I seen Harry looking at you like he did... it reminded me of them. Don't take that the wrong way..."
"No," I shook my head.
"Let me explain this better," Zayn sighed, "you didn't remind me of Jeff... I mean, yeah, your personalities are similar. Harry loves you... he loves you like he's never loved anyone. This goes beyond Jeff... I've never seen him look at someone like he does you. I knew you were special to him."
I smiled as he went on.
"You're all I've heard about. Harry is finally happy like he used to be, except even more. He cared about Jeff a lot, but I don't think he realized what love was until he met you."
I grinned even more as I stared off, "he means a lot to me."
"I know he does," he nodded slowly, "and I'm glad it's you."
"So," I started, "what happens if Mark and the others tell it was us?"
"There's no evidence in that flat that points to them," Zayn started explaining, "they know they'll get off easy... and they take care of things away from the police."
"So, you're telling me they'll look for us," I said, "cause they know it was us?"
"We had on everything that matches a burglary," he sighed, "yeah, they'll know, if the gits know Darren bought the fucking house for Harry. It only makes sense..."
"They're gonna think we set them up," I almost exclaimed.
Zayn pointed at me, "glad you caught that."
"Fuck," I said, "they're not coming after Harry. Fuck, no. I will fucking kill them."
"Look, as long as we don't go there or anywhere near there, we'll be fine," he said seriously, "they can't get in where they believe Harry is. And they won't start trouble up here in the middle of London... we don't go looking for trouble, we won't find it."
I nodded a little, "what... what happens if we do find it?"
He finished off his cigarette and sighed out the hit, "we protect Harry."
I bit my lip as I hit mine and stood there lost in my own thoughts. I wasn't letting him go anywhere alone. I wouldn't risk anything happening to him.
"You lads are up early," I heard Liam from the doorway.
"Yeah, uh..."
"The news," Zayn interrupted me and remained calm, "they've taken in Calvin's guys for questioning. For the robbery."
Liam's eyes grew wide, "what?"
"Yeah, and apparently they also know Johnson bought the fucking house for Harry," Zayn said irritably, "and they seen us..."
"What the hell are we going to do?" Liam asked looking from Zayn to me.
"We should be fine... I don't think they'd come looking for us... They think Harry still lives in the fucking mansion," Zayn said lowly.
"Those bastards are after you?" I heard Niall speak up.
"We don't know," I replied, "but, yeah, we kinda suspect they will be."
"They ran into you 3 streets up," Niall said, "they're gonna know..."
"We know," Zayn and I replied together.
"We need to get Harry away from here," Liam spoke up.
"That's gonna look fucking suspicious, Payno," I started, "him leaving so close to the burglary of his abuser's home."
"No one knows about him and Darren but us," Liam looked back, "surely, none of Darren's neighbors know..."
"Really?" Zayn turned to him, "if this 20 year old kid is coming to a nearly 40 year old professor's flat every other fucking night, what do you think his neighbors think they're doing?"
"Do they know Harry?" I asked quietly, "like know his name and all?"
"That's a question for Harry," Zayn sighed, "I wouldn't know... I didn't even know they knew it was Darren's place."
"They're out to get him for testifying against Calvin, aren't they?" I almost whispered.
"Mostly," Zayn nodded, "and he was there when Jeff was murdered. They want Harry dead just as much as they wanted Jeff dead."
"What do we do?" Niall asked.
"We lay low," Zayn answered, "I know them... yeah, they're gonna look for Harry... but they may also look for someone else."
All eyes turned to me and I bit my lip again, "so, they're gonna look for me, too?"
Zayn nodded slowly, "I have no doubt they will... and they'll start with the university..."
"Which they'll think I live in the dorms," I said.
"For now," he nodded, "they always find out shit.... it's only a matter of time before they realize where Harry is."
The balcony door opened again and there stood Harry, his hair a complete mess like always and in nothing but his light blue boxers. We all looked over at him while he pushed his hair back and looked directly at me.
"What's going on? Did I miss something? Like my death sentence?" He joked.
I looked at Zayn, who looked back at me, "they took in Mark and the guys for questioning."
Harry's small smile was gone as he looked at me in disbelief, "what?"
"Harry, look, we should just lay low," Zayn started.
"They're gonna think I set them up," Harry shouted, "they're going to fucking think I called the police and told them."
"Calm down," Zayn said loudly, "nothing is gonna happen to you."
"We can't just sit here," Niall spoke up, "if they find out shit quick, we're sitting ducks here."
"What about Gemma?" I asked, "if we leave..."
"We leave, she'll be fine," Harry replied, "they won't bother her unless she's trying to protect me. We've got to leave."
"Harry, if we do, it's going to look odd..."
"I don't fucking care," Harry yelled over Zayn, "nothing will happen to my sister... or Lou."
"They're after you," I whispered.
"yeah," he nodded, "but they'll take you away, too. And they won't even hesitate."
I grabbed him and pulled him to me, "nothing's gonna happen to me, love. And nothing will happen to you."
"I hope you're right," he whispered, then looked back at Zayn, "we should just leave for a couple of days. But they're not going to forget about me. No matter how long we stay gone, they're gonna try to find me."
"I know that," Zayn sounded annoyed, "don't you think I remember how this works, Harry? We used to do this to innocent punks... I fucking remember."
"Yeah, well, now I'm that punk," Harry said quieter, "and they'll find me eventually. The safest place to be is..."
"No!" Zayn shouted at him, "we are NOT going back to Darren's... What do you think will happen?! He'll fucking do what he's always done to you!"
"Then, where else?" Harry shouted back.
"Uh, let's take this inside," Liam whispered looking at the surrounding balconies. There were several people watching this conversation.
Everyone piled back in, me holding Harry by his waist as I whispered comfort to him, though I knew it probably wasn't going to help.
"They're at the police station now," Zayn crossed his arms, "so, let's come up with a plan."
"Ireland," Niall spoke up immediately.
Liam, Zayn, Harry, and I all exchanged looks. Sounded brilliant to me... not too far away.
"Not a bad idea," Liam nodded, "but if I'm going to Ireland, I'm taking Sophia."
"Liam," Harry started, "this isn't your fight... you don't have to go. They won't even bother you, or Niall. You had nothing to do with them."
"Yeah, but we won't sit here while you 3 run off," Niall said seriously, "you're like my brother, Harry. And I will fight for you like you are."
Harry smiled a little as Niall hugged him, "thanks, man."
"He's right," Liam said, "we are brothers. And we will help you."
Harry hugged him Liam next, "I'm really grateful to have you. Thank you."
Liam let him go and gently rubbed the back of his neck, "you've been through enough shit. You're not gonna lose us when you need us the most."
"So, Ireland," I started, "where?"
"well, we can stay with my family in Mullingar, or we can go to Dublin," he shrugged, "I have some friends up there. They'd have a place for us to stay."
"Sounds lovely," I smiled, "I've never been."
"I have. It's gorgeous," Harry turned to me, "it's beautiful in the winter time."
"You've been?" I asked.
"Yeah, he went with me for New Years," Niall nodded.
"Darren wanted me to spend it with him," Harry mumbled, "I... I went with Niall to avoid him."
"What do we tell Gem?" Zayn asked.
"I... I don't want to lie to her," Harry sighed, "I'll explain it to her. She's going to hate me."
"She won't hate you," I stepped over and put my arm around his waist, "look, don't tell her right now. Just tell her to be careful."
"They think we're still in Darren's house," Zayn said, "would've been nice to know they knew it was his house, Harry."
"I... I didn't think that was important," Harry said quietly, "I really didn't think it'd ever matter... I was wrong again."
"Yeah, well, we're sort of fucked now, since they do know," Zayn said lowly. "Look, don't tell Gemma yet, alright? Let's just pack and get the hell out of here for a week or so."
"What happens if we return and they're on our asses?" Niall asked looking from Zayn to Harry.
"We figure that out later," Zayn replied looking at Harry.
"You sure we should just leave?" Liam asked.
"I... I think it's best," Zayn nodded, "Harry?"
Harry crossed his arms and sighed, "let's go for a few days. I like the sound of Ireland again."
Niall smiled and nodded while Harry hurried off to our bedroom. I followed him slowly and watched him pulling out clothes from his bag.
"You alright, love?" I asked.
"I'm good," he replied, "so, Ireland..."
I smiled a little as I watched him, "sounds lovely to me... country side, waking up to the sunrise with you every morning."
Harry smiled up at me, "you can always turn something bad into something that sounds amazing, you know."
"Can I?" I smirked a little and gathered up my own clothes, "need some help in that shower?"
"Uh, I'll manage,". He grinned, "but you can join me if you like."
"I'd like to very much," I smiled and kissed him gently, "shall we?"
He grinned and stood in the doorway, "lead the way, love."
Zayn was making arrangements for our flights, Niall was on the phone with his friends back home, and Liam was doing his best to talk Sophia into going. While Harry and I... well, we just blocked out the shit storm that was swirling all around us for the few moments of bliss in the shower. He was smiling and laughing... I couldn't have asked for anything else.