Spread Your Wings Baby || Larry Stylinson

Chapter 1

Harry sighed, staring straight at his reflection in the splintered mirror. A single tear left his eye as he pulled down the sleeves of his sweater and listened to the yelling coming from downstairs. A loud slapping sound echoed through the small flat that was now wrapped in complete silence.

He squeezed his eyes shut when he heard a light whimper and a bottle that was thrown against the wall. He tried to hold back his tears when he put on his shoes, grabbed his backpack and his only thin jacket and opened the door quietly. His mother sat on the floor, leaning against the couch and she was holding her cheek as she looked up to meet Harry's eyes. His father faced the wall, all tensed up and shaking of anger. "I'm so sorry", Harry mouthed with his bottom lip shaking, afraid of his father turning around to them in this very  second.

His mother gave him a sad smile, nodding to tell him that he should go through the back door. Harry's heart hurt when he turned around, leaving his mother alone with this psychopath of a father.

She always told him that it was okay, that she was okay, but he knew that she wasn't. Nobody was. But Anne couldn't afford the flat and his father had money, so they didn't have a choice. It destroyed Harry that he had to leave his mother alone with his father every day for a couple of hours, not even knowing what he really did to her.

But Anne kept on telling him that he needed to go to school and enjoy his life like every other teenage boy did. It was exhausting, acting like there was nothing that dragged him down, that destroyed him, but things would get more complicated if anyone found out. Harry knew that.

He did well in school, he never had problems, and that was quite the only thing in Harry's life that was like it was supposed to be. He didn't really have friends, and when someone tried to get closer to him, he rejected him. He was afraid of their reaction to his life, his father, his home. It wouldn't work out. Harry was too insecure, the others were too curious.

So he decided to stay away from people. No one really payed attention to him and he was fine with it since that meant that no one would embarrass him, judge him or tell him that he was too fat, ugly, stupid. No one would treat him like his father. Never.

He buried his hands in the pocket of his sweater and turned his gaze down to the floor, avoiding eye contact with anyone. He made his way to his classroom and sat down at his desk in the second row. He was one of the first to arrive, most of the students were still standing outside in the hallways and talked about god knows what, others chatted while sitting on the tables. Harry put down his backpack to pull out his books and folders, before placing them on the front left corner of the table.

A few minutes later, the bell rang and the classroom slowly started to fill with talking people. No one bothered to greet him, but Harry actually couldn't care less. He didn't need company.

A blonde haired guy, Jamie, was the last one to take a seat in the back row next to one of his friends. He was followed by their maths teacher that had closed the door behind him before he put down his bag next to his desk. He greeted them and the whole class mumbled an unclear 'Good morning', causing him to nod smiling and sit down on his chair.

Harry was barely paying attention to his teacher, just like most of the other students. The plain terms and letters bored him, so his thoughts drifted away to his mother and his father for the rest of the lesson. He occasionally answered questions his teacher asked him, but that was all.

He didn't have to prove himself in maths, his teacher knew that he could solve anything and more. He was an excellent student. Quiet, but excellent. The day went by way faster than expected, so everyone got lunch in the cafeteria or in the café near by (Harry didn't, he went to the school library and continued reading a 500-page book about the French history he started last week, taking a few sips from his little water bottle), before the last period was over and he headed home.