i sleep naked ➸ larry stylinson

five

harry walked into school monday morning fretting over his maths test and the fact that louis was walking next to him again.

he was also thanking the world because he had decided to wear his favorite cologne today, and he hoped louis noticed.

and it ended up happening. when they arrived at louis' locker, he felt something grab his hand. he looked down and saw that louis had wrapped his delicate fingers around his. he felt his breath catch and he lifted his head to look into louis' blue eyes.

"yeah?" he breathed out, but it was so quiet that harry was surprised louis could hear him.

"you smell really good today." louis smiled at the curly lad, and harry could feel his heart melt.

"thank you," he whispered.

and harry walked away to his locker, a blushing mess.

***

"remember to write your name, and you can use a calculator," mrs. lancaster, the maths teacher, called as she placed tests on everyone's desk.

harry cringed the minute the paper hit his desk. the numbers seemed to all blur together, and every formula he had ever learned retreated his mind.

"i freaking hate math," he mumbled, running a hand through his curls with a large sigh.

and since it was multiple choice, he went through and circled letters he thought looked right. when he finally finished, he slowly got up out of his seat and grudgingly handed his failed math test to mrs. lancaster. she gave him a suspicious look before pulling the pen out from behind her ear.

and harry didn't wait for her to grade it. he just stumbled back to his desk and sat down, laying his head on the cold metal of the desk.

he was almost asleep when he felt something shake his shoulder. "harry."

he shot his head up, blinking to the sudden change in light. "yeah?"

"harry, do you want a tutor? i highly recommend it." he cringed when mrs. lancaster gently placed the paper on his desk, and it was marked with a large, fat F.

"i guess? i mean, i could try harder, i guess, uhm yeah," harry sighed.

"well, i've already talked to liam payne about it, and he said he would."

harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. she already found him a tutor before she even asked him. but then who she said would tutor him finally processed through his mind, and he felt his heart jump.

"so liam's my tutor?" he tried to contain his excitement. he could learn more about louis from liam.

"yep! i really think he can help you." she patted him on the shoulder, and harry stared at his maths test with a frown.

***

"okay! get your book out!"

harry grunted as he pulled his large maths book out of his backpack and slammed it on the table in front of a smiling liam.

"aren't you excited?" liam grinned, slapping his hand on harry's book before pulling it open.

"yeah." harry forced a smile and met eyes with liam. his hair was curly, not as much as his, and it was a caramel color. it was styled in a fringe across his forehead. his eyes were dark, chocolate brown, and warm. harry automatically liked him, but that didn't make him any happier.

and so for the next three hours, harry tried to pay attention while liam went over every problem with him carefully. it was much easier, because liam was a better teacher than mrs. lancaster.