Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Thirty.

Harry spent so much time over the weekend sending text messages back and forth with Sophie that he completely forgot he was supposed to send one to Aubry too. Monday came around and he went through the whole day without seeing her, making it to the final class of the day which was Physical Education. His teacher, Mr. Davis, had brought the class outside onto the soccer field and sent them off to run laps around the perimeter. It was hot. Unusually hot, plus with the added fact that there was no shade and the air was dead, not even the slightest breeze to cool Harry down. He was sweating, feeling like he wanted to die by time he finished four laps and collapsed onto the grass to catch his breath.

He had his arm slung over his eyes to block the blinding sun, chest rising and falling beneath the thin material of his shirt as he panted. It was an all boys class and many of the guys were in much better shape than he was, not many of the others felt like their lungs were on fire with every breath they drew. As he peeked out from underneath his arm, he saw only two other boys laying on the ground matching his position. A chubbier one named Noah, and Gregory who had a heart murmur. Harry really just didn't like physical activity.

Liam's shoe lightly tapped him on the side of his hip, "Get up."

"It's so hot," Harry complained.

He squinted up at Liam, hardly able to distinguish his silhouette with the blazing sun hidden just behind his head. He had a soccer ball tucked under his arm, propped against his hip as he stared down at Harry, laying on the ground. "We're playing soccer today, get up."

"Can I be goalie?" Harry asked, knowing that position involved the very least amount of effort.

"Ask Mr. Davis," Liam said, though his voice was hardly heard over the sound of the whistle blowing and he called to the class.

Liam reached down to pull Harry off the ground, their hands clasping together and Liam hauled him up to his feet. Harry adjusted the waistband of his shorts before following Liam to huddle in a circle with the rest of the class. He missed out on his chance to be goalie, two boys had already been selected for the position and they were left to pick their team.

Harry was luckily not one of the last ones to be picked, it was always humiliating to be the last one standing. Trevor was the one who picked him, and he hoped Liam would be on the same team as him, but Clyde chose him for his team. It was shirts verses skins and Harry thanked god his team was shirts. He got to keep his shirt on. He hated, hated, hated being on the skins team. Nothing made him more uncomfortable than running around with his shirt off.

Harry lingered back as the game started and decided not to get in the way. Instead, he waited until the ball came to him to kick it. It was lucky he did because the ball was nearing his team's goal and he managed to get it to go in the opposite direction, toward the skins side. That's when he got into the game and started to run after the ball. He got kicked in the shins a few times trying to guide the ball toward the opposing team's goal, but Liam swept the ball out from under his feet and kicked it to go the other way.

Harry got a little competitive. He spun around and ran, bumping his shoulder into one of his class mates as he did, but he just wanted to get to the ball as quickly as he possibly could to turn it back around. Maybe he was a bit of a ball hog, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He didn't make it in time. The ball was kicked to the goal and Trevor missed. The other team scored.

Harry huffed when he realized what happened, his hands on his hips as he stood center field and felt a bit like it was all his fault. That wasn't the only time they scored. Harry's team was down 3-0 before they got anywhere close to scoring, only to have Clyde block their shot and they missed anyway. It was frustrating, and Harry's team began to show just how agitated they felt. They all began to push themselves. Run faster, kick harder, never let Clyde's team get the ball. They got competitive and a little bit rough with each other. A member of Harry's team, Riley, was forced to sit out of the game because he was getting too hostile and tried stealing the ball by shoving everyone out of the way.