Tease [Larry]

Five

Because sometimes it's easier to pretend. Sometimes it's easier to play along.

"Like what?" He turns to face Niall.

Niall quickly grabs Harry against his volition. He drags them both to a more secluded divot in the hallway. "Look, I know I haven't been myself lately. But there's rumors going around that you and I are...well, you know."

Harry's eyes sparkle, and he can't help but let out a dry laugh. "So?" he challenges. "Since when do you care about what other people think?"

Harry's best mate caves in on himself. His once slightly broad shoulders shrivel as he condenses into a small ball. His beady eyes go all soft, and he finally lets go of the vice like grip he's got wrapped around Harry's forearm. "Since Rebecca Black," Niall admits.

Harry steps back, perplexed. Rebecca Black was one of the few honor roll students in school, with straight A's across the board. She wore glasses atop the bridge of her pinched nose, colorful, pleated skirts, and shirts with collars and undone buttons. She had long, voluptuous braids that just slightly grazed the slight curve of her back, and had smooth, bronze colored skin. Sometimes, she'd wear clear beads in her hair, and others she'd let her curly poof parade free.

Needless to say, Niall had never really mentioned anything special about her before.

"Explain."

"Well," he starts. "I kind of have this super in depth plan to make her fall in love with me. Can't necessarily do that if the entire school thinks I like boys, now can I?"

"And you chose to withhold this information from me because..."

Niall shrugs. "Guess I didn't want to make it a bigger deal than it needed to be."

One thing to know about Niall, is that he's typically a fantastic listener; the type of person to sit down and hear everybody's side of the story. He's not huge on opening up, so on the rare occasion that he does, Harry makes sure to coddle the moment for everything that it's worth.

He doesn't want to embarrass the kid, but in a way, he's proud of Niall for allowing Harry something obviously personal to him. And he surely can't help that he plasters on one the biggest smiles he can muster before applauding him with a hard clap to the shoulder. "So. You've got a bit of a crush on Rebecca Black."

"And? You've got a crush on Louis Tomlinson."

It's as if the world stops spinning and his heart stops beating, but Harry'd rather be seen dead than confess to having a crush on Louis. "Louis Tomlinson is nothing but a nuisance."

"A nuisance that you'd like to get your grubby little hands on."

Harry's face goes flat. "I never said that."

"You didn't need to." It's Niall's turn to be smug. "It's practically written across your forehead."

"Speaking of which," Harry practically scrambles for a subject change. He can't handle the way his cheeks ignite at the mere accusation of being that obvious. "Have you heard anything else about him and Grimshaw?"

"Nope," the school bell rings, and the crowds quickly disperse. Harry and Niall stay rooted to the ground, frolicking in their own little world. "Wanna hear my theory?"

"Your theory?"

"Don't tell me you don't have any of your own." Niall pushes himself off the wall, snowballing. The blood in his cheeks rushes through Harry's ears, warming his face and sending a shiver down his spine. He doesn't even notice that they've began walking again until they're suddenly nearing the end of the corridor. "I think they're fucking."