These High Walls

Chapter 15

"I will get Zayn, he's probably painting upstairs", Niall says before leaving me with Liam in the living room.

I can't deny that I'm quite nervous about the conversation we're about to have, and strangely also about seeing Harry again. I look up at Liam when he drops himself on the other side of the sofa. After a short awkward silence, Niall comes back through the door followed by Zayn and Harry. Zayn sits next to Liam and Niall in between Zayn and me. Even though there is still a place next to Liam, Harry takes a chair from the kitchen and puts it in the furthest corner away from me. I also notice that he avoids any eye contact with me, but I try not to overthink it.

"So, Louis, what's your idea for this to work?"

I look at Niall: "I think we could hang out on my free days. We could also do some human activities, maybe."

"Sounds fun", Niall says with a big smile on his face.

"I don't know guys," Liam says, "we didn't all practice crowded places like Niall. And with Harry, it's a bit difficult."

I look at Harry, but he doesn't react to his name. He's looking blankly at his feet. I say: "Ow, yeah, sorry. We could still do archery together, right."

"Yes, I would love that."

"Though, we also have to be careful," Zayn adds, "as Niall's father said, we're not supposed to free 'our human'. If any shapeshifter finds Louis in the city, we won't be able to get there on time to help Louis, they could hurt him or report him to the King. I understand that you want your freedom, Louis, but it's a risk I've been thinking about the past week."

"You know what, if every one of you is alright with it, I could move in here. It's not that far from my work, though someone will have to lead me to the side of the forest."

"That's an excellent idea, we can report to the King that you will only go to work without us. Normally that should be allowed." Liam says, "Though there will still be a chance that he is attacked at work."

"We can ask the King if any shapeshifter would be able to be a doctor in the same hospital so that they could keep an eye on him." Niall chimes in.

Everyone nods except for Harry, who looks bored with this meeting. I stare at him for a while, hoping that he will look back and give any sign of what he's feeling. He never lifts his head, so I give up and look back at Zayn, who says: "Maybe, it's not a bad thing for us to learn to be around humans. I must say I'm getting quite bored of this isolated life. We should do more things, we could be so much more than just four guys living in the woods. We should achieve our dreams, not waste away in an unhygienic, uncharacteristic mansion."

After Zayn said that everyone went quiet. The tension in the room is unbearable, but I don't dare break it. We sit there until Harry stands up and leaves the room.

"Is he okay?" I ask the others when I think he's out of earshot.

After a long pause, Zayn answers: "He's having a difficult time right now. Maybe you should talk to him in private. He doesn't show it but he really missed you, you know."

I look at Niall for support. He nods and says: "You can click the button if necessary. His room is on the end of the corridor on your right."

I look at my wrist at the bracelet that I put on before we left my apartment. I know Harry hasn't been in the proximity of people a lot over the past week, so I'm a little scared. On the contrary, I know that he needs to talk to someone. Keeping things for yourself is never the answer. I can see that he needs someone to care and that's one of the things I'm good at.

I stand up and nod at Niall. I slowly and carefully walk up the stairs and follow Niall's instructions. Soon I'm met with a closed door. First I listen carefully for any sound but I hear none. Then I knock softly on the wooden door.