Chapter Text
It took him by surprise. One minute Harry was dribbling the ball and the next he was on his back, looking at the decidedly grey skies. JJ laughed as he neatly rolled the ball back and continued running with it. Harry went to stand up and let out an involuntary cry of pain. He hadn’t noticed before how his ankle was at an odd angle, and now he closed his eyes tightly, willing the pain away.
“Harry! You alright?” Then Vik was there, happy little Vik. He was leaning over Harry in concern, and Harry saw the worry etched onto his face when he opened his eyes.
“My foot.” Vik’s eyes ran down Harry and he screamed.
“What the hell?” He shrieked as he stepped away. “Don’t move, Harry. That looks really bad. Josh! Hey, Josh! Call an ambulance!” Tears leaked down Harry’s face and he moaned in pain. He hadn’t felt pain like this before, not even when he rolled off his roof onto his dads car. Then Harry was staring into into the beauty of an almost cloudless day. He pondered about what one of the clouds looked like. If he was honest, it looked a bit like Simon.
“Guys! Stop playing for Gods sake!” Josh shouted at the offenders when he took off to check on Harry.
“Why?” Ethan was dumbfounded, and Vikk groaned.
“JJ broke Harry’s foot or something!” Vik most certainly wasn’t a doctor, but he wasn’t blind. Harry had clearly broken something. Vik stepped away from Harry as Josh arrived, and called an ambulance. JJ and Ethan shared worried looks and when they went to look at Simon they found that he wasn’t there. He was already flying across the field towards his injured friend.
“That’s the quickest I’ve seen Simon run. Wait, the only time I’ve seen Simon run.” Ethan chortled as JJ and himself followed Simon. JJ wasn’t laughing as they reached Harry. Hot tears were leaking out of his eyes, and he sounded like an injured puppy. Simon wasn’t helping.
“Dear Lord, please let Harry survive-“ He began.
“Simon! You’re scaring him! Shut up for three minutes.” Tobi cut off the blond, who nodded, relieved someone had stopped him.
“It’s alright, Harry. Help is coming. Get away from his foot! Are you blind, or just fucking stupid?” Josh shouted as JJ took a step closer to Harry’s balled up figure. JJ held his hands up in surrender.
“I’m just checking the damage! Calm your tits.” He scoffed. “I’m sorry, Hazza. I didn’t realise I’d hurt you.” He continued more quietly to Harry. Simon whirled around to look at him.
“This is your fault!” He accused JJ, who hung his head. Tobi stopped Simon.
“Hey! JJ couldn’t have known that Harry would be hurt like this! Lay off with the blaming.” He defended JJ, who shot him a grateful glance.
“You’re joking! It’s his fault! We caught it on the video, and I’ll happily fucking replay it so you can see it too!” Simon stopped yelling abruptly and sat down. His head went into his hands and Tobi glanced up from Harry’s side.
“It’s alright, Si. He’ll be fine.” Josh tried to reassure his best friend, but Simon couldn’t be consoled.
“Tell him to shut up before JJ breaks his ankle as well.” Harry muttered a weak joke in between the crying and yelping, and Tobi laughed in relief. Harry wasn’t gone yet.
“Simon! Harry said to shut up! You’re making this worse by overreacting.” Tobi shouted at the other boy on the ground, who, to his credit, did shut up. Until Harry passed out from the pain, that is.
“JJ you’re fucking dead!” Simon was already diving towards his oldest friend before Ethan yanked him back and held him there.
“What the fuck, Simon? Why are you being like this?” Ethan stared at his mate, and watched the panicked look in his eyes.
“I-I don’t know.” Simon swallowed thickly, and looked down. He didn’t understand himself. It was just Harry. Good old, flakey Harry. Why was he so worked up?
“Simon! Calm down! What’re you doing? Harry’s going to be fine, I can hear the sirens.” Sure enough, ambulance sirens were sounding in the distance, growing increasingly closer till they watched the vehicle turn around the corner.
"D'you really think he'll be okay? What if he can never play again? It'll crush him." Simon whispered, safe in Ethan's arms.
"It's okay. Nothing ever stops Harold." Ethan reassured his friend.
"No, I'm going to throw up. That's disgusting, fam!" Tobi had taken another look at Harry's foot and bolted towards the emergency vehicle.
"Helps on the way, Harry. I know you can do it." Vik murmured. Simon subtly glared at him. Why was Vikk comforting Harry anyway? Tobi was Vik’s best friend. If anyone, it should be Ethan comforting Harry. Simon realised that Ethan wasn't comforting Harry because Ethan was comforting him. Simon stepped away from Ethan, who looked confused.
“Help Harry instead. He’s your best friend.” Josh stepped in to take Ethan’s place and squeezed Simons shoulder comfortingly. Vik stepped aside to let Ethan take his place and patted JJ’s arm. JJ looked miserable, and he kept staring at Harry in regret.
Simon didn’t regret yelling at JJ. Maybe that would teach him to be more careful. He couldn’t stand the thought of Harry doing himself a serious injury. He thought about the look on Harry’s face when he first fell, and Simon sunk to the floor. There, he buried his head in his hands, hiding his face. When the tears leaked down his face, none of the sidemen knew that Simon was experiencing a deeper pain level than any of them had felt before.
Simon couldn’t recall the car ride to the hospital, but he could remember the tightness of his throat every time the car slowed down, even remotely. What the hell were traffic lights even for? They seemed to be the only thing stopping him from getting to Harry, and Simon had never hated anything more, except possibly Jide.
“Come on.” Simon had begun hating traffic lights again until he realised that the car was outside the hospital. Tobi held out a hand and Simon gratefully grabbed it. Josh remained in the drivers seat, and the car sped off once the boys were out, intent on finding a parking spot.
“We won’t be able to see him right away.” Vik said offhandedly as they stalked through the revolving doors to the front desk. Simon recoiled. Vik was acting as though this wasn’t the most important thing in the world.
“Why?” Simon demanded, swinging round to face Vik, who stopped walking.
“Uh, Simon, were you there? Harry will be in surgery right now, and we’re not allowed in surgery.” Vik blinked in confusion, because Simon was normally the most level headed in an accident. He then remembered when Harry had fallen off his roof, and how Simon hadn’t left his room for days after.
“Er, right.” The tallest boy looked down, and muttered a quick apology. Vik recalled how he had felt when Lachlan’s plane had gone off radar for two hours, and when he saw Simons face he knew what the boy was thinking.
“We’re here to see Harry Lewis, he was brought in about ten minutes ago.” Tobi spoke to the receptionist, who nodded.
“Yep, he’s currently in surgery. I wasn’t told of how long it’ll take, but that’s at least an hour. The anaesthetic won’t wear off for a while if he wakes up after. He’s a pretty boy, isn’t he?” She didn’t seem to be fawning over Harry, just pointing it out. Nevertheless, Simon’s blood boiled. When Vik wrapped his hands around Simon’s waist, the older almost cried again.
“Yeah, that’s our Harry. What room was it?” Tobi felt like shaking the receptionist but he was angry with himself, not her.
“Uh, that will be,” She typed a few keys on her keyboard, “Room 186, floor five, and he’s stationed in the section with a skeleton in the waiting room. That’s where we’ll go once the surgery’s finished to notify you.” She smiled at them, but some smiles never reach the eyes.
The three boys walked towards the elevator with Simon striding ahead. The doors almost closed before Vik managed to squeeze through, glaring at Simon.
“What? You’re too slow Vik, come on!” Simon knew he was being irrational but this was Harry. Nothing was off limits.
“Si, he won’t be awake for at least an hour.” Vik pointed out, while Tobi opted to stare at the buttons on the elevator.
“I don’t care! It’s about being there for him. You know he would be there for us, and he has been there for us.” Simon was angry. Vik wondered why Simon kept picking on him, maybe it was because Tobi was secretly everyone’s favourite. Maybe it was just because Vik knew Harry the best. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel nice.
“Hey man. Lay off. Vik is right, we won’t be able to see him for a while. It’s already 10, maybe doing night soccer wasn’t the best idea. Who’s idea was it?” Tobi unintentionally threw JJ to the wolves. Or rather, wolf.
“Fucking JJ. I’m fucking going to kill him. I am actually going to. He’s out of the sidemen, right? We can all agree on that.” Simon spat angrily, hands shaking in his jacket pocket.
“Simon. Snap out of it. No one is getting kicked out of anywhere. If you keep this shit up then Josh is taking you home.” The elevator doors open, and Tobi took a long look at Simon before following Vik out.
Simon stared after his friends. He shut his eyes, and he thought of Harry. The clumsy idiot. Harry was asleep right now, getting fucking operated on. He slipped out of the elevator and followed his friends into the waiting room. They were the only ones there.
“Lie down, Simon. We’ll wake you when we get news.” Tobi gestured to the benches and Simon sunk down, his head resting on the pillowed seat. He felt utterly exhausted, and the stress from the evening had seemingly taken it’s toll on him.
“Come on, Simon! Up you get!” Josh knocked on Simons bedroom door loudly. Simon groaned from the blankets, and his eyes began drooping as soon as he opened them.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s only nine! Why’re you waking me up this early?” Simon dove back into the blankets with a huff. Josh swallowed audibly.
“We decided that if you weren’t awake by nine, I had to come get you. Vik stayed at the hospital last night and I thought you wanted to see Harry.” Almost as if he was struck by lightning, Simon sat up. His memories of yesterday flooded back towards him, and he held back a sob when he got out of bed.
“Why?” Simon shut his eyes tightly, willing yesterday’s events to have been avoided.
“Why what?” Josh, to his credit, did sound confused.
“Why is Vik there and not me? Or Ethan? Hey, I fell asleep at the hospital!” Simon yanked open his bedroom door to reveal a sheepish Josh who was rubbing his neck. Simon dove back onto his bed in despair.
“Vik’s known Harry the longest, and you were so tired. You didn’t even wake up when I carried you to the car. Come on, we can get Mcdonalds for breakfast. Don’t suppose you know Harry’s order?” Josh stared at his friend, who was curled in a ball and looked so small to his usual height.
“Of course I do. I’m ready to go.” Simon stood up for the second time, still in his rumpled clothes from yesterday. Josh nodded with a sigh, and walked out. Simon glanced around the room, feeling vaguely like something was missing. When he spotted Harry’s jumper on the floor from their latest collab, he dusted it off and threw it on before following Josh.
The house was empty, and Josh locked the doors as they left. Simon’s stomach rumbled, and within five minutes Josh had turned into the nearest McDonalds drive thru.
“Hello. Uh, two large mighty mcmuffin meals, please. What drink do you want?” He whispered to Simon, who shrugged.
“Long black. Don’t forget double sausage muffin meal for Harry. With a chai latte.” It wasn’t Simon’s fault he knew Harry’s order. It really wasn’t.
“No worries. Drive through, thanks.” The worker dismissed them and they did exactly that.
“Hopefully no one else got Harry mcdonalds.” Josh said as he tapped his card.
“Simon?” He tried again after they had been given their food.
“What?” Simon looked at him, and Josh shook his head. Simon was lost in his own thoughts, and Josh just didn’t know how to pull him out. Simon hadn’t seemed to care this much when Vik had broken his tailbone, but maybe Josh was imagining things.
A short ride later, and Josh pulled up outside the hospital.
“Take the food. I’ll see you soon.” Simon jumped out of the car without a word, and Josh shook his head as he drove onwards, intent on finding a parking spot.
Simon’s long legs had many advantages, one being a couple of quick strides and he was already inside the hospital. He tried to remember what room Harry was in, but he just couldn’t. He hesitantly walked up to the receptionist, the same one from yesterday.
“Erm, hi.” He muttered as he stood there awkwardly. He was itching to see his best friend.
“I remember you. You’re awfully cute too. Either of you got girlfriends?” She asked. Simon didn’t know why he said it. He really didn’t. Maybe he was scared, maybe he wanted to give himself hope. Whatever it was, it was dumb.
“He’s my boyfriend.” The lady smiled, and Simon found himself smiling back.
“Room 186, floor five. He’s doing great, he should be able to leave today.” Simon flew away from the receptionist and the fact that she knew he was gay, and that Simon had told her he was dating Harry.
He ran into Vik when the elevator doors opened.
“Hey, Simon! Yum, any for me?” Vik inhaled the scent of McDonalds, and Simon smiled awkwardly.
“It’s for Harry.” Vik gave him a weird look.
“Okay, bye!” Then Vik was gone, and Simon was left standing in an empty elevator with the feeling that he had just made a mistake. He pressed floor five, shaking his head. When the doors opened, he strode out, staring intently at the door numbers. When he found 186, he stood outside, and took a deep breath.
“He’s been acting weird, boggo. I don’t know to explain it. Getting mad at everyone for no reason, going off into fairytale land, its weird as.” Ethan said, and he was clearly talking to Harry.
“Is he okay? Maybe something’s going on at home? Has anyone asked?” Simon didn’t know why he took a sharp breath when he heard Harry’s voice. He walked in.
“Harry!” Harry’s foot was propped up, and Ethan was on the couch beside him.
“Hey, stimpy!” Simon sat next to Ethan, never taking his eyes off the boy in the bed.
“You feeling okay?” Simon placed the tray of drinks next to him on the couch, and rifled through the McDonalds bag.
“I’d feel a lot better if that McDonalds was for me.” Simon winked when he got up to hand Harry his burger, and Harry blinked back.
“Tell me that wasn’t suppose to be a wink.” Simon grinned when Harry held a hand over his face.
“Don’t talk to me. Not all of us are gifted at winking.” Ethan had sat there quietly, before he stood up.
“Simon, can I talk to you outside?” Simon, who had just unwrapped his muffin, nodded. They walked out, and Ethan shut the door behind them.
“Simon, are you alright? You’ve been a bit erm, on edge recently.” Simon chewed the muffin, and swallowed.
“I-Yeah. I’m fine. I was just really worried about Harry. It seemed different, this time. Vik didn’t pass out when he got hurt, JJ hasn’t passed out from boxing, and Harry passed out from a broken leg.” Ethan nodded, and Simon didn’t know why his heart was racing.
“It’s okay to be scared. You know you can talk to us anytime. All of us. We love you, Simon. Your problems are ours. Let’s get back to boggo, shall we?” Simon swallowed thickly, and nodded.
He wanted to be with Harry.