Song: Sadness is taking over, Flora Cash.

Louis woke up to a loud ringing coming from somewhere in the room.

He groaned and tried to ignore it for a moment, only he gave up with a huff when realising the ringing wasn't going to just stop on its own.

He squeezed his eyes tighter shut and snuggled further into the- weirdly hard pillow. He frowned.

What the fuck?

Louis slowly blinked his eyes open, shutting them again once the sunlight coming through the window near enough blinded him. He let out another huff and finally managed to open them fully.

At first he didn't know what he was looking at, disorientated from sleep, until he came to the conclusion that what he was currently hugging, his chest pressed up against it and his legs tangled in another pair, wasn't a pillow. It was Harry.

He widened his eyes and quickly tried to move, only he was tugged back into place as his arms were tightly secured around the boy, trapped between another pair of arms that hugged his own to their chest. "Shit" he mumbled quietly, twisting his arms in hopes that Harry would let go.

Harry kept his grip firm, unconscious of his actions whilst apparently in a deep sleep. Louis struggled to keep his chest away from his back, trying to put as much distance between them as he could as he managed to untangle his legs from his. His arms still weren't released though.

"Damn it" Louis whispered under his breath as he realised he would have to wake Harry. He was hoping he could have moved away before the boy woke up in order to save himself the embarrassment, but of course things never went they way he wanted them too. "Harry" he said, shaking his body with his arms awkwardly in the position they were. "Harry wake up"

Harry let out a sleepy groan and cuddled further into the duvet, into his arms. Louis shook his head. "Harry wake up. One of our phones are going off" Louis urged him, only receiving a whine in return.

"Harry!" Louis then shouted as a last resort, and thankfully he woke up with a start. He shot up from his position and Louis widened his eyes as harry tumbled backwards, losing his balance as he fell out of the bed with a thump. "Shit" Louis said, covering his mouth with his newly freed hand in order to repress a laugh.

"Ouch" He heard Harry say quietly from the floor, and he shuffled on his knees to the edge of the bed to look down at him. Harry was sat up against the bedside table, rubbing at his eyes sleepily with a small pout on his lips. His hair was a complete mess of unruly curls and his eyes were swollen from how much he had cried the previous day. He looked like a sad puppy. "That hurt" Harry said, his voice rough like it was in most mornings.

"Sorry. I think your phone was going off" Louis replied, watching as Harry stood up slowly and stretched his long limbs, his back arching as he arms raised behind his head.

Louis adverted his eyes, realising Harry was still only in his boxers, and he sat back against the headboard of the bed. "Oh. Alright" Harry nodded, walking over to his jeans and pulling his phone from the pocket. "We never set alarms did we?" He asked, frowning at his phone.

"No. I don't think so" Louis replied, pulling the covers back over his bare thighs as a chill ran over his skin.

"Missed call" Harry mumbled, clicking a few times on his phone before putting it up to his ear, looking over at Louis from where he was stood. Louis' hair was a feathery mess on his head and he was sporting deep bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep. His t-shirt hung lowly under his collarbones that jutted out against the sunlight and was creased from sleeping in it all night. Louis raised his hands to rub his eyes like Harry had done before, and Harry smiled at the sight. "Hey, it's Harry. You called me?"

Louis tried his best to listen in on the phone call, though he couldn't make out what was being said on the other line as he was too far away. "We got locked out" "Yes, I know. But there wasn't anything we could do about it" "Louis didn't want us getting in trouble" "No, he was helping me. It's not his fault" "We had to go to the shops, it was an emergency" "Look, were safe, isn't that the main thing?" "Right okay. We'll be back at school soon anyway" "Alright. Yeah, you too. Goodbye"

Harry hung up the call with a sigh and made his way back over to the bed, jumping onto it before laying there as if he were dead, his eyes closed. "So? Who was it?" Louis asked, peering down at his face.

"Professor Filch" Harry answered carelessly, opening his eyes again only to be met with Louis confused expression.

"Why do you have our headmasters phone number?" Louis asked, his brows pinched.

Harry hesitated a moment before answering. "Emergency contact numbers, the school take them when you apply here. Your father probably did it for you" he said, turning onto his front and he rested his head onto his hands, his elbows leaning on the bed.

"Oh. But you rang him?" Louis said. It didn't quite add up.

"I just rang the number I had a missed call from" Harry said with a shrug, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

Louis hummed, toying with the edge of the duvet. "Why don't they just take your parents numbers-" Louis paused and widened his eyes, "Fuck I'm so sorry. I didn't think I-"

"It's fine. You're probably still out of it from only just waking up" Harry cut in, giving him a sad smile.

"Yeah. But again I'm sorry, for- bringing it up" Louis mumbled, swiping his fringe from his eyes. "You're okay aren't you? Today. I know yesterday was rough, and you were really sad so, I don't know. Just- making sure you're alright" he asked nervously, he wasn't used to this.

Harry's sad smile turned into a somewhat happy one, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you" he assured him, "I don't really like talking about it. I mean, there's a lot more to it that I might tell you one day. But not right now"

"Yeah course, that's fine" Louis said, though he wasn't quite sure what more there could be to the story. It was already heartbreaking, he didn't see how it could possibly get any worse. "Um. What do you wanna do now then?"

"Well, I'm starving" Harry said, and as if on cue his stomach began to rumble. "Why don't we get some breakfast before heading back to school. I'm pretty sure we've already missed it back there anyway" he suggested, sitting up onto his knees.

"Sounds good" Louis nodded, standing up out of bed. He walked over to the chair where his clothes were and picked them up before setting them down again with a grimace. "Fuck. We should've hung our clothes out to dry. They're still soaked"

"Shit. Why didn't I think of that?" Harry scolded himself, walking over to Louis. He picked up the clothes and looked at them for a moment. "We'll freeze to death if we put these back on"

"Well we can't walk around the hotel in boxers now can we" Louis said with a quirk of his brow, and Harry's eyes trailed down to their bare legs.

"The receptionist said if we need anything they can get it for us. Reckon that includes clothes?" Harry asked, "For once your surname might come in handy"

"Hm. Probably, I'll ring reception now" Louis agreed, walking over to the hotel phone. He looked at the notes besides it and figured out how to call them before pressing a single number, the phone ringing not a moment later.

Whilst Louis was on the phone, harry decided to look around their suite a little. He had been so tired and emotionally drained last night that he hadn't taken it all in, all he was focused on was getting into bed and drifting off to sleep. But now that he was wide awake he had the time to appreciate it a little more.

He walked around and took in the breathtaking view outside the window. Rolling fields that went on for miles, birds flying around the sky, other people walking around outside who had stayed the night. He noticed in the distance he could see a golf course, causing a smile to stretch out on his face as he thought about how Niall would react. He would've loved it. There were also a few people playing what he could make out as badminton and tennis, and he wished they could stay longer to have a game. Though then again, he wasn't sure if Louis would even participate.

He walked away from the window and saw a seating area in front of a large, flat screen TV. Complementary snacks laid out on the table and a tea set rested on a tray, the cups made out of fine China with intricate patterns detailed around the handles.

When he found the bathroom he realised the pressure in his lower abdomen, and he quickly rushed over to the toilet to relieve himself. He wondered how he could've even gone so long without using the toilet, but he guessed the stress of yesterday made him forget. He finished and flushed, pulling his boxers back in place before turning around to look at the lavish room.

There was a free standing, marble topped bath that Harry was sure could fit at least two people and the taps were a shiny golden colour. There was a separate shower cubicle to the side with sliding glass doors and cream, marble coloured walls. A pedestal basin was located on the other side of the room, and a large mirror covered half the wall above it. It was certainly fancy, and Harry didn't even want to know how much Louis had paid for it.

"Harry!" Louis shouted after him as he peaked his head through the bathroom door. "They're sending someone to get clothes for us and they even offered to bring breakfast to our room! Isn't that great" he said with excitement laced in his tone.

"Yeah. Thank god" Harry laughed. "This is a bit fancy isn't it" he gestured around the bathroom as Louis walked inside, looking around himself.

"Just a bit" Louis replied sarcastically. "Might have to try the bath before we go, looks too nice not to" He commented, his finger tracing the edge of it.

Harry raised his brows in surprise and his mouth dropped open. "Wait-you mean?" He trailed off, his eyes flitting between Louis and the bath.

"What?" Louis looked up at him and saw his surprised face. "Oh! No- not like. I didn't mean that. Of course I didn't" he rushed out, a faint blush appearing across his cheeks.

"Oh um. Yeah, right. Of course" Harry let out an awkward chuckle. "I'll um, I'll leave you to it then" he said, waggling his finger before he pointed to the door and rushed out the room in embarrassment.

Louis smiled and shook his head, turning back to the bath to set it running. He found some bubble bath in one of the cabinets and put in admittedly too much, but he shrugged it off and left the tub to fill up. He turned around and faced the mirror, wincing at the sight. He definitely needed a wash, his hair had a shine to it that indicated it was starting to become greasy, and his skin was paler than usual due to the cold.

He sighed and looked away from his reflection, turning to shut the door before stripping off his boxers. He left them on the floor and waited a few more minutes until the tub was full enough. He checked the water, flinching slightly from the heat but decided to step in anyway, his movement slow as he adjusted to the temperature. As he finally sat in, some of the bubbles overflowed onto the tile floors, "fuck sake" he mumbled, deciding to clean it up later. Right now he wanted to relax.

He grabbed some shampoo and lazily washed his hair, holding his breath as he sunk under the water to wash the suds out. He then washed his body, muttering profanities under his breath once he realised it was a mint scented body wash. He hated it. He thought it completely took away the point of having a warm shower or bath if you were just going to cool off your body with a mint shower gel anyway.

He rested his head against the bath, his arms laying on the edges of the tub as he muscles went slack and he shut his eyes. He briefly wondered what Harry was currently doing, and realised he should have probably waited to take his bath after eating breakfast, no doubt in his mind it would arrive whilst he's still in the bath.

Oh well.

He still couldn't quite get his head around what had happened yesterday, or even the things that had happened over the past month in general. He hadn't really had the time to reflect on anything because of how crazy life had been recently, and his mind had always been occupied by school work, his family, his new friends and Harry. Now he had the time.

Now he had the time to get his thoughts together, think over certain situations and pick himself up again, because right now he was a complete mess. Where his life used to be organised, scheduled, simple; now he went about life freely without any thought of what he was going to do, what could happen and how he wanted things to play out. There was no way of him predicting what could happen anymore, so he needed to start thinking over things he had done, rather than things he will do.

Surprisingly the first emotion that hits him is regret as his mind drifts off to his conversation with Harry yesterday.

He was still in shock about the revelation and he didn't quite know how to feel about it. There were so many unanswered questions that he couldn't bring himself to ask, in fear of upsetting Harry again or sending him into the panicked state he was in yesterday. Who is Harry living with? How did Gemma survive? How is Harry so wealthy? Who were the men responsible? He didn't know, though What he does know, is that he learned a very important lesson from that conversation.

You need to think before you speak.

His regret came from the shame of what he had said about Harry's parents previously, how he had treated the boy during arguments and how he had pushed away Harry's sympathy as if he didn't know how it felt to lose a parent. But Harry did know, more so than Louis, and he felt like an utter idiot for speaking on something he had no idea about.

He had just assumed Harry didn't know what it felt like. He assumed his room mate didn't understand the excruciating feeling of losing a piece of your heart. He assumed Harry didn't know what it felt like to find a parent on their death bed, lifeless and cold with no pulse to reassure you that they were there, they could hear you.

He hadn't known, he had just assumed. And that was his biggest regret.

It's now that memories came back to Louis that made him realise he needs to be more aware of the things people say, and what meaning could really lie beneath them. Small, insignificant things Harry had said at the time now made all the more sense to Louis.

'I understand how hard it can be'
'How could you possibly understand?"

'It's sad losing anyone, especially a parent. I know it can be hard to talk about'

'My biggest fear is being completely alone'

He should have picked up on it, but he didn't, blinded by hatred. Harry had a poster of his cat Evie, who he loved dearly. Harry had been in therapy, most likely suffering from the image he had seen. Harry did meditation every morning to stay calm, now there was a reason why. And Louis didn't stop for one second to consider that maybe Harry had struggles of his own.

Maybe I was adding to his pain.

He always says he doesn't have anything in common with Harry other than their shared interest of music. And in his eyes, that was always a good enough reason for them not to be friends. Only now, they had a huge thing in common, albeit a horrific one. They had both lost a parent.

The idea hit him that maybe Harry was looking for someone to relate to this whole time, and it spread so cold throughout his body that even the warmth of the bath couldn't heat his bones.
It wouldn't be surprising for a broken boy to seek the comfort of another, and perhaps Harry had been doing just that. After all, it was no secret that Louis' mother was dead.

As he put the pieces together, he realised he may hold a bigger part in Harry's current life than he had originally thought. He may just be the thing Harry needs, even if he didn't want that responsibility himself.

He had always wondered why Harry tried his hardest to keep the peace between them when Louis continuously pushed him away. He hadn't known why Harry wanted to be friends, or why he was nice to him when he didn't offer any kindness back. He hadn't thought much of the hints or the upfront admissions, they didn't mean anything to him at the time. But now those gestures seemed like a heavy weight on his chest that he couldn't escape from.

He thought back to what Harry had said yesterday as he had begun to calm down. How one of his happiest memories was the day Louis hit him with the football. How he liked Louis being kind to him, taking care of him. And Louis wondered how Harry perceived their 'relationship'.

He couldn't disagree with Harry when he had said they did have some happy moments in the past. Like sneaking down to the kitchens for food, playing ping pong, going shopping. Hell, he couldn't even disagree that the day he hit harry with a football was a good one. It even ended with a movie. Maybe that's why Harry sees the possibility of a friendship?

Is it stupid to hold this grudge? Am I really the only one with an issue?

Sure, Harry had asked to be friends, but Louis had genuinely thought that Harry was confused. Because how can he want a friendship with him after all he had put him through? Why would harry want that when it would only turn sour in the end? Louis wasn't made for friendships, that fact had been drilled into his head by his father for sixteen years and it was hard to let go of.

Harry was kind, caring, sympathetic, helpful, funny, accepting. He always saw the bright side of things even in the worst kind of situations. He was everything Louis wasn't, and he wondered how a person like that could want anything to do with him.

And the sad part, is that Harry was all that despite everything he's been through. He could've turned into a cold hearted boy with no guidance and no shoulder to cry on. He could've taken his sadness and hatred and let it out through others around him. He could've blamed the world and the gods above for taking away something so precious and dear to him, for creating a boy so broken and cold with no hope of repairing. But he didn't. He didn't do what Louis did.

When Louis' mother died, a part of him did too. The part that was kind and caring, the part that was accepting and sympathetic, the part that was good and human and the part that his mother had influenced. What was left behind was the part of him his father had created.

He didn't have his mother there to tell him it was okay to have friends anymore. He didn't have her to dry his tears when father would shout at him for his poor etiquette. She wasn't there to teach him the joys of love and life and how everyone was equal.

She wasn't there to let him out the back door to go play football anymore.

And so, over the span of six years since her death, Louis' mindset changed. There was nothing stopping him from believing his father anymore, there was nobody there to make him question what he was being told and his father finally had full control of what he did and said. It was as if he was a puppet on a string, and now that his mother wasn't there to cut the string, his father was free to do what he wanted.

However, Louis could feel that slowly changing ever since he first stepped foot into the school. He may not be free in terms of his decisions and what he was told to do, but he finally had someone there to make him question everything all over again. If it weren't for Harry opening up yesterday, Louis probably wouldn't be thinking any of this right now.

He wouldn't even be considering the idea of easing up on the fragile boy. He wouldn't be questioning if he was only making life harder for him, if he was adding to his stress and if he could somehow have a positive effect on his life if he would only just ignore his fathers voice on his head.

He finally saw a lot of himself in Harry, even if it did stem from a tragic event, and he wondered what would happen if he could just let go for the sake of Harry's happiness.

"Louis" Harry's voice came from behind the door with a knock, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I've got clothes for you here. And, Uh, there's someone here to see you"

Louis furrowed his brows and blinked a few times. Who would've known where we are?
"Oh. Alright, um-" he looked down at the cooling water and swiped a large amount of bubbles over his crotch area, "You can come in"

The door slowly opened and Harry peaked his head through hesitantly, he saw Louis was still in the bath and jolted his head back. "You're still in the bath" he said, and Louis chuckled.

"I'm covered don't worry" he said, and he heard harry let out a deep breath before he walked into the room. "I wouldn't tell you to come in if I wasn't"

"Right" Harry said as he put the clothes on top of the toilet seat. He turned around to face Louis with a nervous expression.

"What's up?" Louis asked, slightly concerned. "Who's here anyway?"

Harry shifted on the spot as he twisted the ring on his finger. "Don't freak out, because I already did enough of that for the both of us" he began, and now Louis was really concerned. "Your father is here-"

"What?!" Louis exclaimed, abruptly sitting up in the bath before realising he was still in fact naked, rushing to keep the bubbles in place. "Why the fuck is he here?" He whisper shouted, looking over at the door before turning his gaze back to Harry.

"How the fuck would I know?" Harry shot back, blushing once he almost saw something he didn't expect. "He just barged in, had a go at me and now he's demanding you get out there. I'm surprised you didn't hear anything"

Louis' surprised too. Normally if his father is having a go at someone he can hear it from a mile away. He must have been out of it. "Why did he have a go at you?" He asked with a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"He accused me of using you for your money, he said I didn't deserve to stay in a hotel as nice as this, much less share a room with you" Harry explained, a frown on his face. "He also said something about it being wrong for two boys to share a bed- which is completely fucked but I didn't want to say anything until you were out there"

"Fuck sake" Louis muttered under his breath. "Look, I'll handle it. Just don't go out there without me. He'll rip you to shreds" he said as he shook his head. "Pass me a towel"

"Wait- you're going to get changed whilst I'm in here?" Harry asked, grabbing a towel hesitantly.

Louis snapped his fingers at Harry, gesturing for him to hand it over. "Better than you being out there with him" he took the towel from Harry. "Just turn around"

Harry did so and Louis held the towel up. He stood from the bath and quickly wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the tub, the water pooling at his feet with every step he took. He walked over to the toilet and gently put a hand on Harry's upper arm, pushing him slightly out the way so he could reach his clothes. He noticed Harry was pretty jumpy, flinching when he touched his arm, but paid no mind to it. He checked Harry wasn't looking once more before drying off and pulling his fresh clothes on. They weren't anything fancy, just a plain white t-shirt and some jeans that didn't quite fit, but they'd do. Harry turned back around just as Louis towel dried his hair, bent over slightly as he shook it out.

"Your father almost walked in on me getting changed by the way. I was mortified" Harry suddenly said, an amused huff escaping his lips. "Nearly had a nice view of my ass if I hadn't turned around at the last minute"

"So he saw your dick?" Louis asked with a laugh, and Harry's face bloomed bright red.

"No, thank fuck. My boxers covered it" Harry replied, "If he had I wouldn't be in here right now. I think I would've offed myself out the window"

"You're wrong" Louis smirked, folding the towel up. "He would've offed you out the window" he said with a laugh, and Harry joined him.

"I can't disagree with that" Harry nodded, "Anyway, I don't think you want to keep him long. He seemed pretty pissed off"

"Great. Cant wait to deal with this" Louis said with a roll of his eyes. "Just keep quiet yeh? Let me deal with him"

Harry agreed and the two of them stepped nervously out of the bathroom, walking around the corner to find Louis' father sat on a chair, one leg crossed over the other as he tapped his foot impatiently. He looked up at them with a scowl on his face. "Took you long enough" he spat, standing up in one swift movement.

"How did you find us?" Louis asked, trying not to show his nerves as he stood his ground with his chin held up. "Why are you here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing" Mark said with a cold tone. "Had you forgotten I see all your bank transactions?" He asked with a condescending grin, clearly fake. He stepped closer to Louis who gulped, taking in a shaky breath. "You've been buying a whole lot of stuff lately. A three thousand pound Gucci coat?" He looked at where Harry was stood behind him then back to the coat resting on the back of the chair. "It's not really your preferred style is it Louis"

"Maybe I wanted to change things up a bit" Louis shrugged, "Is my choice not up to your standards yet? I thought it was an improvement on my joggers and hoodies you seem to hate so much, don't you think?" He asked boldly, sarcasm dripping from his tone that made Marks' scowl return.

"Don't get funny with me son" He warned with a glare, "You shouldn't be spending my well earned money on that freak behind you and you shouldn't be using it to pay for a single room to share either. Never mind the fucking handcuffs- the hell is that all about?"

Shit. Louis blushed deeply and looked at Harry for a moment over his shoulder. The boy looked just as embarrassed as he did. "It was for a project. Besides, once you give me the money it's technically mine and I can do what I'd like with it" Louis replied sternly, though he wasn't as confident as he appeared. "And don't call him a freak, he isn't one"

The next thing Louis knew was a harsh slap to his cheek that sent his head to the side, a gasp emitted from behind him and he screwed his eyes shut in pain, his own hand coming up to cradle the sore red mark. "What the fuck?" He mumbled.

"Don't fucking touch him!" Harry shouted, stepping up to Louis before putting a hand on his shoulder, pulling him backwards a little. "Are you crazy? He's your damn son for Christ's sake!"

Louis opened his eyes and looked at his father in disbelief. He had never hit him before, ever, and he didn't quite know how to react. "Exactly. He's my son and I can discipline him the way i want. You've got some nerve calling me crazy" Mark quipped back at Harry, staring at his hand on Louis' shoulder in disgust.

"That's not fucking discipline, it's abuse" Harry replied venomously, "You should be ashamed of yourself. He did nothing wrong"

"Harry don't, it's fine" Louis cut in quietly, his eyes stinging with tears that he refused to let fall. Not in front of his father.

"No it's not Louis!" Harry shouted desperately, "This isn't right. He shouldn't hit you" he added in a softer tone, his eyes held sadness and despair.

Mark laughed abruptly, gaining the attention of the two boys once again. "God, look what that schools done to you" he said to Louis with a shake of his head, "You've gone soft. Pathetic. You can't even stand up for yourself, getting your little boy toy to do it for you"

Louis' brows pinched together and he stepped away from Harry subconsciously. "He's not. And I haven't" he said with a shaky voice, blinking back his tears.

"You shared a bed with him Louis. I've already told you shit like that is wrong" Mark replied, and Harry could see what he was doing. Manipulating Louis whilst he was in a vulnerable state. "I've taught you better than this. Do you want to disgrace our family?"

"No" Louis shook his head almost violently.

"Louis don't listen to him. He's in the wrong. Not you" Harry said, trying to pull Louis away but he wouldn't budge. He was fixed in place, his eyes wide and unfocused as he stared at his father. "Louis"

"Really? Because you've done a fantastic job of it so far!" Mark said with a grin, watching as Louis slowly crumbled. "Getting into trouble at school, making friends, buying things for other people, sharing a bed with a boy. I hardly recognise you"

"I'll do better! I promise I will. Just- just give me another chance. Please" Louis rushed out, fumbling with his words as he stepped up to his father. "I-I know I've fucked up. I know I have. But I can work on it. I know I can. I'm not a disgrace, I'm not"

"You'd better" Mark said threateningly, "You fuck up one more time and I'm sending you back home where we can go through all our rules one by one together again. Got it?"

"Louis don't-"

"Yes father" Louis nodded erratically. "I understand. I won't let you down"

"Good" Mark said with a smile, patting Louis on the shoulder with a firm grip that made him flinch. "I'll be waiting in the car"

"But- we haven't had breakfast" Louis said quietly.

"You don't need it" Mark said before shrugging past Louis, walking out the room with a slam of the door.

Louis jumped at the sound before going completely still, his back facing Harry as he stared out the window, unblinking, frozen.

It was completely silent and Harry didn't know how to handle it. He didn't know how to process what he had just witnessed. Louis had said that his father never hurt him physically, but from what he had just seen, he didn't know whether that was the truth or not. If he had felt bad for Louis before, now his heart was breaking for him.

Louis was scared of his father, that he now knew for sure, and it explained quite a lot. It explained why he was so reluctant to go against his rules even when the man wasn't around, why he was terrified of letting people in and opening up. Why he was judgemental and rude and arrogant- he was trying to be exactly like his father in hopes that Mark would finally be proud of him. He was absolutely terrified of letting him down.

"Louis" Harry broke the silence hesitantly, his voice low and soft, not wanting to startle the boy. "He's gone now, it's alright" he said gently, about to place a hand on his shoulder when Louis slowly turned around, a tear falling from his eye.

"Nothings ever good enough for him" Louis said brokenly, his voice cracking. "I try so hard to meet his standards and yet- I always manage to fuck something up. I always manage to disappoint him"

"No. No you don't Louis" Harry replied, stepping closer to him. He frowned when Louis stepped away. "He's wrong. You did nothing. Clearly his standards are too high to even meet. He shouldn't have slapped you Lou" the nickname slipped by accident and Harry regretted it the second it left his mouth.

"He's not wrong though!" Louis exclaimed, his hands shaking as he raked them through his hair. "I shouldn't have broken the rules, or bought you that coat, or shared a damn bed with you. That's not what a Tomlinson does!" He said as he grabbed his wet shoes and shoved them onto his feet, sniffing as he did so. "I'm supposed to be the strong one. I'm meant to stick to his rules and do what he says otherwise i'm the fuck up-"

"That's not true. You're not a fuck up-"

"I am in his eyes though" Louis said, looking up at Harry whilst he held back his sobs. "They may not be bad things to anyone else, but they are to him. I can't afford to be a disgrace Harry. I can't do that to my family"

"You're not a disgrace though!" Harry shouted, frustrated. He saw how Louis flinched at his raised voice and sighed before quieting down again. "You need to stop taking everything he says to heart so much. This isn't right Louis. That is not how a father should treat their son and he sure as hell shouldn't have slapped you. It's fucking abusive"

Louis shook his head, "He's not abusive. He's not. He's just strict" he said in denial, refusing to acknowledge his fathers faults.

"Yes it is. Why can't you see that?" Harry asked, reaching up to touch the red mark still lingering on Louis' skin, only for his hand to roughly be slapped away.

"Because it's all I've ever known" Louis replied, looking away in embarrassment as he wiped his eyes.

Stop being weak. Don't cry like a baby.

"We need to leave. Now" Louis said, hastily picking up his phone and their clothes from yesterday. "Come on" he gestured to the door and walked over to it, not checking if Harry was even following.

Harry sighed and followed after him, checking they hadn't left anything behind in the room. Once he was sure he shut the door behind him and caught up to Louis, though he was too afraid to speak in case he upsetted the boy further.

He didn't think Louis was necessarily angry at him, more so in shock at what had happened. He was probably feeling down and didn't want to talk, perhaps even embarrassed that all that had happened in front of him, so he would leave it for now. Maybe Louis would cheer up later if he saw his friends, when they were back in the comfort of their own room and settled back into school; he wouldn't dwell on it.

Louis gave back their room key before they left the hotel, and Harry widened his eyes at the sleek black Bentley waiting for them. Louis opened the door and climbed inside, leaving it open for Harry.

"You expect me to take him back to school? Let him in my car?" Mark asked with a disgusted look, eyeing Harry from the front seat.

Harry looked at Louis uncomfortably, hoping the boy would say something, thankfully he did. "Oh come on. He's not going to do anything and how else is he supposed to get back to school? It's only like twenty minutes away" Louis huffed and leant against the window. "Harry get in" he said, ignoring his fathers glare.

Harry got into the car and buckled up quickly. He'd rather not sit in a car with Mark for twenty minutes but he'd prefer this over walking to school. It sure would be awkward though.

And of course it was. What should have been a quick drive down to school seemed like the longest journey the two of them had ever had to endure in their lives. Mark never played music in the car, didn't even listen to the radio, so nothing could drown out the heavy silence that made shivers crawl down Harry's spine and made Louis fidget in his seat every couple minutes or so.

When they finally pulled up outside the grand building, Harry wasted no time jumping out and away from Louis' father. He didn't say thank you like he normally would, Mark Tomlinson didn't deserve his kindness.

"Don't forget what I told you Louis. This is your last chance" Mark said just as Louis was about to step out the car. He didn't even turn back to look at him, just stared out the front window as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

"I won't" Louis muttered, slamming the car door behind him accidentally. Mark drove off and Louis walked straight past Harry into the school, not caring for any teachers that might see them walking in at a time they weren't supposed to.

He was too tired to go back to classes and he was sure Harry was too, so they walked to their room quietly as other students bustled around them with confused glances and hushed whispers.

Once inside, Louis dumped their clothes into the laundry basket and slumped down onto his bed as Harry stood by the door watching him like he didn't know what to do. "Are you alright?" He asked, knowing it was a dumb question.

"No" Louis replied briefly, kicking off his shoes. They fell to the floor carelessly and Louis tucked his knees up against his chest in a foetal position, looking small and scared.

"Is there anything I can do?" Harry replied, taking a seat on the edge of his own bed. "I know that was rough back there, I understand if you don't want to talk about it but-"

"Please don't" Louis whispered, cutting him off. "I don't want to shout at you" he admitted, closing his eyes.

He was so utterly conflicted right now. He didn't know how to feel. One moment he was relaxing in the bath, considering to drop his grudge with Harry for the sake of the boys happiness, and all of a sudden he has his father there telling him upfront that that's not what he should be doing at all. It was like any time he tried to think for himself and make his own decisions, his father would pop up to scold him for it, change his mind and manipulate his thoughts. He didn't want to argue with Harry anymore- but if the price of that was the disapproval of his father, he wasn't sure if he could make that sacrifice.

"Then don't. Just talk to me instead. I'm here for you whenever you need me" Harry replied, taking off his ring and setting it on his bedside table.

"I don't want to talk about it" Louis said, shaking his head as he balled up his fists close to his chest.

"You sure? You don't need to feel embarrassed, or afraid. I won't-"

"I'm not" Louis cut him off firmly, his voice slightly raised. "I just- I need to be alone right now" He added, his voice dipping.

"Okay" Harry nodded, understanding. "I uh, I need to go talk to my sister anyway so, I'll just leave you for a bit" he stood up and walked to the door.

Louis hummed as if to say okay, peaking an eye open to see Harry leaving the room. Once the door closed and he was finally alone, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and turned onto his back, looking up at the ceiling.

Mum would know what to do.

He shook away the thought and sat up slowly, turning his head to look at Harry's side of the room. He saw his bed and his eyes trailed to the headboard before flicking up to the wall above it- something was missing and an idea stuck from nowhere.

He got up and walked over to Harry's bedside table, hesitating before he opened the top draw and pulled out two large pieces of folded paper. He knew he had found what he'd been looking for once he unfolded it and saw the black and white fur depicted on the animal. His lips turned up at the adorable image and he slotted the poster into his back pocket carefully.

He shut the draw and was about to turn away when he noticed Harry's ring resting atop of the table, and besides it the broken picture frame Harry had dropped that night when he stumbled through the darkness into bed.

Louis picked it up gently, aware of the shards of glass looking ready to fall, and took in the image of a tanned woman with shoulder length black hair, kind eyes and a bright smile that resembled Harry's almost identically. 'Anne Twist' was written and capital letters at the bottom of the frame, and Louis knew right away it was Harry's mother.

He looked away sadly and placed the frame back where it laid before, walking away to his side of the room where his desk was placed besides the window and a roll of cello tape was tucked away in his pencil case.

He sat down and took out the poster, slotting the ripped halves together with a heavy heart and trembling fingers.

It was the least he could do for now.

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Author notes:

Okay... bit of a heavy chapter again but I hope you guys enjoyed it. I wrote this chapter because I want you guys to understand why Louis struggles so much to let his fathers teachings go. I wanted you to understand why this isn't moving quickly, and why Louis acts the way he does. Don't see this as a step back, because it's not, it's just a portrayal of what Louis is fighting against.

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Love you all xxx