Masked

I smile at our picture by the fireplace as I walk by it. It was taken about summer ’09 when Harry and I had been at the beach. Being the “selfieaholic” that he is, Harry just had to take a picture of us. At first, I refused, being the “photophobiac” that I am, but Harry insisted.

“Come on Lou!”

“It’s only a picture, Harry.”

”To you. But what is it to me?”

I took a while to ponder his words and came out with nothing.

“What is it to you?” I fired Harry’s question back at him.

”I’m forgetful, right?” Harry replied. “So it’s a reminder that you’re my best friend.”

“But you have so many friends. Why pick me?” I asked with a slight smile.

Click! Went Harry’s camera as he took a selfie of himself and a candid of me.

“Why me, Harry?” I asked once again.

He shrugged. “Something about you tells me you won’t leave me no matter what.”

I haven’t left him, to this day, mostly because he trusted me more than anyone else. He opened up to me about his past-his mother and father died in a car accident and his stepparents were, quoting Harry “evil little butts”. I still admire him, as I always have, but he’s not as untouchable. Somehow, being able to see underneath the mask of happiness he wears comforts me, but at the same time, it makes me wonder whether or not he’s hiding more pain and hurt deep inside.

I look outside at the group of boys kicking the black and white football ball around. Among them, Harry is not only the best player, but also one of the happiest. It surprises me how dark his life really is, considering the walls of sunshine he puts up.

I open the door to my bedroom and walk outside.

“Louis!” Niall shouts, running over to me with a huge smile on his face. He holds out his hand for a hi-five.

“Niall!” I shout, hi-fiving him.

“Ow!” He exclaims, looking down at his hand, now very red indeed.

“Are you…” I start to ask, then he looks up with a big smile and shrugs.

“I feel no pain,” he jokes.

I can’t help but smile. Aside from the football passion, good sense of humor and their ability to win the heart of any girl in our school, another thing Harry and Niall have in common is their ability to mask pain-only one is emotional while the other is physical. Believe me, you wouldn’t be able to tell that Niall had sprained his ankle in the middle of the game until the game itself was over. Same thing goes for Harry’s rough past. You wouldn’t know it unless you took the time to talk to him.

In fairness though, everybody has a mask. Looking at the crowd of people, I can only name two other people aside from Niall, who is standing next to me and Harry, who is somewhere in the crowd of people, jousting for the ball. Wavy haired Liam (yes Liam, my best friend nerd) is sitting on a chair drinking a glass of lemonade while Zayn, who is also sitting down, has his head on the table-he’s probably asleep. Just like myself, those two didn’t really play sports, but unlike myself, they love to read books-though one reads textbooks while the other reads comic books. Their introverted personas are their masks. Liam’s mask hides a friendly and compassionate soul. His mind is so pure and innocent, in spite of the massive knowledge he possesses. To know him would not only mean you know a genius-you will have met your guardian angel. Zayn, on the other hand masks a child-like disposition and a master of the arts. He pretends not to laugh at the jokes people make, when in reality, he’ll just about burst. Furthermore, if you ever need somebody to paint a picture, be it in words or song, Zayn’s the man.
“Louis!!!” Niall suddenly shouts, snapping me out of my daydream. ”Wake up Louis, something’s happening and no, it’s not good!!!”

I fell asleep standing up? I looked at Niall inquiringly.

“What’s wrong, Niall?” His clear blue orbs were shining with tears.

“I don’t know, but like I said, it’s not good.” He gestures to the large crowd gathered near an ambulance. “I mean, there’s an ambulance so…”

“Let’s just go.” I say, walking to the crowd. Like Niall said, if there’s an ambulance and a crowd, that means someone got hurt… somehow.

Notes

Chapter 2 because I have a bit of free time xx.