7 Up

“He was completely hammered.”
“Ah, that makes more sense. Continue.”
“Anyway, he talked to me about his mum and his sisters and how badly he wanted to make them
proud. He talked about his shit father, his even shittier stepfather, and every other guy in between.
He was carrying a lot of hate, Harry.”
“Are you studying psychology, by any chance?”
Zayn smiles. “I plan to use art therapy as my weapon of choice in schools and rehab centers.” He
clears his throat. “We talked a lot about Will, too. Lou was so fucking crazy about him, it was
disgusting.” Harry isn’t sure he wants to listen to this, and there’s no way it doesn’t read on his
face. “But it became clear to everyone after a while that Will was Louis’ crutch. Everyone but
Louis. He didn’t know he was doing it, and he felt an awful lot like shit when he realized it. I
remember we were talking about it late one night, and he started crying. He told me ‘Will was
there for me when I wouldn’t let Harry be there, and I’ve been taking advantage of that ever since,
I think.’ He’d been talking about the ‘Curly boy back home’ for months - all innocent - but that
was the first time he ever mentioned your name. That was over two years ago.” The look on
Harry’s face must be hilarious, because Zayn bursts out laughing, his eyes crinkling. “Relax, mate.
It’s been a long time since then, and he doesn’t sit around moping and crying over you like he used
to. Will was really patient with him, but I think that patience eventually wore off. He told Louis he
was too much to handle while he was trying to finish school.” Zayn shrugs. “I don’t blame Will,
really.”
Harry finds his voice. “At the risk of sounding like a total self-centered prick, did Louis and Will
break up because of… me?”
Zayn looks amused. “I don’t think so, no. They had a lot of other issues that eventually all became
too much, and then everything kind of just exploded at once.” He rolls his shoulders, stretching.
“But whatever happened the night before his birthday our third year at school totally fucked him
up. Put a lot of strain on his relationship with Will. He never told me what happened. I think that’s
basically the only thing I don’t know. Guess he wanted to keep something to himself, yeah? I can
pretty much figure out the gist of what happened, anyway.”
They’re both silent for a while, listening to Liam scream at Louis for God only knows what, Niall
and Ellis laughing hysterically, James telling them all to shut the fuck up. Harry smiles. “Thank
you for taking care of him,” he says eventually. “I think that’s probably a weird thing to say. It’s
not like I handed him off to you, and he isn’t my kid. I dunno…” He looks at the clock, wondering
where Justin is. “I’m really happy in my relationship with Justin, but it doesn’t mean I don’t think
about Louis and worry about him. Because I do. Everyday.”
If Zayn is surprised to hear Harry has a boyfriend, he doesn’t let it show. Good quality in a
therapist, Harry thinks. “Louis is the best friend I’ve ever had, and he’s what made my university
experience what it was. We have matching tattoos, you know.”
Harry’s eyes grow wide in surprise. “I didn’t know that.” He aimlessly runs his fingers through his
hair twice before he admits, “I hate that I don’t really know university Louis.”
“No, you don’t,” Zayn says, standing up, signaling this conversation is just about over. “But you
know every other part of Louis. And that’s something no one else can touch.”