Disasterology 16
Destiel on the side ->
The following days were filled with sleep, Supernatural episodes and visits from Niall and Louis. Those last two actually ended up spending more time at Zayn's house than in Niall's flat. Harry found out that Destiel was Zayn's OTP, two guys from Superatural he shipped. He had to admit that they did look kind of cute together.
Harry slowly got better. His ribs still hurt (Zayn said they would for quite a long time), his black eye was gone and so was his headache. There were still ugly bruises all over his body and the burns hadn't healed yet, they would probably never completely disappear. Zayn said that it didn't matter and promised him they would be the last wounds to ever scar Harry's body, but Harry knew he was lying.
At this very moment, Zayn and Harry were seated on the couch, Zayn with his laptop on his lap, editing some of Louis's latest work, and Harry was watching another Supernatural episode. They were cuddling, a complicated mess of limbs, when Louis and Niall came in. They didn't knock, they had their own key now. This way, Harry and Zayn didn't have to untangle themselves every time the duo stopped by.
"Hey, man, what's up?"
Niall asked, he was still trying to regain his friendship with Harry. Harry replied with the necessary small talk, but he tried his best to avoid any further communication. He didn't like talking, unless he was talking to Zayn in the middle of the night, wrapped in Zayn's arms and the soft duvets. Niall didn't give up though. Harry wondered whether the boy even noticed that Harry didn't like their conversations.
"Zayn, can I talk to you for a second?"
Louis asked once they, too, were seated on one of the couches, both of them holding a steaming mug of tea. It kept getting colder and colder outside, something that wasn't noticeable in Zayn's house. The heating was always on and it was just cold enough to wrap yourself in a blanket.
"If you want to talk to me, you have to talk to Harry."
Zayn replied, earning himself a smile from Harry. Even though he didn't talk much, he knew everything that was going on. He just observed everyone and everything.
"Are you sure?"
Louis insisted, his gaze nervously shifting from Zayn to Harry and back. Zayn sent him a glare. Yeah, it was true that Harry couldn't be treated like a normal person. Zayn babied him and protected him, but he didn't keep anything from Harry. And even if he would, he'd never do it in his face like this.
Louis sighed, somewhat getting Zayn's point.
"I'm going to go back to my place. Ya know, check out what was burned, what wasn't burned and move some stuff to Niall's flat."
This caught Harry's attention. All of a sudden, he wasn't all that interested in the two guys on TV anymore, who were obviously head over heels for each other but didn't want to admit it, and he didn't bother to hide it. He felt Zayn tense underneath him.
"And?"
Zayn whispered, his content smile replaced by a look of distress.
"I was wondering whether there was stuff you need, or maybe Harry wanted to go back one last time. I don't know."
Louis explained, the words tumbled out of his mouth and his voice sounded unsure.
"Why would he want to go back to a pl-"
"No, he's right."
Harry interrupted Zayn's protest, kind of glad that somebody was voicing the idea that had been haunting him for the past few days. He wanted to see the rest of the house so badly. He wanted to see where Niall had sat with a cup of tea and tears streaming down his face. He wanted to see the kitchen where the three of them had had a fight and the room where Zayn used to sleep when he stayed the night. All he had seen was that white room with the mattress and a glimpse of the corridor. He had to see more in order to see Louis as a human being.
"I really want to go back, Zayn."
He clarified. Zayn sighed, his eyes widened with worry.
"Fine, if you insist. Do you want me to come with you?"
He wasn't happy with the thought of Harry paying a visit to the place where he was tortured and brainwashed. What if it brought back memories? What if they went back to square one once again? He couldn't bare the thought of Harry being afraid of him, not wanting to touch him or share the same bed. But if this was what Harry wanted, then so be it.
"No, I'd like to go alone, if that's okay with Louis. I promise I won't break anything."
"Yeah, of course I'm okay with that, Harry. I trust you."
Louis said, a nice smile on his face. He wasn't beaming, like he usually did when he was talking to Niall, it was a gentle smile. As if he was testing Harry, trying to find out how much Harry liked him.
"That can be arranged. Are you sure you really want this?"
Harry answered Zayn's question with a nod. He'd thought about this over and over again and yes, he was sure.
"If you want to, we could drop you off and we could get tea somewhere near Louis's house. When you're ready, you just have to call and Zayn could pick you up."
Niall suggested. He seemed delighted that Harry was talking, something that kind of saddened Harry.
But that was okay.
He knew that from his visit to the house on, things would only go up for him.
***
A few hours later, Zayn, Harry and Niall were patiently waiting in the car in front of Louis's house. Louis was inside, taking some of his possessions with him and trying to estimate the damage.
Before they left, Zayn had asked Harry one last time if he was sure. Right now, he was pressing the younger boy to his chest as tightly as he could, afraid that this might be the last chance he got to in a long time, if not forever.
When Louis returned, Harry obviously perked up. Zayn didn't understand why though. He didn't feel too happy about going back in himself.
"I'll see you later, okay? Just call if you need me."
Zayn said, his eyes widened with worry. He was still hoping Harry might change his mind.
"Of course, Zayn. Go have some tea, Niall knows all the best coffee shops in town."
Harry whispered, a weak smile on his face. Whispering had become his normal way of talking, he didn't like to raise his voice.
He received a quick kiss on the cheek from Zayn, a thumbs up from Niall and Louis handed him the keys. He didn't know why though, the door was open. Maybe he just wanted to make it a little more official.
Harry got out of the car, too excited to notice the pain it caused him. Walking was still painful, something he would never admit to Zayn.
Though he was definitely delighted, he was also nervous. What if he didn't find what he was looking for?
He gently pushed the front door open, peeking inside. For a second, he doubted himself. Was this the right house? But then he smelled the familiar smell of Louis. LouisLouisLouis.
The living room looked awfully comfortable and warm. This was the place where Louis used to write the things Zayn edits, something he now did on Niall's couch. The couch where Harry used to sit. He could imagine Niall sitting there, sobbing his eyes out.
He tore his gaze from the spot before it upset him. Hesitantly, he made his way to the staircase. This wasn't much better though. He could now imagine Zayn carrying him down these steps, tears streaming down his face. After a lot of whining, Zayn had told him a little about that day. And even though Zayn wouldn't let him see his body the first few days he got out, he guessed it must've looked pretty bad. At least the scars did.
When he reached the top of the staircase, he found a bunch of doors. Louis had told him which room was which before they got here and he soon identified his room, the bathroom, Louis's room and the spare room.
Deciding the spare room wasn't worth checking out, he entered the bathroom first. He immediately recognised it. The tiles were still the same old tiles, the tiles that blurred when his head was pushed under water. The bath was still the same. Everything was still the same.
With a sigh, he filed out the room. Next on his list was Louis's room.
Luckily, Louis had given him permission to enter his room, so Harry didn't have to feel guilty for going through his stuff. He pulled open random drawers, mostly finding clothes and books.
There were a few accidents though.
Like when he found the lighter and the belt.
It only encouraged him even more to find what he was looking for.
A few minutes later, he went to the wooden door with the key. Zayn told him that one day, he had been sitting outside this door, listening to Harry.
Harry didn't know whether that made him happy or sad, something that happened very often lately.
The door was already unlocked, so he didn't need to use the key that hung next to the door frame.
A gasp escaped his lips when he pushed the door open. His room was almost completely destroyed.
The walls were black, the floor was black. There was barely anything left of the white paint. The only thing that proved to him that, yes, he was in the right room, was the half burnt mattress.
Tears clouding his vision, he sunk down on it.
It was still as uncomfortable, it still had some red stains, it still smelled horrible.
With trembling fingers, he reached for his phone.
"Zayn, I'm done. Please come pick me up."
He whispered, not able to stay in the house any longer.
But that was okay, he had found what he needed.
A/N
Sorry for taking so long to update. To the people asking whether this'll turn into a Larry fic, I'm sorry but no. The story'll end soon.
Anyway. What do you think? What's been your fave chapter so far?