Chapter Text
"Lou, you know how Liam and Zayn are. Make sure you don't say anything too...upsetting to them." Harry said before the interview.
"This isn't right Harry. It's your life, and my life, not theirs. I should be able to love you, and you should be able to love me. You should be able to be yourself." Louis said shaking his head in disapproval.
"I know, but between Simon and them I just rather be myself in the safety of our walls." Harry said trying to comfort his upset boyfriend.
"I love you Harry, don't you dare forget that." Louis said giving Harry a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you more. I wont forget, I promise." Harry said giving Louis a kiss back.
The interview was going well, that is until the questions got very telling, as far as clothing styles, and personal reflections on the X-factor.
"One day he's wearing boots and jeans, the next he's wearing trainers." Niall said.
"And a dress." Harry said jokingly.
Louis smiled at the thought, "I havent seen you in a dress before hmmmm."
Nobody seemed to be bothered by the joke and the interview went on unphased. But after the interview Liam and Zayn pounded Harry with insults and arguments.
"Why are you so gay? It's disgusting. A man, in a dress are you kidding me, that's ridiculous." Liam spat.
"Hey now! Leave Harry alone! It was a joke! Damn, it if it's anyone that you should be pestering it would be me." Louis said stepping in front Liam, preventing him from getting any closer to Harry.
"Yeah and the joke way gay. Harry is gay, you're gay, your jokes are gay, even your voices are gay. Only thing missing is a hot pink sign saying 'I'm gay' that would be the bow." Zayn said looking very cross.
"Well congrats Zayn. I didn't think you were ever going to come out. I'm proud of you and support you." Louis giggled.
Harry smiled in all honesty, "Yeah Zayn, there's nothing wrong with being gay. We support you."
Zayn could barely believe what his ears just heard, "No I- I meant you're gay! I like girls! Guys should only fuck girls! It's not right for two guys to have sex together!"
Harry looked at Zayn suspiciously, "So you just admitted you've thought about two guys having sex. Zayn it's okay, you love who you love, no judgement."
Zayn tried to punch Harry but Niall pulled him back, "Harry, RUN!"
"Thanks Niall!" Harry and Louis said as they ran off to their hotel room.
After the pure adrenaline of almost being a hate crime settled down, Harry started to sob.
"Hazza, baby dont cry! Don't pay them any mind."
"ZAYN WAS GONNA PUNCH ME! I felt like I was going to pee myself! I've never felt so scared!"
"You know I would never let Zayn put his hands on you babe! I would have to put him in the hospital if he ever hurt you."
Harry went to the closet him and Louis share and found his favorite cheerleader outfit and threw it out the window.
"Harry! What are you doing! You love that outfit!"
"NO I DONT!" Harry said as he cried throwing more of his favorite, and potentially 'gay' clothes out the window.
Louis gabbed Harry, "HEY STOP IT!"
Harry just fell into Louis' arms. Louis knew Harry was easily upset-able and and quiet fragile in his demeaner. Even if Harry was the older one in the relationship Louis knew that Harry would need more supporting and reassurance.
"They're right aren't they? This isn't right, I'm not right! I'm a boy! I shouldn't like dresses and getting my nails painted! I should like girls not boys! Maybe I am sick..."
Louis kissed Harry hard, "How could that be so bad? How could loving someone be bad? How could being yourself be so bad? As long as it's not hurting someone being yourself, loving yourself, loving me, cant possibly be wrong."
Harry sat on their bed and held Louis' hand, "Then why are Liam and Zayn always bullying me? Aren't we supposed to work together to make the band the best it can be? Aren't we supposed to be friends, family?"
Louis kissed Harry's hand, "You are so right, but like we both know, sometimes family doesn't support you like it should."
Louis was kicking himself as soon as he said that, he knew the last thing Harry needed to think about was his unsupportive big sister. The one person he's looked up to other than his mum all his life. For the love of God, why couldn't Harry get a break?
"I'm gonna go get your stuff babe, stay here. I love you so much." Louis said.
"Okay, I love you more babe. And thank you, for getting my stuff and calming me down." Harry said with a smile.
Louis went downstairs to go get Harry's clothes when he saw Zayn. "Malik I swear to God if you put that lighter to Harry's clothes I will break your face."
Zayn dropped the lighter onto what Louis could smell was Harry's gasoline drenched clothes, "Oops." Zayn said with a smirk.
"Son of a bitch. You're so fucked now. I'm going to beat your ass all the way to tomorrow." Louis swore.
Louis jumped onto Zayn, tackling him to the ground. Zayn punched Louis in the face but Louis still towered over Zayn as he did just what he promised he would. Louis wound up fracturing Zayn's jaw, breaking his nose, giving him two black eyes, and not once regretting a single blow.
"LOUIS GET OFF ZAYN!!!" Niall yelled as he came from the hotel's eating area.
"Sure," Louis said as he whipped his bloody knuckles on his pants.
Louis glanced at the burning pile of clothes and then looked at Zayn, "You're lucky I don't burn you, absolute asshole."
"You're bluffing." Zayn said.
"Do you want me to prove my lack of ability to bluff?"
Niall ran over to Zayn. Niall looked at Louis in horror, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!? WHY DID YOU BEAT UP ZAYN?!?"
Did Niall not notice the pile of burning clothes only feet away from him? "He burned Harry's clothes, so I beat him up. Not to mention Zayn is the reason Harry had a breakdown and threw the clothes out the window to begin with. When I got down here Zayn hadn't actually set them on fire yet, but he was holding the lighter, so I warned him if he set them on fire I would break his face. I was keeping my promise."
Niall's demeaner changed quickly, "Oh. So yeah, he deserved it." Niall looked at the burning pile of clothes, "Poor Harry. He loved that dress too."
"Fag." Zayn managed to say.
"Niall, hold me before I commit homicide." Louis said, two seconds from throwing Zayn into the fire.
Niall pulled Louis inside, "It's not worth it. Well I certainly don't have the right to weigh the worth of that to Harry but you know what I meant."
"Niall, thank you for accepting Harry, and our relationship. It means a lot to both of us that you aren't also trying to torment us." Louis said as he walked to the elevator with Niall.
"Hey, I don't exactly get it, but I do know, unnecessary hate is, pointless, pitiful, and name case in point, unnecessary. Plus I really am trying to be a good ally to you both, so I'm always here if you two need anything. Especially if it involves saving you from Zayn or...him from you." Niall said with a small smile.
"That mate, is all we truly ask for. Allies. Hey can I ask you a question?" Louis asked.
"Sure."
"How did you know about the dress?" Louis asked as he pressed the third floor button on the elevator.
"Oh, once I just walked into your hotel room because I forgot my Nando's card and he'd changed into it, he tried to lie but I told him I was okay with it. It made him really happy to know it wasn't just you that didn't see him differently. That's when I started my journey to being the best ally I can be. Harry's an amazing person, but you already knew that didn't you?"
Louis looked at the floor, "I really hope you know I'm not usually violent, it's just, if you would've seen how Zayn got into Harry's head...How distraught and ashamed of himself he was just for being himself. He even had gone so far as to say they're right, that he is 'sick', like in the head."
Louis couldn't help but let the tears fall from his face as him and Niall exit the elevator, "Niall, if things don't change for Harry soon, he's gonna have some deep-seeded self-esteem problems," Louis sighed, "He already does."
Niall gave Louis a hug, "I am so sorry about Zayn and Liam. Harry really shouldn't have to go through this. But at least he isn't alone, and has two people willing to do anything to protect him."
"Can, can you come talk to him Niall? I feel like he needs to know that, well he does, but coming from you will feel a lot different. At this point I don't think I'm enough to counter Liam and Zayn. Not to mention his ex-sister who disowned him."
Niall's eyes got extremely big, "Oh God. Of course. I really hate that people who are different just get completely cast aside, even from their own blood."
"You and me both Nialler, you and me both."
Louis walked into the hotel room to see Harry watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Harry looked surprised to see Niall and not the pile of clothes he'd thrown out the window.
"Harry, I'm sorry, Zayn got to your clothes and he burned them."
Harry looked like he wanted to cry again, "Wait so why is Niall here?"
Niall nodded, "Um, I saw Zayn burn your clothes, I kinda had to hold Louis back from throwing Zayn into the fire. I also came to talk to you."
Harry looked away from Niall's gaze, it was easy enough to guess Harry was crying, "Can it wait, I don't really feel like talking right now?"
"Then just listen mate. I really want to tell you something. Something I've been meaning to elaborate on for a while." Niall said, "I personally find myself hating Zayn right now, and for a good reason, he hurt my brother. But that's not my point. Thing is, I don't understand why you like what you do, and I may never understand, but what Zayn did was stupid and immature. Hating someone for something that is NONE of his business is wrong. Hating you, or the fact that you love Louis is wrong. But you're still Harry, still my bandmate, still my brother, and still one of my best friends."
"Do you really mean that?" Harry asked, he was about six seconds from tears.
"Of course I do. Why do you think I did what I did earlier, and how I held Louis back from almost killing Zayn." Niall said sitting next to Harry.
"YOU ALMOST DID WHAA-" Harry said looking at Louis.
"Zayn covered your clothes in gasoline before I got down there and he was going to put them on fire, then I told him if he did I'd break his face, he literally dropped the lighter and I tackled him and lets just say I kept my promise."
"Then Zayn called you something I wont repeat and Louis almost picked Zayn up and threw him into the fire. I had to pull him back so he didn't." Niall said looking regretful.
Harry finally let himself cry, "That was my first dress I ever got myself."
Niall hugged Harry, "I'm so sorry Harry. I know how much you loved that dress. Would you like to talk about it?"
Harry knew he found a friend in Niall, "When Louis and I's relationship started getting serious I met his sisters, Louis refused to play dress up with them so I subbed in as the dress up brother that they could pamper. Then I realized just how happy wearing dresses made me I started to experiment, sometimes going to stores and just trying things on, but never buying anything. At the time I hadn't really come to terms with the fact that I was a boy who like wearing dresses, but after weeks of pep-talks and practically stalking the summer dresses, I got over my battle. Then like a week later I saw the dress, it was short, black and white, and it kinda reminded me of Wednesday Adams. I loved it immediately. Luckily I had made friends with the staff at the store and they didnt judge. And that's how I got my first dress."
Niall smiled softly, "Oh wow. That is actually beautiful Harry, I am so sorry Zayn took that away from you. But would you like it if Louis and I took you to get a new dress? I know it wont be as special as your very first dress, but what if this was your first dress with your boyfriend and best friend? Would you like that?"
"Yeah, I would like that a lot. Niall, thank you." Harry said whipping his tears.
"No problem Harry."
"Shit- shit shit, I made it worse." Louis swore.
"What's up?" Niall asked, but even a fool knew what was wrong.
"I may have just started a war with Zayn and Liam." Louis said as he collapsed back on his bed.
"Well we certainly can take them, it's three to two." Niall said, he knew whole-heartedly this was the right thing to do.
"Niall you don't have to do that, this isn't your fight. It's ours." Harry said shaking his head.
"No, I do. One, because I really don't want Louis in jail for killing someone. Two, you're my friends, we're like family. Of course this is my fight, you pick a fight with my family, you pick a fight with me. Three, I want nothing more to put that big bully in his place." Niall said.
"Thank you Niall. Really, we are so grateful. And honestly I am sorry you got pulled into this. I know you really just want peace." Louis said.
"Thanks mate, it means a lot."