Planning for the Halloween party was taking a lot of Louis' time, but he was excited.

His Psychology class alone had raised over 100,000 Euros from bake sales and mini art galleries on school grounds and around their neighborhoods.

Aside from the money, they had collected over 20 costumes for the kids from families who didn't need them anymore. They still needed about 15 more but they had the funds to buy the remaining ones.

Louis was overwhelmed with the students' dedication to this.

"Hey Mr. Tomlinson?"

"Yes Simône."

"Alex and I would just like to run by you what we have so far."

Louis nods and leans on the back of his desk as other students file out of the lecture hall. Most of them would be at the asylum that evening for the party, and luckily Halloween was on a Friday this year.

"Well, the student guest list stands at 35 confirmed and I think that's pretty good. 39 kids and then 35 plus Alex and I and you makes 38."

Louis nods again, knowing already which child he's assigning himself to for the night. And then the thought of Harry pops into his head and he mentally facepalms knowing he didn't include him in the tally. He'll have to get a costume for him later.

That's if they'll let him out of his cell.

"And costumes have totaled up to 50. We bought 20 and then received like 10 more today which is great so the kids have a wider selection and hoping they'll all fit."

"That's great guys. Food?"

"We got a caterer from downtown London and he's given us a really good fee for the whole night. He's bringing his own ingredients and what not."

"And we've got Mark on beverage duty."

A smirk appeared on Louis' face and the two looked at him weirdly before shaking their heads wildly.

"No! No we have a straight no alcohol rule. Mark knows that but even if he tries anything my mum's on stand by."

"That's really nice of Mrs. Jones."

Louis says with a slight chuckle.

"What time are we meeting?"

"The three of us can head down there right after class. With Chantelle of course because she has the decorations and all but yeah. And then the other students arrive at around 6 because we obviously can't make the kids stay up too late."

"And when exactly is 'too late'?"

Louis questions Simône with a smirk. She sighs and pushes Louis' shoulder playfully.

"Seriously though, the last person who's not us should leave there no later than 10."

The two students nod before Louis pushes them out of the lecture room and watches them scurry to their next class. He walks back to his desk and starts packing his stuff, thanking the heavens that Friday's were half day for his lessons.

He picked up his phone and saw a text from Oli.

Oli💩:

Dude I'm pumped to go to this party

LouisTommo:

You do know it's a children's Halloween party right?

Oli💩:

Duh man! But think of all the candy! My blood sugar levels are ready!

Louis rolled his eyes and sat in his chair. Oli was meeting Louis at the asylum, foregoing their usual Friday meeting at KFC. He was among the few adults Louis invited to attend the party not only to help, but to give the kids a sense of what it's like to be in a room full of adults who care.

There was Oli, Steve, Cara, Kendall and the Storms. Lux and Annabelle would be there too.

He continued to text Oli until a knock on his door interrupted him. It was Alex, Simône and Chantelle.

"Did you guys need a note or something?"

Simône giggles shaking her head and walking to him.

"No silly! It's time to go."

"Already? Wow ok then."

Louis got up, taking his stuff and leading the three teenagers to his car. Alex sat upfront and the girls at the back. Once he started the car Alex turned on the radio and three screeches filled the car.

"What? What! What happened?!"

Louis panicked, grateful that he hadn't started driving. The three teenagers looked at him and then simultaneously started singing:

She got a body like an hourglass but I can give it to you all the time
She got a booty like a Cadillac but I can send you into overdrive
You've been waiting for that
Step on up, swing your bat
See any body could be bad to you
You need a good girl to blow your mind

Louis was left in shock at how they went through all the lyrics and didn't care how loud they were.

They were having a good time and that's all that mattered.

Louis snorted and started driving out of the parking lot as they continued their mini jam session in his car. Louis won't deny that he may have rapped part of Nicki's verse too but you know.

Whatevs.

They pulled up to the asylum 15 minutes later and his students were mega hyped up. Louis laughed and they helped each other carry the bags full of decorations, costumes and candy into the asylum.

Oli was standing at the reception with Steve and as soon as they saw the four struggling to carry a lot of bags (so they could try and do one trip only. They failed miserably) they came over to help.

It took a while but all the bags were behind the reception desk.

"Ok. So the kids have their 4 o'clock snack right now, which means we have about an hour to decorate this place before they come charging in here to play in the playroom. Let's get to work and do what we can. And be precise. We're working on general look and not speed."

Louis says, grabbing the first bag of cobwebs and plastic spiders. Oli took the first set of white lights which they were going to tape around the base of all the walls so they can cast a glow upwards. Steve went to help and the teenagers went to work on laying out the costumes in the play area since it had more space and they could easily help the kids choose what they wanted to be for Halloween.

45 minutes later, sniffles were heard down the hallway from the cafeteria. Louis stopped what he was doing and so did everyone else. He slowly walked out of the playroom and round it, going to the direction of the small cries and his heart stopped.

It was Ava.

"Ava..."

"Papa."

She cried, running into his open arms and cried harder, fisting Louis' shirt. He stood up with her in his arms and walked outside. Hopefully the almost non-existence sun and October winds can give her a chance to breathe and calm down a little.

"Baby what's wrong?"

"M-Maria s-said that I'm going to stay here f-forever. I don't wanna s-stay here forever papa bear."

Ava cried into his neck. Louis felt so bad and he felt anger towards Maria for being so unsympathetic. Maria was only 11 but she acted like she ruled the asylum.

Just like a bully would in high school.

Maria was put in the asylum when she was 9 for getting violent with her parents and in Louis' opinion, exhibiting Bipolar Disorder signs. People find it hard to want to adopt a child with Bipolar Disorders and other mood swing related illnesses because you never know what to expect.

"Hey, it's ok. Maria doesn't know what she's talking about at all."

"Really?"

"Of course. I promise you will be out of here, probably sooner than her."

"Thank you papa."

The door opened and Alex approached them where Louis was seated on a bench on the side of the building. Alex's hand was interlocked with Travis' and the little boy's eyes were sad.

"Hey Mr. Louis. Is she ok?"

"Hey Travis. Yeah. Ava will be fine. Have you picked a costume yet?"

Travis smiled and nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! I'm gonna be a prince and Alex is going to be a king!"

Louis smiled, still rubbing circles on Ava's back, and nodded back at the two. He told them to go help others start to change because they have to prepare to leave to trick or treat.

They were trying to go around the neighborhood and then be back in time for the party. Alex told him some of his classmates had started arriving and that they would try to leave in half an hour, before going back in with Travis skipping besides him.

Louis looked back down in his lap to see Ava, breathing calming down. Her thumb was in her mouth and she was staring at the gate to the asylum. But Louis saw the dark circles under the girl's eyes. His heart ached at the thought of her not sleeping again.

"What costume do you wanna wear today love?"

She sat up and placed her hands on his chest looking him in the eyes. Louis loved the blue of her eyes and couldn't understand how similar the two of them looked in appearance.

"I wanna be... um... a pirate princess."

Louis chuckled slightly and gently pulled her head back down to his chest.

"Do you want me to be the pirate king then?"

He felt her nod and he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

He knew where he was going Monday morning.

* * *

"-and Travis almost fell on the stair papa! You should have come to the door with us!"

Ava exclaimed, skipping besides Louis with one hand intertwined with his and the other carrying her 'loot'. Louis laughed and adjusted his hat downwards. Travis rolled his eyes causing Alex to laugh at the boy and fix the crown on his head.

"Don't worry Trav. Next time I'll get you easier shoes to walk in."

Alex said as they walked into the asylum to be met with soft pop music and lights filling up the rooms. They were the last group to go trick or treating as the asylum didn't want them all gone at a go.

Louis walked over to Simône and complemented her and Alex on their work. The girl smiled back and her attention was pulled by the boy below her.

Louis bent down so Ava could climb on his back. They went round saying hi to the students and the kids, then Louis found Cara and Kendall who were trying to explain to Lux that purple was not a color of the rainbow.

"Mummy you're lying to me! It is!"

"No baby, it's not. The color is Violet."

"And Violet is Purple! I win!"

The parents groaned and Louis merely laughed then decided to go do his daily visit. He had Ava go stay with either Lux or Travis and then begun his walk down the long hallways, past the courtyard and down to the sort of dungeon.

The guards glanced at him then one of them looked at the time. They nodded at him and opened the door, letting him in.

Harry was sitting in the same position he'd always found him in; legs hanging over the edge of the bed and back against the wall.

His eyes trailed up to meet Louis' and a small smile made its way onto the younger's face. Louis pulled up the chair to the bed and Harry crossed his legs beneath him.

"Hey Harry. Happy Halloween."

The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion at Louis' words.

"Halloween? It's like this scary holiday where we all dress up and get candy. See, I'm a Pirate King."

Harry's eyes widened in understanding then nodded slowly.

Louis had visited Harry for weeks now and the boy has not once said a single word. Louis fears the boy could be mute but the nurse always tells him not to play any games with Louis. Louis is yet to see what games these are.

"They won't let me take you up to the party, so I brought you some candy. You like candy?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically and sat up straight. Louis chuckled and brought out the bag of goods from his inner coat pocket. He gave it all to Harry's awaiting hands and the boy opened it with excitement. He gasped as he pulled out a KitKat then looked to Louis for approval.

"Go ahead love."

Harry smiled wide, dimples popping, as he struggled to open the packet. Louis almost offered to help when the boy tore the packet open and the chocolate flew out and landed on his lap. He blushed and clasped his hands over his mouth. Louis laughed and motioned for him to eat it.

After he ate the KitKat, there was a harsh knock on the door and Louis knew his time was up. He sighed and saw the sad look in Harry's eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow ok? And make sure to hide the bag of sweets and save them so they last a long time."

Harry nodded slowly, his sad expression not leaving. Louis stood up, putting the chair back then turned to Harry. The boy carefully stood up and Louis was happy and yet confused as to what was happening.

"You ok?"

Harry shook his head and lifted his arms. He wanted a hug. Louis smiled and made his way over to the boy and engulfed him in a tight hug. The boy hugged back just as tight, almost like he was afraid to lose Louis.

Louis placed a kiss on the boy's forehead causing the younger to blush, then he helped him sit back down. Harry had a dimpled smile on his face and Louis knew he'd never forget that beautiful expression ever.

"Bye Haz."

Louis whispered and Harry replied with a small wave. Louis closed the door slowly but not before noticing Harry's smile and his touch on his forehead where Louis had kissed him.

He walked back up with a smile on his own, knowing he could make the boy happy and he was probably the only one who could do that. His heart skipped a beat at that knowledge.

He felt arms grabbing his leg and little screams and make-believe growls sounded through the room. Louis laughed as Ava hid from Travis, Lux and Annabelle.

"Papa! Save me!"

"Halt trespassers! How dare you come for my princess!"

Louis said in a pirate voice. The three halted with widened eyes and shocked expressions.

"Yours? Sir, we had no idea. We apologize."

Travis apologized bowing down. The other two copied him and then they all started laughing at how ridiculous they were being. Louis' eyes scanned the area and frowned upon noticing a familiar child sitting all alone and twirling a lollipop in her hand. He excused himself and lifted Ava into his arms and walked over to the table, sitting down with Ava in his lap.

"Hey Maria. Are you ok?"

Maria looked up at him and he noticed the tears in her eyes. She shook her head and whispered out her feelings.

"I w-was mean to Ava and H-Hilton today. I'm-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

Ava moved closer to her and took her hand in her own.

"I forgive you Maria. Papa explained to me that it isn't your fault. You wanna come play Halloween tag with us?"

Maria wiped her tears with a smile and nodded. Ava kissed Louis' cheek and got down before pulling Maria with her towards the other kids.

Louis was smiling as Oli slid into the chair Maria had previously occupied.

"As tradition goes Tommo, you've outdone yourself this week. Again."

•~•~•

So I was reading a mental hospital fic the other day, and it started out so well with the prologue giving us an inside scoop to Louis' feelings and his mind and so on. But then by the 3rd chapter, I'd already starting noticing unrealistic things and that usually puts me off when reading books.

So please tell me if you see any unrealistic bullshit in my writing. I do my research and I always edit chapters twice before posting them. Doesn't mean they're always 100%.

Anyway!

Q: What do you think is wrong with Harry? What do you think is wrong with Ava and why is she in the mental hospital?

(Picture of Ava on the side x)

Reminder that Gameplan is completed and edited. Go ahead and read it x

Alright. Till next time my loves x

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-Linda✌️