"Jump with me."

The milky white hand was extended towards him, and the boy stared at it, shaking his head.

"No."

"Why not?" The way the voice sounded so angelic made him look up and almost smile.

Then he remembered the circumstances.

"Because if you jump, you die."

The boy with curly hair, who had been staring down from the edge of the stage (and the high altitude they were at), turned away to look at the boy who was now holding his hand. He gave him a toothy grin, and without hesitation said,

"Yes, but if you jump with me, you can die too. Don't you see? We can die together. We can be together."

Louis let out a harsh breath and stood closer to Harry. He allowed himself to look down along with Harry.

And he was surprised to see that he wasn't scared. In fact, he was intrigued; What if he did jump? How would it feel? What would happen then? Would he still be with Harry?

He wasn't too sure.

But he also thought of the upsides, in a way. If he died, he didn't have to be miserable missing Harry. If he died, he realized, he'd be okay, because really…living without Harry was so horrible it couldn't be put into words. So, maybe dying would relieve him of the pain he had been feeling every day since Harry died.

He felt Harry's grip tighten on his hand and he looked up to see bright light eyes shining at him.

"Are you coming with me?"

Louis couldn't bring himself to speak—it was as if his voice box was locked and he couldn't find the key to open it.

"Will you come with me?" Harry pleaded.

Before Louis could open his mouth to try to produce a sound, Harry released his hand and walked closer to the edge, "Fine, you don't want to come. It wasn't fair of me to ask that of you." He gave Louis a solemn look, "I'm sorry."

Then he jumped.

"It's really not that scary, you know."

"What isn't?"

"Dying."

Louis stared at him and blinked, "It isn't scary? It looks terrifying."

Harry smiled softly, "Depends which way you look at it."

"How so?"

"Well, if you look at it like you won't get anything out of it, it is scary. Because…" He paused to think of the right words, "Because then everything is over."

Louis nodded and Harry continued,

"But, I look at it differently. I see it as…someplace new. Someplace I haven't been before. I go to a different place each time. But," He gave Louis a sad look, "I always go alone, and I know I say it's great, but to go alone…that's really scary." He paused and looked down at his hands, fidgeting with his fingers before looking back up into Louis' eyes, "I never know what's going to happen to me." Harry finished, letting out a shaky breath.

"Harry…" Louis said cautiously.

"Come on, Lou." Harry practically begged, letting his hands grasp Louis', "Why won't you come with me?"

"Because I'm not prepared to die." Louis said, so simply it surprised himself.

"Even if it was with me? Louis, I'd never ask you to do something if I knew you couldn't handle it! You can do this—we both can."

Louis gave a sympathetic look to Harry and kissed the top of his head, "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry looked up at him, their eyes meeting and piercing each other, "Me too." Harry whispered.

And then he was gone.

"What's it like?"

"What is what like, Lou?"

"Jumping. Dying. The whole thing."

"I already told you it isn't scary—"

"I'm talking about what happens after."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, it's not too bad." He paused and shivered, "It'd be better if you saw it for yourself, Louis. If you joined me."

"I don't know if I can do that."

Harry looked down in shame, but chuckled, "That's your answer every time."

"I love you, Louis."

"I love you too."

"Jump with me, then."

"It's not that easy."

"It's the simple act of jumping—"

"It's not the jumping I'm worried about, it's what happens after."

"But I'll be with you."

"I know—"

"I don't like going alone—"

"So don't go! Don't jump. Just stay—"

"I just want you to be with me—"

"Harry—"

"I hate being there alone. It's scary to go there by myself. I'll feel safer with you—"

"I know."

"—And what does it matter if you leave everyone behind?" Harry asked, "You'll be with me. And I'll be with you. You are all that I care for."

"Harry…"

"I know it's hard for you. But can't you just do this one thing for me?"

Louis stared at Harry, the pit of his stomach dropping and his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

What should I do?

"Please, Louis, do this for me."

When Louis didn't respond, and Harry's lips broke into a frown, something…odd started to happen.

Harry started to glow.

Louis stood up with Harry, and the younger boy began to panic, "What—what is happening to me?"

Louis gripped his shoulders, trying to see where the sudden light surrounding his body was coming from, "I—I don't know!"

Then suddenly, as if Harry had a string attached to him and someone had the other end of it, Harry was being physically pulled away from Louis.

"Louis!" Harry held his hands out so Louis could grab them, but Louis was too slow.

Harry shot Louis a scared look, and Louis started running after Harry, who kept being pulled into pitches of darkness. If it weren't for the glow around him, Louis would never be able to find him.

"Harry! Come back! Come back!"

"I can't! I don't—someone is pulling me!"

"What do I do?" Louis cried, still running towards Harry. He felt he would get mere inches from him, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed Harry was miles away, still being pulled into darkness.

"I don't know!"

"Harry! I'll—I'll go with you! Just try and come back to me!" Louis cried this out of fear. He knew going and jumping with Harry probably wasn't the best idea, but he felt as though saying the words out loud, like Harry had been pleading him to do, would save Harry from being taken away.

"I'll take the jump, Harry!" Louis cried desperately as he kept running and reaching for Harry's outstretched arms, "I'll JUMP!"

But it was too late. Harry had completely vanished from Louis' sight. Every direction he turned, Harry couldn't be seen or heard anymore.

Louis stared at the spot where he last saw Harry, feeling his throat close and his voice crack as he whispered, "I'll go with you."

Louis woke up to darkness. He sat up in what he realized was his uncomfortable hospital bed and flicked on the night table lamp. When the room was lit up, Louis' eyes adjusted.

His eyes widened when saw who was sitting in the chair next to his bed; the man's hands were folded on his bed and his face leaning on his arms. It looked as though he were in a painful sleeping position.

"S—Simon?"

Simon Cowell sat up quickly, a quick snore emitting from him as he did so. He gave Louis a groggy look and rubbed his eyes,

"'Ello Lou."

"What are you doing here? Is…is everything okay? " Louis asked warily, giving him an anxious look. Louis was worried. Had he done something wrong? Did Zayn have to fly home for another family emergency? Was someone else hurt? Why else would Simon Cowell be here in the middle of the night sleeping at his bed side. He knew Simon managed him and the boys, and loved them all dearly, but he also knew he was a busy man. And the fact that he was here at all concerned him.

Simon sighed and leaned forward, letting his hands fold on the edge of Louis' bed, "Well Lou, you passed out at the end of the hallway during your routine walk this afternoon. Don't you remember?

Louis nodded right away. How could he forget he fainted? More importantly, he couldn't forget why he had fainted.

Harry.

"I need to go, right away. Sorry Simon—" Louis began, lifting the bed sheets off of himself and trying to swing his legs over the edge of the bed."

"Not so fast, Louis." Simon said sternly, putting a steady hand on Louis' arm. "Lay back down. We have some things to discuss."

Louis slowly crept back into his bed, his eyes never leaving Simon's tired form. When he was settled, Simon spoke,

"Why were you at the end of the hallway?"

Louis took a deep breath and let it out. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Simon what he saw. What if he thought he was crazy?

What if he was crazy?

Nonetheless, he knew Simon was waiting for an answer, and at the present moment, his brain couldn't conjure up anything but the truth.

"I was there because I saw Harry's name on a door, and..." He paused, feeling somewhat lame, "I thought he was inside the room." He looked back at Simon, who was staring at him with his mouth gaping open,

"It was stupid, I know. I mean, it's kind of a common name—" Louis began rambling, and Simon continued to stare at him.

Simon couldn't believe what he had just heard. How so easily, everything he had worked so hard to conceal from Louis had been exposed to him in a matter of what seemed to be minutes.

Shit.

He was fucked.

Maybe Charlie was right—maybe he needed to tell Louis the truth. Maybe he needed to know. Simon had to be true to himself, and he could see that Louis was completely miserable. He also knew, based on the look off of Louis' face whenever he talked or thought about Harry, that Louis was having a hard trouble making it through the day without his other half.

So it was because of this that Simon decided enough was enough, and that he had to tell Louis the truth.

"Louis." Simon interjected.

"Yes…?" Louis asked slowly, a bit confused.

"We are going to take a walk."

Simon offered Louis his hand and the younger boy took it cautiously, easing out of the bed and following Simon out of the room and towards the end of the hall.

"Where are we going?" Louis asked.

Simon smirked, "Where do you think we are going?"

Louis didn't answer, because he knew what he wanted his answer to be, but he was terrified to say it.

Nonetheless, Simon led Louis to the end of the hallway, where the door with Harry's name sat.

Simon led him to that door and stood in front of it, before turning around with shameful eyes,

"Louis, I am…so sorry I didn't tell you this earlier. I just…I was trying to protect you, and the boys, and Harry. I didn't think about your feelings. I didn't think about anything but your protection. It pains me that all of your suffering and misery could have been avoided, but, try and understand that I did what I had to for your benefit."

Louis nodded and smiled wearily at Simon and watched as he opened the door to the room.

Louis followed Simon into the mundane hospital room, his eyes focusing on the bed that sat perpendicular to the far right wall.

His eyes couldn't believe what he saw. His heart leapt and his legs almost gave out, and yet suddenly, the world seemed so much brighter to him—brighter than it had ever been before.

For lying in the hospital bed, with a life support machine and IVs wired to his arm, was the boy he loved.

Harry Styles was lying on the hospital bed. And he was breathing.

And Louis was pretty sure he wasn't dreaming.

"He isn't dead." Louis whispered to Simon, making his was quickly over to Harry and trying to figure out what to do with his hands. He wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to wake him up. But he…didn't know what to do first.

Just by seeing Harry for real, and not in a dream, made Louis feel complete. It was as if the past three months, Louis had been a shattered vase that couldn't be put back together. But after seeing Harry, Louis knew those pieces that he thought couldn't be repaired were now pieced back together by a force that could never be broken down ever again.

Knowing Harry was alive, Louis felt indestructible.

Louis let his eyes trace every curve of Harry's lying form. His fingers found their way to the soft curls on top of his head. He let out a breath as if to say, "I can't believe he's here." The familiarity of Harry's face, touch, and smell brought back memories he had been harboring in his mind for the past three months.

He felt alive again.

His fingers continued to travel along Harry's face, down his jaw line, and straight to his heart. Louis' hand hovered over Harry's heart, and he realized he was hesitant to let it rest there.

He hated to even think it, but there was a part of him that thought this was too good to be true. That maybe it really was a dream, and it all just felt too real. That maybe lying here in this bed was really a dead Harry playing a trick on him. Or a Harry who would wake up and beg him to take a leap for him.

Louis exhaled and decided to bite the bullet. Figuring he would never know for sure unless he tried it. He let his hand rest on top of Harry's heart and his heart began to thump wildly in his chest.

Louis' frown turned to a tearful smile when he felt Harry's heart beat in time with his. Their hearts were beating together, in time with each other. It was as if they were connected in some way—like one heart being shared between two people.

Louis wiped away the fresh tears that were springing from his eyes. Yes. Yes. So there is a God.

Harry Styles has a beating heart. A live heart. Harry was here.

"Technically, yes. Harry is alive." Simon said softly, walking up behind Louis and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "But barely. The life support machine is keeping his brain alive. He…he hasn't woken up since the accident."

Louis was only half listening to what Simon was saying. He knew he should be pissed off at Simon for keeping this from him—for lying to him. But none of that mattered now, because Harry being fucking alive was all that mattered to him.

This was his chance. Louis had a chance to save Harry. To wake him up. He took this as a sign—a sign for him to do what he couldn't do before.

A sign for him to save Harry.

But…how?

"The doctors say they have hope, but they haven't said that his condition is getting better…" Simon continued, completely oblivious to the fact that Louis was spacing out.

How was Louis supposed to save Harry? He wasn't a doctor, and he certainly wasn't bright enough to be one.

He could always sing to Harry. He read somewhere that music could heal patients who were brain dead.

However, Louis immediately shook away that thought. Harry isn't brain dead. His brain is actually working.

He just wasn't waking up.

Louis sighed. He could always kiss Harry, and maybe that would wake him up.

He mentally slapped himself mere seconds after the thought. Get a grip, Louis! This isn't some Disney fairytale! Get yourself together!

"It just looks like he's sleeping." Simon said dreamily, staring down at the youngest band member.

And suddenly, after he heard the words slip from Simon's lips, Louis knew—he knew how to save Harry. He was surprised it didn't come to him sooner.

He knew it was crazy, and it was only something you would read in a story. But he had a feeling… a gut feeling that this would work.

If there was any type of God, Louis knew this would work.

Louis looked up to Simon, who was still rambling, and gave him a big smile. Simon couldn't help but return the infectious smile,

"What are you on about?"

Louis grinned as the plan he was formulating in his head making complete sense. There was no flaw in it, he could just see it working.

"I have a plan. A plan on how to wake up Harry."

Simon rolled his eyes, "Oh really, and what do you expect to do?"

Louis shook his head, "I can't tell you."

"Why is that."

"Because then you won't let me do it."

Simon crossed his arms, "Well then there is no way in hell I am letting you do anything."

"Simon, please. If you have any respect for me at all, you will let me do this. I won't be harming anyone or using anything. It'll just be me here. You just…have to trust me."

Simon glanced at the boy pleading in front of him. He was crazy to even think for a moment that Louis was onto something.

But, at the same time, no one else was doing anything. And if he trusted any of the boys alone with Harry, he knew he could trust Louis the most.

Louis continued to give Simon his famous imploring eyes, and Simon groaned, rubbing his eyes,

"Okay, yes, okay, I trust you."

Louis beamed and Simon continued,

"I just hope it works."