Alone Together

⋆two.

Louis' POV:

My fingers burn as I walk into the school, my head hanging low. Usually this isn't how I make an appearance, but my lip is busted red and purple. My father was rough with me last night, and the splinters in the tips of my flanges are a painful reminder.

"Tomlinson!" my name is a happy mantra, but I chose to ignore it. I need Eleanor to fix me up before I can present myself properly. Usually when this happens, she's there with her makeup and a worried frown.

"Louis!" an arm is thrown around my shoulder, and I jump in shock. Looking through the corner of my eye, I see it's Liam and I immediately relax. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just not feeling that well." I lie, and my cross dangles itself across my chest in a way that makes me ache.

"Hung-over?"

"Maybe," I shrug, and Liam chuckles sympathetically. "do you know where El is?"

"She's actually headed right this way." I finally lift my head to see Eleanor racing toward me, wearing a black skirt with a striped shirt.

"Oh, babe." she greets me, frowning while her nimble fingers ghost over my bottom lip. "C'mon then." I'm pulled away from Liam with a grunt, Eleanor's hand wrapped around my wrist.

"Where are we going?" I ask her, brushing almost rudely past people. I throw out small apologies here and there, rolling my eyes when I receive nasty looks. Yes, it's our fault, but at least I had the decency to apologize!

"Now," suddenly we stop, and Eleanor spins are to face me. "I really wish you would tell someone." she gets into a locker, which is presumably hers and starts going through it.

"I've told you."

"Your locker is all the way down there, drop your stuff." Eleanor orders me, and I do as I'm told with a sigh. She pulls out what I think can be identified as concealer, and sets to work.

I'm sure it's odd looking, watching her put makeup on me. I suspect most people think of me as a sappy boyfriend, trying to please her. I would be considered 'whipped' which is terrible in more ways than one.

"Now, don't be a smart ass." she tells me, dabbing the makeup on to me ever-so-softly.

"Well, I can't exactly tell anyone." I huff, tapping my foot impatiently.

"Why not?"

"Mother and the girls would lose everything. Where she recently lost her job, father is our only source of income right now. Besides, they all love him..." I love him, he's a great father.

"But he locks you up in a damned closet every time you live a little." Eleanor adds bitterly, but her brown eyes are soft.

"I des-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Eleanor interrupts me, her snarl making me freeze.

"Okay." I whisper, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply. I feel something else to my skin, but I don't dare open my eyes just yet. This is peaceful, and I need to savor it.

"Done." Eleanor tells me a few moments later, and I reluctantly open my eyes. She's looking at me uncertainly, and I pick up my stuff from the ground. I throw my bag over my shoulder, and lean down to kiss her cheek softly.

"Thank you." I tell her, and then I'm walking off. I'm very glad she didn't push the subject, last night needs to be pushed into the past. That's all I can do, he is my father and he knows what's best for me.

Finally, I can smile and wave at people. I offer my fist to people and laugh when someone makes a comment. Few people don't say anything to me, and I do nothing but smile at them. Maybe they're having a bad first day, and I hope they'll become happier as the day progresses.

"Tommo!" I hear Stan's call, and throw my hand up in a wave. I can't see him, but most likely he's surrounded by the group of girls he hangs out with. Most likely he won't come up to greet me, he preens under the attention of our peers.

I keep on walking, having not seen Niall or Zayn. Most likely Niall's making his rounds, saying hi and giving everyone hugs. Zayn's probably smoking in the boy's bathroom, his anxiety must be through the roof today. I want to go check up on him, but usually whenever I want to he snaps at me. I can't necessarily blame him, so it doesn't effect me.

I breathe in through my nose, trying to remember if Eleanor told me my locker number. She didn't, and I'm left looking like an idiot. This must mean I have to ask someone, or make the trek back up to the main office. I have no idea why I didn't earlier, and I bite my lip in disapproval.

"Oh, hey!" I'm startled out of my thoughts at the sound of a chipper voice, and I look to my right to see Mandy Jefferson. She's part of the student council and sometimes helps in the office, it's really more than a relief to see her.

"Hey, how're you?" I smile, hoping that she'll know my locker number.

"I'm great, and you?" she asks me, green eyes hidden by her thick glasses.

"Same, yeah. Do you think you can maybe help me with something?"

"Locker number?" Mandy chuckles, and I nod my head quickly. "Umm.." I only now realize she has a clipboard, and she brings it to her chest. I can see her eyes scanning, and then she flips a page.

"I can-"

"Locker three hundred, sixty-five." Mandy looks up at me with a bright smile, and I return it.

"Thank you so much!"

"No problem, see you soon?"

"Definitely." I nod, and Mandy skips off to help other people. I look up at the lockers and see I'm in the two-eighties, so I continue my walk. The hallway is beginning to settle down, and I'm thankful for it. Obviously we won't have any actual classes today, but the teachers requested we had everything in our lockers on the first day.

Finally, after brushing past some more people I come up to my locker. I sigh in appreciation, making a mental note to get an actual lock on it. Opening it, I drop my bag from my shoulder and unzip the bag. It's challenging, but eventually I have all my binders and notebooks in the tiny locker. I'll have to carry my football bag around, but that's really no big deal. I pick up my now empty backpack and throw it in there, startled when I feel a presence beside me.

"Sorry." I apologize, ignoring my stuttering heart. Closing the locker door, I turn to see Harry Styles standing there. He pays no attention to me, but his lip is pulled into a frown.

"Watch out." he tells me, his voice slow like honey dripping but rough like gravel. In hindsight, I don't think I could ever describe his voice perfectly. There's just not a word created, God knows I've looked for it. He wears a red flannel that's ripped, black skinnies with giant holes in the knees, and black boots. I can even see the ink on his skin, and it makes my lip curl. He's just one giant sin.

"Well excuse me for not seeing you there." I grumble, remembering that I at least need a folder and a pencil.

"Don't smart me." he throws something into his locker, turning to face me. It's like he can see right through me, and I squirm uncomfortably.

"Then don't be so grumpy." I snap, grabbing a folder and a pencil before slamming my locker. "Good day to you." I walk off, feeling proud of myself. I'm terrified of him, but yet I think I may have just smarted him off. I knew this day would get better! Maybe now, he won't be such an arse to everyone.

"Louis!" I hear Zayn shout, and I look over to see him walking toward me. "Wanna go get our schedules?"

"Sure." I smile, quickening my pace toward him.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Love you all, and comments are much needed. Please leave them. xx