A vision of ecstasy.

He obliges and that's when even Edith hears the crack of Louis' frail heart. His voice trembles when he speaks and he doesn't know where to look. "Harry?"

*LOUIS' POV*

"Harry?" I knew my voice shook. Why shouldn't it?

I felt numb to the core. Deeply and completely insensitive to the prone hurt I'm supposed to be feeling. Maybe it would come later, and then it would hurt so much more.

He pushes her away, not that the detachment act had any standing now, before turning to take me in. I bet I look horrendous by the door, trembling bottom lip and clenched fist on my hospital gown.

I tilted my head, hoping to hide some of my vulnerability as I tried to make sense of the scene in front of me.

"Lou." Harry's head flicked to the side for a moment.

His eyes seemed glazed over, and just now returned to their normal hypnotic green. He sees Edith standing behind him, his body shielding her from whatever meager threat I pose.

I swallow hard enough for it to hurt, listening as time stops around me and my heart momentarily stops beating because what's the point now?

I turn on my heel and run back down the hall to where I know my room is, it's my safe haven where I have a lockable door to keep the monster out.

"Lou!" Harry is following after me.

I shake my head and go on, he owes me nothing. He shouldn't, at least. If heartbreak kept occurring for me then it must be that I did something to deserve it. If heartbreak always hurt this way, then that thing must have been deeply cruel.

I sob into my pillow after locking the door - I didn't really count on one being present. His fist bangs against the barrier multiple times, along with a sweet chorus of my name.

"Lou? Baby, let me in." He says softly.

If I didn't have my nails digging into my palms, I'd have caved because his voice is all I really want for everyday of my life. "Go away!"

"No, Louis. Why did you run?"

Is he freaking serious? He wants me to relive it? Does he get off on it. "You're cruel, Harry. Please leave me alone."

"Lou, please."

I pick up the remote by the table and hurl it at the door, hoping he'd get the message. He could still see me through the unsealed blinds of the windows looking into the hall, but I'll try to ignore that until I find it in me to move.

My tears are hot and burn my cheeks as they roll down my face and onto the pillow. I wanted it to hurt, because I didn't deserve less. Right? My chest felt like a ton of bricks and I choked on every breath. It wasn't supposed to make me want to burrow into this bed and disappear.

He said he loved me. I was going to apologise for being a jerk and tell him the same because I was ready to fall face first into this relationship. He, clearly, had the doctor's intern as a safety net. I deserve this for being the naïve idiot I was, and I'll probably never learn.

Even insulting Harry hurt because all I wanted was to forgive him. He took away the edge and need to release pent-up energy through harsh means. He made me feel good about myself when all I felt was doubt. Maybe I was too much? Maybe he thought I didn't appreciate it?

"Lou?" He's still there and here comes a fresh wave of throttled sobs.

"Harry?" I speak into my pillow because it felt incomplete. There was a flame in my chest.

"Lou, let me in."

"You hate me."

"No, baby. I don't."

"Then why'd you do that? You said you loved me!"

"I still do. I don't love another person."

"You kissed her!" I shriek, not looking up. "Why?"

"Kissed who? Lou, what are you talking about?"

"Don't call me that. You're a liar."

"I didn't lie, Louis. Tell me what's bothering you."

"That Edith woman. You kissed her, in your room. I was standing right there, Harry!"

"Oh, Lou." I hear the thump of his forehead hitting the door. "I.....I think I can explain."

"Think?"

"Louis, I don't remember kissing that woman. I would never hurt you like that."

"You're lying."

He jiggles the handle that won't budge and I fold into the fetal position until my knees meet my chest.

"Believe me. The last thing I remember is leaving you to go to Dr. Michaels' office. I remember talking to him."

"What?" His memory was wedged in stationary that far back?

"Honest, Lou." He has the handle bent. "Let me in?"

"I c-cant. What if you're just playing with me again?" I say with heavy lungs because breathing has become more of a task. "H-Harry, I won't forgive you. I t-trusted you."

"Louis? Louis, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine."

"Is your chest heavy? Breathe for me, Louis. Come on, let me in. Please, Lou. I need to know you're okay."

"I'm f-f-fine, Harry!"

"Louis!" I know he didn't mean to shout but the authority in his voice made me flinch.

"P-Please go away." You're scaring me.

"Louis, you know I won't do that. Open this door or I'll break it down."

"Were you telling the truth? Do you really not remember?"

I'm already up and approaching the door with cold toes and no shoes. I wish I had the mentality to put on some socks.

"Yes, Lou." He sighs and I stop walking. "I would never do anything that would mean me losing you. Edith.....you know that story I told you?"

"Y-Yeah." I touch the door handle.

"She was the one after us, Louis. Remember the attic and hardware-"

"Yes."

I fumble with the door handle, hurting my hand and hissing loudly in the process. It flies open on the second try and Harry blocks it from bouncing back with his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" His eyes move from every part of me to the next, leaving me blushing and stewing in a portion of my previous anger.

"Okay." I reassure him before stepping back.

His arm surges forward and grabs my hip on one end, my elbow on the other end. "Wait."

"Harry, I still want to know-"

"I know. I know, Lou." He drops to his knees and I freeze.

"I'm not marrying you. I'm still angry and-"

"Not marriage." He cuts me off with a slight smirk.

His muscular arms go around my tiny waist, a grand contrast to my less desirable behind that always stood out. His biceps wrap tightly around me and his nose is buried in my tummy where the pudge is just below.

"Lou, I know you're upset with me. If you say I did what I did, then it's true and I'm so sorry it
happened. I love you and I'll never pressure you or hurt you. I also know you're gullible and will easily believe me but I don't want just that for our relationship." He looks up at me with glassy green orbs that rob me of my breath. "Let me prove it?"

"How, Harry? You said you would and look where we are! We can't-"

"Dr. Michaels said I could leave."

And was there ever a thing as air? "What?"

"He said I could leave. That's what he wanted to talk to me about."

"Really?" I brighten up a minute amount.

"Yes." He beams truthfully. "He said I needed the outside world to fully get better. We can be together, Lou. I'd never jeopardize that." He rises to his feet again.

"That's......amazing." I smile genuinely because I was glad that Harry could escape this place too.

"Yeah? You're really happy? You're not leaving me?"

And the tiny bit of doubt is erased with the earnesty in Harry's eyes. He is lost emotionally until I answer him.

I shake my head and cup his cheek in a caressing manner that he leans into. "No. No, I'll never leave you."

He grins toothily at me and I can't help but return the glee. With natural strength, he picks me up off the tiles and spins me around unceremoniously. It's clumsy enough for us to end up fallen on my bed with Harry's back curved at an awkward angle.

"Sorry." I scramble off him giggling.

He catches my ankles and scoots up closer to the head of the mattress, rolling over so I'm under his massively intimidating weight. Tucking my feet under the covers, he lowers himself down to completely conceal me from the prying eyes of the ceiling cameras.

Maybe I trusted too easily and maybe forgiving was too simple in my books. People deserved second chances, right? Especially when they're schizophrenic and have no idea what they're doing a certain percentage of the time.

"Harry!" I squeal when he starts tickling my sides. "Stop, please!"

He barks out his laughter and let's me take his wrists away from my hips, which is obviously an act of him easily surrendering.

"I'm going to take you on a date." He says, laying down with his cheek on my tummy.

"Oh yeah?"

He hums his consent. "Wherever you want to go."

"Anywhere?"

"Anywhere." He kisses my wrist. "Do you have anywhere in mind?"

"A carnival."

"I'll have to check to see if there are any in town."

"I can do that."

"No, why? It's me taking you on a date so that's my job."
"Sure?"

"Aha." He draws untidy shapes on my skin, indiscreetly lifting the hem higher each time. "Lou?"

"Harry?"

"Would you really have not taken me back.....earlier?"

He looks up into my eyes and I find the truth slipping out. "Yes."

And the hurt in his eyes doesn't disappear. "Oh."

"I'm sorry." I rush to fix this. "But I couldn't afford getting hurt again."

"Then why'd you forgive me?"

"Because I heard it in your voice that you were really sorry. The longest I've held a grudge is a
day and a half. Even after what you did, it was without knowing. Special circumstance. We're a special circumstance."

The corners of his full lips twitch into a minor smile. "I'm happy you did. What exactly happened?"

"Why don't you remember?"

He shrugs.

I sigh and shake my head. "It's better if we leave it alone. No need to relive it. Unless you really want to know, in which case I......still don't think I can do it."

"It's fine, Lou." He leans up to kiss me but I turn away at the last moment. "What's wrong?"

"I can't. I still see it, you and her. Give me a little time? Just a little and I'll be fine."

His smile falters but he cares enough to keep it up for my benefit. "No problem. Goodnight."

"G'night."

"I love you."

I take in a sharp breath, my teeth whistling as the air is sucked in. "Will they come take you away tonight?"

"No." He turns on his side, careful not to hurt me. "We'll be fine."

It takes well over an hour for me to close my eyes, succumbing to the burning of my exposed
eyeballs. Harry is snoring softly already against my front and I struggle to ignore the tapping of feminine footsteps outside my door that's now swinging in the light breeze.

In that hour I pull out my phone and text my mom, asking about the specifications of the letter from Kings. I have an admissions meeting to attend tomorrow, before the holidays and after that the decision of whether to get a dorm room or my own place. My life hung in the estranged balance that threatened to obliverate everything near and dear to my heart.

Should I talk to Harry about London? Would he care even? Is that a vital confrontation? Maybe I should. Before I leave tomorrow, because I'm not sure when he gets released. That'll settle the plans for our date, whether it should happen or not.

What if he doesn't want me to leave? I don't want to leave home either. He could come but I couldn't ask that of him. He had a family here, a job probably. He still had therapy sessions and medication I didn't have a clue about. It would be a disaster if we didn't get a grip.

"Louis?" Harry's gruff, sleep-laden voice disrupts my thought train. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I'm thinking. Go to sleep."

"You're crazy. I can't if you're wide awake."

"You can. Shoosh." I start playing with his curls and he settles back down.

"At least tell me what you're thinking about."

"London. About Kings."

"Oh." He frowns into the still darkness. "What about it?"

"I have to live there, you know."

"I know."

"It means me having to leave here."

"In a month."

"That will expire in no time." I sigh tiredly.

"I won't stop you from leaving. I want you to know that I'm crazy for you, but I'd never hold you back."

I blush and blink away the hazy exhaustion. "You're not so bad, Styles."

He doesn't smile and it saddens me that he looks this way.

"Smile. Please, I can't stand it when you're-"

"You'll miss me, yeah?" And his macho facade comes crumbling down around him as he
crawls further up to be directly above me.

"Oh Harry." I wrap my arms around his neck in a comforting hug.

"You will?"

He plants a noisy kiss on my neck and I fail to giggle like I normally would. I nod, lacing my
fingers together shakily.

"What if I came too?" He suddenly asks. "I've been a high school graduate for ages and I can apply somewhere."

"Harry, I won't ask you to leave your family for me."

"You're not. I'm offering to come with you to London. We can buy an apartment and-"

"Harry, we've known each other a week."

"And I'm ready to put my life in your hands. Don't leave me behind, Louis, but don't stay here either." He presses our foreheads together.

"I want you to go to London because you want to, not because of me."

"Then I'll make you a deal. I'll apply to colleges there and my uncle will already have a job for me. We have a month to get to know each other better, and if we......we don't work out then
we'll still go but separately."

"That makes no sense." I laugh throatily.

"I'm proving that I do want to go to London, and going with you will be a bonus."

"I'm not a consolation prize." I stick my tongue out at him.

"So, deal?"

"Deal." I hold out my pinky finger and he hooks his around it.

Somehow his fingers end up between my own, holding my hands down against the mattress. His lips attach to my neck as he goes lower to mouth at my jutting collarbones. My legs are uselessly on either side of him, allowing him to shamelessly grind down in eights to elicit moans from a sleepy part of my libido.

"Harry." I pant when he starts shuffling about, hastily tugging my gown up to expose my thighs and boxers. "We're in a hospital."

"And everyone's asleep." He bites down and creates a grip on a little of my pale skin, sucking and nipping at it until it's reddened to perfection.

"We shouldn't do this. Harry....." I trail off because my traitor manhood has twitched in interest.

He chuckles and runs his hands down my sides, slipping them under me to grope my behind and intensifying the thrusts. My head falls back against my pillow, exposing my throat for his teeth to have their way with. My fingers get tangled in his hair, holding onto him for dear life as he grinds me into oblivion. I'm painfully hard in my boxers, able to feel the obscene tent in Harry's underwear too.

I want to hold onto his back, feel what must be expert muscles as they flex with each movement, but that would hurt him with his burns still in the healing process.

"Lou." He breathes down my neck, raising the hairs and making me mewl.

I arch my back into his touch, lifting my pelvis to meet his and earning a groan from him. His
torso stretches in a very attractive way, showing off every one of his muscles as he adds more fuel to his movements.

"Harry." I whimper when he applies a bit excess pressure and I cry out.

His eyes widen and he asks permission with his eyes before kissing me, licking smoothly into my mouth and I get to taste him. He tastes like him, and it's an exquisite clinging scent.

"Ready?" He lifts himself up on his arms, my lips forming a pout at the loss.

I nod eagerly as I get to grip his hips, experience every sloppy thrust. I bite my bottom lip and dig my nails into the unharmed skin, feeling that pool tighten in my depths. I've only done this thrice before, one of which involved penetration that was less than satisfactory. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like with Harry.

Before I scream again, his mouth smothers mine as we let go together and make a mess of ourselves.

"You're loud." He comments a little smugly.

I blush and resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Shut up."

"I like it." His smirk gets more serious as his eyes darken and he comes down to kiss me black and blue again. "We need new clothes though."

"Think anyone saw us?" I chew nervously on the inside of my cheek, ignoring the discomfort in my pants.

"Definitely." He mumbles against my lips. "Exciting, innit?"

I laugh and lightly shove him off me. "Pervert."

"And all yours." He kisses the mark he made on my neck.

[A/N: Final update of this weekend. I hate ending on cliffhangers and leaving you guys to wait forever, that's why. For those who are wondering: Edith is Vera Farmiga is this story. I love her acting and she's well suited for Edith. There's a major age difference between her and Harold though. *sigh* So I also have something new in the pot for you awesome folks, stick around for a bit longer and find out. Also, I hope you're ready for drama here because it's coming in the bucket loads soon. We may have a time jump or two to speed things up - not drastically bc that'll ruin the story. See you on the other side, my lovessss :) - S xx]

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