When Hate Turns Into Love (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter 11 ~ I Can't Believe I'm Actually Agreeing To This

I bit my lip hard, thinking about a way to make her ease up and at least explain something about what happened. It didn't take more than a few seconds until something crossed my mind. "Fine, I'll just ask Mr. Stewart about it then."

Mum's body went rigid as she slowly turned around to face me again. "W-what?" Her eyes were wide open and her mouth was agape.

I could feel a smile form on my lips as I realized I had found the excellent thing to say. "Yeah, he told me you were his student and that Louis' mum bullied you," I shrugged.

She opened her mouth only to close it again, looking absolutely gobsmacked. "He... he told you that? But why? Why would he...?" She trailed off, shaking her head in shock.

"He wanted to know why Louis and I disliked each other. I told him that both you and Johannah told us to stay away from one another because that's basically everything I know for sure. Then he told me about you and her, so yeah..." I smiled tentatively.

She didn't say anything but just nodded curtly before going back to cooking the food. "He... he didn't tell you anything else, did he?" She asked after a long while.

"No, but if I ask him, he might just do so," I lied. I did remember he had told me he didn't know anything else, and even if he did, it wasn't his place to explain it to me. The reason I had just lied to her was that I wanted her to tell me the truth. I should probably feel guilty that I had done it by using blackmail, but I didn't.

"Oh," she muttered, obviously believing me. "I guess I can always explain a few things," she said hesitantly, turning off the stove and walking over to sit down across from me. She looked down at her hands that were splayed on the surface of the table and bit down on her lip.

"We were eighteen at the time, both me and Johannah. We never got along with each other, not even in primary school when we hung out with the same friends. It never worked out because she um... she used to bully me for my dyslexia." Mum made a small pause, looking down at her entwined fingers on the table. "She was one of the popular girls at school and thought it'd be a good idea to make a person's life who already had it difficult a living hell. I was never good at back talking back then, so I just took the blows and insults she threw at me," she explained, staring at a spot behind me.

I cleared my throat cautiously. "Well, that explains why you hate her, but what made her hate you so much?"

She licked her lips and reached up to trace the skin on her forehead where the healed scar was still on full display. I furrowed my eyebrows but decided to shrug it off. "Something happened," was all she said before she sprang up from her seat.

"Wha--"

"No," she cut me off. "I'm not going to tell you any more, at least not now. I don't care whether you go to Mr. Stewart. I just... I can't." Mum shook her head as she walked over to the stove and turned it on again, continuing to prepare the food.

I let out a defeated sigh and stood up myself. "Well, thank you anyway. Call me down once dinner is ready, yeah?"

She nodded with her back turned to me. I decided to leave her alone since she probably wasn't very happy with me right now. So, without another word, I walked out of the room and up the stairs. As I passed by Gemma's room, I heard giggles coming from it. Furrowing my eyebrows, I felt curiosity filling my body and I couldn't help but turn the doorknob, pushing my body against the wooden surface only lightly since I didn't want to get caught.

Poking my head through the small gap, I saw something that made me want to throw up the contents of my stomach. Gemma was lying on the bed with a hovering Adam above her, and thank God, they were wearing clothes. He was tickling her sides, which I realized was the source of the giggles.