The Parallels (Larry Stylinson+Niall Horan)

Chapter 36

Harry

I woke up, around midnight, to the incessant buzzing and ringing of my phone. I had fallen asleep barely two hours ago and I groaned in response to the sound. Whoever was on the other end, was about to face my wrath, even if I had none. I lazily patted my hand on top of my bedside table before it finally landed on the phone. I picked it up and brought it to my ear without even opening my eyes.

“HAZZA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATE!” Niall shouted in his Irish accent from the other side. I immediately winced as the his voice was close to a high pitched shriek.

“Thanks for the early present, mate.” I replied, mocking his tone for the last word.

“What present? I didn’t give you any gift, yet.” he stated and I could practically hear his grin.

“Well, you did make my ear bleed with the speaker attached to your voice box.” I answered. He guffawed at that and I rolled my eyes. How could he be so jolly?

“You can repay me later, no issues.” he said. He did not sound tired at all, while I was desperately waiting for the chance to fall asleep again.

“Thanks.” I said, sarcastically.

“Sleep now. I won, though. I wished you first. I’m proud of meself.” he chuckled and I smiled at that but, he didn’t need to know.

“Whatever.” I answered and hung up. I took a deep breath in and returned my phone to its original position. I closed my eyes and fell asleep instantly.

School had been bearable these past few days. Zayn and I had made up and it was like nothing had even happened. Eyrie and Niall were as good as ever and Zayn and Lyv were getting closer. Liam would join us every now and then but, not as often as we would like him to. The reason remained unknown as I obviously did not believe all the excuses he came up with every time. Luisa was a calm companion and we all hung out during lunch everyday.

Louis however, was distant as always. I would see him in the hallways, engulfed in the crowd of his admirers. His charms worked on everyone, knowingly or not. There was a noticeable number of girls crushing on him and probably even boys. We locked eyes once or twice but, he always broke the contact and I would just hang my head and leave with tears in my eyes. I tried my best to look at him from a safe distance because, even though it hurt, the sight of him alone was enough to make me feel butterflies in my stomach.

It was a Wednesday and I got up and out of my bed to get ready. My birthday excited me only because Niall and Zayn always had some sort of a plan where we would spend time with just the four of us, including Liam. This time however, there were a few more people, precisely the girls, that were ought to join our plan and I did not mind. I had grown comfortable in their company and they were always kind to me, unlike the other students at school.

That was the only problem. Today was no different than the other days. I did not want to go to school, just as always. I was scared of being picked on but, it was nothing new. I dragged myself to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get showered. I brushed my hair and styled them in my usual style. My curls looked extremely prominent. I walked out and put a scarf around my neck. I was feeling cold.

I went down to the kitchen and went through my regular morning routine of eating cereal and cleaning the kitchen up afterwards. I always tried to clean up as much as possible so that my mum did not have to do anything. I went to her bedroom where she was fast asleep. I quickly scribbled a note, thanking her for everything and kissed her on her forehead. This was something I had been doing since I was seven. I always thanked my mum for my life and everything I had on my every birthday. I knew she worked hard for me and my sister, even when our father was still living with us.