Fight For me

Turning Point

The atmosphere in the room was tense and near suffocating. Nick was taking up most of the couch looking totally unaffected, while Liam, Niall and Zayn weren't even trying to hide how they were glaring at him. Every once in a while they would glance over at Harry with a disapproving look, clearly wanting the guy out.

And so did Harry. More than anything. But Nick was a stupid weak point of Harry's. Like Simon, he felt like he owed him something. Even if he had ruined Harry's life, he had still given him a place where he belonged when he needed it.

That, and Nick was a stubborn ass who didn't take 'no' as an answer. What he wanted, he got. One way or another. So it was just easier to go along with it.

Normally Nick was pretty forward with what he wanted - usually money - but this time he hadn't even mentioned anything yet. He had just gotten comfortable on the couch, turned up the volume on the TV and basically ignored them all.

But ignoring was better than nagging.

After what felt like hours, Niall abruptly stood up. "Fuck this shit, I'm leavin'. Call when you've taken out the trash," he sneered, glaring between Harry and Nick before storming out. It didn't even take a second before Zayn and Liam followed him out, both throwing dirty looks at Nick on their way out.

Harry sighed mentally, wanting to massage his temples but refrained, knowing the upcoming headache wasn't going away anytime soon. Nick didn't even look up, staring at the TV as if he was bored.

And he was annoying the fuck out of Harry.

Getting fed up with Nick's behavior, Harry stood up and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV. "What the fuck do you want Nick?" he growled, towering over the older man on the couch. "Is it money? 'Cause I'm not bailing your stupid friends outta jail again."

Nick blinked at him a couple of times, still looking incredibly bored and not at all affected by Harry's aggressive tone. Then he sighed and sat up straighter, clasping his hands together. "I need a place to stay for the night."

Letting out a scoff, Harry shook his head in disbelief. No way this leech was staying with him for longer than an hour. He was like a magnet for trouble. And he was annoying as fuck.

"And why the hell would I let you stay?" Harry countered angrily.

"Because you have a good heart and want to help out an old friend in need?" Nick tried, blinking up at Harry innocently but Harry wasn't impressed and just raised an eyebrow impatiently.

Sighing again, Nick realized Harry wasn't buying his shit and all traces of humor disappeared. "Okay look, I might've pissed off the wrong people and I need to drop off the grid for a day or two. They can't tie me to you so I should be safe here. Now, I'd like it if I could avoid it, but I'm not opposed to begging." He looked up at Harry, "I really need your help, man."

Of fucking course. Nick was in trouble and once again needed Harry because he couldn't deal with problems himself. And if Harry refused it was almost a guarantee that Nick would rat him out to whoever wanted to get their hands on Harry at the moment, which was a lot of people.

He actually didn't really have a choice. Nick had been playing this game for too long and always managed to stay one step ahead of Harry.

"Goddammit Nick, don't you have any other friends you can annoy?" Harry groaned, running a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh. Nick just smiled and shrugged, trying to look innocent. In reality, he was anything but.

Still, Harry didn't have a choice. "Fine! But you're staying on the couch. No snooping around - I'll know if something is missing! - and stay out of my room!"