Closed Doors | Larry Stylinson ❀ [High School AU]

Thirty Two

Now that Harry was thinking more about it, he picked up on the minor detail that he missed at the time of the celebration. He remembered Reid gravitating more towards Cara. He hugged her, and what Harry thought was an innocent kiss to her cheek now seemed not so innocent given everything that had happened. Instead of Reid searching for his boyfriend to share the moment with, he went to someone else. And now, look where they all were.

Hopefully, this time around, Harry could enjoy the celebration a lot more than last year. He knew for sure that at least this year, he had a great group of friends he could sit in the stands with. However, having amazing friends and a lot better boyfriend did not change his mind on how he felt about pep rallies. He still despised them. He would rather get to class and sit in his seat, and given that today was the group performance day, he was more focused on that.

Since there was a pep rally today, he knew he and the lads wouldn't perform during the class hour. Given that Louis often showed up late after the pep rally, Mr. Reeds settled on their group performing at the end of the day. He was somewhat relieved with that. He had hours before he had to worry about singing in front of others.

Their group only got to practice once, and they sounded somewhat okay. They definitely needed to get more practice in, but it never happened with postseason and Louis' schedule. At least performing after school meant the whole class wouldn't be there. So if they sounded terrible, then nobody would know.

By the time lunch rolled around, the school was still hyped for the game that night. Every time students were in the hallways, they would start cheering and chanting, seemingly continuing the pep rally from the morning. Even though Harry felt in the clear from getting picked on by the team, given that Louis set Stan in his place last time, he still didn't like getting bumped in the halls with how crowded it was. All the noise and fuss was giving him a headache, and he was once again very thankful for his safety and quiet place of sitting in the bleachers. He could only handle so many pep rallies in one day.

Harry squeezed his way through all the students taking over the halls. He quickly stopped at his locker to get his food before heading outside. As he grabbed what he needed and shut the door, he felt something collide with his back. Harry stumbled forward into the locker, his cheek slamming up against the cool metal and stinging his skin.

"Ow," he complained, a heavy grunt coming out. He stepped back from the locker and he turned around, seeing Stan and Calvin standing in front of him. His stomach churned instantly. "What the fuck?"

"What the fuck indeed," Calvin mocked, laughing, pushing him back harshly. "How about, what the fuck with you?"

Harry hit the lockers again, and this time, Stan stepped forward and pressed a hand to his chest, effectively keeping him in place.

"What crawled up your ass then?" Harry grumbled, head tilting toward him, his eyes hardening. "Surely it wasn't Stan."

Stan's expression hardened, and he grabbed a handful of Harry's shirt and yanked him forward before he was slamming him back again. Harry hit against the locker with a loud grunt, a sharp tingle running down his spine when the door hinge nicked his body. The impact momentarily took his breath away, his chest tightening when pain overtook all of him.

Nobody around took notice as Stan and Calvin cornered him against the locker. People continued to walk and chant to the school song. They didn't look his way, nor did anyone come in to help. It seemed as If this time around, he was all alone. He would have to handle this by himself, supposedly.

"You better watch yourself, Styles. I don't know what brainwash you got Tommo under, but you better stay the fuck away."

Harry choked on his breath. "You're an idiot," he heaved.