To Be Loved

SEVEN

Niall begins to run the moment he sees Louis fall to the ground, dropping to his knees on the playground next to the other little boy.

Louis sits back on his haunches, looking at his grazed palms with furrowed brows, sniffing. Niall rubs his back, looking in the direction that Hunter and Jackson had run off in. He looks back at his best friend, gently taking his wrist and inspecting the red scrapes on his skin.

"Are you okay?" He asks quietly. "Does it hurt bad?"

Louis sniffs, shaking his head. "It's okay. I - I just tripped. S'not like it's broken like yours or anything ," he mumbles, still looking down at his upturned hands, briefly glancing at Niall's casted arm.

Niall frowns harder at that, shaking his head. "No, you didn't trip. I saw. Hunter and Jackson, they - they pushed you over," he says, chewing on his bottom lip, eyes scanning over the other boy's face.

"They - no, it was an accident," Louis says with a nod, looking at Niall with watery eyes. He sniffs and wipes his nose on the back of one of his sore hands again. "They didn't mean to. We're - we're actually friends."

Niall chews his lip a little harder. "They're not friends. They're mean. Friends don't push each other over," he murmurs. "When - when I lived w-with Keith, he was mean t'me, and he h-hurt me sometimes. And he was like a bully, and nobody ever helped me, 'cause nobody was there. But - but Keith was a grown up, and Hunter and Jackson are just k-kids, so - so if we tell a grown up, then -"

"No! No, it's okay. They're not bullies, they - I don't - I don't wanna tell. I just don't wanna tell, Ni, please," he says, eyes wide and pleading.

Niall doesn't really understand why not. If Liam and Zayn knew, they'd be able to help, to stop the bullying. But Louis is his best friend, and he'll do whatever makes him happy. If that means keeping this a secret, then he will.

"Okay," he agrees quietly, nodding. "But - but I know, Lou. A-and I don't wanna let them keep being mean to you. I'll - I'll fight 'em -"

"No, Ni! You can't, you'll get in trouble. You don't hafta fight 'em, it's okay," Louis insists.

Niall shakes his head, his stomach twisting. "But they're mean t'you. I don't want 'em to be mean to you."

Louis manages a small smile at that, leaning forwards to wrap his arms around Niall's smaller frame. Niall freezes for a moment, then hugs the other boy back.

"I'm sorry your grown up was so mean. Grown ups shouldn't hurt kids. I - I'm happy you're here now."

Niall swallows, sniffing. He pulls back from the hug and helps the other boy up from the floor, smiling slightly at him. "I'm happy I'm here too," he murmurs. "I won't tell. But - but I won't let them hurt you again, Lou. I promise."

***

Harry sits in the library at lunch times now. It's quiet in there - nobody stares or makes mean comments. Everyone is too busy working or reading to pay him any attention, and he likes that - he likes blending in, being unseen, being invisible.

He peels the crusts off of the cheese and ham sandwich his Dad had packed for him this morning, jumping when someone sets down a pile of books and a lunchbox opposite him.

Ashton offers him a sheepish smile. "Mind if I sit with you?" He asks.

Harry hesitates before nodding. Ashton sits down, opening his lunch box, also filled with a lunch packed by Harry's Dad, before he begins to speak.

"Are you okay?" He asks, eyes sincere as they skim over Harry's face.

Harry swallows, setting down his sandwich. He nods. "Fine," he murmurs.

Ashton pauses, before shaking his head. "You don't have to pretend. The messages and...the picture. That's not okay. That isn't - I mean - you should tell Zayn and Liam."

Harry shakes his head abruptly. "No, no. No, they can't - I don't want them to know. It's - it's fine. I have it under control -"

"I don't think any of this is in your control," Ashton interrupts softly. "This is down to Daniel. None of this is on you...how come you don't want your parents to find out?"

"They'd be upset. I'd be embarrassed. I'd just...I'd prefer it if they didn't know. Maybe if they never knew," he admits quietly, finding it easy to talk to Ashton.

Maybe it's because they live together, or because he knows that Ashton is on his side. Maybe it's because Ashton is kind and understanding and a good person. Or maybe it's the fact that when Daniel first started posting about him on social media, Ashton had encouraged him to leave the house and go on a walk with him, just to make him feel a little better. Whatever the truth is, he appreciates the other boy's company.

"I get it. I - I probably wouldn't tell my Dad either. But it isn't embarrassing. It's just...hard to talk to parents sometimes. Even when they're really good parents like yours are," Ashton says softly. "But I know you're not okay. And I know that it's bad not to talk when you're not okay, keeping it in makes things...darker. So I want you to know that I'm here. If you need to talk about anything, or if you just - if you just need a friend. Even when I don't live with you anymore."

Harry swallows down a lump in his throat. For whatever reason, the kindness coming from another person his own age has him feeling choked up. His eyes grow annoying watery, and he blinks rapidly to keep the tears at bay, nodding. Under the long sleeves of his school shirt and blazer, his fresh cuts sting and burn, and for the first time since he began cutting, he feels guilty for it.

"Thank you," he whispers to his friend. "I - that - that means a lot to me. Maybe I'll take you up on the offer some time."

Ashton smiles at him, tucking into his own food.

Harry watches him for a second, before picking his own sandwich back up. "Is everything going okay?" He asks quietly, swallowing his mouthful. "With your Dad, I mean?"

Ashton looks a little surprised at the question, before he manages a small smile, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, it's...I mean, he's doing a little better. Better than he was a couple weeks ago, you know?"

"Do you...do you think you'll be allowed to go back to living with him soon?" He asks.

"I don't know. Last time, they let me go back home too soon, I think. And he - he got sick again. So - so I don't know. I wanna go home, I just, I don't wanna rush into things and - and end up repeating the whole cycle again."

Harry gives his friend a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up -"

"Don't be sorry," Ashton is quick to say. "It's - I mean, it isn't something I can change. I used to think it was, but...I can't control it. My Dad is sick, and sometimes he's better, sometimes he's worse. There nothing I can do about it."

"For what it's worth, you'll always have a home with us," Harry replies quietly. "Better times or worse times."

Ashton smiles at that, gently nudging Harry's leg with his foot under the table. "You've always got me too, Haz. Better times or worse."

NOTE:
very short and sweet again, but the next one will be longer i swear!

let me know what you think in the comments, and thank you for reading!

- beau x