next to you ❀ l.s.

nine - midterms

Midterms had Louis close to ripping his own hair out. Retrospectively, he knew that he should not have let Niall talk him into going out on Saturday night, and he should not have offered to spend the evening watching movies with Harry on Sunday.

Especially when Harry decided to run out on him just as the movie ended to go visit his abusive not-boyfriend. Louis could honestly strangle someone if the opportunity presented itself.

But not Harry. Who could ever stay mad at Harry?

Even as upset as he was at Harry's behavior and as stressed as he was about all of his tests, Louis couldn't get himself to pause his new book delivery mission. Over the past few weeks, he had left books for Harry to find inside of his apartment, mostly because he could easily imagine the frustrated look of confusion on Harry's face when he found them -- hilarious and adorable.

On Tuesday afternoon, he had even run straight from his last class to the bookstore to get there before Harry's shift started. After employing his natural charms in a quick conversation with the owner, Louis had slipped a book behind the desk with a blue sticky note that read "Harry." He had written with his left hand to protect his identity.

On Thursday morning, Louis and Liam had a lecture together, and they dropped by the bookstore to study before lunch. Louis had a book for Harry in his backpack, but he was planning to drop it off outside of the apartment later in the day. Niall didn't have any classes on Thursdays, so he was already sitting at their usual table, his textbooks spread out everywhere. Harry didn't work on Thursdays, but he sat just across the table from Niall, patiently reading through a stack of flashcards as the Irish boy shouted out answers in an obnoxiously-loud voice.

"Hi, lads," Liam greeted, plopping down in the open seat beside Niall.

"Shut up, Liam, I'm focusing," Niall said, holding up a finger to silence the older boy.

Liam raised his eyebrows, laughing as he held his hands up in mock-surrender. "Christ. What's crawled up your ass?"

"A chemistry exam, I'd say," Harry supplied, although his response was mostly drowned out by Niall's sudden exclamation.

"Solidification!"

"Oh, for god's sake, Niall!" Louis snatched the flashcards from Harry's hands, making the younger boy jump in surprise. His face softened, and he reached between them to squeeze Harry's knee reassuringly. "Sorry."

"Give me my flashcards!" Niall was already leaning across the table, his arm waving wildly as he tried to rescue his precious notecards from Louis's iron grip.

Liam wrapped his arms around the Irish boy's torso and yanked him back into his chair, shooting him a reprimanding glare. Niall crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. "When I fail my exam, you'll all get what's coming to you."

"All I've done is help!" Harry protested.

"You're exempt," Niall informed him. He turned his cold glare on the other two boys, narrowing his eyes at Louis in particular. "You two are going to feel my wrath."

"I'm terrified," Liam stated, his voice monotone and emotionless. Niall punched his arm.

Louis groaned, burying his head in his arms. "We're all losing our bloody minds."

To his surprise, he felt cold fingers wrap around his arm, squeezing supportively. He turned his head so that his cheek rested on the table, locking eyes with Harry, who just smiled shyly back at him. Even under the intense weight of Louis's gaze, Harry kept his hand on the older boy's arm.

Louis felt like he could fly.

"It's only another two days," Liam pointed out, always the optimist. Louis flipped him the bird without even lifting his head, his eyes still stuck on Harry.