Chapter Eleven
Louis's POV
The next Monday at school was horrible, to say the least. Liam was twenty minutes late, for once, and I was left waiting by his locker the entire time, looking for a sign of him or Niall. When he finally showed up, I was pissed.
"Liam Payne!" I called when he was within hearing distance. Liam didn't look up. "Come on, mate, why are you late?" He just glared at me, mouth set in a frown, movements jerky as he opened his locker. "Not even a chuckle? It rhymed!" My shoulders sagged. What was wrong with him?
"You should get to class, Louis," he snapped. I jumped back when his locker door slammed shut, and he spun on his heel to walk away - most likely to his first period class.
I groaned, and realized that my least favorite day of the week was about to get a whole lot worse. Shifting the strap over my shoulder, I jogged after Liam, my TOMs slipping on the tile floor of the school's hallway. "Look, Liam, of you're gonna be bitchy and crap all day, at least tell me why," I said, coming level with him again.
Liam ignored me. He took a sharp left around a corner, and I almost walked right past him. "Hey!" I yelled. He was really starting to irritate me, now. "If this about that jerk Malik, I swear to God, I'll go beat his sorry bum right now!"
My offer only seemed to make Liam more upset. "Louis," he pleaded. I grinned when he finally stopped and turned to face me, but it dropped instantly when I saw that sad look in his eyes. "Just forget about it, okay? Everything that happened this weekend - just forget it. Please."
He didn't even wait for me to say something in reply. He just kept right on walking.
I stood in the middle of the empty hallway, my mind going a million miles an hour as I tried to figure out how to help my friend.
~~~
By the time art class rolled around, I had three ideas.
One: Find Liam a girlfriend.
That idea was scrapped when I realized how much work it would take.
Two: Find Liam a boyfriend.
Again, a lot of work, not to mention he might not appreciate me setting him up with some guy, especially when he wasn't sure if he was gay or anything.
The last idea: Talk to Zayn's friends.
Many problems to this idea. First, Zayn doesn't have many real friends, people who actually know him. Second, I doubt I'd be able to get close enough to any of them to say anything. Third, what would I say? And fourth, the only friend of his worth talking to, is Harry Styles.
I'll pass, thanks.
When I walked into the art room, I was surprised to see Niall already in there, typing furiously on his phone. Liam was nowhere to be seen, but Zayn was seated at his usual table; alone, I noted with smugness.
I strolled into the room, flopping down in the seat next to Niall, dropping my bag on the floor at my feet. "Hello, Niall," I said loudly.
He jumped, head snapping up and phone almost sliding from his grip. "Louis!" he yelped. "Don't scare me like that!"
I grinned at him, and folded my arms behind my head. "Stop making it easy to scare you."
Niall rolled his eyes. "I hope you get hit by a bus on your way home," he grumbled.
"No you don't."
"Yes I do."
"No, of course you don't."
"Actually, of course I do."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes!"
"N-!"
"Would you two stop arguing for three seconds!"
Niall and I both jumped, whipping around to see Liam glaring down at us, hands balled into fists and jaw clenched angrily. "Just. Knock it off," he growled. Neither Niall or I said anything, just watched with wide eyes as he fell into the seat across from us. Liam's head dropped to the table, arms cradling his forehead, and Niall poked me in the ribs.
"What's up with Li?" he whispered.
I didn't look away from Liam, but tilted my head closer to Niall so he could hear me. "Boy troubles."
"Boy troubles?"
"Zayn Malik, to be more specific."
"Are you messing with me?"
I raised my eyebrows, finally looking at the blond. "No, why would I be kidding?"
Niall rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Is that why he's not sitting with Malik?"
"I can hear you, still," Liam snapped. Niall closed his mouth, blushing as he look back down at his phone. I glared at Liam instead, not caring that he couldn't see me.
"Good God, Liam, just go talk to him!" I said loudly.
The room fell silent. Heads turned to look at our table, and Zayn's hand that moved over his paper froze. Liam slowly looked up from his arms, and I saw a murderous expression on his face. "Stay out of it, Tomlinson," he spat.
I bared my teeth. None of the attention was bothering me, but I could see how uncomfortable it was making Liam. At least Zayn hadn't looked around yet. "Happily, Payne," I threw back. The whole class looked shocked as I rose from my seat, angrily picking up my bag and flinging it over my shoulder. Thankfully, the teacher was running late, so I could escape without being dragged back inside.
Liam watched me leave, and right before the door shut behind me, I heard Niall growl, "All of that over some boy. Seriously?" I would have laughed, but I was too agitated. Obviously, Liam didn't want my help. He just wanted to keep being pissy, and continue to take it out on his friends, and most likely random strangers, as well. And for what? Some popular guy, who started to show even a tiny bit of friendliness to him? Newsflash, Liam, you can't have a breakdown every time your crush gets a new girlfriend.
At this point, I wasn't even really sure of where I was. This part of the school was quiet, and the classrooms were all empty and dark. I slowed my quick pace, simply ambling along the corridor, silently cursing Liam and Zayn in my head, wondering why they couldn't keep their crap together for my sake.
"Louis?"
I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart thumped away wildly in my chest, threatening to burst out and adhere itself all over the floor in front of me. A shiver rolled down my spine when I recognized the voice, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
I turned slowly, eyes wide and more than a little fearful, not wanting to face the curly-haired monster before me.
"Harry?" I choked.
The boy grinned, dimples popping out and slicked back curls framing his gorgeous - no, average, average, face. His big hands were hooked awkwardly behind his back, boot-clad feet scuffing the floor. "Skipping class?" he teased.
I glared at him, refusing to feel small in my hoodie and loose trackies. "Why does it matter?" I hissed.
Harry shrugged. I ignored the way his shirt collar shifted and exposed a strip of pale, tattooed skin. "You're missing a learning opportunity," he told me, in that same low, raspy voice.
I scoffed. "No, I'm really just missing out on one heartbroken and one bitchy best friend."
His eyebrows furrowed. I did not think about how cute it was. "Which is which?" he asked.
Groaning, I managed to say, "Niall is heartbroken, and Liam's both." Thankfully, the exasperation covered up the fondness I was trying to conceal.
"Why is Liam heartbroken?"
I glared. "None of your business."
Harry raised his hands, an obvious sign of surrender. "I'm just wondering, love," he said.
"Don't call me that," I snapped.
He smirked. "Sorry."
A heavy silence surrounded us, and tension practically crackled in the air. I looked away from Harry, trying to ignore the way my heart lurched and tugged and damn near broke at the sight of him. He had ruined me, nothing would change that. There was no way I would ever let myself get close to him again, because that would only lead to more pain. I couldn't take that.
But maybe he can help with the Liam and Zayn Problem? Obviously, he knows Zayn really well, he can probably talk to him, see if there was ever any feelings for Liam... Even if Zayn didn't ever have feelings for him, it could help Liam get over him.
See? Talking to Harry can have its benefits.
"Um. Harry?" I asked tentatively. My stomach knotted when his gaze instantly flashed to me.
"Yeah?"
"I have a favor to ask of you," I said slowly. It became increasingly more difficult to meet his gaze.
He grinned. "Of course. What do you need?"
I swallowed. "Liam's upset, because of something that happened with Zayn. I was just wondering if... Um, maybe Zayn's been acting strangely at all?" Wow, okay, that was a lot less awkward in my head.
Harry's smile dulled, but it didn't disappear. "Now that you mention it, he's been kind of down, lately. Do you know if anything happened between them? Liam would tell you more than Zayn would tell me." He chuckled.
I laughed nervously, running a shaky hand through my hair. "Can we talk somewhere else? Liam would kill me if someone overheard." Harry nodded quickly, moving to the left and opening the door to an empty classroom. It was dark, but when he flicked the light on I saw that it was a science lab - counters and stools were in the place of desks and chairs. I made a beeline for one in the middle of the room, dumping my bag on the counter and flopping onto the stool. Harry sat next to me, turning so we were face-to-face.
"So what happened?" he asked. His brow was furrowed. Four months ago, I would have reached over and smoothed it out with the pad of my thumb. Or my lips.
But I couldn't do that now.
Instead, I just told him everything Liam had told me about what happened at Zayn's house. Which, when I was relaying it to another person, wasn't very much. Harry looked intensely focused the whole time, not saying a word, listening perfectly. When I finished, Harry nodded slowly, as if digesting the information.
"I've never even heard of Mariah," he said. "But if I think about it, Zayn has blown me off a couple of times this past week. She must be why."
I bit my lip nervously, hoping there was some way to fix the whole mess Zayn and Liam had thrown us into. "So what do you think?" I asked. "Can you talk to Zayn about it?"
Harry smiled at me. "Lou, I know Zayn. He's smart, yeah, but he's an idiot. He doesn't have the faintest idea why Liam is upset with him, and he also doesn't seem to know why it bothers him. Zayn wouldn't know feelings if they came up and bit him in the ass."
"What does that even mean?"
"He doesn't like admitting he has a crush on someone, that's what I meant."
"Oh." The words sank in, and my eyes widened. "OH!" I grinned. "So he does like Liam?"
Harry nodded. "He won't admit to it easily."
"I think you know what your job is, then, Harold," I said cheekily.
"I believe I do, Lewis," he teased back.
For a moment, it seemed almost... normal. We fell quiet again, but there was no tension in the air like before. Harry's soft green eyes bored into mine, making me feel like I was in a spotlight, alone, facing thousands of people. I coughed, and looked away quickly.
"Louis, I have a question," he said quietly.
"What?" I replied.
He bit his lip. I didn't falter in my breathing, not at all. "Will you go on a date with me this Friday?"
I blinked. Will I what? Anger boiled up inside of me, a sour taste rising in the back of my throat. Even after what he did to me, Harry Styles has the nerve to ask me on a date? "Why the hell would I do that?" I growled.
Harry took a deep breath and looked down at his shoes. His eyes peered at me from under his curly fringe, once again pinning me in place. "It's me trying to make up for being an asshole, and a shit boyfriend, and a pathetic jerk who was too scared to come out," he told me.
My lip curled. "If you think for a second that this will fix anything between us-"
"I don't!" he assured me. He straightened up, and held out his hands in a pleading gesture. "I'm just trying to make a start. Lou, I promise you..." He smiled in a self-deprecating way. "This is only the beginning of me begging to get you back."
Thump, ba-thump.
Thump, ba-thump.
Thump, ba-
Get me back?
Breathe in, breathe out.
Breathe in, breathe-
Was he really willing to beg?
I eyed him suspiciously. "You're three months too late, Harry," I informed him sadly. My voice barely made a sound, but I knew he heard it. I also knew he could make out the heartbreak in it.
Harry gulped, and slid from his stool to take a step closer to me. One of his large hands folded over both of mine in my lap, and the other slid around the back of my neck. I restrained myself from nudging into the touch.
"I know," he said hoarsely. His eyes shone with what could only be tears. My own burned painfully, but I refused to cry; too many tears had been wasted on this boy. "God, Louis, I know. Just- please. Think on it." Harry closed his eyes and dropped his head forward to press his face to the side of my head. "Please?"
My eyes slipped shut as well, and one of my hands lifted up to card through his thick hair. It was longer than I remembered, but just as soft and wonderful. "Okay," I whispered. My eyes still burned. "I'll think on it."
~~~
Hello, hi. It's autumnstars right now, Ziam_Larry_Feels (proper author of this wonderful story) asked me to help write this chapter and then post it, so if you find any errors or confusing bits it's all on me :)
But yeah, please vote and comment, she would love to hear from you guys!! :)