Harry Styles, I'm Not Your Puppet (Harry Styles Fan Fiction) (On Hold for Now)

Ch. 23 "The Strings are Attached"

―Harry―

I was leaning on my hand on the armrest, waiting for the flappy doors to open again and reveal Kim so I could hug her like she expected me to (and I really wanted to), but Louis’ head popped up next to mine, followed with a “Boo!”

I looked up a little sluggishly at him. “Hey, Boo…” I sat up and stretched my arms out in front of me as Zayn and Niall came around the line of chairs, but Louis hopped over into the one next to mine. Zayn sat on the other side of me while Niall looked around for Kim. “She’s back there,” I nod towards the devil fricking flappy doors.

“Am I allowed back?” He asks, he had a crease in his eyebrow that obviously meant stress.

“Not yet,” I say.

Louis puts his TOMs on my lap and stretches out on the chairs. “How long have you been waiting?” He asks and I push his stank feet off me.

“Not long…” I say and I look up at Zayn, who is texting on his cell phone.

“So, I’m sure you’ve heard…” He says, tucking it back into his back pocket.

“What?” I say, “Wha’d’ya mean?” I said this nonchalantly, but secretly I expected the worse. Did something happen in the news on us? Did they already splatter Aria's photo everywhere without caring? 

“Aria’s…well, um, Louis? You were the one who talked with… what’s-her-name? Why don't you take over here...” He trailed off, waving his hand off to Louis.

Louis had a grim line on his face. “Marissa…she’s Aria’s friend.” He supplied the fact for my benefit, looking at me as he said it. “Um, Harry…I don’t know how to phrase it but, here’s nothing: Aria’s an orphan.”

I sigh outwardly in relief, but still feel bad for her. I look up at them and nod. “I’ve heard.”

“You knew? But you didn’t tell us?” Niall’s eyes widen, as does Zayn’s and Louis’. “How long have you known? No, scratch that, how did you know and not tell us?”

I expect Louis to say something about He wouldn’t tell anyone why Kim hated him for so long… But surprising me, he just stayed quiet.

I look at the clock on the wall and look back into his blue eyes. “I just found out about an hour ago.”

“Oh,” he says, and looks down at his sneakers. “How?”

“Liam was talking with a nurse and we overheard him...The way everyone finds out about that stuff: through someone else.”

“Wait, Liam knew and Kim didn’t know?” Louis says, and I nod. “Wow…this just got a whole lot more interesting.”

“You mean more than it already was?” I ask and go back to staring at the doors.

―Liam―

“Hey, Ar.” I say, and take her hand in mine. She has a tube in her arm and I don’t understand why it’s there, but I don’t question the doctors. They only need to keep her overnight, and, to be honest with myself, I wanted her to stay here. Even if she didn’t talk about her feelings or whatever with the nurses, at least she’d be under watch and taken care of.

“Hey,” She looks up at me a little tiredly. “How’s are you?” She asks, so like her to worry about someone else while she herself was doing horrible. Then again, she could just be pushing off this conversation.

“I think the real question is, ‘How are you?’” I raise my eyebrows, knowing full well how she always got a kick when I did that. Raising my eyebrows somehow entertain her.