(Harry's POV)

We couldn’t stay in my flat any longer than we already had. It was getting stuffy. What was the harm in going out and getting a little fresh air? I didn’t see the problem. Niall had no reasons not to go out. So that was the plan. Go out on the town, piss of management, do a little damage. Well, no damage. I didn’t think I could handle any more damage.

Got everything? Niall showed me his board and I nodded, patting my pockets for my wallet and my phone. He had the keys because there was no way I was going to be driving anywhere. My dreams haunted me with driving, especially the most recent one from a few days back where everything went back to the crash and I relived the moment over again. He pulled out his phone and tapped a few things before my phone buzzed.

I pulled it out and realized what Niall was doing. From Niall: We can text since you can’t hear me. We can at least keep that a sort of secret. =] I looked up at Niall and nodded. It was a good plan. Next was just to get out of that apartment. I had been getting better with using my crutches and Niall suggested duct-taping towels to the tops for more comfort. The idea did wonders and my armpits didn’t hurt as much after moving around on the crutches for a little while.

We really should have called Paul or Preston to come with us, but we wanted to do something on our own for once. No units watching out for us, just two guys going out for some food and maybe to walk around a bit. My body had come accustomed to lounging about and I wanted to get back to the action.

From Niall: Where to?

I didn’t really know where I wanted to go. I knew we would stop at Nandos because Niall couldn’t go anywhere out on the town without stopping at Nandos and getting some of their delicious food. Our first stop was there, we quickly made it in and out with a few girls noticing us, but being nice enough to respectfully ask to take a picture with us rather than freaking out and spreading the news like wild fire. Well, I did receive a tweet about one of the girls meeting us. I favorited it, knowing it would make the girls day.

Once we were done with the food, I couldn’t help but realize my phone blowing up with mentions. Something sure was happening. I scrolled down the page on my phone and groaned. Louis was supposed to have a nice date with Eleanor, but apparently the fans had other plans. They were tweeting about Louis and Eleanor, some saying they looked cute together, but others asking where I was because Louis was my supposed “boyfriend.” That’s where the mentions came from.

I looked at Niall with sad eyes. I frowned and handed my phone over. He scrolled over the page and frowned as well. He held his hands up in a ‘it happens’ gesture. I shook my head, annoyed with the fans that swarmed us at times. I bet Louis was pissed. Niall and I got into the car and locked the doors, because you never know. I quickly put my seat belt on and looked over at Niall again before asking, “What do you want to do?” out loud.

He shrugged and turned the car on, driving down the traffic filled road. When we stopped at a red light, his thumbs moved quickly over his phone and my own phone buzzed in response. From Niall: We could go save Lou and El?  I thought about it for a second, but that was better than going back to the flat. What was a little excitement?

So that’s what we did.

Although, we didn’t realize how many fans would be there. We thought maybe ten to twenty at most, but when Niall pulled up to the café that Louis and Eleanor were said to be at, there was one hell of a crowd. We carefully pulled into the alleyway that the fans were crowded into. They moved out of the way and some even turned around and saw that we were in the car. I assumed they started to shout our names because Niall was grinning and waving. Out windows were slightly down and I poked my hand out and waved at everyone. We got close enough to where we could see Louis and Eleanor and even one of the bodyguards that was assigned to them. Niall stopped the car and the crowd made their way around out car and their faces were lit up with excitement.

My phone buzzed. From Niall: Make sure your earmuffs are on. I’ll get out first.

 I nodded and let Niall get out, pulling his jacket on in the process. The temperature had dropped which made my earmuffs seem less strange. He walked over to my side of the car, the bodyguard who was with El and Louis made his way to him and pushed the fans away. He opened my door and I pulled my crutches from the back seat. It was now or never. I stepped out and balanced myself. The fans were grabbing and trying to get a touch in, anything to say that they ‘met’ Harry Styles.

I looked over to Louis whose face was shock. His hand was clenched with Eleanor’s and they watched with confusion as I hobbled over to them with a smile on my face. The bodyguard, who I remembered his name as Thomas, Tom, tried his best to keep the fans at bay. Some cops showed up because of the growing crowd. They pushed back a large portion of the fans, which made it easier to get into the café and have everyone meet up in the same place. Eleanor gave me a tight hug and then pulled back with a sad look on her face when she took in my appearance. I looked rough. I knew I did. We all did.

I felt a tug on my shoulder and I turned around, thinking it was Niall to congratulate me on getting through the crowd on my own, but I was very mistaken. It was a short girl, well short by my terms, which meant shorter than me and I was past six foot. Her face was contorted with crying excitement as she reached out for a hug. Before Tom could make it over to pull the girl back, she had gotten a hold one side of my earmuffs. Tom had pulled her back by then, but her grip was still tight on the article by my ears and when she was pulled back far enough, it snapped back.

Excruciating white-hot pain shot through my head. I knew I was on the ground by then, dropping my crutches to the ground and crumpling to the ground. I grabbed my head and yanked the earmuffs free. The ringing was ten fold, causing a sharp pain to bounce inside my head. My leg was also twisted and hit the ground hard, adding to the pain. It all happened so fast and the pain terrified me. It was worse than the first time around. I knew then why the doctor said to keep my ears protected. He was warning me against that.

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(Niall's POV)

Harry dropped to the ground in a flash. “Harry!” I fell to my knees next to him and rolled him over on his back. He was crumpled and holding his head. His painful whimpers were heartbreaking. “Harry. Harry. Oh god- Louis I think it’s his ear.” I tried to pull at Harry’s hand that was covering his left ear. He wouldn’t budge. He only tensed up and curled into a ball, ignoring the fast that he had a broken leg as well.

Louis kneeled next to me and helped me with Harry. He looked up at Eleanor and apologized for the bad date. She shook her head. “We just need to get Harry to the hospital. Don’t worry about me. He looks like he’s in a lot of pain.” She was right. Harry let tears run down his face. I looked up at Thomas the bodyguard and he was already on his phone.

“Ambulance is on its way. I already called Paul and Preston. They are on their way.” Thomas turned his attention to the crowd that was finally disappearing. The police were doing a great job at clearing the scene. They also had the girl who grabbed Harry in cuffs. She was crying terribly. I stood up and made my way over to her. Thomas gave me a shocked look, but I held my hand up saying it was okay.

“Can you tell me what happened? Where did you grab Harry?” I asked. The more information I could give the paramedics, the better. The girl looked up at me. Tears and snot ran down her face. She looked miserable. “Please, just tell me what happened.” I gave her my best smile and she wiped her eyes.

“I-I just wanted a- a hug, but I- My arms around his shoulders- but I caught the-the earmuff.” She stuttered and breathed heavily through her tears. The earmuff must have snapped back on him. It was the best I was going to get out of the girl. Thomas pulled her away, so he probably saw the whole thing and knew what to tell the paramedics. I thanked her and gave her a short hug, easing her fears. I looked at the police and they still had to take her in until Harry dropped charges, which I most likely thought he would.

By the time I got back to Harry, the ambulance was already pulling up along with Preston and Paul. They rushed over and Paul got into the ambulance with Harry. Preston crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. I was the one who got Harry out of the flat. He shouldn’t have been out at all, but he was so depressed and needed to get out. I hoped they would understand that. By the look on Preston’s face, he was going to have a long hard talk with me, and anyone else who thought bringing Harry out in public was a good idea. I gulped down the lump in my throat and glanced over to Louis and Eleanor who were standing still, shell shocked at all that happened.

“Well, gotta live while we’re young, right?” I joked, trying to ease the tension. No one laughed or even showed the slightest hint that it was funny.

Louis just looked grim and Eleanor tried to get him to come back to his senses, but it was hard. “We have to call Anne.” He stated, pulling his phone out. “The doctor said that if Harry’s ears got injured anymore they would have to go in for surgery and repair the damage. Niall, we have to call his mum.” I shuddered at the thought of Anne yelling at us for keeping Harry’s injuries a secret, but Louis was right. We needed to call Anne. Harry needed his mum there. He didn’t need the team. He needed family.

On the ride over to the hospital to check on Harry, Eleanor asked to be taken home. Thomas did just so and she kissed Louis goodbye and told him to text her later about everything. We continued to the hospital and while Louis called Anne I was on the phone with Liam and Zayn. I felt bad for taking them away from their girlfriends, but they understood and said they were on their way. When I hung up I heard yelling from Louis’ phone and I worried that he was going to cry because Anne was probably bitching at him for lying about her hurt son.

“I know. I’m sorry. Yes Ma’am. Okay. We will see you. I’m sure he will be fine. Okay. Be safe. All right. Bye, Anne.” Louis sighed with relief when he hung up. He slouched in his seat. “I never want to be the one to do that ever again.”

“What’s going on? Is she going to come to London?” I asked, but of course she was. That woman would do anything for her son. He may be in a big fancy band, but that didn’t mean she would ever stop babying him.

Louis rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, she was getting in her car as we spoke. Man, I thought she was going to climb through the phone and bite my head off.” Holmes Chapel, Harry’s hometown was only a few hours from London. No doubt, Anne would be here in under that time. We just had to wait it out with Harry until she got there. We pulled into the hospital and Thomas parked the car. Louis and I scrambled out and made our way to the nurse’s station. The nurse looked up and her eyes widened. “We came for Harry Styles. He was just brought in not to long ago.”

“Ah-“ She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Oh yeah, Mr.Styles. Yes. He was prepped her surgery not to long ago, a few minutes ago really. You can wait in the waiting room.” She pointed over to the small sitting area. Louis and I groaned. We had been spending too much time in the hospital as of late. It wasn’t something we looked forward too. After about a half hour of waiting, Liam and Zayn stumbled into the hospital. I called out to them and they ran over.

“What’s happening?” Liam asked.

“Harry’s getting surgery on his ear.” Louis answered, twiddling his thumbs in his lap.

“We’ve just been waiting.” I added. The two of them sat down with us and Paul soon joined us with Preston at his side. Their faces were stern and mostly aimed at me. “Uh, hey guys.” I greeted them nervously.

“What in the world were you thinking?” Paul boomed. I shrunk in my seat and Liam and Zayn looked at me, expecting an answer just like Paul and Preston. It was hard to say that Harry just wanted some air. It seemed like such a trivial thing ended up being blown out of proportions. I kept silent and was saved by the doctor approaching us. She has a blank face and that frightened me as well as the others.

A/N: Please vote and comment! Love you all!- Jach