"Hey Haz?" He says, quietly. Harry had lifted his head, one eyebrow raised.
"What did the fish say when he hit the wall?" Harry shrugs the corners of his lips twitching slightly.
"Dam." Louis smiles. And Harry couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips.
"Stop stealing my jokes, Tomlinson." He said.
When they woke up the next morning and saw the hole in the wall, for some reason it was hilarious and they decided to cover it with the photo frame.
Louis looks away from the hole and gasps for breath turning over once again, why can't he breathe? He bites his lip hard, drawing blood but he can't even feel the pain, his chest is in absolute agony and it numbs everything else. He sits up and whimpers laying back down, he's bent over double in the pain and he didn't ever think an emotion could hurt him so physically. He gets frantic because every time he breathes out he has to breathe in twice as hard to try not to suffocate. He shoves his hand in front of his mouth and screams, his hand barely muffles it. He feels it in his throat and his eyes blur, he holds his breath and grabs his stomach because he can't cry, he mustn't cry. His eyes frantically search the room, looking for anything that will stop this pain. He finds his phone under the covers and grips it firmly. He pulls up his contacts and scrolls. Who should he call? His mother comes up first and he scrolls past it, she'll worry too much, ask him questions, Harry is next and he grabs at his chest where his heart is because it feels like it's being torn apart. He manages to keep on scrolling past Liam because he would freak out and ends up with Zayn, Zayn it is. He presses the number and holds the phone to his ear before turning over again and pressing his phone between his pillow and his ear. Zayn takes a long time to answer and each ring causes Louis to burn more inside. After about 10 rings Zayn picks up and his voice is slow, raspy and a little irritated.
"Louis is 3 in the fucking morning." He grumbles, not angrily just a little frustrated, and Louis breathes in sharply.
"Zayn" he chokes out and there's the sound of something ruffling before the line is clear and Zayn speaks. Louis guesses that he had sat up in bed.
"Lou, what's happened?" He asks concerned. Louis head clears with Zayn's voice but his chest is still heaving for breath.
"Help me, please," Louis starts before he falls into silence wondering when his voice changed because he doesn't even sound like himself. His voice is broken, dry and so small. "Talk to me or something." He continues, barely getting the words out.
"About what? Are you hurt? Do you want me to come over?" Zayn's says, hearing Louis quick breaths and his questions do nothing to help Louis' state.
"No....just Zayn, please." He begs and his voice breaks on 'please.'
"Louis, I don't understand. What happened?" Zayn says confused.
"Zayn please! Just fix it, help me." Louis says louder and it's almost a whimper. Zayn still doesn't understand but tries to calm Louis down.
"Hey, Shh, it's ok, your gonna be alright, just breathe yeah?" He says and Louis tries, he really does but he just can't. Tears sting his eyes but he doesn't let them fall.
"Zayn, distract me." Louis says quietly. Zayn knows Louis is hurting but how was he supposed to help him, Harry normally fixed him when he was upset. And then it clicks, Louis wants a distraction from Harry. Perrie stirs beside Zayn and lifts herself up on one elbow, a confused expression on her face.
"Please?" Louis' broken cry comes through the phone again and Zayn and Perrie share a worried look.
"Ok Lou, shut your eyes," Zayn mumbles and Louis does as he's told. He's tired, so tired but he just can't sleep, not like this anyway. Zayn pauses and shrugs at Perrie. 'Sing to him' she mouths and Zayn's eyes widen before he nods and does just that. "When you try your best but you don't succeed, when you get what you want but not what you need. When you feel so tired but you can't sleep, stuck in reverse. And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace. When you love someone, but it goes to waste. Could it be worse?" Zayn's voice is soft and gravely and Louis really doesn't know why he hasn't done anything with it because he is good, so good. Louis recognises the song, who doesn't know that song? He doesn't listen to the words though, they're too close to what he is feeling. Instead he lets Zayn's melodic voice calm him. It begins to work and he can breathe again. He still hurts a little, there's a dull ache but it's bearable now.
"Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones. And I will try to fix you. And high up above or down below, when you're too in love to let it go. But if you never try you'll never know, just what you're worth. Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones. And I will try to fix you." Zayn trails off, almost dosing off himself.
"Lou?" He says gently, quietly. There's silence down the phone apart from Louis soft, uneven breaths and Zayn takes that a sign he is asleep.
"Night." He says quietly before hanging up. He sighs and puts his phone on the bedside table before laying back down next to Perrie.
"What am I gonna do?" He says in despair, he hates seeing Louis like that. Perrie pulls him close and kisses his forehead.
"They'll work it out, he'll be ok." She says and Zayn nods before falling asleep.

Chapter 9
Start from the beginning