“Don’t you think this is going to be awkward?”
“What is going to be awkward?” Harry shifted his bag higher onto his shoulder and followed Liam up the stairs to their art classroom.
“Your boyfriend being naked in front of 25 random people, plus you and me.”
Harry’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. He thought he had explained this to Liam already. “First, he’s not my boyfriend. And second, it’s art. It’s different.”
“I don’t know man,” Liam pushed through the door to the studio and dropped down at the easel next to Harry’s. “Half this class is girls.”
“Female art students,” Harry corrected as he pulled out his sketchbook. “They understand. It’s art, not Niall.”
Liam wished it was that simple. He wished everyone saw art the way Harry did, but most of the students in this class didn’t. They saw Niall as a naked kid. And from what he’d overheard after their class last Thursday, he was a naked kid that quite a few of the girls were taking a very keen interest in. Just because Liam didn’t swing that way didn’t mean he overlooked Niall’s attractiveness. But if Harry wasn’t worried, then Liam wouldn’t worry either.
Liam snuck a glance at his best friend and saw that Harry was absentmindedly sketching something that looked very much like Niall’s neck and collarbones. Liam grinned; he was glad Harry was finally happy.
“Harry!”
The two boys looked up at Niall’s joyful voice as the blonde flew across the room towards them, his robe whipping around his knees. He launched himself at the younger boy, almost knocking Harry off his stool with the force of his hug. Harry laughed and hugged him back happily, pressing his face into Niall’s sweet smelling hair. Liam rolled his eyes good naturedly and glanced away to give his friends a few seconds of privacy.
He may have been able to avert his eyes but he couldn’t block his ears and he groaned when he heard the telltale slurps of snogging.
“Aren’t you worried you’ll get a boner?” Liam asked, fake innocence clouding his tone. “Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”
“Shit,” Niall quickly scrambled off Harry’s lap as Liam laughed and Harry made a low throated moan of protest. He held his arms out, opening and closing his hands as he beckoned Niall towards him, his full lips drawn down in a pout. Liam just shook his head at his friend’s antics but Niall giggled, leaning closer to plant a quick kiss on Harry’s mouth.
Niall backed away a few seconds later when some of their classmates began filing in and Liam took the opportunity to have a hushed conversation with his best friend.
“You really like him huh?”
Harry blushed slightly, keeping his eyes on his lap, and nodded. He liked Niall a lot.
“You gonna ask him to be your boyfriend?” Liam nudged him teasingly. “If you don’t hurry up someone else might steal him.”
Horror filled Harry’s face and Liam instantly felt bad about joking with the younger boy. Niall was the first person Harry had ever liked, Liam shouldn’t be messing with him about it. “I’m just kidding Har, he likes you. He won’t go out with someone else.”
But Harry didn’t seem to be listening. He was nibbling on his lip and watching Niall, cheeks paling when he noticed the object of his affections laughing with one of the female students. When the girl reached out and touched Niall on the arm, still giggling, Harry about lost it. He jumped up, sending his stool tumbling to the ground, and tore out of the room. Liam quickly followed, shouting out a quick apology to their teacher, as Niall’s brow furrowed in curiosity.
