Bully Me [Larry/Ziall | AU]

Bully Me : Chapter 30

Chapter 30

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'Lou...what's been bothering you?' 

Niall put down the half eaten pizza and gave him a curious glare. His best friend had been shifting his attention from the pasta on his plate to the doors leading into the cafeteria and again back to his plate. Louis's eyes kept drifting over to the food counter, roaming over the students shuffling on their feet trying to maintain a straight line, as if he were searching for someone...or something. 

Upon hearing Niall's voice, Louis quickly dropped his gaze and began to play with the food, picking at it with his fork, his mind miles away from the cafeteria. Something was bothering him, Niall could tell. 

'Lou, I know you can hear me. Please tell me what's wrong.' Niall asked again. 

'It’s...I don't know...' Louis began and stopped. 

How could he tell Niall what had happened between him and Harry? The boy would get wrong ideas, thinking they both had finally made up and ended the years long hatred, when in fact it was the other way round. Louis still hated the guy no matter what his heart felt for him. 

What was supposed to have been a new turn in their relationship had turned out to be false. Harry's declaration of love had been nothing but lies, bitter, hurtful lies that pierced through Louis's fragile heart every time he thought about it. He still shivered at the memory of that touch, the feathery light brush of Harry's fingers that had touched him, not out of affection but lust - pure untamed lust which had set him on fire. But this was not a fire of passion or love, no; it was a fire of betrayal, of lost hope and pain. 

'Lou? Are you alright? Please tell me what's on your mind.' 

Niall's face filled Louis's vision, he could clearly see the worry in his eyes and the way he took hold of his hand, urging Louis to spill out his pain and anger at what Harry had done to him. 

'It’s about Harry...' 

'What? Did he beat you up? Are you hurt Lou?' Niall leaned forward, taking hold of Louis's chin and inspecting his face for any visible injuries. He found none. 

'No Niall. He didn't hurt me, so please don't worry about it. I am perfectly fine.' Louis mumbled, placing his own hand over Niall's and giving it a small squeeze. 

'Its just that he...' Louis stopped again but this time he had a valid reason. 

Niall frowned and looked up at Louis only to find him staring at something over his shoulder. His eyes were wide and his lips partly open, as if the sight had surprised him and caused a certain amount of fear in him. He too turned, following Louis's gaze that was glued to the entrance of the cafeteria. 

The famous duo of their school, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik, stood in full glory enjoying the attention and fear surrounding them. The moment they entered the cafeteria, all students parted away, leaving them a free passage to maneuver through the tables in front of them. The entire student kept pin-drop silence while the bullies walked towards the tables, passing the cheerleading team, the jocks that exchanged quick nods with Harry and the invisible nerds who crouched further in to their chair afraid to face Styles or his buddy. 

'Shit!' Louis cursed under his breathe, wondering what wrongs he had done in his previous lives to be suffering from such bad luck. 

Niall on the other hand was beside himself with joy. His eyes were trained on Zayn, taking in his stoic expression, those smoldering brown eyes, skinny black jeans and his signature leather jacket that was zipped up front leaving a small gap where his white, almost transparent t-shirt peeked out from within. A small part of his brain almost imagined Zayn to be his favorite vanilla ice-cream, his tongue licking the thin fabric of his t-shirt trying to get a taste of what's on the inside, while his hands explored other delicious parts of his body. 

Niall sighed, a lazy grin forming on his face as he watched Zayn and Harry walking in their direction. 

The boys had covered almost half the distance when Harry stopped and fixed his gaze on their table. Niall heard a sharp intake of breathe from beside him and felt Louis freeze; the hand that was still clutching his tightened its hold, until it became a bit too painful for Niall. 

Something had definitely gone down between Harry and Louis, Niall could sense it and so did the other students who were holding their breath to witness the ultimate show down. The air around them cackled with the static electricity passing between Louis and Harry, both of who were locked down in a staring match, each trying to outdo the other. 

Louis didn't know what had caused Harry to stop, but from the look on his face, it had something to do with him or more precisely the position he was in. He could see how it looked to Harry from where he stood. 

Niall was still leaning over him, the upper half of his body wholly covering Louis while his legs were still planted in his chair. The fingers wrapped around his chin had grown warmer and his mouth had begun to ache from being held still for so long. The blonde hadn't notice the compromising position they were in, since he was too busy drinking in the dark beauty standing behind Harry. It was only when Harry began to walk again, snapping everyone out of their daze, only then did Niall realize the consequences of his actions and quickly settled down in his seat. 

'They are coming here.' Louis whispered even though it was quite obvious what the boys intended to do. 

Harry was the first to take a seat, at the table just a few inches away from where Louis sat. Zayn followed closely, sitting opposite to Harry and nearer to Niall, just like he wanted it to be. The grin on Niall's face was so big that Louis worried about him splitting his lips because of it. The boy was that happy. 

The same could not be said for Louis. 

There were no exchange of words between them nor did they dare to look at each other in the eye. Louis's leg was hanging out of the chair, a little too close to Harry's hand. After the unexpected first brush of his fingers, Louis quickly pulled in his leg, a gesture that wasn't missed by Harry. All of his actions were watched and Harry followed every moment of his body. 

The tension between them was thick and suffocating, so much so that it brought Niall out of his wonderland and forced him to look from one face to the other. Louis was still playing with his food, while Harry's plate was untouched. It felt like they were waiting for something to happen, maybe a slip from the other side, a mistake that would ignite the flames within their hearts and destroy their very being. 

The silence stretched on for a few minutes, the only sound that interrupted it was Niall's efforts at making conversation. Unfortunately no one responded to his lame jokes, since Zayn was being his usual brooding self while Harry sat stiff and rigid in his chair and Louis glanced from one exit to another, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. 

'Guys!' Niall shouted. His voice startled the occupants of the table and even Harry looked up from his thoughts, an irritated look in his eyes as to why the blonde had bothered to talk with him. 

Louis however paid no attention to Niall's blabbering and concentrated on staying as calm as possible with Harry inches away from him. But his efforts didn't last for much longer as at some point of time Harry started to respond to Niall's continuous efforts to make him speak. In doing so his body came closer to Louis's and their thighs brushed against each other. 

It was a small touch, but enough to destroy Louis's control over his anger and he jumped out of his chair. 

'I am going back to the classroom.' he announced abruptly and took off in the direction of the doors. 

'Dammit!' Harry muttered and stood up as well, running in the same direction as Louis. 

Niall stared open mouthed at the two boys as they ran out of the cafeteria and into the hallway, vanishing into the sea of students filing outside the classrooms, all the time thinking of one single question. 

What the hell happened? 

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