Louis
It's been ten days since all the unfortunate events that turned our lives upside down. Alice died, Alex and Elena left, Anne is leading our opponent along with their uncle, and Vortex has most probably been plotting revenge against us and Wildfire.
Yeah, these past few days have been just fantastic for us, absolutely amazing.
We've had time to grieve and get back on our feet, especially with David being back to lead us. Harry has been staying away from anything related to the war, spending most of his days in his training room, but he would still spend some of his time with us, refusing to give in to his sadness.
The day of the funeral was when things have actually started to get better. It was really sad and I was ugly crying and on top of it all, it was raining. Harry was quiet that day and didn't speak at all until the next day when he sat with us in the mess hall and ate, asking a few brief questions.
When Zayn died, we didn't see him for almost three weeks, but now he really was trying to accept Alice's death without destroying himself and excluding us from his life again. His bloodshot eyes and dark circles underneath them were a clear sign he would do nothing but grieve when he was alone.
Since Niall was once again left without a roommate, he offered Harry to move in with him, not wanting him to be alone, and to everyone's surprise, Harry accepted it. Niall didn't want to use Zayn's former room out of respect, plus Harry probably wouldn't have allowed it.
And even though we're all getting better, each of us is still dealing with our own sadness. I think about Alex and Elena a lot, I really loved them both and they became one of my closest friends in such a short time. Of course, that's what I thought and then they ripped our non existent friendship bracelets and threw them at my face.
Ouch.
And here I thought we had something special, especially Alex and I. Well that ship has sunk obviously. But our goodbye is stored in my good memories, always making me smile whenever I think about it.
I was standing in front of the gates as Elena went to talk to Harry, watching as Alex made his way to me, a grim expression on his face. He stumbled slightly, almost tripping over his feet, making me smile but I covered it up, not wanting him to see it.
"Hey Lou," Alex said awkwardly, standing a few steps away from me, scratching the back of his head. "I uh- I'm really bad at this speech thing and I get emotional really easily, so I'm gonna be real quick and you try not to yell at me, oh and don't look at me, especially not that angrily since it kinda hurts- maybe you should close your eyes so it's easier for me."
"I'm not gonna close my eyes," I told him flatly. "That's stupid."
"Could you do that one last favour for me, please? I swear I'll be quick and then I'll be gone- oh yay thank you!" He exclaimed when I closed my eyes, doing it mostly to shut him up.
"So Lou, I know you think I'm fake and all, but I want you to know you're my best and closest friend I've ever had- and I haven't had many- actually I can't count Lenny since she's my sister so basically you were my first true friend." He paused and I had a hard time keeping my eyes closed. "I want to ask you to forgive me, I know it'll take a while, but I don't want you to be angry at me. Also, regardless of what happened, you should know I love yo- your cakes! I love your cakes. . ."
I actually felt my chest tighten at his words, I was really angry at him and Elena for what they did, but now that anger was slowly diminishing and I was starting to forgive him in that moment. He became one of my best and closest friends in such a short time and I believed his words, I wanted to believe him.
"It's good your eyes are closed, my cheeks are all warm and red and stuff- aw shit, I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry."
"And you should know I love yo- your way of eating my cakes, yes that- that was great. . ." I mumbled awkwardly, trying to keep my face emotionless.
"I'm totally mentally hugging you right now because I know you probably don't want me to touch you- Lou what are you doing is there a bug flying around you or. . ." Alex said.
I was flailing my arms in front of me, blindly trying to find his body when I remembered I can open my eyes so I did just that, coming face to face with him and his sad brown eyes. Before I could change my mind, I stepped forward and wound my arms around his waist, pulling him close to me.
It took him a second before he responded, tightly wrapping his arms around my shoulders, patting my back a few times. "I'm sorry, Lou," he said quietly.
I remained quiet, neither of us making a move to step away until someone cleared their throat, both of us jumping away to see Liam, Niall, Jess, and Tori all standing aside, watching the scene curiously. Liam and Tori had their palms pressed over their chests with sorrowful expressions on their faces as they stared at the two of us, Niall was looking everywhere but at us since he doesn't like goodbyes, and Jess was staring at us with a blank face but we all knew she was emotional deep inside, she just rarely shows it.
"Oh good, you guys are here too," Alex told them, watching them with a nervous grin on his face. "Could you all close your eyes so I can give you a speech?"
Long story short, Alex gave all of them a speech, telling Liam he hopes he never gets an STD and to always stay safe (it was a pun according to Liam), telling Niall he was the best roommate he ever had even though he would wake him up every time he would sneak a girl in the flat, he told Tori to take care of me and tie my shoelaces for me, and finally he had a quiet conversation with Jess which looked rather emotional judging by their facial expressions.
Elena came back just when he had finished with his speeches, her hazel eyes looking sad, her expression slightly upset. "Alex, we're leaving. I want you all to do something for me- well actually not for me, but for Harry." She glanced at each of us. "Don't allow him to do anything stupid and if he does, make sure you're with him. Oh and make sure he's not alone even when he claims he wants to be, I can assure you he needs company. Give him frequent hugs, he likes hugs. Oh and-"
"Babe, don't worry," Niall interrupted. "He will be okay."
They then gathered their things, prepared to leave the base, but not before I grabbed Alex's wrist, making him look at me in confusion as I raised my palm, a small smile making its way to my lips. "One last high five?"
His face broke into a bright grin as he lifted his hand and high fived me, taking a few steps backwards before turning around and leaving with his sister.
I saw Alex one more time after that, when Ethan and I went to Wildfire to bring David back to Hazard. We didn't talk, but I found out Elena left him there to go to Vortex by herself from David. Alex's facial expression showed me how hurt and sad he was, but I did nothing to comfort him.
"Louis, there are some rude as fuck soldiers waiting for you outside, they claim they're working for you?" Tori says as she pokes her head inside my office, snapping me from my thoughts.
"What, that's bullshit," I say. "Get rid of them."
"Yay okay," she says cheerfully and disappears.
"Wait- oh shit, Tori wait!" I shout as I jolt up from my seat, running after her as I remember I sent a few soldiers to spy on Vortex a few days ago when David gave me one of the most important duties in the base.
I watch as Tori turns her head to look at me, one of the soldiers lying on the ground with her foot against his throat while she holds a girl pinned to the wall with her hand wrapped around the girl's throat. She has a gun pointed at the third soldier, all three of them having terrified expressions.
"I'm kinda busy. . ." Tori mumbles and gives me a sweet smile.
"Wow that was fast- anyway uh- they're cool," I say, my lips pulling in a small awkward smile. "Sorry guys."
We've been spying Vortex more than usual, especially since we had got rid of three of their soldiers who had been staying in our base for so long without our knowledge, giving important information to our enemy. We're still not sure if we've got rid of all of them, but it feels good to know there are less fake bitches surrounding us.
My duty is to take care of security and David even gave me an office and all. Things have changed a lot, he has surrounded himself with only the people who have proved loyalty to him, keeping the others on distance. After what happened with Alex and Elena, he's not taking any chances, double checking his every move and decision.
"Okay, I told you not to come unless there's something important to tell me, like super important with a cherry on top," I say as I lean back in my seat, looking at the three soldiers lined in front of me.
One of the soldiers steps out, clearing his throat. "Sir, in one of our scouting missions we've succeeded to get in contact with our inside man. He told us Seth is working on some kind of big plan and is meeting with Americans frequently."
I narrow my eyes and nod, placing my pointer finger over my lips and brushing it over them. "Hm, what else?"
Another soldier steps out. "We've also obtained information that the twins are there and have been since H threw them out."
My eyes widen and I reach for a cup of now cold coffee on my desk, taking a sip and spitting it out on the side in a dramatic way. "Say what? So they're with them now?"
The third soldier steps out. "Apparently they're prisoners there."
"Oooh drama," Tori comments from the corner of the room, making me look at her since I didn't even know she's here.
"Okay, you're dismissed, you're off duty now so go and wait for my call." I flick my hand, waiting for them to leave the room calmly until the last one closes the door. I jump from my seat and rush around the desk at the same time Tori rushes toward me, both of us stopping and looking each other in the eyes, frantic expressions on our faces.
"We have to tell H," we say in unison.
. . . .
"Okay, we need to tell him slowly," Tori says. "Slowly and gently because he's so fragile at the moment-"
"Right, so are we supposed to sing him a song and give him a toy or what," Jess says flatly. "Just go there and tell him 'yo remember the girl you love and her brother that kind of betrayed us? Yeah they're locked up in Vortex, awkward right?'"
"Jess, that's kind of mean," Niall says.
"I don't like to beat around the bush." She shrugs. "Just go and tell him, all of you are so dramatic." She takes a sip of her coffee I only now realise she has.
"Niall and I are best huggers in the group," Liam says, making all of us give him a look except Niall, who smirks and nods. "What, it's true! So I was thinking Niall and I will hug him like really really tightly while Louis gives him the news."
"You do know if the news pisses him off, you two will be the closest ones to him so he might take it out on you?" Tori tells him.
"We know when he punches us or pushes us away, he does it out of love," Liam retorts.
"Yeah, he loves me a lot," Niall says.
"Alright guys-" I say as I look at his training room in front of which we've been standing for the past fifteen minutes "-let's just get this over with." I open the door, all five of us peeking inside before daring to come in.
Harry is just preparing to train, looking pumped and shit, making me widen my eyes and retreat back. "Okay, who's gonna tell him."
"Lou, just go!" Tori says as she pushes me inside and Niall and Liam follow me. The girls stay outside, only peeking into the room, looking like they're watching a drama show.
H turns his head to look at us, his expression stoic as he adjusts his training gloves on his hands, only raising his brow as he waits for us to speak. "Alright, which one of you messed up?" He asks.
Niall, Liam, and I all point fingers at each other in panic even though none of us actually did anything. H stares at us with a blank face and purses his lips, letting out a heavy sigh. His green eyes observe each of us as he takes a few steps closer toward us, looking scary as fuck to be honest.
I take a deep breath. "Okay, so our soldiers who have been spying on Vortex have let us know that Seth has meetings with Americans often and is planning something big so we should definitely be cautious and prepare a defence plan, oh and did I mention Alex and Elena didn't leave, they're in Vortex, so yeah that's it."
"Hold the fuck up." H raises his palm, a frown appearing on his face. "Repeat what you said."
"Seth has meetings with-"
He rolls his eyes. "No, after that."
"Alex and Elena didn't leave, they're in Vortex, locked up or something." I smile nervously.
H doesn't show any emotion, he simply blinks as he stares at the three of us. "Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure," the three of us say in unison.
H nods and turns around abruptly, taking a harsh swing and hitting the punching bag a few times angrily, growling under his breath. He keeps hitting it repeatedly before suddenly stopping, taking a step back as his chest heaves.
"Go on, hug him," Liam whispers to Niall.
"Are you mad, you hug him," Niall retorts.
"Right, so Elena and Alex are in Vortex and they're locked up," H flatly repeats. "Great that's- that's just great. I mean, it's not like we all thought they left and that chapter of our lives is finished, don't you just love plot twists?"
"Yeah, it certainly looked like they're about to leave, they even gave us their goodbyes. Elena's last goodbye was really emotional, especially when she told us to take care of you and how we should be there for you when Alice died-" Niall rambles.
"Wait, what?" Harry interrupts, his eyes widening.
I remember seeing Elena standing in David's office with tears on her cheeks, making me look at her in surprise. I thought she left, I had no idea she was still here. Niall, Liam, Jess, Tori, and I had all gathered in David's office where he had suddenly summoned us, making us all believe it had something to do with the base.
"Elena asked me to call you before she leaves, she's the only one that talked to Harry so I think it's best we all hear what she has to say," David informed us, sitting on the leather chair despite his injuries and weak state.
Elena looked at us, having trouble with keeping eye contact with us for longer than a second. "I know all of us are devastated by what happened hours ago, but I think we can agree Harry is dealing with it the worst. I know you want to give him space and think that's what he needs, but it's the exact opposite, I can assure you. Don't do what you did when Zayn died, be there for him. Sleep with him in his room tonight, comfort him, give him hugs."
She looked at David. "Especially you, as his father he needs to see you're there for him, don't let his guilt take over again, have a talk with him, try to get him to behave as rationally as he can."
She then proceeded to give us more useful instructions on how to handle Harry when he's broken, making me surprised to see how much she actually knows him, maybe even better than all of us do. I realised in that moment - when I saw her trying so hard to convince us in listening to her, in helping Harry - she really loves him. It's sad it had to end like it did.
H is quiet for a really long time as we tell him about Elena's kind gesture, his face showing no emotion. "I'm sure they're there by their own choice, they were supposed to leave but they didn't," he finally says, trying to convince himself into something that's obviously not true.
"They hate Vortex, there's no way they would willingly go back, there was absolutely no reason for them to do that," I reason. "I know they lied to us, but they helped us too. I think we- we should help them. And guess what, it comes in a package with revenge against Vortex."
"I'm with Lou," Liam says and rests his forearm on my shoulder.
"Agreed," Niall, Tori, and Jess say.
H sighs. "Look, David told me you're working on a plan to finally attack them, so I think you can all combine it with that rescue mission you want. I want nothing to do with it, with any of it. I thought I want revenge, but now I just want to be left in peace. I'm not ready to fight again, every time I do, I lose someone. I need more time."
"We respect your choice, but just so you know, you're always welcome to join in on our meetings," Niall tells him. "We just wanted you to know Elena didn't leave after all and is closer than you think. It's up to you what you'll do next, you have our full support."
"Why do you think she was there?" Liam suddenly asks, making all of us look at him. "When the three of us went to Vortex that day. Why do you think that someone who escaped that place, someone who tried to leave the country to escape would go back there? She helped us save those kids, she went there for them. If it wasn't for her, they wouldn't be alive and neither would we probably. Think about it. I feel like we should do the same for her and her brother, I know I will try to help."
"Okay wow, I don't know where did all that come from, did you hear all that, I have inner Batman or whatever, spreading justice and shit." Liam grins, completely ruining the moment, but H still seems to be affected by his words.
H thanks us and goes back to his training, silently letting us know he wants to be alone. We know he needs it from time to time, so we leave the room. My eyes search for Tori and I quickly catch up to her, the back of my hand brushing against hers, making her visibly tense. I gulp and grab her hand in mine, its warmth shooting tingles through my body, my heart starting to beat faster. The whole thing with Elena and Harry made me realise you never know when something great in your life might come to an end, so you have to make the best of it while you can.
"Okay this hand holding is cute and all, but we're gonna have to determine some ground rules if you two are planning on sleeping in our flat again," Liam says behind us. "Those walls aren't soundproof."
Tori and I turn around. "Look who's talking," we say at the same time.
Liam lifts his pointer finger and opens his mouth to reply before closing it abruptly. "Okay, I see your point, girls tend to scream when I'm in action." He smirks and lifts his hands in surrender, brushing past us with Niall and Jess, leaving the two of us alone.
"I love you," I quickly say.
Tori slips her fingers through mine, her brown eyes peering up at me. "I love you too."
a/n: another Louis pov since some of you were curious about his goodbye with Alex :) thank you for reading x