Harry.
I pulled up outside the arena. Paparazzi surrounded the entrance, flashing lights going off in every direction possible. I get that this is a big fight for Louis but he doesn't need to fight. This isn't who he is.
I strolled up to the crowded entrance and managed to slip through the doors. I noticed a few of Louis' friends stood talking in a group. I walked over and greeted them. How is it that Louis can have so many friends yet make himself so distant from the world?
I hadn't realise how long I'd been talking when everyone began to separate. I nervously walked into the crowd; searched the mass of people. I noticed Liam and Niall taking seats near the cage, an empty chair beside them. Surely, they haven't saved a chair for me. I laughed slightly at the thought.
Liam had come to hate me, he blamed me for the reason that Louis left. Maybe he was right, maybe I was the reason but he couldn't 100% blame me...part of this was Louis fault too. I walked down the aisle to the front row of seats. Liam and Niall was in a full blown conversation, talking about how Niall would or wouldn't be able to defeat his opponent.
"It's true Niall, I've seen him...your meat mate." I chuckled. Niall's head raised and his eyes grew wide. He jumped up from his seat and embraced me in one of his rib crushing hugs. I patted his back and smiled. Liam looked at me, daggers shooting me down. Niall let go of me and I took my seat. I looked off to the side and sighed. Liam was being so stubborn, set in his ways about me. I heard Louis' entrance music, the loud sound echoing through the arena. Excruciating screams came from the crowd, Liam and Niall cheering him on. I sat, completely frozen. My body wouldn't move yet my eyes remained locked on Louis. He stood in the ring in a state of pure determination, his eyes glistening in the strobe lights flashing all around him.
My thoughts got cut short when I heard the announcer telling everyone who Louis' opponent is. I felt anger rush through my body as Josh bounced through the door. My hands balled into fist, my face becoming hot, flushed. I gritted my teeth and began to breathe or rather snarl through my nose. I felt Niall tense beside me. I turned my head to look at Liam, fright on his face. As the anger increased in my body, I lunged at Liam.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" I screamed as Niall grabbed me in mid air. Niall placed my feet firmly back on the ground. Liam stood the other side of Niall, confusion on his face. "YOU LET THIS HAPPEN! HOW COULD YOU?"
"This has nothing to do with me Harry." Liam said calmly, sitting back down. I laughed.
"Liam, you hate me. I get that, I hurt your friend. Fine." I held my hands up in the air. "But you can't always blame me. You know what kind of guy Josh is and I do not believe for 1 second that you did not know anything about this before Louis did." I growled. Liam smirked.
"You know what Harry, fine. I knew about it." Liam stood from his chair, pushing Niall out of the way. He stood about an inch from my face. "I didn't tell Louis but Josh needs teaching Harry, the only person that can do that is Louis. I do blame you but I know Louis hurt you too. You are both to blame, if it was the other way round I would have done the same to him. Louis is an incredible fighter you know that. Josh can't do anything stupid, anything against the rules he gets disqualified."
"I'm not bothered Liam! Go and stop it NOW!" I screamed. Liam simply shook his head.
"Sit down Harry, stop making a scene." I shook my head, I sighed. I sat back down with my head in my hands. I felt a hand on my back, rubbing up and down trying to calm me down. I couldn't believe that Louis is going to fight this man. The man that made my life hell.
The bell rang and I once again heard screams and shouts, mainly for Louis. I lifted my head out of my hands gingerly and focused my eyes upon the cage. Neither Louis nor Josh were backing down, punches being thrown left, right and centre. I felt tears filling my eyes, threatening to fall. I bit my lip as I continued to watch the scenes unfolding in front of me. Niall and Liam now stood, shouting encouraging things at Louis.
Louis punched Josh in the stomach, causing Josh to stumble back. His back laid flat against the cage, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He was failing.
Louis' gaze turned towards me, hope in his eyes. His gaze dropped once he saw the terror in mine, he bit his lip and focused back on Josh.
The fight continued for another 3 rounds, me sat perched on the edge of my chair. It was the last round and Josh wasn't taking no for an answer. I could see Louis fading, his body becoming limp and tired, his face dropping yet his eyes still screaming determination. They stood eye to eye, the referee lowered his hand for the last time. Louis bounced on his toes, Josh mirroring Louis' every move. Louis was gonna lose. I aggressively ran my hands up and down my face, the friction causing heat on my cheeks. I closed my eyes, too afraid to watch.
I heard a gasp in the crowd, I raised my head. I looked at the ring, Josh laid on the ring floor, in a pile. Louis bouncing up and down. The ref counting down from 10, Josh groaned. He tried desperately to get up yet he couldn't. The final bell rang, Louis had done it. He'd won the belt. I sighed heavily, glad that it was over...even though I knew that this was far from over.
Louis.
I snapped out my trance once my arm was lifted in the air. I looked towards the ring floor, Josh laid there like a pile of rubble. Blood stained his face. The referee brought over the belt, I took it out of his hand and raised it high above my head. I glanced over to Liam, Niall and Harry. 2 out of 3 of them were cheering. Harry sat there with a sad look on his face, he was staring annoyingly at me. I sighed before exiting the ring and walking away, waving to the crowd, holding the belt tightly.
I did it. I beat that prick and I did it for Harry.
"I guess, congratulations are in order." The Cheshire voice echoed around the empty changing room. I exhaled calmly before turning around. Harry's face was red raw, his cheeks flushed. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, his body leaned slightly against the wall. I looked down at the belt before placing it onto the bench beside me.
"I guess." I muttered quietly.
"Why did you do it Louis?" Harry questioned harshly. I bit my lip and looked at Harry. The sweet and quiet boy now angry and annoyed.
"To prove something, I guess." I shrugged my shoulders. "To get the prize." I continued. Harry stood up straight.
"What's the prize? The belt? Me?" Harry began pacing the room, his hands flew from his pockets to his hair. "What did you need to prove? That you could beat him? That you love me? Because if that's the case then you're playing a dangerous game Louis."
"I-I" I opened my mouth to speak but Harry cut me off.
"I get it Louis. I hurt you, God, I probably broke you but you did the same to me and doing this isn't proving anything." Harry's hands flew around his body, his voice becoming angry. "This isn't showing me you love me. We haven't spoken about anything yet but you want to talk then fine." Harry walked over to me and pushed my shoulder forcing my body to sit on the bench.
"Harry, please can we do this at home?" I asked, trying to stay calm.
"No Louis, you know why?" Harry's head snapped towards mine. "Because you've just added fuel to years of fucking fire."
Harry walked away, grunting under his breath.
"I-I didn't know." I sighed, tears filling my eyes.
"Because I never told you." Harry grunted. He walked over to me and bent down so our faces were inches apart. "You have just made this whole situation worse and you are going to sit there while I tell you why." I nodded with my bottom lip between my teeth before Harry stood back up, he walked over to the changing room door and locked it. Preventing anyone, I assume Liam and Niall entering.
"I'll start from the beginning. I've known Josh all my life, his mum was my mums best friend. We grew up together, went to the same schools. We were inseparable...that was until high school." Harry stopped pacing, his body became rigid and tense. All I wanted to was go over and hold him in my arms. I, however remained seated. "In high school, I finally found myself. Figured out I was gay...I told who I thought was my best friend, little did I know he was homophobic."
"But you and him?" I questioned, curious as to how they ended up together.
"I know. He became the school bully, making me his target. I tried to tell my mum but she was still set that Josh was the sweet little boy that had always been so kind and nice. She never believed anything I said, this was when my relationship with not only my mum but my whole family began to decline. I would get beaten daily by Josh and his so called 'gang'" Harry made quotation marks in the air with a sarcastic look on his face. "But obviously I couldn't say anything because no one believed me, not even the teachers. He was cleaver about his beatings, I'll give him that. Never did it in places people would see, I became the school fag. Everyone hated me, the first reason my mental health dropped. The self harm began, bruises here and there. Scratches, cuts with blades. Alcohol, drugs...you name it. I was nothing." Harry sat down on the bench opposite me, his face becoming sad.
"What happened?" I asked, apprehensively.
"I didn't overdose or anything if that's what you mean. I left school, went to college. When I was 18 I met Josh again. He seemed sweet, liked he'd changed. I fell in love and I fell deeply. Josh told me he'd loved me since we were kids...bullied me because he was scared to be open about his sexuality and like the naive little piece of shit I am, I believed him." Harry's eye began filling up with tears, his head dropped towards the floor. "The first 6 months were fine, happy. Then something inside him snapped. He'd get angry over the slightest thing, we'd argue. A couple of months later he became violent. Hitting me, beating me just like he had in school. Forcing me to have sex...that's how I fell pregnant. Once I told him he flew off the handle. Calling me scum...wanting me to abort her. I couldn't." Harry's tears hit the concrete floor, the sound of the water hitting the floor boomed through the room. I stood from the bench and slowly paced over to Harry. I sat down beside him and placed my arm around him. He shrugged me off, I felt unwanted.
"So Josh beat me one last time before disappearing forever. I was left alone, I then met Zayn, he was the only person to stick by me. Even my family left. They moved away, telling me they never wanted to see me again, which they didn't. Not even a phone call. Me and Zayn got a place together, this was when I thought things were going to improve yet it didn't. I didn't have an easy pregnancy with Belle, it was complicated with a fifty fifty chance she'd survive or so they said. My mental health declined once again...I never hit the drugs or the bottle but I was bad. Then I gave birth to Belle with none of the people I needed but someone I'd known for 6 months." Harry paused, his hands linked together.
"Then I met you." I sighed.
"And I made your life hell again." I stated. Harry laughed and shook his head.
"Are you joking? You made not only my life better but my daughters Louis. You just haven't made it easy. Especially by doing shit like this."
"I didn't realise how bad it was Harry." I admitted with a sad tone.
"You never asked and I never said. I'm sorry Louis if you think I'm difficult or if I hurt you. It's never my intention...I just don't open up easily. This is why I didn't want your help, why I couldn't say I'd marry you. My heads not in the right place, I, I just can't." Harry began to sob into his hands. I pulled him into my chest, holding him tightly.
"It's fine, I shouldn't be so pushy." I sighed, resting my chin in his brown curls.
"You need to talk to Zayn, Lou. You need to know how to control me when I become bad because it will happen trust me." I nodded my head and sighed.
"What do you thinks gonna happen Haz?" I asked. "With Josh I mean."
"I don't know but you have literally ignited an old flame and it's gonna blow up." Harry raised his head and looked me dead in the eye.
"I promise."