Niall doesn't see it coming. Zayn's on the football team. Niall's in marching band. This isn't supposed to happen, except... then it does.
......
Football players don't associate with the marching band.
It's a rule of the school that everyone follows, but of course, it's unspoken. Nobody wants to get told off by a teacher for making trouble, so they just stay away from each other. It's not like they live in some sort of Glee universe where jocks throw slushies on people and nobody reprimands them. They just ignore each other, though if nobody's looking the jocks are all too happy to go for a shove or a sneer in the hallway.
All of those miscreants sit together at lunch. Normally Niall wouldn't lump a whole group of people together like that, but the footie players do make it a habit to be complete dicks to all the people in marching band. And as Niall is in marching band, they don't spare him from their mockery whatsoever.
Niall's never been intentionally mean to someone a day in his life, but those thugs tempt him, they really do. If his growth spurt had come with muscles instead of simply lengthening his wiry frame, he totally would tell them off, too.
As it is, though, mostly he just hides behind Liam and uses him as a shield of sorts. Liam's got actual arm muscles and things, and a glare that could curdle milk, and this way of looking at you like you're scum on his shoe. The footie players don't tend to mess with Liam, so it's a nice bonus that he's Niall's best friend.
It's because he's Niall's best friend that he informs Niall that one of the footie players is looking at him while they're all scarfing down sandwiches.
"He hasn't looked away for ten minutes," Liam says around a mouthful of turkey and bread. "I timed him."
"Course you did, you freak," Louis says cheerfully from across the table. "Is it the new kid?"
"Mhmm," is Liam's response after he gives Louis a condemning look. His looks don't ever tend to affect Louis, though. "Maybe he doesn't realize staring at band kids isn't allowed."
"He's definitely just staring at Niall, though," Harry says curiously, sending the football table a contemplative look from beside Louis. Niall can tell without looking that they're holding hands under the table. It's disgustingly cute and on days where Niall's feeling his most single, he thinks about breaking all their fingers . "I thought at first he was looking at you, Li, but when you threw your trash away he didn't even blink."
"Is he cute?" Niall asks without much thought. The others all know he's gay, and besides, they know he's not asking because he's interested. Being gay and into one of the footie players is just asking to get beat up in the bathroom, and Niall's not really into that, thank you very much.
"Gorgeous," Louis relays without flinching. "I can see his eyelashes from here."
Niall attempts to casually look over to the table and freezes as his gaze is caught by the boy the others are obviously talking about. He's wearing a varsity jacket and chinos, and Louis's right, his eyelashes are insane. He's also got cheekbones that could cut glass and his skin tone is much deeper than Niall's. He is indeed gorgeous, and Niall has to push away thoughts of what his skin might look like spread over Niall's, contrasting with his pale hands or arms or stomach.
"Holy fuck," he murmurs, not looking away. "Has he got a name?"
"Cher?" Harry says immediately, tilting his chair back on two legs to shoot the girl at the table behind them a bright smile. Cher's a cheerleader but she's got a soft spot for Harry and his friends. "You know the name of the new kid?"
