Chapter 10 ~ The Eye-contact
[Louis]
I couldn't help it, I had to escape. There was no way I was going to work with him on that test. It wasn't even like he wanted to work with me either, so things would only get worse than they were now, and I didn't need that. However, I usually wasn't one to skip class, but this was a one-time thing and necessary.
On my way to my locker, I was surprised to cross paths with Niall seeing as almost everyone had class right now. "Niall, what are you doing here?"
He raised his eyebrows, looking surprised himself. "I could ask you the same thing. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" He asked.
Running my hand through my hair, I let out a sigh. "Yes, but I left."
If he was surprised before, it couldn't be compared to how surprised he was hearing those words. "You what? Louis, you never skip class."
"I know..." I muttered, not meeting his gaze.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at me suspiciously. "Wait, did something happen?"
Shrugging, I looked ahead of me, keeping my gaze on a point behind his head. This made Niall pull me aside so we were standing at the wall of lockers. He took a step closer so I had no other choice but to look into his eyes. "What did Harry do?" He asked.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Niall, he didn't do anything, I swear."
He narrowed his eyes, placing a hand on my shoulder to keep me in place when I tried to move away from him. "He obviously did. Otherwise, you wouldn't be acting like this. No one but him affects you like this."
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. "Please, Niall. I just... I just want to be alone right now. I promise, he didn't do anything. It was just our teacher, alright? He wanted us to work together, and I wouldn't have it so I left. That's it."
With that said, I shook his hand off me and walked around him to continue my way to my locker. It didn't take more than a few seconds until I could hear his footsteps behind me though. "You left? Just like that?" He asked once he had caught up with me.
I nodded my head, keeping my gaze ahead of me. When he noticed I wasn't going to say anything, he let out an impressed 'wow', making me turn my head to him. "What? If that's what you actually did, it must've been awesome. I'd love to see that," he chuckled, making me roll my eyes.
"You're a weirdo, Niall."
He snorted. "Nah, I'd just loved to see Harry's face when you just left. I'm sure it was priceless."
That caused me to shake my head, but the corners of my lips twitched a little. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. He probably didn't even care."
Niall snorted again. "I'm sure he cared. Somewhere deep down there, that guy - even though I don't want to admit it - has feelings. It might not seem like it, but he still cares. I'm sure of it."
Still not believing him, I shook my head again. By now, we were at my locker, so I tossed my English books into it and slammed the door shut.
"Alright, I have to go, Lou. I told my teacher that I was just going to use the bathroom so he probably expects me to be back by now. See you at lunch," he said, making a salute gesture before turning around and walking back in the direction we came from.
I couldn't help but chuckle at his actions. He sure knew how to make someone feel better. He deserved an award for that, to be honest. However, that didn't change the fact that the thoughts of what happened just a few minutes ago came flooding back once he was gone.
I was surprised that Harry hadn't been the first one to interject. Considering the loath he'd had towards me since he came back, I was sure he would have cut Mr. Waltz off before he had even finished the sentence. He was probably just as shocked as I was.
On another note though, what did this mean? Sure, we wouldn't have to do the test today, but would we be forced to do it another day? Or was this just something for today's lesson?
These thoughts wouldn't leave my mind until it was time for lunch. I went to Hannah's locker to meet up with her. Thankfully - considering I was hungry - it didn't take more than a minute until she appeared around the corner, a smile forming on her lips at the sight of me.
I couldn't help but smile back. She just had that effect on me. "Hey there," I greeted once she was standing in front of me.
She put her books in her locker before giving me her attention. "Hi," she smiled, leaning in to give me a kiss on the cheek.
On our way to the cafeteria, I knew she could feel that something wasn't right with me. I wasn't speaking as much as I usually was, and I was in my own bubble. I could tell this because she was frowning the entire walk and flashed me concerned looks every now and then.
It wasn't until we were standing in line to buy our food in the cafeteria that she brought it up, though. "Hey, Lou?"
I turned to her. "Yeah?"
She let out a sigh. "Is something wrong? You're being oddly quiet. It's not like you at all."
I bit my lip, looking ahead of me. "I... Well, something happened in English class this morning and I just can't stop thinking about it," I mumbled.
Hannah went quiet. She was for so long that I started getting nervous that I had said too much. Though, I didn't really know what I did wrong, but it still worried me. I opened my mouth to take everything back when she finally started speaking.
"Does... This has to do with Harry, doesn't it?" She asked, glancing at me through the corner of her eyes.
She didn't sound sad, more understanding than anything, which surprised me. But then again, this was Hannah we were talking about. She was an amazing girl. "Why does everyone assume that just because something has happened?" I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
She turned to me, raising her eyebrows. "Really?"
I rolled my eyes, letting out a small chuckle. "Let me guess... It's because I'm never upset if it doesn't have to do with him?" I assumed, making her laugh as well.
She nodded. "Yeah, exactly. It's true, and you have to admit it."
Shaking my head, I turned back to being serious. "That's not true, Hannah. I was down when he was gone because he left me without a word. Now, he's back and he's acting like a jerk. There's nothing to be upset about here anymore. The reason why I'm acting weird now is because my English teacher decided to put the two of us together for some weird test this morning, and I refused to work with him so I left."
She bit her lip, thinking about what I just said. "Why are you upset about that though? I mean, you didn't have to work with him, so what's the deal?"
Letting out a frustrated sigh, I shook my head. "The deal is that I'm not sure whether we will have to do it another time or not. And the fact that Harry didn't disagree doesn't make any sense to me. Plus, why did the teacher put us together in the first place? He clearly said that he wouldn't put friends together, and he surely remembers that Harry and I used to be pretty close. So why did he go against his own rules? I just don't understand."
"Calm down, Louis. You shouldn't put this much thought into it. It's stressing you out. Sure, your teacher may want you to do it another time, but just deal with that then, if it happens. Regarding how Harry reacted... Don't you just think he was shocked? And aren't your teacher getting a little old? He might have forgotten that you two used to be close, Lou. No matter what, I don't think you have to give it all so much thought. Just think about something else instead, yeah?" She suggested, giving me a small smile.
I thought about it. Maybe she was right? Maybe I was putting too much thought into it all. Mr. Waltz probably didn't know what he was doing, and if we would have to do it another time, I could just walk out again.
"You're probably right..." I trailed off.
She shouldered me playfully. "Of course I am."
I chuckled, noticing that we were first in line. We paid for our food and sat down at the table where Niall and Zayn were already sitting with a few others. I sat down beside Niall, flashing him a small smile. I already felt better after Hannah's words.
"You seem to be feeling a lot better now," he noted, returning the smile.
I shrugged. "There are better things to think about."
He nodded in agreement. "There sure are, mate."
Right then, a high-pitched squeal was heard in the room, making everyone turn their heads to the source. There was a girl just a few tables away from ours and she was looking in the direction of the entrance. As soon as people realized what she was referring to, more squeals were heard in the room, and I just let out a loud sigh.
Of course, Harry was entering the cafeteria along with Liam. He had a giant smile on his face while talking to his boyfriend intimately. There was no question that he noticed he had a lot of attention on him though. Well, he was probably used to it, but anyway. It made him look more like a jerk than I already thought he was.
I was just about to avert my gaze when his piercing, green eyes met my own. Unlike the other time we'd had this kind of eye-contact and he had looked away after a second, he held my gaze this time. His eyes were squinted though, but that didn't stop my heart from skipping a beat in my chest.
His gaze stayed on me the entire way towards a table across the room where he sat down together with Liam and a few other girls who would probably ask him all kinds of questions. That was when he finally averted his gaze and got back to talking to Liam.
That was also the moment I could feel myself start breathing again. According to the stares I had directed at me from my friends around the table, I wasn't the only one who had noticed what just happened. "What the heck was that?" Zayn asked. He was the only one out of the ones who cared at the table that didn't know what happened in English class this morning.
Too shocked by what just happened, I couldn't get a word past my lips. "I'm wondering the same thing..." Niall said thoughtfully, glancing over at the pop star who was back to his normal, laughing self.
The only thing I could think about was those eyes... I hadn't had them directed at me in that kind of way in two years. It was like this was the first time he really acknowledged me since he came back. It was really weird, yet I couldn't help the butterflies that erupted in my stomach. I knew I shouldn't feel like this. He wasn't worth it. Not after everything he had done.
"Louis?"
I snapped my head to Hannah who had her eyebrows raised at me. "Yes?"
"You spaced out. I was asking if you could follow me to my next class? If I remember correctly, you have chemistry nearby."
I took a deep breath, running my hand through my hair and giving her a timid smile. "Of course, sure."
She gave me a thumbs up before going back to eating her food. It seemed like everyone had dropped the Harry incident already, but I sure hadn't. That guy was acting more and more strange each day that passed by, and I didn't like it one bit. He was extremely unpredictable and it scared me shitless. What was he going to do next time?
-
After school, I went to my locker like I usually did to get my stuff. This time, I wasn't surprised when someone suddenly slammed the locker shut right before my face. "What do you want, Niall?" I asked, turning to the person.
He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his backpack slung over his shoulders. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me and Zayn on some Fifa? We're heading to my place. Or... Are you too grumpy to do so?" He asked jokingly, winking at me playfully.
I rolled my eyes. "I think I'll manage."
"Great," he chuckled.
We walked to the exit of the school, having to pass by a lot of students to do so. It had never been a bother before, but ever since Harry came back, I'd felt a little insecure considering all the stares I would receive ever since. It made me frustrated as well because I didn't want to feel like that. I wanted everything to be like it had been the last two years. No Harry, no worries.
"Hey, Lou?" He asked once we were out in the fresh air, breathing in the cold weather.
"Yeah?"
"About what happened at lunch today... Do you have any idea of why Harry looked at you like that?"
I could feel a lump form in my throat just by hearing his name. "I... I don't know, Niall, and it's really damn frustrating. Everything he does... it's so unpredictable, and I hate it. It's like he pops up out of nowhere and does something I have no idea of why he does it."
He furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully. "Hmm... It sounds like he wants to tell you something but doesn't know how to. How long has this been going on for?"
Now that I really thought about it, he had done these kinds of stuff ever since I met him the first time at his place. The first day of school, he had made eye-contact with me. Additionally, he had consciously bashed into my shoulder when I was talking to Hannah when that school day was over. Not to mention the looks he had thrown towards me at lunch just this weekend. It was more times than I thought it was.
"Uh, kind of since the first time I met him since he came back?" I said, but it came out more like a question.
This had him thinking once again. After a few seconds, he nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he wants to tell you something. You should be careful, Louis. This is what both Zayn and I predicted he would do and also what we warned you about. Don't fall for his tricks, alright? You're better without him, okay?"
I let out a sigh, nodding my head determinedly. "Yes, I definitely am."
He flashed me a small smile. "Great. Just... Remember that, alright?"
I nodded my head again. Now, I didn't really think Niall was speaking the truth. Harry wasn't trying to get to me in any way. He hated me, and I didn't like him either. He had made that clear more than once in a short amount of time.
However, I didn't disagree with Niall because I didn't want the conversation to get any further. He wouldn't believe me anyway, so it was best to just do as he said and agree.
The two of us were just about to exit the gates to go to the bus station when someone behind us spoke up.
"Hey, Louis?"
The second I heard who it was, my entire body froze to ice, and seeing as Niall stopped too, I assumed he was taken aback as well. I turned around slowly to face whom I had once called my boyfriend. He was standing there - without Liam this time - his hands in his pockets and a pair of black sunglasses on.
When he noticed he had my attention, he opened his mouth again. "Mr. Waltz wants us to do the test tomorrow considering you left today. He said it doesn't matter if either of us doesn't show up, we will still have to do it another time."
Squinting my eyes, I looked at him as if to figure him out. Why was he saying this? Why did he care? It wasn't like he cared about that stupid test anyway, and neither did I for that matter. "Alright," I shrugged absentmindedly, trying to act cool about it.
It made him frustrated. I could tell by the way a crinkle formed between his eyebrows. I knew him too well for my own good, I swear.
"Yeah, whatever," he huffed, walking past us to get to the SUV that was parked at the sidewalk. He hopped in without even looking back once as he did so.
I let out a deep breath once he was out of sight, and turned to a gaping Niall. "Well... I've definitely changed my mind now. I am no longer worried that you'll fall for his tricks. That was freaking awesome!"
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Hahaha, you just gotta love Niall, don't you? Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's pretty clear that Harry is starting to really think things through even if he's still trying to act all cool, don't you think? See you soon, love you.
Pauline .xx