harry remembered the first day he met louis.

he started at that school when louis was a sophomore. he was downstairs, since the high school courses were administered by grade and not credit necessity. harry teaches creative writing to juniors, so louis never knew who the infamous 'hot teacher' was until he started eleventh grade.

the first day harry met louis, he had his nose stuck in a book while walking down the hallway and almost bumped right into him. he was swallowed in a black hoodie with a pair of black glasses on his tiny nose. his bright blue eyes were wide and his face was flushed as he apologized for him and made sure he was at the right class before heading inside. judging by who his teacher was, this was definitely the spot.

louis never complained about doing anything in mr. styles' class because harry was laid-back. yes, he made you work but he would also have a casual conversation with you while you're doing an assignment. he was like a teenager himself, plus he would make the class laugh by his stupid jokes and imitating others with their hair flips and snobby tones.

harry remembered the first time he heard louis' laugh.

it was soft and delicate. it was masked by a balled fist gripping the sleeve of a hoodie. it was supported by crinkled eyes and a scrunched nose, making his face twist into the cutest little thing and harry's heart warmed. louis was a soft soul, he was humble and kind. he wasn't much of a speaker but his writing told you everything.

to see louis the way he did, covered in bandages and wires, nearly killed him. louis was a special person to him. he wanted to help, he needed louis to know someone understands what he's going through and take the chance to look on the other side of things.

harry was called to louis. it was like a calling from god, pushing you to do something. harry was called to be louis' person, to be his guidance and his support. he was called to help no matter what and let louis know everything would be okay.

so when he was told louis tried to kill himself, harry broke. it took the principals letting harry have an emergency excuse to leave and find a substitute to calm the man down but he followed liam to the hospital right after he signed out. louis attempted suicide. louis backed out. he was doing so fucking good and talking to harry and all of a sudden it just...goes away.

he shut down and went in reverse. he cracked and that crack just kept going and going until the fucking glass completely shattered onto the floor. nobody swept it up, it just laid there in a messy pile.

but now knowing, after a lot of talking and expressing things, louis will get better and be back to the spunky one harry remembered, harry had a lot of hope that everything really will be okay.

---

dear sweet louis,

today in class we started reading "walk two moons", the book you recommended to me. so far, we've only gotten through the first chapter. even though i teach creative writing, i wanted to do something different.

a student asked where you were today. it was jane, the girl who sits beside you. she was concerned about how you were. i told her you were sick, it would have been rude for me to tell you that you're at revive. it's not my place.

i miss you, louis. i miss you coming into class with your animal crackers and new books. i miss giving you books and hearing your opinions about them. i sound like a stupid little kid with a crush but it's true. i just miss you, so much.

how are you doing? how is the house? have you made any friends? i hope you're doing well, keep doing good and stay strong for us. i'm proud of you for taking the chance to better yourself. you're brave, little flower. soon enough you will bloom to this big beautiful rose and i can't wait to see how you have grown. keep watering yourself with your skills. stay in the sunlight. take care of yourself.

liam told me you've started therapy. that's a good thing. maybe talking about it will help you along the way so you can deal with everything correctly. what have you learned so far? is your counselor nice?

zayn is back at school now and almost got suspended again because, well, he's zayn. that boy needs anger management. he's so protective of you, though. i'm glad you have friends that care about you.

i have so many books waiting for you when you come back! i finished this book called "the hunger games" and truly believe that you would enjoy it. it's a sci-fi book about survival. pretty badass, to be honest.

write back, my lou.

all my love,

harry x

louis couldn't help but smile after reading his letter. harry's scratchy handwriting flooded the paper and it made louis' heart flutter that the man cared. his friends were on his mind. he wanted to write all of them back. zayn sent him a doodle of two boys smoking (even though they were stick figures with arrows pointing to who they were) with his letter. liam told him about his car breaking down and how he thought that if louis was there, the boy would just sit on the roof of the car and watch the stars while liam or his dad fixed the problem.

he has three weeks left until he can hopefully go home. he's managed to be five weeks clean of any drugs and self harm and he has never felt any better. he's eating right because wesley has been. he promised louis that if he would do good, he would teach him how to balance grapes on his nose. that convinced louis to eventually eat all of his dinner instead of barely half of it.

now louis can hold a grape on his nose without it falling. he can scrunch his nose and catch it in his mouth before it falls. anytime he gets lost in his depressive thoughts, wesley tends to help him and let him talk about what's on his mind. he's grown a close bond with ella, she knows everything about louis from the times of his childhood to now. she even talked to louis about being his personal permanent therapist. he would just have to come to revive as an outpatient to meet with her once a week.

louis agreed to it. he knew she was helping. he began to realize that she actually cared. she didn't force him to take pills. she gave him stress balls and play-doh to create things with and smash when he got angry. it actually helped. taking his anger and squishing shit to a flat cake a few times until he calmed down was the best thing for him so far.

the facility soon began to trust louis enough to wear his shoes and let him outside. for two hours a day, louis could roam the yard and climb the trees. his favorite thing to do was sit on the lowest branch, dangle his legs and eventually swing upside down. the whim of the adrenaline made him happy for just a moment. he felt like a kid again when he did it.

he sometimes sat in the field of wildflowers and counted the birds that flew above him. the highest number he counted to was eleven. he and ella would have their therapy sessions outside if it was warm enough. louis would just stare out into the distance and talk as much as his little heart desired. ella wouldn't write, she would listen. she would ask questions every now and then but their hour was about louis and how he was holding up. if that meant to just let louis talk, then so be it. he needed an outsider, a listening ear, he needed someone to vent to and he was just now realizing ella was also that person.

ella recommended that louis should begin writing, just like harry did. his therapist promised that before louis left, she would get a journal designated just for him. he could pick it out and everything.

louis told ella about harry. he didn't mention that he was his teacher, only said he was an old friend that slowly came back around and they got close. since louis was eighteen now (and spent his birthday in an institution -- yikes. although wesley snuck around to make him a cupcake and sang happy birthday to him), he didn't have to worry about the age difference. only harry's job. ella said to do whatever made him happy. if harry could help him, go for it.

so he did.

he wrote harry a three paged letter about how he was doing, how he was feeling and his confessions to the man. he told him how much he missed him, his protection, the way he held him, everything. louis just let his mind travel to the paper, spewing out every bit of what he was thinking.

he reminisced their kisses in the hospital and longed for them everytime he wrote harry's name. he told harry about how he thought of him when he read, when they swapped books or when he found a book he thought he would like. he told him that he was getting better for not just his friends but for him also. he admitted to having feelings that wouldn't go away. he wasn't sure if it was this thing called love or just in the daydreaming stage, but he was definitely sure that the man with green eyes made him want to recover well and start a clean slate.

he wanted to be happy, and he was slowly getting there.

---

its our larent's anniversary why wouldn't i update?

this was short and also everywhere. i think this is the first chapter i have ever written without dialogue! this was supposed to be a slightly happy chapter about louis getting better and doing good, to lighten things up just a bit.

what do you want to see happen in this? i like hearing your ideas. do you want larry together? do you want drama? fluff? HIT ME UP YALL

thank you for sticking through with this!!