Five Steps Into Your Heart [Nouis]

.08

C H A P T E R  E I G H T
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Niall immediately jerks away from Louis, losing his balance and falling backwards. He attempts to catch himself on the armrest, but the object is nowhere near his hand as he slips off of the couch and smacks down onto the floor. His back takes the brunt of the hit but his head also smacks the ground with a loud 'thud.'

"Niall!" Harry yells, running as quickly as he can to his friend in the floor.

Louis kind of just sits on the sofa in shock, watching the horror unfold. He observes as Harry kneels beside Niall, who is shaken up, but responsive.

"Can you hand me a pillow?" Harry asks, and Louis breaks out of his trance and springs into action.

He grabs a couch pillow and walks over to where Niall is laying in the floor. He attempts to prop the pillow under Niall's head, but Harry snatches it out of his hands and does so himself. Louis looks away, feeling awkward about the whole situation.

Niall furrows his brows when his head is being lifted and placed on the pillow. He is not unconscious. He really just wants to get out of the floor, but his head is spinning a tad bit and he is not sure who exactly is touching him at the moment.

"Louis?" Niall calls, reaching out his hand. Louis grabs his hand and squeezes it tight.

Harry watches the transaction with a look of annoyance on his face. This is not the time for sentiment. Niall just fell to the floor and hurt himself and Louis is doing nothing but getting in the way. Harry knew it was going to end badly when the lad finally came over to their apartment. He kept telling Niall he had a bad feeling about the bloke, but the blond never listens to Harry anymore.

"It's okay, love," Louis speaks, regardless of Harry's glare. "You're fine. You just need to lay down for a moment."

Harry scoffs. "It is most definitely not okay."

"Are you kidding, mate? He isn't bleeding or anything. He's speaking to us. He's just a bit shaken up."

"Its a good thing I came in when I did. It didn't look like you were too quick to check on him."

Louis frowns at that, hurt. He is upset that Harry is so quick to judge his character. Louis is ashamed of himself for not taking action sooner, but the whole thing had him paralyzed almost. It worries Louis to think about what would have happened in the event that something even more serious took place. Would he have frozen up then?

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Louis sits back as Harry keeps Niall's head elevated well. The blond frowns as Louis's hand slips from his grasp. He can tell that Louis and Harry are bickering, but he cannot focus on the words. He can only feel the throbbing in his head and Harry's hand rubbing over his forehead like he has always liked.

Louis contemplates leaving, but decides to stick around to make sure Niall is okay. The tension in the air is so thick that it can be cut with a knife as Harry speaks to Niall, asking him questions to make sure he does not have memory issues. Louis wishes he could do something to help, but Harry has taken full control of the situation. Louis is not sure if Harry is genuinely concerned about his friend or if he is being so thorough just to make the other lad feel bad about himself.