Student Athlete

7

Louis adjusts his tie for the thousandth time that night already. He's never liked having anything around his neck, so ties are a major annoyance. 

"You look fine, stop worrying so much," Zayn complains. They're standing in line to enter the dance, their tickets in hand. Louis can already hear the lame music pouring out of the cafeteria and regrets coming. 

He doesn't see anything good coming out of tonight. Louis figures they could spend a couple of minutes here and then ditch. Zayn and him could go to the park or some diner, anywhere but here. He thought it'd be fun to give everything one last chance, but homecoming shouldn't deserve another chance. 

"Why don't we just ditch," Louis complains. He loosens the tie around his neck again as they approach the front of the line. Zayn reaches out and tightens Louis' tie... again. Louis wants to smack the younger boy's hand away but refrains from doing so. 

"Unlike you, I have a date that I'd like to be spending time with," Zayn reminds. Louis rolls his eyes. Of course, Leigh-Anne. How could Louis forget Zayn's date? Zayn's comment serves as a reminder to Louis of who else has a date tonight. 

Harry didn't talk to Louis much the week prior. Louis understands that what he said probably wasn't the best thing to say, but he didn't think it was bad enough to be ignored for a week. Louis' mouth tends to run faster than his brain and Louis' apologized, so he's not sure what else Harry could possibly want from him. 

"Tomlinson, Malik good to see you guys! Glad you decided to come since it's your last homecoming," Someone says. Louis snaps out of his thought and sees that he's at the front of the line. A guy's collecting tickets and Louis' sure he's seen the guy somewhere, but he doesn't remember him. 

"Had to grace you guys with my presence one last time," Louis jokes. Zayn awkwardly passes the two tickets to the guy and they're waved through. 

"Well, this is where we part ways, dear friend. Don't drown yourself in cheap punch," Zayn jokes. Louis flips him off as Zayn joins another group of people, leaving Louis utterly alone. 

~_~_~

Time passes by slowly. It feels like hours since Louis' gotten here, but it's only been about twenty minutes. The only thing mildly entertaining is Louis' game of 'Guess the Underclassman'. The freshman are either dancing wildly on the dance floor or acting as wallflowers (admittedly the same thing Louis' doing). The sophomore act with more dignity and, instead, take turns filming the freshman. 

"You should be out there having fun and not moping around like a lost puppy," Someone says. Louis looks up from his game and notices his science teacher. Mr.McCray seems to be the only teacher in the building with a soul anymore. He's one of the few that actually want his students to succeed in his class. 

"Well, my friend ditched me for his date and I don't feel like dancing," Louis sighs. His teacher takes a seat on the ground next to Louis. 

"Come on, you're Mr. Popular you should have loads of friends! Don't you practically know the whole school," Mr. McCray comments. Louis rolls his eyes and sighs deeply. He does know most of the kids at the school, but that doesn't mean he's going to just interject on their homecoming. 

"I'm just not up for it," Louis sighs. Mr. McCray doesn't push Louis into saying anything else. He pats Louis' knee and stands to his feet. 

"I suggest either staying and find some fun to get into or go home and finish the homework for my class, your choice," Mr. McCray teases. Louis stands and pushes his hands deep into his pocket. His teacher gives him one last pat on the back before joining the other teachers across the room. 

Mr. McCray's advice sticks with him. This is his senior homecoming, after all. He should be having fun and letting loose. Admittedly, he's still down about Harry going with Fruit Loop, but that shouldn't stop Louis from having a good time. Harry having a date shouldn't deter Louis from hanging out with Harry either. 

He spots the boy across the room hanging to the wall alone. Louis looks around and finds Ed dancing wildly like a freshman and it instantly makes Louis cringe. He'd be a bad friend if he doesn't save Harry from the awkward situation, he decides. 

"You look almost as bored as I feel," Louis jokes. Harry looks up from his thought. A small frown plays across Harry's lips. Louis feels a pang of guilt in his stomach and instantly feels horrible. "Sorry for being an ass about everything. Honestly, I just get jealous easily."

"I can tell. I get jealous too, but I don't call people names," Harry replies. He folds his arms across his chest and Louis knows he'll have to do a lot to make it up to Harry. He takes the spot next to Harry on the wall and bumps shoulders with him. 

"I'm a giant ass and I'm sorry for calling you a manizer. I should've asked you sooner," Louis sighs. Louis can feel Harry looking at him, he could embarrass Harry by catching him looking, but he decides against it. 

"You should've," Harry mumbles. They sit in silence as a new Lady Antebellum song starts to play. Louis' heard it on the radio a few times and knows it's a slow song. All the couples on the dance floor start to partner up. 

Louis' stomach tightens as he sees Fruit Loop emerge from the large group and reach his hand out to Harry. "Want to dance," Ed asks. Harry sucks in a breath and looks from Ed to Louis, obviously stuck. Harry looks away and takes Ed's hand. 

Louis sticks to the wall as the lyrics of 'Need You Now' starts to play. He's lost sight of Harry, probably deep in the crowd of couples. Louis figures he doesn't want to stay much longer than this. Harry obviously made his choice. 

He makes his way around the couples, trying his best not to bump into anyone. Louis' nearly out of the cafeteria when he feels someone grab him from behind. Louis turns and sucks in a sharp breath when he sees Harry. 

"Dance with me," Harry pleas. He's out of breath but wears a crazy smile. Louis looks around trying to find Ed, but can't see him anywhere. "Please," Harry murmurs. 

"Only because you asked nicely," Louis teases. He takes Harry's hand and allows Harry to lead him back to the dance floor. 

Louis rests his hand on Harry's waist and Harry's arm hangs off of Louis' shoulder. He takes their already joined hands and tangles them together as they sway to the music. 

"I'm sorry for not asking you. I didn't think you'd want to go with me," Louis says. Harry rolls his eyes and takes a small step towards Louis, their chests touching.

"Why would I say no? You're a varsity soccer player with an amazing personality and a decent face, what more could I ask for," Harry teases. Louis smiles as the song slowly plays out. The last thing Louis wants to do now is to watch Harry go back with Ed. 

"Want to get out of here," Louis asks. Harry forces back a smile and pretends to think. 

"Thought you'd never ask."

~_~_~