Defenceless l.s

Thirty

Harrys POV

He took a sip of his coffee as he read through the email, frowning a bit at the cold drink. Letting out a sigh, he placed the mug on his desk and ran a hand through his hair. Louis had been very unfocused lately, and he didn't understand why. There was clearly something going on in personal life but Harry was starting to lose his patience, especially since he didn't even know what was wrong.

He was about to call Louis in but decided against it, it was only a coffee after all. He did call him though, to run some errands and Harry noticed how he looked sickly pale and got a worrying feeling in his gut, but he shook it off and went to the staff kitchen to make some new coffee, deciding not to give it too much thought right now. He had other things to worry about and he could not go through this wednesday without his daily dose of caffeine.

He poured out the cold liquid in the sink before starting the coffee maker again, his mind drifting off to Louis as he waited for his drink to get done. He didn't know what was wrong with him but it was really starting to worry him, he always seemed sick in some way and he seemed to have become even smaller lately, like his cheekbones were sunken in and his eyes were really dull and he didn't seem to want anyone to talk about it either, he got really defensive everytime he voiced his concerned which in itself was concerning.  

Harry just wanted to sit him down, wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket with a mug of hot chocolate, he just seemed so tiny and defenceless. Footsteps entering the room broke Harry out of his thoughts, he looked up from where his eyes were glued on a spot on the radiator under the window, frown never leaving his face. Just then his coffee was done. He grabbed his mug before heading back to his office. 

Unable to focus on his work, Harry decided to leave a little rant voice mail to Niall telling him about everything before turning off his phone and getting back to work. But Harry still couldn't get anything done, his mind kept drifting away to the little blue eyed boy. Louis was probably back at this point, he thought as he stared at his computer screen. So when lunch time rolled around and he still hadn't gotten anything done, he decided to take the rest of the day off because he knew that he wouldn't accomplish anything that day. 

He grabbed his portfolio before heading out, bidding a tired looking Louis goodbye on his way. He considered giving him the rest of the day off as well, but he was already in the parking lot when that thought struck him. He could always call, he thought. But then figured that, no, he would not get the day off, Harry had been slacking on him enough already.

He started the car and drove towards his penthouse, he had moved there after breaking up with Marie, he just felt too alone in the mansion and figured there was no point in torturing himself even more. Harry quite liked this place, it was a lot more homey and open. It wasn't that big, but it wasn't small eather, and the big windows let the sunshine in just the perfect amount. Just as he parked his car, his phone started ringing. Seeing it was only Niall, he picked up his phone while walking to the elevator. He asked him about the weird voice mail but Harry just told him that he went home. Niall said he would swing by later before hanging up. 

Harry kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his suit jacket and threw it on the back of an armchair before slumping down on the couch. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, scrolling through 'Netflix' before he decided to continue on 'Breaking Bad'.    

Harry startled awake when his phone went off, he groaned before looking at the screen, Niall's name lighting up the screen. He hung up and sent him a little text before heading downstairs, you needed a key to come to the top floor. He considered giving Niall a copy of the key, since he was there quite often, so he didn't have to go down every time, but he never got to making a copy off the key. Now, there was a doorman who would let people into the building, but he did not have the key to his elevator. 

Harry decided to change into some more comfortable clothes since he fell asleep in his work clothes. He came back out to the living room in just sweat pants and sat down on the opposite side of Niall on the white leather couch, shivering as his back hit the cold couch. They watched the show in silence for a while until the ongoing episode ended. 

"So why did you head home?" He asked as the credits rolled. Harry shrugged, "don't know, I just couldn't focus I guess," he said. Niall turned to look at him, a slight frown on his face, "why? Did something happen?" He asked, slightly concerned. "No, no!" Harry was quick to reassure, "I don't know, I... I don't know," he said. "You know," he started and gestured with his hands, making Niall give him an odd look before his lips twitched into an amused grin. "I dunno, I guess I'm just tired you know," he said, and gave Niall this look, like he tried to convince himself.  Niall chuckled and nodded his head, "yeah, I know," he said. 

Harry shot him an annoyed glare, "what?" He asked. "Nothing," he said, "so what were you saying about Louis earlier?" He asked, a grin still on his face. Harry looked at him, confused, "what did I say about Louis?" He asked. Niall rolled his eyes, "in the voice mail, you idiot". Harry got a thoughtful look on his face before realization washed over him, "oh, that! It's nothing, I just got a bit distracted, forget about it," he said and gestured towards the TV as a new episode had started playing, but Niall just grabbed the remote and muted the show making Harry look at him, annoyed. He opened his mouth to say something but Niall beat him to it.

"No, what were you saying?" He asked. Harry sighed in defeat,"nothing, I just thought he looked a bit sick, that's all" he said and went to grab the remote from Niall but he moved his hand away making Harry groan in annoyance. "Sick how?" He asked, making Harry sigh. "He just looked a bit pale," he said but Niall just looked at him waiting for him to elaborate, "and, I don't know, he just seems..." he stopped not really knowing what to say, "...sick." 

Niall raised his eyebrows, not so amused anymore, he seemed deep in thought before finally answering, "he doesn't eat much," he said making Harry turn to look at him, a confused frown on his face. "What do you mean? You said-" 

"Yeah I know, but he barely eats anything when we go out, I didn't really think about it before but we went out with Collins last week and he pointed out how Louis had barely touched his food, and I 'dunno, I thought about it and realized that he never finishes his meals." Harry opened his mouth like he was about to say something but closed it again, letting Naill continue. "So I started watching him and realized he barely touches his food. Like, he doesn't eat anything," Niall explained. 

Harry grew a deep wrinkle between his eyebrows as he processed what his friend had told him. No wonder he always looks so tired! But why would he do that? Why doesn't he eat? Does he have an eating disorder or something? No, he couldn't possibly... could he? The thoughts spinning fast in his head almost making him dizzy. He thought back at the trip to New York and realized that Louis indeed did eat very little. Harry turned his head back towards the TV, still deep in thought, he had no idea what to do with this new found information.