Flashlight (You're Getting Me Through The Night)

Chapter 13

A/N: So sorry for the late update. School's cracking down hard now, and I have scheduling for next semester coming up. Hope you are all enjoying this so far, it's about to get a bit interesting, so hold on! All the love, as always xx

~L

PS: If I Could Fly broke me for all eternity.

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Louis' POV:

The next week was just a huge blur. I could hardly believe what was happening most of the time, and I had never felt this happy, at least, not in a very long time. I had been wrong to judge Harry, wrong to judge anyone, really, and I knew that now. Harry brought out some parts of me that I didn't even know were still there. Harry almost made me a whole new person. I got sleep and had all my work done and still had time to hang out with my sisters during Harry's long shifts at the bakery, or visit him if my sisters wanted to go. They knew I was friends with Harry, but they always missed the sneaky smiles I gave him as we left each time. Seeing Harry's dimple pop out like that always made get that warm, fuzzy feeling inside. I was such a fucking sap.

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It wasn't until the next week that things kind of took a turn for the worse. I was heading to lunch, intending on grabbing some food before heading to my table, which I now shared with Harry, Liam, and Niall. I sat down and Harry immediately showed up, dumping his bag and looking disgruntled. I gave him a questioning look but he just shook his head and slouched up to get food, looking downright miserable. I eyed Liam as he sat down with Niall, but he didn't seem to know what was going on either. They looked just as confused as I felt, but none of us mentioned it, instead choosing to talk about how all of our morning classes had kind of sucked. I had gotten my paper back in English with a 95% so I was pretty happy about that, but otherwise, it had been boring. Harry had run out of the room before I could get to him, though, and that had made my morning a bit more morbid. My quick walk with him down the hallway every morning always made up for whatever happened later in the day.

Harry sat down with a tray of food, not saying anything. I slipped my hand under the table and squeezed his knee comfortingly.

"Hazza, what's wrong, love?" I asked in an undertone so that only the three of them could hear my words.

"I thought I did so much better..." Harry mumbled, picking at his food. Liam and Niall still looked confused, but I thought I might know what he was talking about.

"The paper in English?" I asked, and I got a small nod from him."Well...how did you do?"

Harry turned his face to me, his eyes brimming with tears. "I got an 80%. I never do that badly in English, it's my best subject! I'm in fucking advanced classes for it, for fuck's sake, and I can't even write..."

I cursed myself inwardly for being such a coward about coming out,because I could do nothing to calm him down, at least, not here in the lunch room.

"I'm sure you'll do better next time, Haz," Liam reassured, but Harry shook his head.

"S'not just that...got called a faggot again today...I should be used to it by now but I...I can't...not since..." Harry looked on the verge of a breakdown, and god knows I knew what that was like. Holding it back wasn't going to work. I stood up, beckoning for Harry to follow me, and a few seconds later, he stood, following me at a distance. I headed for the little corner under the stairs, which was a bit cliché considering this was where it really had all begun, but it was the only place I could think of that would be deserted. I stood there and a few moments later, I heard sniffling and Harry came around the corner, tears already sliding down his cheeks.