"Before you go, can I have a word with you?" Maria stopped Louis at the bottom of the stairs. Paul was standing next to her.

"Of course" Louis gulped heavily. She sounded so serious.

"You'll get him back in a second" Paul addressed the other guys.

"We wait right here, Tommy" Jonah smiled encouragingly at him.

Still absolutely anxious, Louis followed Maria and Paul into the kitchen and just waited for them to talk. What could they possibly want from him? Did he screw up and they would kick him out now too? Where would he go then? He had nowhere to go.

"You need to breathe, Louis. I can feel your nerves clearly. We're not bearing bad news" Maria tried to calm him down.

"No?" Louis looked up at her in surprise.

"No, Louis. We just wanna talk" Maria smiled friendly at him.

"About what?" Louis wondered befuddled.

"Your semester is over now and I know you've been worried about being able to pay for the rest of your uni time. We're here to offer you a solution" Maria came to the point and that was not what Louis had been expecting.

"What kind of a solution? I won't accept you paying the fee for me. I just can't ...".

"We know that, Louis" Paul cut him off. This was the first time Louis had ever heard him talk. The first time he has ever really seen him. "So, we thought about something else. Many of the other people living here feel exactly like you. They feel bad for not paying anything or contributing anything to the living conditions here. That's why they start working to give us something back, which isn't necessary but they still do. And we know with uni and life it's not easy to find a good job, that actually pays enough. So, we cooperate with a youth centre nearby. They love to have young people working there and helping troubled children. We thought that might be something for you. They could use someone with a sense for music".

For a moment, Louis was only openly staring at Paul, unable to process what he had just told him. This was too good to be true. This offer was perfect for Louis, who always wanted to help.

"What exactly would I be doing? I barely started uni and I have no experience in working with kids" Louis found his voice back.

"I talked to the owner yesterday and she told me the kids are asking for piano lessons or guitar lessons or even singing lessons. They'll take everything you're ready to give them" Maria let him know with a smile present in her voice.

"How do you know I'm even made for that? What if I'm shit at dealing with children? I swear all the time" Louis doubted if they had really thought this through.

"And? It's their free time and they have a tough life outside of that youth centre already. A bit of carefree banter and someone who cares about them is truly enough. And if they learn something through this that's even better" Maria countered in a soft voice.

"And if the lessons don't work you can simply help them with their homework and it's enough. Violetta and Nikki will be happy with anything you can contribute" Paul added nonchalantly.

"And they are the owners, right?" Louis checked to make sure he was following correctly.

"Exactly. And good friends of ours. They like to help our kids just as much as we like to help their kids. It's a teamwork and like this, our kids learn to stand on their own" Maria confirmed with a nod.

Louis pondered on that idea for a second but there really wasn't anything that spoke against it. "When am I supposed to meet them or introduce myself or whatever?".

"Tomorrow if that's okay with you?! They're looking forward to meeting you" Paul informed him affably.

"Then I only need to know where I have to be and I'll be there. Thank you for giving me this opportunity" Louis thanked them.

"No reason to thank us. We're only trying to help" Maria waved the praise off humbly.

"All the more reasons to thank you. You're truly amazing. Both of you. For everything you do. You should know that" Louis offered them an honest thankful smile.

"Thanks, Louis" Maria teared up emotionally.

"Your friends are waiting for you. Enjoy your night" Paul motioned towards the door with his head.

"I will. Thanks" Louis walked out of the kitchen and was only met with Harry. Everyone else was nowhere to be seen, which caused Louis to frown. "Where is everyone?".

"Jonah is outside. The others went ahead. Niall was getting hungry" Harry let him know with an easy smile.

"Isn't he always hungry?" Louis chuckled amusedly.

"Fair enough" Harry grinned widely. "And what did they want?".

"They offered me a chance to get a job at a youth centre for troubled children. Like this, I could pay for uni on my own" Louis let Harry in on the former conversation, feeling excited suddenly.

"Lou, that's amazing!" Harry beamed brightly, his dimples popping up and making Louis smile along with him. Not even Harry's obvious hesitation before pulling Louis into a hug could wipe that smile off his face and he only flinched a little bit.

"Do I wanna know what happened?" Jonah's voice tore them out of their little moment and Louis broke away from the touch. Briefly, he saw Jonah and Harry exchanging an odd look and Louis was dying to know what this was all about. Maybe later.

"I might have a job," Louis told Jonah excitedly.

"Really? Wow, that's fantastic" Jonah hugged Louis tightly, picking him up from the floor and swirling them around. "I know how much you wanted to pay for uni on your own".

"And now I might can. Tomorrow I can tell you for sure" Louis mumbled against Jonah's neck.

"I'm so happy for you, Tommy" Jonah put him back down.

"You're cute, Joey" Louis tapped Jonah's nose. "Now we should really go or the others will party on their own and forget about us".

They actually were partying on their own when the three of them arrived at the party location. It was some random kid's house, apparently a friend of Luke but Louis really couldn't care less. Hearing the loud music and seeing all these drunk people dancing so closely together, Louis was rethinking his decision to come here. Maybe he and Jonah should have stayed home. In peace and silence. Alone.

"Louis! You came" Luke approached him happily.

"Course" Louis answered with a tight-lipped smile.

"And you brought your friends. That's wonderful. Have fun, guys. Get a drink and enjoy yourselves" Luke was obviously already close to pissed off drunk, which was not a nice sight.

"Where is Àmbar?" Louis asked over the loud music.

"On the dancefloor with Aria. Better stay away if you wanna live on without nightmares" Luke giggled at his stupid answer.

"We should look for Niall, Sean and Liam" Louis decided it was time to leave Luke to his own fate.

"Good idea, Tommy" Jonah clung to his arm in obvious discomfort, reminding Louis that it was weird Jonah was even here with them.

"And after we made sure they're alive, we can go somewhere to sit down, yeah?" Louis put his aside to smile at Jonah.

"No. If you wanna dance we can dance. I can manage" Jonah pouted adorably.

"I won't dance, Joey. I can't dance for shit" Louis tightened his grip on Jonah and he seemed to understand that Louis wasn't used to this either. That Louis hasn't been allowed to have this sooner.

"I think I see Niall" Harry pointed to the other side of the big living room at a guy jumping around. That was definitely Niall.

"Let's go".

Pushing through the people was something Louis wasn't keen on ever doing again. The dancing was mostly jumping around like idiots or grinding against each other to turn the other person on. Both options Louis wasn't considering for himself tonight. That's why he focused on his friends having a blast.

"Slow down, Nialler. The night is young. No need to get drunk already" Liam tried to stop Niall from excess drinking.

"I'm living on a high wire, Lima. No risk, no fun. You only live once, right? Let's get wasted!" Niall cheered thrilled.

"That's music to my ears" Sean clinked his drink with Niall's.

"Those two will be smashed in an hour and complain about a monstrous headache tomorrow" Harry leaned closer to whisper into Louis' ear, sending shivers down his spine.

"And what about you? Not planning on drinking like a madman?" Louis asked to cover up his reaction.

"Not really. I like to remember my nights" Harry replied still close to him, his breath hitting Louis' neck.

"So, you're planning on pulling someone then?" Louis raised an eyebrow at him, putting a bit of necessary space between them.

"Not really" Harry shrugged nonchalantly.

"Doesn't sound like a no for me. Get in, H! Plenty of the guys here would probably kill to get you for one night" Niall cheered him on tipsily, making Louis feel weird inexplicably.

"Oh, fuck off, Nialler" Harry glared at him shockingly.

"What? I'm only hyping you up, man" Niall was so lost.

"No need. I don't plan on pulling anyone anytime soon" Harry looked highly uncomfortable with all the attention on him.

"Boring" Niall groaned exaggeratedly.

"I'm not boring for not wanting a meaningless fuck, Niall" Harry hissed at his best friend, sounding extremely defensive.

"If you don't want ... Wait a second ... Oh my god! How did I not see this sooner?" Niall's eyes grew huge. "You have a crush".

Immediately, everyone was looking curiously at Harry, who had paled on the spot and looked pretty tense. Louis felt really bad for him. Alcohol was never a good idea. But he couldn't deny that a part of him wanted to know the answer as well as everyone else.

"When I don't wanna fuck a random person I have a crush on someone? Am I getting this right? When have I ever been someone to fuck around? I'm not following" Harry's jaw was set.

"But it's uni. Live a little, H" Niall wailed intoxicatedly.

"Sean, you ruined him" Harry stated dryly.

"I lightened up his life" Sean contradicted him just as tipsily.

"With your dick?" Liam threw in randomly.

"Exactly" Sean smirked smugly.

"God, I need to get away from you. You two are so weird when you're drunk. Just promise me you won't hook up in the bathroom tonight" Harry shook his head at them.

"Can't promise that" Sean winked jokingly at him.

"Lord help me".

Leaving Sean and Niall to themselves, Louis and the other three made their way into the kitchen. It was a bit quieter in here but every now and then someone came in to get a new drink. Sitting on the kitchen counter, the four of them chatted for a long time about everything and nothing and Louis almost forgot where they were, if it wasn't for the occasional drunk person interrupting them or Aria and Àmbar stopping by for a few minutes before announcing they would go home already. Everyone knew what that meant.

After another hour and no sight of Niall and Sean, Louis could see Jonah getting tired and restless next to him. Liam and Harry didn't seem to notice that but Liam didn't look like he would hold on any longer himself. Louis could relate to that. He was ready to go home. Parties weren't his thing. Not like this.

"How about we go home, Joey? I don't think anyone will notice when we just disappear" Louis suggested to him.

"Sounds good, Tommy" Jonah leaned against his shoulder.

"I come with you. I'm over this party and really wanna sleep. Harry?" Liam was ready to leave.

"Same. Leaving sounds nice" Harry agreed as well.

"Great. How about you wait outside while I look for Luke to say goodbye? Or could you take Jonah home already, Lima?" Louis eyedJonah's tired face closely. He needed sleep.

"Sure thing, Tommo" Liam assured him without hesitation.

"But what about you? You shouldn't stay here alone or go home alone. The dark is scary for pretty boys" Jonah noted concerned.

"Joey, I can ...".

"I'll stay with him, Jonah" Harry gave him no chance to speak. "I take care of us. We will be right behind you".

"He's right. I only wanna tell Luke we're leaving. After all, he invited us. Well, me. It's only fair" Louis completely ignored the part of being left behind with only Harry. It made him nervous.

"Fine but remember ...".

"No need to worry, Jonah. I've got this" Harry cut him off before Jonah could finish his sentence. What was this all about?

This seemed to do the trick because Jonah stopped staring Harry down and focused his attention on Liam. Together, they made their way outside while Louis looked around in search of Luke. Harry left to use the bathroom because Louis had told him he wanted to say goodbye on his own. He didn't need someone to watch him all the time. He wasn't a child anymore. He could say goodbye to a friend without Harry.

"I thought you left" Luke suddenly appeared right behind him, startling Louis enough to jump a bit.

Trying to calm down, Louis turned around to a drunk Luke. "We were in the kitchen for some time but now I really wanna go home, Luke. It was really nice but I'm tired and ...".

"Do you need me to walk you home? I can't see your friends anywhere. I think I saw Niall and Sean disappearing into a room a few minutes ago" Luke asked perturbed.

"Thanks but no. Harry is still here. We'll go home together. It's the same way after all" Louis declined the offer. Luke was way too drunk to walk that whole way without causing an accident.

"Make sure he keeps you safe from any harm. I don't want anything happening to you" Luke touched his waist suddenly.

"I can take care of myself" Louis stated a little bit triggered.

"I'm sure you can but someone as pretty as you should never walk through the dark alone. There are sick people out there. I only want you to be safe. Why don't you stay here for the night?" Luke walked closer, causing Louis to walk backwards until his back hit the wall.

"No, thanks" Louis felt his hands starting to tremble.

"Okay, I accept that. Get home safely, yeah? Call me? I um ...err ... I've been dying to ask you ... to do this ..." Luke stumbled over his words, obviously totally intoxicated and was suddenly so close to his face. "Can I kiss you goodbye before you leave?".

Only hearing this question made Louis tense up and he was unable to say anything. Something about the whole situation was triggering to Louis even though Luke wasn't necessarily doing anything totally wrong apart from cornering Louis at a party with his back against a wall and no escape in sight. Kyle's face was the only thing Louis could see right now. His mind was going crazy.

He could feel his body shutting down when Luke closed the distance between them and pressed his lips sloppily on Louis' lips, kissing him messily. Louis was standing completely still while his heart was racing like crazy and his hands couldn't seem to stop shaking. All he wanted to do was run away.

"Ey, what do you think you're doing?" Harry's voice boomed strongly right next to Louis out of nowhere and only a second later, Luke's lips were gone and Louis was able to look into Luke's shocked face but he regretted that move instantly.

"We were having a m ...".

"You were having nothing. Can't you see that he doesn't want this? What the fuck is wrong with you?! Piss off!" Harry told Luke off determined.

Not able to watch them any longer, Louis sneaked away and out of the back door into the backyard. The cold night air hit his face and he should be able to breathe again but his throat was closing off. No air was getting into his lungs although he was really trying to breathe. By now, his whole body was shaking like crazy, causing his knees to give in. He slumped to the ground, gasping for air.

"Louis!" Harry rushed over to him. Louis could make out his panicked face through his blurry vision. "Louis, you need to breathe. With me. In and out, okay? Only listen to my voice, yeah? Really slowly. You're not suffocating. It's only in your head".

This little reminder of reality seemed to help Louis in inexplicable ways because after repeating this mantra a couple of times, Louis' breathing slowed down and air finally reached his lungs. He could feel his heartbeat slowing down and his vision became clearer. But that only scared him again. Now he could fully take in the situation he was in. Harry had a hand placed carefully on his back while the other hand was drawing circles onto Louis' thigh. Harry was so close but kept his respectful distance to not scare him a second time tonight. Louis felt humiliated.

"There you are" Harry sighed out softly.

"Thanks, Haz" Louis croaked out embarrassed.

"No, Louis. Nothing to thank me for and you also have nothing be ashamed of. Please, don't push me away now" Harry begged him with anxious eyes.

"Don't think I could even if I tried" Louis murmured quietly.

Harry smiled privately at him before his face fell and his expression turned to stone, so angry. "I really wanna punch him".

"Don't. Luke didn't mean any harm. He's drunk. Totally wasted and only wanted to ...".

"He caused you to have a panic attack, Louis" Harry frowned deeply. "That's not nothing. He forced himself onto you".

"He didn't, not really. He asked. I just didn't answer?" Louis cringed at his own words, knowing he wasn't making this better.

"Even worse. I saw how scared you looked when he was coming closer but when he kissed you ... I lost it. You ...".

"Luke wasn't the reason for my reaction, Haz" Louis cut him off, not sure where he was going with this.

"What do you mean?" Harry didn't understand.

"You are right. I was scared when he came closer but Luke wasn't at fault for that. He didn't do anything wrong, necessarily. Yes, I didn't want that but I had every chance to push him away. I just didn't. I couldn't" Louis defended Luke the tiniest bit.

"Why? Did you want him to kiss you? Then why did you ...?".

"No, I didn't. I'm not into Luke" Louis interrupted him again. "I'm just not ... really used to have a choice?".

Lost for words, Harry only silently looked at him. Louis wasn't sure what he was expecting but silence wasn't it. Maybe he was expecting Harry to laugh at him or tell him how stupid he was or how pathetic he was. Nothing he wouldn't have heard before.

"I lied" Louis breathed out shakily when Harry stayed silent.

"Now?" Harry knitted his eyebrows together bewildered.

"No, not now. Back at Àmbar's place. I had a boyfriend before" Louis confessed to him, not really knowing why.

"You had ... so you do date ... but why ... Then why did you tell us you never had a boyfriend?" Harry was wrestling for the right words and Louis felt bad for him.

"Because I don't like to talk about him. He was ... It wasn't a good relationship. Not even close but I only realised that when it was too late, when I was already here all alone" Louis tried to word this right and cut it short. "Luke only triggered memories".

"Does anyone know what happened?" Harry asked surprisingly.

"Jonah does. I trust him with my life" Louis answered truthfully.

Something seemed to make sense to Harry according to his face morphing into an understanding expression but before Louis could question it, Hayde focused his eyes on him. "Thank you for telling this, Lou. I won't tell anyone. I promise".

"Thanks, Haz" Louis smiled genuinely at him but then he remembered something. "Oh, um ... I guess Sean knows somehow but not through me".

"If you didn't tell him how could he possibly know? Did Jonah tell him?" Harry wondered alarmed.

"Jonah wouldn't tell you anything even if you tortured him. No, Sean knows on his own. I guess, he made the right assumptions or drew the right conclusions or something. Maybe he talked to him about it" Louis thought out loud.

"Oh, Sean knows him?" Harry looked taken back.

"He's Sean's brother" Louis revealed to him and Harry's eyes grew comically wide. "Well, stepbrother but who cares?! Can we go home now? I feel much better".

Harry seemed to collect himself and offered Louis a smile but it wasn't fully reaching his eyes. Louis couldn't blame him. That was a lot to take in out of nowhere and Harry probably had a million questions ready on the tip of his tongue but Louis appreciated his silence and patience. Maybe one day he would tell him everything.

"Of course, Lou. Let's go home".

The next morning, Louis woke up with a headache although he didn't even drink the night before. Groaning, he tumbled out of bed and got ready for the day, in some way.

From Harry:

"Do you wanna join us for breakfast? We're heading down to the kitchen in five".

To Harry:

"Sure thing. I'll be there".

The prospect of seeing Harry after last night's events made Louis feel anxious, sick to the stomach. Yes, Harry had promised to keep quiet but who was Louis to believe that so quickly? What if Harry had been lying and everyone already knew about his last relationship mess? Louis wasn't mentally stable enough to let people know what went down between Kyle and him. Jonah knew and that was enough for him, for now. The most parts of him trusted Harry in a strange way but there was still a tiny voice in his head telling him to expect disappointment and even judgement. Maybe Harry didn't tell anyone but maybe he would treat him differently now, look differently at him, think differently of him. He really liked to have Harry as a friend and hoped he didn't lose him through his panic attack and revelation.

So, ready to throw up any second, Louis made his way downstairs to meet up with his friends for their hangover breakfast. Harry was the first one Louis saw and his stomach made a weird flip. Luckily, Niall reached him with Sean trailing next to him before Louis could even be seen by harry from his spot. And did Niall and Sean just arrive together? Why was Sean not home?

"You look like I'm feeling" Niall groaned out when Aria and Àmbar arrived and Louis realised he had stopped walking to watch them.

"Wow, thank you" Aria slapped Niall's shoulder strongly.

"Maybe you shouldn't always drink so much. Just an idea" Àmbar noted cheekily.

"But that's part of the fun" Niall countered whinily.

"Being hangover is fun?" Àmbar quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I hate you" Niall grumbled defeated.

"Look at all of you. Beaming and alive. The life of the party" Louis made notice of himself, approaching them now.

"Fuck off, Tommo" Niall rubbed his temples.

"Looks like you had a fun night" Louis marked sarcastically.

"That I had" Niall pointed out smugly.

"Just the morning after is never a pleasant experience. My head is killing me" Sean added with squinted eyes.

"I'm taking this as you had a fun night together then" Àmbar looked back and forth between Niall and Sean. "Brilliant".

"What would be brilliant is food" Liam came down the stairs with Jonah, who looked anything but happy. Louis wondered what this was all about. Did he have a bad night and why was Liam with him? Did he stay the night as well?

"Say no more".

Inside the kitchen, they prepared tons of food with all the left-over ingredients from the normal breakfast today that they had missed due to sleeping til midday. The whole time Louis tried to figure out Jonas's mood but nothing made sense to him. At the same time, he could feel Harry's watching eyes on him, which wasn't a nice feeling and Louis didn't understand why everything was so weird this morning. But it got even weirder when they heard Maria and Paul talking in hushed voices outside the house, thinking no one was around to overhear their conversation.

"No, there is barely any money left to keep it open. All our tries failed. It will be closed for good" Paul let Maria know defeated.

"How long?" Maria asked in an emotion-filled voice.

"Two months, maybe three but then it's over" Paul sighed shakily.

"That's not nearly enough time to find a place for every one of them. They have nowhere to go" Maria hearingly frowned.

"It really isn't but there is nothing we can do. At least, we managed to give most of them something to ..." Paul was cut off by some loud noises in the distance and just like that, they were gone.

Shocked, the group of friends looked at each other. No one really knew what to say or make out of the things they heard. All they knew was that in two months time their lives would change again.

"The house will be closed" Aria broke the silence.

"How is it possible that all their money is gone?" Liam knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Well, they're doing this for eleven years now and pay everything out of their pocket. That's a lot of money" Jonah pointed out.

"He's right. They even pay for some people's uni fees or whatever they need. Not everyone works on the side to give them something back. I'm surprised they even managed to hold on for so long" Sean agreed with Jonah.

"We have to do something. We can't let this happen. Most people have nowhere else to go" Àmbar frowned apprehensively.

"But what are we supposed to do? If the money is gone it's gone" Louis felt absolutely hopeless.

"Places like this one or the school need sponsors. Over all these years, Maria and Paul barely had any because barely anyone knows this house exists. We need to make people care" Sean tapped with his finger over his chin deep in thoughts.

"Wait, do you think the school will be closed too?" Liam suddenly feared rightfully.

"Maybe. They always worked quite close together and my parents also pay everything on their own. It could be. They didn't tell me anything though" Àmbar bit the inside of her cheek.

"I wonder for how long they've known. This didn't sound like totally new information" Jonah wondered disconcerted.

"Maybe that's why they've been so insistent on getting us jobs. Maybe that was their try to give us some security and a chance to live on our own without them" Harry thought out loud, making everyone look at him. "I mean, look at it. I got my job through them because they know Hope and Kayla got her apprenticeship through them as well and now they're thinking about offering her a job".

"That actually makes sense. I was offered a job just yesterday" Louis clicked with his tongue.

"That was their subtle way of making sure we're okay when they can't look after us anymore" Harry sounded so sad.

"We don't know that for sure but it would suit them ...".

"We need to help them and everyone else who lives here" Liam said determined, cutting Niall off.

"What could we possibly do?" Aria asked helplessly.

"What gets most people's attention? Guys, think" Liam requested of them to think as hard as they could.

Louis tried his hardest but he couldn't think of anything. There was nothing that would save them but apparently, Sean had come up with an idea. "Music, guys. Music gets almost everyone".

"True but how could that help us?" Niall didn't understand.

"We have many talented people inside this house and know talented people outside the house who care about this. My parents once attended a benefit concert and saved the facility. We need to do the same" Sean enlightened them hyped.

"Do you really think we could pull that off?" Louis doubted his idea although he wanted to be optimistic.

"If we all work together, yes. We just need more people on board. First, we need to let more people in on this but only ones we can trust to keep this low key. Then, we need to come up with a master plan for the show and get everyone involved. Lastly, we need to find a place for the show but this won't be a problem. I'm sure we can do this, guys. What do you say?" Sean went into more detail to convince his friends.

"Fine. This could work but do we tell Maria and Paul about this?" Jonah surprisingly agreed first.

"No, better not. Let's surprise them" Harry decided unsurely.

"But where do we rehearse then and plan everything if they can't know? My place also isn't safe then" Àmbar hooked perturbed.

"We can organise everything at my place" Sean offered them.

Just the thought of going over to Sean's place made Louis freeze up. No way in hell could he ever go there and focus on anything else than Kyle being somewhere in the house and possibly seeing Louis there. No, he couldn't do that.

"But what about your brother?" Harry checked in a tense voice. Louis' head immediately snapped towards him. "Won't he be there? Is that a good idea?".

"Yeah, Harry'sright. We moved our last gathering to my place because you said your brother would only bother us and now we shall rehearse at yours? That makes no sense" Niall supported Harry's justified objection.

"He moved out two days ago with his g ..." Sean told them but stopped himself a bit too obvious, glancing at Louis. "He won't be there to bother anyone anymore. Don't worry".

"Okay. That's good" Harry looked relieved.

"How about we meet up later at mine? In the afternoon?" Sean suggested to get away from this topic.

"Good idea. I come over right after my job interview" Louis let him know to show him that he was okay and that there was no need to be overly careful with him anymore, even if that wasn't the case.

"Wonderful. Let's save the house of love, guys".  

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Harry knows bits and pieces now. What happens next?

Can they save the house?