fighting love » l.s.

thirteen - hurt

"Harry? Hey, Harry! What the hell happened?"

Harry's head snapped up to meet Liam's worried gaze as the boy rushed to his side. He was still curled up in the hallway, and he flinched violently when Liam's hand gripped his shoulder. He had forgotten the pain that came from touching people, especially after getting so comfortable around Louis. The pain might also have been due to the fact that his entire body was covered in bruises, but he honestly couldn't distinguish between the two feelings.

By the look on Liam's face, Harry knew that his own face was probably bruised and bloody. A bit softer than before, Liam asked carefully, "Hey, can you stand up?"

Harry nodded, and with Liam supporting his arm, he managed to shakily get to his feet. Liam pulled Harry's arm over his shoulder and the two boys hobbled together down the hallway.

When Harry realized that Liam was taking him to the nurse's office, though, he stopped abruptly. Liam jolted backward with him, shooting him a confused look. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going to the nurse," Harry croaked out. These were the first words he had spoken since getting the air knocked out of him, and it almost hurt to talk.

"Harry, you have to, mate. No offense, but you look terrible," Liam replied, obviously concerned.

"I can't," Harry said, voice cracking a bit at the thought. He had been in and out of the nurse's office almost every day at his old school, and he couldn't do that again. He couldn't stand to see the pity in her eyes. He knew she would call his mother, and that would only make things worse.

"Okay," Liam conceded. "Then I'm taking you home," he said firmly, carefully turning them around to head in the direction of the parking lot.

Harry was immediately reminded of the first time they hung out, when Liam was worried about Harry not playing video games. Liam had been there for him from the start, no questions asked.

"You don't have a car," Harry reminded him as they limped down the hallway. Liam was way ahead of him, though, already pulling out his phone.

"I know, you don't have to remind me," Liam fake-whined, shooting Harry a playful grin. Harry tried to return the smile, but ended up wincing in pain. "I'm calling Niall."

Harry simply nodded, deciding that he would have to stick to shaking his head as his main method of communication, at least for the time being. Liam pressed the phone to his ear with one hand, eyes raking over Harry as they walked as he surveyed the curly haired boy's condition. Liam felt sick to his stomach just thinking about anyone hurting Harry.

"What's up?" Niall's voice came through the phone. "I'm in maths, where are you?"

"I need you," Liam replied shortly as he and Harry pushed through the doors of the school, squinting against the bright light of the sun. "Actually, I need you car."

"Well, anything to get out of maths," Niall replied casually. Liam could hear him faintly telling the teacher that he had a family emergency, and he rolled his eyes at how easily the Irish boy could come up with a story. And the fact that Niall had just answered his phone during class without even trying to keep his voice down.

"We're in the parking lot, heading toward your car," Liam said, still helping Harry across the lot.

"Alright, see you in a minute."

"Alright, mate." Liam hung up the phone right as they got to Niall's car. He propped Harry up against it and the younger boy flinched as his back hit the side of the car. "Are you gonna tell me what happened now?" Liam asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly.