Give it Up {Zouis Talik} {DISCONTINUED}

~The One Where They Chill~

⚠️
Louis' POV

"Mr. Tomlinson." I wake up to a young nurse saying my name. "Good morning." She says after I rub my eyes and sit up a bit. "I just have to change your bandages and bring you to group. Is that alright?"

"Yeah." I don't look at her as I raise my right arm for her to unwrap. I know she's probably looking at me with pity, and I really don't like pity. I wince when the cool air hits my wounds, flinching when the nurse starts cleaning them.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tomlinson. I know it burns." She says quietly. I mutter something along the lines of It's fine back. I look across the room and notice that Zayn is still asleep. Lucky him. "Other arm please." I lift up my left arm and cross it over my body. The nurse repeats the process on my arm and both my thighs. She then helps me out of the bed and into a wheelchair, and pushes me to the group therapy room.

I hate group for two reasons. One: no one here is honest. Two: they don't need to know my business. I might just ask the therapist if I could get a one-on-one session with him instead. Group meets every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

•
Two hours later•
•

"Dr. Naylor?" I wheel over to him after group was over.

"Yes, Louis?"

"I was wondering if I could switch to a one-on-one session. I'm not comfortable with the group." Dr. Naylor looks at me with a surprised expression on his face. The surprised look quickly turns into one of approval.

"I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of you. This is a big step, although it may not seem like it. Unfortunately, my one-on-ones don't start until next Monday. Group still meets two more days before then, and even though my one-on-ones meet everyday, I highly encourage that you come to group for the next two days."

"So I can switch?" I ask. He nods and I couldn't be any more thankful. "Thank you so much, Dr. Naylor."

"You're very welcome. I will see you on Thursday." I wheel myself over to the door where the same nurse as earlier is waiting for me.

She walks behind me and pushes me back to my room. When we get there, there is a nurse hovering over Zayn, placing a small bandage on his forehead. My nurse stops the chair next to my bed and guides me onto the bed. I thank her for her help.

"No problem, Mr. Tomlinson. Is your blond friend still bringing you breakfast, or do you want me to grab you something from the café?"

Before I can answer, my phone goes off. I take a quick glance at it then answer the nurse. "He just texted me saying he is on his way. Thank you, though."

"You are welcome. If you do need anything, you know how to reach me. I will see you later to change your bandages." I nod at her and she flashes me a smile and leaves. She actually leaves at the same time Zayn's nurse leaves.

I notice that Zayn is looking at me, so I wave to him. "Hey," I say.

"Hi." He say quietly. "Please forgive me, but I totally forgot your name." I laugh lightly at this, waving my hand dismissively.

"It's fine, Zayn. My name is Louis."

"Hello Louis." He grins at me. It's a nice grin but it looks out of place. You know, because of the cuts and bruises on him. It really makes my mad that people think it's okay to hurt other people. But who am I to talk about this; I️ literally tried to kill myself.

"You have a nice smile." Zayn blushes softly at my compliment. He's so cute, I cannot imagine there being any reason to hurt him.

"Hey, Lou! Hi, Zayn. I come baring food." Niall busts into the room with a brown paper bag from the deli down the block. "Zayn I got you an egg and cheese sandwich. Is that okay?"

"That's perfect, but you didn't have to." He hesitantly takes the wrapped up sandwich from Niall. A small smile forms on my face at his actions. When Niall turns around, he notices my expression and shoots me a questioning look. I shrug it off dismissively.

The three of us chat about random topics until a nurse comes in a few hours later.

"Hello, Zayn," She says enthusiastically with a huge smile on her face. Obviously someone has had her lunchtime coffee. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I need to steal you for a little bit, if you don't mind. We need to run a few tests. I promise, I can have you back here in less than two hours."

Does she ever shut up? I think to myself.

"Okay," Zayn nods, but you can tell he's completely lost in whatever the nurse was saying. She must be new here because it actually takes her two minutes to realize she has to undo the breaks on a wheelchair to make it move. I'm so glad she's not my nurse.

"So," Niall turns to me after the door closes, just the two of us in the room, "Zayn's pretty hot." It never seizes to amaze me how blunt Niall is.

"I guess you can say that," I shrug. I go to scratch my wrist but I can't it's covered with the bandage. "Why do these itch so bad?" I ask this mostly to myself as a rhetorical question, but Niall decides to answer it anyway.

"Because they're healing. Now let's get back to the topic you're avoiding. Do you think Zayn could be your... you know..."

"My soulmate?" Niall nods. "Nope."

"What makes you so sure?"

"He's already met his. And I'm pretty sure you can't have two soulmates. At least he's not like me, not having a soulmate at all." I don't realize I'm pressing my thumbnail into my hand until Niall has to pull my hands apart to get me to stop.

"Don't do that, Lou. Have you taken your meds today?"

"Oh, no, I haven't." Dr. Naylor likes us to be off our medications on therapy days so our minds aren't clouded. Niall gets up and walks out the door into the hallway to find a nurse to get me my pills. While he's gone, I look at the mark I made on my hand. If I pressed harder I could have drawn blood.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I feel warm tears trail down my cheeks. I wipe them away and try to compose myself before Niall comes back in. As if on cue, Niall comes back in with my regular nurse.

"Hi, Mr. Tomlinson." She's carrying a tray with four plastic cups.

One cup contains water and the other three cups are holding three different pills. I take one pill at a time, taking a sip of water after each.

"It's a little early, but, since I'm here, would you like my to change your bandages?" I shrug and nod. She nods back at me and starts unwrapping my right arm.

"It itches so bad." I mumble.

"That's good," she says as she starts cleaning. "Mean they're healing." She repeats these actions on my other arm and thighs. "Do you need anything else before I leave?"

"No, thank you."

"If you change your mind let me know. You know where to find me." And with that, she leaves.

"Imagine if your nurse was your soulmate. That would be funny." Niall starts laughing at himself.

"What would be so funny about it?"

"The chain of events," he says like its the most obvious thing ever. "If you hadn't done what you've done, then you two wouldn't have met."

"Oh."