Just a little note bc the last chapter consisted mostly of comments saying that Harry needs to tell Louis about therapy. PLEASE think about these sorts of situations from another point of view! Harry is not ready to tell Louis. He already took a big step to even go to therapy. He and Louis are not married, Harry has all rights to his privacy. He told Louis he wasn't cheating. That is up to Louis to trust his partner.
If this was a real life situation and someone was feeling pushed to open up about something like this, it could end very badly. People who have ptsd, depression, anxiety, etc. can be triggered by being pushed into things! Please be aware of all of this. ❤️
I know this is just a story, but I wanted to put this note out here to remind you all that these are situations that happen in real life, and how they should actually be treated! I love you guys, thank you for reading! ❤️

~~

Louis was avoiding Harry. He wasn't trying to, not at first, but then he realized he was a lot less stressed when he wasn't worrying about what Harry was doing in his free time. Louis stayed late at the theater constantly, and then started staying at Jade's house.

It was Friday, and Jade was going out of town with her parents, and Louis was so nervous to have to go back home to Harry since he hadn't seen much of the man, and it's not like Harry was making any effort to speak to him, either.

Louis was heading out of the building, wincing when hearing the rain because he had no ride home and  he wasn't quite smart enough to text anyone beforehand. He grunted as he pulled out his phone to send his boyfriend a message, when he felt a hand on his back, turning to see Ashton, who he'd been speaking to a good bit lately. He was glad they could actually be friends now, because he'd once liked Ashton for a reason, and now they could be good friends.

"Hey.. you okay?" Ashton asked softly.

"Yeah.. I.. well, Jade had to leave early today, I don't have theater practice, and.. yeah. I am not speaking to Harry right now. But it looks like I'm gonna have to.. unless you can spare me a ride?" He asked with a shy smile.

Ashton chuckled softly. "Uh.. well, I actually drive a motorcycle and I don't have a spare helmet.. plus, it's raining so I was going to try to wait it out some... it was so sunny this morning."

Louis laughed a little. He had no idea Ashton drove a motorcycle now. He used to have a little truck, Louis remembered.

"Hm. I guess I can text Harry," he huffed, feeling stubborn but he was surely not the type to walk in the rain and he didn't want to call a cab because it made him uncomfortable to ride alone.

"No, no. I'll call you a cabbie-"

"I don't take cabs alone," Louis said, biting his lip as he pulled his jacket tighter. It was chilly with the rain.

"Well, let's take it together. I'll ride to your home with you and the cabbie can bring me back. Maybe the rain will have slackened up," he said, already dialing the number.

Louis allowed it, taking a breath and staying quiet as they waiting for the cab. Finally, it arrived, and they slid into the back. What Louis didn't know, was that they got into the car together the same time Harry walked out of the building and saw them.

~~

*Three hours earlier*

Harry was sitting in the office of his therapist, in the middle of the day, staring at the fish tank. It had been silent in the room for ten minutes, because Harry was just thinking. He didn't know what he wanted to say. He just knew that he felt particularly depressed today, after a week of silence with Louis. They were growing more and more apart. And it was Harry's fault.

"Harry," Dr. Freeman said softly, breaking their silence. "I'll ask again.. can you tell me why you came in early today?"

Harry breathed in, closing his eyes. "I'm.. I don't know," he said quietly. "I'm just.. I haven't.. Louis's been avoiding me. He thinks I'm cheating."

"He doesn't know where you've been?" She asked quietly, and Harry didn't miss her jotting that note down.

"No. I can't tell him," Harry muttered.

"You're not ready to. That's okay," Dr. Freeman assured him, and it gave Harry a sense of relief.

"That's okay?" Harry repeated. "I'm not.. a bad boyfriend?"

"Harry, you've had extreme trauma. You've been to me nearly every day for two weeks now and you still haven't told me the severity of your problems. I do not think it's a good idea to tell him exactly what you're doing if you aren't ready.. but think of it from his point of view, Harry. He probably thinks you're sneaking off. Just explain to him you're not ready to talk."

"I tried," Harry breathed. "I wouldn't mind telling him if he wasn't so pushy. I can tell him about the therapy, but.. I know that if I tell him, he's going to try and push me into telling him why I'm here and I'm - that's the part I can't do," he added.

"Okay, I understand," she said, nodding. "That makes lots of sense, Harry. I think it's a big step that you think you can open up about where you're at, even if you can't say why."

Harry sighed, rubbing his temple. "So.. what do I do?" He asked, shaking his head.

"Maybe.. if you want him to trust you, maybe tell him where you've been going, but be firm about telling him you're not ready to speak on why you're here. Tell him that you love him, you wouldn't sneak off with anyone, and that you just need him to trust you. It's hard for trust to be exercised in a couple that's a little newer. You haven't yet built your foundation. If you're ready to tell him, tell him. If not, you will have to try to get him to believe you some other way."

Harry highly agreed with what she said. It made him a little more comfortable, and they spoke more about other things. Harry felt more comfortable telling Louis about the therapy visits.

After the session, he headed out to the school, determined to speak to his boyfriend. However, When he got the the theater, it was closed. He took a breath and then he went to check outside, walking out just as he saw Louis sliding into the cab.

"Louis!" He called, frowning when seeing someone get in after Louis. The rain was pounding, so he couldn't quite see, just like Louis like it couldn't hear him. But, he knew, when he saw the red bandana wrapped around the mysterious lad's wrist, that it was Ashton, who he'd been seeing a lot of lately, when it came to Louis.

"Louis!" He yelled again, running after the cab, but then, it was pulling out and Harry was staring after it.

~~

Louis was leaning against the cool cab window, just taking slow breaths as they headed towards his home. He could feel Ashton next to him, all body heat, and Louis actually craved his boyfriend, who also owned lots of personal body heat, and could cuddle poor, shivering Louis.

"Here, I have another jacket," Ashton said softly, moving to get his hoodie from his bag.

"No, you'll need it for your bike ride," Louis said, turning the face the man.

"No, it's all good. I don't get cold easy," he said gently. "Take it, please."

Louis hesitated but then he was pulling it on, because he was freezing. "Thank you for that. And for riding home with me," he said quietly. "I appreciate it."

"Of course," Ashton said with a Shrug. "It's no problem. Honestly... wow.. is this your neighborhood?" Ashton asked as they pulled in.

"Uh, well, Harry's neighborhood," he said with a shrug. "I lived in a townhouse with my aunt and cousins until they moved to stay with my mum. So.. I came to live with Harry until I graduate."

"Then what?"

Louis looked up, catching his breath, because Ashton was looking at him, actually looking, and Louis was just stunned, because he never gets this much attention from Harry.

"Oh.. uh, I don't know," Louis breathed, blushing and turning away. "I .. I'm not sure. I haven't really decided. I've only applied to London Arts.. and not anything else. I need to get in more applications, just in case."

"London Arts? The academy?" Ashton asked in surprised. "That's where I'm going! I mean - I plan to. My uncle teaches a guitar course there and so I'd get free tuition if I get in. You know, I can put in a word for you."

"Would you?" Louis asked, eyes bright. "Oh, Ashton, that would be amazing!" He squeaked, leaping over to hug the man. He laughed breathlessly, pulling back, just grinning at Ashton. He felt warm, he felt Happy, and it wasn't even that he actually liked Ashton anymore, but someone was making him smile, someone was caring for him.

"Uh - we're here," the cabbie driver said, as he'd been stopped for a minute.

"Oh, sorry," Louis breathed with a blush, pulling back and gathering his things. "Thank you. Thank you both... be safe, Ashton. Text me when you get to your home," Louis said with a small smile, before he was heading in after Ashton bid him goodbye.

He got inside and stood there for a moment before kicking off his sneakers and heading upstairs, sighing as he crawled into his own bed to get warm, cutting on the tele. He fell asleep, snuggled warm in his blankets with Ashton's sweater still on.

~~

Ooooo things are getting messy 👀

Sorry y'all I love drama 😂 I had this planned for a while and wasn't sure when to incorporate it but here we are.

Had to give you an update to celebrate Harry's birthday! 😛

I love you all, let me know what you think as always! Thank you for all of your comments and support!

xx Queen B