Warzone // Harry Styles AU

Waiting

I screamed, leaning on Harry's side as much as I could. Nessa sniffled from behind me.

"Uncle Harry?" she said softly, peering around at his limp body in front of me. She walked towards him, hesitating a bit before kneeling near his head. "Uncle Harry, wake up."

I looked up at her through my tears. She reached out to touch his face, but recoiled.

The blood flow was beginning to slow, and in the moonlight I could see that Harry was pale. Too pale. His chest wasn't moving, and when I fumbled for his pulse, I couldn't find it. I released my pressure on his wound a bit, in shock.

He was gone.

"Uncle Harry, why aren't you waking up?" Nessa asked, frowning.

"Nessa-" I began, my voice cracking. "He's gone."

She didn't seem to hear me. She shook Harry's shoulders, yelling at him to wake up. I didn't stop her.

After a few minutes, Nessa stopped screaming. She looked at me, and I opened my arms for her to run into. She launched herself on me, bawling. I cried with her, sitting on the grass.

Then, there was a sudden, sharp intake of breath. My head snapped up, and looked to Harry's body, which was wincing and gasping for air. I dropped Nessa, and crawled over to him.

"Charlie," he whispered, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Shh," I said, laughing with relief and grabbing his hand, holding it close to me. I smiled through my tears, and he frowned.

"But I-" he began, but broke off, gasping and shaking.

I froze, and heard a door open, I spun to the sound, gripping Harry's hand tighter.

Niall walked out the back door, followed by what was left of the gang. I scanned the group, only spotting thirty or so people.

We had gone in with seventy.

Louis spotted us and dashed over. Harry was struggling to keep his eyes open, but smiled weakly when Louis knelt by his head.

"Hi, Lou," Harry murmured, his eyelids fluttering.

"Shut up and focus on living, you piece of shit," Louis said jokingly. He wiped a few stray tears from his eyes, seeing Harry's long gash in his side.

The rest of the gang hurried over, finally noticing what was going on.

"Lou?" Harry asked, turning his head towards the older boy slightly. "Keep them safe for me."

Louis nodded, and Harry shut his eyes, exhaling himself still.

"NO!" I screeched, attempting to throw myself on him, but Niall and Zayn held me back. They were silent.

Ambulance sirens were approaching, so someone must've called the cops. I became dead weight, crying as Niall and Zayn carried me away from Harry's body. Nessa held hands with Liam, and we drove home, Louis waiting for the ambulance to reach the Gremlin's house and carry Harry away.

Three days passed. We had funerals for the forty or so people that had died in the fight. I was numb, didn't talk, didn't eat, I was too worried and shocked.

"May he rest in peace," one of the highers said as the last body was laid to rest in the cemetery. There was a silence that stretched on for eternity until the body was in the ground, and each person got up to throw a bit of dirt on the casket as they left.

It wasn't someone I knew, but I felt the weight of the loss as if I did.

We got into the black Suburbans, me in between Liam and Niall, with Nessa on my lap. Everyone looked so sad in their fancy, black clothes, and I could tell they didn't want to be in them.