fighting love » l.s.

four - gay

After a few weeks, Harry felt completely adjusted to his new friends' habits. They sat together at lunch every day, he walked with Niall to all his classes, and they hung out at Niall's house every Friday night. Liam had started dating a girl who they had yet to meet, but he talked about her nonstop. Niall was crushing on a girl in their grade, but she didn't know that he existed. Louis was going to try to talk to her for him during his maths class.

As they walked down the hallway to lunch on Thursday, Liam and Louis were arguing about which one of them would win in a real fight. Not in their friendly wrestling matches, but a "real life" fight. They requested frequent input from Harry and Niall, but the two boys were too amused to take them very seriously. They walked behind their two brown haired friends, laughing at how ridiculous they were.

Harry just happened to look up ahead of them, and he saw a familiar face in the crowds. He furrowed his brow as he tried to place it, and then it all came back. And he froze. Liam and Louis kept walking, swept up in their conversation, but Niall stopped, concern sweeping across his face.

"Harry? What's wrong, mate? You look like you've seen a ghost," he tried to joke, but he could see how terrified the other boy was. Niall quickly walked back to where he stood. "Harry?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. The boy was getting closer and closer to them as he made his way down the hall. "I-"

"Harry Styles?" the all-too familiar voice called down the hallway. Harry's stomach flipped anxiously. He was going to be sick. "Long time no see! I wondered where your gay ass ended up."

"What the fuck did you just say to him?" Louis said loudly. He and Liam had finally noticed that Niall and Harry were way behind them and had made their way back to where Harry stood, rooted to the floor in fear, green eyes staring widely at the unknown boy in front of him. "And who the fuck are you, anyway?"

"Nick," he replied, exposing his teeth in a wide smile. "Nick Grimshaw. Harry and I went to school together last year, right, faggot?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Niall spoke up. He stepped in front of Harry, blocking him from Nick. Harry had never been more grateful to anyone for anything. Louis took a step toward Nick like he might tackle him right there, but Liam held an arm out to stop him, shooting him a serious look.

"He didn't tell you guys about his disease?" Nick spat out, eyes piercing through Harry over Niall's shoulder. Harry wanted to speak up for himself, but instead, he cowered behind his friend. After last year, he knew better than to fight back, despite the fire flowing through his veins.

"No, he didn't, because it doesn't matter," Liam said firmly. "And if it matters to you, you're an asshole. Now get out of our bloody faces and let us get our fucking lunch."

"Whatever," Nick replied. He walked past Niall and before Harry knew what was happening, Nick grabbed a fistful of his shirt and shoved him back against the lockers. Harry's friends called out in protest, but he held him firmly. "Can't hide anymore, Styles. By the end of the day, everyone's gonna know what you really are. Disgusting," he spat out. He released his hold on Harry and headed down the hallway. People were staring, but no one said a word.

Niall was beside his friend in a second. He grabbed Harry's arm and Harry was too afraid to even react to the chills that it send through him. He was frozen. Liam was on his other side, saying something in his ear, but everything seemed distant.

Harry lifted his gaze and saw Louis pacing in front of them, muttering angrily. He was positively fuming. His eyes finally fell on Harry's terrified expression and his face softened, but Harry could still feel the anger radiating from him. He moved so he was standing directly in front of the green eyed boy, finally saying, "Fuck him. Everything's gonna be fine. Let's just go to lunch, yeah?"

The other boys nodded in agreement. They were all looking at their friend with pity, and for the first time since he met them, Harry felt like an outsider. He still fell into step beside them as they walked to the cafeteria, but he knew that they wouldn't want to be friends with him for much longer. Now that they knew what he really was, they wouldn't want to be seen with him.

They got their food and sat down at their normal table without saying a word. Harry kept his eyes on the table, but he could feel their eyes on him. He still felt like he could throw up at any second.

"Are you really gay?" Niall finally spoke up.

"Ni, it doesn't matter! Harry, you don't have to answer, we don't care, mate," Liam said quickly, glaring at Niall. Niall held up his hands in surrender, mouthing "sorry."

"No, it's okay," Harry muttered, raising his gaze to meet theirs. Now that Nick was here, everyone was going to find out anyway. "Yes, I am." He didn't look to Louis for a reaction, knowing that Louis was probably the most disgusted with him. Harry couldn't bear to see the look on his face.

"Wow, that's terrible," Niall said, shaking his head in pity. Liam and Louis both snapped their heads up to glare at him, expressions mixed between surprise and anger. "This whole time we've been talking about girls and we didn't even ask," he added, a cheeky grin spreading across his face.

The tension disappeared in seconds. Harry couldn't keep the smile from his face, and neither could Liam and Louis. Liam burst out laughing, and Louis just grinned, shaking his head as he looked down at the table. And they all sat there, laughing together, as though Harry hadn't just been outed to his friends by his old bully.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you guys," Harry said finally, breaking up our fit of giggles. "I should have told you what you were getting into. I just thought I could finish the year without anyone finding out, but I was wrong."

"It's okay, Harry," Liam replied, offering a sympathetic smile.

Harry took a deep breath, adding, "And if you guys don't want to be seen around me anymore, I understand. Seriously, it's completely fine."

"Mate, we would never do that to you," Niall exclaimed, shock spreading across his face once again. "We don't care if you want to talk about boys with us, we just like hanging out with you."

Harry thought he might cry, right there in the middle of the cafeteria. He really didn't deserve to have friends like these. He didn't even know what to say, but he couldn't keep the giant grin from his face.

"Yeah, totally," Liam agreed. Louis nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks, lads," Harry replied, his voice quieter than ever. He thought that if he spoke any louder, it might break and he would just start sobbing from happiness.

"So now that we know, any boys we should be hearing about?" Niall prodded, grinning mischievously. Harry's face went red as his eyes flicked unconsciously to Louis, but thankfully he wasn't looking at him.

"No, not really," he lied, hoping that they couldn't see right through him. Thankfully, Niall just shrugged and started talking about his crush. Before Harry knew it, Niall and Liam were deeply involved in conversation about girls, leaving him to sit there and smile politely. He couldn't help but notice that Louis didn't join in, either. He just sat there smiling as well, nodding every so often.

At one point, Louis's eyes met Harry's and his face went serious. Harry wanted to look away as the heat rose to his cheeks, but he held Louis's gaze. His blue eyes studied Harry's green ones for a moment, and then the corners of his mouth turned upward and he looked away. Harry wondered what he could possibly be thinking. Honestly, though, he didn't care -- just having Louis's blue eyes on him made him feel warm inside for hours on end.