I'm Not Fine At All

Chapter 7

Liam finished up with his work in less than an hour and came back into the front room to find Harry snoring quietly on the sofa. The older lad didn't want to wake the boy from his slumber, knowing that he had been having a hard time sleeping, so he took a blanket off the back of the couch and covered the boy's tiny frame. Harry sighed softly and nuzzled further into the couch, making Liam smile. The older boy pecked the younger lad on the forehead and went into the kitchen, settling down at the kitchen table with the week's newspaper.

The tall brunette was interrupted from his reading by a loud knock at the front door. Liam set his newspaper down and walked to the door, grinning when he saw his best mate standing on the other side. "Hey, mate." Zayn waved, flashing his bright smile. "I just brought over some cookies that Safaa baked. I figured Harry might like them, since he's a kid and I know kids like sweets." Liam snorted and took the bag from the raven-haired boy. "Mate, he's sixteen, not four." Zayn flushed and ducked his head down. "Sorry. I mean, he just looks so young and...I don't know. Can I come in?"

The smaller-built man went to step into the apartment but was stopped by Liam's hand on his chest. Zayn looked up at him questioningly. "He's, umm, napping right now and he hasn't been sleeping well recently. I feel bad for him." Zayn lifted the other lad's chin up with his finger. "I could come over after he wakes up, yeah?" Liam shook his head again. "No, sorry mate. We're going to do a little cuddle thing, where we bundle up under blankets and eat shit food while we watch movies. No outsiders allowed." Liam tapped on the boy's chest as he said the last three words, making him giggle. "Alright, alright." Zayn put his hands up. "I'm leaving. Love you, Li, see you later." Liam smiled as Zayn pecked his cheek and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Liam was about to sit back down at the table when he heard the sound of tiny bare feet pattering on the hardwood floor. Harry walked into the room a few seconds later with a blanket wrapped around his shoulder, hands rubbing at his eyes sleepily (and adorably). "Hi, Harry. Did you sleep okay?" Harry nodded and yawned loudly, his mouth opening wide. "Do you want to help me get the snacks ready?" Liam said as he opened the fridge. Harry nodded again and walked over to one of the cabinets, opening it to grab some bags of popcorn.

Harry showed Liam the two bags, but the older lad shook his head, holding up four fingers. "You really think we need four bags of popcorn? I mean, I can probably only eat one bag, one and a half at most." "But I'm bigger than you, and I have a lot more stamina. I can eat at least two bags no problem and still be hungry. You just have to have the ambition to eat all of it. I'll compromise on three bags, but if we run out you have to make more." Liam snatched a bag out of the cabinet and set it on the counter, gesturing for Harry to unwrap them. "Would you prefer Rollos or Maltesers?"

Liam paused and then shook his head. "You know what, fuck it. Rollos, Maltesers, and the mint patties up in that cabinet." The older lad pointed to the cabinet above the younger boy's head. "Oh, almost forgot." He picked up the Tupperware of cookies from the counter. "Zayn's little sister made cookies and Zayn brought us some. Chocolate chip, I think." Harry took the container from the older boy and set it next to all of the other sweets. "This is a lot of food. One or both of us might go into diabetic shock. Do you have hospital on speed dial?" Liam snorted and shook his head at the boy. "C'mon, lad. You go get all the blankets and shit while I get the rest of this ready."

Harry saluted the boy and marched out of the room to the hall closet where they kept all of the spare blankets. He piled as many as he could into his arms and carried them over to the couch, and then went to his room to get some pillows. Once he had finished building the blanket fort, Liam came into the room with all of the food stashed in his arms. "You've built us a proper fort, mate. I love it. Here, take some of this before we all go down." Harry popped up and grabbed the bags of sweets, setting them down in the front of the fort.

Liam put all of the other junk food down next to Harry and then went up to the tv, switching it on and picking up the movie case. "You know, I can't for the life of me remember the last time I watched this movie." Liam held up the case to the movie, Rock 'n' Roll High School, and slid the disc into the player. "I do. It was me, you, and Niall, and we were in my room. You kept shushing Ni and I because we kept talking about how hot Dee Dee and Marky were, but you only had eyes for Tom Roberts. But we were all in agreement that Eaglebauer was the funniest character."

Liam made a noise in the back of his throat and bobbed his head up and down. "Oh yeah, I remember. Niall raved the whole time about how much he wanted to eat chicken vindaloo with Joey and then get railed by him. I doubt Joey could rail someone. He was such a frail man." Harry nodded sadly. "Yeah, he was pretty sad-looking. I still can't believe he died not that long ago. He was so young, and he was so influential in the music industry. He broke the mold and made everyone realize looks aren't everything, that you don't have to be conventionally attractive to be successful. And his writing was so amazing and deep. You know he wrote from the heart. Plus, he was the only liberal in the band, which means he withstood a lot from the other guys."

Liam smiled and patted Harry on the shoulder, sitting down next to him. "Yeah, he was a groovy guy. You ready to watch it?" Harry smiled and clapped his hands with joy. "Yes yes, hit play." The older lad hit play on the small tv and sat back, grabbing a handful of popcorn to nibble on. The movie started with the shot of the classic Vince Lombardi High, school bells ringing loudly through the speakers. Liam opened his mouth to say something about how hot Tom Roberts was, but he was quickly shushed by Harry. The younger boy was, of course, entranced by Riff and Kate.

"They're both so pretty. I love Riff's style, but Kate has those big glasses, ya know?" Liam hummed in agreement. "I wish I had Riff's hair. It's so big and curly. Mine just gets wavy when it gets long." Harry took a Rollo out of the bag in front of him and unwrapped it, tossing the foil to the side. "I always liked Kate's hairstyle. It's very...soft-looking. Now shut up, Harry. I want to watch the movie." Harry giggled into his palm and leaned against Liam, sighing happily.

Once the movie was finished and Vince Lombardi High had been blown to smithereens, Liam looked over to find Harry laying down on his side, eating a chocolate chip cookie. "You wanna watch another movie, bud? Or are you tired?" Harry shook his head and sat up, running a hand through his curls. "No, wan' watch another movie." Harry's eyes drooped slightly, but he seemed to be waking up. "Okay, buddy. What do you want to watch?" Harry thought for a second before grinning. "School of Rock? Please?"

Liam nodded at the boy and got up, getting the next movie out of the cabinet. He slid the DVD into the player after taking the first disc out, sitting back down once he hit play. "Please don't talk as much during this movie." Harry rolled his eyes and nudged Liam's shoulder. "C'mon, Li. Commentary is funny." Liam scoffed. "Not your commentary. Yours is just annoying and distracting." Harry just groaned and leaned further away from Liam, getting another handful of popcorn out of the dwindling bowl. He leaned back as the music to the disc menu began.