The Curl Next Door (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter 2

"I'm not gay! I just...Harry just seems like he's more than what he shows to everyone. I know it seems weird but usually I can guess if people are 'good,' but I can't measure Harry. It's not like I care that much, it's just something that...I don't know." Louis starts to ramble, watching Harry leave the room with his gang of friends behind him.

"We're just going to have to fix this then," Niall says with a mischievous grin graced upon his face.

"Oh no."

~

"And tell me, again, why we're doing this." Louis sighs, crossing his arms. He does not want to do this. He wants no part of this. Why he found himself handcuffed to his locker in the middle of the school hallway, students and teachers walking past with side-eyes and sarcastic glances, he has no clue.

"Harry helped you when Brent was about to kick your ass-" Niall starts, making the frustrated boy send him a glare.

"Hey! I could've handled myself!" Louis defends, his friends staring at him with blank expressions, turning to look at each other, and ignoring Louis' tiny protests.

"Right. Well, you were in danger. So, maybe Harry cares if you get hurt or you're in danger." Leigh-Anne finishes.

"So I have to lock myself into my locker?" Louis lifts his arms in protest, the handcuff cutting into his arm in the process, making the "damsel in distress" glare at his friends. Surely, it wasn't the best idea that the bunch had come up with. Niall tightens the cuffs, much to the dismay of the young boy trapped to the rusting piece of metal in the overpopulated school.

"Precisely! To figure out someone's character and personality, one must create a platform for them to showcase who they are." Niall exclaims a bit too enthusiastically, making Louis groan loudly. Leigh-Anne watches in amusement, scanning the hallway to alert the two boys when Harry has arrived. Louis continues with the resist, almost breaking the boundary of begging Niall to let him go so he doesn't embarrass himself anymore that he knows he already has. Instead of letting Louis just try to talk to Harry like a civilized, normal person, they wanted to be "exotic."

"Curly, tall, and froggy coming this way!" Leigh-Anne whisper-shouts, turning around to slap Niall's arm. In the process, Niall jumps at the unexpected contact, arm shooting up in surprise. The small, metal key that unlocks the cuffs escapes Niall's hand and skids into the sea of students. Niall's eyes widen when he realizes what he's done, trying to not alert Louis of the horrific loss. When Louis does catch sight of Niall's terrified expression, he starts to panic.

"Okay, don't be alarmed but I may have lost the key." Niall nervously smiles at Louis, hands firmly placed in his pockets, face turning red from embarrassment.

"You lost...the key!" Louis reaches forward to strangle Niall, shouting profanities towards the small Irish boy currently trying to find the key. Leigh-Anne bends down to help search for the object, Louis frantically trying to break himself free of the cuffs, panicking as time passes. In this moment, he instantly regrets not working on his arm strength, failing in trying to pull his wrist free. "Guys if I have to explain to my mother how I got like this, I swear."

All of a sudden the upset boy notices a large figure starting to lean towards his body. He looks up and sees Harry standing above him, sunglasses perched on his nose. The smell of cheap cigarettes and high-end cologne swirls around Louis' head and makes him dizzy. Louis' heart physically stutters at the sudden intrusion of space, mouth frozen as he tries to think of something to say. Before he has any further moment to try and explain why he is in this position, Harry is leaning his much broader body against Louis to reach inside the locker. Flushing the distressed boy's cheeks, Harry unlocks Louis' cuffs for him, slightly smirking. He looks at the surprised boy and shakes his head. Tossing the little key he found on the walk up, he walks off before anyone can even say anything, leaving Louis flustered and grateful that his wrists are free.