The Gay Project

1.8

~December~

Louis stepped into school on the first of December, after thanking his aunt for the ride, shaking out his hair from the icy rain. He was back a few days later than planned due to a snow storm in Manchester so it was now Tuesday.

He'd missed yesterday's day of school and he arrived back home late so he hasn't seen Harry since he'd arrived and he really wants a hug from his friend.

The first super familiar person Louis encountered was Ed, who was standing alone, surprisingly, arms folded and face blank.

Once they made eye contact, Louis smiled shyly and waved. Ed broke into a smile, waving back and Louis blushed, making his way past the ginger and to his own locker, where Harry was waiting, hands behind his back.

"Harry!" Louis squealed, rushing towards Harry in excitement.

"Hey," Harry hummed, pulling a single rose out, smiling at Louis as he placed it along his lips, wiggling his eyebrows. "Missed you."

Louis took the flower, blushing. "I-I missed you."

"Won't the girls think that's sweet?" Harry whispered, eyeing the flower and smiling at Louis.

"The girls? Oh... Yeah, I'm sure the girls will eat it up. You bought me a flower because you missed me. Cute," Louis said with a false smile.

"I'm sorry, Lou, I didn't mean..." Harry trailed off with a sigh. "You know what happened between us didn't mean anything. We're still Louis and Harry."

"I get it. This is a fake relationship. Why would I be upset?" Louis said, raising his eyebrows and giving a false smile. But Louis was an actor, therefore his smile was completely convincing.

Harry scratched his neck, eyes on his shoes "Right. Yeah, you're right. Hey, um,I want to make your last few weeks in Doncaster memorable so how about you and I go out this weekend? Just you and I?"

"What's the point if no one is going to be around?" Louis said coldly as he put in his locker combination.

"We're still friends, Louis... Did I do something wrong?" Harry looked genuinely hurt, eyes wide and a deep frown sketching his lips.

"Since I'm moving, there's no point in a fake relationship," Louis said briskly, giving Harry a look before shutting his locker, turning on his heel, and leaving with his books and flower in hand.

~~~

Louis was a free man meaning he was free to sit in the classroom with Ed and maybe even kiss Ed without any interruptions.

Louis didn't know why he found it so satisfying. Ed did him wrong once but Louis was willing to move on if Ed was.

"So," Louis started as they sat at a desk together, knees touching since their chairs were pulled together extremely close. "I was thinking... Maybe I can just... Forget about what happened between us."

Ed gave a warm smile, eyes glimmering. "You'd really do that?"

"Yeah... And, look, I'm sorry about Harry. It's just that... Things between us are complicated but we aren't together. It's hard to explain," Louis said slowly, calculating his words.

"You aren't together?"

Louis shook his head.

"So... So I can do this?" Ed's hand connected with Louis's and he linked their fingers together. Louis blushed, but he was smiling. "And... And this?" Ed used his free hand to cup Louis's cheek, looking him in the eye, thumb tracing Louis's jawbone. Louis let out a shaky breath and another nod. "I can... I can do this."