Flashlight (You're Getting Me Through The Night)

Chapter 8

A/N: Yay, Fall break is this weekend, which means (hopefully) more chapters for you guys! Finally, we are kind of getting to a point where Harry is seeing more of what is going on with Louis, even if he doesn't understand it. And there are some...surprises. Enjoy! All the love, as always xx

~L

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Harry's POV:

I was silent in the car on the way home, just thinking and rethinking and overthinking. Louis had definitely been himself today, or at least, the kind thoughtful person that I knew he truly was. He had talked to me like I was a normal person, kept conversation going,everything. He had even laughed a few times, which just made the whole situation more complicated. I sent him a quick text, not really thinking too much about what I said until it had already gone through, but at this point, I really didn't care if I acted like a complete idiot. He had let some of his walls down for me and that must have been a huge step for him.

The one thing I was curious about, however, was the bathroom incident.Louis had gone to the bathroom several times during classes we had together, and he never took that long. When I went in there, I swear I could hear him sniffling a little bit, and when he came out of that stall, his eyes were definitely a little bit red. Now it wasn't for me to judge his bathroom habits or the fact that he might have been crying, but it worried me. Louis, apart from the whole bad boy thing, always seemed like a really strong and confident person to me. Something must have been really bothering him to make him that sad. I tried to think of what it could be, but I stopped myself. I had to remind myself that Louis and I were barely friends, and regardless of how I might possibly be feeling about him at the moment, it wasn't my job to dig into his personal life.

"Haz, you alright? You seem pretty quiet...did Tomlinson say something to you?" Liam's voice was tense, and I sighed.

"You can call him Louis, Li, he's not a bad person. He just...he's struggling with something, and I'm not sure what it is." I said slowly, looking over at Liam and brushing a stray curl out of my eyes.

"Does this theory of yours have something to do with his trip to the toilet?"

I nodded, biting my lip and trying to think. "I'm pretty sure he wa scrying, or trying not to cry, but I can't think of what could have upset him. Did I say something wrong? Oh, shit, what if I did?" I started twisting my hands together in my lap nervously, and Liam pulled one hand off the wheel to hold my hands still.

"No, no, Harry, you didn't say anything wrong. Maybe he was just having a bad day or something. Don't dwell on it too much...whatever he is going through, he'll tell us when he's ready. On the bright side, though, he seemed a lot more open today, especially when he was talking to you."

I blushed and continued to nibble on my own lip, forcing myself not to think of the sadness I had seen in Louis' bright blue eyes.

Liam pulled up in front of my house and stopped the car, leaning over to give me a one-armed hug. "See you on Monday, Haz."

I nodded, bidding him farewell, and headed into the house. I was greeted happily by my mum and sister, who promptly dragged me up the stairs and into Gemma's room. There were dresses and skirts and tops and shoes covering every available space, so that I had to tiptoe through clothing and find a small square of floor to sit on.

"Gems, did you pull out your entire closet?" I said in an exasperated tone, and she groaned.

"Yes! I don't know what to do!" She cried, gripping her hair and biting her lip.

"What is this even for?" I asked, picking up a ruffled skirt and a pair of boots and sitting down on the bed, brushing my hair into my beanie so I could see her properly.