There is a conscious effort on Harry's behalf to avoid any sort of conversation about Louis for a few days. The sheer thought of having to explain the situation is enough to cause an overwhelming surge of disturbing emotions. Harry also goes the extra mile in covering up the marks that were left lingering on his collarbones. They were a constant reminder of the moments that Harry thought would be the most special of his life. All this time he had wanted to hold off on losing his virginity, for the perfect moment...and person. And he wasted it. He wasted it on a selfish, volatile human. The first night he spends crying himself to sleep, wishing for a do-over. The second night he manages to climb out of bed and force a smile on his face.

Anne keeps her distance for those few days and is completely oblivious to the emotional turmoil Harry's experiencing because she concludes that it is just him coming to terms with leaving Cheshire. And she allows that time for him to come to terms with it. It isn't until day 3 when Harry leans against the kitchen bench eating his dinner that she thinks he's open enough to talk about it.

"How are you feeling about the move now?" She asks gingerly. She observes the way that Harry automatically looks over to her with tired eyes and he quickly swallows his mouthful of food.

"I took some time to reflect and I can't say I'm very happy about it. But you're trying to do what's best for me and I appreciate it," He says slowly, running a hand through his hair. He can't help but feel awkward under his mother's stare.

"Thank you for acknowledging it. I do love you, you know that right?"

Before Harry can respond he feels his mother's arms wrapping around him. It's a tight and warm embrace and it's the most comforting contact he's had in a while. He instantly relaxes the tenseness and hesitantly wraps his arms back around her. She stays hugging him for a few extra moments and presses a quick kiss to his cheek.

"You'll always be my baby," She smiles softly and then steps back.

"I don't want to leave mum. I've got a lot of things here that outshine the bad. I want to graduate here. This place is important," He says defeatedly. "Can you at least just wait until this year? Let me finish this year, it's almost over," He's pleading now.

His appetite is quickly diminished, and he pushes the plate away from him and scrunches his nose. He can feel the tears quickly prickling and he blinks a few times willing himself to keep it together. He'd done enough crying and he was certainly not going to do it again today. When Anne remains silent, he doesn't even bother looking towards her. He turns immediately and begins to leave the house. If he stays pent up inside for one more minute he'll surely explode.

He's avoided his best friends for far too long, and he knows that if he keeps the secret of moving from them any longer then he'll probably get ripped to shreds. So he decides to make his way over there. He does his best to keep the anxiety at bay, and consistently scrolls through Facebook as he walks. He physically holts still as his eyes fall on the friend request sitting there on his screen. He blinks a few times and his chest starts to tighten in fear. He reads the name again, and again.

As if Zayn Malik was adding him on social media.

The very same Zayn that would physically beat him up at school, torment him day in and day out. Although he had pretty much stopped altogether after Louis stepped in. His jaw clenches at the thought of Louis and he exhales. There was the party at Zayn's house...and he wasn't nearly as mean. Kind of confusing.

He could ignore it. Surely that's the right choice here, but then again that's also rude. So he accepts it and forces himself to keep walking before his mind starts overthinking. As he nears Niall's house he can feel the anxiety that's starting to pour into his bloodstream as his heart begins to thump harder against his ribcage. There wasn't a way of Niall noticing the marks Louis left behind because he was wearing a turtleneck to cover them, although he did know Niall would laugh at him. After all, it did look ridiculous.

The cold air causes Harry to shiver violently as he walks up the front porch, and he watches as his outward breaths causes fog in the air. He doesn't know how the boys will react to him moving, in fact, he's petrified of their reaction.  He takes a minute to collect his thoughts and muster up the courage.

"Coward. It is what it is, just get it over with," He scrunches his eyes tight and shakes his head, mentally counting down before he knocks swiftly.

There's a few moments of silence but then he hears footsteps quickly making their way down the stairs and towards the front door. There's no denying that it's Niall because he always sounds like an elephant when running through the house. There are also approximately 10 more seconds before the door swings open and he's face to face with Niall.

"Harry! I was beginning to think you died. Get inside! Ed's upstairs too on the play station. Let's have a game," He smiles widely.

"Good to see you too Niall," Harry smiles back politely before making his way past Niall.

He makes a quick move up the stairs and he can hear Niall closely behind him. He focuses on Niall's ranting about Ed's ridiculous abilities on Fifa and he can help but laugh. There was always too much competitiveness between the two.

"It's completely unfair, it's like he was blessed with the ability to win every game," Niall huffs as the two near the bedroom.

The first thing Harry notices is the way Ed's comfortably slouched in the beanbag and his hair looks like it hadn't been brushed today. It wasn't anything new for Ed though. As he locks eyes with him, Ed smiles widely and forces himself to stand up.

"It's been a minute," He says cheerfully as he pulls Harry into a giant hug.

"Hey, not without me you don't," Niall suddenly interjects, and Harry feels a second set of arms wrapping around him. He'll miss this.

"You're both acting like I've been away for a year," Harry frowns at the both of them as they pull away and start going about their business. Niall lays back down on his bed, eyes surveying the television screen.

"A few days may as well be a year with you," Ed plops back down into the beanbag and reaches for the controller.  "Another round, Niall?" He asks, with a smug smirk on his face. Harry's sure that Niall will knock that smile off his face soon.

"No. Thanks, Ed. How about you? You want a go against this machine?" Niall looks over to Harry, who vehemently refuses to attempt a game against Ed.

Harry doesn't know how to bring this up, it's not like it's the easiest subject to just drop on them. Just a quick "Hey guys, I'm moving," wouldn't work in this scenario. He brings his nails up to his mouth and anxiously chews. This was a bad habit that was worsening over time.

"You're chewing your nails. You only do that when you're on the verge of a breakdown," Niall suddenly forces Harry out of his mental downwards spiral. He feels the boy shuffle closer to him, and then there's a comforting arm around his shoulder.

"If it's about Louis, don't even let him get to you. He's a bit of a jerk, yeah?"

Harry closes his eyes and slowly exhales. A bit of a jerk. That's the understatement of the year right there. When he feels Niall squeeze his shoulder in assurance Harry decides to just speak now. Or else he'll just not say anything at all.

"Speaking of not seeing me for a year. What would you guys do?" He says carefully, his eyes flicking between both Ed and Niall.

Ed fumbles for a second and drops the controller into his lap, his whole body suddenly snapping towards Harry. The same Harry who's brought his knees to his chest in an attempt to keep himself together. Niall leans away from Harry for a moment, his blue eyes studying him cautiously. There's a small chuckle that escapes his mouth as if to dismiss the question.

"What a stupid question. We can't live without you, you big stupid frog," Niall ruffles Harry's curls and gently hits him in the back of the head. A sign of affection, but also a sign to tell the boy to stop asking dumb things.

"Who else can attempt to beat me at these games? Plus... I enjoy having you around. It's refreshing when I have to be constantly around him," Ed narrows his eyes at Niall, then throws him a playful wink.

"Yeah you're right, he's just so unbearable," Harry laughs but it's one of those laughs that it's obvious it's uncertain. Almost like he's laughing to stave off the pain building in his chest, and the tears threatening to burn his eyes again. "It's just...I-uh...Mum's selling the house," He stammers and this time he won't look up from the spot on the sheets he's staring at.

There's silence; the type of silence that you could hear a pin drop. He knows they're trying to process what the hell he's just said. He hears the beanbag shift again, and he hears Niall take a shaky breath. He braces for the impact.

"She-She's what?" Niall stammers back, his voice dropping down several octaves. It sounds as if he's trying to ask himself if he heard it right. Ed doesn't comment but Harry can feel himself burning under his gaze.

"Mum's selling the house, we're moving," Harry says delicately, as if the words may cause the world to shatter. And they very well may. He hears Ed clear his throat to speak and Niall swears to himself.

"What? Since when? Where the fuck are you moving to?" Ed's voice is slightly panicked now, and Harry knows chaos is about to break out. So he drags his eyes up from the sheet and meets Ed's eyes. They're glassy and his eyebrows are furrowed. He looks betrayed. Harry swallows thickly, and glances over to Niall's who's jaw is slack and looking as if he's having an out-of-body experience.

"I found out 3 days ago. I needed time to process-," He doesn't get to continue any further, because Niall cuts him off.

"You're meaning to tell me you disappeared for 3 days to process the fact you're moving, without telling your best friends. Aren't we the first people you usually go to? Fuck off. You're joking, right? This is some grand prank. You're not actually leaving," His voice quickly goes from enraged, to soft. He laughs and shakes his head, and Harry notices the way the boy's frame is beginning to shake slightly.

"Yeah. I spent 3 days in my room trying to come to terms with it. I'm trying to convince my mum to stay till the end of the year at the least,"

"Wait. How soon is this happening? You didn't answer me about where you're moving to?" Ed asks again, pressing harder this time.

"In the next couple of weeks. The real estate agent is dealing with the settling offer and then we're off...she found a place in Doncaster," Harry says softly, and when the words finally are off his chest it feels like the worlds been lifted off him. Almost. There's still another whole secret weighing on him.

"Doncaster?!" Niall suddenly bellows and forces himself off the bed. "You're going to piss off to Doncaster? That's not even close by. That requires a change of schools- oh my god," He starts to pace. Ed remains sitting uncomfortably in that damn bean bag, and he's frowning deeply.

"I'm trying to convince her. Just to hold off until the end of the year," Harry stammers. The severity of the situation was beginning to become apparent now.

"We're supposed to graduate together. What the hell. We can't even graduate together," Niall shouts, throwing his arms above his head.

"How are you supposed to continue your love affair with Mr. Tomlinson?" Ed suddenly laughs, and Harry feels his stomach twist when the name hits him. It feels like a truck has just hit him. He shakily breathes.

"It's not the time to even talk about that piece of shit," Niall suddenly retorts.

"It's a valid question. They're the most entertaining thing to ever come out of that school," Ed shrugs, pouting.

"I'm glad you find my love life so entertaining. Maybe watch a romantic comedy and invest your time into that. These things are serious," Harry frowns, feeling anger suddenly flickering deep inside.

"You honestly think that Harry's even remotely caring about him right now? He's got bigger things to worry about. Spending his senior year in a foreign place, making new friends with no support system. What a shit plan on your mum's behalf," Niall angrily pulls at his hair, his body rigid.

"Well...I kind of do care about him but you know. Go off," Harry barely speaks, but they both hear it.

"You're more worried about him than us?" Niall's voice is laced with offence, but Harry rolls his eyes as he throws himself dramatically onto the bed.

"No! Not at all. I just meant it's something I'm considering... like he's apart of the bigger picture,"

Harry anxiously picks at the hem of his shirt, and he replays all of the possibilities that could play out inside his head. He listens to Ed and Niall bicker back and forth, and he decides to drown out from their argument over Louis.

Niall thinks Louis doesn't matter. He's wrong. So very wrong. And he's slapped out of his thoughts when he hears Niall speak again.

"It's not like they're fucking or anything. That would be a totally different story. Right, Harry?"

Harry suddenly feels too hot in his clothes, and he feels the sweat instantly break out in his palms. He's a terrible liar, but he needs to keep his shit together. Because this most definitely cannot come out. His eyes widen as he looks over to Niall who's raised an eyebrow.

"Like he'd want to sleep with me. That's funny Niall," He quickly shoots back.

"Well, with the way he looks at you I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He has kissed you so that in itself says something. Oh my god. Since you're leaving, can you sleep with him? Like a bitter-sweet goodbye. Yes," He starts clapping excitedly. Ed and Harry look at each other with confusion, and they're certain this kid is bipolar.

"Niall, that shit only happens in your fanfictions," Ed rolls his eyes.  Harry notices the way that Niall tenses up and eyes bulge for a moment, and he opens his mouth to speak.

"Excuse me?" Harry asks, eyebrows raised. There's the sense that he's completely missing out on an inside joke.

"They're not actually fanfictions," Niall says flatly, and Ed bites onto his bottom lip to hold back the laughter.

"What are you two on about?" Harry asks incredulously. Niall and Ed look at one another and it appears they are internally yelling to each other to shut their damn mouths. Ed begins to speak but Niall cuts him off immediately.

"I don't write fanfictions. I often just run through possibilities with Ed. Like possibilities that might occur between you and-,"

"You're fucking kidding me," Harry laughs out loud, his voice wavering. The feeling of sadness is dissipating at immense speed and is quickly replaced with an emotion he isn't quite sure of.

"Anyway. You're moving. Let's just focus on that important detail," Niall strategically changes the course of the conversation, awkwardly itching the back of his neck. He shoots Ed a look that screams 'I'm going to kill you later'. Ed tries to fight off the smirk that's appearing on his face

"I am moving. Like in the next couple of weeks if I can't convince my mum to stay,"

"What if she moved but you stayed?" Niall abruptly asks, and Harry stares back at him with confusion.

"Where am I supposed to stay? You expect me to live in a cardboard box on the school campus? That's embarrassing. I'd rather move," Harry scrunches his face up, looking at Niall like he's speaking in a foreign language.

"No, you could take the spare room here. Graduate here and decide what you want to do from there. Mum would take you in. If you want to move after we graduate then go. But you could stay..." Niall says excitedly but pouts when Harry shakes his head.

"You haven't even asked your mother," Ed speaks for Harry, and Harry looks over at him and nods in agreeance.

"I'll ask her tonight," Niall shrugs. "Plus, who wouldn't mind that extra Larry drama,"

"Larry?" Harry says slowly, staring at Niall as he instantly blushes and this time Ed can't control the laughter that escapes him.

"Good god," Ed cackles and buries his face in his hands. What the hell has Harry missed? He's never heard of this name in his life.

"Larry. It's like yours and Louis' named mixed. I call you two Larry,"

"That's just embarrassing Niall, never say that again," Harry says firmly, and Niall immediately senses the seriousness of the conversation.

"Someone's a bit defensive,"

"Yes. Now stop. Please,"

There isn't much further to the conversation and it takes a few minutes of awkwardness before Ed's returned back to his Fifa game, with Harry completely focused on beating him. And Niall who's watching the two, laughing hysterically at the fact Harry's losing. And even though things feel normal again, Harry knows there isn't anything normal about it. The whole time he's laughing and concentrating on the television, his heart continues to ache for Louis. It's the type of aching that refuses to be ignored, and Harry was never good with pain.