Illustrations [Larry Stylinson]

Chapter 3

"For she had eyes and chose me." -William Shakespeare, Othello

Louis POV

"Mr. Tomlinson, you're going to be late to class if you don't wake up soon," Theo awakens me.

"Theo! Please just call me Louis. It's weird for it to be all formal. I feel old and stuck up," I tell him exasperated rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Alright, Mr. Tomlinson," Theo says with a grin on his face.

I roll my eyes and step into the kitchen for my usual cup of coffee with Theo close on my tail. Throwing on whatever jeans were closest, I pull a t-shirt over my head and step into the elevator.

Opening the left door of the Mercedes, I press the power button to the right of the wheel. The soft engine purrs to life and I use the rear camera to pull out of my parking space. Luckily, I have a short commute to school. Of course I don't live on campus but the drive is short and there's often no traffic. Making a beeline down 68th street I turn onto 5th avenue. Pulling into the parking space, I hop over the side of the car door running up every other step to make it into class on time.

"Styles," the professor calls monotonously without looking away from the computer screen at the front of the room. I slide into a seat in the back as a boy a little younger than me says "here".

"Swan," he calls out. What appears to be a senior speaks up to announce his presence.

"Taylor," he continues this ritual until I hear my own.

"Tomlinson," he announces.

"Here," I reply loud enough to be heard from the front of the room.

After all of the names are called Professor Cavenaugh begins a lecture on the science of vocal cords and how they work. The entire class is typing on various brands of laptops looking up every few seconds to makes sure it's word for word.

After about a half hour of explaining how when the larynx closes and air is pushed through the vibration is what we perceive as sound. Professor Cavenaugh glances down at his clipboard picking a name at random he looks around the class.

"Mr. Styles, in thirty seconds or less, please in your own words, summarise how we produce sound," he states looking around the room for the poor soul who is put on spot. Some brown haired freshman stands up with his eyes still trailed on his laptop.

"The vocal cords compress and air is pushed through creating a vibration which causes sound. The larynx, or often referred to as the voice box, is a muscle which holds the vocal cords and oscillate so the air can be pushed through," he says. Moving around the room, jumping to different names, Professor Cavenaugh asks short answer trivia question on the lesson so far.

"Mr. Tomlinson. In your own words, please explain the trachea and how it differs from the esophagus," he looks me directly in the eye as I am already on my feet prepared to answer.

"The trachea is more commonly referred to as the wind pipe. There is a small flap of tissue called the epiglottis which protects it from food going down it. It doesn't always work hence the popular saying, "down the wrong pipe". The esophagus is the tube in which food goes down and is part of our digestive system," I glance down at my notes to be sure the information is accurate.

"Alright class, it's noon, you are free to go. Enjoy your lunch. I will see you on Wednesday," Professor Cavenaugh claps his hands together.

Harry POV

Approaching a guy about a year older than me, I tap his shoulder. He turns around leaving a blonde boy to look at his phone.

"I'm sorry. Can I help you with anything?" He asks confused.

"Umm. . .yeah. Are you Louis?" I question.

"Yes. . .why?" He slowly drags on. At this point the blonde friend perked up slightly interested.

"Well my friend, Liam said that he befriended you and I thought that I ought to at least meet you," I explain.

"Ah. . .so you were the friend whom Liam had to lie about his mailman's cat or whatever to," he smirks with his eyes full of laughter.

"Err. . .yeah. Sorry about that. It's just that we have a thing that we always do and we've been doing it since grade school and it's just-" I try to explain.

"Hey man, I was just kidding. You don't have to justify yourself to me. I get it." He smiles. "Look, um," he pauses for me to fill in my name.

"Harry," I tell him.

"Look Harry, me and Niall, we're going to go off campus for lunch down in Central Park before class later, you're welcome to join us," Louis gestures towards me.

"Yeah. Sure, that would be great," I grab my backpack.

"Hey Niall. Show Harry to my car. I'll be down in a few I just have to hit the toilets," Louis pushes the key into Niall's hand.

"Aight. See you in a few," he nods.

Parting in opposite directions, Niall and I walk side by side out of the brick building. Pressing a button on the small key chain, a car's headlights flash red.

"THAT'S his car?!?!?" I ask stunned.

"Yup. Pretty sick, innit?" Niall slides in the back sitting on the trunk.

"This convertible, how did he get this? He's in college! How on earth did he get this? Is he like a robber or something?" I demand still in shock.

"Nah. His step-father is like the inventor of toaster strudel or something. I kid. He's like the CEO of a law firm I think. I just know that he's rich and Lou doesn't really care for him but he's trying the buy their affection tactic. Basically Louis ends up with this fancy ass stuff that he can't really do anything about," Niall tells me just as Louis jumps over the driver's side of the car.

"Get in loser, we're going shopping," Louis yells at me. "I'm actually not kidding. Get in or I will drive off without you."

As Niall chose the back seat, I slide in shotgun and Louis pulls out and I notice the sign that says RESERVED FOR TOMLINSON.

Thank you guys for reading! We really hope you like the story so far. Please vote and comment if you have any suggestions, we love hearing feedback. Enjoy the Mean Girls references!

xxcoffeewithlarry