In the Name of Love (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter Six

Harry yawns as his eyes blink open, his lips stretching wide as he does, his back arching off of the bed as he stretches his limbs out. His muscles crack and pop, before the tension fades away. He sits up, tossing his legs over the side of his bed, lazily scratching his nails against the skin of his lower belly as he pads across the floor to his closet. The temperature in his bedroom is much warmer now than it was just hours ago, so Harry yanks his long sleeve shirt over his head as he goes.

A warm shower is just the thing he needs to wake himself up, and the emerald eyed boy spends plenty of time thoroughly washing his body and his hair just because he has the time to do so this morning. As he steps out, his hand reaches out to grab a towel to dry off the water clinging to his skin.

He struggles with putting on his skinny jeans, then tugs a simple white t-shirt over his head. He runs his fingers through his damp hair as he heads back to his closet, pulling on a pair of light blue socks with pandas decorated on them, followed by his white converse, before he heads back to the bathroom to brush his teeth in the sink.

Soon he's ready to head out, stepping out of his house, turning around to lock the door behind him; his backpack, slung over his shoulders, swings with his moves. Niall isn't at the end of his driveway, near his mailbox where he always is (if not in his kitchen, that is) Harry notes, a frown appearing on his face as he tries to figure out where his friend might be. He brings his phone out of his pocket, raising it up and squinting his eyes as he types out a quick message, asking his friend where he is. Three dots appear beneath the text after a few seconds, before another message appears. Harry struggles a bit to read it under the glare of the sun, harsh and beaming as it is this morning, but after a second he can make out that it says 'stayed over at Z's last night mate ! our alarm didn't go off this morning and none of us woke up so we're running really late . head on to school without me , meet you there !'

Harry sighs, sliding his phone back into his pocket and preparing himself for the walk to school in complete silence, dragging his feet as he starts to head in that direction. He doesn't walk by himself much, only on rare occasions that Niall gets sick and then he usually has more of a warning before he has to, but he always hates it. The quiet contrast is staggering, the boy so used to having Niall with him. By the time the first period bell rings, Niall nor Zayn have made it to school or sent him another message, explaining anything or saying where they are, so Harry trudges to his first period class without them, his head lowered, his eyebrows furrowed.

By lunch time, there's still no sight of them. Harry makes his way to their usual lunch table, sighing to himself as he goes. He plops down in his seat, his fingers instantly reaching to dig his phone out of his pocket. He goes to his previous messages with Niall, typing out a new one; you could have told me you guys were just gonna ditch today, you know.

I'm so sorry H . We just decided to skip last minute

Harry lets out another quiet sigh, the sound only just above audible, his fingers hovering over the letters, debating on what to send back. After a minute, he just locks his phone again, setting it on the table next to his discarded food. He lets his gaze drift down to the table, seeing the blades of grass between the little holes in the fence-like table-top. His phone buzzes again and he drags his eyes over to it so that he can read the screen.

Harry, mate, I'm sorry . I know it's pretty late already , but if you want I can get dressed and make Zayn drive me to school ?

Don't worry about it, Harry texts back, sighing quietly to himself, feeling guilt twist his stomach at the thought of ruining his best friend's free day. I'm alright, honest. Was just worried about you guys when you didn't show up.