The Only One [n.h. + h.s. au]

Chapter Three

Harry's POV

"You have an important game tonight, lads! I expect you to be at your best," Coach said, walking up and down the field in front of us.

Louis mumbled something under his breath, earning him a glare, "Anything you wanted to share, Tomlinson?"

"Nah," he shrugged.

"That's what I thought. 15 laps around the track, all of you!" Coach shouted.

"Damn it, Louis," Zayn complained, falling into pace with us.

"What?" he smiled, innocently.

I laughed, "Coach is going to bite your head off one of these days, Tommo."

"Less talking, more running!" he barked, and we ran the remainder of the laps silently.

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"I'm going to be so sore tomorrow," I groaned, walking out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my waist.

"That makes two of us," Zayn agreed, styling his hair.

"If we don't win this game, I swear," Louis muttered. I nodded, pulling on a pair of boxers and dropping my towel. "So, how's Caroline?"

"Angry," I put the rest of my clothes on and shut my locker.

He chuckled slightly, "When is she ever not angry?"

"Good point," I said. We left the locker room and were instantly greeted by students roaming the hallways.

"Harold!" Jason jogged up from behind us.

"It's Harry."

"Whatever you say, mate," he winked. "Do you think we'll win tonight?"

"Maybe," I shrugged.

He nodded, thoughtfully, then smirked, "Horan!"

The blonde turned around with wide eyes, and ran in the other direction. "Give the lad a break," I put my hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

"Fine," Jason huffed.

Zayn rolled his eyes, "If anyone found out how much you tormented the poor kid everyday, you'd be kicked off the team."

"That's why this stays between us," he stated, walking up the staircase. Louis did the same, but Zayn and I walked straight ahead to our Physics class.

"Good morning, Mrs. Lee," I said as we entered the room.

She looked up from her papers and smiled, "Hi Harry. Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"What's up?" I asked.

"I have a student named Niall Horan and he's struggling with this class. I was wondering if you could tutor him once or twice a week."

"Sure," I nodded.

"Do you think you could meet him in the library after school?" she asked, scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

"Yeah, I can, but I won't be able to work with him for long. I have a game tonight," I said, scratching the back of my neck.

"Oh, right! That's fine. Good luck, by the way," she smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled back, then took a seat next to Zayn. "I'm tutoring some bloke named Niall."

"Niall? Niall Horan?" he asked.

"Yeah?" I looked at him, confused.

"That's the kid Jason messes with everyday," Zayn frowned.

Bingo. "Oh," I bit my lip. "That's unfortunate."

"Alright class, get in pairs of two," Mrs. Lee stood in front of the room. "You'll be working on a project for the next two weeks."

I looked at Zayn and he winked, "Howdy partner."

"Why are you my best mate, again?"

"Hey!" he punched my arm, lightly. "You're lucky to have me at your side."

"I sure am," I chuckled, getting my notebook out of my book bag.

Niall's POV

I was on my way to the library to meet with my tutor. It had slipped my mind to ask Mrs. Lee what his or her name was, but I was close to finding out. I walked through the double doors, looking around. There were a few students seated at the round tables, reading books silently, or studying. I spotted a lad with curly hair sitting near the fiction shelves. He smiled, waving at me. Just my luck. Sighing, I walked to the table and put my bag in an empty chair. "Hi," I mumbled.

"Niall, huh?" Harry smirked.

"Are you going to help me or not?" I asked.

"Pushy," he muttered under his breath, probably thinking I couldn't hear. I rolled my eyes, pulling out my blank diagram that was due today. "So, what is it that you don't understand?"

"Everything," I sat back in my chair, crossing my arms.

He raised an eyebrow, "Do you even try to pay attention?"

"No," I said. "What's the point? I'm failing every single one of my classes. Well, except art, but that's not academic."

"Doesn't that bother you, though?" he inquired.

"Not all of us are fucking geniuses," I snapped, standing up and nearly knocking the chair down in the process.

"I didn't mean it like that," Harry said.

"This wasn't a good idea," I zipped up my book bag, slinging it over my shoulder. The librarian shushed me and I sent a glare in her direction. Harry chuckled softly, staring up at me with his beautiful green eyes. Wait what?

"Meet me here at the same time tomorrow," he said, unfazed by my random outburst.

"You're joking, right?"

"No, why would I be?" Harry picked his book bag off of the ground. "Hey, you should come to the game tonight and be my lucky charm."

"I might have considered going if it weren't for the leprechaun reference," I scoffed.

"Darn, maybe next time then," he winked.

"Dream on, curly," I shook my head, heading towards the double doors.

"So, tomorrow, yeah?" He followed close behind me, keeping his voice down.

I glanced at him before walking straight down the hallway, "We'll see," I called out behind me.

A/N:

I have a band dress rehearsal today. H e l p. Anyway, here's Chapter 3! <3

-K