falling for you [prequel] ➳ l.s.

five - strong

"Ready for your presentation?" Louis chirped cheerfully, bumping Harry's hip playfully as they entered the classroom together. It was the end of the spring semester, just a few weeks left before summer break, and each student had to prepare a ten-minute presentation on a book they had read.

"I guess," Harry replied, his chest tightening a bit at the thought. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, trying to keep himself calm despite the restlessness stirring in his stomach.

"You'll be wonderful," Louis assured him seriously, squeezing his arm comfortingly as they took their seats. "At least you actually read your book. I just looked mine up on the Internet."

Harry laughed quietly, but the sound was forced, trapped by the growing lump in his throat.

"Alright, everyone, settle down. We're getting ready to start our presentations." The teacher sat down at his desk, holding up a handwritten list in front of him. "Harry? You're up first."

Harry swallowed hard, forcing his nerves back down his throat to rest in the pit of his stomach. He stood from his seat slowly, but walked quickly to the front of the classroom. His eyes stayed trained on the ground in front of him, terrified that he would fall and embarrass himself before he could even start his presentation.

Louis watched him carefully, actually interested to hear his boyfriend speak. He loved the sound of Harry's voice, no matter what the boy was talking about. But his interest quickly turned to concern.

Harry's hands clutched his notecards tightly, shaking so hard that Louis was surprised he didn't drop his cards all over the floor. He took his place at the front of the classroom, then shifted his weight back and forth a few times. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He just stared blankly back at the class, the heat of twenty eyes weighing heavily on his bright-red face.

"Harry. We're waiting." The teacher tapped his foot impatiently, then actually checked his watch.

Harry cleared his throat, dropping his gaze back to his notecards. His lips moved with inaudible words, his eyes scanning his notes as he tried to regain his composure by reminding himself of the actual content of his presentation. But it was no use. He sucked in a shaky breath, then exhaled sharply.

"Okay, that's enough. Go out in the hallway and calm yourself down," the teacher instructed, muttering, "Ridiculous," under his breath.

Harry's shoulders shuddered in response, tears welling up in his eyes before he quickly blinked them away. He tried to apologize, but the words refused to move past his lips, so he just bowed his head in shame. Niall stood from his seat immediately, crossing the room and wrapping a protective arm around Harry's shoulder before guiding him from the classroom.

"Where do you think you're going, Niall?" the teacher called after them. "I didn't dismiss you."

"Oh, fuck this," Louis muttered under his breath as he gave in to his instincts and hurried from the classroom to follow his boyfriend.

"Louis Tomlinson, you get back here right this minute!" the teacher shouted after him. The classroom door slammed shut loudly behind him, the sound echoing through the empty hallway, and the teacher didn't bother to follow.

Louis scanned the area for the other two boys and found them at the end of the hallway, right beside the staircase. Niall was helping Harry down to the floor, leaning him back against the wall. Louis ran to meet them, then followed Niall's lead and crouched down in front of Harry.

Harry was tugging harshly at the ends of his curls, cursing almost inaudibly under his breath. Then he slammed his fists against the ground, making both Louis and Niall jump in surprise.