"It's gone Harry, it's all gone." Harry Styles had been mumbling those words to himself ever since he contracted that bloody blood cell over multiplication sickness, leukemia. He tried to pretend that the sickness hadn't come, that he was still alright, however, seeing as his physical and internal attributes had been altered significantly, that was almost impossible. He had a great hatred for anything with a mirror, as that meant that he had to face the reality that everything he thought he had forever was now taken away from him. It's not the bloody sickness I hate, it's the fact that it changed me so much, he thought. It would've been alright if it was just my hair, but those darned chemicals have a way of screwing up your entire system. He might've hated being holed up in his house as a child, but seeing as the whole world practically knew him and he didn't want them finding the truth out, he had to hide somewhere. The hospital wasn't a very logical place to hide as it was very public, and he wasn't even going to consider his house. The fans practically stalked him, so he it amazed him that they still didn't know the truth. Maybe it was because Louis Tomlinson was such a good friend. He knew how to answer to the fans' tweets, allowing them a glimpse of the truth and at the same time, he kept the secret. Harry found himself staring into space, smiling at nothing. It was Louis who brought him to this isolated village in the dead of night just for his sake. It was Louis who sent him thousands of text messages asking him if he was alright. It was Louis who endured the burden of the secret, choosing to keep his promise. He couldn't have asked for a better best friend.

A tear trickled down his cheek as he stared out the tiny slit that was the window. He had specifically requested for a room with no windows, so the owner of the house boarded up the window for Harry's sake. He slowly pried the boards away from the glassy face of the window and allowed the sunshine to enlighten his pale face. Today was the day he'd face the fans. Today was the day he feared, yet his heart was beating with enthusiasm.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOUIS! THIS IS FOR YOU!!!" He shouted, opening the windows wide. Today would be day one. Today he would tell the boys the truth. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror- yellow beanie, white t-shirt, jeans and white sneakers-and smiled. He was ready to face the world.

Notes

I found my notes for this story stashed somewhere in my pile of nonsense so I decided to encode it, now that I actually have a place for it. Please forgive me if some elements are contradictory or a bit weird because this story was continued almost a year after it was started and it is troublesome to replace certain elements of the story. Hope y'all like it all the same! :)