Chapter 29 ~ The Rumor

[Louis]

The next couple of days weren't actually as bad as I first thought they would be. Unlike last time Harry was away from me, we texted constantly now. He told me every night how his shows had been and explained every detail about them. For example, two nights ago, a fan had gone crazy and tried to run up on stage, but thankfully, a guard had caught her and brought her out of the arena.

To be honest, I didn't think they were that crazy. Sure, I had seen videos of fans trying to run up on stages before, but I thought they didn't even attempt it anymore now that the security had gotten a lot better. I assumed I was wrong about that.

We also said goodnight to each other every day, and the smile on my face remained the entire night. I hadn't been this happy in two years. It was like I was high on life, walking around like a sunbeam.

I could tell Hannah, Niall and Zayn noticed this as well. Hannah and I were closer than ever before, and she didn't go a day without asking me about the curly haired boy. We were like best friends, and I found myself wondering why we had even tried being more than that. We were meant to be like this.

The best part of it was that she didn't seem affected by it at all, and I wanted to think that was because she had realized we were better as friends as well. It was like we had finally realized what we were really meant to be for each other.

As for Zayn, he had started accepting the fact that I was back with Harry considering he hadn't done anything to prove to him that he wasn't going to stay with me. I was sure Zayn still kept a close eye though, considering the way he was always watching me when I was texting the curly haired boy.

At the moment, we were all sitting in the school cafeteria, chatting along with each other. Hannah was on my right and Niall on my left, Zayn's arm wrapped around his waist. I was munching on a tuna sandwich, feeling how the mix was getting all over my face.

"So, how's it going with Brandon?" Niall asked, winking cheekily at Hannah.

Her cheeks went a little pink at his words and she looked down at the table. "It's great. We went to the movies yesterday," he admitted, making me smile.

Only a couple of weeks after we broke up, she had been getting closer to this boy named Brandon. They shared a few classes together, and I was sure he'd had his eyes on her for a long time considering the way he always looked at her. Something about it just screamed that he had been longing for this moment, and I wanted to hit myself for preventing it when I never really considered Hannah as more than a friend anyway.

He was sick today though, which was the reason for his absence. Otherwise, he usually sat with us at lunch nowadays too.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised that he didn't seem to have anything against the fact that Hannah and I were still friends. We had been in a relationship after all and had only broken up a few weeks ago. However, he was aware that I was back with Harry, so maybe that was the reason.

"Aww," Niall gushed, tilting his head to the side in adoration. "You guys are so cute."

She didn't reply to him but gave him a smile in a way to say 'thank you'. Niall was about to turn to me and probably ask me how my relationship was going when a brunette girl sat down beside his boyfriend.

"Hey guys," Eleanor greeted, placing her tray on the table.

I rolled my eyes at her appearance. To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of her. She had the biggest mouth at this school, the way she always seemed to be the one to know things about Harry before anyone else did, and I was sick of hearing it. Couldn't she just care about her own life?

"Hey," everyone said in unison, except for me. I didn't want to be rude, but I couldn't seem to help it.

She came here every day to tell me something new about the curly haired boy as if I didn't already know it, and it pissed me off. It was like she didn't believe Harry was telling me everything.

Yesterday, she had told me about the girl that had tried getting up on stage, and the day before that she asked me if I had seen his interview. If I didn't know better, I would've thought she was jealous of me.

"Did you hear the news?" Was the first thing she asked, and I let out a loud groan, hiding my face in my hands.

"Please Eleanor, we don't want to--" Hannah said, but was cut off by the brunette who put her finger up to shush her.

"This is important."

Hannah rolled her eyes, and I looked up to meet Eleanor's gaze with a bored expression on my face. "What is it today that I probably already know of?"

"Harry's been seen out with a girl, and rumors are saying that she is his new girlfriend," she said, making my heart stop beating in my chest.

Wait, what? That couldn't possibly be true. There was no way that he would do that. He had just gotten me back...

"What the hell? Eleanor, you can't just come here and tell us bullshit like that," Niall snapped, his eyes glaring daggers at her.

I just sat there, staring at her. I didn't want to believe it, but to be honest, everything she had ever said was true. Sure, some things had been rumors, but she had never come up with something on her own, which meant there actually were rumors going around that Harry had a new girlfriend.

Eleanor sent Niall a glare in return. "I'm not lying, you shit. Look at this."

She pulled her phone out from the back pocket of her jeans and slid her finger across the scene. A second later, she passed me the device which showed the boy I had decided to trust again holding hands with a blonde girl on the streets. The picture was pretty dark though, considering it was taken in the afternoon, but it was still clear as day that their hands were intertwined.

My stomach built up with knots and it suddenly felt like I was about to throw up. I tossed the phone back to her, not wanting to see any more pictures. I just wanted to disappear, disappear and never come back again. What was this? Some kind of karma that I shouldn't have been so quick to forgive? Maybe I deserved this.

I knew that if I stayed here, I would burst into tears any second. So, without thinking twice, I stood up, knocking my chair to the ground in the process before I stormed out of the cafeteria. It was the first time I didn't think about all the people who were staring at me. The only thing on my mind was those awful pictures.

I ran out to the hallways and into the first bathroom I could find. Once in there, I locked myself in an empty stall, hoping that no one else was in there, but if they were, I couldn't actually care less.

The second I was all alone, I felt the tears spill over and start running down my cheeks. I didn't even reach up in an attempt to prevent them, I just let them fall. Leaning my back against the stall door, I let myself drop down to the floor so my knees were pressed against my chest. I hugged them close to my body as I let more tears fall from my eyes.

What had I done to deserve this? Surely, forgiving Harry too easily and early shouldn't be this bad, right? I mean, he had actually shown me that he wanted me to forgive him, and I thought he deserved it... until now.

How could I be so stupid to trust him? Everything he had done to me ever since he came back was a lie. This must be what he had in store the entire time. So, he did actually try to win me back only to hurt me again? How fucked up is that?

I didn't know for how long I sat there, but what I assumed was a few minutes later, there was a knock on the stall door. My first thought was that it must be Niall considering this was a men's bathroom and Zayn was probably too angry at Harry right now to feel any sympathy. So, when I heard a female's voice that I recognized as my best friend's, I was surprised.

"Louis, open up," she demanded.

If it weren't for the fact that she sounded so serious, I would have contemplated it a little longer. Also, I knew any guy could enter the bathroom at any second and I was sure he wouldn't be very pleased to see a girl in here, which was another reason why I decided to get up from the floor and turn around towards the stall door.

Before I opened it, I made sure to wipe my wet face from all the tears I had shed in order to look less of a mess. I knew that was most likely impossible though, but I could at least try. Thankfully, the tears weren't falling anymore at least.

The second she saw my face, she took a step forward to wrap her arms around my body in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, Louis," she mumbled against my shoulder.

I let myself fall into her arms, and I could just feel how my muscles relaxed by her touch. It was like I had waited for this hug ever since I entered the stall. Her embrace was just so warm and loving, and it made me feel a lot better.

A few seconds later, she pulled away from me to get a look at my face. The moment she saw the tearstains, a sympathetic look crossed her features. "I can't believe how he could do this to you. You deserve so much more than this," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

I bit my lip, looking down at the ground. "I don't know, Hannah. Right now it feels like I was meant to be miserable and heartbroken. I mean, it's the second time this happens and this time might even be worse than the other because I thought he had changed... I really did, but I guess not."

"No. You are not meant to be miserable, Louis. I promise you, there is someone out there waiting for you, you just haven't found them yet. What Harry did... it's completely unforgivable. You are too good for him," she promised me.

I let a dry laugh leave my lips. "You're too sweet, Hannah. Maybe you're right, but I just really thought he had changed. He was so loving and nice, just how I remembered him, and then it turns out it was all just a lie." I let out a sniffle, looking away from her.

She inhaled a deep breath. "Yeah, he fooled us all... Well, except for Zayn that is. Harry actually tried to win you back only to hurt you all over again. How fucking heartless isn't that? You should have told me how good of an actor he was, then maybe I wouldn't have trusted him as I did," she said, trying to lighten the mood a little but didn't succeed very well.

Instead, I shook my head frantically. "That's the thing! He was never a good actor. He could never lie to me, let alone about something as big as this. If he as much as tried, I could always see right through him... but I guess not this time," I muttered, glancing down at the floor.

She put her hands on my shoulders. "Look at me, Louis."

I did as told, my eyes meeting hers.

"Whatever is going on inside that head of yours, you have to trust me that you're better off without him. He's too fucking blind to see what he can have. He has you, yet he goes around chasing different girls. I mean, look at you! He must be fucking insane!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands out to make a point.

I chuckled at her behavior. "You're being ridiculous. However, when we were kids, I never really thought he would be able to hurt me. I knew I could never hurt him, but now he's done it twice, and it's making me doubt if I ever really knew him."

She pursed her lips. "I'm sure you did, he just changed is all."

I nodded my head, looking down again. "But if this is what fame does to people then I don't recommend anyone to get famous. How could someone change so much in such a little time? It's like I don't even know him anymore, " I muttered.

She shook her head in agreement. "No, I mean, it's like he doesn't have a heart, like the only thing that matters to him is his fucking status or some shit," she grumbled.

"He would have never done this to me if it weren't for that stupid fame. I know him so well, the old him that is. If I had known back when he told me he wanted to audition for The X Factor that he was going to turn into this awful person, I wouldn't have let him go. I would have been too selfish to do that," I filled in.

My words made her look at me in this way that made me want to start crying all over again, and I almost did when she pulled me into her arms again, hugging me even tighter to her body. "He's an ass, Louis," she said against my shoulder.

"I just wish things weren't like this," I sniffled, blinking my eyes to prevent the tears from falling.

She grabbed my shoulders to make me look at her. Reaching up, she wiped the single tear that had managed to fall anyway with her thumb. "I think you should just text him and tell him that you're better off without him after all this shit he's caused you. If he reacts in any kind of way, then it at least means he remembers that you used to be his best friend."

I bit my lips, thinking about it. "I don't know, Hannah. I just want all this to sink in before I do something I am going to regret. I'll text him when I come home."

"Sounds great," she said, giving me a smile.

By now, the bell must have rung ages ago, but to be honest, I couldn't care less about that. I was sure I wouldn't be able to focus on anything that had to do with school now anyway.

"You know what I think? I think you should get out of here and stop thinking about this. Try and get on better thoughts, you know? How about we go grab something to eat? I mean, that sandwich at lunch was so fucking dry anyway, now wasn't it?" She winked, making me let out a loud laugh.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

____________________________

Alright, so that happened! And honestly, I cried while writing this chapter and it's not why you think it is, but because I had to rewrite it twice since I'm so fucking stupid that I managed to delete the whole thing twice... :(

What are your thoughts on Harry right now?

I love you guys so much! Thank you all for reading <3

Pauline .xx