Delinquent - L.S.

Sixteen

It was lunchtime and Harry was sitting in the cafeteria. He was alone, pushing his food sloppily around his plate, lacking any initiative to actually eat. He trailed his eyes over his fellow students out of boredom and sighed softly to himself.

Sure, Harry could easily find someone to sit with. People liked him and people knew him and people had invited him to eat, he just didn't want to. Besides, it felt weird to sit with new people. He'd never eaten lunch with anybody besides Niall and Nick. And now Louis. Harry wasn't ready to try to replace them. Until Louis came back or he decided to maybe forgive Niall (which was unlikely) or Nick magically wanted to be friends, he decided he'd be sitting alone.

At least being alone was his original plan.

Cheryl skipped over, plopping down into the chair across from Harry. "Hey, H! Ugh, taco day is the worst, am I right? Like, I wouldn't even let my dog eat these," she playfully called, slamming her tray forcefully onto the table.

"I know. They're beyond disgusting," Harry replied. He cracked a smile, a reaction that he usually didn't have when it came to Cheryl. "So disgusting that I don't want to taco-bout it."

Cheryl giggled and reached across the table to slap Harry on the arm. "Fuckin' puns," she laughed.

"Excuse me!" a loud voice yelled, a sudden silence falling over the entire cafeteria. A boy with shaggy hair, Harry believed his name was Ashton, was standing up on one of the tables with a bouquet of flowers. "Jade Amelia, you're the prettiest girl in this school! And I would like to have the great honor of taking you to prom with me. So, what do you say, love? Prom?"

A brunette girl with a huge smile on her face stood up from a nearby table. She called out, "Yes! Of course I'll go to prom with you!"

The entire cafeteria clapped, a few of her friends squealing and his friends whooping loudly. They hugged and kissed and the moment quickly passed as Harry's attention turned back to Cheryl.

"Ah, prom season," the girl dramatically huffed. "You know, once Louis gets out of the E.R, you should ask him to prom."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "That was a joke, right?" he asked. He'd never even considered taking Louis to prom. A school dance didn't exactly seem like the boy's ideal Saturday night, and besides, they weren't even together! Only couples, or people who were on the road to being a couple, went on dates to prom. Harry thought that it would just be weird.

"Listen. I know boys, and I'd give anything to have somebody look at me the way Louis looks at you," Cheryl said sadly, taking a drink from her water bottle. "He likes you a lot, Har. Everyone sees it."

Harry swooned, feeling his heart race. Did Louis really look at him the way the Cheryl thought? It was like a deja vu moment from Harry's conversation with Zayn. Maybe he'd been wrong about their dynamic this whole time. Maybe Louis liked him, and maybe Harry liked him back (a lot).

If only Harry had the guts to do anything about it.

-

For the next week straight, Harry spent all of his free time at the hospital. He went there every morning early before school. As soon as his lessons ended, he'd go back. He wouldn't go home until visiting hours ended and the nurses kicked him out. It was worth it though because he got to watch Louis get better. It was nice to see the boy's blue eyes slowly coming back to life and his bruises slowly starting to fade. With every visit, a weight was lifted off of Harry's shoulders.

Harry and Anne were gathered in Louis' bedroom. The boy was sitting in his bed, shirtless and clad in a pair of Harry's old pajama pants, wrapped up in his duvet. His eye's swelling had gone down, and the nasty bruise on his jaw was fading. His knee was in a brace, Louis having to use crutches for the time being, and his purple beaten abdomen was looking better. He had a small smile on his face.