Ghost | L.S

epilogue

harry gets a call informing him of his mother's only brother's demise.

as he receives the news, he slaps a shaky hand over his mouth, drops the phone onto the floor in their manhattan apartment. not because of the shock or the sadness. he was never close with his uncle. no, because of the reminder. the reminder of everything harry has been trying to forget ever since he was sixteen.
he is asked to attend a cremation in salisbury next month.

harry politely declines the offer and goes to lie on the couch.

his first thought goes to, well, everything. but first of everything, it goes to a certain boy. a name harry has stuffed into a tiny, little box, locked it and kept it at the very back of his heart. the name of the boy was.

louis.

he shuts his eyes, allows himself to say the name out loud, and suddenly he is back in his uncle's mansion in salisbury many years ago. harry met him for the first time in his bedroom whilst trying to find a book he had been looking for.

"babe?"

harry snaps out of his imagination and opens his eyes, startled. he is met with his fiancée's concerned, blue eyes. the man is leaning over the couch to get a look at harry. he must've come directly from work, because on his shoulder is his courier bag dangling slightly.

"are you okay?"

harry silently shakes his head and points to the phone that is still left on the wooden floor. niall frowns and goes to pick it up. he then averts his gaze back to harry, a lost and helpless expression on his face.

harry breathes. "they called. my uncle has passed away," he explains to the blond man. niall covers his mouth with his hands. harry hasn't remotely mentioned his uncle in years.

"god, that's horrendous, harry," he says, stepping closer and taking his fiancée's hand to rub circles in it. "did you get invited to a funeral?"

harry nods.

"are you going?"

"no. i don't think so. i declined," harry says. "we couldn't be able to afford it anyway. the ceremony is in salisbury."

"are you sure? i'm sure we could find a way to go," niall pushes.

"yes, i'm pretty sure. but i guess i'll still think about it," harry sighs and gets up. new york is good for him. it is a fresh start, he thinks. far away from home. he can't imagine going back now.

•••

harry manages to convince niall to let him fly out to england by himself. he could use some time for himself if he really is going to the funeral. and like always, niall understands. harry loves him for that.

after the ceremony, harry decides to go for a walk around the town. he starts by walking in the forest. it's been fourteen years, and yet the surroundings haven't changed a bit.

the school is still there. harry grimaces at the fair share of bad memories he's had. he looks through the window into the cafeteria and sees teenagers in there. it's as if nothing has changed. except for his own age, of course.

he subconsciously walks towards the mansion. he doesn't even have to stop to think about the directions. it is like he is just walking home from yet another horrible day at school, he thinks. being in salisbury is making him feel like he's young again.

and there it is. right in front of him. nothing changed. except, maybe the colors have faded a bit, but it could easily just be his imagination. the balconies are the same. the grass. the asphalt where he'd draw with chalk. even the large garage.

he misses painting and drawing. another thing harry left behind when he moved. he sighs, suddenly getting the urge to find some of his old art supplies and just paint away.

he remembers everything. being just sixteen years old. seeing a ghost in his bedroom. the fear he felt at first. how weak he was. he remembers believing he was hallucinating. how long it took for him to actually accept the impossible. and yet still be in doubt. he remembers later befriending the dead boy. the dead boy taking care of him. falling in love with the him. he remembers breaking the dead boy's heart. he relives everything as it flashes before him.

it has been many years since harry moved back to london. he remembers the following months. he wanted to cut out everything in his memory from that one year. ever since he moved away, he has not set foot in that town again. he thought that if he not so much as thought of it, it would protect him from the hurt he felt in his heart every time louis randomly crossed his mind.

he did his best to forget about what happened. he was actually excellent at distracting himself. and as soon as he was legal, he moved out to find his own place.

despite his promise, harry never sent niall a single message in the years after he moved away. it was hard to ignore the only true friend he actually had. however, he couldn't keep getting reminded of that town. and the things that happened to him. only two years ago did he and niall meet up for the first time ever since. it didn't take long before the two started to catch feelings. niall was the one who proposed.

and harry loves niall. niall is perfect. niall is security. he treats him with respect and love.

sometimes he feels guilty about not loving him just as much has he loved louis. he often convinces himself that feelings are more intense when you're a teenager. but he doesn't even believe that himself.

truthfully, the ghost didn't leave harry's mind completely until numerous years passed by. and even now, louis' name will occasionally randomly pop up into harry's head, and he will sometimes let himself ponder and wonder what the ghost is up to now. if he is still living in that mansion, if he is messing with other people in all kinds of houses, or if he has finally found peace.