Closed Doors | Larry Stylinson ❀ [High School AU]

Fourteen

LOL. Oops. 

TW: homophobic language used

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The following week, Harry felt like his head was going to explode. He had so much going on in his mind. After his somewhat date with Nick on Saturday, followed by his stupid sex phone calls with Louis and his run-in with the cheerleaders, he really felt like he had a lot on his plate right now. Every day, he reminded himself how weak he was. He was too weak to stand up for himself in front of Cara and the girls. He was too weak to let Nick know that the kiss and the date meant nothing. He was too weak to resist Louis, and he was too weak to talk to him about their relationship. He was a downright mess.

So as it goes, when he pulled into the school parking lot Monday morning, he was exhausted - mentally exhausted. He sat in his car and let some time pass, watching out the front window of all the students filtering around the area. He could see friend groups meeting up by the steps before they headed inside together. He saw a few couples leaning against the wall of the staircase, kissing. He saw some football players out on the field finishing up their morning practice.

For a moment, everything felt sane as he watched everyone outside the school building. It was refreshing to take a brief pause from the mess going on to focus on other people.

But, he knew he had to get a move on. He knew class was starting soon. He knew that meant getting out of the safety of his car and walking into the reality of his school.

Harry pulled down his overhead mirror and took a quick look at himself. He had bags under his eyes, and his skin was pretty pale. He looked tired, and like he once said, exhausted. His hair was a mess on top of his head - he hadn't even bothered to wash it last night, so it was greasy. He decided to pull it back into a bun on top of his head. After he fixed himself up, he finally exited the car.

There was something strange lingering in the air when Harry walked into the school. It kind of reminded him of how he felt the Monday following the party at the start of school. It seemed like something was going on, something that involved him, and it created this nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach. He noticed a few people staring at him, unusually. He couldn't tell if it was because something happened that he was unaware of or if he just looked that terrible. He also swore he heard people gossiping about him. He wasn't sure what the gossip would be about, but as he walked towards his locker, he could hear his name in the passing.

Again, it made him feel sick. He hated that his day was starting out like this. He was already dreading to see Nick, and he was dreading to see Louis, and the last thing he needed was for his name to be whispered behind his back.

On his way to his locker, Harry caught sight of Louis. He was frantically moving around at the other end of the hall like he was searching for someone. His hair was a mess, too, like he had been yanking on it in frustration. His eyes were wide and surveying through all the people in the room. His head jerked from side to side, and the anxious expression on his face continued to grow. However, once his eyes landed on Harry, he visibly relaxed. A deep breath pressed past his nose, and Harry stopped walking when he saw that Louis was now heading in his direction.

A brief moment of panic rose up inside of him at the thought of having to face him after this weekend. Still, thankfully, someone else stepped up in front, effectively blocking Louis from approaching him.

It was Nick.

"Hey, you," he greeted, instinctively pulling him in for a hug. Harry tensed up a little when Nick's arms wrapped around his body, caught by surprise that he was doing this in front of all these people. Of course, Louis saw the hug, and his expression morphed into anger. He walked away before Nick even pulled away. "How's your morning so far?"